Rent is STEEP this month. The total bill came to $4500, including a year's worth of insurance. This to me is a good investment, as I now have wheels, can travel, and can sell it back after I am done, which in essence explains how to turn your rent into your mortgage payment. I am now the proud owner of a 1988 Jeep Wrangler YJ. This thing is a tank, but I love it already after having it for a weekend. She will be my house for the next month, so I have been customizing, or decorating, depending on how you look at it.

Here is the list of things that I have added since I purchased my new motorized home.

6X9 Rear Speakers
Amplifier for subwoofer that I already had
(what can i say....1 month in a car for a music lover)
DC-AC Converter with 2 outlets to run my computer and coffee maker ;)
A 1-3 car cigarette lighter splitter with USB port to charge my Ipod.
(the radio has an AUX port so I plug my Ipod directly in)
Compact Flash GPS card for my Pocket PC (HP Ipaq HX2495)
Bluetooth mini-keyboard for the Pocket PC
A Tap-Light.
There is NO Interior light in this boxy old jeep, and paying tolls in the pitch dark SUCKS!
Door Lock Cylinders
I NEED to lock my house.

Live Globally, Work Digitally
Tales of a Vagabond

I am now just that much closer to my leave date. The party is planned for this weekend, I have made my camping reservations, bought a AAA membership (good idea for a 3500mi car trip...let THEM change the tire, or get the gas can =) I have also pieced together 3 'towers' that I will use as corner bases for the tarp to cover my camping area at Bonnaroo.....as well as give me a PORTABLE tree to tie my hammock to. I had built an 8' diameter geodesic dome with EMT tubing for a parrot sanctuary I volunteered at, had fun, and built my own at a 12' diameter, which had intentions of being a geodesic dome greenhouse, but after a year of no coverings, it was dismantled, and now re-used as my 'support towers'.

Here is the 8' geodesic dome we built:



I can't find a pic of the 12' diameter 'geodesic dome greenhouse'; but when I do, I will place it here. Some type of picture management is going to have to happen soon. I am hoping that with My Travel Photo Site, that it will help me organize them better; and with picasa doing the auto-coloring, and renaming in bulk, Easy Thumbnails shrinking em, I am starting to get the hang of it.


Here is a pic of an assembled hammock tower:

and one of a stress test:

What can I say...I like to construct things and use my brain to figure out how to do it.

.....Back to putting this past chapter of my life into boxes


Live Globally, Work Digitally
Vagabond Sean

So my little jaunt to my dad's farm my Boston (a 1300 mile drive) has turned into quite the 3500 mile Expedition of the East Coast of the United States. I cannot complain, as I enjoy driving through the States. I love to watch them change and become starkly different as you cross borders. Each state is almost like it's own little country, with a Schengen Policy, like most of the EU. I have said for a while, that I would like to see the states split up and govern themselves without the almighty Big Brother watching over them, dictating what medical supplies they cannot have, despite what state/local laws suggest. Living in Massachusetts, I have seen New Hampshire license plates my whole life, and really have grown found of their state motto to 'Live Free or Die". The only thing that i can add to that is to 'LET OTHERS Live Free or Die". ...Good for the Goose, Good for the Gander.

Alrighty Stan, here's the plan:
I will be leaving here with a U-Haul trailer stuffed full of my life's collections, and head south to Virginia to spend the night at my sisters'; then it's further on down the line to Alabama where I can rest my feet (while busting my hump bailing hay, amongst other farm duties which you will hear about here) for a week before heading to Cape Canaveral to see the Space Shuttle Launch. I have not seen one, and have been a secretive space junkie for most of my life. It all started from playing with Ham radios and listening to the Russian MIR Space Station fly overhead. I know I was not alone in this hysteria. =^) From Cape Canaveral, I will be stopping off at the Happiest Place on Earth to catch a bite to eat in Downtown Disney; before ending the night in St. Petersburg to stay with my friend Kiesta (it's a long story...but he's the ass we all like), who I haven't seen in a year since he moved down there. At the weeks end, it's back into the 4-wheeled box for another day-long hike to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where I will be spending a few nights camping with my lonesomeness, and watching the incredible Synchronized LightBugs perform their magical show before heading west to Bonnaroo 2008, where I will be a During-Festival Volunteer from June 10-15. That's not the end yet, although this is starting to read like a Vacation package from the Showcase Showdown from The Price is Right. I will NOT be packing up my gear when the festival is over, however, as I will be staying and doing my part in helping Clean Vibes clean the mess that people will be leaving on the nice people's 700 acre farm in Manchester, TN.

That is where the plan starts to go back into the hazy mystery of, 'we ARE going to leave this country aren't we?' I leave it up to chance after the cleanup effort of Post-Bonnaroo 2008. Maybe I will find a human-travel-companion for the 8-hr flight to Amsterdam....maybe it will just be another one of my 'throw-away' friends that sticks with me for a week....maybe I venture off as I came, with myself, Passerpartout (my parrot companions' new name, ala Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days ... pronounced 'pass-pa-too') and my backpack. We will all have to wait in suspense to see what tales will come from this vagabond.

