Saturday, October 6, 2007
Dancing in Santa Monica
now obviously, because it's me, I'm behind on the blog. a week or two. I'm trying my best to get caught up. this happened when I was still back at the Oaks.
around a year ago I found out about Matt. Matt got famous on Youtube for this video:
doesn't seem like anything to out there does it? somehow, that video and a couple like it made him really famous on youtube. I found his blog on Wherethehellismatt.com and started following his progress. I wanted to meet him cause he was a traveler and he just seemed like an interesting guy.
I found out he was making a new video, this one being more about people then location. he was going to locations and letting people come dance with him. you sign up on his blog, and he'd send out the info for it. I had signed up to meet him in Austin, but by the time he went there, I was here. so I emailed him, asked if he was going to be on the West Coast anyway, and found out he was going to be in Santa Monica. so on Sunday, (or Saturday?) 2 weeks ago, I went down to meet him.
I arrived around noon/early afternoon. the event was scheduled until 6pm, so I had time to explore the beach, and then go into the shopping district there. I spent several hours just walking, then finally went back to wait. when I got back to the spot, around 5 or so, I saw a guy I was pretty sure was him, so I introduced myself. Matt was extremely friendly, and we talked for a bit as he looked for the shot he wanted. by this time there was a good-sized group of people gathering, so we went back to get things started. we had at least an hour to kill waiting for the sun to get in the right position, so everyone got to know each other. Matt had kindly brought bubbles for everyone to keep themselves busy. :P
I met quite a few interesting people, a group from the Lutheran University in the area, a mom and her daughter, and a very friendly individual I'll call Gray. well...that is his name actually. Gray was driving the West Coast in a Volkswagen Van, surfing. I was unbelievably jealous. I think it's be soo cool to own one of those vans, it's the ultimate road tripping vehicle. Gray and I talked for a while, he encouraged me to get my own van. a Buick isn't really the most amazing road-tripping car. especially one that is starting to wear out, and the windows don't open on the driver's side. he also gave me some hostels to visit, some places in Mexico to try, some good websites, etc. Gray was pretty cool, I hope to meet him again one day.
so the it comes time to dance. Matt sets up the camera, gets someone to take over shooting, gets us all bunched together, and gives us our instructions. first of all, tho his normal number of people to dance with is 50-60, we had 108 I believe. or the count was somewhere close to that. and we all had to squeeze into a tiny shot to dance. and then he gave us a count of 3. he obviously has a special dance he does, but everyone else was supposed to do whatever came natural. I'm not sure any dance comes natural to me, but I tried. :P
after a couple takes, Matt said we were good, but then changed his mind and said he wanted one different angle. as we set up to do that shot, behind the camera comes marching some sort of peace march. people carrying large dove shaped things. he was unsure if we should get out of the way or not, but in the end we danced anyway. check link 2 at the bottom of this post for a vid of them. anyway, afterwards, he stuck around for pics and videos. as with past adventures I've had, I come to these things with no plan on where to spend the night, or a time I have to leave. it's the best way to do it. tho, I did figure I'd prolly just drive home when I was done. this left my schedule open for whatever, so while he took pics and videos I just stuck around, helped when I could, and just waited. eventually I got an invite to go to dinner with Matt, a representative from Stride Gum, which pays for his videos, a lady from Google, and a couple of their friends. it's not quite as bad as it sounds, I didn't beg, and I wasn't really planning for anything. but I had no where to go, so I was going to stay on the beach as long as they did, and then I got the invite. we ended up going to a Sushi place that was fairly close by. now I've only had Sushi once, in Alabama with the Crossings people. plus it was expensive, at least for my budget. smallest meal was $10, and that was a tiny meal. $20 for something that would fill my stomach. I was ready to order a bit of food, and then eat at home, but turns out this meal counted as a Stride business expense. so the lady the worked for Stride paid for everyone's meal, which in the end was more then $30 worth of food for me probably. we each ordered some food, and when it came, it was all on one large platter, that almost covered the table. everyone ate as much as they could, and then it was just Matt and I still hungry. between the two of us, we ate all our own food, and all anyone else had left. tons of sushi. quite delicious.
and that was Santa Monica. there are a few pictures on the flickr, and here's a tiny video of Matt and I dancing it up. feel free to make fun of our terrible dancing. ;)
oh, and here's a couple links of the event. someone else's footage.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3, (with me at the end looking cold.)
around a year ago I found out about Matt. Matt got famous on Youtube for this video:
doesn't seem like anything to out there does it? somehow, that video and a couple like it made him really famous on youtube. I found his blog on Wherethehellismatt.com and started following his progress. I wanted to meet him cause he was a traveler and he just seemed like an interesting guy.
