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 »

I want to write… daily… I want to write to you.  But, as one of the most frequent questions I get is “How do you pay for all your travels?” I have to do the occasional project.

It’s 4:30am on a Saturday, and I’m watching Julie/Julia (more on that later).  I have to pick Craig up at the airport at noon.  My day was awesome!  I jogged in the morning– which I discovered to be way easier for me than jogging in the afternoon, I’m not sure why.  I wore no shirt.  Oh yeah- I learned at the Longevity Conference that when you get sun, you get Vitamin D(3) – but your skin produces it, and it takes 12 hours to absorb into the skin, and the blood stream… so, if you go in the sun, don’t wash off with soap right away.  Use water, soap in the major area (groin and pits), and maybe strategic use of deodorant, otherwise you’re washing away all that vitamin D(3) which brings such calm and happiness.

I worked in the afternoon.  I’m still processing photos from the Longevity Conference.  I shot over 3,000 photos there.  I worked barefoot and shirtless in the back yard.  Bentley loved it.  I got a ton of Vitamin D(3) – and a nice tan! – and I’m also down 5 pounds since last week (despite having had the munchies the other day, and having eaten a giant rice-krispies-treat egg, and massive quantities of this uber-rich chocolate cake with fudge layers in between!  I even had a talk with myself on my way to my friend’s house that I would not eat sugary stuff… *sigh*).

Today was my 2nd day of eating 100% raw.  I’m not trying to do a 30 day raw challenge like last year (though it wouldn’t hurt), I’m just trying to eat more healthy… and it’s working.  I’ve also been taking Magnesium, L-Argenine, Fish Oil (Omega 3′s supposed to help ADHD people, which I suspect I am…. you don’t need a richter scale to know that you’re in the middle of an earthquake, if you know what I mean), and… hmmm.. can’t remember the other one.

I’m making my 1st Coconut Kefir.  I’m almost nervous.  How will it turn out?  Will it taste good? Will it be poisonous?  It was really easy to prep– just chop open 2 coconuts, pour ‘em into a 1 quart pot, heat up to skin temperature, and pour in the starter pack.  Yup, I got a starter pack.. I don’t feel like poisoning anyone by playing with probiotics (the friendly bacteria that live in your digestive tract).

With Craig being in California, I’ve been using the blender on my own.  He is the smoothie king, but now, left to my own devices, I’ve gotten to do the typical Ori thing… experiment!  Yesterday’s smoothie was a total success.  Coconut,Avocado (really thickens things up– I added it last, and saw just how much!), cacco, macca, shilajit, strawberries, ataulfo mangoes, cayanne pepper, cinnamon, a tiny bit of OJ (because the Shilajit or Maca made things a bit bitter).  Before I left to Dallas, I had blended up all sorts of stuff including cucumber, and other stuff, and it was way too bitter, so I poured in a can of Red Bull, and that did the trick.

That brings me back to the movie that’s currently on pause, ’cause the urge to write was too strong… that, and it practically made me cry (ok… it made me cry a little… ’cause I can relate to it. *sigh* way to admit stuff publicly).

I started watching this movie with Kathryn in Dallas… but the internet was crapping out, so we blew it off and slept instead.  As I watch it now (as background material while I process through all these photos), I’m moved by it.

It’s about this girl who has a stressful and unrewarding job… heck, let’s just say it.  She has a shitty job! She’s at the place where people call to complain about medical problems after 9/11, and they’re all getting dicked around by the system, so they take it out on her.  She’s really passionate about cooking though, so she sets up a blog. In her blog, she tries to cook the entire Julia Child cook book in 1 year.

That’s the plot- I didn’t ruin anything for you.  I’m 1 hour 33 minutes into it.  It’s great seeing someone do what they’re passionate about.  There’s her interactions with her family, and with her husband…. a lot of it hits home.  Talks of “I never finished anything in my life!”  That seems to be something a lot of people feel, me included.  It also talks about the narcissistic nature of blogging!  I never thought of it. This blog, while it covers marketing, while it covers photography, adventure, travel, humor, and whatever else…. it’s about me – no matter what I might tell myself.

