2013, A Review.

Here is a month by month highlight happenings of 2013 for David Melia (Professional Free Hugger). 2013 was an exciting and rewarding year.  I accomplished a lot including publishing a book, going on a Free Hugs Tour, gave away 10,000 hugs, met lots of cool people to work on future projects with, grew in my faith though Search 7 retreat and the Catholic Campus Ministries on the campus of DePaul, and
got accepted to the Social Leadership Academy for 2014.

January

• Attended Urbana Conference in St Louis until January
• Finished writing Free Hugs: It’s More Than A Campaign—It’s A Lifestyle book

February

•       Final edits to Free Hugs Book and Publication preparation
•      20^th (Golden) Birthday

March

• Free Hugs: It’s More Than A Campaign—It’s A Lifestyle was officially published
• Free Hugs Tour 2013 Planning

April

• School work and Free Hugs tour planning

 May

• School work and free hugs tour planning

 June

• Start of Free Hugs Tour 2013
• Leaky Con
• Met Megan
• Met Bill Oldenburg

July

• Continuation of Free Hugs Tour

-        

August

• Free Hugs Tour (abrupt end)
• Free Hugs Tour recovery
• Received job as an After School Care worker at Daystar School

September

• Started Fall quarter of Sophomore year at DePaul

October 

• LaSalle Street Church Retreat 
• Search 7 retreat
• Inception of Penny Bets

November

•  Free Hugs Forum at LaSalle Street Church

December

• Reached 10,000 hugs given away in 2013
• Accepted to the Social Leadership Academy for 2014
• Penny Bets Expansion project idea created

   Stay Tuned for 2014 projects, expectations, and happenings.  I will go into more detail about each of the different projects as progress is made in the new year!! What a crazy year 2013 has been.  

Delay's and Laziness

One thing I have learned more times than anything else is that trying to do too much turns out to be counterproductive and detrimental to the moral and ability to hit the streets to Free Hug.  This being said, I have had a little bit of a break from some of the blog posts, I have most of the content written on paper but transporting that onto a blog post just seemed too much this past week.  I am here to say that I am now working on typing those up and I owe you guys about 2-3 blog posts.  I will try and get those up within the next few days.  Thanks for your support.  Stay Tuned..

Hugs,
David Melia
Professional Free Hugger

Day 36/37/38 (July 19/20/21)

Day 36 (July 19)

Summary:
Today was my first full day in Denver. I hugged at the 16th Street Mall in downtown Denver from about noon until 5 and then headed over to Coors Field where the Colorado Rockies were playing the Chicago Cubs, in order to hug around the stadium in order to give away some hugs before the game. My host met me and took me to the stadium (he had a ticket for the game already)  While giving away hugs there was an amazing guy who gave me a free ticket to the game so that I could go in and watch it! I headed into the game at about 7:30 around the 4th inning of play. I found my seat next to the people that gave me a free ticket and was greeted by lots of people giving me hugs and eager to hear about my Free Hugging tour.

Highlights:

1) Getting a free ticket to the Rockies vs. Cubs game.
2) Giving/Receiving 458 hugs.

Lowlights:
1) None

Learned:
1) Denver is a lot like Chicago.
2) I got the most amount of hugs outside of Chicago during today.

Day 37 (July 20)

Summary:
Today my host and I drove to Aurora to remember what happened there a year ago today.  We left at 9:30 and arrived at about 10:00.  Once we got there we walked around a little bit.  I went over to the Healing Wall where people wrote things on a cut out of their hand for others to look at and see.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

Highlights:
1) Meeting lots of people interested in my Free Hugging projects.
2) Going to the memorial for the victims of the theater shooting a year ago today.
3) Looking at the notes that people left on the Healing Wall.

Lowlights:
1) Bursting into tears while reading some of the hands on the healing wall due to the beauty of some of the messages while being interviewed about them.

Learned:
1) Being a Free Hugger is tough and some of the messages on the healing wall touched me in a way that I didn't know I needed to be touched. I am still working through some of the feelings that this experience brought up.  Future updates to follow, sooner or later.

Day 38 (July 21)

Summary:
Today was mostly a chill day.  My host drove me up to the top of Mount Evans in the morning and during the afternoon I Skyped with a couple of my friends Ryan and Adam from Chicago.  I then took a shower and readied my belongings for my flight tomorrow to Wichita.  I also watched some episodes of Burn Notice throughout the day.

Highlights:
1) It was really nice to have just a day of relaxing and enjoying Colorado and the scenery and mountains.

Lowlights:
1) I leave Denver tomorrow.

Learned:
1) Denver is a great city, almost as great as Chicago.
2) I really like Denver a lot, they give away lots of hugs!

Day 33/34/35 (July 16/17/18)

Day 33 (July 16)

Summary:
Today I went to pick up a bike I rented at a shop called The Bikesmith near Old Town in Albuquerque.  I then went to Tim's Place which serves 'Breakfast, Lunch, and Hugs'.  It was one of the greatest places to go while on a Free Hugs Tour!! It was awesome to meet with Tim, give him, as well as some of the customers hugs, and bond over the amazing love of hugs that we both share! It was one of the greatest experiences that I have had on tour so far.
Here are some pictures of the experience:

 I then biked to Starbucks to work on some stuff on the computer.  Lastly I went back to my hosts house and enjoyed a great nights rest.

Highlights:
1) Meeting Tim and giving him hugs and a complimentary copy of my book while bonding over our common love of hugs.
2) Biking around and getting back in shape.

Lowlights:
1) None

Learned:
1) Tim's Place really is one of the nicest places I have ever been to.
2) Biking up the mountains at such a high altitude is exhausting!

Day 34 (July 17)

Summary:
Today I visited Tim's Place again before biking back to my host's house.  After I finished my last blog post, we went to the mall in Albuquerque's Uptown.  I hugged there a little bit but the indoor mall atmosphere is a little bit different than what I am used to.  After the mall I went back to my host's house and at 7:00 went over to a park where I met up with my friend Josh from school.  He and some of his friends and I all hung out by playing some knockout and ultimate frisbee until about 10:00 pm.  I then biked back to the host's house and got ready for the trip to Denver tomorrow.

Highlights:
1) Visiting Tim's place again and enjoying the hugging atmosphere of his restaurant.
2) Playing Ultimate Frisbee with some friends.
3) Winning our game of Ultimate Frisbee.

Lowlights:
1) Hugging in a mall is not my favorite place to hug, I am always scared of getting kicked out.. I don't know why I should care about getting kicked out, but I am.

