Oh, Yeah! Number of Flights in 2008: 10+
When I left my last and final corporate job in 2005, my weekly flying schedule came to a screeching halt. From Summer 2004 to Summer 2005, I had flown more than 50,000 nautical air miles between American, Soutwest and Delta Air. My goal for 2008 was to increase my flying and I’m happy to report that I’ve accomplished the goal! Granted, I have not reached my ultimate goal of weekly flights, but I’m pretty happy with the outcome:
1. Detroit, Michigan (+3)
2. Chicago, Illinois (+3)
3. Newark, New Jersey (+1)
4. New York, New York (+1)
5. Phoenix, Arizona (+1)
6. Las Vegas, Nevada (+1)
7. Austin, Texas (+1)
8. Dallas, Texas (+1)
Several flights were trips to visit family and friends, with the rest being leisure and conferences. The New York flight was a quick day trip to record an interview for the ABC special dedicated to the late CMU professor, Dr. Randy Pausch.
Tomorrow, I’ll fly to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for a weekend of fun through Monday. Its been two years since my last visit to Calgary and I’m looking forward to seeing how this great Canadian city has grown since.
Now, if only I can work out some kind of spokesman deal for one of the airlines, I’ll be all set! I never get tired of flying!
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First Widebody Flight This Sunday: Boeing 777
I’m looking forward to my first ever widebody flight this Sunday morning. I’ll board a United Boeing 777 in Chicago for my final leg to Denver from Detroit. Now that I’ve decided to fly United more often out of Denver (American Airlines, Southwest and United are my top three carriers), there’s a good chance that I’ll have more widebody flights in the future.
I’ll be posting pictures along the way here on my blog.
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Two Strangers. One World. A Chance of a Lifetime.
The idea of traveling the world full-time is starting to consume my mind. I can taste, smell and feel the reality of achieving this dream. I can see myself living in exotic locales around the world, meeting great new people and learning a lot of things along my journey. The urge for world travel is growing stronger. The anticipation is starting to overwhelm me.
However, I don’t want to experience this journey alone. For too long, I’ve taken on life all alone. Now, I want to share this incredible journey with someone: A perfect stranger. The idea is to pair myself with a woman of similar age, background, marital status (single), etc. What we both have in common is our nomadic nature and desire to see the world without anything holding us back.
The more this dream and idea develops, the more I want it. I see my travel companion as someone who’s just like myself: Intelligent, uninhibited, worldly, self sufficient, goal oriented, etc. Our lives would become an integrated experience in how we live, survive, learn, grow and prosper. We’d combine our resources, strengths, capabilities and dreams to realize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The experience would be shared with the world via blogging, live and pre-recorded video and other interactive media. Everyone would be able to witness and partake in this daring and unique project. I’m so overwhelmed as of this writing. I think this project is one of the most ambitious ever in my life. There’s so many wonderful opportunities and experiences that can be realized from this.
As I’ve mentioned before, I would like to kick off this project by my 30th birthday, which is September 10th, 2009. However, there aren’t any guarantees given the timetable, but anything’s possible. One thing to keep in mind about this project: It will start regardless of finding someone to participate. They can always join the project in progress, although it would be great to find someone before it starts.
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Inspiring: “World Travel Bug”
Last Monday, I met with a group of folks to enjoy wine and food at Denver’s “The Cork”, a fine establishment which is only minutes from my apartment in Downtown Denver. As with most of these “meetups”, you meet a lot of people, and of course, everyone wants to know, “What do you do?”
Sometimes, I’m not sure what to tell people when they ask this question. There are many things I do. However, lately, I’ve been simply telling people, “I’m a tech and media consultant.” I explained to a new Meet In Denver member that I enjoy many things, but that I wanted to discover a way to travel the world full-time.
Tom, a fellow “MID” member and friend, interjected, “You’re a world travel bug. That’s your new title now.” We all erupted in laughter, but I thought about that conversation most of the day. I often ask myself many questions about how to achieve a lifetime of world travel, including:
1. How can I generate income for myself anywhere in the world?
2. Can that income be put on “auto-pilot” to a degree?
3. Will it be something I’d enjoy and be committed to?
My photojournalist friend, Brad, often travels with his wife to exotic locations for free. He commands a position in the industry which keeps his phone ringing off the hook with calls from tourism agencies around the world. In fact, he gets so many offers for free trips, that he often turns them down!
So, just how would one achieve becoming a “world travel bug?” That’s the question of the hour. I’m always thinking about how to achieve this dream, because I cannot think of anything more rewarding than seeing the world for the rest of your life. I don’t have any kids or a significant other, and honestly, I don’t foresee such commitments anytime soon in my life, so why not set out to enjoy and experience everything our planet has to offer?
I have a few ideas brewing on how to accomplish this goal. However, it will take some time to think everything through, establish a plan and finally put it into action. I’d love to have everything in place by my 30th birthday.
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Mission Accomplished: British Woman Reunited with Lost Property
On Thursday morning (February 28th), I was tasked with an interesting challenge: Locating a British citizen who lost her personal property which included a passport, credit cards, driver’s license and mobile phone. I asked myself many questions, all while attempting to place my life in her shoes. I began researching via the Internet and combing through her mobile phone and calendar for details.
I soon discovered that she was staying in Vail for a few weeks. I made several calls to her home (which went unanswered), to Vail and a few other places. I then selected three contacts from her mobile phone — All of which I believed to be individuals with details about her whereabouts. Oddly enough, I really didn’t have much to go on with these contacts — Just intuition.
At Midnight on March 2, I awoke from a nap, determined that I’d return the woman’s lost property later in the day. I made more phone calls to the UK and struck gold: Of the three contacts I originally selected, one happened to be a cousin of the woman’s daughter. I explained the situation and she sent an e-mail to the woman’s son. At 8:30 AM on March 2, I received a phone call: It was her son! We chatted briefly and arranged a meeting place here in Denver. They immediately began their three hour drive in treacherous winter driving conditions to meet me in the afternoon. Of course, I was gravely concerned for their safety and wished them a safe trip.
By Noon on March 2, I received another phone call from the woman I was determined to reach. It was a great moment.
We all agreed upon meeting at a nearby Panera Bread (where I’m a regular) to return her stolen property. I met her son, daughter and a family friend — All seemingly great people. Everyone was warm, welcoming and kind. The woman held her backpack as if she was being reunited with a lost sibling: It far exceeded a “Kodak moment” — It was a priceless experience. Unfortunately, we soon discovered that a large sum of money was stolen, including an iPod and several other items. I felt pretty bad for her, however, I felt better knowing that I succeeded in returning her property (what was left of it, anyway).
She offered $50 for my deed (which I declined), yet, she insisted I take it. She then went on to say that it “would have been more,” to which I responded, “It’s not necessary.” Considering my financial position, there will be those who will say, “You should have asked for more!”, however, I’d like to think that I was doing what comes naturally to me: Giving and helping others, regardless of the outcome.
I hope she’ll ring as promised when she returns to the UK. I at least want to know that she made it home safely.
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