A one year project to become a better man in America's south
Day 175 – It’s my last day in San Francisco for this work trip. I have to wake up around 5 am to catch an early flight back home. I just got back from another exploration and boy am I happy I feel better than I did yesterday.
Anthony Bourdain said that The Mission’s Zeitgeist bar was a hidden San Francisco gym. He was exactly right. I love this bar as much as I love Comstock, but for completely different reasons. If there was ever a bar the complete opposite of Comstock, its Zeitgeist.
Day 174 – Last night I predicted that today I would feel like butt. I underestimated just how bad I would feel. It’s 5 pm and I still feel like hell. This is not good.
This morning my buddy Tom texted me “Tonga! Tonga! Tonga!” Exactly! Take my advice here – visit The Tonga Room. And then leave after two drinks.
Day 173 – My fascination with San Francisco didn’t start with my first Apple product. It started in the mid-eighties when my grandfather introduced me to Star Trek at the Walterboro Drive-In Theatre. My introduction to the final frontier was with Star Trek: The Voyage Home. While most Trek fans rate it as the worst, or one of the worst, Trek flicks, I fell in love. As a young child, the time travel, Spock riding a city bus and of course, the humpback whales, immediately grabbed my obsession. I became an eight-year-old Trekkie. I watched The Voyage Home at every opportunity. I still do. And I still get giddy watching that Bird of Prey crashing into the Bay, just barely missing the Golden Gate Bridge.
As I dove deeper into my Trek obsession, I found glimpses into Star Fleet Academy fascinating and I wondered “Why San Francisco?”
Day 172 – After a second great day working in San Francisco and pouring through email and donation statistics, I hit the road to continue my Anthony Bourdain inspired journey. Alone, walking down Market Street, I realize how much I enjoy getting out on my own. Its not very often that I get alone time. I love being with my wife and my Donehue Direct team, but very seldom do I get time to just explore. Explore my thoughts. Explore my creativity. Explore life. Every man needs time alone and this week I’m going out of my way to not invite people to join me on my exploration.
Day 171 – If you haven’t watched No Reservations or The Layover starting Anthony Bourdain, you’re missing out big time. Bourdain is one of my favorites. He was just a New York City cook until he skyrocketed to popularity after publishing Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. After writing a couple more books he started a show on the Food Network and then blew up with his Travel Channel show No Reservations.
Day 165 – This week has been busy for me. Either doing interviews, or traveling for clients had me bogged down. It was madness. One day, I got over 100 emails in an hour. Getting to Charleston for the debate was like heaven.
Looking back at this week, I’ve gotten a lot done. Either being quoted in the Examiner, Businessweek or being interviewed on CNN, or going live on MSNBC, CBS News, Fox…eh, the list goes on.
Day 149 – I hate money. I really really hate it. A lot of people are driven by money, especially entrepreneurs. Perhaps I shouldn’t make this confession as I’m currently seeking investors in different web ventures. But it’s the truth. Money just doesn’t motivate me. Now building something cool like a winning campaign or a big business, that motivates me, but having a lot of green stored away just doesn’t float my boat.
Today is the first day of 2012. I’m pumped to see what this year can bring. The truth is that last year was the best year of my life. Sure, it had a good many downs, but I lived life to its fullest with my soulmate. **Is it just me or has Mark Sanford completely ruined that word?**
Day 143 – I certainly didn’t make all of my resolutions become reality. I dropped the ball on a good many of them. This week is my ‘year in review’ as we head into the new year.
Last January I resolved to travel more, both within the United States and abroad. I certainly did that.
The year started off pretty slow as I was busy with the South Carolina legislature, but it picked up and I spent more time on airplanes this year than I ever had before.
Day 100 – I made it to 100 straight days of blogging. No wonder I’m so tired.
In this quick video, I tell you why its a good idea to slow down and pay attention to what you’re doing. Leaving keys and credit cards places is bad. Going through airport security with a loaded handgun is REALLY bad.
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Day 93 – On a plane again. A big ole Delta 757 this time.
I don’t know if I convinced Elizabeth to move out to San Francisco, but I know I convinced myself.
