Colin Wright, Andi Norris and Ashley Ambirge are Way Below the Status Quo

Entrepreneurs are now more able to do work from the road with today’s technologies than in any other time in history. The internet and mobile devices allow people to submit their work and run businesses from pretty much anywhere. While some people live on the road full time, it also makes for some fun extended road trips.

Way Below Status Quo is a free online networking site organized by city, to help people get together and collaborate or get help with projects. To kick it off, a road trip is taking place now through mid-August, with the founders criss-crossing the United States. Actually, they are making more of a giant “W” across the country from the East coast to Seattle, stopping major cities along the way.

I was able to meet up with them for a short time last night while they were passing through. The famous Wordpress Developer and Web Designer Andrew Norcross was also there to meet up with the group. I suppose we collaborated a bit, but it was mostly just fun times meeting for the first time in the real world instead of “knowing” each other online. And trying not to get thrown out of a local coffee shop and restaurant.

If they are going to be anywhere near your town, and you want to meet some people who are out living life, creating businesses, and helping others do the same, you really should make it a point to go hang out with them. They arrived in New Orleans this morning (July 15, 2010) for a meetup with Carl Nelson and some other people there. The rest of their itinerary can be found on the Way Below Status Quo website.

These founders and Nomadic Entrepreneurs can be found at WBSQ, as well as their own websites.

Ashley Ambirge

Ash inspires people with her thought-provoking writing over at The Middle Finger Project. Originally from Philadelphia, she spends most of her time traveling and is looking for a good place to live. See if you can convince her that your city is where she should live when the road trip is over or until she goes back to Costa Rica.

Andi Norris

Andi is taking the really, really long way home back to Seattle, and may be to blame for this road trip. Whether she is there or on the road, she runs the design firm Dezabulous, and blogs about life and causes trouble at Instigationology.

Colin Wright

It’s tough to describe Colin. Owner of no more than 50 things, Author of several books, not Canadian, and moves every 4 months. He doesn’t just move, he lets his readers at Exile Lifestyle pick the next city he’ll go to, and throws himself into the culture there. He went from Los Angeles to Argentina, just returned from New Zealand, and will be going to Thailand next. All while running his design firm at Colinismyname.com, as well as the newly-launched Ebookling.

Way Below Status Quo: Nomadic Entrepreneurs Road Trip is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: DDFic

My journey to Location Independence began out of frustration. Frustration with how wasteful the business world ran, and how poorly most old-school businesses leveraged technology. There may have been a girl involved too. I’ll get to that later.

Several jobs and self-employed businesses made up my work history. They always followed the Standard American Dream 9 to 5 model. Jobs brought with them the same mundane things: the commute, the office space, the far-away promise of retirement someday, the Mondays. My forays into self-employment were not much different, because I was using those models.

At the time of my change, I was a well-paid salesperson at a manufacturer in a field that I loved. What could be wrong? Like most traditional jobs, I had to be there in an office when they wanted me there, and they wanted me there a lot. This left me little time to travel or enjoy life outside of work other than the occasional weekend. I could not find a way to look forward to another 50 years of this life. I knew there was a better way.

Leaving the Office

That corporate sales position got traded for another company as a self-employed contract salesman. I didn’t need to come into the office, but would have to visit various customers all over the state, and pick up new customers along the way. It was in the same field I loved, and a step in the right direction toward my freedom, but still very wasteful in many ways.

If you’ve ever sat in traffic in Los Angeles during rush hour, you know what I mean. If you’ve ever had to drive back and forth all over Los Angeles, you know that rush hour last all day. That’s what I did. This wasn’t an ideal solution.

The face time at customer’s shops was just how things had “always been done” in the industry. I weaned the existing customers off these regular monthly visits. Orders were not affected at all, and I had a lot more free time to spend on things apart from driving.

I would still regularly check on them, but now I only made a quick call or email reminder instead of hoping they’d be there when I made the trek out to their shop. They liked it better too. I was able to spend that extra time getting new customers and increasing sales, with only occasional visits to shops.

(A similar strategy is in Tim Ferriss’ best-selling book The Four-Hour Workweek. I had just never heard of the book at the time, and was only making this up as I went.)

Making Travel Possible

Now that I arranged my work so that I didn’t need to be anywhere in particular, I was able to travel more. I had taken regular vacations to Florida from my home in California. By this point, my intent was to make a permanent move.

