CURRENT MISSION

To reignite my short love affair with NYC, maybe move there.

ABOUT ME

[[BE WARNED: This is a LONG profile. It may be advisable to take it orally in small doses, once every 2-4 hours. Keep pregnant women and children away. kkthx.]]

Got yer attention eh? Well, I'm a 25-year-old, wide-eyed and constantly curious identical twin from London. I'd consider myself something of a deep thinker whose laid back about most things, but passionate about things when challenged about them. I put importance on some old-fashioned values of honour and chivalry, and can't abide by people who mistreat eachother. I'd like to think I'm intellectual... certainly I'm told I am, though I still have plenty of brain muscle in need of exercise. And my body needs some too :(

I'm a wine merchant. Yes. You read that correctly. Don't worry, it's not half as glamorous nor debauched as it sounds. If you want me to help fix you up with some quality booze, I'm the couch potato you need.

In terms of beliefs, I suppose the closest thing I come under would be *breathes in deep* an Atheist, Secular Humanist, Equalitist, pretty much liberalised centrist, Epicurean, PURE/ORIGINAL Republican with Libertarian sympathies and an admiration, though not idolatry, for Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Gandhi and Hektor...*gulps in some air*, phew! :D

I'm pretty passionate when it comes to things like equal rights, religiously-driven issues (on the secular side of it), and all things political and cultural. I seem to have an opinion on everything, but I always want to talk with others in order to refine my views...sometimes I've turned my belief in something 180 degrees because there was evidence I was wrong, and I changed it immediately :P so never, ever accuse of being close-minded, no matter how much we disagree on something.

I go through life happy as I am, without the need to get drunk, smoke or do drugs; I'm a firm believer in being independent of addictions and needs, and those things really just provide an unneccesary crutch in a never-ending vicious cycle (though doing those things doesn't make you a bad person; I dislike the vices, not the people with them).

[[N.B: ALL YOU CAN EAT SHRIMP PLATTER AT SIZZLER IS NOT AN APPETIZER, IT'S NOT A LIFESTYLE.]]

PHILOSOPHY

"The world is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion."

And a little more esoteric...

"Currahee!"

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

At the moment, I only want a place to crash around Brooklyn for my trip to NYC next month. As soon as I move back out to a decent pad where I HAVE a spare couch, I'll then have a more or less open door policy.

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

Informal only. Whether at my family home or when I had my own place in Holborn, I played host with my twin brother to many a friend, whether for a night or a week.

Interests

I love reading books, videogames, music (is my life, though I can't play a note of it), clay-pigeon shooting, fine dining and drinking, interesting art, collecting random crud. Mixing random cocktails and slowly accrueing more and more random booze for my cabinet :D

I AM the next Lara Croft (except for her having FAR smaller and less shapely breasts and buttocks than I).

• arts
• books
• dining
• wine
• cocktails
• fine dining
• exercise
• drinking
• reading
• music
• cycling
• hunting
• atheism
• religion

Music, Movies, and Books

Books/Authors: Homer, Ovid, Virgil, David Eddings, David Gemmell, Philip Pullman, Robin Hobb, Jim Butcher (the Harry Dresden books are awesome), Nick Sagan, Dan Simmons, Lee Child, Thomas Harlan, Jeff Gulvin, Jasper Fforde, anything generally deep, intellectually-stimulating or which breaks/bends the rules of the genre. Any more recommendations of any sort are most welcome.

Cinema/TV: Pretty much anything decent...heavily into independent cinema and foreign film, especially from Japan, France, middle east and India (Bollywood! WOOHOO!). I'm not going to give away much more than that, as I could talk about film forever and I wouldn't want to just throw away a lifetime's worth of talk into a few condensed sentences! Although, Withnail&I does hold a special place in my heart. Television-wise...it's got to be: The Wire, Band Of Brothers, Lost, Heroes, Jericho, Blackadder, Fawlty Towers, Monty Python, Jeeves & Wooster, Friends, Frasier, and House. As well as Mock The Week, QI and things of that ilk.

Music: Like I said, music is pretty much my entire life. If you're with me, you can absolutely guarantee there'll be music playing softly (or very very loudly) close by. I like literally everything, although I'm yet to be converted to 80s synth, psychobilly and jungle/garage. I've got everything in my collection from jazz to metal to classical to blues to obscure Arab folk... If I had to name any bands/singers etc I'd say I like: Rage Against The Machine, Muse, Incubus, System Of A Down, Elbow, Terrorvision, Bad Religion, Ben Folds, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Skunk Anansie, Span, Jamie Cullum, Pink Martini, Nina Simone, Miles Davis, Hans Zimmer...plus many many more. Chances are, if you like them, I've probably heard them.

Foods: Oh God...maybe FOOD is pretty much my entire life, not music, don't make me choose! :( All my best memories of places and events are defined by the [[food and drink]], assuming the company is already exceptional as well. I collect corks from the best bottles of wine I've had, steal matchboxes from the nicest restaurants, and generally seek out as much and as varied world cuisine as I can get. As Keith Floyd, the great but perpetually inebriated chef, once said;

"To know a country, one must eat the country".

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Seen the sunbeam sweep across the valley beneath Mount Delphi in Greece. Almost enough to make one believe in god. ALMOST.

Eaten the single best pizza on earth in Capri.

Been the first Brit to actually know what a friggin' Mojito was before it became the watered-down, corrupted staple cocktail you find in every bar around the country.

Teach, Learn, Share

WINE! And booze generally. If you need to know anything at all relating to it, I'm (possibly) your man. Other than that, how to have a good, not too expensive time out in London. It's not all overpriced tourist traps you know :)

The only factoid that springs to mind is this; did you know that depression is worse for those of a short stature...for example, 6 out of 7 dwarves aren't Happy? :P *lets that one sink in*

Countries I’ve Visited

Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Greece, Italy, Spain, Turkey, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

United Kingdom

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