Learned:
1) Friends are good to have and hangout with.
2) A hugs restaurant is one of the most magical places in the world.

Day 35 (July 18)

Summary:
Today I woke up at 6:00 and biked back to The Bikesmith shop where I rented my bike from.  I arrived at 8:00 am, an hour and a half before they opened so I went to to eat breakfast at Starbucks.  While I was sitting there I met a lot of people and gave away about 25 hugs just working on my computer in Starbucks (my computer has a Free Hugs patch on the back of it).  It really brightened my day that in the everyday activity in our everyday lives people can interact and hug and create friendships.  It warmed my heart and definitely made my day.  Albuquerque, although really spread out, has a lot of some of the nicest people that I have met on this tour so far.  At 9:30 am when The Bikesmith opened, I went and returned my bike and started my walk to the Amtrak station.  On my way there a couple of people hugged me with my backpack on which was pretty cool.  I got to the train station at 11:00 am for my 12:10 departing train.  I boarded the train at about 11:30.  Once the train was on its way it was about 4 hours to my stop at Raton, New Mexico where I transferred to a bus that would take me to Denver.  I arrived in Denver at 10:00pm and my host picked me up from the Amtrak station.  We talked for a little bit and he showed me around before we went to bed to get ready for tomorrow morning.

Highlights:
1) Meeting some inspiring and friendly people while I was at Albuquerque Starbucks.
2) Arriving in Denver.
3) Getting some work done while traveling.

Lowlights:
1) Traveling is really tiring and sometimes boring (the train part at least)
2) Riding a bike with my heavy backpacking pack.

Learned:
1) Anywhere you go, amazing and inspiring people are waiting to be met.

Day 30/31/32 (July 13/14/15)

Day 30 (July 13)

Summary:
Today was my last full day in San Diego.  The plan was to go to the Pride Festival in Balboa Park.  I made a pit stop at the Starbucks on the San Diego State University.  Christian owns a website project where he wants to try and feature really cool projects that make the world a better place.  I was his first project so we got some photo's for him at San Diego State University before I headed over to attempt to attend the Pride Festival.  Once I almost got to the Pride Festival I met Nancy, Maegan, Charise, Yngvild, and Cheyenne.  I gave them free hugs signs and we gave away some hugs while we traveled to get some food at Mission Beach.  It was a go-with-the-flow kinda day.  We ate at a mexican food place and gave away some hugs at the beach including a bunch of guys having their bachelor party! After hanging out a little bit I took the bus back to my host's house.  Tomorrow I am traveling to Albuquerque!!

Highlights:
1) Meeting Steve and Christian at Starbucks before heading down to Pride.
2) Meeting up with Nancy, Maegan, Charise, Yngvild, and Cheyenne at Pride and going to Mission Beach for dinner with them.
3) Roller coaster ride.
4) Photo stuff with Christian.

Lowlights:
1) Being called a hug prostitute by someone following me..

Learned:
1) Giving away free hugs signs is really awesome, it allows people to start their own free hugs right away!
2) Crafting relationships is part of the Free Hugs Lifestyle and is as important as giving away lots of hugs

Day 31 (July 14)

Summary:
Today my host drove me down to the Amtrak station in San Diego for my 2:40 departure to Albuquerque.  On the way we stopped to wash his car.  I arrived at the train station at 10:00 and headed to Starbucks across the street to watch some Burn Notice and send out some emails/ organize my hugging time in Albuquerque.  At 1:40 I went over to the train station to wait.  We boarded the buses (train work was being done from the San Diego stop to the Oceanview stop so we had to take a bus to Oceanview before taking the train the rest of the way to Los Angeles where I would catch my train to Albuquerque.  I boarded the train to Albuquerque and left at 6:15 and was seated at the very end of the train which allowed me to look out behind the train as we headed down the track.  It was a really beautiful view and I had enough space to do some organizing while traveling.  I will get into Albuquerque at about 12:00 pm tomorrow.

Highlights:
1) The view from the back of the train.
2) Getting a lot of my stuff organized for my time in Albuquerque.
3) Meeting a young girl who makes stuff out of duct tape.

Lowlights:
1) The train was on its way to Chicago.  It made me a little bit homesick as a lot of the people that I met on the train were headed to Chicago, the greatest city on earth.

Learned:
1) This is how my mind works:
- I want to give away lots of hugs.
- Yeah but giving away few hugs is just as good and you have to explore each city to understand and be able to receive the maximum impact for all of your hugs!
- But it doesn't feel as if I am accomplishing as much!
- That is not the point
- Blah
- Blah
- We will talk about it later. I'm too tired to think about this right now.
- Night buddy.
2) Being organized is good.
3) Almost all of my belongings now fit in my Osprey backpacking pack.


Day 32 (July 15)

Summary:
Today I got to talk to a person I met who was on his way to Chicago.  He is a pastor at a church in Chicago and I got to talk to him about my tour projects and my passion for giving away free hugs.  I then arrived at Albuquerque at 11:00 am and walked to the post office to send a package of some extraneous stuff back to my house in order to lighten my load a little bit.  I then took the bus to a Starbucks near my host's house in order to wait for them to get home so that I could meet them.  I went over to the house at around 5:00 pm.  It is a really nice house.  I am staying in a guest bedroom and the bed is super comfortable.  We ate dinner and talked a little bit and then I went to bed at about 10:00.  Tomorrow I am planning to go pick up my bike rental and then visit Tim's Place and get some breakfast and hugs!!

Highlights:
1) Meeting David and Jenny, my Albuquerque hosts.
2) Sending off some unneeded weight and lightening my pack.

Lowlights:
1) None

Learned:
1) Albuquerque is a lot like Los Angeles in the fact that everything is really spread out, but the people here are a lot nicer.  As I walked down the street anyone I met would say good morning or good afternoon.  The people here are a lot more open than in Los Angeles.
2) The landscape of New Mexico is a lot different than what I am used to.  It is amazingly beautiful and there are a lot of hills.

Day 27/28/29 (July 10/11/12)

Day 27 (July 10)

Summary:
Today was a traveling day.  I checked out of my hostel at 8:00 am and headed down to the Los Angeles Union Station for my 7:30 pm train to San Diego.  I then hiked to a Starbucks to receive internet access.  After I was there for about an hour, I remembered that I had forgotten my retainer at the hostel.  Luckily I had enough time to take the train back to my hostel and pickup my retainer before my train left.  I arrived back at the hostel to pick up my retainer at about 2:00 pm and gave the receptionist a hug and gave her a copy of my book to check out.  I then went back to wait for my train.  As I was waiting I met a group going to orange county that gave me some hugs and were interested in my Free Hugs Tour, so I talked to them for a little bit before boarding the train to San Diego.  The train left a half hour late at 8:00 pm.  I arrived in San Diego at 10:15 and was picked up by my San Diego host. Total today I received 6 hugs.

