I am finally starting to get into a groove here at the CouchSurfing house in Berkeley. I’m still having a great time hanging out with all my friends, but now I have a purpose which is really exciting.

Yesterday we had a BaseCamp rally for all the volunteers here at the house. Jim, Casey, TTT and Weston gave a great presentation that reminded us of why we are here and the goals that CouchSurfing International is striving toward, both short term and long term. It’s exciting to see the direction that CouchSurfing is heading and the unlimited potential that it has to affect people around the world in intercultural exchange and understanding.

In the meeting we discussed a lot of the BHAGS (Big Hairy Audacious Goals) that we want to set for ourselves. These are huge goals that, although audacious, are completely feasible in the long run. It’s just going to take a lot of baby steps to get there. Some of these goals were global in nature, like the Nobel Peace Prize others were internal goals like being able to have an entire staff on salary with health care and vacation.

The most immediate BHAG has been to receive 501(c)3 federal non-profit status, which we are sending an updated request to the IRS the first week in November and expect to have an answer by the end of the month. I am really excited about the possibilities a non-profit status will open up for us. We will be able to collaborate with other non-profits and apply for grants and other funding.

The meeting left me excited about all the areas that I know that I can really contribute to CouchSurfing. There are so many exciting things that need to be done, it can be really overwhelming trying to decide what to work on.

After the meeting I sat down with Casey, the founder of CouchSurfing, and we discussed areas that need immediate attention. We came up with a task management system where the directors (Casey, Jim, TTT and Weston) can post administrative tasks that need to be done and I will manage the tasks by assigning them to volunteers and doing all the follow-up to make sure that they are completed. We are calling the project TaskForce for now and we are using Mantis bug tracking system to facilitate. I know there has to be a better program out there for this type of group task management, so if anybody has any suggestions, please let me know!

I am so happy to have a purpose in life now! Things with fundraising are heating up as well and are going to take off once we get our 501(c)3 status. I’m on Kelly’s fundraising team and will be working mostly with Major Donors and filling in wherever else needed.

It’s amazing that my days went from having nothing to do to having so much to look foward to! I’m still planning on getting part time job to have a little extra income, but plan on spending most of my time devoted to CouchSurfing. It’s inspiring to be able to work with such an amazing group of people who feel passionately about a project that really has the ability to have a positive affect on so many people around the world.

Life has been an amazing rollercoaster ride lately. After two weeks in Europe I spent a week driving the Cassiar with Jim to arrive in Berkeley, California last Monday.

Our drive on the Cassiar was incredible! I was worried that there wouldn’t be many gas stations and most of the road would be unpaved, but we didn’t have any problems. The fall colors were vivid and gorgeous and, except for a blizzard north of Glennallen, the weather was beautiful. We got to see a lot of different animals included a herd of buffelo, a wolf, foxes and I almost hit a black bear when it ran in front of my car. We only spent two nights in Canada. Sunday night in White Horse with a couchsurfer named Pam and Monday night in a hotel.

The road trip was without incident except for the time that I took a wrong turn and we almost ended up back in South-East Alaska. Luckily Jim is a good sport and we were able to laugh it off. It also allowed us to see a beautiful glacier that ran into a lake right off the side of the road.

My week in Berkeley so far has been relaxed as I settle into the life of living in a huge house with 15 other people. I am starting to get into the swing of things and will soon be working on Fundraising with Kelly and taking more menial tasks off of Casey’s plate. I’m also beginning to look for jobs in the Berkeley area. I’m not sure what I’m interested in yet, but hopefully when I find it, I’ll know.

Living in the CouchSurfing house has been a blast. It’s wonderful living with such fun people who are never boring! There’s always so much going on. Communal living also has its trials and tribulations. We have a chore list on which people are assigned to teams of two and have a chore to complete each day. For the most part this has been working really well except that the floors tend to get forgotten. Oops! We are also lucky in the fact that we have a volunteer, Derek, who cooks for us five nights a week! Most dinners are the equivalent of a four course meal with yummy desserts each night! Have I mentioned that we are a bit spoiled? I love that we all sit down and eat together family style. Derek also brings volunteers from the community to help with dinner so we are meeting new people every night.

Being so close to San Francisco makes our social calendar pretty full. This weekend was especially busy. We went to a potluck at Jay’s house Friday night. A house party at a mansion Saturday night that included AcroYoga, all you can eat Sushi that was being prepared in the kitchen, full bar and a dance floor. There were also a ton of people in the swimming pool and hot tub, but we never made it in. Sunday was the most fun of all! We all dressed up and headed to Decompression in the industrial part of the city.

The Boof photo booth

Even the drive to Decomp was amazing! We were crossing the bridge to the city and the Blue Angels were buzzing the bridge as part of fleet week. Kelly was asleep in the back seat when they first flew right over our car and it woke her up with a start!

We went ahead and paid for parking in a lot so we didn’t have to worry about the car. When we were walking into the festival a car pulled up and asked if we were going to Decomp. Kelly, being a smart ass, said, “No, we’re going to church!” I couldn’t help but laugh hysterically since we were all dressed up in some pretty interesting costumes. Jim was wearing red velour pants with fur, I was in a bright pink wig, corsette and tutu, Weston was wearing tiger print chaps and Kelly was looking adorable in a dirndle.

Me looking pink and adorable!

The driver of the car ended up being Stephen from the band Third Eye Blind who I met this summer when they were up in Alaska. I said, “Hey, I know you! Weren’t you in Alaska?” They parked the car and ended up walking with us to Decomp where we let them cut in line with us because our friends were already there.

Hanging with Stephen from 3EB

The festival was so much fun! I’m lucky that Shameless Heather let me raid her closet for my costume. She lives in SF in a townhouse and the closet for her costumes is bigger than her bedroom! We spent the afternoon and evening walking up and down the boulevard looking at the art cars, art installations and watching the performances. Heather MCed a variety show at a club that included a political satire from the Butt Hole Puppet Players. I would go into more detail, but it’s impossible to describe.

I had a great time looking at what other people were wearing as well. Some of the costumes were incredible! There was a group of men who were in these metallic multi colored outfits that they obviously have spent a lot of time on. They all matched from their head to their toes. There were also some people who wore nothing at all. We went to get shaved ice at the Lost Penguin tent and the woman serving it was completely naked. I’m sure that’s against food regulation, but hey, it was free and delicious!

The fabulous rainbow men

As the night wore on and Decomp began to wind down. We headed over to a club called Retox where a lot of Burners were hanging out. We had a great time dancing and meeting people. Hearing people’s stories makes me excited about going to Burning Man next year. I’m going to have to start accumulating costumes now!