Flying

Today I landed a plane, and now I'm wondering if I shouldn't have removed "get a pilot's licence" from my bucket list... man, that was fun!

Took a short flight around Boundary Bay and Semiahmoo Bay with King George Aviation School this afternoon after my brother gave me a Groupon he didn't want. I got to handle the controls and brought the plane in for the landing myself. Wasn't expecting that, but it was actually pretty easy and smooth (though my adrenaline was definitely going).

The plane was a Rans Coyote II. It's a build-it-yourself. Pretty much made of toothpicks and pillowcases, it probably weighs only three times as much as I do, and it's super sensitive to the hand and foot controls. It took about three seconds to get off the ground, and then it was spectacular views of oceanfront properties in the States and around White Rock the rest of the way.

I asked the pilot if we could do a couple of rolls, and he obliged. It was like a roller-coaster ride 400 feet up. Epic.

What a way to spend a gorgeous summer afternoon. I recommend this for something to do on a sunny day. And I may have to re-consider getting my licence.

#63 - In Business

At what point can you say you've legitimately started your own small business? When you've had a company website launched, of course!

Check it out: Rogue Wave Communications is official as of today.

I've registered the company name, handed out business cards, taken some business courses, and oh, yeah, invoiced clients and gotten paid. So far, it's been mostly web video, but I've also contracted for some writing and a few photo sessions. I've got some more clients lined up and plans for some major networking coming up.

Keeping the books and all that isn't very fun, but it's worth it to have my own company and do work I love. The thing about being self-employed, even if it's only a side gig, is that sometimes you have to remind yourself not to feel guilty for having fun on the job. Sometimes you end up staying up until the wee hours, losing track of time while you're editing video, or get a really sweet photo and can't stop smiling for the rest of the day, or write a sentence so witty or poetic you have to call your mom to brag about it as soon as it's on the page... and that's how you know you're in the right line of work. And being the boss is the cherry on top. It's pretty rad to have a business website. I bet this is how Mark Zuckerberg felt when Facebook went live.

Do what you love. Love what you do.

100 is the magic number

I found this website called Litemind that's all about good ideas and stuff.

One of the posts is about how to tackle any issue with a list of 100 things. The one that stood out to me was 100 Jobs/Careers I'd love to Try. At first it sounded dumb, but I had some time to kill tonight while uploading some video footage, so I read it. And it wasn't dumb. In fact, it was awesome. (There may be a slight bias here, considering I'm OBSESSED with lists, and I like the number 100, but still, I believe most people will agree it gets the creative juices flowing.)

Do it! Turn off the TV, sit down for 20 minutes, and just write without thinking too hard about it. It's really fun.

I came up with some gems, plus realized if I'm ever unemployed or want to change jobs, there's lots of cool stuff to try. Like snorkel instructing, dolphin training, or brain research. I'll just need to update my resume.

He wrote back!

Today I got a letter in the mail from New York, New York. Casey Neistat wrote me back! Okay, technically his assistant wrote me back, since it was a form letter, but Casey did sign it with his own hand... and promised to write me back a more personal message at some point.

I'm stoked.

He's pretty famous, and way more interesting and actually talented than most celebrities (like, say, the girl from Twilight).

Anyway, Neistat even sent me a bunch of his $2 bill stickers, which I will put to good use.

Not exactly sure how yet, but I'm hatching a few creative ideas. Any suggestions are also welcome.

the unexpected chef

Homemade vegetarian black bean chili with avocado lime salsa. That's what I made for dinner tonight. I'm not even joking. The girl who specializes in frozen pizza and microwaved dinners made this from scratch:

I think I was channelling Julia Child. Or maybe just Julie Powell, who channelled Julia Child. Anyway, I've been suddenly forced into thinking about what I'm eating every day since I saw a naturopathic doctor (ND) last Thursday, who decided I need to try an elimination diet. (I've had digestive issues since I was a teenager, ranging from heartburn, to IBS, to a number of others issues and, frankly, I'm sick of it. No pun intended.) I guess I've metaphorically been putting sugar in my gas tank for most of my life, and it's time to learn how to eat the right stuff... and therefore, how to cook.

