Career Change: Dream Travel Job. Yes.

Hello Dear Readers,

Over the years I have traveled here and there while shooting photos and video while thinking:

Maybe one day I can be a travel filmmaker and do assignments for National Geographic or something...

But how?

Well, Viator.com has created a window of opportunity to becoming a travel videographer with their Dream Travel Job contest.  I created a video entry for Kelly and I.  They are looking for 2 more travelers or filmmakers to go on a 60 day, 20 cities, travel adventure and document it.  All expenses paid.  Not only would this be awesome, it would open doors for more travel assignments.

So please, check out my video entry and vote for it.  You need to be signed into your Facebook account and "Like" the Viator page in order to see the video.  The Vote button is bottom-left under the video.  You can vote once a day!  Thanks!

WATCH AND VOTE HERE!  THANKS!!!

Peace!

-Marty

Change in Karma: Camera Gear, Lost and Found

Lost Flyer by Kelly

Kelly and I park our car near the marina on Douglas Island, AK. We shoot a few photos across the water of Juneau, we get back in the car and drive across the bridge to Juneau library.

After parking the car I realize the back door hatch is wide open! Either I forgot to shut the door or I didn’t close it all the way and it popped open. There was no way to notice the wide open door while driving because our car is filled with so much crap that you cannot see a thing out the back, let alone hear a sound. Nor did anyone honk at us on the 8 minute drive to indicate that our life possessions we’re dangling precariously from our tiny car.

This is our stuff that was in our car while the back door hung open...

I’m panicking as I survey the back of the car, fearing what may be missing. My camera bag… it’s not there! My chest clenches and I say my favorite swears for a full minute. We jump back in our car and immediately retrace our route back to Douglas Island. Nothing. We retrace the route a second time as I repeatedly hit the steering wheel and yell my favorite swears. I hit the steering wheel so hard that my hand is sore and I hope my car allows me to vent my frustration without ejecting my airbag.

The disappointment of my idiocy and losing the camera bag sinks in.

Luckily, my camera was in the front of the car and not in the bag. However, I still have lost all my accessories valued at approximately $500. Not to mention important photos still on my memory cards.

In further idiocy, I don’t think my bag had a name tag on it… If it did, it was probably my old home address and phone number. Even if someone tried to return it, there would be a likely chance it may get lost in the mail…

[Insert a long string of swear words here.]

It’s approximately 7pm and we’re scheduled to leave Juneau on the ferry the following afternoon. Kelly and I have little time to employ lost and found efforts...

We post a listing on Craigslist even though it’s not widely used in Alaska.

We file a police report. [P.S. This is probably the best place to return something if you cannot find the owner yourself.]

And last but not least, we used the good old fashioned “Lost” flyer. Kelly drew up the flyers while I taped them all over Douglas Island: the marina, parks, cafes, gas station, library, telephone poles and more.

We get on the ferry the next day with less photographic resources to document the remaining part of our expedition. My tripod is also rendered useless because both tripod plates we’re in the camera bag…

We arrive in Sitka, AK the next morning. I check my voicemail, fingers crossed… nothing.

I’m really hoping for good karma at this point. Earlier this spring I found a wallet while running through the woods. I went to the address on the license which was a halfway home where no one heard of the guy. With no luck finding him myself, I went to the police who were able to track him down through an employer on the check stub. I hoped that this one-hour good deed would come back to me one day…

And it did!

The next day I received a voicemail from a woman who had my camera bag. Apparently, it fell out of the back of my car in front of her home where someone later found it and brought it to her door. The next day, she had found our illustrated “Lost” flyer at the café!

Boom! The old school "Lost and Found" flyers actually worked! What a relief! The kind woman even fronted the money to ship the case back to me. Thank goodness for her and thank the goodness of Alaska!  After receiving the bag in the mail, I sent back a small reward check along with some good karma I’m sure!

Change in Competence: From a Second Story Ladder in Alaska

Marty at the end of a great day of work.  Ninilchik, AK.

I made it to Alaska. I traveled here by road with my girlfriend Kelly over the course of 4 weeks. We’re over 4,000 miles away from home. When we crossed the Alaskan border, we reviewed our dwindling finances. We knew that to keep this expedition going in the long run, we would have to make some capital. We spent the past few days applying to any possible jobs and gigs we could find on Craigslist.