Highlights:
1) Connecting with some of the USA Hostel employee's when I went back to get my retainer.

Lowlights:
1) Waiting is boring.

Learned:
1) I should have a better plan for travel days and be more organized and planned out.

Day 28 (July 11)

Summary:
Today was my first day in San Diego.  It was an exploring day.  I went downtown and scoped out the place.  There was not a place that was teaming with lots of people walking down the street so I decided to walk around and just explore what I could explore.  I also found a Starbucks and sent some emails and did some research for trying to find ways to fund a future Free Hugs Documentary tour that a friend I met on this trip and I are planning.  Total today I gave away and received 30 hugs.

Highlights:
1) Getting over 12 hugs.
2) Exploring San Diego.
3) Meeting some people and hugging in Old Town.

Lowlights:
1) Not being able to find a place where I felt comfortable standing and hugging.

Learned:
1) I am learning the difference between a free hugs outing and living the free hugs lifestyle through living the day open to free hugs.  A free hugs outing is dedicated to standing in a place/holding a sign and having a couple hours just dedicated to giving away hugs whereas walking around with a free hugs t-shirt and having interested people approach you while traveling or explaining my free hugging projects while going about exploring, it doesn't allow for as many hugs, but it allows for the realization of the Free Hugs Lifestyle that I began to explore in my book.

Day 29 (July 12)

Summary:
Today I went to downtown San Diego again and walked around.  I also did some computer organization at Starbucks before walking around in an attempt to give away free hugs.  I received 6 hugs today just walking around and two of the people that I met said that I made their day which made me feel good.  I ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in Fashion Mall. When I was on my way back to my host's house I met a couple of people who I hugged, one was on a run and the other was on his way to a restaurant with someone whom I perceived to be his wife.  Total today I received/gave a total of 8 hugs.

Highlights:
1) Dinner at California Pizza Kitchen.
2) Finding potential grant opportunities for next summers free hugging trip.

Lowlights:
1) Feeling a little bit lonely.

Learned:
1) Red Mango has some of the best frozen yogurt ever and it is disappointing that they don't have any here in San Diego.
2) California Pizza Kitchen has some good pizza.  It was definitely worth the splurge.  It was nice to sit down in a sit down restaurant.  

Day 24/25/26 (July 7/8/9)

Day 24 (July 7)

Summary:

Today I went to try and find a Free Hugger from Los Angeles to meet up with but I couldn't find the other Free Hugger.  I then went to a nearby Starbucks and watched some Burn Notice and searched for online jobs that would allow me to generate an income while I am traveling in order to be able to more fully be engrossed in the process of giving away free hugs and traveling to brighten lives one hug at a time and have the financial means to do so.  I then headed back to the hostel and went to sleep. 

Highlights:

1) Finding some potential jobs that I can do to accumulate money while traveling and spreading love through hugging.

Lowlights:

1) Not being able to see the Free Huggers from Los Angeles

Learned:

1) Communication is good.  I should learn how to do it better.  It allows for people to know what they are doing and meeting up.

2) Los Angeles has a less open feeling than any of the other cities that I have been to. 

Day 25 (July 8)

Summary:

Today I met up with my friend Kyle for breakfast at Denny’s.  It was really cool to get to catch up with him and chat about the difficulties that I had come across hugging in such a radically different city that what I have been used to, growing up in the Midwest and having more experience with some of the other cities that I had been since the tour started.  We came to the conclusion that Chicago is a lot more welcoming and open due to its location in the Midwest whereas Los Angeles due to the presence of the movie industry and its vastness (sometimes it can take 2 hours to get from one side of the city to the other driving, Los Angeles is really spread out) proves for a more spread out and less of a physical openness mentality than a place such as Chicago. 

After Kyle and I had breakfast I went to Starbucks to do some planning work and later in the evening I went over to visit some old work friends of my parents for dinner.  We had an spaghetti dinner prepared by Will and then I played with the kids for a little bit before they had to go to bed.  After they went to bed, the grownup’s had a chance to talk.   It was really cool to hear some of their stories while I was able to share mine.  We exchanged some ideas and are going to keep in touch.  Will then drove me back to my hostel and I went to bed around 11:00. 

Highlights:

1) Meeting up with some friends and family friends.

2) Amazing spaghetti dinner

3) Fun time playing with kids

4) Good conversations with crazy awesome people. 

Lowlights:

1) Probably the lack of giving away free hugs but all the good stuff outweighs this by more than a mile.

Learned:

1) Connecting with people is awesome.  Deep conversations and getting in depth to the psyche of a city is something that is very beneficial especially for knowing how to approach Free Hugging for the most positive impact in the city rather than giving negative free hugs (Free Hugs book reference J )

Day 26 (July 9)

Summary:

Today I watched a lot of Burn Notice and did some job hunting stuff as well.  In the evening my friend, who I met in December at Intervarsity’s Urbana Conference in St. Louis, picked me up and took me to one of her favorite spots in Hollywood.  We then went to In-N-Out Burger for dinner where we met two German travelers who we shared In-N-Out Burger and conversation with.  Wendy then drove me back to my hostel, we got one last picture and a hug and now I am going to sleep to get ready for traveling to San Diego tomorrow!! J

Wendy, me, and the Hollywood Sign

Highlights:

1)    Meeting up with Wendy from Urbana Conference. 

2) Eating at In-N-Out Burger

3)  Meeting and giving hugs to some people we met at In and out burger from Germany.

Lowlights:

1) Not being able to get to sleep due to excitement.

Learned:

1) There are some really cool people that live in Los Angeles.

2) Los Angeles takes a little getting used to but once you start to understand it, it’s not as overwhelming as it is when you first arrive.

3)  Los Angeles started to grow on me a little tiny bit the last couple of days that I was here.  It wasn’t much but it definitely surprised me.

Day 21/22/23 (July 4,5,6)

Day 21 (July 4)

Summary:
Today was an interesting day.  I got up at around 9 and walked around a lot of San Francisco but I wasn't really in a hugging mood and even though it was the 4th, the fact that one of the major train systems, the BART, was experiencing a strike did not help the mood of the city.  I could feel a little bit of annoyance and disruption in the feeling of the city as I was walking around it and trying to find a place to hug.  The disruption in the city coupled with my reentering the street mentality after a weekend of amazing Leaky Con electricity made for an interesting combination of good and bad and nostalgia due to the lack of Chicago quality fireworks.

