How to make a random day Amazing!

The elder statesmen are dropping their loose change on the table, gloves are tightening, faces smiling, pens dotting the "i's" and crossing the "t's". The rules are given a once over by the emcee just prior to the bell ringing to signify the start of the tournament. The happy, retired golfers joke around as they gather their belongings and race off to hole one in their state of the art golf carts. Mike and I are sitting in close proximity near the clubhouse enjoying the amenities which include free wifi, a really great hot tub, a heated pool, a fantastic patio with shuffle board and horse shoes.... and SUN! Oh, did I mention there is a sweet 9 hole course in the community as well? These old folks know how to live! We are clacking away on our computers, lining up places to stay in the Caribbean through couchsurfing.org. We have had the conversation about how ironic it is that both of us, near 30 years of age, have a semi-retired lifestyle. I make my bread and butter with my online business and Mike works seasonal jobs managing night clubs and selling Christmas trees. Mike is super "consolidated", as he likes to call it, carrying what he would need to live for years on his back. I have a home in Buffalo that my brother is watching and living in as I bounce back and forth around the planet, but have purged most of my unnecessary possessions and expenses, making almost everyday a great adventure.

Yesterday we got the tour of Leesburg with cousin Tom. Mike also convinced him to clean up his hair cut, which lead to a near riot in the salon at the local mall. We had the hair dressers laughing practically to tears as we joked about turning the old hippie into an oil tycoon. My haircut made me look like Uncle Kracker....which was later confirmed by the cover band we saw at a local bar when the lead singer came up and asked... "Dude... are you Uncle Kracker?" I smiled and politely let him down.

The afternoon hours were spent learning how to golf with Tom walking us through the basics so we could get a swing down. I whacked a few balls into the gator pond before finally keeping my head down and putting it on the green. Michael explained his lack of golf skills in a way the hit home with me, "Golf is a game of mental patience... and I don't have any." After playing the same two holes 3 or four times we called it quits and got ready to head out into town for the Annual Chili Cookoff!

It turns out Mike has friends that live in Leesburg and are practically one of the oldest and most politically connected families in town. Enter "T"... T is a big ole Florida boy with a rampant penchant for "bromance". This son of a real estate magnate was strutting his drunken stuff with a 10 gallon cowboy hat and rosy red cheeks that screamed of light beer consumption. The minute he saw Mike he was screaming "Bicycle! Mr. Bicycle!! I love you man!!" and hugging him like he was a war hero. I'm very fond of Mike, so I figured maybe this guy really is too, but as the night progressed I watched him over-hug nearly everyone he ran into. This is how T rolls when he's drunk. This dude was the life of the party and definitely the right hook up for the night. We got free food and beer, a tour of his parents Opera House that the family bought and renovated in the center of town. While in this amazing 120 year old mammoth of a building we were escorted to a lavish back apartment where his parents and their friends were partying. Ernest Hemingway? Nope. T's dad. T's dad has won so many Hemingway look alike contests that the government of Spain set him up on a totally expense free trip to tour their country to honor him during one of their festivals. The whole family centered around this calm, cool patriarch who was clearly a man of intelligence and means. The party moved to the local bar, which was packed with 400 or so happy locals all swinging, laughing and drinking to the funniest cover band ever. At first, I kept thinking I was in a bad filming sequel of Spinal Tap, but they.... like Tap (in character at least) were serious about the music. They shredded through the worst Nickelback Top 40 crap and were on the verge of making me pull my hair out. But then a shift... a total phase shift happened. Perhaps I was just getting buzzed enough from the alcohol. Perhaps the cover band owned their tunes so much that they roped me in. Maybe the bleach blonde, fake boob, 40yr old plus crowd of Florida Cougars dancing on the floor in front of me enticed enough of my young male spirit.... that... a smile cracked my face and I began finding myself sliding ever closer to the middle of the floor. Eventually Tom and Mike joined me...noticing the lack of males in the slithering crowd of over eager female dancers. We owned that floor, and eventually the band. I typed in the numbers 867 5309 into my phone and kept flashing the members while they sang "Jenny I got your number...." They were laughing so hard they could barely finish the tune. It was so much fun. Cousin Tom remarked, "Isn't it amazing that no matter where we go, we always have a good time and end up owning the room?!" I couldn't agree more. The adventurous spirit of this trio is infectious!

We are going to hit some laps in the pool now and enjoy the rest of the day. Hope you are enjoying your day!

Another Spontaneous Adventure Begins!