Side note: The word elimination in my particular case means no alcohol, caffeine, sugar, gluten, dairy, eggs, corn or soy... for two weeks.

So far, so good. Surprisingly, I haven't had any cravings and haven't been hungry yet, and it's the end of day four. I've discovered the wonder of herbs and spices (like, for example, you can fry a chicken breast in olive oil with oregano, thyme, garlic salt and ginger powder and then sprinkle it with Montreal Chicken Seasoning and it's heaven in your mouth.) Coriander is a real thing. I don't know what, exactly, but it goes well in avocado lime salsa.

Breakfast, every day until last week, consisted of some kind of egg or cheese item with a cup of coffee (strong, with cream). Breakfast now means plain oatmeal with almond milk or a fruit smoothie with peanut butter (organic, no sugar or salt added.)

Now I'm chowing down on fruit like it's candy (watermelon, mandarin oranges, apples, cherries, and bananas are making me happy) and rice cakes are a nice staple. Okay no, actually, that's a lie; they taste like stale cardboard, but at least they offer something on which to put peanut butter or eggplant antipasto. So instead of coffee, I'm drinking about 2 Litres of water a day, plus roughly four cups of herbal tea. Peppermint is a nice morning pick-me-up, by the way.

I haven't been hungry or craved anything yet (not even chocolate!) -- It may be simple denial, but this super-restricted diet has, so far, been a fairly easy challenge, and I'm kind of enjoying learning to make real food.

Tomorrow I'm going to buy rice flour and make banana nut muffins. I'll just have to figure out how to compensate for not using eggs. I found this book at the library called Cooking For Isaiah: Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free Recipes for Delicious Meals. All I can say is, "Thank-you, Isaiah, wherever you are, for having a finicky stomach, and, even more, to your mother for coming up with these recipes and publishing them!" There's life after bread and milk. Of course, should it turn out I don't have any sensitivities to either gluten or dairy, the first thing I'm going to do is chug a nice tall glass of two per cent and eat a big ol' piece of cheesy pizza pie.

But I will make the pizza myself, from scratch. Because I will know how to do that. Learning to cook: one small step for my digestive tract, one big step towards crossing off bucket list item #38.

New Hero

I've discovered Casey Neistat. The guy is a year older than me, living in NYC, travelling the world, and making a living as a self-proclaimed "YouTube filmmaker." He's doing pretty much exactly what I want to be doing, and living pretty much exactly the life I want to be living. I want to meet him and find out how I, too, can make the awesomeness happen.

I'm going to write him a letter.

Mouse, please!

I was this close to getting one of these today:

I'd love to have a fancy mouse or rat. Call me crazy, but I've heard they're great pets. They're smart, clean, affectionate, and only live about two or three years, which is about all the time I want to commit to cage cleaning at this point in my life. Of course, I really, really want a dog. A Border Terrier or a Boston, I think... but not yet. Way too much responsibility.

When I was a kid, my family's house was a veritable menagerie of guinea pigs, hamsters, rabbits, cats, dogs, fish, canaries and other assorted wildlife we managed to catch and keep for a while. These days, my folks have but one cat and one dog. But the dog is half cat and the cat is half retarded, so to me, they're nice, but not sufficient for my personal pet preferences. I want a little furry creature that's just mine, that I can maybe teach some tricks, and that will go for car rides with me on weekends. Rats love car rides, right?

Anyway, waking up this morning, I suddenly had an epiphany: I could get a pet if I wanted to. After thinking about it carefully (for about 30 seconds) decided that yes, I do want to. So I went to the animal shelter, all ready to cross off bucket list item #15, but found there were only a couple of pit bulls, a few skittish rabbits and about 37 million cats looking for their "forever homes." Yes, I would love to see all of these animals get picked up by some loving folks who will pet them tenderly and feed them scraps from the table... but I was hoping for a mouse.

Then again, maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and realize it's not mice, but medical school, or hot air balloon rides my heart is truly after. My mother always says to "sleep on it" when making any decisions (even rodent adoption), so I'll do that. But if I wake up wanting a mouse I'm gonna go get one right after breakfast.

