cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by woodleywonderworks
It has been a little over two months since I left the building at the NMC, two months of not working, not getting a paycheck. How is it? If you’ve been around me lately, you know my new favorite theme song.
If you are not a reader of this here blog, then you don’t know the story. If you are affiliated somehow with the NMC, then all you know is that, in an unusual break from my pattern the last 5 years working there, I’ve not blasted you with email nor been part of a webinar nor posted anything on their web sites. Beyond that, my presence is only an absence. I’ll refrain from saying much more, but lest you miss something between the lines, let me say that sometimes taking the high road is a PITA when others decide not to ride with you.
There’s not been a whole lot of inging around here at the CogDogHouse- its been a string of travel, mini projects, and more or less the same old stuff except its all the stuff I pick. The train has been barreling downhill since mid April:
- (April 18-23) A week’s visit to my lady out west plus a presentation to ASTD (that would be my last “Hurrah-Zon”/Horizon Report presentation).
- (April 25) Speaking on the opening day of the EDUCAUSE 5 Day Mobile Sprint.
- (April 28-29) Travel to Toronto to give a workshop for the Learning Connections District Champions gathering- this was 50+ Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story featuring the new wiki and what I thought was cool, a new video
- (April 30-May 3) A rewarding visit in Vermont ti see Barbara Ganley and Bryan Alexander.
- (May 4-9) Travel to the Big Apple, to do a 50 Ways workshop for Baruch College and participate in the Scwartz Communications Symposium (and to hang out an extra day in the city with Gardner Campbell).
- (May 11-May 15) Fly to Vancouver, attend the SCoPE gathering on Online Community Enthusiasts and Northern Voice where I presented Looking Through the Lens as well as a Moosecamp session on Five Card Flickr (and threw in a little experiment I cooked up a few days earlier, Pecha Flickr. But the real fun was the rallying of the ds106 troupe and the massive night of music jamming at the Sanctuary.
- (May 16-17) Flew back from Vancouver with Jim Groom, who was keynoting the next day at the Maricopa Community Colleges Teaching and Learning with Technology conference. It was so wonderful to see my former colleagues, much like a summer camp reunion.
- (May 18-19) I brought the Bava back to visit Strawberry, where we had a blast and a half (and another half) including a visit from Todd Conaway, unexpected rain, dining at the Randall House and Sidewinders bar, and reveling in a really really (you know what kind of) great day trip to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon.
Over the weekend I am loading up a truck load of stuff to take out to my future headquarters in Northern California, and need to back in time to head out June 1-4 to keynote at the ETUG Spring Workshop in what is promised as both “lovely” and “funky” Nelson, BC. I will be doing an all new rendition of Amazing Stories of Openness. In the time listed above, I have been bugging my friends for stories (some can be found now at http://amazingstories.cogdogblog.com/) but I really am eager for me. Why not listen to the call?
And I have an upcoming webinar version of 50+Ways for both Dean Shareski’s class and the PLPNetwork folks.
Oh, and I came up with this really stupid idea to do a digital story every day (yes I am behind, but not apologizing)
But, now the question is…
cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by cogdogblog
After I get back from Canada, all focus should be on getting ready for the Big Trip- my odyssey starts around June 22, the blog action will be right here, the locus at http://cogdogblog.com/odyssey. I’ll be updating the map as I go, but the first routes will be up to Colorado, Wyoming/Idaho.
On the drive back last night from the Grand Canyon, along the dark Lake Mary Road (after a close call with elk crossing) Jim Groom helped flesh out a new idea for my trip that I am extremely excited about, that wraps in my interests of storytelling, photography, videography, but going broader than just Amazing Stories. The details are really sketchy (and getting sketchier as the day progresses), but as Jim emphatically said, “THIS is what you quit your job for!”
Okay, it is a cheap shot to toss that out without filling it in, but hey, this is my blog and I can do what I want to do.
Let me just say that this might be the most alive and energized that I have been in a long way. I’m going out on the road soon, and that is going to be fffffffing great.
Very mysterious stuff – it does sound there as there might have been an element of vision quest in your visit to the Canyon with Jim Groom.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is wondering what this new “new idea” is for the road trip.
Perhaps you could give this kid a scoop by talking about it over skype on the #ds106radio one of these days.
I’ll drop the mystery stuff ASAP and would love to talk it out on radio just as you are doing- I love that model for thinking out new ideas.
You’re my radio hero, man!