Remember the girl I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it’s a long story, but she lived on a different coast when we accidentally met. Remember, life is not all about work, so these things are important.

I was now able to be in Florida for ten days at a time every month. While there, I was able to pick up new business in the state, all while still serving my west coast clients. It was no longer technically vacation, as I was always available by phone or email, but it was now just the life I was making happen.

There were still some obvious inefficiencies with my system, but it was infinitely better than having to be on a particular spot on a map for 75% of my waking hours. Using the internet and email, with only a laptop and a cell phone, I could go virtually anywhere and still make a living doing almost exactly the same job.

The Next Level

After making this up as I went for a year or two, I finally got really smart* and looked around online. It turns out that there are thousands of people using the technology available to us in the 21st century, who are doing a far better job of being Location Independent. I was on the right track, but there are better ways of becoming Location Independent than the stumbling path I took. When I finally found my way here, I learned a tremendous amount, and have made quite a few changes to the way I do things.

really smart* – This is sarcasm for “What I should have done in the first place before stumbling around on my own like a buffoon.”

I started this journey by looking for a way to spend more time living my life, traveling, and enjoying the world instead of sitting at a desk all day. I did make the move to Florida several years ago. We are now working on deciding where to go for longer than extended vacations.

Whether we travel overseas indefinitely or start with exploring North America by RV, we now know that we don’t have to wait for that someday when we retire to live our lives.

How I Freed Myself from the Office to Become Location Independent is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: Elsie esq.

The first batch of auctions for my book collection ended. The entire library is in stacks on the table in front of me. Books I’ve been carrying around for decades and read only once when new. Even the rare and autographed versions are going.

Books have always been important to me. A lot of effort went into dealing with them, whether moving them or paying to store them. I am not attached to them anymore, though they used to be my most prized possessions. After moving boxes of books over the years, I have come to despise the keeping of any “stuff” I don’t need. With books I havn’t read in 20 years, and have no desire to read again, it just seems silly to have so many here. I know I’ll just have to do something with them again.

The longest period I have ever held the same address is 4 years, and only that long on 2 occasions in 40 years. I have always thought of myself pretty Spartan with my possessions. I have never owned a huge amount of stuff, though each time I move I am amazed at what I have collected in such a short time. Reading blogs for several years from truly minimalist people like Leo Babauta and Tammy Strobel have really opened my eyes up to the realization that I was nowhere near living the spartan life.

Countless times, I have looked at a book, had fond memories of it, and put it back on the shelf. Planning to someday read it again and mine the valuable information out of it that I know is in there. I don’t remember ever reading two books more than once. I realized with some books, I had moved 7 or 8 times since reading them. I had dragged them around from California to Florida. What a waste of energy.

Books should be in a place where they can be used and appreciated, so they will all go. Whether I can sell them or donate them, I’ll be free of them soon. From now on, a book moves along after I read it, so someone else can enjoy it.

I enjoy reading ebooks, both on the laptop and even on my iPod Touch. Laying in bed unable to sleep is an occasional problem. Being able to read with the light out has been fantastic, but not having to store and deal with a pile of books will be even better. There is too much of the world out there to see, and the load needs to be lightened. I still travel out of a home base where I can store things, but I’m working to spend less time here, and book storage is an issue for most Location Independent People.

After starting with tips I found at Organize IT I already digitized my small CD collection. My movie collection is either getting digitized and sold/donated. As soon as I can digitize my old photos, many of those will get recycled or given to interested parties. A few weeks ago, I shredded all old paperwork I had also been dragging around with me for years. I didn’t go as far as Colin Wright with his shred party.

There are a few exceptions for items I’m still attached to or have to keep for records, but most of my stuff is going. I feel lighter already.

What are some of the ways you have dealt with clutter or minimizing your life?

How to Minimize Your Life for Travel: Books is a post from: Live Collar Free

We’ve written about the inspiring film “Lemonade” here, when Erik began seeking stories to add to the Lemonade book. The film has been viewed now by thousands of people with overwhelming support for the project. If you have not yet seen this film, you can watch it and help with the film (and future projects) through the methods listed below.

Come to a Screening

A live screening is the best way to see it. Watch it with a bunch of other people, then have drinks and talk about the film. I have not been able to get to one so far, but I keep looking for a way to get them down here.