30-Day Photo Challenge

I got the Canon 7D for making sweet videos, and it turns out it's pretty good at taking sweet still shots, too. Not wanting to waste my camera's capacity for sweetness, nor allow my photography skills acquired in journalism school to wither, I've decided to take it upon myself to take some pics every day and post the best on Facebook (one frame per day). I started the project on May 1, which means I've got six pics now. Here's today's best shot, taken at Rocky Point Park in Port Moody:

My bucket list includes #91 - Take a photograph good enough to frame... I realize now this is rather vague, because technically, I've accomplished this already, what with an engagement photo already framed and hanging on the wall in my brother's house...

But I think if I'm specific about this goal, it's to really get a handle on the technicalities of shutter speed, aperture setting and ISO setting, and be able to know just how to set the camera and how to frame a subject so I can get a really amazingly sweet shot. I want to feel like a pro, knowing I can at any moment get my camera set up in five seconds to be ready for the shot as soon as I see it. Then, I dunno, maybe I'll know I can cross this one off the list when someone's wiling to pay for the framed photo. Maybe that's the goal.

Paralyzed by Indecision

Okay, so I haven't posted for almost a month because I've been trying to make a million decisions about a million things. For example, to climb or boulder? To commit to weekly Toastmasters meetings yet or put that on hold? Go for a one-year reporting contract or stick with my business plan and be self-employed?

There are daily choices to be made and with all of these comes F.E.A.R. of making the wrong choice. 

At least, that's the way I feel. I want to live a big life, and do everything, but of course that means doing something, anything, starting today. Instead I often find myself sitting here at my desk doing a whole lot of sitting and thinking about what to do. Argh! I want to be more like this guy and JUST DO IT! Something! Anything! 

Life = movement = action. Do one thing that scares you. Every day. Make a list if you have to, but then start crossing things off.

To climb or boulder?

Went to Cliffhanger with my brothers on Saturday. My oldest brother and I took our middle bro for his birthday. Little did I know when I booked the two-hours with a belayer, we all have an intense fear of heights. It was like an acrophobics anonymous meeting. But we all made it to the top and nobody puked or passed out. Way to go, guys!

It'd been a while since I've been top-roping, and I was beginning to think I'd never get over my fear of getting up that wall, but it wasn't so bad. I did a 5.9 route and made it up without having any kind of deer-in-the-headlights panic attack. Those are awful.

Since I had a good time, I'm now undecided about whether to get a pass and keep top-roping or go to the Hive and just focus on bouldering. I love the idea of totally conquering my fear and getting good enough to climb a sheer rock face outdoors (as in "real" rock climbing), but I think I'm just more fascinated by the technique and skill needed for bouldering. Not to mention it seems to take a hell of a lot more upper body strength, and I could really use that kind of workout. These grover arms are keeping me from knocking off the "Do 50 push-ups" item on my bucket list...

A Taste of Toastmasters

Checked out a Toastmasters meeting in Port Moody on Thursday. It was just as delightfully nerdy as I'd expected. About 15 people, mostly middle-aged, sat around wearing business casual and sipping water from dixie cups. The meeting began at precisely 5:30 p.m. and ended at exactly 7 p.m. The anally retentive part of my personality was overjoyed at how well this group kept to the scheduled agenda, which included introductions, a formal welcome of the guests (me), a prepared speech about whiskey, a "table topic" section, (three or four people speaking off the cuff about various things), and some other random house-keeping items. A brand new member received her name badge, which she will wear at every meeting, or suffer the consequence of having to pay a dollar fine. Nerdfest!

Towards the end of the meeting I was asked if I wanted to speak for a couple of minutes during the Table Talk. I thought about it for a quick second and declined. I wasn't ready. There are a few things in life... okay, there are a LOT of things in life that scare me. Public speaking is one of them. I know I'm not alone on this one. But this is the first step on the path to enjoy, rather than avoid, speaking in front of a crowd. I have visions of one day, when I become a Toast Grandmaster or whatever it's called, being asked to speak at events all over the world. Just like this guy:

Going to check out one or two other clubs to see what kind of vibe they have going on, then pay my dues and start on the path to perfect diction and awesome anecdotes.

