In this post, I actually give you a real set of stories from my travels… but I’m not 100% sure how to format my book.  I’d really love your feedback!

ARGH! Who knew a book was tough to write? Well, I guess everyone, ’cause not everyone does it… but once you get started, all these little details come up: Read the rest of this entry »

I signed up for a 185 mile relay race in Seattle that will take place in July.  I can bring Webber with me.  That dog likes to run, and I had asked JMo before I even came here if I can bring the dog on road trips, “Sure… if he’s safe, I’m cool!”  So why did I say yes to the race? It all started with Radio Shack! Read the rest of this entry »

Dear friend – yes you!

I have something really important to tell you. It’s very exciting, and very difficult for me all at once.

I’ve arrived here in La Jolla, CA where the weather is truly amazing, and I am house-sitting for the next 5-6 weeks.

On my drive here from Austin, TX I had a lot of time to think, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the best answers come from asking the right questions. My question that I chose was “How do I make the best use of house-sitting near the beach for 6 weeks?”

I came up with many ideas, but the ones that made the most sense are also the most difficult, and I’d like to share them with you.

I have completed 3.5 years of couchsurfing around the USA.  I’ve met the most incredible people that I could ever imagine.  I have had amazing adventures, where Read the rest of this entry »

This is a short post… I made it to Phoenix, AZ where I’m staying with some people I’ve never met before.  Funny enough, that’s exactly what happened last time I went to Phoenix.  But anyways, we’re off to Sedona, AZ.  I’m bringing the camera!  I was actually working on blogging yesterday’s 16 hours drive, but… we’re going, so I just wanted to let you know where I’m going   Adventure!

I love Austin. I tell everyone that for a strange individual like me, it’s home… there’s a lot to do, there’s great food, never-ending music, hot girls, business-minded people, support for the weird…. it’s the only place that has had a homeless transvestite run for mayor and get 3rd place.  It’s just a great city, and I have my Austinite friends that I’m missing before I even leave– people like Craig Allen, Kate Buck Jr, Will Stoerner / Kevin Eaton (they live in the same house, and have been friends since 4th grade or something, so I always list them together), Katie Brown, Perry Belcher, David Gonzalez, Jimmy Walters the Fourth.   There’s more… but these are people who have Read the rest of this entry »

Sponge Bob Square Pants died in BP oil spill!

Here’s a fun one to share with your friends!

British Petroleum has a gag order on their staff.  During this cleanup, no one can tell you what’s really going on.  So… all those dead animals, all that failure on stopping the flow of oil…. yeah, they can’t

Click this to see BP's "Oil Spill" ad

talk about it.  Additionally, BP is paying for sponsored ads, so whenever you search for a term like “Oil Spill” their ad shows up at the top, like so (see image on left).

Their BP ad (the one with the yellow background) costs them money for each click.  It takes you to their page, where they get to present the information however they want to… i.e. “BP cares, loves you, are the good guys, and are really making the world a better place…. and a little oil in your sea food is good for you!”

Now, I may be paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the idea.

The sad part is that millions of people do not know that it is an ad.  They search for “Oil Spill” (or any other term relating to the worst ecological catastrophe in history), they see “BP”, click on it, and think they are seeing the real news, and thus believe it.

So, to show BP that this campaign is just a waste of their money, and that people are smarter than that, just keep searching for Oil Spill, and clicking on BP’s ads!  Then just hit the back button on your browser, you’re back in the Google page, and you can click again… rinse and repeat!

Send your friends to this page! With enough people doing this, maybe BP can invest their resources into cleaning the environment, rather than just trying to bully us into thinking that everything’s peachy.

Here! I’ll save you the effort– Just click here, and it will take you to a Google page where you can click on oil ads.

Have fun!

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 falls under “Holy shit!” – I don’t know if it’s 100% what happened… but I certainly have my suspicions…. especially after playing with Google for a bit! Stupid brutal honesty.  *sigh* here goes:

1st of all, you should read, or at least Skim “A Sad Post” because that is what I’m talking about in this post.

So today I woke up in a fine mood. I went to brush my teeth, and as I reached inside my toiletries bag to grab the tube of toothpaste by feel, I grabbed something else.  The item I grabbed is a green bottle with the label Read the rest of this entry »

I generally try to keep things upbeat.  Even when I’m angry at someone.  But it’s rare that I am sad, and today I have been.  Right now, I’m more along the lines of indifferent, but there were tears coming out and that kind of stuff.  I keep things honest for you, so… here’s my underbelly. 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 »

I’m on day 5 of my cleanse.  I’ve lost 7 pounds already.  I’m going to be very much myself in this (and future posts), which means a little more crass humor, more puns, and more foul language.  Why?  Because I joke around, tell puns, and use (what some consider) offensive language in my daily communications.  I take on friends and clients that appreciate me for me, and since you’re reading my blog… we’re friend.  I guarantee you that the shit that I’m writing in THIS particular blog post is really awkward to tell a stranger (or even a friend), so… we’re friends, right?