Buy the DVD from Lemonademovie.com

Buying a DVD direct from the creators is the best way to get a copy of the DVD. They use a supplier (Kunaki) who prints on demand and can ship to most places around the world. They get to keep the most money if you spend the whopping $9.99 here from them.

Buy the DVD from Amazon

Some people won’t want to use a smaller outfit like Kunaki, and use Amazon regularly. It is available here at Amazon, though Amazon gets more than half the money you spend. It still ships from Kunaki and costs the same for you. The Lemonade folks just make a lot less of your ten bucks to put back into the project.

Hulu.com

The theme of the film revolves around people who were laid off. If you’re in a similar situation, or otherwise having a difficult financial time, you can still watch the movie on Hulu.com for free if you are in the U.S. If you enjoy the film, leaving a review helps them out too. So even if you can’t give financially, a review is welcomed.

The Future

The next project out of the Lemonade camp has recently been decided. “Lemonade Detroit” will be about the reinvention of this once thriving metropolis. Detroit has gone from the 4th-largest city in the U.S. to one of less than a million people. They are bulldozing historical mansions because nobody cares to fix them back up in Detroit. How are they going to make Lemonade from that situation? I can’t wait to find out.

The team is trying to gather enough funding to shoot a trailer to pitch to the studios this time. They made the original with all volunteer efforts, but they are going to try to do this one even better. Pitch in a few bucks if you can. The guy even has his kid hawking DVD’s out in the sun. Surely you can spare some change? You can always get more information by signing up for the mailing list on the Lemonade website.

What did you think of the film? Where did you see it? Are you looking forward to the Detroit version?

4 Ways to Watch Lemonade Movie – Sequel Update! is a post from: Live Collar Free

Is the iPad the perfect device for today’s Remote Workers? While no device or tool is perfect for every job or person, the iPad may very well be just the thing for me.

Using today’s technology, Location Independent Professionals work from anywhere. Cell phones, near ubiquitous coverage of wi-fi networks in the city, and relatively inexpensive 3G connections when off the main grid have all shifted the concept of work in recent years. Go to any coffee shop and you are bound to see at least one person banging keys on a laptop, and that guy in the faded jeans thumb-typing on his iPhone may very well be closing a sale or placing an order.

I am rarely the first person to go out and buy the latest and greatest new thing. I am a bit of a minimalist that has never owned an iPod or a flat screen tv. My smartphone has the “Smart” turned off, so it is only rarely used for phone calls and text messaging.  I no longer use a desktop computer. My laptop is more than enough for my needs. I could work exclusively from a computer in the public library if I really needed to, and not have to own a single gadget.

The laptop is still too big to want to carry around wherever I go (a 5 year old Toshiba). I had tossed around my tech “ideal” of a Kindle, an iPod Touch, and a netbook at some point. The iPad would do just fine for all 3 of those for my needs in a single item.

When producing, I do a lot of writing and other content creation. Not heavy graphics-intensive CAD stuff that would need more processing power. Word processing, blogging, internet, email, spreadsheets — all basic things that any netbook could easily do.

I consume a lot of information on the web. When surfing the web or answering most email, I don’t normally write a lot. I didn’t expect to do a lot of work stuff from anywhere but the laptop. But a lot of what I do for research or in my free time is still online. The iTouch is a fantastic portable solution for most of this that is also great for music and podcasts, of course.

I read as many as 3 books a week, but refuse to stockpile a massive library. When I finish a book, it goes off to live where someone else can benefit from it. I only read magazines or newspapers online now. A book reader is something I definitely want. I read most books through the Kindle App on the laptop already.

The iTouch would be for sitting around in a coffee shop, campsite, or a park but not really working. The netbook for short trips where I didn’t want to bring the laptop (and may eventually replace the laptop). The Kindle would be for reading all the books I then would not have to carry around.

But Apple announced the iPad, I compared it to this previous ideal to see how it stacked up against these other gadgets for the needs of a Digital Nomad.

iPod Touch

The iTouch is a good little web, email, music, book reader, and game tool. I actually got one as a gift earlier this year, and it has already received a lot of use. I read 5 or 6 books on it the first few weeks I had it. The tiny screen makes page-turning more frequent and is a bit harder to read than a big screen.