Our Camp on Bishop's Beach, Homer, AK.

I wake up to early day light with a breath of the sea. I’m laying on Bishop’s beach in Homer, AK where Kelly and I slept the past two nights in the open air without a tent. It’s overcast and cold with a wet drizzle. We managed to stay warm by huddling around a beach wood fire and burying hot rocks in the sand beneath us to create a warm toasty bed.

Today will be a new day. A day of new found competence.

We’re driving North to the town of Ninilchik. I’m going to hang drywall and do handyman work for a couple of days. I’m a bit anxious as we pull up to the cabin because I’ve never hung drywall before…

 Day 3: Marty Sanding.  Cabin in Background.  Ninilchik, AK.

I use to work summers with my dad who is a carpenter. The majority of our work was steel framing in finished basements. Through that, I understood the layout and procedure for hanging drywall but never had to do it myself. I ignored this small detail while exaggerating my construction experience on the telephone to Ken, the homeowner who hired me. Hey, I need the job.

I’m hanging drywall with Jon, the full-time handyman who lives in a small cabin on Ken’s property. Normally, hanging drywall sucks, especially ceiling drywall. Really, it sucks really, really bad. Those who have done it or do it on a regular basis know. However, after this particular ten hour day, the soreness in my arms and on the top of my head felt really good: I’m traveling in Alaska, without an itinerary, exploring at will, and making a little money to keep it going. This is awesome!

 Jon's Cabin on the Right.  Ninilchik, AK.

After work Kelly and I cook up dinner: A delicious scramble of eggs, red potatoes, onions, peppers, and cheese. We eat and drink over a merry bonfire with Jon. The view at the fire pit is incredible: The property sits on a cliff above the beach that overlooks the bay and four volcanoes. We camp there for the night.

 Beach Houses.  The property I was working at is up on the cliff.

 The View from the fire pit.  Not a bad way to end the day, eh?

Jon and I finish up the drywall on the second day. Meanwhile, Kelly is hanging out on the beach painting. Jon and I then start tackling a list of loose ends around the cabin. First up, is to hang some flashing on the roof.

I managed the first day without making a fool of myself. I looked like I knew what I was doing… and for the most part I did. However, my lack of experience became apparent on day two. While working with my dad, I only worked of 8-12 foot ladders. I’ve never done any roofing or high ladder work… and Jon could tell. On my attempt to the roof, Jon noticed my cautious steps. “You haven’t done much high ladder work have you?” “Nope!”

So here I am: Standing on a ladder at the roof of a tall 2 story cabin. My knees are a bit week as I sling my drill over the top of the roof to screw in the flashing. I finish and take moment to admire the height I climbed. I wonder how long I’ll be in debt if my uninsured body falls to the ground and survives. Is this $150 a day worth it? I try not to think about it and I look out over the roof. From here, the view is incredible. I see the beach, the water, and the volcanoes in the distance. More importantly, for the first time, I see the Alaskan sun. After a month of straight rain and overcast days during this record breaking season of summer gloom, the sun is finally out to play. My skin tans under the blue skies and it feels great!

It was at this moment while standing precariously on a two story ladder that I have a profound feeling of competence. Everything felt right. Everything felt possible. I felt like “I made it.” I could do anything. Be anything. I am capable of traveling far distances and figuring out the necessary means to survive. Boom! I am a competent individual.

I express these feelings outwardly into the world with a simple smile and then I climb down the ladder.

After work, Ken, his wife Elle, and their friend Kurt returned with some fresh Halibut they caught that day. Elle cooks up an excellent fried fish dinner for all of us and we enjoy another excellent bonfire with drinks while the sun sets over the volcano in the distance.

On the third day, I work a half day to finish up some loose ends. Kelly and I leave that afternoon. We take away a great experience and a bit of money to keep our journey going!

 Day 3: Finishing up some sanding.

 I feel more competent with work that makes you sweaty and dirty.

Kelly and I played on the beach after work.
 

We sat here and read for a bit.
 

And then we continued on with our journey...
 

[Names we're changed for people in this article.]

2010: A Year of Change

The start of a new year and the start of my first blog.  Why?  Well, I feel there are BIG CHANGES coming my way for 2010 affecting my life, thoughts, attitudes, family, friends, community, and the world.