Remember: I look for adventure, and I define adventure as “new experiences” -

Ok…. I mentioned a lot of this on my Monday night internet radio show (http://CouchSurfingRadio.com) – and maybe even in parts of my blog, but here’s the story: Read the rest of this entry »

The human body gets rid of toxins by excreting them one way or another… but since we live in such polluted environments, option B gets used more and more often, which is hiding the waste in fat and other cells in the body. Do I believe all that? Well, yeah…. Do I care? hmmm…. probably. Though, not too much. I mean, we all sit around in front of our radiation emitting devices, holding them up to our heads, while eating the shittiest food we can. Trust me, I”m no angel, and I’m no healthy hippy! I know many of them.

Since I do know a bunch of them, I am at least aware of what I am ingesting, and my environment… So, when I got back from a 3 week road trip, where my diet consisted mostly of Taco Bell, coffee, and other things you can get near the freeway Read the rest of this entry »

I was pretty flabbergasted to find out that I’ve had no car insurance since February.I’ve driven A LOT since then, and only found out at the tail end of a 4,000 mile trip.  I can type the whole thing out, but I recorded the entire thing, which is way funnier.  A word of caution, I curse a bit in this   In fact, it goes a little like this: Traveler’s Insurance can go fuck themselves!   Anyways… here’s the recording of me telling a friend the whole thing.

Since then, I’ve gotten insurance with Flo… er… Progressive Insurance, but it cost me $1,450 instead of $990, as I did not have proof of previous insurance.

I’ve also paid the state of Georgia their $25 for their efforts in telling me that my registration will be suspended…. so now my registration is safe.  I did have to call in to speak to someone, as they have a lot of things that you can pay for to many different departments… the form says “You can pay online at” – but it doesn’t tell you what this falls under.  No biggie.

Now, I can bitch and moan about Traveler’s screwing me over, or my insurance broker not calling me to tell me they had a hick-up and couldn’t run the payment…. but in the end, everything is our own fault.  I should’ve had my mail checked more frequently.

To make sure this never happens again, I am checking out two services… if you’ve used ‘em, I’d love your feedback:  http://paytrust.com/ and EarthClassMail — here’s their video:

I’m back in Austin, after a long trip. I wrote 15 pages so far describing it, but it’s way too personal.  Guess that’ll have to wait until my book comes out, when names are changed to protect people.

What’s the short version?

I left Austin on Tuesday the 4th with a passenger, whom is female, and prefers not to be written about.  We drove 19 hours to Read the rest of this entry »

One of my goals for this year was to get decent at the guitar… that didn’t happen, but… since I made the goal public, why not have some fun at my expense, while bringing a smile to a friend on his birthday?

I had the roach suit…. had a guitar…. I couldn’t sing or play the guitar… but that’s all right.

Despite being completely mortified, and having my brain yell at me at how people will laugh at me, how this is going on the internet – thus can’t be removed if it’s that awfu…. you know, standard brain stuff.  But, I was able to say “Shut up, I’m doing this!”

I keep telling people that if they are petrified of doing something… then that is something thaty must do!  Well.. I took my own medicine. Despite never singing and playing the guitar at once (or doing much of each separately), I recorded my 1st effort and here’s what I got: Read the rest of this entry »

If you want a quick dose of happiness, rent a roach suit.  I rented a roach suit! Then I wore it to go to the grocery store, and showed up at a few friends’ offices. Here’s my story (Pictures at the bottom)

It was a great day indeed– I refused to go to sleep until I finished this custom Twitter Background for someone, and when I woke up, it was to an e-mail saying how much the work rocked.  Then I got to see my buddy Tex… Well, actually, it’s Dave Bredesen, but I always called him Tex ’cause when I met him, I was living in Florida, and he was living in Austin.

He did always tell me that I’d love Austin, and boy, was he right!  Actually, how we met is entertaining.  It was at Read the rest of this entry »

Today is tax day.  Some post offices stay open till midnight.  I was going to e-file, like I always do.  TurboTax.  It did not work today- not sure why.  I did my organizing last night, so today should have been plug and play…. but that wasn’t the case.  It told me that I gotta print, and mail, not e-file.  So I went to the post office, which was closed.  So, I ended up filing electronically through Freefilefillableforms.com for free, for an extension…. until I figure out what’s going on (probably tomorrow) – - but now my taxes are not done… an incomplete loop, I got a few of those to close (that’s why I won’t sleep much today).