I found out he was making a new video, this one being more about people then location. he was going to locations and letting people come dance with him. you sign up on his blog, and he'd send out the info for it. I had signed up to meet him in Austin, but by the time he went there, I was here. so I emailed him, asked if he was going to be on the West Coast anyway, and found out he was going to be in Santa Monica. so on Sunday, (or Saturday?) 2 weeks ago, I went down to meet him.
I arrived around noon/early afternoon. the event was scheduled until 6pm, so I had time to explore the beach, and then go into the shopping district there. I spent several hours just walking, then finally went back to wait. when I got back to the spot, around 5 or so, I saw a guy I was pretty sure was him, so I introduced myself. Matt was extremely friendly, and we talked for a bit as he looked for the shot he wanted. by this time there was a good-sized group of people gathering, so we went back to get things started. we had at least an hour to kill waiting for the sun to get in the right position, so everyone got to know each other. Matt had kindly brought bubbles for everyone to keep themselves busy. :P
I met quite a few interesting people, a group from the Lutheran University in the area, a mom and her daughter, and a very friendly individual I'll call Gray. well...that is his name actually. Gray was driving the West Coast in a Volkswagen Van, surfing. I was unbelievably jealous. I think it's be soo cool to own one of those vans, it's the ultimate road tripping vehicle. Gray and I talked for a while, he encouraged me to get my own van. a Buick isn't really the most amazing road-tripping car. especially one that is starting to wear out, and the windows don't open on the driver's side. he also gave me some hostels to visit, some places in Mexico to try, some good websites, etc. Gray was pretty cool, I hope to meet him again one day.
so the it comes time to dance. Matt sets up the camera, gets someone to take over shooting, gets us all bunched together, and gives us our instructions. first of all, tho his normal number of people to dance with is 50-60, we had 108 I believe. or the count was somewhere close to that. and we all had to squeeze into a tiny shot to dance. and then he gave us a count of 3. he obviously has a special dance he does, but everyone else was supposed to do whatever came natural. I'm not sure any dance comes natural to me, but I tried. :P
after a couple takes, Matt said we were good, but then changed his mind and said he wanted one different angle. as we set up to do that shot, behind the camera comes marching some sort of peace march. people carrying large dove shaped things. he was unsure if we should get out of the way or not, but in the end we danced anyway. check link 2 at the bottom of this post for a vid of them. anyway, afterwards, he stuck around for pics and videos. as with past adventures I've had, I come to these things with no plan on where to spend the night, or a time I have to leave. it's the best way to do it. tho, I did figure I'd prolly just drive home when I was done. this left my schedule open for whatever, so while he took pics and videos I just stuck around, helped when I could, and just waited. eventually I got an invite to go to dinner with Matt, a representative from Stride Gum, which pays for his videos, a lady from Google, and a couple of their friends. it's not quite as bad as it sounds, I didn't beg, and I wasn't really planning for anything. but I had no where to go, so I was going to stay on the beach as long as they did, and then I got the invite. we ended up going to a Sushi place that was fairly close by. now I've only had Sushi once, in Alabama with the Crossings people. plus it was expensive, at least for my budget. smallest meal was $10, and that was a tiny meal. $20 for something that would fill my stomach. I was ready to order a bit of food, and then eat at home, but turns out this meal counted as a Stride business expense. so the lady the worked for Stride paid for everyone's meal, which in the end was more then $30 worth of food for me probably. we each ordered some food, and when it came, it was all on one large platter, that almost covered the table. everyone ate as much as they could, and then it was just Matt and I still hungry. between the two of us, we ate all our own food, and all anyone else had left. tons of sushi. quite delicious.
and that was Santa Monica. there are a few pictures on the flickr, and here's a tiny video of Matt and I dancing it up. feel free to make fun of our terrible dancing. ;)
oh, and here's a couple links of the event. someone else's footage.
