A few of my friends have started an event to try and get people to all bombard the producers of Ellen Degeneres’ TV show (via her website submission area) with nominations for me to be on her show one day to talk about my decision to throw everything to the wind, leave on my road trip and follow what I love to do. I think it’s a grand gesture and a great idea.

My simple decision to just say, well… “fuck it” and take a large leap of faith in my own ability and well known tenaciousness has somehow rallied up quite a few of my friends who all in their own ways have my back. I’m a humble guy. I don’t think I’m anything particularly out of the ordinary. I try to be a good friend to all close to me and people in general and over the years I’ve shed some very negative skin and emerged with a little more of a positive shine. Aside from that, I’m just a somewhat scattered creative guy who’s just wanting to create and be able to survive.

So to have people close to me conspire on my behalf really makes me feel incredible. If their plan does actually work and I end up on TV then so be it. I love the Ellen Show and what she does for ordinary people she finds on Youtube etc. I thinks she’s awesome! If it doesn’t work and I continue on my journey I’ll happily carry on my way knowing one thing for sure. I may be alone in the truck, but I’ll never be alone.

If anyone reading wants to join the email blast event on Facebook on September 19-20th, here is the link.

Thank you all for reading.
See you from the road,
W

Natural AC

I’ve been staying with friends and now family. My apartment is gone, my stuff is gone, I’m almost ready to go. Using this time to get a few more photo edits done and trying to drum up some more web work to do before and on the road.

Money is extremely tight, bringing new meaning to “flying by the seat of your pants”. I haven’t even gotten a few things I need yet because I can’t bear to watch the digits fall off my travel budget. I’m sending out emails and messages trying to drum up a sponsor who’d like to use my truck as a rolling billboard and have me as an ambassador for their company. That would take a little of the financial stress away from the trip. Which is the only part that is stressing me at all. I’m more than ready and excited for the rest of it.

Aside from that I’m just working away, adding things here, trying to link up with people and get my final ducks in a row. Soon. I will be on my way….somewhere.

As of July 26th I’ve had no home of my own. I no longer have an address. I’ve sold 95% of everything I owned, alot of it for pennies on the dollar because I had limited time to get rid of it. Most of what I have left is crammed into my truck which in itself isn’t even mine. Watching today’s payment come out of my already small travel budget really hurt. It made me question how long I can really last on my own.  I also have things I need to do and a few things I have to get, all being put off because I don’t want to spend the money.

I’ve been really anxious to get the hell out of here yet thankful for the time and space in a friends house (house sitting) to work through some of my older photography, getting it uploaded onto my new online store etc. Even though it seems to be taking forever.

I’m yearning for the open road yet scared shitless that I’m not going to last more than a few months based on the financial realities of it. Having no financial back up plan is frightening. Then again,  it’s not like I had one while scraping month to month together here in Vancouver to survive in the city and the reality was, that was costing me even more.

I guess I just needed to write this as a small form of therapy as even now I’m starting to feel the fear ease off, almost disappear.  I can’t let myself undermine myself with negative energy.  As I read this over I’m inclined to simply delete it and go to sleep. Yet I think I’ll leave it up. As a reminder to readers that I am human. That not every day is or will be cherries and rainbows. I have hopes and dreams of this upcoming trip. I also have fears and concerns regarding taking such a large stride in the opposite direction than most.  I guess all that I can do is go about it as I have been, be open to incoming opportunities and get ready for what could be a really cool adventure.

Thanks for listening.

W

For decades our “dependence” or “need” for “things” has increased. As I recently sat at my one table, a table  covered in my belongings at the local flea market, trying at times almost desperately to hustle a few dollars for something I originally paid much more for I wondered, “where do we get all this crap?”.

Some of my junk that I was flogging at the Market of Fleas - photo by Nancy Morrison

I had one table out of hundreds in one large barn like building in one city. Inside this building are vendors and dealers, some who have been there for over 20 years weekend after weekend selling their own and other peoples discarded “stuff”.

