1st Craft Show...

So on Friday December 16th I will have my first craft show experience. Since my last post I have been insanely busy trying to make product to sell at the show. It's hard to try and gauge what is going to sell and shat I should make. I am working on a lot of wallets cool wallets and stuff with new and different colors of duct tape. Hopefully this Friday will be a valuable learning experience and fruitful experience as well. Basicly that's it for now... I'll let you know how my craft show goes!! Until then, This is David, signing off.

Blogging

I haven't really been keeping up on all of my blogging urges and stuffs and all that stuff. I figure you have noticed that my last post was more than a month ago. I am going to try and change that but first I am going to try and explain why I have been slacking on updating my blog regularly. I think that at the beginning of me trying to keep a blog and write stuff down, my main focus was trying to write for an audience that wasn't there.. people that I was going to meet rather than for the audience of people that I have met and know. It really made each blog post feel weird to me not knowing and having a specific audience in mind. Now I am beginning to realize that I need to blog more for myself as a way to document my experiences both for myself and my friends and family who read this blog. I need to focus it more on my thoughts and not worry about what anyone thinks and just say what is on my mind and what's going on so that people can keep up with me in their free time and be a part of my journey of Free Hugs and as a Duct tape artist. Hopefully I will start trying to utilize my awesome phone with the blogging app to update my blog for more thoughtful and inspiring experiences that I am having on my trip. You will be hearing from me shortly... you know.. hopefully. Hugs! David

Kansas!

For the past week or so I have been traveling around the grand state of Kansas. I am really enjoying Kansas. I have been to Kansas City, Wichita, Clay Center and now I am in Great Bend. The people and connections that I have made on the road have been really cool. I met a couple that goes to Central Christian Church in Wichita and through that I got to play soccer and meet up with other young adults from that church. Like LaSalle Street Church, Central Christian Church is non-denominational so I felt pretty comfortable there. It has a lot more space and stuff but it's a pretty cool place. I also have been lugging my duct tape supplies to different restaurants and setting up shop creating duct tape things. This has allowed me to talk to others about what I am doing and my plans. It has also been really cool to have everything organized enough to do that. I have also been spending more time reading and trying to work on documenting more of my trip through video and writing. It's going pretty slow but hopefully it will pick up pretty soon. With all of this freedom my imagination is running wild and I love it. Time to make some duct tape creations at McDonalds! Until next time, this is David signing off.

Updates

I have arrived back in Chicago after my tour of the East Coast. My route was New York City to Washington DC to Boston to Chapel Hill to Upstate New York for Camping to Nashville and now to Chicago. On Monday I plan to head out to St. Louis and Free Hug with a contact that I have met there. I have also created Free Hugs Tour posters that I can now ask to post at local coffee shops and places where I visit. It is actually really cool.

So yeah. What do you think? I think it's a cool poster. So far on my trip I think that the best part has been Boston. I was only there for a couple of days, Free Hugs Friday at Boston University which was one of the most amazing experiences ever and I also got to help out doing flowers at a Hindi wedding!! :D It was a really cool experience. Over this past month I have been able to get my car organized in a way that makes it a lot easier to live out of and comfortable. I may try and get a picture when it is a little bit more organized again. Another improvement is I have been able to sell 3 duct tape free hugs signs, a flower and a card wallet on my trip and have been able to pick up a couple of odd jobs in order to earn some money to fund more of my trip. :D Overall I think that the snowball is beginning to achieve some momentum and my business will improve steadily throughout the year. (You know best case senerio) I have also been working hard to make contacts in different cities as well as come up with a schedule of places that I will be going so that I can give people in those places fair time to prepare for my arrival. It doesn't always work out that way though because I am open to changes and the schedule is loose and can change at the drop of a hat. I have slept in my car a few times and now have a bedish setup in my car which is really cool. I leave for St. Louis on Monday and I will be there until Wednesday or Thursday. I then have an appointment in Chicago on Friday and after that appointment I will head out for Sedgwick, Kansas to visit some friends there. From there I will go to Kansas City. From Kansas City I will head out to Twin Falls, Idaho and Boise, Idaho on my way to Spokane, Washington. From Spokane I will go to Seattle and Auburn Washington and visit Oregon. After that I don't have a schedule so far. I will try and keep you all updated more frequently. Thank you all!! :D

The Laundry Room.

