Posts Tagged ‘couchsurfer’

couchsurfer Hanna Rosendahl

Out of all couchsurfers I’ve hosted, I think I miss having Hanna around the most. Nothing bad about all the boys that’s came through here but this girl is much tougher than anyone. A librarian by trade, a boxer by hobby, she carries my favorite quality – a super woman gene. That is – the nurturer of all strengths, inclusive of femininity, along were intelligence, wit, sarcasm, humor, fighting spirit.

I sent couchsurfer Ulrik to pick Hanna up from Koreantown where she was sitting bored. She was couchsurfing with some college students who had no time to hang with her. I got a series of messages from her looking for actions. I already had several couchsurfers at my place, but figured what the heck could it hurt to add one more. Besides, seeing her interest in boxing, I wanted to get to know this girl.

During the time of her stay,  I was only doing mostly fight classes (took a break from music attendance). Like a shadow, she went with me to both of my 2 camps, the Krav Maga training center, and Wildcard Boxing Club. We sparred a little in one of the boxing classes. She was a righteous partner. I got to introduce her to some of my favorite instructors and classes.

It was also interesting to join a debate with Hanna. Luckily I was on her side and occasionally high-fiving at times. One such memorable moment was a ‘discussion’ we had with fellow couchsurfer Abbéy. It was a formidable topic of men vs. women and the view of dating / relationship. That was fun. It nearly went off edge many times, a disaster near miss. The result was yielded no alteration of anyone opinions. Just more awareness of each other’s level of stubbornness… and traces of any awkward humor.

Schopenhauer: “Argument is not so much for those who want to learn as for those who want to dispute”.

It felt as if she was my little sister. There were times I had to throw my hands up and let her run the show. All I could do was to accommodate, which I did gladly. I doubt if I would ever go visit her in Gothenburg, Sweden – but I would love to run around with her again. She’s pure fire.

Hanna Rosendahl at Wildcard Boxing Club

Hanna Rosendahl with the (in)famous Freddie Roach

Hanna Rosendahl in a ground fighting class at Krav Maga Training Center

Hanna Rosendahl

couchsurfer Adam Schutzman

I answered a post in a forum offering Adam a place to park his car as he hopped off of his around the US road trip to Hawaii for a few weeks. Needing a place to stay over night before his flight he lucked out and ended up staying with me. The house was already full of couchsurfers that weekend. Every floor space and blankets were all taken and distributed.  Luckily for him, one of the couchsurfers bailed to be somewhere else for the night. He then took up that 5th spot. Mind you this house is tiny. But Adam was very sweet, super easy to get along with, and down to have any kinds of conversations.

Not until the next morning we discovered that we had a mutual friend, Nels Cline! Nels, the guitarist most prominence from my blog here, and one of my dearest of all friends, has been doing music for a very long time. Adam knew Nels for over 10 years having gone to all Nels’s gigs in Portland, Maine since he was in high school. Luckily Nels was in town – so I made a point for us all to grab some dinner together. When I first told Nels about Adam, he thought that was incredibly wild. Adam, Nels recalled, was at all his shows back when he was still playing for an audience of a few. This – was a main indicator of what I like about Adam the most, his music taste. He had with him vinyls he collected over the trip, and a little portable record player. 

We haven’t been in touch so much, but I’m sure I’ll run into him again.

couchsurfer Abbéy Odunlami

Nigerian born, Detroit raised, and a current Chicago resident – Abbéy is one of a multi layered character. I hosted him for several days in February and got only glimpses of him. There are many titles to throw at him – film maker, screenplay writer, camera man, avid runner, capoeira practitioner. He has experiences and stories you can’t help but admire. One of his stories he told on my friend’s radio show where he spoke about how he signed on to couchsurfing website was quite interesting. It had something to do with his determination to get into Sundance film festival in Utah. I loved listening to his dreams and ideas, but more of his work he has in progress.

I got a chance to talk with him extensively only just a few times. He came to stay when many of couchsurfers were here. He got along with everyone especially with John. They both specialize at different sides of the entertainment industry. Conversations flew over my head a bit listening to them talk about funding and distributing functions of various entertainment media/formats…. or something about green light process.