It’s only a backup for the times I didn’t have a netbook or laptop with me to get on the web, as browsing on a tiny screen is less than ideal. The wireless-only usually works just fine, since there are wi-fi networks almost everywhere now. I wouldn’t be able to send emails if I was away from civilization, but that’s about it.

The only real advantage the iTouch has over the iPad is the portability. It can be carried in a pocket, but the iPad does everything that can be done on the iTouch. Heavy advantage goes to the iPad here.

Kindle

E-Ink is the screen tech on Amazon’s Kindle. It’s basically a non-backlit screen, which is easier on the eyes, especially for reading full-length books. Backlit screens like the iPad are lights, so it is hard on the eyes to stare at them all day. And you can read them easily outside in the sunlight or anywhere except in the dark.

Kindle’s e-ink screen is not color. The iPad has a gorgeous full-color screen.

The iPad can be read in a dark room. I’ve read books in bed late at night on my iTouch. If I wanted to do that with the Kindle, I would have to turn on the light. The iPad may be hard to read outside in sunlight. This advantage depends on which was a bigger trade-off: reading in the dark or at the beach.

Kindle is a great book reader, and they now added the ability to use Twitter and Facebook. You can download books in seconds, and be reading from anywhere. But that’s all it does.

If you want a very good book reader, the Kindle is tough to beat. If you want a very good book reader that can do several hundred thousand other things, the iPad wins by miles. Kindle replaces books. iPad replaces books and several other gadgets.

Netbook

The netbook for me would be mostly for content generation, but again, it was a kind of overlapping redundancy to the other gadgets. It’s inconvenient to type more than a paragraph or two on an iTouch. The netbook is good enough to type on with a tiny screen, but it’s like another laptop to lug around when I want to read a book in bed.

Netbooks can do more than the iPad. They use a full Operating System that run almost every application I can run on my full-sized laptop. The iPad still requires a computer to synch with. You have to have a computer to use an iPad (at least initially. Anyone want to correct me on this part?).

The onscreen keyboard on the iPad was much easier to use than I had anticipated. You have to look at your fingers to type on the iPad. The keys are on the screen, so there is no feel to it. No home keys to find with touch only. Ergonomically, this can’t be a good thing for a lot of content creation. You have to look down the whole time you type, so this would not be a better solution, even with a cute homemade pillow like our friends the Technomads just got for their iPads.

The on-screen keyboard is good enough for answering emails, tweets, and other brief items from the to-do list. So no major advantage to the netbook for that. The bluetooth keyboard and some sort of case or stand to prop the iPad up like a monitor solves the ergonomic and touch-typing issues, but now you are back to lugging around as much as a netbook. The only advantage is the option to leave the keyboard behind.

The battery life being reported from iPad owners is better than any netbook on the market. Another concern when trying to travel light is carrying as few additional power supplies as needed.

iPad Beats Them All

The iPad may not be the very best solution in every area, but it covers so many tasks so well, it is hard to beat.

The form factor of the iPad is something that gives it an advantage over traditional netbooks. It’s simple. Like reading a notepad. It’s just a one-piece touchscreen. No clam shell and extra stuff hanging from it.

Developers are only just beginning to tap into the possibilities of this new device. With so many amazing things being done with iPhone apps, I am excited to see the many uses that people can come up with for the iPad.

Of course if you are heavy into gaming with high-end graphics, have no need for a book reader, and don’t need anything other than what you already have, there will be no point to buying an iPad. But it will be a huge seller. People panned the iPod when it came out. I thought the iTouch was silly when I first saw it (“it’s an iPhone with no phone??”) Then I got to play with one and realized how well it works and how useful it could be. Apple has sold millions of iPod Touches — they are going to sell a ton of iPads.

While the Kindle may be a better ebook reader, the iTouch is a smaller, more convenient web and game toy, and the Netbook is a more powerful content creator, the iPad looks to do all of those things well enough for me all in one beautiful overall package.

Are you planning on buying an iPad, or have one already? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

Apple’s iPad: Can it Work for Digital Nomads and Teleworkers? is a post from: Live Collar Free

Have you ever wanted to travel the world? Why haven’t you? What has stopped you? Some people do it seemingly with little more than a backpack and a smile. Others live the jet-set life in luxurious places most only know from Bond films. Everyone who wants to travel but hasn’t done so has one of 7 major obstacles or objections. There may be variations on the theme, but it’s always one of the 7 majors.