Link 1
Link 2
Link 3, (with me at the end looking cold.)
Friday, September 28, 2007
interesting day
it started at 7am or so. Sunday. I woke up, realized I was at least an hour late, forced myself awake, and jumped in the car. I drove about 2 hours south to Cabazon, CA, on I-10, where we had stopped on the way into CA to see the amazing dinosaurs. (see Flickr.) my destination was the Morango Casino and Resort. I was planning to play a poker tournament, which I was late for.
Needless to say, due to my slightly adventurous driving, I arrived in plenty of time. played well, and enjoyed it, but didn't finish in anything that I find worth writing about. so back on the road I go, back to the Oaks. before I get there, I come across an overturned SUV, covering both lanes of the small road I'm on. as I drive up, I'm facing the undercarriage of the vehicle, as it's actually on it's side. there's a policeman, directing people onto the dirt on either side of the road. I passed it, and didn't give much thought until later.
about 5 minutes down the road, 3 policemen sped by me going about 85 or so, and we're still on a very small road. they get a few miles ahead of me, all turn their lights off, do u-turns, and, driving normal speeds, head back the other way.
when I got back to the Oaks, I got a call from Ben, who told me Sam was in need of E-vac. so back on the road, 3 hours north this time, to pick up Sam. after being 6 days in the mountains, he had badly sprained his knee, and wasn't able to keep up the climbing. on the way to pick him up, I once again, find another overturned SUV. this one is on top of an approx 8 foot embankment, how it got up there I don't know. there were no cops or other emergency services there yet. 3 or 4 cards had stopped, and were carrying a woman by her arms, apparently in circles. her SUV was completely on it's top, smashed flat. now that's 2 overturned SUVs, and 1 other incident with cops, all in one day. I'm not sure what to make of it. God's trying to send me a message, I'm just not sure what.
on an odd side note, I've noticed here in CA, the only cops I see are at the scene of an accident, or on the side of the road, giving someone a ticket. I've not seen 1 cop with a radar gun, or just driving. they're always at some important event. this busy schedule of theirs has given me even more of a freedom in my driving then ever before.
Sam was waiting at a Subway, in Independence, CA. he had me carry him to the car, (not really,) and then 3 more ours of driving, and that's the day. not anything amazing, just alot of out-of-the-ordinary experiences. I'm sure I don't remember them all, because I think there were several more that made the day odd. but this is what I have so deal with it.
so no Sam and I are both on the Oaks, tho not for long. more to come shortly.
PS. check out the Flickr. there are pics from the drive to CA, and Sam's hiking pics. more to come soon.
Needless to say, due to my slightly adventurous driving, I arrived in plenty of time. played well, and enjoyed it, but didn't finish in anything that I find worth writing about. so back on the road I go, back to the Oaks. before I get there, I come across an overturned SUV, covering both lanes of the small road I'm on. as I drive up, I'm facing the undercarriage of the vehicle, as it's actually on it's side. there's a policeman, directing people onto the dirt on either side of the road. I passed it, and didn't give much thought until later.
about 5 minutes down the road, 3 policemen sped by me going about 85 or so, and we're still on a very small road. they get a few miles ahead of me, all turn their lights off, do u-turns, and, driving normal speeds, head back the other way.
when I got back to the Oaks, I got a call from Ben, who told me Sam was in need of E-vac. so back on the road, 3 hours north this time, to pick up Sam. after being 6 days in the mountains, he had badly sprained his knee, and wasn't able to keep up the climbing. on the way to pick him up, I once again, find another overturned SUV. this one is on top of an approx 8 foot embankment, how it got up there I don't know. there were no cops or other emergency services there yet. 3 or 4 cards had stopped, and were carrying a woman by her arms, apparently in circles. her SUV was completely on it's top, smashed flat. now that's 2 overturned SUVs, and 1 other incident with cops, all in one day. I'm not sure what to make of it. God's trying to send me a message, I'm just not sure what.
on an odd side note, I've noticed here in CA, the only cops I see are at the scene of an accident, or on the side of the road, giving someone a ticket. I've not seen 1 cop with a radar gun, or just driving. they're always at some important event. this busy schedule of theirs has given me even more of a freedom in my driving then ever before.
