Setting off alarms, dealing with cat piss, partying with celebs in the highest home in Los Angeles, mingling with some of the world’s top CIOs, and more….

I filmed “a day in the life” – I stayed at Keith’s home, went to his office, saw him lecture at the CIO100,  and rode with him to the airport.  Since that’s got a lot of video, I have to edit it- so I’ll post the whole story soon.

I think Keith is an amazing person, and one of the few who definitely walk the walk as well as talk the talk.

While I’m editing the whole story, here’s what Keith had to say:

Elizabeth PW showing off her Pole Dancing Is My Yoga shirt

Elizabeth PW has gone from not owning a single graphic T-shirt, to frequently being asked where people can buy a “Pole Dancing Is My Yoga” shirt-- which she actually sells now.

While Elizabeth (now one of my most recent couches) is such a great person, that she would give you the shirt off her back, up until January, she didn’t have any (t)shirts. That’s when Elizabeth couchsurfed with me in Austin, Texas.  I was going to create a new image for her that matched her personality more than her corporate looking pics.  That’s when I realized she didn’t have any tees, so we only shot in t-shirts which I had.

Since then, she’s been happier, and says that even productivity has improved from wearing her shirts.  She also has more fun starting random conversations, or getting strange looks.  Since she likes the world (that I relate to so well) of the nerd, she has many nerdy t-shirts… such as my favorite, “There’s no place like 127.0.0.1 Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going back to Cali… Yeah, I do think so! My last 2 posts were kind of sad, so here’s a happy one:
“Open invite to surf by beach spot for 6 weeks from june 12th till mid/late july.  Must watch Webber though.  Trying to find someone.”

Ummmmm….  6 weeks, with a 1.5 week notice. Wait,  I’m already packed up!  I had cleared out everything (‘cept Read the rest of this entry »

This is one of those “Day in the life” that’s so typically random….

I needed to go capture 65 gallons of fresh spring water.  The water weights 40lbs per container, and I had 13 of them in the car, plus the weight of the glass 5-gallon jugs, so that’s about 600-700lbs.  I switched Craig cars, as his Subaru claims to handle 900 lbs, while mine claims to hndle 700lbs.– I’m taking Craig’s word for this, I’ve never actually looked.  That’s probably semi-dumb, as I often carry my whole life in that car.

Since my window had been broken last year as some asshole stole my GPS Read the rest of this entry »

This is Aron Bender. He’s the one who within 4 hours of seeing my tweet has found me an awesome couch for tonight (who’s not pissed that I had to change my schedule already by 7 hours).

I am moved every time I watch this one.

This is one of those brief blog posts (they all start like that).   I don’t need to go into every detail, but I feel like 2 different people… and each has its strength and weakness.

In December/January, I was reaching the cusp of a period of period of distraction.  I was uber-creative, more than usual… but also hlongad a bitch of a time focusing and implementing.  I’d get stuff done… it was just getting started.  My bank account felt it.  That’s some of the stuff I haven’t been posting.  It really sucks when you get hit with an overdraft, get funds again, and keep racing the credit cards.  Not a good feeling.

Then, out of the blue, I just get hit with all these projects.  Some public speaking (which I truly enjoy – let me know if you need a speaker for your company/event/conference), some graphics, some photography, some scriptwriting/filming/editing (my favorite kind too!), and some consulting.  It seems there’s no time to sleep… the other day I blew off a midnight party when I woke up at midnight with indigestion… but I was a happy camper, ’cause when I went to sleep at 5pm, we had just celebrated getting our week’s worth of sleep-sacrifice out at FedEx at 3:57, when 4pm was the absolute deadline.  What a rush!

So, there’s hippy Ori, and yuppie Ori. Craig says I shouldn’t say “Workaholic”, as it has a negative connotation… try “really motivated” instead.  So… I’m back in my “really motivated” state now, and I don’t know if I’ve changed lives, saved a kitten, or waht… but each gig is getting cooler and cooler.  Check this out for example:

The other day, my buddy Caleb Jennings catches me on Skype.  Caleb is working with David Wolfe, and they are throwing Longevity Conference.  Caleb invited me to be their VIP Guest… but as you recall, my funds situation was not the best… I was not sure about Travel Funds, as I was busting ass to get caught up.

I’d love to see my friends, and learn new things, but is that the responsible thing to do?  “Do you guys need a photographer?”  “I don’t know… you’d have to ask Larry.”

The next day I get a call “you’re not going to believe this-  I woke up at noon, had a skype on my screen ‘Can Ori shoot the event for us, and how much?” He hadn’t spoken to Larry… it just so happened that I partied with Larry at Burning Man, and he got to see my badass photo skills, so had me in mind.  What luck?!

So, I worked all day.  I worked all night.  I worked the same the previous day, etc… I took a break to go running.  I’m in “really motivated” mode, so I’m listening to more audio books again, and exercising is easier.

Friends are great, the weather’s great, and I’m spending some time thinking forward.  Expect some interesting changes soon….

