Wednesday, September 7, 2011

That's All Folks!!!


Well this is it, my last blog entry and the last day of my Midlife Crisis at 40. Today I turned 41, so my 40 year old midlife crisis is officially over...and so brings an end to this yearlong blog. I've done quite a bit over the past 365 days, actually more than I ever dreamed I could do. I've traveled to:

  • 4 Continents: Asia, Europe, Africa, North America
  • 16 Countries: Taiwan, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, England, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Austria, Slovakia, Romania, Spain, Italy, USA
  • 28 Cities: Taipei, Paris, Strausberg, Freiberg, Prague, Kutna Hora, Budapest, Krakow, Auschwitz, Berlin, Liverpool, Cairo, Luxor, Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Samos, Selcuk, Pamukkale, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Vienna, Bratislava, Bucharest, Barcelona, Venice, St. Louis, Los Angeles
  • 21 Airline flights
  • 7 Train rides
  • 6 Bus rides
  • 2000 miles driven by car

What have I learned over the past year during my 40 Year Old Midlife Crisis?

I've learned that I am one hell of a lucky guy. I've also learned that you create a lot of your luck in life. The best quote I've heard about luck is what I heard from the Australian guitarist Brett Garsed, "it's not about being lucky, it's about being READY when that luck comes your way." I might have gone overboard this past year with traveling, music and other things, but I milked every moment I could for what it was worth. Every single day, I realized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I wasn't going to waste one moment of it...and you know what...I didn't!

Thanks for reading the blog, thanks for all of the comments and thanks for the support over the past year. Grab life when you can, because one of these days, it's going to go be gone, and the last thing you want to be thinking is, "I wish I would have, could have, should have..."

Monday, September 5, 2011

Top Five Blog Posts

Well, I've arrived in Los Angeles with two days left of my "Midlife Crisis". I missed LA quite a bit over the past year, but after being here for a little over 48 hours, I'm wondering if I miss more the "idea" of Los Angeles, and not actually the reality of LA...traffic, smog, unfriendly people...yeah, great stuff.

Well I couldn't come up with anything interesting to talk about in Los Angeles, so I decided pick my Top Five Blog Posts over the past 364 days.

5). Images in Taiwan - It was a challenge trying to take pictures of remote desolate areas in a city with millions of people walking around. My first attempt at photography and video editing, combined with music.


4). Harmony Home on Christmas - Spending Christmas with the children at the Harmony Home orphanage in Taiwan is something that I'll never never forgot. Something that's changed me for the rest of my life.


3). Aboriginal Taiwanese Tai Ya Tribe - Traveling to the mountain area a few hours outside of Taipei to create a short film with the children from the Tai Ya Tribe was awesome.


2). Open Studio - short film & jam session - If I had to pick my favorite moment in Paris, it would have to be playing with violinist Pasi Eerikäinenat our our Open Studio. It was a crazy with our only rehearsal, 30 minutes before our performance, but luckily it turned out ok.


1). At the Pyramids - Egypt was the scariest, but also the most amazing place I've ever visited in my life. This picture says it all:


NOTE TO SELF: Next time check to see if a country is under Martial Law before traveling there.