Live Globally, Work Digitally
Tales Of A Vagabond

I started thinking about things I could be doing while on my way down to or back from the South Eastern Coast of the United States when I got this wave of wonder about music festivals during the early part of June. I went online and found The Bonnaroo Festival in Tennessee from June 12-15, 2008. I had wanted to goto Bonnaroo a few years ago, but didn't want to pay the ticket price, nor did I think my girlfriend or I could get time off from work, so it was scrapped. The thought came across again 9 months ago, and I thought about volunteering there, just cuz I thought it would be fun. Again...time, money, vacation...none of it would have worked out, so it was scrapped.

--Enter Saturday Night's Internet Surfing--
I found Bonnaroo again, and on a whim @ 2am on Saturday night, I applied for a volunteer spot. The last day for applications was Monday (today) at 5, so I said 'what the hell'. I sent in an email this morning when I got up to make sure that my app had been reviewed, got an email back saying that only during-festival volunteer spots we open and that I had been accepted into the volunteer process. This means that after I put down my (refundable as long as I volunteer) $260 and show up, I will be part of the Bonnaroo Festival of 2008.

All of my prior trips have had concrete plans laid in them. This is the first time that I am finally living Free. Free to do as I please, when I please. In one moments time, just on a whim, because I felt it was a fun idea, my plans have changed. Not the overall long-term plans, just the path in which I use to get to my destination. I have my standby plane ticket to Amsterdam, and can leave from virtually anywhere on the East Coast when I so choose.

Live Globally, Work Digitally

I signed up and created a user on Most Traveled People. This looks like a fun and friendly site to track all the places in the world you have been to if you are into checking off countries, or getting stamps to prove you have been somewhere. I have been to all of the United States, except Alaska, but have no hard-core evidence other than the memories in my head for most of them. I like this site more for the ability to see what else is out there that I didn't even think of finding. Virtual Tourist is good for this, but it can be filled with a lot of unnecessary information and jabbering as well. I am also a map person, and this lets me color in a map as I travel without having to carry one and destroy it by doodling on it while waiting.

I want to buy an inflatable globe to carry around in my backpack. One, for the ability to color on a map ;-) as well as to show people in foreign places where I am from, been, and want to goto. I was fortunate enough to find Alice Taylor and the Rupununi Learners when I was in Guyana. I volunteered in Yupukari for a week to help them with the laptops the village uses to gain knowledge from the rest of the world, from within what can be considered the outskirts of the Amazon River Basin. I ran Google Earth, and we zoomed into their country, and village, as Google had been nice enough to have high-res images availble. They were amazed to see their village from above, and confused when I showed them Boston, Massachusetts. The first question I got was, "Where are all your trees?" I showed them The Boston Commons, and then the Berkshire Forests of Western, MA. The understanding of the differences in the understanding of the world came to me then, as I saw this place as much bigger, and I wanted OUT of the urban jungles that we, as humans, have developed. I am not a 'tree hugger', but I did hug my big, nasty, sticky, 200 year old pine tree in my backyard when I got home.

I have created my first 'Video Mash-up' of pictures from My Guyana Travel Photos. I used Windows Movie Maker, and the song Society by Eddie Vedder from the 'Into the Wild' soundtrack. I watched this movie 2 weeks ago, and it gave me so much inspiration to get out into the world, that I haven't stopped playing the song since.

This gives me the opportunity to advertise for my site and blog from You Tube. I created a Vagabond Travel Channel, and plan to be posting at least 2 videos from each destination as I start my adventure around the world. Hope you enjoy them, and come back for more.

I had come across the idea of taking along a mascot when I first came up with the idea of living life as a Vagabond, but could not find any animals that were directly related to a Vagabond. On my Trip to Guyana, one of the other people on the trip preformed a song that he had written about parrots flying free (we were on a Parrot-Oriented Eco-Tour) and it really struck me deep down inside.

I was sifting through all the things that I have collected on my past journeys, and came across a Balata Parrot from Rewa, Guyana. This was it, He was going to be my new travel companion, as well as my new mascot. This little parrot is going to fly as free as any parrot wishes they could. I need to come up with an appropriate name for him, and I will be taking pictures of HIS Travels Around the World as a Free Vagabond Parrot.

Live Globally, Work Digitally
Vagabond Sean

I have to take care of all the things in my 'at-home' life before I can realistically sling my backpack on and disappear. Here is the list of things that I need to accomplish before I can actually walk out my front door, and not look back as I try to catch the next flight.

Housing - I need to find someone to rent my house, as I do not plan on paying the mortgage from another country while no-one lives in the house.

Money - My money needs to be separated into accounts for each purpose. I could keep them all in one account, but for my brain, and the possibility of theft of a single ATM card; it is easier to split everything up and keep it all compartmentalized.

Income - I need to perfect the details of HOW I Will Make Money on the Internet. I have setup a few websites for income purposes, but they need some time to mature int he search engines. This will not be long, as I have found small niches that do not have many results targeted to the prospective audience.