When you go to a campground, you don’t really think much about the laundry room. At least I never have before… It’s a room you think associate with, well laundry, but today I find it’s really the place to hangout!! Well not a lot of people are really here, and they aren’t doing laundry… it’s mostly me, myself, and I, using it for writing this blog post, staying dry from the rain out of my cluttered and disorganized car, and making free hugs T-shirts with fabric paint!!What better place to let my paint dry than in the laundry room? It also has outlets for charging my electronics that are safe from the ever constant rain that is being experienced by the setting in which I am present. It’s perfect! I never thought about the laundry room as a place to “hang out”…. Until now. Now that I stop and think about it, the laundry room is a safe place to meet and find all sorts of adventures. As two strangers wait for their laundry to finish, stimulating conversations are usually had. Maybe, Sometimes, I don’t know it really has never happened to me yet but it makes me think. Come to think of it, the laundry room has a lot of characteristics in common with duct tape. It’s a room that is usually taken for granted, never really pay attention to in our daily lives, but its one of the staples that we have come to need in order to survive. Just like duct tape is such a common household item that people never really give it the credit it deserves. It’s the most common, the most taken for granted, and the most skipped over things that really are the most fascinating. As you look at the world around you its ever changing with new innovations and items that get thrown away for other newer items. What is common between laundry rooms and duct tape, is I haven’t seen anything invented could ever take their place. Hurray for the Laundry Room!!!!

Boston University Free Hugs Friday!

Last Friday when I was in Boston I had the honor and pleasure to meet The Boston University Free Hug Fridayers!! It was really awesome to meet such a great group of people that is dedicated to giving away free hugs every Friday to wish their fellow classmates a good Friday and weekend. I would just like to say that it was one of the greatest experiences, giving away free hugs with them. I am planning on visiting them again to be able to interview them for my Free Hugs Documentary. A way to get into the mind of a Free Hugger and try to understand the motivations behind the decisions to Free Hug and what it means to them. I am really excited about that. I am going to try and find some film majors to help capture some footage in different places. Hugs, David

Washington DC/ Boston!

Today (Thursday September 22, 2011) I got into Boston, well Medford actually but Tomorrow is Free Hugs Friday at Boston University!! I am really excited for free hugs friday... hopefully people show up.. It's supposed to rain tomorrow and that is worrying me, but hopefully it will be a good time and I can get some interviews for my free hugs documentary project. Hold up stop. Did he just? Yeah I said a free hugs documentary project. :D I have less than one year, a 7.1 megapixel camera, a broken tripod, my camera on my phone, and some duct tape to keep the tripod from not working and I think I am going to make a pretty awesome documentary. How you ask? That's a great question. I'll keep asking around. While I was in Washington D.C. well, it was raining and there weren't many people outside so it wasn't the greatest free hugging weather either.. I seem to be hitting all the bad weather here and its really rather inconvienent. Anywho, I got a readers card for researchers at the Library of Congress so I can look at books and stuff and do research there which is really cool. I also went to the United States Postal Museum which was pretty awesomely cool too. Very interesting how our mail is delivered and how it has changed over the years. Hopefully I will get some free hugs in Boston. I am beginning to get the hang of this traveling thing. Pretty exciting. Hugs! David

New York!!

