Archive for the Category »Preparation «

Hey Ellen, Do I have the BEST friends or what?

07 Sep 2010 | By

So as I’m editing my older shots and uploading to my store, creating merchandise to help fund my trip and counting down the days until I can finally leave the construction induced traffic congestion of the Greater Vancouver area and the self imposed disarray that my existence currently is, I logged onto Facebook this evening. There I found an incredibly heart warming surprise.

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

Natural AC

Category: North American Adventure, People, Preparation  Leave a Comment

The Waiting

17 Aug 2010 | By

Well, I’m pretty much down to just waiting for the day I can leave. I still have a few things I’m doing but overall I’m just anxious to get going. Two good friends are marrying each other so I’m here until after September 10th regardless. After that, I’m gone.

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.

Category: North American Adventure, Preparation, Stillness  Leave a Comment

Doubt.

09 Aug 2010 | By

Doubting in one’s sanity at this point in the game probably isn’t a healthy sign but today was one of those days. Questioning myself and what it is I’m planning on doing.

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

Category: North American Adventure, Preparation, Stillness  Leave a Comment

Stuff

26 Jul 2010 | By

Stuff: items, things, or matter.

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?”.

Stuff

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.

more…

Category: Preparation, Side Notes, Stationary Musings  Tags: , , , , , , ,  One Comment

Spare Change? No, I mean a lot of spare change?

16 Jul 2010 | By

So in my preparations to be out of my current apartment, amongst the selling of my furniture to the craigslist monsters, while sorting, cleaning and donating I found one more creature I had to contend with. For as long as I can remember I’ve had a metal box that I’ve been throwing pennies into. I roll and spend my other loose change on a regular basis but pennies always just got tossed into this thin metal box. Well, the penny box has gotten to the point that it weighed about 50 pounds. I’m not kidding.

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.

more…

Category: Praise and Rants, Preparation, Resources, Side Notes  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  One Comment
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