Anyways- that part was annoying, but other than that, it’s AWESOME out!  Check it:

Kathryn calls me up and reminds me that Mother’s Day is coming up. In fact, she reminded me so by telling me that their new technology can probably make my mom a pendant out a photo of my 2 brothers and I.  It sounded awesome- I like creative gifts, but mom doesn’t wear jewelry, so it would just sit there, appreciated, but not worn. I thought of what the next surprise be.

I know!  I’ll visit Mom!  My uncle from Israel is visiting them, I can get my little bro on the way…. and I’ve been tough on myself for not having a crazy enough adventure lately, so why not hit up some hang gliding in Chattanooga?  I’ve always wanth ted to do that.  So, I told Kathryn about it– said she can go if she wants…. “You can be her present!”  “Are you sure she’d be ok with you just showing up with some random stranger?”  “Are you kidding me?? If I show up with some girl, she’ll think it’s the best mother’s day ever.”

Now, rewind a few posts, and Kathryn saw me speaking at a social media event in Dallas, then was the one who showed up to my rescue when I ran out of gas at SXSW.  How we spoke for the first time, was that she had posted a link to her 1st blog post…. and tweeted me that she’d love to see what I thought about it.  You can read my comment on there. Now I went and spent Easter over there, saw her neighborhood’s Easter Parade, and got to watch how Jewelry is made with Cad/Cam (design it on the computer, and the machine makes a physical model).

Back to the present- Mom won’t wear a pendant, but Kathryn didn’t freak out at a semi-joke, when I mentioned Hanggliding– this is fun! Taking a shy/quiet person, and taking them hang gliding?  She kept swearing that she’d never jump out of a plane, and I always said “You say that, now“  – so I actually brought Hang gliding up as “Well, it’s not skydiving” — personally, I think Hang gliding is more fun…. you can be up in the air longer, with more control, you can ride thermals up, etc… Cheaper too– you don’t need a parachute, and all that gasoline.

The details started filling in…. I had asked Craig recently what he thought of going hang gliding, and he said he’d be interested… so I started scheming– planning it on a weekend, so Craig can make it out with us.

Katie was telling me about a rough day yesterday, but not much about it.. just that it was, but today she decided that it was gonna be a great day, so it was… I said I agree, and told her that Kathryn agreed to go hang gliding. Katie lit up like Times Square…. “Hang gliding?  I wanna go!  I love hang gliding (followed in a later conversation by “I’ve been towed by planes, taken off a boat, jumped off the side of a mountain!”  – that’s awesome!  So… Katie’s going, Kathryn’s going… oh yeah… Katie hasn’t visited her cousin – who lives in Tennessee.

I forgot to mention that her cousin works in a White Water Rafting company…. screw it!  We’re adding White Water Rafting to our trip!

The funny thing is that earlier I was telling her that going Hang gliding will be life changing for her… ’cause if you never think of doing stuff like that, there’s a reason why…. and when you push your comfort zone to do something that you’ve never done before… so much so that you never even bothered imagining yourself doing that…. well, you’re gonna have quite the adrenaline rush, and I predict a nice juicy bite in the ass by the adventure bug!

“Well… how hard can this client meeting be, I mean.. I jumped off a friggin mountain!”

“So, after you go hang gliding, you can go on a milder adventure, and take your dad– like whitewater rafting”- and sure enough, later in the day whitewater rafting gets added.

I started calling, texting, and tweeting people– “Wanna join us for some hang gliding?”

Well… I kept adding— since I have until the 10th to kill.  So, drive to Tennessee on the 29th, by way of Dallas, to get Kathryn.  Be there by the 30th- hang glide for 3 days, then go white water rafting…. then go to Georgia, go to the Georgia Aquarium (which is mind blowingly awesome), and even sleep there… they have a thing where you can camp out there, and watch the whale sharks all night long.  I’m so down!  Then, go kayaking on the French Broad.

What luck!  Neither Kathryn nor Katie have ever been kayaking, and now Katie was saying she may ride along for the whole trip— ’cause she went to school down there, and has friends down there.   So…. get to Gainesville, FL on the 5th or 6th, get Itay and Nugget, and surprise the crap out of mom in South Florida.  Haven’t thought of the details… Maybe send Kathryn in to the house with my fake (but very real looking) gun?  Nah… poor girl, and my parents… they’d all be traumatized.   I suppose the machette is out too, and I lent out my rocket launcher to a friend of mine for a tv show they’re doing….

Maybe I’ll send Itay in, so Mom and Dad think he’s being sweet and showing up for Mother’s Day… I have him leave the door open (I do have a key), and then I Sneak in, and surprise them.  Or… maybe I’ll send Itay in with Kathryn, and see if they recognize her… ’cause I just did a shoot with Kathryn, and I sent the folks a copy of the picture.  That may be the way to go….  Confusion’s a fun one.

Once in South Florida, Kayaking in the mangroves, rent Jet-skis, water ski at the Ski Rixen , and ride an airboat through the Everglades.