SO I have been in New York for a few days now, since the 13th. On the 13th I tried going free hugging downtown and got 10 hugs, not too many but it was pretty okish. Then on the 14th I went to see Daniel Radcliff in a showing of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying which was a wonderful show. (Especially for the great price of $30!) Today I went and met a friend of mine who stayed at our house while he interned at LaSalle Street Church, Kyle Sandison. It was awesome to get to talk with him. It was even cooler because he was with me the day that I first learned about free hugs and saw people free hugging!! That was a historic day right there. As we were talking one of the quotes he showed me by C.S. Louis was really interesting. It went something like this: "It is a serious thing, to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no 'ordinary' people. You have never talked to a mere mortal." Which got me thinking about all of the different people that you meet off of the street. The smallest ideas or gestures could determine their whole future!! Imagine if those teenagers had never been free hugging on the street that my family and I were walking on to go and see the 5th Harry Potter Movie for my brothers birthday? I would be a completely different person!! What else is so crazy is that those huggers had no idea how much their act of offering Free Hugs impacted my life! Can you imagine a David Melia without free hugs? The tiniest moments, the meeting of someone on the street, the smile or hug of a stranger, the compliment or willingness to look silly really can make a difference. As I go out into the world and Free Hug I think about all of the times that others have impacted my life in brief moments that last a lot longer in memories and that is what keeps me going. It's the girl that wrote "Keep it up, your saving lives" on the back of my Free Hugs shirt when she was signing it, it's the lady who emailed me that she wasn't having the best time in Chicago and after passing me by a couple times, got a hug and her time in Chicago was saved because of that hug, it's those people that keep me going. It makes me wonder exactly how many lives I have touched? Those whom I don't know about, those who have experienced a change like I did when I first saw a free hugger. Those huggers have no idea how much their presence that day actually meant. It really makes you wonder, how much a small interaction on the street really can affect a life doesn't it? As Leo Buscaglia beautifully states: "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn around a life" I challenge you not to underestimate the power of the smallest act of caring, to do something nice no matter how small to someone you meet on the street, someone you work with, someone you love. The smallest things make the biggest difference. Lots of Hugs! :David

Nashville

SOoo I am in Nashville!! Its rainy and I got here yesterday at 2 pm and it being labor day, all the cool places and resturants that I wanted to hang out at (namely Starbucks) were closed! SO yeah I walked around, got wet, tried to get a lay of the city. Nashville is a cool place, I think i would enjoy it more if it were sunny and there were more people out. But as I write this what's that? I GOT MY FIRST HUG!!!! IN NASHVILLE! THAT'S THE FIRST HUG OF MY TRIP!!! YIPEE!!! I think that hug just made my trip. That hug is the highlight. I love hugs. Alot. SO also I am going to the Tiffany Alvord Concert today. I am pretty excited. I have a meet and greet ticket which is cool. That is really exciting also. A hug can really have a difference on one's outlook on the world. I would also like to point out that I got that hug at Starbucks.. so yeah Cool right? Yeah I know. Anywho's I slept pretty well last night in my car. It's still not very organized. I need to find my phone charger that plugs into an ac outlet and stuffs but yeah. I brought an umbrella too. I haven't used it yet. Maybe I should get on that and stay dry.. Yeah, I think I'll do that. Brb. Maybe... like later later but yeah. Hugs! David

Blah Blah Blah... Wait, whats going on?

I leave later today on my big huge free hugs road trip, after my mom and sister get back from Kansas City. As I think about all of the thoughts and plans and expectations that I have had over the past two years or so and all of the research that I have done to try and make this happen, its really hard to believe that my departure date has finally come. I have a vague notion of what I want this trip to achieve and what I want to come out from the experience but the truth is, I have no idea what I am going to get away from it. What is going to happen after I run out of the money that I have in 2 months? Will my products sell so that I can survive? What if something crazy bad happens? How trusting should I be of others? There are plenty of good people out there in the world but there are also one's that want to hurt you. I usually trust people until they give me a reason not to.. what If that comes to bite me in the future? Where am I going to park when I am in New York City? (yeah, any help is appreciated on that one.) But as I set off today I try to think about the endless possibilities that could come out of this trip, the different people that I could meet, the friends that I get to visit all over the country, the support of my followers and maybe the creation of an inspirational documentary. This trip is more than just to give away free hugs and brighten others lives, its a trip for me to try and help me find who I am, what I am meant to do in this world, how I fit into the greater picture of the world. It's kinda like going to college, except there is no teacher, your the teacher and the student, teaching yourself through experiences in the real world. I don't know what this trip is going to give me or where exactly I will end up but I do know that it is going to be a transformative year for me and maybe for you, my followers. Thank you for your support and together we will see what this trip has in store for us. See you on the flip side. Hugs, David

Packing!!!