365 days of Dining in Richmond

So Tourism Richmond has come up with a brilliant marketing scheme, in the same vein as last summer's Live@YVR campaign. This time, it's finding a blogger to eat a great meal every day for a year (yes, that's 365 consecutive days of free food!) and exclaim about it online so the world can find out about the variety of amazing culinary options the city has to offer.

They're looking for someone who's already into blogging, Tweeting, and Facebookery, with a general love of food, travel and adventure. Sign. Me. Up. Doesn't hurt it pays 50 grand and comes with a gym membership!

I think this one's awesome. Everyone in this city loves food. I think the term "foodie" may even originate in the Metro Vancouver area. If not, it should have. We like our food, and we like it good.

New camera!

Bought a new DSLR camera today - the Canon EOS 7D kit, with a 15-85 IS lens. It's going to be main tool (besides my laptop) for doing business with Rogue Wave Communications. Can't wait to start playing around with it, get used to all the bells and whistles. Not only does this camera take great shots, it's also on the forefront of digital camera technology for shooting nice video.

Now to get a shotgun mic and a good tripod with fluid head.

Open for Bidness

Registered my business name today on the government website. Took all of five minutes, and now I have a business number, so I'm officially accepting contracts for writing and editing. Don't have a vid cam yet, so I'll have to hold off on web video production, but I'm getting there. It's pretty exciting!

Final Cut Pro

Took the next step in launching my writing/editing, web video business: installed Final Cut Pro 7. Or rather, the local web video guru, Ian MacKenzie, installed it for me. Thanks, Ian! Can't wait to get a camera now, and get to creating some awesome mini docs and promo videos! 

Master of Toast?

So I'm thinking about joining Toastmasters to improve my speaking and communication skills. On paper, there's always time to delete and re-phrase, check over spelling or grammar mistakes, and there's never any "ums" or "ahs." On the phone, or in talking to someone, however, there's much to be improved upon.

I remember elementary and high school speeches being mandatory in English class. I didn't mind them, but I was never great at delivering a knock-out talk. Watching Ted talks makes me think it would be pretty amazing to hold an audience's attention and move and inspire people with my spoken words...without using cue cards.

I've heard Toastmasters is a well-organized program to learn to give a good speech. I'm sure many a best man has signed up for the program in order to get some tips in being a better orator. Nothing impresses like a good, witty speech delivered with confidence and eloquent turns of phrase. I'd like to be able to be ready at any moment to step onto a soap box and gesticulate wildly about anything at a moment's notice. Be good to have that skill in my back pocket.

But is Toastmasters all it's cracked up to be? I haven't heard of any of the "famous Toastmasters" listed on the organization's website. They seem to be mostly American senators. I have no aspirations to wax poetic about US politics... so maybe there are other options I've yet to discover. But I'll check out what a membership to Toastmasters is all about and maybe drop in on a meeting at least once, just to see if it's actually a cult. If anyone has any advice about other ways to improve speaking skills, I'm all ears.

Setting (or revising) goals

Stumbled upon a post on 30Sleeps.com this morning that talks about the most common mistake people make when setting goals. The trick is, according to the author, you've got to make it measurable. I've realized, after reviewing my bucket list, that many of my goals are kind of vaguely defined. Become fluent in French? Collect original art? How will I know when I can check these off and feel they've been accomplished?

Things like run a marathon, earn a Masters degree, and knit a scarf are clearly defined with a tangible goal that has either been met or not been met. I like to have goals that take a while to reach, because the harder it is, the better it feels to finally complete the journey. Going to a Canucks game is something I'd always wanted to do, but it in no way gave me a sense of accomplishment for having sat and watched some hockey players do their thing. It was fun, but it took no effort and really didn't teach me anything about the world or myself.

So, I may spend some time next month revising my list to reflect more concrete, measurable goals to have a better sense of exactly what it is I want to achieve with each one.

Hmn, now how to better define "earn a cool nickname"?

