Blue Lollipop Road

kids, be nice and share

Now that I’ve finally come out of the stone ages and into 2010 with Facebook and Twitter, I’ve heard from many of you I never would have otherwise. It’s been fun and interesting to hear about what you are all up to and what you think of the blog. Problem is, I have quickly formed a habit of communicating back and forth via FB. If you so kindly want to stay in touch, give opinions about my writing, photos, subjects or other, while I’m on the road for this trip- might you mind leaving comments here instead of FB? It’d be nice to share conversations, helpful travel info., etc. with others too. As usual, any and all comments are welcome, good, bad and ugly, along with cool places you might think I’d like to check out or any other randomness. It’s a free for all, so babble away.

This journey is more and more fun as days pass and I’m thankful I’ve got awesome people virtually riding along!

less is more

A friend sent me a link to this video about Jay Shafer and his tiny house Tumbleweed a week or so ago. I have read about and seen him before. I think his little abode is fantastic. I just moved out of a 430 sq. foot apartment that I often felt wasteful in as I only ever used about half the space if that. I could easily live in one of Jay’s houses. It’s so freeing to not own tons of stuff (mentally and financially.) I have always been a minimalist, but the older I get, the even less I want. Take this trip for example; I packed smart (or so I thought) and didn’t stuff my car to the gills, but I still brought too much. Granted I have only been gone 8 days, but I have gone from suburbs with houses, the big city with studio apartments, to country with cabin. (Think the variety of clothes, bags, shoes, cameras, maps, etc. I’d use in those three different spots.) I’ve probably only used about 20% of what I brought. It seems as if we all look at what we actually used on a regular basis and kept only the quality stuff/favorites and only kept those things, we’d all have less clutter, more loot for other things and far less stress in our days.

Years ago when I was traveling with an old boyfriend, our car and all belongings were stolen and we were stranded in Vancouver. After the initial shock of pissed off and oh my god what are we going to do without our stuff, we realized no one just shot us to get our car and reality was; PHEW! I’ve said from then on that at one point in life or another, everyone should get all their stuff stolen. When you realize you’re still standing there with all limbs attached and the people you love there with you- the stuff becomes so unimportant.

I suppose the point of this is after watching that video, I’m inspired to have even less than I already do and I’d like to encourage everyone to go through those drawers and closets and start getting rid! Pile up all the crap you don’t need, have a yard sale or sell it on Craigslist. (If anyone needs detailed tricks and tips on this please let me know. I don’t have many talents, but I am a pro at selling things these ways after doing it a million times myself.) You’ll be blown away at the amount of money you can make and what you can get rid of. Take the money and pay an extra mortgage payment, a couple extra credit card payments, or grab a few people you love and treat them away for the weekend to spend time together. I promise you’ll never miss that extra cutting board or 96th piece of Tupperware. (Who ever really has that many leftovers anyway?)

Thanks for the clip BW!

you know you’re…

…wholly enjoying your days, relaxing, and loving time with good company when you haven’t charged your cell phone in 3 days and you sill have plenty of battery power.

It’s amazing how good it feel to put that thing away sometimes.

spread the word!

Considering I am trying to solicit sponsorships and donations for my own project here and to be able to make it to Alaska this summer, I must be crazy to post something here in support of another organization trying to solicit too. Well, call me crazy.

I have enough loot to live for the next few weeks and that’s it. After that? Part of my adventure is figuring it out and having faith. I fully understand the fact that I could be working at a Mickey D’s in South Dakota in 2 weeks and not make it to Alaska until much later than hoped, so we shall see. I will make it no matter what so I refuse to worry. I’ll make it work somehow, as I know I’d be a killer burger flipper. One exciting part of my journey to my 50th state, was that I’m going to be able to stop in Vancouver to meet Sean Aiken of the One Week Job. I’ve written about him before. I just got an email from these guys and apparently he and his partner in crime Ian are scrambling to get a last chunk of $ to complete their documentary film they’ve worked so hard on.

Now, CNN and others alike are most certainly not calling me for interviews yet, as they have these guys, but in an effort to keep paying it forward and because I wholeheartedly believe in what they’re doing, I wanted to post a link here where you can donate if you’d like. (It’d be a total bummer if they’ve gotten this far and weren’t able to cross the finish line.) I have to believe that there are people out there reading this that have or know someone who has extra $ and would like to put it to good use somehow. My vote if you want to give/donate- give/donate to people like Sean, Ian, me or other Generation Y-er’s like us. We’re young energetic, driven people who are swimming up stream in a sea of fish going the other way because we want to follow our passions, and use our skills to live the life we imagine. By doing this we’re confident we’ll influence other young people to do the same, and perhaps in turn, happier, healthier humans will be roaming the earth and be empowered to make it a better place. If you can’t donate cash or don’t want to, that’s Ok. Just please pass this on to others and make sure you spend your day tomorrow doing something you love. That’s all we really want to see. (Sean and Ian, I’m speaking for you here, but trusting you’re cool with that and we are on the same wavelength anyway.)

Good luck with your last few bucks guys. Hope this helps! All I ask for is a coffee when I make it to Vancouver:)

not brilliant, not clueless, but juuust right

I know all of you out there who thought I was nuts not to use social media outlets are exclaiming I told you so! You’re right. There were a lot of reasons I was anti-Facebook, Twitter, etc. before (don’t get me wrong, I still think they are slightly annoying, invasive and take more effort than i’d like to maintain) but they are pretty incredible tools, and I’m loving them right now. I’ve connected with hundreds of people in the past few weeks. I’ve gotten encouraging messages from old soccer teammates who I haven’t seen in 16 years, who instantly “get” why I’m doing this trip, I’ve heard from elementary school friends’ moms, and found other people I’ve met in my travels who have profiles and they’re in their 70’s. It’s great.

I’ve been teased many times in the past and am sure will be in the future about being so behind the times. I figure if I am like the bazillionth person to buy or use all the new shiny, fancy tools and items, by the time I start, either everyone I know will be such pros they will be able to teach me about them in 2 minutes, or instead of spending top dollar the second these items come out, by the time I get around to purchasing one they’ll only be 2 bucks.

I can’t lie, it’s actually fun to live a bit behind and old fashioned. I’m strategically making a life out of taking advantage of modern technology to advance, but using old-school practices on a daily basis too. I feel this way, I’ll be able to continue to connect with all varieties of people. I’ll reach the goals I have, advance in the areas I want to, while appreciating the little things and not ever forget where I came from. I’ll take the “Duh Diane! That has been around for years! Where have you been?!” any day, because I can always tease right back with a “Yeah, well I bet you don’t know the land area or capital of Alabama punk! I do because I still use paper maps!” (Laughing. These conversations really happen.)

Adding Facebook and others to my life, I’ll use them along with still sending snail mail, I’ll keep eating food from country bumpkin diners right along with eats in 5 star restaurants, and I’ll always be able to do a keg stand, but love sipping a cosmo too.

The Birkenstocks will sit indefinitely right next to the Kenneth Cole’s.