As I sit down and write this post, I just got back from white water rafting in Maryland with my best friends Chad and his dad,Charlie,my brother Stephen,and my dad. It was a great trip!! The rapids were awesome! We almost fell a couple times. We didn't though. There was a raft on our trip that threw 3 of the 4 people into the river though. That was pretty cool and funny to watch. :D
Before that I went on vacation with my family to Universal Studios in Orlando for 4 days. Pretty fun stuff. Anyway, on to the interesting stuff. I leave for my trip in 12 days so I have to start packing. Packing is pretty chaotic because I have to make sure I have everything all organized and take the minimal amount of things so that I have space in my car to be comfortable. It is a bit scary because it's going to be such a new experience and I am going to have to get used to it but I am also really excited. I am going to go make a video about all the stuff that I am going to take with me and how I have to organize it all and fun stuff like that. Be sure to check it out! Thanks for all your support!

Free Hugging Trip!

So I have my preliminary itinerary so far for my trip! I did a video of it if you would like to watch that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPnMTKcWqeg
or here is the itinerary: We start out in Chicago.
Then I go out to Nashville for a concert
then New York (Pottersville, Red Neck, New York City)
maybe stop in Washington DC on my way to
North Carolina (Chapel Hill)
Tennessee (Nashville and Memphis)
Kansas (Sedgwick and Wichita)
Colorado (Denver)
maybe stop somewhere in Idaho
then on to Washingon (Spokane, Seattle, Auburn, Bellevue)
Oregon (Portland)
California (San Francisco, Los Angeles)
Arizona (Tucson and Pheonix)
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
Texas (Austin, Houston, Kennedale)
Georgia (Athens, other places)
Florida (Orlando)
Then visit Chicago on my way to Maine :D
That is what I have so far so tell me what you think?! :D
Also If you want me to visit somewhere that is not on this list, and hug me, lets make it work. :D
So yeah. Also I got my car today!!!!! and I went free hugging today and yesterday. Yesterday I got 65 hugs and today I got 159 hugs and handed out a total of 95 free hugs business cards between the two days. I am planning to leave September 4th sometime during the day so Watch out world David Melia is on the road!!

Road trip mission statement

My passion for human interaction and yearning to make a positive difference in others lives has prompted me to explore America through a road trip.  I hope to spread love, peace, and happiness (brightening lives one hug at a time) through my adventures as a Professional Free Hugger. This trip will also provide time for me to engage in self exploration and develop meaningful connections, and experiences that will have an influential part in my future life.

OOOHhh YEahh.

So today I mailed a couple of packages to some people that bought some stuff on ebay from me and then I went downtown to go Free Hugging with my amazing friend Morgan! While free hugging with Morgan we got a total of 65 hugs in 2 hours!! 40 of those hugs we got in the first 20 minutes because we ran into a group of Vlogers from youtube and the Nerd Fighters I think they were called from the Vlog Brothers. It was amazingly cool to be around a group of amazing people that were so open to the act of hugging! I got to give them all my awesome Professional Free Hugger Business cards! (Which I just realized... don't actually have my email address on them... I should put that on in future cards because I told a bunch of people to email me and stuff so all I can hope for is that they come to this blog and read this post where they will learn that they can email me at duckductdave@gmail.com or leave comments and stuff so we can get in touch because those people were awesome!!) Sooo yeah. After free hugging I went to see a few of my friends Olivia, Hannah, and Alaina sing at our church. It was really amazing awesome fun! Total over the day I met tons of awesome cool people and hope to get to know them more!!
In other news, I sent in my Month at the Museum application a couple days ago, and I think I made a pretty good application so wish me the best! :D I also am selling my duct tape items on ebay and www.etsy.com/shop/duckductdave to get money for my gap year road trip! Thanks for all your support and Have a great Night! (or day if your reading this in the day time) :D
Lots of Hugs! <3 David

Duct Tape Funness!!

So lately I have been busy making duct tape items and improving my inventory so that I can actually have some product to sell. It has been going pretty well. Right now I have about 50 items for sale between etsy.com and ebay. I haven't gotten anything sold through the online postings yet but hopefully as I make more interesting items and learn how to market my products better, I will be able to make money to support myself on my road trip. Thanks for your support!
David

Free Hugging 7/1/2011

I went free hugging with my friend Ethan yesterday. We went to the Taste of Chicago and walked around Michigan Ave. and Millennium Park. Over the whole day we gave away 120 hugs!! I know this thanks to my awesome and amazing free hugs counter. :D
I also had a new twist while giving away hugs yesterday (other than the fact that I had a friend with me hugging), I had made Professional Free Hugger business cards therefore making me more of a professional! It was really cool to be able to say "Hey look I have a business card that says I am a professional free hugger so I am legit and professional" more or less, but not in those exact words. I found it a good way to introduce people into the idea of free hugging and the vision that I have and why I give them away. On the side of the left side of the business card is a quote in cyan from Leo Buscaglia which reads "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around" I hope that this card will allow people to look beyond just the hug and think about the reasons behind offering free hugs. You can not receive a hug without giving a hug so as much as the other person needs a hug, I need their hug to. I am grateful for every hug I receive and I hope that every one that I hug is grateful for the hug that they receive from me.