Anil Polat has been traveling the world since 2006. Where many people wish and hope to “someday” travel, he has actually been out doing it. Like most long-term travelers, he regularly comes into contact with people who tell him they wish they could do what he does, and quickly give him a list of reasons why they can’t do it.

He has gathered the 7 major obstacles he regularly hears on the road and from polling his readers. He intended to just write up a few quick tips on how to overcome these popular travel objections, but the series ended up taking on a life of it’s own. Valuable input came from readers who wanted to share their experiences or attempts to overcome these travel objections, as well as advice from several other world travelers who had already overcome them.

Anil gathered this information together for his ebook, Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. The book breaks down each objection to get to the heart of the real issue, and shows how simply anyone can overcome these perceived barriers. Included are numerous useful links to help you realize your travel goals and helpful information and advice from world travel veterans John Bardos, Marina Villatoro, Dan’s Adventure, The Q Family Adventures, Deb and Dave, Akila & Patrick of The Road Forks, and Cody McKibben of Thrilling Heroics.

Purchase of this ebook for $8.00 also includes updates and expanded information as it becomes available. Two lattes worth of money for a book that can help you get out and see the world is a fair trade to me.

If you have fantasies of long-term travel, you can turn them into realities with Overcoming the 7 Major Obstacles to Traveling the World. What’s stopping you from following your travel dreams?

Overcoming the 7 Obstacles to Traveling the World is a post from: Live Collar Free

The popular Chris Farley skit on Saturday Night Live had him play a “motivational speaker” who lived in a van down by the river. It was his way of telling his audience that they would become failures and also end up living in a van down by the river. Most people would probably be surprised to know that there are thousands of people who live in vans all around the world. They do this not because they have failed. They live in vans willingly and are doing well.

We’ve featured interviews with Adventure Photographer and vandweller Trevor Clark here before (Part 1 & Part 2), and we have more features in the queue. Readers have told us they love his 4×4 Sportsmobile Van, as it is one of the best vehicles you can buy for a camper-type van.

Several people have asked us how to live like this. They have told us they would like to do what Trevor and so many others do, but usually follow it with a long list of reasons why they can’t. Why would someone want to live in a van instead of a house? How would they go about doing so? Most of the questions are asked in the “yeah but…” format, as it does seem like such an odd thing to much of the population. A lot of people have a lot of questions.

VanAbode

Jason Odom has spent years on the road, living out of a van. His approach is slightly different, using a nondescript van that blends in anywhere, rather than an RV or trailer. He and his wife have spent years on the road, living wherever they feel like being at any given time. They have gone from coast to coast, exploring the country.

Jason also got constant questions about how to create such a different lifestyle. He wrote a book of his experiences as a how-to for anyone considering living this way, called Vanabode™ – how to happily camp, travel and live forever on $20 a day.  He sent me a copy to read since I was getting so many questions, and he knew it would be of interest to me.

Some of the topics covered include:

• Vehicle choice and outfitting.
• Parking and camping considerations in every type of area.
• Safety and Security (which seems to be the most popular worry among readers).
• Money, savings and budget breakdowns.

The self-published book is 113 pages, and filled with tips and techniques for making the most of your time, money, and enjoyment while living in a van. The book covers a variety of tips and techniques to overcome the most common objections, as well as a tremendous amount of options. Everyone wants something a little different, and it covers a range of ideas for living in a van no matter what your situation.

As Jason says, “Vanaboding is about spending time living a fun life rather than spending money trying to buy a fun life.” They aren’t homeless, they are home wherever they park their vehicle, sleeping in their own bed every night. They aren’t starving, they eat at some of the nicest restaurants in cities all over the country.

They do more, spend less and have more freedom than the average person working too many hours a week to keep up their mortgage and toy payments. Whether you are ready to sell off your house and live full-time in a van or RV, or you just want a way to get more time and money out of family vacations, I think you’ll find Vanabode will answer any lingering questions or doubts.

Go check out his site and grab the book. If you think people living in their vehicles are just down on their luck, you may come to realize that the people living in a van down by the river might very well be living better than the rest of us.

Do you know anyone who lives in their vehicle? Have you ever lived in a van? Would you ever try it? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments below.