Make mom some awesome brunch for mother’s day- maybe catch a musical performance somewhere, or dinner theatre, and then head back on the 10th– dropping Itay and Nugget off, making a pit stop in Atlanta, and then… having an extra day before Kathryn has to be back at the office, we’ll actually find some cool adventure between Atlanta, GA, and Dallas, TX.  Any suggestions?

We’ll probably ride in 2 cars.  Craig’s probably bringing Bentley, and Katie’s probably bringing Bentley- is that weird? They both have dogs named Bentley.

Basically, a 2 week roadtrip that evolved fully in one day.  It definitely fills up my adventure hole in my heart.  There’s many people to meet along the way.

So, yeah.. .I’m pretty excited.  Now… here’s some info, in case you want to go – either now, or later.

http://hangglide.com/ has the Weekend Package which is $399, for training, and 20 jumps off the short (65 foot hills- as compared to being thrown off a 1,500 foot cliff right away) hills, and 2 aero-tow lifts (get towed behind a small plane/glider  – so you do get the 2,000 foot experience).  I am actually signing up for the Mountain Package at $699 – which gets you ready for Level 1 & Level 2 certification- meaning you can fly solo (non-tandem) off a mountain afterwards.

One of my friends/couches is Derek, whom I just found out works for Thrill Planet, so he told me what their price is on hanggliding- or what rate he can get me as the couchsurfer (I crashed with him for a month in 2007) discount… but Hangglide.com has the same rate for tandem jums.  The thing that surprised me was that I was told the price.. I had actually asked for what would be a bulk rate, since I’m bringing a bunch of people… so I was given the rate, then I asked what I get for it- and I was told 30-40 minutes in the air on a tandem jump.  Well, $399 is a tiny bit more than double the price I was given… but it seemed absurd- why take one measly flight, when for a little more, I can get 20 jumps + 2 tows, and hang out there for 3 days– oh yeah.. forgot to mention, we’re camping!

We’re totally bringing the helmet cam!

Let’s get a few things out of the way.

TJ is 17. I am 33. He has dropped out of high school, and is debating college.  I dropped out of college, and debate on a daily basis what do I want to do next.

I have thousands of hours of audio book listening, couchsurfing with industry experts, reading regular books, and attending conferences on an extremely diverse range of topics (I’ve been to Cosmetics conferences, fishing conferences, manufacturing, modeling, photography, and of course, marketing).

One could say that I have an unfair advantage here. But, I’ve earned my network, TJ wants to get introduced to it, and Ideation is a skill that the strengths finder says he has in his top 5, while it is not listed in my top 5.

That being said, there is a beauty in not having the experience that I have.  Kids often have the best ideas, because they haven’t been told that they can’t do stuff yet.  They haven’t had the school and corporate system crush their dreams and creativity yet.  The same is true with TJ.  His younger age has prevented him from having many of the bad experiences I’ve gone through, and he is not as conditioned and set in his ways as I am.  That, and at 17, he has not killed as many brain cells as I have.

I already get paid to dispense my ideas (consult), and make them happen (implement), which is why this isn’t about me.  This is about giving TJ a chance to prove what he can do, and give people an opportunity to see (well.. hear) what strong ideation can do for them.

That being said, SEO questions , and the like, will not be answered, as TJ had to google what SEO is.  This is about creativity.  If you need ideas- directions to go, personal problems solved, directions for your business, ways of outdoing the competition…. You will get a lot of out this. Kate Buck Jr will be moderating the event.

Ask your questions here in the comment section, and tune in tonight at 11pm EST to http://CouchSurfingRadio.com -  tell any of your friends that are in a bind.

A younger gentleman contacted me that I’d make a good role model.  I love helping, and he did find me on ENTP.org — contacted on FB.  I went with it.  I listened to his stories, gave feedback in full honesty about my past, my experiences, and my answers to difficult questions… even one like “Should I go to college?”

ENTP’s are often the world’s artists…. yes, Seth Gofin’s Linchpin states that art is when you put your gift into what you are doing, so accounting can be art… it’s problem solving, navigating without a map, and working on the edge of the box.  But ENTP’s are the troubled ones that can do anything.  We know we can do anything, and thus we bounce around between anything.

We’re pretty popular in advertising… come up with creative ideas, fight deadlines, show diversity, emphasize with a brand or logo.

I gave all my answers for everything– the lessons I’ve learned in life. These are not the, but give you a sense of some.

Move away from negativity, move towards the positive stuff….. sometimes easier said than done.  This can mean reading a book that bores you, or helping someone without getting anything back.  It can – and ofte does – mean having to fire your friends that are losers.  Yeah… I wrote it… and for your question of “Who is he to judget?” screw what I think… what do you think?  It’s proven…. you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with.  Income, fitness, optimisim, negativity, sarcasm, love, success– everything.