Amsterdam Travel Photos / Amsterdam Desktop Backgrounds
Guyana Travel Photos / Guyana Desktop Backgrounds
Amsterdam Coffee Shop Reviews
Free eBay Auction Advertising

Travel Plans - I need to book my first plane ticket out of the United States. As I am in Massachusetts, and Boston, Logan Airport is a great jump-off point to Europe, and more specifically, Amsterdam (I Love that City, and feel home there); I will be purchasing a Stand-By ticket through AirTech. I have used them many times as a jump to Europe. They give you a travel voucher for whenever you wan to to fly, into ONE of the dozens of places they fly into, and you sit stand-by...The longest I have had to wait was 24 hours in like 6 six trips. This affords me the ability to be a true Vagabond, and leave my plans open for changes.

Personal Belongings - I will be selling most of my stuff on eBay, as soon as I take pictures, and make up a username. I will also be on Craigslist for the larger items that are just not practical to be shipped. The remainder of my 'stuff' is going to distributed amongst the following charitable organizations. I have a few homeless guys that I have become friendly with in Boston, and want to help them, and their families out, so clothes will be going there, the other garments that aren't practical to be given to them goto the Salvation Army, and the Veteran's Shelter down the street. My 'personal' items that have traveled through childhood with me are getting boxed up and being taken to be stored on the farm my dad lives on in Alabama.

Mailing Address - I need to goto the United States Post Office Website, and change my mailing address/forwarding address to my dad's place in Alabama. This gives me a NEW place to send mail to, where I know it will be kept for me, or taken care of if need be; as well as it changes my residency status from Taxachusetts (5.4% State Income Tax) to Alabama (3rd Lowest Tax rate at 4.3%). This will help me by Saving Me Money While Traveling the World.

Well, I cashed out my retirement check ( I am only 27) and set aside all the money I would need for taxes and penalties and such, and now I can begin REALLY plotting my adventure through the world as a Global vagabond. The excitement has really hit me now. I will be updating this blog fairly often from now on as I plan and get ready to throw my backpack on my back, and another on my front, and set off to explore this great wonderful world with no return date. This has been a dream for a long time, and now it has finally turned into a reality. It is both scary and exciting at the same time. I do have some inspiration to keep me going, and HAS kept me going for years. Working Nomad and Hobo Traveler. These two guys are INCREDIBLE!! I have been reading each of their blbogs for the past 5 years, and must say that between the two of them, I have learned enough to travel for years on the measly money I can make from the internet.

My Life as a Global Vagabond starts today.

Check back soon, as I will be posting HOW I Intend to Make Money as I Travel the World.

I have decided today that I have given myself a new job. My job consists of Living Life. It's as easy as that. I don't have to do anything more than just live my life and document parts of it and post them to the internet. I have already determined that I will be making a Free To Use Photo Site from my travels, and have made a few other sites dedicated to certain topics at destinations. This realization came to me this morning, that I now work for myself, by myself, and without having a 'formal job'; I work at Life. I will be elated if I can produce an income from breathing and existing. That is the ultimate reality that a person is truely free.

I can Honestly Say that I am beginning to Live Globally, and Work Digitally. At least the working part....now to get the rest of my situation settled so I can start Living Globally.

I feel like I am in a sort of Travel Related Suspended Animation. I am all set and ready to leave and get out into the great wonderful world, and be free; yet I cannot leave yet. I do not have the check that allows me to purchase my car to begin my East Coast of the United States Road Trip, which brings me to an ariport and to Amsterdam. The plans between and afterwards are not etched in stone, and are planned on being made up as I go. I know I am going to Thailand to Spend A Month on a Thai Beach. Doing nothing more than relaxing.

This feeling of suspended travel is annoying at best. I want to go, I am ready to go, but I do not have the ability to leave yet. Not having a full-time job at the moment is making it all that much more harder, as I have 24 hours a day to spend torturing myself by wondering when I can leave.

I plan on Living Globally, and Working Digitally, so I must make an income from the internet. There are more ways to earn an income while traveling, but because of my Computer Related background, I know that this is the easiest and most efficient way for me to do it. It also allows me to continue to use my brain while traveling and not let myself goto mush.

I purchased some domains last night, and the have already populated, so now they are live.

My Travel Photos
I will be putting all of the photos from my past, present and future travel adventure on this site, and allowing everyone to download them to use as free desktop backgrounds, wallpaper, and screen savers. I will be adding the links to purchase the Hi-Res pictures in the near future, as well as cleaning the site up and adding more pictures as I go.

&

Amsterdam CoffeeShop Review
Since I love the city of Amsterdam, and also enjoy frequenting the CoffeeShops of Amsterdam, I figured what better than to produce a CoffeeShop Review for the City of Amsterdam. As soon as I have all the code worked out, I will open it up so that everyone can make comments, and add to the Amsterdam CoffeeShop Review.

One must have a plan when aspiring to Produce and Income From the Internet.

Planning can be one of th most exciting and frustrating part of traveling. I suggest getting together a checklist of the following:

Time
Budget
Destination(s)
Highlights

If you have these questions answered, you can then begin to plan your vacation, holiday, or long-term travel plans.

Live Globally, Work Digitally