While I was free hugging I met a family to whom I gave everyone hugs and handed out my Free Hugger business card and they loved it and one of the children, about 9 or 10 said "Your a good person, Thank you!" and everyone was happy. Another member of the family told me that I had really brightened their day. It's for those moments that I give away free hugs. Thank you for brightening MY day by complimenting me. It all goes back to Leo Buscaglia's quote.... What can I say... It's a good quote. :D

VIDEOS!!!

I like videos. So today I started my Video Blog, or Vlog on youtube. :D Here is the link to see my first video blog post!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwhEGPgURoA
It's not the greatest but hopefully as I go on I will get more comfortable in front of the Camera or video recorder thing and the quality of the content and everything will be better and more interesting. I had a lot of trouble getting up the strength to start up the Vlog. It's scary putting yourself out their like that.
In order to improve my comfortability in front of the video camera I have decided that I am going to post small videos on all of my Facebook friends walls. Even the ones who I never talk to. All of them. This will not only give me exposure to the video camera thingy but will also allow me to grow my connection skills with others. Also it just gives me a nice feeling inside. Wish me luck!!! :D Follow my Vlog and this Blog because I am a relatively decent and interesting guy... I think. Thanks be to you!

Get off my Chest.

I talk a lot about how awesome my trip is going to be and living in a car and everything. Truth is, it scares me a crap ton as well. I mean tons of stuff could go wrong. Like the fact that I don't have much money and don't have enough to put a down payment on a car. Or the fact that people don't think its a good idea or I can't do it or its too dangerous or something like that. I admit, it's a risk, but I think it's a good risk.
It's the kind of risk that separates the great from the ordinary, people that change the world from the people that just live in the world, the people that really live and love life from the people that are limited by their fear of the future, or of failure. Yes it's scary and unconventional but as George Bernard Shaw said “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.” I agree with this statement 110 percent. I'll make mistakes, I will mess up, I won't always be safe, but isn't that the point? That your not going to be safe. Life is about adventure. Life is about the moments that take your breath away, life is about the risks you take because you care, and you love. Life is about going out there and achieving your dreams no matter what the cost. I don't care if you don't think I can achieve my dreams. I don't care if you don't believe in me. I believe in myself and nothing that anyone says is going to change that. I believe that their is a higher purpose in this trip other than just because I want to. There are personal reasons I want to go on this trip. It's not just for my personal gain (which I believe I will gain a lot from this trip) but it's for the people that I will meet, the adventures in my future, and changing the world. I think God is calling me to something big and this trip is the start I believe. I believe in a better world. I believe that anything can happen. Do you?

The need to write.

Rainer Maria Rilke once said "Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depth of your heart; confess to yourself you would have to die if you were forbidden to write."
I have graduated from high school 8 days ago so naturally all I have been doing is sitting around and watching tv shows on Netflix. While doing this I have thought about writing and how much I enjoy it. I love writing. I really do. It helps clear your mind when it is full of crap and clutter. It's like organizing a really messy house, the house being where the mind lives... in the brain.. if that makes any sense. Even though I love to write and have taken many courses in school that have been focused on writing, I haven't dug deep down and found the "reason that commands (me) to write...that I would die if I were forbidden to write". I have felt better after writing and more organized but I have not taken the time to sit down and write whats on my mind for a while. I like to blame school for taking up all of my time with pointless exercises and assignments, but it's not entirely schools fault. I haven't taken the time to sit down and write. I hope that with this confession I will be able to take more time to sit down and write about my thoughts and engage with my audience, and hopefully become more organized with my beliefs. Here is to a fresh start.