Just as one example, remember those VHS video tapes of all the hit Disney movies that came out long before the acronym DVD was ever invented. I remember people collecting those, waiting for the release of the next one, stocking bookshelves with their shiny white plastic cases that housed two spools of video tape contained within another plastic box. Disney had people eating from the palm of their hand, holding back releases of certain titles and then only releasing certain amounts to create even more of a demand. Well, it’s only been what, 20 years? Twenty years since some of those titles that went for $30 plus dollars each were on the top of many a movie collectors list. Fast forward to present day where if one were so inclined they could walk into the Vancouver Flea Market and buy all those Disney titles in VHS and in triplicate for literally pennies on the dollar. In more than one vendor’s booths I saw stacks of these movies standing as I high as I do. Going for a dollar or less each. The DVD versions aren’t fairing much better. Then, despite knowing that it’s because technology is changing so fast I still started to wonder why, even though we as humans know that something will be obsolete in 6 months to a year to we keep buying, buying, buying.

I googled the word “stuff” and in my online travels found this animated movie featuring Annie Leonard that really explains it well. It’s hard to take knowing that the corporations and manufacturers of the “stuff” we buy are to the point that they’re using practices like perceived obsolescence. Meaning that they can manipulate consumers through advertising and the media to believe that even though the product a consumer has is working fine the consumer is lead to believe that they “need” a new one, the better, newer model of course. Even worse is the “planned obsolescence”. This is where they actually plan for certain parts of a product to start failing after a certain period of time. Not too soon that you’ll be pissed off but soon enough that you’ll want to get the next newer version. After hearing that this is happening I started to wonder about the known Ipod glitch I just paid $100 to get repaired. Rest assured I was given the option to “upgrade” to a better larger version at a price that was VERY tempting.

Now, I’m not about to say I’m not guilty of justifying a new item when the old one is still perfectly fine. Six months after buying my current camera I was drooling over the newest, faster, better version. The difference is, I don’t cave into it. Even if I did I think I have a few “get out of jail free cards” saved up considering my idea of fashion is a t-shirt and jeans, until they wear out. I buy shoes that I actually wear and even my vehicle was bought with a purpose in mind, not to look cool. The box of the LCD TV I bought two years ago was recycled because I both never thought I’d be moving and was fine watching it until it dropped dead. (Oh how life can change).

So next time you’re about to turf that year old Blackberry or Iphone, to get the newest version take a step back and consider the consequences. Think about where that device is really going to end up. Maybe yours will get lucky and end up in a grungy glass cabinet at the flea market with a few of every other cellphone known to man since the invention of the plastic brick. Or maybe it will just end up in a landfill polluting the planet while we waste more energy and natural resources drawing petroleum from beneath the earth’s crust to run a factory that’s making your new one.

Some other peoples junk. - photo by Nancy Morrison

I’m not trying to preach complete abstinence as I too still love the feel of a new item in my hands. I’m just saying lets try to balance it out a bit, a little more “need” and a little less “want”.

Since I’m stressed for time and not about to sit and roll 50 pounds worth of copper I decided to look for a machine I once saw at the local Safeway that counted the coins, took 10% and gave you a receipt that you could then collect your “real” money from the checkout person. What a great idea I thought. Soon after seeing those machines all those machines were suddenly gone. I’m not sure why.

In my lazy attempt to rid myself of the box of coinage I “offered” it to my friend to add to his young son’s piggy bank. He convinced me there must still be a machine out there somewhere. I googled “coin counting vancouver” and found another blog “Darren Barefoot” and deep in his archives was a discussion about this very topic. Although most of the posts were from years past two kind souls had topped up the comments with confirmations that there was still in fact, one machine left in the city.

So I lugged my square foot metal box stuffed full of copper goodness via a shoulder bag with handles to the truck drove to Commercial Drive and 1st Ave in Vancouver and found, waiting patiently in the bustle of the SuperValue grocery store the greatest invention to hit loose change EVER!

