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

Poem that I Wrote

Confrontation Between Souls
He stands alone
Waiting for love
Holding up a sign

people walk past
judging, laughing, chatting
glancing over, they scrutinize him

he is just an outcast
who needs their touch,
the human connection

longing love,
always alone,
feeling frustrated,

he starts to walk
sign held at his chest,
close to his heart

in the midst of people
one girl notices him
interest glitters in her eyes

they walk past
he looks back,
she looks back

Eyes meet
Moment of tension,
Indecision

they think silent thoughts
movements reveal,
Decision

He turns with arms open wide
Struggles through the crowd
She does the same

no words exchanged,
a simple embrace
between two strangers

They move on
Each going separate ways
Never to meet again

To resume their lives
Return to the buzziness of their beehives
The moment, a distant memory, when
Two souls momentarily, temporarily, became one

San Diego!!!

So I recently had a chance to go to San Diego on an all expenses paid trip in order to compete in a contest called the DeVry Entrepreneurship Challenge. I was in the top three but did not make it to the top. That's okay though, I would have won a trip to Chicago and I live in Chicago so it wouldn't have been much special. :) I also am going to meet up with the winner while she is in Chicago and fun stuff like that. Not only that but I made tons of networking and marketing and advertising for my business and giving away free hugs stuffs so that I can follow my dream and passion of going around the country giving away free hugs and selling items out of duct tape in order to make a living.
I also had a chance to come up with a new and different business ideas with Mariel who was the winner in my contest so that was really fun and cool! One of the other that was really cool was being one of the people at the conference with an already established business. It gave me lots of opportunities to market and advertise my business as well as talk about it in detail and the business aspect of it.
I feel so much closer to actually having a successful business now. It has been recognized as a good idea and that has motivated me a lot to work on it harder and more in order to get it up to where I envision it to be.
I'm really tired and I have school tomorrow so I'll try and elaborate more later. Thanks for reading!

Puny Living in the Bufalino

Puny Living in the Bufalino

Yeahhh This is what I want. This is soo amazing it just makes my day. It makes me really happy. And I want it right now really really really bad. It's like a dream come true don't you think?