Anyways, it’s 2:10.  I haven’t packed.  At 2am I got a text confirming I have a place to stay.  It was actually Aron telling me that his friend Angel will text me.

Angel heard about my photography, and she lives right next to where the conference is.  She’s meeting me at thae airport. She sounds really cool… I don’t know much about her though, as I only asked at 10:20pm

last minute couchsurfing shoutout

In 4 hours, someone got a hold of me, and I already know that since she’s friends of Aron, she must be interesting and fun.

I feel I haven’t blogged in a while…. maybe that’s why I’m blogging at 2:30am, while my bag is unpacked.

Oh yeah, clothes.  I bought a bunc of new ones over the last few days.  Mock me if you must, but I’m looking schnazzy, and I did so very affordably at Ross. I love my new Kenneth Cole belt.  Anything Kenneth Cole looks amazing on me.  I don’t know how or why that is.  If Kenneth reads this, and wants to sponsor my journey, I will wear Kenneth Cole all day, all night (but not ALL of every night… if you know what I mean.)

So, yeah… feel I haven’t blogged in a while.  I’ve certainly been swamped with work.  So, now I’m making up for it.

Ok, seriously- gotta go pack! Stop reading!  I mean it, I gotta go!  Well… ok… I’ll just write more from Cali– it’s bound to be interesting!  Check out where I’m going.

I think I may do more event photography- it’s a fun way to travel, and I like events.  Give me a few days, I’ll organize an album.

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

Everyone wants to know how Mardi Gras was…. Find out on the podcast!

Check out the Couchcast

Download the episode for home/car/plane/etc.. listening.

I also talk about some killer ways to save money based on group buying, and how to use that for your own advertising and marketing.  What the heck a hackintosh is, and how that’s going.  And of course, the latest trouble I’m looking to get into

If you want to meet up in Dallas, contact me. There’s a place that has all you can eat sushi, all you can drink sake… that should be a good place.

There’s also many Fun things to do in Dallas that I’d like to check out.  Many are free, or close to it!  Wanna go?

Why am I going to Dallas?  One reason is to keep traveling.  Another reason is because Couch 23 is having his first gallery exhibit, and I’m going to show my support.  Another one of my couches that I’ve surfed has his Tuesday night poker nights, and I’ve always missed those.  So, that’s getting done TODAY!

Exploring the Fun things to do in Dallas will be fun too!

Oh yeah!  There may be some crotch rocket riding, and definitely some motorcycle photography. Let’s hope for some awesome weather.  It’s been a long time since I rode a street-bike.  Used to have a Honda CBR 600 F2. It was a beautiful bike!

I got shot in the leg one time with a paintball gun, while driving 110 mph.  That sucked.  It was a fun bike, it was fun to ride.  That was in 2001 that it got stolen.  So, maybe there’ll be some riding this week

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

Couchsurfing Radio Episode #2 was a fast-paced humor-filled, inspiration laced ride!  It’s hard to believe that just last week I spent an hour of going “uhhhhh”- and harder to believe that yet again, I threw it together!

At first, neither I nor my listeners could get on! I set the settings wrong, and we had to move the show to 11:30pm EST, instead of 11. But from that point, everything was on track.

Check out the Couchcast

This time, I had two guests.  Hottie adventurer entrepreneur Ingrid Vanderveldt who races motorcycles, jumps out of a plane, is building up a company valued at $100,000,000, and knows the value of being unique, and seeking mentors. I find her inspirational, and she tries to empower women-entrepreneurs. Read the rest of this entry »

Fireworks - seems like a good pic for the new year

As of 2pm on January 1^st, I will have been couchsurfing a full 3 years. I have to admit, it’s gone by quickly. Everyone says “Where did the year go?” But because I blogged more this year, I actually know where it went.  I didn’t blog everything- but here’s my summary.. Read the rest of this entry »

Many people have asked me for more “Day in the life” kind of stuff. I was at Kevin & Will’s to hang, and eat fried Deer and southern food. I’ll start with a video (shot on my webcam): Read the rest of this entry »

Eric and Nelle

The other day I posted about my visit to Eric Farewell’s place, and I said that I’d post some pictures, so … here they are.  The funny thing is that one of the reasons we met was because Eric liked my camera.  This time, he liked my new camera as well, but I had a hard-on for this lens he had: 35mm 1.4.  It’s very crisp, and lets you blur out the background pretty well also.  And.. it’s also the lens all of these are shot with: Read the rest of this entry »

The Leonid Meteor Shower is a yearly event when the comet Temple-Tuttle swings by and pieces of it and it’s tail drop off into our atmosphere. If you want to know more, read about it on WikiPedia — it’s quite interesting. One of the nice things about the Leonids is that you can see them with the naked eye (no, you don’t have to be naked…. and that distracts the other meor watchers).  I wanted to go out and photogrpah it.  There’s a neat site http://www.tabwin.com/leonids/ that lets you see the times the storm will be visible from each part of the world.  I determined that 4am would be a good time for Central Florida (Oh yeah… I just missed the Shuttle Launch yesterday by about an hour. *sigh*). I set my alarm (cell phone) for Read the rest of this entry »

The very 1st

I’m so excited.  I got e-mailed this photo tonight from my 1st buyer of my BalloonBoyWear shirts.