I pressed the button to start and lifted my brick of pennies and started pouring. After about 20 minutes of feeding this metal eating rock star my copper I was finally finished. Grand total. $85.42 dollars in pennies. After the 10% rock star fee I walked away $77 “actual dollars” richer.

Now I wouldn’t really justify the 10 percent commission to the gleaming, coin eating rock star if say you had a jar full of quarters as those are relative easy and worth the time to roll on your own, but for 50 pounds in pennies…it was worth every penny.

While on my last road trip, Ipod was nestled securely in the Griffin holder that’s plugged into the lighter outlet of my truck. Songs playing,…then…crackle, crackle…nothing. Seems I could see the songs, scroll through my playlists, see the album artwork etc, just no sound would come out of the music player that I’ve grown to love. When I got home I started looking into why. Internet says there’s a known issue with the solder job on the logic board. A known Apple problem.

I start looking for authorized Apple dealers as Internet also said that sometimes Apple will fix Ipod for free if you make enough noise. I’m a drummer, I’m good at making noise. I find online Simply Computing is the big Apple store here in Vancouver. I call to see if they need me to make an appointment or anything. I tell them about my broken Ipod, they suggest that it sounds like the logic board. Great I think, they know what they’re talking about. I get down to Simply Computing on West Broadway and there sits 4 twenty somethings behind their service department counter. Two helping customers, the other two staring at computer screens. I finally enable an interaction with one, tell him the problem and hand him the Ipod. He says, probably the logic board and walks into the back to see if one of the techs can look at it. He comes back a couple minutes later and says, yup, looks like the logic board and then proceeds to stare blankly at ME like I’m supposed to tell him what the next step is.

After a few seconds of staring at this “extremely helpful” lad while waiting for his brain to catch up to the situation I ask…”and…. can you fix it?” He then tells me that they’re a Mac dealer, they don’t really handle repairs on Ipods or Iphones. He says they can’t get logic boards for them and it’ll probably cost as much as a new one to fix and that I should go see Irepair in North Vancouver. So after phoning first, being told to “bring it in so they could look at it” Simply Computing,…let me say that again, SIMPLY COMPUTING wastes my time and tells me to go somewhere else. Nice.

So I went through downtown, over the bridge and into North Vancouver. I already knew about Irepair as my friend Alec had sent me their contact info. What I didn’t know was their exact location. I get into North Van, stop and call them. Their phone number directs me to some other number and tells me they’re not available and hangs up on me. Twice I check the number and call, same results.

I text Alec, he tells me where they are, I go in.

Chickie at the front takes my information then while telling me it’s “the headphone jack” (because I need headphones to transmit my Ipod music to my car stereo – yeah ok). She then takes Ipod to the back and an actual technician comes out. He says it sounds like the logic board. After a bunch or boring price quotes and buy new vs fix it solutions I decide to get Ipod fixed. He says he’s going to see what year and board it is I need and if he has one. Ten minutes later a different tech guy comes out, Ipod is fixed, I give tech guy my information (again because Chickie didn’t actually save it), pay the bill which is much much less then a “new one” and go on my way.

Despite the fact that I’m not impressed with the quality and support for this particular Apple product, if I had the money I would still be switching to a Mac and also getting an Iphone (although apparently not the 4G yet). What I’m not impressed with are the service solutions and service that I got from Apple’s biggest “Apple Experts” in Vancouver. Simply Computing is Simply Shit. They wasted my time and when I do have the money to buy my Macbook Pro or my Iphone,…it won’t be from there.

As far as Irepair goes, they get a gold star for fixing my Ipod but as for a business goes they need to get their shit together too. Get a phone number that works and perhaps go to bat for your customers a little as the shoulder shrug and blank stare don’t go very far when someone thinks their item should at least be repaired at a discount because Apple knows it’s a flaw. Oh and at the time of writing this, their website is down too. Way to go!