This blog will be of the variety type in both subject and content.  For subjects, I'll be serving up thoughts on film, environmental conservation, freedom, and fun- my primary interests.  For content, I'll stir in a mix of photographs and videos to delight your entertainment palate with twice the retention rate of reading text.

The first post is long as I lay my groundwork for the new year.

I'm starting a list of thoughts and things in my life that are either changing or not changing as I start 2010.

1.  Hair.  I haven't cut my hair in a year and half since shaving my head with Chris shortly after graduating from University of Michigan.  I told myself I wouldn't cut it again until something significant happens in my life...

2.  Money.  I graduated with nearly $13,000 in student loans (impressive for UofM).  Since then I've worked hard spending the majority of my money on loan payments.  I told myself I wouldn't move anywhere until I paid off my loans.  That way I could take a job I enjoyed regardless of pay.  Currently, I owe $1,483.16 and am so close to financial freedom!!  [Much THANKS to friends and family, especially Chris, Tony, Kelly, Nicole, and Brad, who have helped me out with residency and keeping my bills low during long stretches of unemployment and distraught.]

3.  Smell.  I'm entering my third year of not wearing deodorant.  Yep, I ran out in late 2007 and never bought another stick.  I found my odor is quite pleasant.  The girls at the club love me because I'm one less guy trying to dance up on them while wreaking of Axe or Old Spice.  It's also one less thing I have to do to start my day.  Do you really need it?  Especially antiperspirants. They try to prevent you from doing something that's natural: sweat.  Also, there's research that aluminum in antiperspirant is absorbed into the body through the skin's pores and can be harmful.  Since I don't wear it, I don't care enough to look into the research... but if you do, you should look into the research to find out what's in this product that we are conditioned to use at the start of puberty and the side effects it may have.  (P.S.  A friend lost a dare at a party this weekend and had to lick my two-years-in-the-ripe armpit.)

4.  Work.  In September '09 I took a job with a 21st Century Community Learning Centers grant to create and facilitate an after school film making program at three high school sites including Wayne Memorial where I graduated.  Over the last few months, I've turned an old media studio turned storage room back into a creative space.  What a powerful experience that has been with a sense of accomplishment and pride I share with the students.  This has empowered me to make change as I start 2010.  When I'm at home doing lesson plans, I know that I'm working for the benefit of the students and on a larger scale, the future of our youth.  It feels great and gives me a sense of purpose which I felt was lacking during a spell of apathy throughout college.  [You can see the work under the "Bright Futures" playlist on my youtube page at http://www.youtube.com/martystano]

6.  Health.  I made it through the entire year of 2009 without health insurance nor any prescription medications, and I think no over-the-counter meds for that matter.  Luckily, I have a pretty good immune system and no serious health conditions.  My health care plan is a preventive system of good nutrition, fair exercise, plenty of sleep, very little stress, and plenty of green tea.  However, I did get really sick once when I returned from traveling.  I think it was a combination of exhaustion and food poisoning.  I had a fever and was buying Orange Juice at the grocer when I sharted for the first time in my life (What's a shart?  You know, it's when you fart but a little shit comes out).  I rushed home to quickly explode out of both anal and oral artifices.  After 2.5 days of laying in bed, I was totally fine without any medication.  And with that, we'll go to...   

7.  Love.  Yes, there is much love in my life thanks to my girlfriend Kelly.  I'm only 23 and have found the right girl for me.  I'm so happy that I won't be wasting the rest of my life looking for that exceptional person.  Kelly is that person.  I love her, I love my job, I love my family, my friends and altogether that makes me incredibly happy and content.  I experience much love in my life and such little stress.  Being in such a privileged position, I am ready to move forward in 2010 to make positive change.  (This certainly merits cutting my hair but I'll probably hold out for financial freedom.)

8.  Travel.  Kelly and I have started our research to go on a trip of epic proportions:  The Pan-American Road Trip from Michigan to Alaska and all the way to Argentina.  Wha-what?  Yes.  Alaska to Argentina by road.  How?  We don't totally know.  But people have done it and people are doing it now.  We'll have a blog just for our research and preparation for the trip as well as updates when our journey commences: tentatively July 4th 2010.

It looks like 2010 is gonna be a great year!