"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer." Rainer Maria Rilke

School

It's getting towards the end of the year and there are a lot of school projects and things that I have to get finished, which is why I haven't written a blog post in a while. I have not yet had a chance to peddle with my peddlers license yet but I am working on decking out my awesome peddling thingy. Hopefully it will be done soon and I will post some pictures!!
:David

Updates!

So, I got my peddlers license and I am working on making signs for when I peddle downtown. Hopefully I will go and peddle for the first time on Monday because I don't have school or anything. Tomorrow I am going to take the driving test and see if I can get my drivers license which would be really helpful for me to travel around and live in my car.. :D Hopefully I'll pass. I have a lot of projects that I am working on for school and am doing a lot of organizing of my stuff and business so I will be ready to live in my car in a couple of months once I have enough money to get my Ford.
Hopefully I will get my drivers license then be able to have enough money from peddling in April to be able to buy my Ford sometime in May. I'll keep you updated on new developments as they come along! Thanks!
:David

Peddlers License!!! :D

Yipee!!! I Finally got my Peddlers License!!! I am going to try and peddle downtown sometime soon. I am really excited!!! We in business!! :D
:David

Field Museum!

Hey, Today I got to go to the Field Museum behind the scenes with one of my friends that works there. It was really cool and interesting! I never was really into the stuff at the Field Museum before but this time because of her enthusiasm for the stuff. I never really understood what happened at the Field Museum and it was really interesting to go around the the exibits and get an inside perspective from someone who works there!
They have this car that runs on vegie oil and has a solar panel on its roof for charging stuff and I think that's an awesome idea! I am going to try and research some more about that stuff for my car when I get it. Maybe someday I'll upgrade to a car as cool as that one!
This week has been really long and I had a lot going on. Now that all of that school work and stuff is over I think that I may finally get my peddlers license this week hopefully and some other exciting things may be coming up. I will be sure to keep you informed! I am going to go and watch something right now and then do stuff... yeahh :D
Have a great day! Thanks for reading!
:David

Exciting Developments

I currently purchased a shopping cart thingy (I don't know exactly what it is called) but it was $20 and it is what I am going to use to hold my products and store them for when I get my peddlers permit. I am hoping that I will get up enough courage to try and go get a peddlers permit sometime this next week, maybe Monday or Tuesday. On Monday I am going to drive with my Dad to Naperville and get a toaster oven for my journey.
Two days ago on Wednesday I attended a networking event provided by the Wright Institute where I met some really interesting people and a good opportunity for me to try and challenge myself to become a better person and improve my business. The people that I met there were interested in the same things as me and dedicated to trying to improve their lives and it was really interesting to meet these people from young to older who all wanted to make a difference in their lives and improve the world in good ways. I am still trying to sort through all of the things that I learned there and apply them into my life and life plans.
I actually finally sent the message to the band Sick Puppies asking them if they would be interested in funding me for the year of me living in my Ford and in return for that year I would have their logo painted on my car for the entirety of that journey.
Yesterday I spent 4 hours making duct tape wallets and a duct tape cowgirl/cowboy hat out of duct tape for a customer. You can see a picture here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=33204&id=114746998536604&saved#!/photo.php?fbid=204658076212162&set=a.160086894002614.33204.114746998536604&theater
So yeah, thats about what I have been up to :D Have a great day! Thanks for reading!
Hugs!
:David

School

I have been really busy with school and all of the fun stuff that comes with that. I have a music project, a drama performance, a flash fiction story and an in class essay all next week.
I have also been reading the books "Empire of Scrounge" and "The Art of Giving". One interesting thing I learned from "The Art of Giving" was that of the 306 billion dollars worth of donations to not for profits in the year of 2007, 74.8% of that money was donated by individuals making under 100,000 dollars per year. That really stuck out to me. Another thing that stuck out to me was the idea that there are over 17000 not for profit companies out there and Americans have a fervid volunteer spirit because Americans want to have more power than the government to transform society.
I also am getting a toaster oven for $10 so that when I live in my car I will be able to cook meals and have awesome food. I am also in the process of getting a smart phone so that I will be able to accept credit cards with it. I am going to get a peddlers license soon so that I can sell my products on the streets of Chicago and get more knowledge about my business and money so that I will be able to live in my car starting this summer and going through next year. I have made over 500 dollars with my business so far after a year of being open and I am about to invest that money into things that will be able to expand my business and get me more money, hopefully it will be enough to get me a Ford Transit Connect so that I will be able to give away free hugs all over the country while living in it.
That is about it for now. I'll keep you updated with any other interesting things. Until then, HUGS!
:D avid

Digital Voice Recorder!

