I have now reached the halfway point in my car rental. I have 30 days to go. In reflecting how I spent the first 30 days, I have to say from my perspective that it was not all wasted. I've been places I've only dreamed of going, found some unexpected laughter, and some frustration as well.
I rented a car for the first 60 days rather than buy one outright because I wanted to see two things: Did I have the stamina tom do what I wanted to do, and is the idea feasible, in the sense of whether I can make enough money to survive?
Let's answer the first question first. In the last 30 days I have driven over 4,000 miles, going from North Carolina, to Washington D.C. to Baltimore, to Pennsylvania, to Massachusetts, to Connecticut and New York, back to Massachusetts and now in Ohio.
Over that time I have attended 6 baseball games, been to a zoo in Connecticut, went to Niagara Falls and attended a charity lacrosse game. Most of my time has been spent driving.
I have stayed in at least 11 different motels. Some better than others, but they were all relatively cheap.
I have spent 4 nights in my car. A crowded, uncomfortable situation.
In all this I have this to say about my injuries: They have slowed me down. They have made it difficult to climb stairs, and there were many stairs along the way. Stairs in subways, stairs in ballparks, stairs everywhere. Every time I climbed a stair, I came out exhausted.
Yet I recovered. My stamina is just fine.
I stayed in too many hotels along the way, and that has drained what was once a fair amount of money.
If I had to do the vehicle part all over, I would have bought the cheap van and lived out of that as much as possible.
One regret.
In terms of the business and making money goes: I once told a friend (the one who invited me to the lacrosse game) that all it would take would be one video going viral and I'd be set. Alas, that has not happened, for several reasons.
First, while I have been shooting a lot of video, I can't find an internet connection that will let me upload it fast. I have tens of hours of video sitting on my computer, waiting to make it to youtube, and I spend hours uploading one 5 minute video.
This is the most frustrating part of the whole trip. I even tried getting a mobile hotspot, thinking it would be faster on the upload that standard motel wifi. It it, but just slightly. And it's expensive. For me to upload an HD video, would take my entire allotment of bandwidth.
I plan to return the mobile hotspot.
So I have uploaded some video, and some of it may even entertain you, But they get very few hits on youtube, and even if they get hits, youtube can decide they won't put ads on it, and I make no money. I still have yet to understand why they won't put on on the lacrosse video, but my email to them get answered in a cryptic fashion.
So the bottom line is, I haven't uploaded the video that will go viral - yet. Maybe I haven't even shot it yet. I have made little money from the video and it's not enough at the moment to justify the costs.
What I'm looking for at this time is a partner who can help me cover costs. I'm also looking for someone (could be the same someone) who will travel with me and be the outgoing part of the team. Someone to line up interviews for my 'Two Minutes With..." segment. I haven't had the nerve to ask anyone if I could interview them. I've preferred to be the passive person who records life as it happens.
It's not working.
So while I am in Cincinnati at the moment, I am looking for work or for whatever comes next in the business. If you want to help, call me at 919-906-3445.
I rented a car for the first 60 days rather than buy one outright because I wanted to see two things: Did I have the stamina tom do what I wanted to do, and is the idea feasible, in the sense of whether I can make enough money to survive?
Let's answer the first question first. In the last 30 days I have driven over 4,000 miles, going from North Carolina, to Washington D.C. to Baltimore, to Pennsylvania, to Massachusetts, to Connecticut and New York, back to Massachusetts and now in Ohio.
Over that time I have attended 6 baseball games, been to a zoo in Connecticut, went to Niagara Falls and attended a charity lacrosse game. Most of my time has been spent driving.
I have stayed in at least 11 different motels. Some better than others, but they were all relatively cheap.
I have spent 4 nights in my car. A crowded, uncomfortable situation.
In all this I have this to say about my injuries: They have slowed me down. They have made it difficult to climb stairs, and there were many stairs along the way. Stairs in subways, stairs in ballparks, stairs everywhere. Every time I climbed a stair, I came out exhausted.
Yet I recovered. My stamina is just fine.
I stayed in too many hotels along the way, and that has drained what was once a fair amount of money.
If I had to do the vehicle part all over, I would have bought the cheap van and lived out of that as much as possible.
One regret.
In terms of the business and making money goes: I once told a friend (the one who invited me to the lacrosse game) that all it would take would be one video going viral and I'd be set. Alas, that has not happened, for several reasons.
First, while I have been shooting a lot of video, I can't find an internet connection that will let me upload it fast. I have tens of hours of video sitting on my computer, waiting to make it to youtube, and I spend hours uploading one 5 minute video.
This is the most frustrating part of the whole trip. I even tried getting a mobile hotspot, thinking it would be faster on the upload that standard motel wifi. It it, but just slightly. And it's expensive. For me to upload an HD video, would take my entire allotment of bandwidth.
I plan to return the mobile hotspot.
So I have uploaded some video, and some of it may even entertain you, But they get very few hits on youtube, and even if they get hits, youtube can decide they won't put ads on it, and I make no money. I still have yet to understand why they won't put on on the lacrosse video, but my email to them get answered in a cryptic fashion.
So the bottom line is, I haven't uploaded the video that will go viral - yet. Maybe I haven't even shot it yet. I have made little money from the video and it's not enough at the moment to justify the costs.
What I'm looking for at this time is a partner who can help me cover costs. I'm also looking for someone (could be the same someone) who will travel with me and be the outgoing part of the team. Someone to line up interviews for my 'Two Minutes With..." segment. I haven't had the nerve to ask anyone if I could interview them. I've preferred to be the passive person who records life as it happens.
It's not working.
So while I am in Cincinnati at the moment, I am looking for work or for whatever comes next in the business. If you want to help, call me at 919-906-3445.
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