The Business Plan - Part 2

Okay, I got ahead of myself in the last post. After the business plan is done, yes, you can take it to the bank for a loan... but there are two parts to a business plan: the words and the numbers. Of course, I love the words part, but not so much the numbers, which is what we're working on this week in classes.

I had to use Excel and input assets, equity, loans, personal investment, blah blah blah, and it all has to add up and make perfect sense. With so many variables (and unknowns, still at this point!) I'm going a little crazy. I can see why people have successful businesses providing one service: business plan writing. It's a lot of work and a bit of a headache.

The Business Plan

So I'm finding out very quickly that it's all well and good to pick a fun name for your business but that's not the first step. The first step to starting a business is to write a the business plan, even if it's just a home-based business. And you'd better be ready for some real work 'cause crap, it's not easy to write. It's 30-odd pages of facts and figures and explanations and reasons for the explanations. I can see, though, that if you've got every consideration taken care of and written down, you can't help but have a solid business model once you're done, which will serve to guide you through your first year. It's like drawing a road map to a place you've only imagined, but once you've got the map drawn out the place becomes a reality. Kind of cool.

Actually, I lie. The VERY FIRST STEP TO STARTING A BUSINESS... drum roll... is MARKET RESEARCH. You have to know exactly what it is you're going to be selling (whether product or service), who you're going to be selling to, and how.

Also, very daunting. What is my business? Well, after having to answer that question on paper, in very specific detail, I've realized it's not what I thought it was when I first proposed it in my application to the program. What I thought would be a sort of all-encompassing creative marketing, writing/editing, freelance journalism, video/photo sort of thing has been narrowed to include promotional web video production and content writing for small businesses and non-profits in the Tri-Cities.

It's still going to be called Rogue Wave Communications, but the fun part of launching a website, getting a logo on business cards and doing the rest of the marketing doesn't come until the groundwork has been laid in the plan. Argh. I HATE having to figure out financials and sales strategies and boring stuff like that. In my head my business is running smoothly, with me doing creative, inspiring work that helps local businesses and people get their message out there, with me building an awesome portfolio on my website of neat video, photo and writing...

But that's all in the future. Right now I have to figure out who I'm going to bank with, and which bookkeeper (which I've learned is not the same as an accountant) I'm going to hire to keep my receipts and invoices in order after the first quarter.

Anyway, to sum up: start with market research. If you don't know what sea you're swimming in, you'll either be eaten by sharks (the competition) or find yourself getting washed up on shore (not get any customers/clients). Pardon the bad metaphor, I just couldn't resist. Once you've done your surveys, scoped out the competition and all that good stuff, get down to the nitty gritty and write yourself a business plan.

You can take this to the bank to get a loan... which is step two: show me the money!

Self-Employment!

Well my disappointment about not being accepted into the Douglas College Self-Employment Program last month was premature. I'd forgotten that waiting for the government to do anything requires more patience than for just about anything else. The Ministry finally got back to my employment counsellor a couple of weeks ago to confirm I've been approved for the 48-week grant and the six-week course at the college. First day of classes was yesterday, and I've been thrown in the deep end!

First step: write a 30-page business plan (which includes seven pages of financials). Ugh. I'm way more interested in registering the name and doing fun marketing stuff like creating a Facebook page...

Anyway, I've got six more days of classes in the next two weeks and the first draft of the plan due Feb. 2; so lots to do between now and then. Like getting a new laptop. Mine has officially bit the dust. I'm excited about the prospect of a brand new MacBook Pro. Only problem is how to include Word and Excel, which I'll need for the course.

But problems can always be solved with some creativity. I'm stoked to be self-employed, and be able to write off all my receipts next year at tax time. And, of course, being my own boss. Okay, it's time for a coffee break. And go.

Oldies but Goodies

So with the start of a new year I'm looking back at my bucket list and seeing a few things I'm happy to have completed. I have no particular desire to do any more jigsaw puzzles or go on another police ride-along, or read Moby Dick again (though I'm glad I experienced those things).