Vanabode: Home is Where the Van is Parked is a post from: Live Collar Free

I’ve said before on this site that LiveCollarFree.com is not exclusive to one “system” or style of Lifestyle Design. There are so many ways to live outside of the default life we learn we should fit into, and they all fascinate me.

Much of what I’ve done with my life has been to downsize. Toys are fun, but the stuff we accumulate takes a toll: moving it, storing it, insuring it, cleaning it, maintaining it, ad nauseum. We learn in the U.S. that we need to own a house and that all adults need a car. We are a car culture, and have been since they came about. Cars are one of the biggest purchases and expenses in most families. But do we really need a car to work and live today?

I have followed Tammy Strobel’s Rowdy Kittens blog for a bit over a year, now. She and her partner Logan decided to downsize their life, cut down their needless belongings, and even go so far as to sell their cars. Now they get around on bicycles almost exclusively and it works better for them. They calculated that their cars cost them nearly $8,000 a year to keep! And they had economy cars! How many hours of work does that total each year just to own a car? It makes me sick to think about how much I’ve spent over the years.

Tammy & Logan have improved their health, saved a tremendous amount of money, and lived a simpler, more fulfilling green lifestyle since their decision to scale down.

Simply Car-Free

Today, Tammy released her first book: Simply Car-Free: How to Pedal Toward Financial Freedom and a Healthier Life. I read an advance copy and can tell you it is a fantastic resource for planning and living in today’s world without the need to own a car.

It seems like such a foreign concept in most areas of modern America, but life without a car is not only quite possible but is very liberating. Tammy lays out a solid plan to make the car-free lifestyle simple to achieve. The Book goes through the process they went through, as well as how to make it even easier (they made their transition slowly and now wonder why they took so long).

She does an excellent job of covering all the “what-if…?” scenarios that come up when we talk about life without a car. Across America or even the world, not everyone’s lifestyle and community allows as simple a transition into a Car-Free life, but there are ways around most objections. Alternatives to going completely car-free are also covered, and how to handle situations that come up that all but require cars, such as long trips or moving.

The section on bicycling is also very in-depth. Whether you are a cyclist or just starting out, there are many valuable resources inside to cover what you need to know about bikes, as well as dealing with everyday issues like weather and getting groceries.

If you already live without a car or have never considered such a thing, Simply Car-Free is a good tool that collects resources from a variety of people already living this way all over the country. I am not just writing this review because I am a blogger buddy of Tammy’s. In March 2008, I got rid of my truck, and haven’t had a car or other vehicle since. I’ll do more about my situation in another post and link it here, but I know this topic very well as I have had probably close to 20 cars in my life (and 16 motorcycles that I can remember).

Simply Car-Free is a great resource for anyone considering life without a motor vehicle.

Simply Car-Free: Living Without a Car is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: Matthew Simantov

One of the many nice things about being based in central Florida is being so close to Kennedy Space Center. Even though I live on the other side of the state, it is only 100 miles or so to the East coast, and with clear skies, I can see the launch from my front patio.

The Shuttle program is ending soon. There are only four remaining daylight launches scheduled. NASA had set the last scheduled night launch of the Space Shuttle (STS-130) for Sunday, February 7, at just after 4 AM EST.

On the Friday night before, we talked about it for all of two minutes before deciding to head out to the Space Coast to watch the launch. We tend to “plan” our trips and adventures at the last minute, and stay flexible on details and trivial nonsense like where we might sleep, if at all.

Not only was this the last scheduled night launch, but we heard that also in the area were at least two different couples I stalk follow through their blog travels and on Twitter. Chris and Cherie from Tales from Technomadia live in a custom Oliver Travel Trailer they had built last year. I knew they were in town visiting family, and I suspected they would be watching the launch. They were already in touch with Louise and Sean, who live in a beautiful German tour bus converted into their rolling luxury home. They write about their adventures at Our Odyssey.

I sent a message off to Chris & Cherie, and we set about getting together Saturday evening. Louise & Sean had already found a perfect viewing site directly across the water from the launch site. By Saturday afternoon, the Technomads had parked Orion next to them, with room for us to park behind when we arrived.

None of us had met in person prior to that night, but we had a great evening. A documentary crew from Motherboard.tv was out to get footage of the shuttle launch and the viewers. They discovered the story of our Nomadic convergence and shot additional interviews with the nomadic couples during tours of their homes. We ate across the street at El Leoncito and talked there for hours. After dinner Louise & Sean decided to sleep and wake up early, while the rest of us stayed up late in the Oliver to learn about our different projects and to keep Kiki entertained.