"Dude! How the hell are ya'll!" Mike said in his southern accent as he swung open the door to his town house in an upscale neighborhood in Atlanta and wrapped his bare, burly upper body around Tom and myself in a happy greeting. He was shaved bald and smiling from ear to ear. He had packed all he needed for a tropical adventure, but had somehow not yet put on a t-shirt. I mention that he was shaved bald, because the last time I had seen him he was on his epic bicycle adventure across the lower 48 states and he had a long, blonde, curly mane that made him look like Jesus. While he isn't the "Lord and Saviour" re-incarnate, he certainly has a big strong free spirit and a lust for life and adventure that makes everyone around him love him instantly. Mike and I became fast friends...nay brothers last year when a short stay turned into a 10 day fun fest that spanned a couple Northeast states. We had way too much in common to not form a life long bond, and yesterday morning was a sort of re-joining of the forces. Tom and I had just spent the whole night driving the deserted I 75 South to reach our formidable friend early in the morning and continue on the Leesburg Florida, where Tom is now living.

This adventure had spontaneity written all over it from the start. About a week ago, Tom, who had been working in Buffalo for the past few months, came home and said, "Hey man, we ought to go to Puerto Rico with Mary and Colleen on the 10th of November." "I'm in!" I said without hesitation, knowing that Mary was going on the trip on account of all of my recommendations of the island. She also wants to meet Lucy and the children. She has been very sick for the past year, so I knew this might be a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us to really enjoy a vacation together while she is feeling good. Mary owns a fabulous restaurant downtown and has been a dear friend for a few years. I met her like I meet everyone I spend any time with...it was an instant, serendipitous connection. She came over to my table and started rubbing my shoulders and telling me that I must have a "charmed life" and "an old soul" and that I was soooo cute, like a sweet son... to her. Needless to say I became a great customer and a dear friend over time... Mary has tons of friends and customers who love her for this very charm. Not to mention the food at her restaurant is to die for!

This put the wheels in motion. I checked my schedule for November, made some adjustments to free up time, and picked up the phone to call Lucy in Puerto Rico and make sure we could come stay with her. "Of course! We can't wait to see you again!" was her reply. "We will get your house ready!" I hang up the phone and it rings again.... Mike.... "Dude, I need something to do... I am stagnant down here in Atlanta and I just quit my job a month ago. I"m gonna go into hibernation mode of I don't get the heck outta here" "Wanna go to Florida and then Puerto Rico?" I asked. "When do we leave?" "We'll pick you up in a few days... I'm ordering your plane ticket now." "Awesome! I'm so excited!" It was that easy, Mike was going on this adventure. He requested that we just buy one-way tickets in case one or all of us decided to just stay in the Caribbean for a while. Now the goosebumps were building up my arm. I told Tom the good news and he shared my excitement!

We got into Leesburg last night and the fun began. Hot tub, pool, golf carts. The luxury life in Tom's new "retired" community has been super sweet so far! Plus you can't beat the weather. It has been a bit seasonably cool at 67 F with a light breeze and plenty of sunshine. We made steaks on the grill last night. I cooked a salmon and eggs breakfast. Mike and I talked about tons of awesome adventure ideas while swimming in the pool, including one that would involve us leaving and living for one year just walking around the continental US, following the seasons. Today we helped Tom clean up the house and get things organized. Everything is just flowing so sweetly.... the way it should be. There's sure to be some great stories from the three of us.... keep your eyes peeled!!!

The band is back together man!!!

Hey peeps!

I just wanted to update you on a cool happening in my crazy lucky life. My old band Sweatin' Like Nixon is putting on a top notch performance this Saturday, the 23rd, in Buffalo at Nietzche's (248 Allen Street) around 10pm. It's going to be a fantastic show with all of your favorite... or least favorite characters in the band ripping it up on stage. It has been an interesting experience for me hanging with the guys again and rehearsing after a nearly 3 year hiatus. We are older and more mature, but our silly and campy nature still comes flying out during our time together. For instance, Sam still puts Tall Jay's microphone like 10 feet in the air before he shows up for a practice and it is funny to him every time. Danny still runs around the room frantically and talks too loudly into his mic when he's explaining new parts of songs. Sam eggs me on about the size of my head ( I'm known as "Fat Head" in the band) and usually him and I rip into a Rolling Stones cover at some random point to piss off the rest of the band. Then Jay and Dan jump in with the guilt trip.... " I'm not doing this... this is why we can't be serious.... etc". By the end of rehearsal we are all smiles and ready to rock.

This show will feature a full horn section for part of the concert and is going to be a rock and roll experience that will entertain the masses. Hope to see you there if you can make it! I will even buy you a beer if that is your fancy! :)

Hope you are having a great October!

Jeremy

The Blessing of Sickness....

