14 Apr Instead of owning a home, I live on the road (and on couches, and on porches, and in tents?)
"More ethically substantial than most people," was perhaps one of my favorite compliments I ever received. I'm a former web developer and free software programmer who finally stopped sitting in front of computer screens instead of having actual relationships with human beings, so now I'm an academic with no Academy, a culture hacker with no cultural home, and a busker with no hat. In a word, I'm a "technomad," the information age's equivalent of a wandering minstrel; I travel wherever I'm needed and wanted. I'm grateful to everyone who shares food, shelter, or money with me so that I can continue to do Good Work with Good People for the benefit of our future! :)
At various times in my life, I've been described as "Grade-A adorable," "a perfect blend of geek chic and femme," "a webdev prodigy," "a human database," "an activist heartthrob," "more sticky than a wiki," "an unusual combination of relevant-and-cool," and a "knowledge worker extraordinaire." In other words, if this were the Matrix, I'm "kind of the Red Pill." ;)
If I had a mantra--and I don't--BUT!, if I did have one,? it'd be "everything is in everything else." I'm fascinated by people's stories, their lived experiences, and even more than that, the meaning they make of these experiences. I think humans are meaning-making machines, and I think that's beautiful. As a boy, I was often called "anti-social," but that's total rubbish. I'm actually extremely social. I just value different things than many others do during social engagements.
Why I'm on Couchsurfing
In e homeless/houseless. It sounds bad but it turned into an amazing adventure that saw me hitchhiking and couch-surfing my way across America. I'm always looking forward to upcoming adventures and finding out who I'll meet! (Maybe I'll meet you?) These days I do a lot of house sitting and pet-sitting (I've never met a cat I didn't get along with), so I do a fair bit less CouchSurfing.