Highlights:
1) Met a couple of people while I was on the street.
2) Exploring the city and learning more about it for future free hugging trips.
3) Some organizational work was completed. :)

Lowlights:
1) Not too many hugs.
2) Fluctuating moods of the city.
3) Post Leaky Con depression... (it happens to the best of us)

Learned:
1) I should work more on getting all of my stuff into 1 bag only
2) I should have a plan for the first day I get to a city to make the best of it that I can.
3) Free Hugging is a constant learning process that involves times and stretches where hugs are not plentiful.

Day 22 (July 5)

Summary:
Today I left for Los Angeles.  My bus to Emeryville Amtrak station left at 12:45.  I then caught a train and another bus to arrive in Los Angeles at 10:00.  While on the train and bus I met a couple of really cool people, one was interested in where I got my Osprey backpack (a great and comfortable pack if I do say so myself).  I also met a couple of people while on the bus who I was able to tell about my free hugs trip as well.  I was also able to finish a book that I was reading.  I then took a taxi to get to USA Hostel, the hostel that I booked earlier in the day for my time in Los Angeles because I couldn't find a place to stay through couch surfing.  I got to the hostel at about 11:00 and then went to bed to get ready for tomorrow.

Highlights:
1)  Finishing a book.
2) Spreading Free Hugs love with traveling people. :)

Lowlights:
1) Taking a taxi rather than just taking the train and saving almost 30 dollars.
2) Having to spend the money for a hostel while in Los Angeles.

Learned:
1) One bag would be a lot less hassle than 2 bags.
2) I need to start visiting the grocery store more.  
3) I probably have said this before, but I need to figure out how I am getting to places before I get there.
4) Research is good.

Day 23 (July 6)

Summary:
Today I walked around Hollywood a little bit and got a feel for the area.  It was interesting, a lot different than I was expecting.  Los Angeles has a unique and interesting feel to it.  A lot of the people here are not as open as a lot of other places that I have been to.  I did not get many hugs at all and the response was a lot less than what I was expecting.  It was a pretty disappointing day but on the bright side, I am learning interesting and useful things. :)

Highlights:
1) Exploration.

Lowlights:
1) The realization of the complexity vastness of Los Angeles.

Learned:
1) Transit in Los Angeles takes forever.
2) A car is a thing to have in Los Angeles.
3) There are reasons why I love Chicago so much.

Day 19/20 (July 2/3)

Day 19 (July 2)

Summary:
Today my family and I went to Powells book store before dropping me off at the Portland Amtrak station to wait for my 2:25 train to Emeryville and bus to San Francisco.  I bought a philosophical book explaining (from what I gather) how to set up a 'Socrates Cafe' or club where people can just talk and love philosophy and question everything and get really excited about it and crazy Philosophical geeky stuff like that, which excites me, as a philosophy major. Here is a picture of the book I bought and a magnet that I could not pass up.

If you didn't know this before, I am an avid duct tape crafter and creator, including wallets, hats, bags, and a duct tape prom tux.
The Train got to the station at about 2:40, I boarded and spent the rest of the night watching tv shows that I had on my computer and doing some writing.

Highlights:
1) Powells Bookstore.
2) Spending time with family.
3) I found Wifi at the train station.
4) I briefly met a couple of people at the station.
5) Giving away a hug on the train.

Lowlights:
1) Saying goodbye to my family for another 70 days and my brother for another 5-6 months.  (He will be at school by the time I get back from my tour.)
2) Waiting for the train was pretty boring, I wasn't really in the mood to engage in conversation.

Learned:
1) I miss my family more than I really thought I did.
2) My sister is a really good free hugger, watching her the past few days at Leaky Con was awesome.  (She is about the same age right now as I was when I started giving away free hugs.  It's really interesting to watch her learn some of the stuff that I have learned in my giving away free hugs, but on her own.)

Day 20 (July 3)

Summary:
I arrived at the Emeryville, California station at 9:45 am and boarded the bus taking me to San Francisco.  I then arrived at about 10:15 and found a Starbucks get breakfast and sit down to get some work done.  I left Starbucks at 6:00 pm to head to the host house where I was staying.  Once I got to the house I met some of the people that live there and the rest of the night was getting to know them and awesome conversation about hugs and human connectedness.  I slept amazingly on the couch and was super comfortable.

Highlights:
1) Getting a lot of work done including blog posts, writing, and taking a couple surveys.
2) Having pictures to share on this blog post.

Lowlights:
1) Not having a plan for storing my stuff when I got into town.

Learned:
1) I need to have more planned for the first day/ find locations to stash my stuff for durring the day while waiting for getting to places that I will sleep in order to maximize Free Hugging time.  (I still have to figure out how and where)
2) Getting on the computer and being productive feels really good, almost as good as a bunch of hugs.  Being productive is hugging yourself. :)
3) I am using pictures in my posts now!! Exciting!

Today is July 4 and I am checking out my surroundings finding a good place to stop and hug.  I'll update you about the day later.  Happy 4th!

Hugs,
David Melia
Professional Free Hugger

Day 16/17/18 (June 29,30 and July 1)

Day 16 (Leaky Con Day 3)

Summary:
Today I went to a couple of panels and lectures.  It was very informative and thought provoking.  At the end of the night was a Charity Ball, a yearly Leaky Con phenomenon.  We all got to dress up and dance and have a really good time.  I really enjoyed it and got lots and lots of hugs, including a hug from Stephanie Perkins, author of Anna and the French Kiss.  That was pretty great.

Highlights:
1) Hugs.
2) Charity Ball and dancing.
3) Chilling with friends and learning stuff.
4) Hugging Stephanie Perkins and giving her a copy of my book! :)

Lowlights:
1) None

Learned:
1) Writing when you don't feel like writing still has to be done.
2) Pushing though those rough moments allows you to enjoy and relish as well as take advantage of the moments where you are in the creative and writing mode.
3) Discipline is more than half the battle when it comes to writing.

Day 17 (Leaky Con Day 4)

Summary:
Today was the last day of Leaky Con.  We got to the Oregon convention center at about 10:00 am for the last couple of events.  I went to a Dr. Horrible sing along where we watched Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog, a fantastically amazing movie.  We then had the final ceremony which was the last Pottercast Podcast.  My family and I then went to have dinner with my uncle and cousin that live in a suburb of Portland.