So, I just got a digital voice recorder for my trip to keep track of my thoughts and not take the time to write them down because writing takes a lot more time than just talking about things. This way I could either just upload the file to the internet or transcribe my thoughts onto a blog in the future.
I am also working on getting more business exposure and improving my business as well as getting more sales. As time goes on the business seems to be gaining more ground and speeding up and slowly growing until it becomes more profitable and able to sustain me for my life.
I am looking more into craft shows and places where I can sell my duct tape creations and also thinking about getting a peddlers permit so that I can sell duct tape items while I am giving away free hugs on the street. Hopefully this will get me more capital so that I can have enough to support myself for a year on this trip.
I should be getting a Paypal Donate button on here sometime so you should be excited about that because then you can help me raise enough money to make this trip a reality!
Thank You for your support!
Hugs,
:D avid

I'm 18 Now!!!! :D

Hey! I'm 18 now! So exciting! I went and bought my first lotto ticket today. It cost $1 and I didn't win anything :(. Oh well. I also had a blast for my party. On Friday my friends and I went to the auto show where we took a look at the Ford Transit Connect which is a really awesomely cool car (that's the car I want to live in if you did not know). It seems spacious enough to fit all of the my stuff and be able to run my business out of it. Then on Saturday we went to the arcade called Galloping Ghost Arcade for 10 hours. The thing about Galloping Ghost Arcade is you pay $15 for the whole day and you can come and go and play arcade games the whole day until they close at 2am. All of the games are set to free mode so you don't have to worry about going totally broke by playing the games. It's really awesome. Then we ate a bunch of Nutella and bread and snacks stuff on Sunday and it was awesome!
Now that I am 18 I can do a lot of things that I couldn't before. I feel a huge difference between becoming 18 and when I was 17. Now that I am 18 I can take more responsibility and create a paypal account for my business and work on being able to accept credit cards for Duck Duct Dave. This responsibility even though scary sometimes is the first step of my plan to live in my car. It's a really exciting time!
:D avid

Whats Up?

I just got a Chrome Backpack from my parents for my birthday and it is really exciting because it is big and comfortable and holds a lot of stuff. With all of these qualities, it is great for biking. I am going to start biking to school more as the weather gets warmer. Not only will this save me money for my trip but it will also help get me into shape and help me keep focused on what I need to do in order to complete school and get everything ready to live in a car.
As I was on my way home from school today I thought about something that my youth pastor is doing called "Turf Time" after helping out at an organization called Breaking Bread. Basicly they go out to people on the street and talk with them and hand out socks and sometimes some sandwiches... (at least that is what I gather from them talking about it) and I thought that maybe in the mournings I could try and make a couple sandwiches that I would have on me in case I ever met someone who needed something to eat or was looking for something to eat. Of course, that means I have to actually be productive in the mornings... which doesn't usually happen but if I put enough effort into it I think I can do it.
With Hugs!
:D avid

Power!!

For the past couple of days I have been researching different types of generators. Mostly alternative energy generators such as solar powered and bike powered. I am looking for something that will allow me to run a fridge/freezer thingy for 24/7 in my car without having problems. The thing is, I don't know too much about these kinds of things and I have to do a lot of research to make sure that I am going to get the kind that I need for the best price. In addition to the fridge/freezer this will also help to recharge my electronics such as: cell phone, laptop, ipod, and other such electronic devices. Because I am planning to live in my car, this means that the generator has to be small enough so that I can comfortably fit it in my car in addition to my clothes, toiletries, and other necessities and still have a place for me to sleep at night. I have learned about different generators and energy though my research however, If you have any recommendations or input about this, feel free to comment! I would really enjoy to hear what you have to say on the subject.

The Beginning of the Beginning...