There are, however, a few things I've realized I'd like to keep up with, like knitting (just started another scarf), reading the Bible (I need to get a new one that's in more modern English though, for daily referral), bartending (planning to volunteer at Wild Rice weekly starting in February), and, of course, running.

After three months of being inactive, I finally got around to seeing a physiotherapist last week (Mark Hampton in Coquitlam, who is awesome). Turns out I pulled my IT band after the marathon and have scar tissue on the outside of my knee, which hurts like hell everytime I try to run. (The technical term, according to the physio, is ITB Friction Syndrome, or lateral retinaculum.) Evidently I did not train enough. Four months training for a half-marathon is great, four months training for a full marathon is not enough. Which, in hindsight, makes sense. If the distance is double, so should the training be. Four months just wasn't enough to get enough strength in my quads and glutes. They're weak as kittens. But that's okay, I know now how to build up the strength for distance running. And one day, perhaps in the not-too-distant future, I'll be find myself again in the middle of a 42.2 km race, feeling as good at the end as I did after a half-marathon.

So I've got a walk/run program with stretching/strengthening exercises to do now and today I got out there for half an hour without so much as a twinge in my knee. And oh, endorphins, how I love you. What better way to feel good about being alive than to move your body and feel your heart thump outside in the world for even just half an hour?

Check out this video that so expertly sums up this very concept. The best Rx in the world.

#28 - Try Bartending

Well, I may not have had the same flair as this guy:

But I did get behind a real bar last night to mix a few Dirty Shirleys for customers who had no idea it was my first time with a shot glass. 

Seriously, it's amazing how people take for granted you're a professional if you look the part and fake it. I was wearing black and happened to be on the serving side of the bar. 

The highlight, after using the cheat sheet and crossing my fingers behind my back half the time, hoping no one would send a drink back, was when I got to make up a new one. It's nothing fancy, but I'm a writer, not a bartender, so it was all about the name: the Screwycolada. Yes! Instead of a plain old screwdriver you mix equal parts orange and pineapple juice. I would have put some coconut in if we'd had it, but alas. We also didn't have milk, so I didn't get to make any White Russians; another favourite, and the only other cocktail I knew how to make. 

(Side note: it turns out people enjoy a cocktail no matter how you make it at 11:47 p.m. on New Year's Eve as long as it's got a shot or two of liquor in it. This is doubly true if they're already smashed.)

Anyway, I did learn a few tidbits of pouring, bottle opening, and general alcohol wisdom. What the hell is a Lotus? A Greyhound? How much wine do you pour into the glass to serve? Not as much as I wanted to, let me tell you. Holy Christmas it's not cheap to get a few drinks in your system, especially on the official alcohol night of the year. That being said, we were offering $5 bottles of beer, which happened to include my favourite, the Stanley Park lager. And for my service for the night, I got a nice Orchid (some kind of vodka, ginger thing) and a Stanley Park (oh, and a few sips of bourbon from the bar manager's personal flask). 

Bartending is as much fun as I'd expected it to be. People you serve are happy (unless they're very sad) and sometimes they flirt with you because it's expected that bartenders should be hit on. Also, you get tips. 

To be able to serve (or work within 100 metres of any alcoholic beverage) in B.C. you need to get the Serving It Right certificate. While it sort of seems like a good idea, I think it's mostly just a government cash grab. You have to pay $35 to do the course online. It's a multiple-choice quiz, 30 questions, and because you do it at home on your own, you can totally cheat by just opening up a new browser window and finding the answers on the website as you go. But sssshh, don't tell anyone. I still managed to get three answers wrong, thereby just squeaking in with the necessary percentage to pass. So now I have the confirmation code that verifies I've got the certificate (which, strangely, never expires) and I'm good to go as a bartender or sales person at a liquor store.

So I'm hoping to get some more bartending experience at Wild Rice, maybe weekly, and then once I'm as good as Tom Cruise in Cocktail ("When he pours, he reigns.") I'll be able to get pay-eeeed. Booyah. 

For now, though, a coupla free drinks, maybe some yam and rosemary potstickers and a bowl of hot and sour soup is A-okay in exchange for the mad skillz I'm picking up.