Highlights:
1) Met Starkid briefly.

Lowlights:
1) Last day of Leaky Con.

Learned:
1) Leaky Con is one of the greatest things in the world.
2) Conventions are awesome places to give hugs.
3) Goodbye's are the worst.
4) I should start making an email list for a quarterly newsletter.

Day 18 (June 1)

Summary:
Today my family and I slept in a little bit in order to recover from Leaky Con and then we went to the rose garden in Portland and then to dinner with a couple friends that used to work with my parents in Chicago years ago.  It was a fun dinner and the restaurant that we went to had some of the most amazing fries ever.  I ended the night by skypeing with one of my friends.  It was a good time.

Highlights:
1) Sleeping in.
2) Dinner with parents friends.
3) Spreading hugs movement in Portland.

Lowlights:
1) Not enough sleep.
2) I definitely wanted more sleep.
3) Did not get as much administrative work done as I was hoping to.

Learned:
1) Family is awesome.  I love my family and spending time with them is one of the greatest things in the world.
2) Skype is an invention that I am very thankful for.
3) Snapchat is also cool.

Day 13/14/15 (June 26,27,28)

Day 13 (Travel to Portland)

Summary:
Today I checked out of the Green Tortoise Hostel at about 11:00 and chilled out at Starbucks until about 1.  I then walked the mile to arrive at King Street Amtrak Station where I would catch my train to Portland at 5:30.  The waiting was a little much especially with the lack of wifi at the station, but I made my decision to come super early and I stuck with it.  I got on the train and had some really awesome conversation with the person sitting next to me (I never got her name) covering topics large and wide.  It made my day hands down.  I learned a lot.  I still have to sort through it all when I am done with Leaky Con.  I arrived in Portland at 9:00 and was picked up at the station by my family before we went to get dinner at Laughing Planet.  They had some good root beer and quesadilla's.  We wrote an awesome note to the working, thanking them for being awesome.  We then drove back to the hotel and went to sleep.

Highlights:
1) Train ride conversation about everything and philosophy and awesomeness and anything and everything and Harry Potter.
2) Seeing my family.

Lowlights:
1) Long waiting and boring stuff.
2) Expensive vending machine food is bad.
3) Didn't get as much work done as I would have liked.

Learned:
1) Laughing Planet is awesome.
2) Portland is beautiful.
3) My family is awesome.

Day 14 (Leaky Con Day One)

Summary:
Today my family and I went to the Oregon Convention Center where Leaky Con is being held and I meet up with some friends that I met at last year's convention.  I then went to a couple of meetup's and ended the night at about 10:30 in order to be able to get up early in order to attempt to get wristbands for the actor signing later on day two.  We got to bed around midnight.

Highlights:
1) Kristen Hippe's music at the Wizard Rock Concert.  (Find out more here: kirstyn.bandcamp.com)
2) Meeting up with my free hugging friend Dylan from Leaky Con last year.
3) Meeting lots of amazing cool people and spreading peace, love and happiness through hugs :)
4) Welcoming Ceremony skit at Leaky Con.

Lowlights:
1) Missing Ministry of Magic's performance at the rock concert.

Learned:
1) I rediscovered why I loved Leaky Con so much.
2) Leaky Con is a lovely place to hug.

Day 15 (Leaky Con Day Two)

Summary:
Toady was the start of all the much anticipated bulk of programming.  I went to a lot of really interesting and thought provoking panels, presentations, and meetups.  My family and I got up at 7:00 to get to the convention center to try and get signing wrist bands for some of the Harry Potter actors.  The rest of the day was a jumble of hugs, Harry Potter, friends, interesting conversation, collaboration, brainstorming, and wizard rock.


Highlights:
1) Hugging Stephanie Perkins when I got her to sign my hat and gave her my finished free hugs book.
2) Getting amazing hugs from awesome people at Leaky Con.
3) Hank Green talking about engineering and why there are so many more men in that field that women.
4) Attending amazing panels.
5) Meeting Andrew Slack and giving him a hug.
6) Talking to Dylan about possibly reigniting the free hugs community and movement!

Lowlights:
1) There can be nothing bad about Leaky Con! (The lines allow for more connection and friendships to be made, it is all positive)

Learned:
1) The L shake.  A high five but with your elbows!
2) Everyday people are just as interesting or maybe even more interesting than celebrities.  (It's the concept of Everyday Celebrities a topic which I will go into in greater detail in a future blog post)

Day 11/12 (June 24/25)

Day 11

Summary:
Today I got into Seattle at 10:30 am and got to the hostel that I am staying at about 11:30 but couldn't get into my room until 12:30. I dropped off my bags and headed to a Starbucks across the street to write some emails and do some organizing when I met Bill Oldenburg and chatted with him for a while about books that we wrote and are writing.  I then gave away some hugs and chilled at the hostel and met some really interesting and awesome people there.  A couple of them hugged with me on day 12.

Highlight:
1) Meeting Bill Oldenburg
2) The location and aweosmeness of the Green Turtle Hostel in Seattle.
3) Talking about my Free Hugs Tour 2013 and making friends.
4) The enthusiasm and support of others of my free hugging projects.

Lowlight:
1) None

Learned:
1) People are awesome.
2) A hostel provides a lot of contacts and Seattle is great especially the public market.
3) I watch too much Burn Notice.  (It takes up valuable time)

Day 12

Summary:
I started hugging today at about 10:30.  Derek (a friend who I met at the hostel) met up with me and hugged with me until about 4 pm.  He bought me lunch at Chipotle at about 12:30.  I also met up with my amazing friend from school, Emma.  We hung out for a couple hours from about 3-5ish.
I enjoyed an amazing free dinner of spaghetti at the hostel at about 7 and met a girl from Australia (where the free hugs campaign started!)  

Highlight:
1) Meeting a group on a mission trip spreading love through talking and praying for people on the streets.
2) The joy and excitement on their faces when I gave them free hugs signs and free hugs patches.
3) Being able to be an inspiration for people that inspire me, such as this awesome group of people.
4) I don't know if I have made this clear, but this group that I met on a missions trip was the highlight of my day.
5) Getting to talk to and hug 156 wonderful people in Seattle.

Lowlight:
1) None.

Learned:
1) Hugging in a group is awesome.
2) Free food is the best.
3) 156 hugs seems like a lot but it seems like a lot less when you are out there hugging for 7 hours.
4) Relaxing and going with the flow is a good skill to have in life.