Abbéy has some pretty strong views. Friendships that can come after airing out our views on politics, social, religions, personal philosophy and relationship are ones that I cherish. Our group discussions often turned intense, but not without much laughter. He definitely knew how to quit when debating with women. I enjoyed exploring the parameters of his opinions. I learned a lot from him, of ambition and conviction. It will be fun to get him into a debate again. I hope to get to see his scene in Chicago first before he gets back here in Los Angeles.

Abbéy Odunlami on Mike Watt's radio show

couchsurfers Abbéy Odunlami and Hanna Rosendahl at the Griffith Park Observatory

not the usual couchsurfer John Day

I met John the same day I met Marco and Ulrik. Yes, it was an interesting – meeting strangers – day. The difference was John didn’t leave for a long time. I took a risk on hosting someone without any references, on the last minute. He came to Los Angeles to investigate the next step of his career. He ended up becoming my roommate for a couple of months before he headed back out to New York. Beyond that, he is now one of my dear friends. 

On the first few days, I found it a little difficult to relate to him. Straight from financial and banking industry in New York, with attractive friends, he’s not someone I thought I’d have much in common with at the first glance. Southern boy born in Alabama, he went to school in Florida, Georgia, then did an MBA in New York. Over some days of many conversations, usually involving goals, strategies, dreams, and …. practical approach to life, I soon got used to having him around. We had a similar streak of suspicion over ’some’ social units.  We have similar cynicism in some human behaviors, and we bonded over personal drama, and our amazing advices to each other’s problem/oversights. Oh, and we gave each other a lot of shit for the fall out in each of our exercising routines. We both were definitely weren’t happy of getting ’smallish’. 

His die-hard devotion to Florida State basketball team was something I can ignore but not over look. Because of him I ended up watching some games at a bar where I should have been paying attention to my company. Also his snobbish interior design and fashion sense only made matters worse in my self consciousness. Yet, overall, John, as an individual, taught me a lot about all kinds of different worlds he embodies.  

I look forward to have him around again when he heads back to Los Angeles.

John Day

John Day - Los Angeles, CA

Ulrik Lund, Los Angeles, CA

There was a post in a forum by someone looking for something to do on Superbowl Sunday. I replied and offered to take him to a party I was going to. That was how I first came about Ulrik. He ended up changing his flight to arrive later, and asked me to stay over night. I was fine with it. However, as a duty, I usually convince people to stay a bit longer, and he was one of those who did.

Ulrik was from Denmark. He came to the US to conclude his 3 month holidays. He flew in from New Zealand. Coordinating the initial meeting was quite difficult. He didn’t have a telephone on him. I was already with another Couchsurfer Marco and the day was fleeting. I needed to provide entertainment. I finally left a note at my door telling Ulrik to meet up with me at the Jazz Bakery, a venue across town. This was the night Wayne Horvitz’s Sweeter Than the Day group was playing. Our first meeting was a bit off – I was a bit agitated for not being able to communicate. (What did we do before the cellular phone was the norm???) And Ulrik was also annoyed for having to drive to the other side of town after just getting off of a very long flight and dealing with car rental at the airport. 

When Marco came back around to do some really touristy things the next day, Ulrik joined us. He finally made it out of town a couple days later after dropping me off at the airport at the crack of dawn. I was on my way to San Francisco, and he was on his way to the Death Valley. He came back a couple of weeks later when I had a ton more couchsurfers in the house. Through various moments of conversations and activities, we became quite good friends. We keep in touch – this is also because I became his ally in a transformation he was seeking. After much considerations and serious planning, he’s finally transitioning out of working on computers, to get work doing something active outdoors. I’m more than proud of him – I celebrate his courage. Something I said to him in passing, that struck him enough for him to quote it back to me was “right now you have the facility to go crazy – make mistakes and correct mistakes, heart breaks and all that good stuff”. I wonder if I even believe me? I suppose I appreciate him most for taking me seriously – so I can, in turn, take myself seriously. 