The launch ended up being scrubbed at the last minute due to low clouds that moved in during the night. There were many disappointed people leaving that morning after coming out to watch. We were not upset in the least. We had a great time with new friends that were old friends from the internet. We got tours of 2 versions of nomadic homes we’d only seen online, giving us ideas on how we might want to hit the road. We each had old friends come up to watch the launch, as well. We car-camped for a few hours before heading back to the gulf coast Sunday morning.

We had a fantastic time, and the two Nomadic couples were able to stay another night to see the launch Monday morning (they were home already). They each posted about their experiences with accompanying videos: (Technomadia & Our Odyssey).

We were up at 4:14am Monday morning to watch the launch from our front patio. We may not have been there at camp to watch from up close, but we were still there.

Nomadic Serendipity and the Space Shuttle Launch is a post from: Live Collar Free

photo credit: Richo.Fan

It was August 20, 2009. Kristi Coyne was told she would be out of a job as of September 30. Her department of 130 employees would be let go: the county was farming out their mental health services to a private company. It’s a common story these days, but not one that everyone handles the same way.

Kristi had always done everything right. She got good grades in high school, went to college for her Bachelor’s degree, and then went on to get her Master’s in Psychology. She was working for a government-run mental health facility helping the local mental health community instead of pursuing a more lucrative career in private practice. Now she was left with her remaining student loan debt, some letters after her name, and a couple of weeks to figure out what to do — much more than a lot of people get.

The Crossroads

She had an idea that had always been in the back of her mind, but it was not that “right” thing to do. Certainly in this economic downturn going on in America in 2009, it was preposterous. Her work with the mentally ill was rewarding, and she would still be able to practice on the side. But her true passion had always been something else. Like most of us, she was raised being told that such frivolity wasn’t a practical way to make a living. She had always wanted to do something involving fashion. A fan of fabulous clothes of eras past, she had gathered enough of her own to open a store out of her bedroom closet.

Her options were to look for another job, to wait to hear what small percentage of her previous salary this new private company was going to offer to re-hire her, or to make up something else entirely. Messages from her Facebook friends were all encouraging. Her response to it after things had begun to sink in later that day was, “Thanks, guys! Your support has always uplifted me! I’d like to work on creating my own destiny now…”

The Road Unmapped

Two days after she learned that her job was getting outsourced, she looked at retail spaces and found one in an indoor mall in an old train station that she felt would be perfect for a vintage clothing store. The following week, the new company had offered its proposals to some of the laid-off staff. Kristi decided that she could not take the offer, and began a walk down another path.

The sign design was created for Nine Lives Vintage Wears before she even finished her tenure at her old position. She planned to open the doors in the first week of October. This retail store selling vintage clothes, handmade jewelry, and other items made by local artists and craftspeople was opening in a recession. Some people wondered if she was as mentally ill as her prior patients doing something that “crazy” in times like these. Once she convinced them that she was doing it, and at full speed ahead, they got behind her and watched the place take shape quickly. She had been dreaming about this for years, so she had a vision for it already that those people just couldn’t see as clearly.

A New Life

So far the store has done even better than she had hoped, and the people who thought she was doing something frivolous are starting to rethink their own lives. We are often put in situations that test us. Some people choose safety and perceived security, while others feel that would be a form of lifelong torture. The same week she held the grand opening of her store back in October, one of her former co-workers chose a much different path — jumping off of a high bridge to their death.

Kristi chose her path toward happiness and designing the lifestyle she wants. It doesn’t have to be a retail store that makes you happy, but I hope you can find your happy path.

Many people have dealt with layoffs like this. We have mentioned the Lemonade movie before. There are a lot of people out there questioning their worlds right now. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve ever been faced with a decision like this, and how it turned out for you. We’d love to hear your thoughts and story.

Full Disclosure: I don’t get anything if you were to go to Freighthouse Square in Tacoma and shop at Nine Lives Vintage Wears, or become a fan on Facebook, but Kristi’s story is relevant to this blog and my vision for it. It is just a happy coincidence that Kristi is my sister and I am proud of her for being awesome.

Career Outsourcing: Replaced by the Lowest Bidder is a post from: Live Collar Free