Day 8/Day 9/Day 10

So I am a little bit behind on some of my updates.  I am now in Seattle waiting to be able to get into my room at my hostel.  I will update you on tour happenings of day 8, 9 and 10.

Day 8
Summary:
I went to the Mall of America.  I arrived at 12:00 and went to A&W to get some good food, a cheeseburger and cheese curds, and amazing A&W root beer. It was glorious.  I then walked around the mall for a couple of hours and got 4 hugs. The atmosphere of the mall wasn't quite right (I will expand on this in a later blog post). I then went back to downtown Minneapolis and gave away a total of 34 hugs for the day.

Highlight:
1) A&W at the Mall of America.

Lowlight:
1) Not getting many hugs at the mall and my lack of courage to put myself out more visibly at the mall.

Learned:
1) Malls have an interesting relationship with free hugs that I need to explore more.

Day 9
Summary:
The power went out at the house which I was staying at so I spent most of the day at Starbucks near the Amtrak station writing and researching some possible ways I can get my story out to the media.  I went over to the station at about 8 pm for my 11:15 train to Seattle.  Total I gave away one hug today.

Highlight:
1) Meeting and giving a hug to a lady picking up someone at the Amtrak station.

Lowlight:
1) Leaving my extended phone battery plugged in at Starbucks.  (they are sending it to my hotel in Portland so hopefully I will have it for the rest of the tour.)

Learned:
1) Packing light is always good. I need to get rid of some things. 

Day 10
Summary:
Today I was on the train all day.  It was pretty intense.  I met a lot of pretty cool and interesting people that I will hopefully be able to keep into contact with and work on some projects together.  Total I gave out 20 hugs while on the train.

Highlight:
1) Meeting interesting and exciting and passionate people.
2) Playing spades with some friends I met.
3) Sharing the joy of hugs on a train.

Lowlight:
1) Train ride was super long and it was hard sitting still sometimes. 

Learned:
1) I should be better prepared with food because food on Amtrak isn't too great and it superbly amazingly expensive.
2) Peanut butter and jelly should become my new best friend.
3) Sandwiches
4) People are amazing, especially on trains because there isn't much else to do other than get to know other people on the train.

Day 7

Summary: Today i went to the Minnesota Twins game.  The game was at 12:10 so i got to Target Field at about 11am to give out hugs before the game.  I headed into the game at about 12:30.  The White Sox lost pretty badly but it was pretty fun.  Around the 8th inning i went back outside to give people hugs as they left the field.  Total I gave out 231 hugs. I then went to Starbucks to relax and then went home.

Highlights:
1) Getting a free Twins jersey. (even though I am a White Sox fan.)
2) Getting to experience Target Field.
3) Some of the peoples interest in my free hugs project was pretty cool.

Lowlights:
1) Someone telling me that there is nothing that is free.

Learned:
1) The White Sox are in last place and even Kansas City is ahead of the Twins at the moment.
2) Events with a lot of people are a way to get lots of hugs.

Free Hugs Tour Day 6

Summary:
Today I woke up at about 7am but didn't get up until about 10.  I then had some amazing breakfast of Wheat Thins and a buttered english muffin.  It was absolutely amazing.  I then headed out to Free Hug. I was originally planning to hug at the Stone Arch Bridge because it had been brought to my attention that would be a great place to hug.  I didn't make it there however because the place where I got off of the bus seemed to have enough people around to be able to hug at Nicollet Mall.  I hugged from about 12:30-3:30 and then took a break for an Arby's lunch.  I then headed back to give away some hugs at Nicolette Mall again and at about 6:00 headed over to Target Field where the Twins were scheduled to play the White Sox at 7:10.  I hugged there until 7:30 and got about 150 hugs.  At 7:30 I headed back to my hosts house.  Today I got 232 Hugs, the most in one day on this tour so far.

Highlights:
1) Seeing foot traffic and getting lots of hugs.
2) Meeting lots of really amazing and cool people
3) Hugging outside of the Twins game.
4) Hearing people tell me that I made their day.
5) Great conversations.

Lowlights:
1) Nothing stands out.

Learned:
1) English Muffins are amazing and I should probably eat them more because they are totally amazing.
2) I feel a lot better having gotten my hugging numbers up, it makes me realize the importance of having days like yesterday when I didn't have as many hugs.
3) Confidence is good.

Day 4 and Day 5

Day 4

Summary: Today was just a packing and travel day.  I met some pretty cool people while waiting for my Amtrak train to Minneapolis.  I got to the station in Milwaukee at about noon for a train that was supposed to leave at 3:55.  It didn't leave Milwaukee until about 8:30.  I got into Minneapolis at 3:00 am and took a taxi to the house I am staying at and arrived at about 3:30 am.

Highlights:
1) Being told by a passenger that I have the gift of healing, and I am doing God's work after he overheard me tell the story of when I hugged someone in Chicago and her cramps went away.
2) Meeting some amazing awesome travelers both waiting for and on the train.
3) Getting to Minneapolis.

Lowlights:
1) Long delays and tiredness.

Learned:
Amtrak trains can sometimes be unpredictable.  I should be more prepared for next time.

Day 4 Hugs: 12

Day 5

Summary: I slept in today until about 11am.  At noon I decided to go out and do some exploring of Minneapolis in the downtown area.  My first order of business was to get a 'go to' card (allowing me to use the public transportation of Minneapolis and St. Paul.  The problem was finding a place to get the go to card.  I decided to go on a 2 hour hike to downtown, I got my go to card and did some exploring of the downtown area and attempted to give away some hugs.  I was not very successful and I realized that I needed to have a better plan to make sure I have the most impact while in the Twin Cities.

I got back to the house I am staying at about 5 and worked on sending some emails.  My hosts then had a couple of relatives over for dinner and invited me to join them.  I accepted and it was a fantastically amazing dinner of fish, salad and vegetables.  We all got to know a little bit more about each other and we went to get ice cream and I got a couple of hugs from a couple who saw my free hugs shirt.  All in all a tiring yet delightful day.

Highlights:
1) Making a couple of people's day, even if it is not as many as I would have hoped.
2) Dinner with my hosts and their relatives.
3) My hosts amazingness at being awesome.
4) Strawberry ice cream.
5) Beautiful view of Lake Harriet as the sun went down.

Lowlights:
1) Not as many hugs as I was expecting.
2) Tiring and couldn't find a good place to hug.

Learned:
1) Need to be better prepared and informed before I go to each city with public transit options.
2) Should have extra one dollar bills on me to pay for transit fare with exact change
3) I should start working on creating a Free Hugging network in order to build up the Free Hugs Movement again.
4) Organization is a key concept that I really need to work on.
5) I should probably go to bed and get some sleep.