So, a loser is someone that’s holding you back.  Someone who’s not taking chances, or willing to pursue their own dreams and goals.  Someone who is fine with settling, and always talks shit about your dreams.  Ditch ‘em, and get mentors; people that inspire you to do better.  People who have already done what you want to do.  Learn from other’s mistakes… it’s much cheaper, trust me.

One thing I’ve learned is that five years from now, most everything that will have changed in your life is who you spend time with, and what books you’ve read (what you’ve learned… I do a lot of audio books / videos).  I was told that everything I said resounded as right…. Others weren’t able to connect on the same level.  Cool, I can help.

The books I suggested were Tim Ferriss’s The 4 Hour Workweek, Dale Carnegie’s Win Friends and Influence People, and Strengths Finder 2.0.

TJ took action, and got all 3 books.  I continue to help when people take action.

He said his strengths were:
Command
Ideation
Futuristic
Strategic
Self-Assurance

Mine are:

Command
Strategic
Futuristic
Activator
Self-Assurance

I’d say it sounds like he chose a role model pretty well.  I’m not talking about what my life’s been, but rather that we’re both ENTPs with 4 out of 5 overlapping strengthsfinder results.

“One day, I would love to meet you and work with you because I have noticed that you do not have Ideation listed as one of your top 5…I feel this is one of my greatest talents and I feel like out of all of them, it is what makes me stand out the most as an individual. I have endless, endless ideas. They come from everything I lay eyes on. If you used your talents and skills to help me launch them…We could make a shitload of money. A shitload. I have ideas for practically anything you can imagine….businesses included. Implementation is difficult for me though, because I have very little resources at the moment, a huge roadblock for all of my ideas is capital. This could be easily overcome if I could tap into your network….What do you think?”

Well… I value my network.  It’s my most priceless posession.  You!  Reading!  Your time and attention, and teh people I couchsurf with, do business with, go on adventure with, call friends…. It’s what I value in life.  So… to just prance into my life and say that you want access to that is balsy.  I encourage it.  Game on.  But ideation?  I don’t feel attacked, but trust me in saying that just ’cause it’s not in my top 5, does not mean that I do not posess the skill.

In fact, ideation is one of my most noticeable skills.  I can come with more uses and solutions for things than most anyone I’ve ever met.  Let’s see what he’s got.  That, and I know what motivates ENTPs    We’re a competitive bunch…. and we both have the self-assurance strength, and futuristic, so of course, we’re both going to think that we’ll win anything.    So, I challenged him…

This Monday at 11pm EST, on my weekly BlogTalkRadio show, Couchsurfing Radio, there will be an idea off!

40 Minutes of the show will be dedicated to this (Everyone still wants to know what’s up with Jason Moffatt’s cliffhanger about the Maori Healer (here’s a pic of the guy:

One of the Maori Healers at the Longevity Conference

)

The 40 minutes will be split into 8 minute segments… 2 minutes of the person with a question explaining it, then each of us gets 3 minutes.  Part of the 1st 20 minutes will be to decide which questions will be answered.  We could do 5 of these, but I doubt we’ll stay to 3 minutes each   When ideating, it’s easy to get lit up, and want to just keep going on ideas.  If something truly rocks, then we’ll keep it going.  So, we will solve 4 people’s problems.

Leave a comment with anything that you need ideas on. My strengths finder results can be found at this Blog Post on Happiness. Please share this with friends, so we can really solve people’s problems.  I charge a lot of money to do this for your company… so this is your chance to get consulting for free.  What’s not working? What would you like to do?  What’s working and you’d like to improve?  Personal? Business? Social Media? Fitness? Music? Eating? Humor? Connecting? Dude- pick a question, post it as a comment.

Which question would you like to see answered? Comment about that?  We’ll decide based on comments that have been posted by Monday night.  I know what I Can do, and I”m constantly told how helpful it is.  Let’s see what TJ has.  If he kicks ass, maybe someone will want to hire him for his creativity and ideation, which he says is a large value component of who he is.

Leave a comment, and hopefully we can give you just the idea you need.

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.

Yeah… I’m on a health kick… but I don’t turn down opportunities for adventure (new experiences).  I got to Dallas, TX last night to couchsurf with Kathryn – who is the one who rescued me when I was out of gas during South By.  She asked if I”m down for going to Oklahoma to where Fried Pie was born, and having some… so, that’s what’s up for today.  I slept in– haven’t done that in forever…  Now we’re just getting ready.  The weather is gorgeous, so we’re taking the convertible.

That’s it!  A short blog post! I knew I could write one!

Is that not an awesome outfit for the airport?