Sam was waiting at a Subway, in Independence, CA. he had me carry him to the car, (not really,) and then 3 more ours of driving, and that's the day. not anything amazing, just alot of out-of-the-ordinary experiences. I'm sure I don't remember them all, because I think there were several more that made the day odd. but this is what I have so deal with it.
so no Sam and I are both on the Oaks, tho not for long. more to come shortly.
PS. check out the Flickr. there are pics from the drive to CA, and Sam's hiking pics. more to come soon.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Saturday, September 22, 2007
catching up.
alright, I'm way behind. some days, I'm just not motivated to write. especially when I have poor Internet. and I worked that day. which describes almost every day for the last 2 weeks or something.
as Sam said, from Lara and Kevin's place in El Paso, we drove to Tuscon, AZ. we have relatives there, cousins I believe. (I get confused, but I THINK it's cousins.) I hope to have pictures of them up soon. they were tons of fun. I'd never met any of them before, but I'm glad I did. very cool people.
then, we drove to my Aunt Becky's house, in Long Beach, CA. on the way there, we did stop at the dinosaurs, as Sam mentioned. supposedly the dinosaurs in Cazabana, CA are the largest in the world. I'm not sure if I believe that. but. they were pretty cool. I'll get pics of those up too, as soon as I can get internet that lets me do it.
then of course, we got into Long Beach. Dad had flown in a few days before, and they were hard at work painting. my Aunt was repainting her house, which is interesting to do, as there are very small spaces between the houses. Dan and Andrea also came in at some point, and after we did more painting, Sam and I followed Dan and Andrea back to the Oaks, where I currently reside. The Oaks is a camp in Lake Hughes, CA, which is a few hours north of LA. I've worked here the last 2 summers, and I'm staying here until my GF, Mary-Beth catches up with us, on the 26th.
Last but not least, Dan dropped Sam off in the mountains on Tuesday I believe it was. Tuesday the 11th. I got a couple pictures of Sam that morning as he was heading out. those coming soon also.
that's all I have for now. we're still out of date, but I'll catch you up the rest of the way soon.
as Sam said, from Lara and Kevin's place in El Paso, we drove to Tuscon, AZ. we have relatives there, cousins I believe. (I get confused, but I THINK it's cousins.) I hope to have pictures of them up soon. they were tons of fun. I'd never met any of them before, but I'm glad I did. very cool people.
then, we drove to my Aunt Becky's house, in Long Beach, CA. on the way there, we did stop at the dinosaurs, as Sam mentioned. supposedly the dinosaurs in Cazabana, CA are the largest in the world. I'm not sure if I believe that. but. they were pretty cool. I'll get pics of those up too, as soon as I can get internet that lets me do it.
then of course, we got into Long Beach. Dad had flown in a few days before, and they were hard at work painting. my Aunt was repainting her house, which is interesting to do, as there are very small spaces between the houses. Dan and Andrea also came in at some point, and after we did more painting, Sam and I followed Dan and Andrea back to the Oaks, where I currently reside. The Oaks is a camp in Lake Hughes, CA, which is a few hours north of LA. I've worked here the last 2 summers, and I'm staying here until my GF, Mary-Beth catches up with us, on the 26th.
Last but not least, Dan dropped Sam off in the mountains on Tuesday I believe it was. Tuesday the 11th. I got a couple pictures of Sam that morning as he was heading out. those coming soon also.
that's all I have for now. we're still out of date, but I'll catch you up the rest of the way soon.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
go west young man
well, i suppose i'll copy this over from xanga. so I can say I contributed something.
Andrew can give a more indepth look into the last few days but here is my summary.
Trip is starting off well.
Hit Austin wednesday night. Ben W's apartment is on the top floor, so we were pretty high. nice views. Went to cheddar and ate supper. tasty.