Ulrik Lund tolerates an elevator in Hollywood shopping center

couchsurfer Marco Junghans

I volunteered on an impulse to hang with a couchsurfer from Germany, Marco. We met up in downtown LA where he was soon shown that there wasn’t alllll that much to see there. I found it oddly adorable, even as I should be used to this by now – of visitors from other countries that may like to see actual city’s “landmarks”. Marco was one of those, completely and purely excited by all. I now call this an “East German Thing”.  We went to Griffith Park Observatory to see the sunset, looked for path to get to the Hollywood sign. In additional days of his staying in town (he was hosted in Orange County – and consequentially became quite tight with the Orange County couchsurfing bunch), we went to the walk of fame, Chinese Theatre, drove in and away from the Hollywood Cemetery. All the while he would translate his German guidebook of the history of my own city. It was quite fun in the non-expected, expected way. Maybe because I never feel so inclined to do such things myself. That was our first batch of meetings. He left for the Bay Area but later drove back down to spend more time with Los Angeles/Orange County people whom he found more friendly.

Always smiling, I attempted over a handful of times that we hung out together and dove our talk into more of his stories maybe not commonly shared. After many conversations at many different settings, I did get a good sense over all and I ended up quite fond of him. He’s so sincere. On a search of his own to identify himself, making his way for a 2 year stay in Canada – He’s now getting into all kinds of things he wants to be doing, like working at the Winter Olympics. He’s quite capable, another computer person and with an equivalent to an MBA, he was still down to do whatever jobs it takes to support his traveling lifestyle.

I’m keeping in touch with him even as I doubt I’d ever make it into the winter of Canada. That’s where we differ most obviously, he’s into the cold, and I’m very much not. 

Marco Junghans - surprised

Ingo Harzheim, Las Vegas NV

A snapshot of a crucial moment : Sweats breaking down my temples, sitting next to a traveling German…. at a Thai restaurant in Los Angeles – my turf within my turf – we were. After a diligent assessment into how hot they should make the food for him, I ended up with a spice burn when he felt NOTHING. I couldn’t believe all the words of explanation mislead me of how insanely much hotter he prefers his food than I do. • I failed twice in one shot.• This was the evening before he departed for Mexico.

I met up with Ingo Harzheim in Las Vegas. It was unbelievable how fast we befriended. Talking with him was easy and in short time I found so much in common. One main difference – his obsession over Cirque du Soleil which I found adorable…. up to a certain point. I’m still on the fence over his having Cirque du Soleil’s music in his itune collection… The day we met was my birthday, so he treated me to a “Mystere” show, ended up with quite an experience watching the massive live entertainment production, not to mention the unbelievable super human strengths and their acrobatic skills.

The one activity that was quite uniquely memorable was actually the one I can only enjoy thinking about after the fact. We rode out on the motorcycle towards the Red Rocks, few miles outside of Las Vegas. It sounds awesome now, but then, I believed my hands and face were going to fall off (I’m sure his were, too). I don’t know how cold it was, maybe in the low 40s. It was the week after they got their “biggest snow storm since 1979″. So, yes, it was still – way cold. 

Overall, hanging around in Las Vegas usually depresses me with all the bells, jingles, whistles, and crap jumbotrons. All that seemed secondary when taking a long walk on the strip with a good company. 

I invited him back to Los Angeles for a few days to get over the christmas time. He also fast befriended my shy cat … however inadvertently, by having beef jerky or yogurt in his possession. Amongst other things, Ingo prefers a perfect cup of cappuccino (setting off a daily adventure in itself), and all his food to be ‘real’ (high suspicion of the ‘health’ trend). He’s an avid jogger, rock climber, hiker, an all around outdoors person, who happens to have a profession doing something software/computer related. 

Every person that comes into your life and ended up reflecting the meaning of it is the greatest gift I cherish. It wasn’t the case that I was lost, but in one of our many many long conversations, Ingo said something that struck me deeply. It was quite a simple statement said in passing, but it pointed me to my new appreciation, then a sense of urgency for completing my project – THIS BLOG. (It may seem like just another blog on the web, but I hope it will prove other wise.) Just several days after he departed, having left behind a significant impression, I finished hand processing the 100 rolls of film sitting around for the past year. What I learned from talking to him is that what I’ve seen and what I’ve done is something worthwhile. For nothing else is the passion I put into it, the intrinsic value of having something I own, that I created, and produced. 