(I’m writing this one on a plane- dumbass (me) didn’t check the flights, just clicked… and ended up getting a flight from the OC to Austin, by flying from California, to Atlanta, and THEN to Austin… nice one)
“Are you gonna make it out to our event?”
“I’m not sure…”
“Well, of course you’d be our VIP guest.”
“I’m pretty booked, and I’m not sure about flight funds right now. You guys need a photographer?”
“I don’t know… you’d have to talk to Larry about that.”

That was the conversation on Skype with one of my awesome couches, Caleb Jennings.

The next day the phone rings, “You’re NOT going to believe this! I woke up at noon, and had a Skype from Larry, ‘Can Ori shoot our event? How much?’ – I hadn’t even talked to him”

I spoke to Larry, we ironed out the details, and it was on.

If that serendipity hadn’t been enough, check this out:
I was supposed to be at a 10 day silent meditation (Vipassana) center during these times. I got put on the waiting list because I waited too long. They called me up the day before, and said I can go… but I was already booked with projects.

My flight was Thursday at 6:30am. That means I need to be at the airport at 5:30am. It’s about a 20 minute drive (there’s no traffic in Austin at 5am), so we figured we’d leave at 5am.

I figured I’d stay up all night, and just sleep on the flight.

At 10pm (CST) on Wednesday, I tweeted that I needed a place to crash, and by 2am I got a text from Angel- compliments of Aron Bender. I now feel like Angel and I are old buddies, even though we barely spent time together. That’s one beautiful aspect of Couch Surfing by the way. (You can see our photo shoot at the bottom of this blog post)

4am… I’m starting to drift off, or display symptoms of what I like to call “Keyboard Head” (’cause you fall down, and your head hits the keyboard, leaving imprints of the keys in your forehead).

“I’ll just take a small nap. It will be fine, ’cause I set my alarm, and Craig set his alarm, and he’s responsible….”
“We’re not going to make it.”
“Huh?”
“It’s 6am.”

Oh crap… guess my alarm didn’t wake me after all. *sigh* Well, no reason to stress. It was $150 for a new ticket to California for the same day. Back to sleep.

Now, instead of arriving at noon, I would arrive at 7:30pm (PT). Angel was fine with that.

This gave me time to ride with Craig to his office, pick up a paycheck for some of the recent web and design projects I did for them, and even do a quick product shoot for them. No problem on making it to the airport on time at 2pm (as compared to 6am).

The Best Part

Angel came and got me. We’ve never met. How would she find me? The traditional approach “I’m wearing a brown and white striped shirt” didn’t seem like it would make it fast enough. Angel joked around that I should be doing jumping jacks between 7:45 and 7:55. I did, and she found me very easily!

I gotta tell you, that was semi embarassing. I was nervous about doing it, being concerned about “What would people think?” and “I’ll look like an asshole”- which are great reasons to do something! In fact, the jumping jacks warmed me up, as the outside air was getting frigid. Most importantly, Angel will never forget me, and I have a funny story now!

We made it home, ate some dinner, I got my ass kicked in Super Smash Bros on the Nintendo WII by her 12 year old, and then Angel and I just sat around until 2am (4am for me) exchanging travel and adventure stories. Angel has been around the world too.

The next day was amazing, and unexpected.

I had no car. Registration for the event begins at 4:30pm. I like being early, and scoping out the scene. The Hilton (where the event woas taking place), was out of the way for Angel, as her job (Massage therapist) is the other direction.

I had Angel drop me off at “The Corner Bakery” – a coffee shop/restaurant that was near her home. There would be internet there.

The weather was so nice out! Cloudless blue sky, a high 60′s, a cool breeze, and plenty of shade from Palm trees (the only downside, the breeze kept knocking small flowers from the trees, and into my hair).

The bench I was on had WiFi reaching it in full strength. I was Facebooking, when Adriana realized that I was in California. We connected, and she figured out that I was in the OC, a few minutes from her job. She was going to meet me for lunch… ‘cept that she already ate lunch, and I wasn’t hungry.

I had already moved inside The Corner Bakery, and gotten a coffee before Adriana showed up. That would be all that I ordered from there. I got a text from Angel (who was supposed to be working until 4pm), asking if I’d like to meet up for lunch at the beach.

How perfect?! I was thinking about what a shame it is that I’m in California, at the OC, and will not be hitting the beach. Here was my opportunity.

Angel showed up, and I introduced her to Adriana (who had to go back to work) — they’ve hung out since then (I would’ve gone with, but my phone broke later in the trip, and I could not call or text).

Angel took me to her favorite beach. We had the most amazing Ahi-Tuna Sandwiches with a Wasabi Mayo sauce, and Pineaple. The view was spectacular, and I spent most of lunch doing the consulting thing, telling her the steps she can use to get many more clients,as well as raise her price.

We then went down the stairs to the beach. The tide was low, and we were walking (barefoot) along the rocks and the sand, checking out crabs, shells, and tidal pools. I even got to play with a sea snaemone (which was kind of creepy– little bugger latches on to your fingers, and tries to eat you).