Yeah, so I have not done a very good job of updating my blog on a consistent basis. I hope to change this right now. I am first going to try and post at least once per week and hopefully as I become more comfortable and posting has become a habit, I will be able to become a better writer and keep you updated better. So far here is where I am at:
Right now I am writing lots of emails and trying to secure money in order to make my plan of living in my car for a year in order to give away free hugs a reality. If you don't know about my plan to live in my car for a year I will try to explain my plan and the reasons behind it.
My Plan (as it stands right now):
Sometime in June or July of 2011 I will hopefully somehow have raised or made or figured out somehow to get a Ford Transit Connect and other necessities in order to start my year long trip of living in my car. I am trying to raise and work for and get awareness of my trip right now.
The purpose of this trip is to travel around the country, creating art from duct tape and other common items. I also plan to give away free hugs in order to spread friendly love, peace, and happiness through small act of kindness. I want to explore, meet people, learn about them and listen to their stories.
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around” Leo Buscaglia
My plan is to put a down payment on a Ford Transit Connect in which I will reside for a year while I travel around the country and spread love, peace, and happiness through giving away free hugs and creating unique merchandise from duct tape. I will also be searching for artistic and creative ways of reusing waste that goes in landfills by coming up with alternative uses for those items. For example, during the time I spent volunteering for my churches electronic waste drive, I found that a lot of the junk had artistic value. The keys from the keyboards could be made into stylish purses, hardware could be erased and used in other endeavors and self-built computers. Not only will my creative solutions keep my costs down while living in a car but I would also be keeping items out of landfills. I hope that this trip will ignite a process of discovery and invention, which in turn will help create a better world.
In order to make this trip a reality however, I need your help. I will need about 34,000 dollars to make this trip a reality. Any help you could give would be appreciated, even if it is just prayer and support.
My big expenses for this trip are:
- Ford Transit Connect (about $23,000 total)
- Car insurance (estimating $2000 for the year)
- Gas ($4000 for the year)
- Food ($3600 in my budget)
- Phone + Internet (about $1500 for the year)
I hope that after this initial investment of living in my car I will be able to sustain myself through selling my duct tape creations,humorous apparel, and any other artistic endeavors that I engage in. I also hope that selling these items will help me to pay for my education after my year long trip is finished. After the trip I will attend DePaul University and double major in Business Entrepreneurship and Philosophy. From there I have no idea what will happen.
Why live in my car?
Well it started as a sense of adventure and excitement for the unknown. But as I have done research on the idea of living in a car (ie. Car Living Your Way by AJ Heim and other books and blogs) it has become more about using my resources more responsibly and not using more than I need to. Also from experiences helping people move their stuff from place to place, and the excess of stuff that they don't "need" but keep anyway and crowd houses with unnecessary clutter, Living in a car would give me an opportunity to cut down and think about if I really need something and if I buy it where I would put it. This way I would become less dependent on material things and be able to establish meaningful and deep relationships with people and listen to them while sharing what I have to offer with them. All in all that is my plan. If you have any questions or feedback or just wanna talk email me at duckductdave@gmail.com or comment. Thank You and have a great day!
Talk to you soon!
:D avid

Car Living Updates

A lot has happened in the past few weeks and there is much more exciting things coming up in the next few weeks and months and the next year. First, I have been coming up with ideas and doing research on the idea of living in a car. While doing research and thinking realisticly about actually making this dream to travel around the country spreading love peace and happiness come true, much needed to happen. First, I needed to make sure that I have enough room in the type of car that I choose to live in. After doing research on different cars as possibilites for living in I came to the conclusion that the Ford Transit Connect would actually be the best type of car to live in rather than a Subaru Outback or other type of Van. Some of the main reasons for this choice are: its good gas millage (20-22 mpg city 24-26 mpg highway),its abundance of space for both work and residing as well as its unique disposition to achieve both a good working business office area as well as a place to chill and sleep at night. I find it also to be similar in design to the concept of the "Bufalino" car which is made to be like a "mobile home/apartment" except bigger and available on the market today. http://dvice.com/archives/2010/08/bufalino-concep.php and http://www.ford.com/trucks/transitconnect/ tell me what you think but I think they are similar and the transit connect could be used quite well as a mobile home to travel the country in.
Recently I have been doing a lot of thought about how I am going to get funding for this project. I am in the process of writing a letter to the band "Sick Puppies" in order to try and secure funding. In return for the funding of the Sick Puppies I am willing to use my van for advertising for the Sick Puppies as well as making some duct tape wallets that sport the Sick Puppies logo. I will keep you updated. Thank you for all of your support!
<3 :David