Till next time:
Hugs,
David Melia
Professional Free Hugger

Free Hugs Tour Day 3

Day 3 Summary:
I went to bed at about 3 am.  I woke up at about 9:00 to go to church with James.  The church we went to was called Cornerstone.  It was a really awesome time, I gave away lots of hugs, talked about my tour, and was mentioned a couple times durring the announcements and the sermon! I then went back to the house (where I was staying) and then took a nap.  Later on Will took me over to the beach where I walked along the path and gave hugs to some of the people walking along the lakefront.  I had a pretty bad headache at this point so I decided to go back to the house and take a nap.  That nap lasted until 8 am of Day 4.  More to come on that in the next post.  Total I got 47 Hugs Day 3.  Handed out some business cards and sold a book and a t-shirt.

Highlights:
1) Going to Cornerstone Church and meeting the amazing and wonderful people there.
2) Free Hugging by the beach.
3) Nice walk along the lakefront

Lowlights:
1) Pretty bad headache.

Learned: Headache's suck and naps are awesome.

Hugs,
David Melia
Professional Free Hugger

Free Hugs Tour Day 2

Day 2 included a lot of late night hugs and activities so therefore I am writing about day 2 a little bit after day 2 has happened.  On day 2 I hiked 3 miles from my hotel where I stayed last night to my friend Will's house.  When I got there at about 12:00 Will wasn't there yet, he had work, so one of his housemates, James, let me in.  He then had to leave for a wedding he had to go to at 1:00.   Will and his other housemate Will came back and we chatted for a little bit and my friend Will took me out to an amazing all you can eat sushi and buffet dinner (the lunch special was 12.95 for all of this).  We connected with our waitress who was a psychology student with a spanish minor at University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee (UWM).  We got to hug, bond over some philosophy and I gave her a business card.  Will and I also got to exchange some free hugging ideas over some fantastic sushi.  

We then went back to the house where I took a nap and Will did some work before going outside of some bars and hugging people.  We met a lot of really awesome and cool people.  Total hugs Day 2 was 47. 

Highlights: 

1) Meeting Tim, a cancer survivor who now is fighting cancer again.

2) Eating amazing sushi with my buddy Will.

3) Watching V for Vendetta with Will and some of the Orientation Leaders from UWM 

4) Taking a good nap. 

Learned: 

The quality and time spent giving away hugs and interacting creating community is just as important as giving and receiving lots of hugs.  Sometimes the more intimate and longer lasting conversations have more of an impact.  Being too overeager to get a set amount of hugs detracts from the quality of each hugging experience.  Tim reminded me of the power of just one hug, and the huge impact it can really have in this world.  

Day 3 coming your way soon!! Lots of new and exciting stuff! 

Hugs, 

David Melia 

Professional Free Hugger

Free Hugs Tour 2013 Day 1

Today was the first day of giving away hugs for Free Hugs Tour 2013.  Here is how it went:
I woke up at 7:00 am took a shower, my mom and sister drove me to Union Station in Chicago to catch my 8:25 train to Milwaukee.  I got into Milwaukee around 10 am, checked into a hotel and went over to the Milwaukee Public Market.  I got there around 1pm and hugged there til about 3:30.  I then walked around and met up with my friend Danielle and got dinner with her.  Total I gave away hugs until about 5:30.  I gave away 77 hugs in that time.  All in all today was a good, nice, and smooth transition into Free Hugs Tour 2013.  

Some highlights from the day are:
1) The first hug I got walking down the street from someone walking down the street dressed in a suit.  2) The first group of people that hugged me when I was at the Milwaukee Public Market.  They were super awesome and supportive and just really cool.  Groups like that help me keep on doing what I am doing and keep on going.  They inspire me and all I can do is hope that I had a positive and inspiring impact on them.
3) There was a lady who was also fantastic who talked to me for a while about my Free Hugs projects and asked me a lot of questions.  It was amazing.  I love talking about Free Hugs, I could do it all day!! Thanks!
4) I got to see my amazing friend Danielle.  She is amazing and a blessing and a fantasically amazing friend.
5) There were a couple of families that came up to me and hugged me and were really interested in the free hugs.  It was awesome.  One of the little girls even said that she saw other Free Huggers when they were in New York!! It was awesome.  Very inspiring.

Random thought: when people take pictures of me, maybe I should get them to send them to me so that I can upload them on future blog posts and upload them to my website!! See, I am learning stuff already and it's only the first day!! :) Stay Tuned for the Day 2 update tomorrow!

Hugs,
David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Goals for Free Hugs Tour 2013

Monday of this week I finished up all of my finals.  I turned my last one in on Wednesday.  That brings us to today.  The original plan was to be able to hug in chicago both Wednesday and Today but I have to plan and figure out where I am going to hug and contact people about hugging in different cities instead, an important part of making Free Hugs Tour 2013 a success.  The past couple of weeks I have been trying to come up with goals that I have for Free Hugs Tour 2013.  Here is what I came up with:
1) Give away at least 10,000 Hugs.
2) Sell one book each day for food money.
3) Give away the 5000 business cards that I had printed.
4) Create community through Couchsurfing.
5) Document the trip through writing, audio, and video.
6) Upload a blog post at least 3 times each week.

Let me know what you think! You will hear from me soon.  Stay tuned.

Hugs,
David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Free Hugs Tour Preparations!!

Since my last post I have had most of my big school projects due.  From now until the end of the quarter, and the start of Free Hugs Tour 2013 I only have 2 video editing projects and 3 final exams.  I also have to get everything prepared for Free Hugs Tour 2013.

A couple days ago I purchased a backpacking backpack (Pictures yet to come) which I will test pack hopefully later today.  I also will upload the itinerary onto www.couchsurfing.com in order to be able to coordinate places to stay while I am on my tour.  I also have to figure out places to free hug in each of the cities I will be in and find people to hug with and enjoy my Free Hugging experiences.  Let me know if you want to free hug with me!

I also now have some merchandise available on my website (www.freehugstour.com/merchandise.html), so go and check that out.

I'll keep you updated and upload pictures of my packing endeavors soon!!

Hugs,
David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Free Hugs Tour 2013 Tour Itinerary!!

It is with much excitement and hugs that I present to you my Free Hugs Tour 2013 Itinerary!
Here is a couple posters with the information:

Posters made by Adam Graham of Zigurous Studios who also designed a program where you can design your own Free Hugs design and enter the Free Hugs T-shirt Design Contest until May 18th!! Be sure to enter through the Free Hugs Design link!