Thursday night we made it to El Paso. Stayed with Lara and Kevin. charming folk. ate pizza and watched teh Virgin suicides. really weird movie. I got to the end of it, and couldnt really remember what the movie was about or if there had been a point to it. But it was fun. And their apartment is really cool.
Friday we drove over to Tuscon, saw the relatives whom we'd never met before. Nice people. Ate some more food there. watching some tv. did some sleeping.
Saturday we had a long drive to LA. mostly uneventful except for the dinosaur. I sat on its foot. Btw, I had a dream last night about an even bigger dinosaur. somewhere. It was weird.
We got into LA, well actually Long Beach about 5 or so, and immediately starting helping paint my aunt's house. Did that for a few hours, then went and picked up some food from Taco Surf. Basically mexican food... cept you can get it with fish in it if you want. I didn't. cuz that's disgusting. But they do have some amazing beef tacos. crazy good.
Oh, and a side note. There are alot of beautiful women in CA. i like it here.
This will probably be my only post as i will be heading out to the mountains tomorrow. most likely. But I will try to get some updates to andy when i have cell service.
wish me clear skies, light feet, and a trail free of carnivorous animals.
Andrew can give a more indepth look into the last few days but here is my summary.
Trip is starting off well.
Hit Austin wednesday night. Ben W's apartment is on the top floor, so we were pretty high. nice views. Went to cheddar and ate supper. tasty.
Thursday night we made it to El Paso. Stayed with Lara and Kevin. charming folk. ate pizza and watched teh Virgin suicides. really weird movie. I got to the end of it, and couldnt really remember what the movie was about or if there had been a point to it. But it was fun. And their apartment is really cool.
Friday we drove over to Tuscon, saw the relatives whom we'd never met before. Nice people. Ate some more food there. watching some tv. did some sleeping.
Saturday we had a long drive to LA. mostly uneventful except for the dinosaur. I sat on its foot. Btw, I had a dream last night about an even bigger dinosaur. somewhere. It was weird.
We got into LA, well actually Long Beach about 5 or so, and immediately starting helping paint my aunt's house. Did that for a few hours, then went and picked up some food from Taco Surf. Basically mexican food... cept you can get it with fish in it if you want. I didn't. cuz that's disgusting. But they do have some amazing beef tacos. crazy good.
Oh, and a side note. There are alot of beautiful women in CA. i like it here.
This will probably be my only post as i will be heading out to the mountains tomorrow. most likely. But I will try to get some updates to andy when i have cell service.
wish me clear skies, light feet, and a trail free of carnivorous animals.
Friday, September 7, 2007
weeeeee
alright people, lets start this up again. traveling again. and as always, we've started this road with Willie Neslon, On the Road Again.
We left Lufkin yesterday, Wednesday, September 5th. we drove about 4 1/2 hours to Austin, met up with Ben W, our host for the night. had dinner with him and his brother, and then I drove my GF back to home to San Antonio.
We woke up this morning, left about 10, and drove until 7:30, when we arrived in El Paso. we're staying here with Lara and Kevin. just until tomorrow I mean. then we head to Tucson.
as for a quick over all plan, we're driving to CA, and then on monday, I'm dropping off Sam in the wilderness. and he'll hike for months on end. and I'll be around CA for 2 weeks or so, then head around CA, Oregon, Washington, and eventually, (hopefully,) Canada.
anyway, that's all I got right now. check back for more soon!
We left Lufkin yesterday, Wednesday, September 5th. we drove about 4 1/2 hours to Austin, met up with Ben W, our host for the night. had dinner with him and his brother, and then I drove my GF back to home to San Antonio.
We woke up this morning, left about 10, and drove until 7:30, when we arrived in El Paso. we're staying here with Lara and Kevin. just until tomorrow I mean. then we head to Tucson.
as for a quick over all plan, we're driving to CA, and then on monday, I'm dropping off Sam in the wilderness. and he'll hike for months on end. and I'll be around CA for 2 weeks or so, then head around CA, Oregon, Washington, and eventually, (hopefully,) Canada.
anyway, that's all I got right now. check back for more soon!
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