Angel wanted to show me her other favorite beach, and we drove there… but I wa sgetting antsy about the time.

It was almost 4pm, and I wanted to be punctual.

We got to the Hilton.

“Do you have to go right now, or can you stick around a few minutes?” I wanted to introduce her to some of my other couches who were there– Craig Allen, Caleb Jennings, and Jason Moffatt. I called Craig, and they were at a restaurant near by called 118 Degrees.

118 is a raw food restaurant that’s upscale, and wonderful. When we arrived, our Clan (people attending the Longevity Conference) had taken up a majority of the restaurant.

The food was delightful, and very healthy. I (and most people) had ordered a coconut. The Miso soup was the best I’ve ver had. The various drinks were delicious, and the conversation was a trip. I even videotaped a light-sabre (app) battle between Steve Pavlina and Caleb Jennings, as one was on an iPhone, and one was on an a Droid.

I made sure to get a photo of Craig, Caleb, and Angel — 3 of my couches from across the country (Orange County, Las Vegas, and Austin), in one place. The energy was great- we rearranged the restaurant, and even invited people from other tables to come join us. That was because we’re talking about Twitter technologies, web trends, and marketing, while someone 2 tables away was reading a book on using twitter.

“Come, join us, I have 11,000 followers.”

I was bummed, ’cause Angel couldn’t stay– but she had already gotten a new client because of joining me…. Craig… who reported that his massage on Sunday was absolutely amazing.

The even was packed! I believe there were 500 people in attendance, and many crew. Even the internet broadcast was sold out at 500 seats. Apparently, many people care about living a long time, and David Wolfe is the industry leader.

I put my bags up in Caleb and Adam’s room. I met Adam for the 1st time at 118 Degrees, but he was one of the few people I hung out with this weekend, and before lunch was up, he had already invited me to couchsurf in Vegas. We may be doing a roadtrip to Sedona, AZ.

We checked out Larry’s room, the presidential suite. Don’t you think that it looks like Craig is peeing on the door? (he’s not)

Hanging out is fun, but I take my work seriously… so, surprisingly, I did not make a scene, wear my furry hat, or tell too many jokes (In fact, as we said our goodbye, Larry said “It sucks! We didn’t get to spend more than 2 minutes, and you didn’t get to make me laugh once!” — which is not true, ’cause I did make him laugh once, to get a nice smile from him and his stunningly hot girlfriend, Oksana, as I took their photo).

Small note- Caleb went to his first Burning Man, as did Larry and Oksana, and that’s where I met Larry and Oksana…. That’s how they knew my photography skills are so great, and that my humor so corny, witty, and mildly entertaining.

I was in professional mode. I skipped some meals, I skipped going to Au Lac (which is this amazing Vietnamese / Raw restaurant, where the head chef, Chef Ito, has taken a vow of silence, and has not spoken in 10 years. He would rather communicate what he communicates with words, with his amazing foods) multiple times, while all my friends did go.

I can not emphasize enough the importance of going to events…. they are a great way to learn what’s going on in a particular industry, but more importantly, a great way to meet like-minded individuals that can become friends, or business associates. I did not get to network too much this time, as I was way more concerned about doing a kick-ass job.

How kick-ass of a job did I do? More than 4,000 photos! Sure… some of them are blurry (I did not use a flash 98% of the time), and some are of repetitive content, but the event organizers were certainly thrilled! I got all the speakers, all the exhibitors, all the logos, all the standing ovations, all the hugs, the pushups, the book signings, the tastings, the lines out the door for the tonic bar, the folks at the tonic bar making their tonics, the production crew, the giveaways, and of course, people mingling. I was not afraid to cut through the crowd to get the shot I needed. I used my collection of lenses to get closeups when needed, and a wide-fisheye view to show what a sold-out room standing ovation looks like (Larry’s comment when seeing that photo, “Holy crap dude, it looks like there’s 5,000 people here!”– isn’t that the point? ).

I’m jumping around of course.

The days were long. began from 7:30-8:30am. I did not photograph that. I slept. I was pretty tired, as the doors opened at 9am, and the lectures went on until 10:30-11pm. People stayed for the whole thing.

Day number one, one of the first things that were lectured about was the importance of grounding. The short version is that shoes are the most lethal invention that humans have made. Basically, as humans, we’ve done everything we can to block ourselves from the Earth’s energy, which regulates a lot of our biology. We insulate ourselves from the ground by wearing rubber soled shoes most of the day and night. We have windows to block us from the good radiation from the sun (UVB, which helps the skin create Vitamin D), but does not prevent UVA, which causes cancer. Funny enough, until recently, that’s what sunscreen did… block out healthy radiation, but let in the bad stuff. So, by grounding yourself (walking barefoot, amongst other things), you are shielding yourself from solar and electronic radiation. They actually took some blood samples from these 4 ladies, and showed how blood clumps together when it is not grounded… but when you are grounded, blood flows better. They had scientific charts showing all sorts of other things that happen when you are grounded. Let’s say it this way— I want to be grounded! Of course, they sold grounding kits- bed sheets that are interwoven with silver fabric… wristbands… stomach bands… a ground pad for your feet. Many different products that you can use to ground yourself.