Guess I’m a narcissist, eh?  There’s worse things to be.  But, I think every blogger should watch this.

I was originally told that it was so-so, and a chick-flick… but it’s a lot of fun!  Julia Child’s character is so adorable! The story is actually pretty deep, and learning about Julia Child’s life is fascinating.  I can’t even tell you how it ends, because I haven’t gotten that far.

Damn it! I did it again! It’s titled “Just a quick note” and it’s another frigging novel!  I just like writing.  I feel like I’m telling a dear friend what’s on my mind, or the occasional useful information.

Just remind me to tell you in another blog post:  What’s going on with my photography.  What’s up with my art.  Whatever did happen with those fried pies in Oklahoma?  Tony Hsieh’s new book.  The latest movies I’ve seen (Slumdog Millionaire was really great). And… since it’s now 4:55 (now you know how much I can write in how little time) – I’m going to go back to processing photos and watching this movie.

I just didn’t want the site to collect too much dust… and I’m not very good at writing short/meaningless posts to “just write something”.

Oh yeah- I need to post my last 3 episodes of CouchSurfingRadio.

Yup, never enough to do.

So, I’m shooting photos at SXSW, and have a schedule. I noticed I was on fumes… for a while…. and the engine sounded different even! I was trying to find a gas station downtown with the last of my fumes (Oh yeah… traffic made for really long fume-consuming drive), ‘cept there was  no gas station!

My hero to the rescue... with a bundt cake

I get antsy if I can’t make it on time (early) to anything I need to shoot.  I decided to F**k it, I’ll get gas somehow later. Park now, figure out car later.

I sat down, shot photos of the panel, and sent out this tweet “Oh yeah! My car’s on fumes. Will trade 1L of Tito’s Vodka + portrait to the person who can bring a good size gas canister w/ gas. Dm me”

I had to shoot until 6.  I got to my car at 6:20, and had Kathryn already parked near mine, gas container at her feet, and a home made bundt cake wrapped in shiny aluminum.  I guess you can insert a knight in shining armor joke here, right?

I had multiple people offer to rescue me.  The funny thing is that Kathryn was in the audience when I was lecturing at Social Business Boot Camp the other week, in Dallas.  She had engaged me on twitter to get my thoughts on her 1st blog post- go check it out, and comment your thoughts about how shy people can engage.  I left a long comment, or two… and then gave her a few things to change on her site to make it more personable (permalinks, gravatar, admin nick, etc).

The interesting thing is that she claims to be shy.  We never actually spoke at my lecture.  The only reason we spoke was on twitter, when she tweeted me.

Now, if her day had gone as planned, she’d already been parked, and would not’ve left the garage to go get me gas.

I just think it’s awesome that through social media, you can solve problems such as being out of gas… in a fun and creative manner.

Today at SXSW’s Booze-bloggers panel presentation, Elizabeth Bellanti was talking about what a cult following they have, and how Tito’s Vodka has grown because of people talking about it…   I told the story of how I discovered Tito’s Vodka, and she told the panel that I was highly responsible for their social media success.  *blush*

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

What did I do in Dallas?

Billboard climbing

Art fair

warehouse party

consulting

met new people

got a speaking and mc gigs for next month

played poker (learned to play poker actually)

There was more… and that’s why you need to listen to Episode 7.  You can hear what the listeners who got their consulting thought, and check out a funny conversation with Jason Moffatt.  That reminds me– this is the first episode to have the word “shit” in it.  I was wondering how long the G rating would last

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/Couchsurfingradio-Couchcast-number7-February-08-2010-Jason-moffatt-dallas-adventures-art.mp3[/podcast]

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

What to do if you don’t have plates or bowls to make soup in? Use glass cups of course, as they are microwave safe. .. What if they don’t fit in the microwave? Watch this, and have a laugh

Many more crazy moments from this trip…. editing it now!