Nancy’s blog is Nancy Under the Stars and while visiting be sure to bookmark it as she’s heading back to Australia in a few weeks and will have plenty to write about.

My name is Wayne, and this is my travel blog. In 2 and 1/2 months, September 15th 2010, I’m leaving my home in Vancouver, British Columbia, and taking an extended road trip for my photography. I’ll be taking this trip no matter what; the length of it depends only on its sustainability. But if all factors fall into place, I plan to be on the road for two to three years, as I plan to explore all four corners of North America, both in Canada and the U.S., including Alaska. Any sponsor on this trip will get a huge amount of exposure from coast to coast.

The advertising potential for this trip is exponentially increased because I plan to promote myself and my trip through all social media avenues. I already have an established professional and personal presence on facebook, a twitter feed, etc. I also have an online store for the sale of my photographic prints and on the new version of my personal website.

My travel blog has room for ads, and I’d be happy to promote a client as much as possible if they were to wrap my 2007 Nissan Xterra (or supply me with another vehicle) and help sponsor my journey. The longer I keep going, the more miles and curious faces see the truck, this site and the ads. I’m also printing promotional cards that I strategically distribute in places such as coffee shops, restaurants, pubs and other gathering spots to advertise my unique journey. I’d be happy to add a section on these cards to promote any sponsor. These cards have proven effective in generating interest and traffic to my blog; while on a similar Canadian road trip this past winter, lots of responses and major positive feedback on the blog were inspired by the cards.

I’ll also be promoting my adventure with local media, including websites, radio, TV and newspapers. I’d be certain to mention a sponsor in any interview or article.

This is a great opportunity for any company or cause to piggyback on my trip and share the experience and exposure. I’m an easy going guy who would make a great ambassador for almost any product ( I do have exceptions that I won’t touch). It’s a win-win, especially if a company offers products that could come in handy on road trips, such as GPS navigation, energy drinks, tires, photo gear or camera companies, oil, fuel, camping gear, hotel chains, etc.

If you or someone you know would be interested in such a collaboration, please contact me. Let’s talk!

Wayne

Today I woke up late. I’ve been doing some running work for various concerts when I can pick it up. Today is the second show of “Star Wars in Concert” here in Vancouver. As I was heading out the door I started thinking that I was crazy. One part of me is completely excited about the prospects, opportunities and freedom my upcoming trip may bring. The other part of me…well, it’s stressed right out. Some days I feel like an overheating walking nuclear reactor.

I have a list almost as long as my arm of things that need to be done before I leave. I have another list of people that owe me money that is almost equal in length. I have some web work that I need to get done and people who are dropping the ball, therefore stressing me out even more.

I’m trying to talk myself out of all the so called “valid” fears that I have and am trying (really hard) to just surrender and trust that this is all meant to be and will all work. The very thing that I believe most of the time is hard to find today. I guess simply because one of the biggest steps has just been taken. The notice that soon, I will not have an address.

Now begins the process of seeing what I can get for the belongings that I no longer have a use for. A complete drum kit from a whole other life, a large LCD TV that I bought only a few years ago. A bachelor apartment stuffed full of junk that needs new homes. This part, I’m actually looking forward to and as a friend pointed out yesterday, will make it very easy to settle down somewhere when I finally figure out where that next long term stop might be.

Even as I write this I’m starting to feel better about my most recent step. Perhaps this blog is also becoming my therapy. Wow, how lucky I am to have the whole world as my own personal shrink.

With some more craigslist ads and an apartment/yard sale in my near future I’ll be ridding my life of clutter. Keeping only a few boxes of sentimental belongings in storage, what I need will fit in my truck and I’ll be ready to go.

In the meantime I have a lot of work to do, some last web site clients to wrap up and then a few revisions of my own stuff to best utilize any traffic and interest in my photography since essentially that is what is going to sustain me while on the road, that and hopefully this blog.

So check back soon for more updates as I get closer to leaving normalcy for an adventurous road trip of a lifetime.