Will is wearing this awesome design:

If it's on TV, it must be true!

At least this image makes a 2nd joke

“Don’t you know it’s 3:30AM? People are sleeping!”

“Yeah… but not you!  Anyways– I saw you tweet two seconds ago.”

“Heh… busted.  What’s going on?”

It was an hour and a half of fun conversation with Caleb Jennings, one of my couches and co-adventurers.  I’m fairly sure that I’ve mentioned him before (he’s in my Heart Attack Grill posting), and I always look forward to our conversations.  Why (and Why, as compared to many other people’s conversations)?  Because adventure and travel always come up!  Also, while Caleb is young, he’s read more business books, psychology books, etc… than most people, so we always get to swap the latest ideas.  Just to brag a tiny bit more… he’s currently working with Joe Sugarman… copywriting LEGEND.

So… I mentioned some ladybug joke, right? Well… here’s what happened: Read the rest of this entry »

At couch 60, the guys never stop! There’s always musicians or rappers coming through. They have “Vibe” sessions — where people just make lyrics up as they go… or music up as they go… Here’s one such session (I have a few more, but video takes a while to process, so… you’re going to have to wait):

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GOX-kdKVlME#GU5U2spHI_4 640 480]

My alarm was set for 3:30am, and I left at 4am. Why so early? Because Angela was going to arrive at Baltimore International at 10:45. I spoke to Angela the night before, and she said I can get there by noon, that way they have girl time, and I don’t have to leave as early. I just go for it though… I wanted to be there on time. Once it was daytime, I was on the phone. I spoke to Couch 4, as we were working on a project with Couch 53… we were going to market his skateboard and t-shirts…. quite original designs, and this stuff would move fast, I’m certain of it! However… this has been too long in negotiations, and we decided to scrap the contract, since we’ve put too much into it, and it seemed the client wasn’t putting in nearly as much effort. Actually, that wasn’t till the next week that we scrapped the contract. The day I got into Maryland, I sat in the car and tried the last negotiation. While I was finishing up, Angela and Amy arrived. Angela of course was trying to molest me while I’m still on the phone. One week later, on my way to New York, I would notify Couch 53′s partner that we are going to pass on marketing them.

We were supposed to go White-Water rafting that day, or the next… However, Couch 45 (Amy) decided it would be too cold, so we didn’t. I was pretty bummed, ’cause I’ve gone in freezing wa ter before…. I’ve gone water-skiing in the great lakes, in a wet-suit.. er… think it’s a dry-suit when it gets that cold. No worries. I was just happy to be around them. Amy strikes, or has in the past left the impression as a serious no-bullshit kinda girl. It was this perception that was completely shattered. This girl has one crazy sense of humor! In fact, I know call her my long-lost twin sister! Really! We call each other up “What up sis? ” “How’s it going bro?” Which is cool, ’cause my brothers and I sort of wanted a sister. Amy is like my friggin twin though! She’s athletic, a go-getter, does what she wants, gets angry when her time is wasted, and likes to mess with people! I had no idea! Guess that’s the whole book/judging thing. Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve spoken to Jessica (Couch 6) since I’ve left her no clothes party a few times, and she’s gotten promoted within the speed speed skating industry.. she now co-coordinates the races. Yay couch 6! She also hasn’t heard from the Other photographer that was at the event. Too bad, ’cause he had some pics of everyone (including me). I know how you people feel when I, or anyone else takes your photo, and you just have to wait and wait and wait. Trust me folks, I’m working on catching up through these 27,000 photos from 2007. After Jessica’s party, I did get to hang out with Couch 5 for a bit as well, and I saw Couch 4 on my way to Tampa for a few minutes. I still haven’t spoken to Victoria, who flaked out on going to the party, and therefore did not become the next couch. She did try to call me a few days later, but I was in the middle of something, and she didn’t leave a message. Being flaky is a good way to burn bridges with me.

The drives have all been beautiful… It is the time of year when the trees change colors, and if you haven’t seen it in person, I highly recommend an October drive across Maryland / Virginia. A sea of green, with foaming waves of red and orange of all shades. It is breathtaking… This is not something I have too many photos of, as I was driving. I have gotten quite adept at taking photos while driving out of either window and the sunroof.

In Georgia, I was supposed to go Kayaking with Couch 24. I couch surfed with his new lady, Alyx (Couch 57), who is an optimistic ball of affection! Even her cat, Zeppelin is a lover. Here’s a few shots of Alyx, her cat, and her window-fairy. Read the rest of this entry »

I left South Florida on Saturday morning’ish. I made it to Tampa by Saturday evening, in time to make it to Couch #6′s NO CLOTHES party…. This was after an ex girlfriend of mine flaked out last minute. Read the rest of this entry »