My friend Michael Lovitch has Poker Night every Tuesday.  I’ve wanted to make it to this for a very long time.  I finally got to attend. They also have “Night rider Sundays” which I’ll have to come back another time for.

Night rider Sundays are a bicycle bar-hopping event.  I don’t drink much (these days… when I’m not at events.  When at events, I let loose), but that sounds like a blast.  I did drink this evening.

I didn’t know it, but Michael and I were not allowed to be back at the house before 2AM.  His daughter takes after him in his night owl tendencies.  I have the same tendencies, and while Michael likes to joke around about everything, he takes the “5 year olds need to get their sleep” subject very seriously.

I’m on paragraph 4, and I still haven’t mentioned that I don’t really know how to play poker!  Ooops.  So here’s what happened: Read the rest of this entry »

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

Didn’t make the show? That’s too bad, ’cause that’s where the information on how to get free consulting.

For this week’s show, I asked people what they wanted to hear, and gave it to them. The short version: My predictions on where tablet technology is going, ways to be more productive, P90x and fitness, a bit of consulting on the show, as well as giving away 3 one hour sessions of consulting for the next day. Need your problems solved? Catch the next episode, and follow @couchsurfingori on twitter… I’ll be posting when the next giveaway, and may do live consults as a regular part of the show.

[podcast]http://www.couchsurfingori.com/couchsurfing-radio/couchsurfing-couchcasts/Couchsurfingradio-Couchcast-number6-February-01-2010-ipads-consulting-productivity-fitness.mp3[/podcast]
Download the episode for home/car/plane/etc.. listening.

People can be so great! My dad’s been telling me my whole life that everyone is out to screw me (the bad kind), and yet, I keep seeing people do great things for each other! Since my journey has relied heavily on building networks of people, connecting with people, and even the kindness of people, I thought I would go and meet (and get a couch invite from) Keith Ferrazzi, the man who (literally) wrote the book on connecting with people: Never Eat Alone.

Keith’s presentation was great, and he talks about how people connect with people, and everyone wins.  Here’s the ultimate proof.  While signing books (his new book, Who’s Got Your Back, is already a New York Times #1 Bestseller), one attendee, David Goodrich, mentioned to Keith that he would like to someday sing the national anthemn in front of a large crowd at a sports event. The following is what happened immediately after!

If you have a sporting event, and would like to hire David, or send him fan mail, e-mail him at: goodrich9@gmail.com or call him at 972.470.0332

http://www.sxsw.com/ is an interactive/film/music festival in Austin, TX.  I drove 17 hours (again) to get there.  I wasn’t sure if I was going until just a few days ago….  I actually considered flight for once… but by the time I got to considering it, prices were way too steep.  This way I get to smile at the knowledge that I did not give some airline $15 for my 1st bag

I was invited to a private Press Only dinner by Ford, on the 12th. They invited me (’cause I’m so friggin cool, Duh!) ’cause I’m a popular blogger/twitterer.  Learn from that companies… seriously…. embrace the new media- people trust that more than they do the (bullshit/manufactured/depressing) news.  The event was to discuss the inspiration behind the 2010 Ford Taurus SHO.  I used to have a Ford Taurus back in 1994.  It was a great car, and I ran it into the ground (my folks had to come tow me back home… using the car as a big suitcase).– apparently, they don’t like being driven when you have a massive leak in your radiator Read the rest of this entry »

“Don’t talk to strangers”  <– what a terrible thing to say to a child! It’s a great way to destroy their future.  What better way is there to make them shy, anxious, jealous, and miserable.  The one who has the most friends is often happiest, and most successful (give or take some points for actually being a good person too).  I’m violating a lot of those parental rules by staying with strangers, meeting strangers, accepting candy from strangers, etc..  And I’m (literally) having the time of my life doing it.  So when I pulled into Plano (near Dallas), people on twitter saw that, and one invited to treat me to breakfast the next day.  Free meal!  Hooray!  Actually, I can afford food   The concept of meeting someone new is always fun, so I accepted. Here’s what happened: Read the rest of this entry »