CURRENT MISSION

To enjoy about 5 weeks in Mexico coming up in November. Hola a todos por alla! Ya mero voy! :)

ABOUT ME

I have been very, very fortunate to have been able to do something that helped many people to help themselves. Helping set up parent-run support groups all across Mexico for parents with disabled children has been amazing. It was tough work but thankfully the Teleton (national non-profit organization) has grown very strong and has taken over this and I can now remain in "semi-retirement". But I still love to travel and to learn and share. I have done more good as a volunteer than I have done as a paid social worker in the U.S. (largely because I can actually do things that help people help themselves as a volunteer and I have my hands tied by government constraints as a social worker on the payroll).

UPDATE AUGUST 11, 2011

Due to the option to link Facebook to the CS website, I have removed my home city and altered my personal identifying information to make it more difficult for Facebook to capture and sell my private information. I have also raised my privacy settings to the maximum possible while still being able to request couches. Depending on future developments, I will remove my verification address to avoid it being data mined by Facebook. I trust CS, I do not trust Facebook.

It was great while CS lasted independently. Thanks CS. I hope I can continue participating in this site, but that depends on how intrusive Facebook gets on here.

UPDATE: AUGUST 25th, 2011

I am glad I made those above changes. I now add the following given that Couchsurfing.org is no longer a non-profit and is now a for profit B Corporation:

Rights

Notwithstanding article 5.1 of the CS Terms of Use, I do not grant CouchSurfing International Inc. a license to use my content under the conditions specified there. Instead, I reserve all rights to my pictures uploaded by me to the site.

PHILOSOPHY

Not all those who wander are lost... J.R.R. Tolkien

My philosophy has changed a bit over time, but overall I like to live and let live as long as no one is trampling over the rights of others. I have also learned how important it is do the things you want to do while you can, while you are healthy and strong enough to do so. It's better to live with less regrets over things you wish you could have done or could have said to someone than to remain quiet and then wonder later if you could have done something to have made the outcome better.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

I definitely can go out for a drink or coffee with anyone coming through where I live in the SF Bay Area (I am in the southern part of the SF Bay Area - there is a lot more to the SF Bay Area than SF! Don't miss the fun!)

Over December 2011 through New Year's 2012, I was one of the main organizers of a great NYE Party that took place in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with quite a lot of fellow CSers, 10 from the city of Queretaro, a good number from the U.S. and Canada, and a few from as far away as Morroco, Poland, and the Czech Republic as well as locals from Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara (Tapatios Represented eh Nicolas?!) It was quite a big event with a gas generator, music, DJ lights and great food on the beach. And, of course, quite a lot of real good booze! We even had a few fireworks... though we had to cut the show short on account of almost taking out the group that was further away from us on the beach... (Sorry about that near miss!) :P We even had a Candian sailor among us who parked his sailboat just offshore from where the beach party took place.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I have surfed in New Orleans and had a wonderful host who was my very first host. I was on my way to Mexico with a group of surfers I had never met before who had agreed to meet in New Orleans and drive into the heart of Jalisco! My host in New Orleans was amazing! Respectful, fun, honest, hardworking and he devoted a lot of time to all of us who stayed at his place.

I also surfed briefly in Colombia but then signed on as a renter once we knew we could all get along and have a great time. Colombia was amazing and though I didn't go out partying as much with my hosts there but we still had a blast and a lot of beer on the last day!

And I have surfed around the SF bay area a little bit, spent some time with a great CSer who is now living in SF! If you ever hear him laugh you will know who he is! (hint... he is on the CS video! Hey Saif!) Amazing guy, generous with his time and considerate, plus he knows how to throw a great party!

I have also done volunteer work in Mexico over the last 12 years by staying on couches (or dirt floors) to be able to afford to do the volunteer work. I have generally stayed with the kindest of families where I helped to start support groups for parents of disabled children. The parents of the disabled children took me in and let me sleep on their couches, dirt floors or hammocks in the mountains, valleys and river basins that I have been to all over Mexico. It was the best way to get these groups launched as they came from whatever money I had earned working during the year. I did this on my own with a few other volunteers and I paid my own travel and lodging and food. Staying with the families "couchsurfing" is how I was able to make limited funds go a long way to helping these kids and their families. I even did this in Mexico City about 5 years ago and stayed there for 3 months on different families couches the entire time while training support group leaders in the areas of Tepito and Iztapalapa - two of the most dangerous areas of Mexico City, but also areas of the greatest need. Thankfully, nothing bad ever happened to me and I owe that to the families who made sure I never walked alone in those areas.

Interests

Social work, education, teaching English / Spanish, making new friends and renewing old friendships, the ocean, waterfalls, and living a peaceful life.

I am also currently getting into learning how to "DJ" and use a Mixer to create some cool tunes... or at least boost the gain on the equipment I will be using in Puerto Vallarta for our beach parties! I am very new to it, won't be "scratching" out mixes anytime soon but I do hope to keep it lively and happening on the beach we've selected in Puerto Vallarta to dance all night and into the next day for NYE! (with practice sessions beforehand and continuing celebrations every weekend for a few months afterward! :)

• dancing
• education
• dining
• beer
• coffee
• running
• partying
• drinking
• boating
• shopping
• technology
• traveling
• volunteer work
• music
• boxing
• rock climbing
• swimming
• teaching
• social work
• tourism
• volunteering
• beaches
• mountains

Music, Movies, and Books

The movie Accidental Tourist (of course). Paolo Coelho's books (Alchemist, 11 Minutes, Valkyries, I sat by the river piedra and cried). And lots of different genre's of music ranging from classical to Megadeth, Beatles to Bon Jovi, Grupo Fantasma to Cypress Hill. All music is poetry to me.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Climbed up a steel cable along a super steep cliff to get to an amazingly crisp and clean waterfall in Puerto Vallarta that is just about 15 minutes away from downtown! Thank you to my friend Enrique for showing me that piece of paradise that only the locals seem to know! Climbing down was VERY scary though!!! I am actually afraid of heights, but I did it... next time I will not carry as much stuff with me though!

Swimming in Puerto Vallarta in late December! The water is warm like a bath! Seeing (from a boat) a HUGE manta ray in Puerto Vallarta. Driving through Mexico in 2004-5 in my 1985 Chevy diesel pickup truck! I miss that truck - for 2011 and even now, I drive the now "Official Franken-Wagon" - a modified 1987 Aries-K station wagon. Hey, it seats 6 and gets an old EPA 40 rated miles per gallon. It now has a "Made in Mexico" rack on the roof capable of carrying a Full sized bed and box spring plus suitcases and other cargo!

I also dressed up as Santa Claus on Vacation in Puerto Vallarta for Xmas 2011. Santa suit top, hat and "beard" while wearing bermuda style shorts and guzzling some beers! Can someone say "Ho Ho Ho!"? Hey delivering all those toys makes a Santa really thirsty! :P

Teach, Learn, Share

I can help you learn English or Spanish and I do love being a guide when I can be. I also like to learn new things about a place or area I am visiting. I am somewhat tech savvy having been born in Silicon Valley, birthplace of Apple Computers and IBM. If you are having computer trouble, depending on how bad it is, I might be able to help. Otherwise, I can help you find a legitimate repair shop here in the SF Bay Area or in Mexico in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta, Ciudad Guzman or any other city I am in at the time.

Countries I’ve Visited

Colombia, Mexico

Countries I’ve Lived In

Mexico, United States

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