There were many speakers who spoke on many topics. Vitamins, Minerals, Probiotics and fermented foods, mushrooms for immunity boosts, the digestive brain vs the cerebral brain, and much more….

Since I was there shooting, I didn’t get to mingle as much as I normally do at events, but I’m cool with that. I feel great about a job well done. The event organizers love the photos, and I do feel a sense of purpose at a job well done.

— writing from the ground now –

Since my phone broke, I couldn’t text people, or call people. I didn’t even have everyone’s numbers! Since I introduced Craig and Angel, I was able to contact her through Craig’s phone on occasion. We decided that after Monday’s Elixir Masters class, I’d get a ride, and we’d do a shoot Monday morning, and then she’d take me to the airport.

The ride I got was from Carlo. Who’s Carlo? He’s my new buddy. We met recently through Facebook / Twitter– he had found me through the LiveOffGroupon contest… he made an entry, saw mine, and was sure I’d win (as was I). We chatted about it a bit, but I can not emphasize how much easier it is to get to know someone in person than over Twitter. Use social media to open doors, but then talk to people on the phone, or meet up with them.

It was really neat… we had a lot in common, and he’s just an interesting fellow. The funny thing was that he’s got this beard, and this long dreaded hair… and he felt a bit odd, as his normally odd looks blended right in at the conference.

If I hadn’t said it– this was the best looking crowd I’ve ever seen at any event… and I attend any events. I suppose it’s ’cause they all do what the speakers say, take good supplements, take a barefoot walk, exercise, watch what they eat…. and of course, now, ground themselves.

Being there certainly inspired me to eat healthier, and exercise some. But it also inspired me to focus on my goals… which are not so much business as they are travel and adventure. I thrive on consulting. I am wired for it. But, exploring new places, doing death-defying things, having new experiences… that’s what really lights me up…. so… I’m looking for travel opportunities that will inspire me. Since I realized that, there’s already talks of me going to document someone’s humanitarian efforts in Uganda. More on that when I know more.

The Elixir Masters workshop was mindblowing. It’s amazing how many herbs people can fit into a smoothie… and they know exactly what each does… you had to see all the things that these people have cured with just a good diet, and herbal drinks. This guy Truth Calkins was constantly citing Doctors, and research, and studies… He owns http://www.erewhonmarket.com/ – where they make these drinks and foods all the time, and of course the supplements and herbs that people need to make this stuff at home. I spoke to Truth, asked how he got started, and it was an amazing story. This wasn’t just a smoothie maker… this was a guy that nearly killed himself (literally) with junk food.

His parents were health nuts, and as a child he wasn’t allowed to eat processed foods (smart!). He later made up for that, by piling it on…. he got fat, ran low on energy, and suffered from depression, candida, and all sorts of other things…. he was just waiting to die– actually trying to do it by overeating the worst kind of food. He had also burnt out from being an actor and a graphic designer…. and then realized it was all in the knowledge….

Truth read everything he could… over and over… he cut out his sugars, he ate fermented foods…. let’s say it this way, he’s now 40, and I bet he gets carded for alcohol.

After the Elixir Masters, Carlo dropped me off at Angels. Seth was there, Angel was there, her kids were there….. we had dinner, and then just sat around chatting. I made Seth (Angel’s boyfriend) a website, and demonstrated how easy a WordPress site is to control. It already looks better- he took to it like a fish to water.

The next morning we did our shoot… in a very little bit of time.

I’ve been really productive about catching up on work. Perhaps that healthy food has me thinking more clearly?

—

Crap…. forgot to hit Publish… ’cause I wanted to add the gallery… lots of separate projects, aka.. distractions.  So, here’s the gallery– and I’ve lost a few pounds already by just eating healthy again, jogging a tiny bit, and I feel great.  When I did my 30 day raw, I also made sure to get a full night’s sleep each night (Which is generally not the norm for me).

[View with PicLens]

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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.

Yeah… Sure I can wake up.  That phone is pretty loud.  I’m really starting to fade….. just a 1 hour nap, then we leave. We can easily make it by 5:30am…. “Dude, we’re not gonna make it.”  “Huh?”  “Yeah. It’s like 6am already” (flight leavlels at 6:30am.

I payed $150, and got another flight.  One that leaves at 2pm.  Thus, I have time to blog for you