For those who can't read the dates on the posters, here they are again:

Chicago 6/12-6/13

Milwaukee 6/14-6/16

St. Paul/ Minneapolis 6/18- 6/22

Seattle 6/24- 6/26

Portland (Leakycon) 6/27- 7/1

San Francisco 7/2- 7/4

Los Angeles 7/6- 7/10

San Diego 7/11- 7/13

Albuquerque 7/15- 7/17

Denver 7/19- 7/21

Wichita 7/22- 7/25

Kansas City 7/26- 7/29

St. Louis 7/31- 8/2

Nashville 8/3- 8/6

Atlanta 8/8- 8/11

Durham/Charlotte  8/12-8/13

Washington DC 8/15- 8/18

Philadelphia 8/19- 8/21

New York 8/22- 8/25

Boston 8/26- 8/29

Pittsburgh 8/31-9/1

Louisville 9/2- 9/3

Indianapolis 9/4- 9/7

Chicago 9/8

Let me know if you know anyone at these locations that would be interested in hosting me for a couple of nights as well as free hugging with me a couple of the days! Let me know what you think of the itinerary and the posters!

Until next time *Hugs*,

David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Agapefest Awesomeness!

Right before my last post my computers harddrive totally crashed which was a real bummer.  Most of the data on it was saved in other places but there are a few things that I lost that I wish I would have had backed up beforehand.  Anyway, it took about a week to get fixed at the Apple store.  It set back some of my tour organizing projects.  Now that I have my computer back, and I am saving and backing up all of my files constantly, updates and new fun updates should start to become a more common occurrence.  Within the next few days I will hopefully have an itinerary uploaded with dates that I will be in each city!

This past weekend I attended Agapefest in Greenville, Illinois for the first time.  It was an interesting experience to say the least.  Agapefest took place at the Bond County Fairgrounds (a grassy field) which, at the end of the fest became a field of mud due to the rain and the tread of thousands of fest participants.  That being said, I did have a fantastically awesome time meeting people, giving away hugs, telling them about my Free Hugs Tour 2013 project and my book.  Some of the bands I met and actually had that chance to engage in dialogue a little bit include: Ravenhill, The Madison Letter, Family Force 5, Kutless, Hawk Nelson, and Attaboy. I was able to give them a little information about hugs and my book and I had the privilege to hear them live and get some of their music so that I can listen to the music on Free Hugs Tour 2013 and will provide some of my soundtrack for that (I am going to have a soundtrack like they do in the movies and stuff because I am cool like that? Maybe I don't know about cool but It will be a thing.)

A couple of other cool people I met include the people in this picture:

  

Overall I met a lot of really cool and awesome people, and hopefully will continue to keep in touch with them in the future!  I will definitely be going to Agapefest 2014.  

Stay tuned for the release of the dates I will be in each city for Free Hugs Tour 2013! 

Hugs,

David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Book Updates/ Seattle Trip

My book has now officially been published and for sale a little bit over a month now.  I have sold about 70 physical copies of the 300 copies that I bought to sell so far.  I am making progress.  I have about 7 weeks until I go on tour on June 14th.  It's coming up pretty soon, and I have a lot of stuff to work on in order to make sure that I am ready for it!!  This includes marketing my book and trying to get people interested in the book and the tour and lots and lots of marketing.

This past weekend I went to Seattle to see the Youtube star and Singer/Songwriter Tiffany Alvord in concert.  The concert was amazingly great and I had a blast listening and chilling out with her for a couple hours due to the fact that I bought backstage passes to the show.  I gave her a copy of the book because she is mentioned a few times in it and we got to talk a bit about like hugs and how awesome and amazing hugs are.  That night I received 30 hugs and Tiffany received about 300 hugs.  Afterwards we had a discussion about the amount of hugs we each receive and who gives away more hugs, you know, a little friendly competition.  I also mentioned that my goal for Free Hugs Tour 2013 was to give away 100,000 hugs in 90 days.

The next day, April 20, 2013, I tried to give away some free hugs around Seattle but I really wasn't feeling the hugging mood (the confidence and dedication to stick to giving away hugs without being able to take rejections personally).  When this happens, as described in my book, free hugging doesn't have as many of the benefits so it is better to stop giving away hugs because that is when it is more likely to have negative effects.  I was then thinking about the goal to get 100,000 hugs, and with that goal, there is a lot more emphasis on the process of getting and receiving the hugs and less emphasis on the meaning behind the hug as well as the message behind the Free Hugs Lifestyle. The meaning and experiences of each hug are lost in a way.  Another problem that I thought about with trying to compete with giving away a certain number of hugs is the tendency to try and push people that don't want to get hugs into getting hugs and potentially providing a bad experience for them rather than a positive one.  That is not to say that having a hugging goal number, but just making sure that I remember the more important parts of the hugging experience than just focusing on giving hugs in order to reach that hugging number goal.

Just some food for thought that I was thinking about recently.  Let me know what yall think about that.  Have a fantastic day.

Hugs,

David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)

Free Hugs: It’s More Than A Campaign—It’s A Lifestyle is officially Published!!

I have been pretty busy since my last post.  This is probably because of my decision to take 5 classes this past quarter while attempting to get a book published, which is now published!! :) So the past couple of weeks I have had a lot of writing, and thoughts and craziness going on in my head wrapping my brain around 3 different philosophy classes.  That means to say there was a lot of philosophical content that was covered and expanding my brain and stuff.  It was super amazingly challenging but I am really glad that I took them all and I am now working on some other philosophical inquiry quests for some fun stuff (all relating to Free Hugs of course). 

Speaking of Free Hugs, I now have an officially published book!!! What does this mean for you buying the book?  Let’s be honest, that’s the reason why you are reading this post right?  You want to buy my book!! Here is the deal:

The book is available right now on Amazon, the book cover has not been updated on Amazon yet but it should be there soon, it is not yet available through Barnesandnoble.com but here is a link to where you can find the book online www.outskirtspress.com/freehugs

I am ordering 300 copies to sell to people that I will come into contact with very soon so if you are going to see me in the next couple of weeks, when I get the copies (probably 2-3 weeks from now) then you can buy a copy from me in person and I will also be able to sign it if you wish. 

I hope you are as excited about this amazing development as I am.  Here is to the future!! Let me know your thoughts. :) Be sure to order your copy of the book as well!!

Hugs,

David Melia (Professional Free Hugger)