Truly – truly appreciated the chance to meet him. I think it definitely changed a pace of my life in an important part I didn’t know I needed to change.
 

Ingo with cappuccino

Ingo

iphone endorsement

at Rockreation

during a conversation

dinner

drive

Liliane Arizmendi

I picked up Liliane an hour after dropping another Giovanni off at the airport, trading one couchsurfer for another. The vibrant girl from Mexico was visiting for the first time since childhood. I quickly bonded with her after discovering series of similarities and character traits we both posses. As we joked on multiple occasions, it was like having an old friend over for a visit. Our common photography interest is only a small thread. Our thought exchanges include various philosophical, psychological and sociological ponders.

In only regretted that she came to stay with me at a very strange time. There was a lot going on that kept me from being able to take around the city fully. She was more than understanding, sticking by my side like a trooper in all situations. She’s incredibly insightful and doesn’t take much for her to ‘get it’, any of what I was thinking or trying to say. It is a rare and lucky connection.

Since she left me, we still keep in constant contact obsessing about pursuing our endeavors, so we can soon meet again, in a number of possible countries, for more crazy good times.

Liliane Arizmendi III

Giovanni Del Brenna – Venice Beach, CA

When I went crying aloud out to some of my closest friends – “Giovanni is a better photographer than me” I meant that in so many fundamental ways.

Giovanni Del Brenna came to Los Angeles for a few weeks to finalize his “City” photography project. He started it some years ago already having done the other typical cities around the world. Hosting him actually required me to put on the heaviest of all thinking caps. What I had to consider were 1. What IS the essence of Los Angeles, 2. What are the visual representations?,  3. What are the daily strategies in ‘covering’ this massive city, 4. How am I going to cover him while he’s covering the city?, and 5. How can we not kill each other for having to be in such close proximity in so many days?

As usual, I winged it for my part. The rest I just rode along with his schedule, whichever he decided upon. Watching his process was just incredible for me. It’s hard to explain. He’s like me but opposite? We notice the similar things – shapes, forms, functions, lights, situations – but we may frame them differently. His approach is much more direct and definite. The finalization process was even more prominently different. He decisively allocated shot rolls of film, or image files to specific destinations and purposes. He… was a model of a functional photographer. Also, to note, he has ALL my dream cameras – the professional ones – Leica, Xpan, D3, completely ready for any unexpected assignments of any forms. Needless to say, I learned so much.

We ended up all over the place around mostly locally known landmarks. He actually did introduce me to The Ring in Santa Monica (apparently it’s world famous – a local spot I was entirely ignorant of.) I took him to some of my pre-planned events of a TFA fight, which we co-shot, and catching my favorite standup comedian Doug Stanhope one night. He got to meet all of my favorite friends, the fight girls at that TFA, Mike Watt when he joined for a radio recording in San Pedro, Nels Cline when he played a duo gig with David Sarno in Downtown LA….

We got along really well, surprising for the strong headed photo persons that we each are. Gio, I think, ended up looking after my interest a bit. When I had 2 other couchsurfers come stay and share the space, I noticed him being a little protective, mildly questioning if it was my best interest to help out everyone. But there was one occasion he might have went too far – that was when he tried to explained to me the logic of Rubik’s Cube. At that point, I had to call him on it — Mr. former mechanical engineer turned photographer that he was…

Parting with him after about a month (he went to Las Vegas for a week in between when I went to San Francisco) was a little sad. This is one down side of ‘couchsurfing’ is that inevitable departure of the new friend. Surely what I should focus on that little new marker on a map where Metz is in France, where Gio and his family live. Glancing at the global map with increase warmth of the imagined friendly human person residing in another part of the world, does give one the optimism of how the world can somehow become one through friendship networking.

Gio reviews images at the Democrat official party, Century City, CA

Gio in the mix

Gio at TWFPS - San Pedro, CA

Gio watches Doug Stanhope after show

Gio at the driver seat

Gio and fellow couchsurfer Chris