Being sick is never fun. I don't care what your illness may be, there is nothing worse than not feeling your best in life. Good mental and physical health are paramount to good living. Good living is where it's at. These are all very obvious statements I know, but I'm driving the point for good reason. Very often we take our health for granted and expect that it will just always be there... I know I do at least. We pass our days, eating, drinking, working, tending to our families and livelihoods without ever thinking about our precious mortality and the limited time we will spend in these vehicles we call our bodies. Our amazing bodies, working with trillions of cells and processes, electrical energy, and symbiotic microbe relationships... keep humming along and functioning whether we like it or not. They work through all the shit that we put them through and all the shit we put into them. They do their best to regenerate and continue life function, all without barely a conscious thought from us. Incredible. In fact, the only reason I'm able to write these ideas right now is because my body is taking care of itself without needing me to maintain a constant survival mentality or tell it what to do every moment of my life. It is the same reason you are able to read these words. Think about it.

Illness changes the dynamic doesn't it? When we are ill we are suddenly more aware of our bodies, of our mortality, and our time. It is often our fault and often not. It can come gradually from repeated abuse, or suddenly and unfortunately in the form of accidents and mishaps. Either way, it is not pleasant when we are experiencing it and many times the after affects can be felt for years... sometimes for the rest of our lives. Here's the flip... the other side of the coin.... the silver lining in the cloud.... the blessing.

Being sick reminds you that you are a living entity... a mortal.....that will someday be gone from this life. It reminds you of how precious your moments in life really are and what they are really worth. It can awaken new revelations in purpose and dreams and re-energize parts of your spirit that were hidden or bogged down by all of the crap we put on top of it. Time becomes glaringly aware when you realize you only have so much of it to live.

Recently I experienced a pretty serious case of food poisoning.... a few straight days of not being able to eat anything solid and barely keeping even base liquids like water down. I lost 10lbs in two days and endured severe pain and suffering. I am actually still not healed yet. However, in the throes of my battle I was blessed over and over again.... increased body awareness, increased sense of self, increased sense of love and concern from friends and family, and an acute awareness of time in my body were great positives I walked away with. I also had an intensified sense of smell, taste, and touch. Everything smells sooooo good to me, especially food! I can't wait to get a bite of something delicious and nutritious tomorrow! Being sick has been a total blessing when I look at the lessons and experiences that have coincided with it!

Do yourself a favor and don't wait until you are sick (like I do) to give your body the respect and care it deserves. When you wake up in the morning, listen to your heart beat for a few minutes. Listen to the steady rhythm of precious blood pumping through your veins. Imagine your cells working, reproducing, regenerating by the millions every second... to give you another day on this planet. You are an amazing feat of nature, represented uniquely, in a one of a kind expression of LIFE! Make the best of it! Hope you all have a great, healthy, body-aware day. Jeremy

P.S. What should my first solid meal be??? I'm so excited! Any suggestions?

A great post from Real LaPlaine...

Author, salesman, top negotiator and one hell of a human being, Real has a few things to say about the word "NO" and they are worth listening to. I hope you are as inspired as I was! Thanks Real



DEATH BY ”NO”

By Réal Laplaine
Marketing Chief Nutrinacks AB

In the main, we don´t like to hear the word NO – sales people in particular really abhor that word. No means, NO, I don´t agree, I won´t do it, I won´t buy your product.

Out of experience I offer this perspective on the word NO, since I am engaged in sales and marketing in the company I work at, but having lived enough of life and seeing this principle in action, it seems to have some validity and is worth throwing on the table for your consideration.

Case in point, had I listened to that word NO, I would not have been happily married now for the last 16 years. There were enough NOs along the way to the start of my marriage to sink a battleship, but I never listened to any of them. My sense on it, which I tend to follow in spite of all the reasons not to, was that this was the right gal for me and in spite of all the acceptable reasons otherwise, proffered up by friends and associates, I went with it. One of the best decisions I ever made.

As a writer, and I am sure other writers will agree with me, if you have issue with the word NO, and are sensitive to that two letter word, then you´re going to have a rough go at it. Not everyone will agree with your writings. Not every publisher will necessarily throw out the red carpet to you and in fact, many may not. I refrain from using absolutes because of course it can be different for different people.

No is a relative term. It can be absolute, but in many cases it is not. In my experience, the trick to it, if there is a trick at all, is to believe in yourself and what you are trying to get accepted or sold. There lies the trick… TRUTH. If you believe in what you are doing or saying, and if you think it is good, right or a good buy, then say so. If you don´t believe in what you´re selling (even if it´s YOU) then don´t bother because then it´s a toss of the dice, a gamble whether or not people will buy it because you don´t believe it yourself.

Let´s take a really mundane and impersonal subject such as selling a product to a customer. You walk in and offer your product, maybe they are a small store owner or maybe they head up a chain of stores. They listen politely and say no thanks. Being that we are generally polite and nonintrusive as civil people, we tend not to pry, but I advise this approach as a possible means of breaking through the no barrier. Ask politely, WHY? Don´t go sugar-coated or insincere or try to give them “a deal” and certainly don´t start knocking the competition. People see through that approach like a glass window. If the best you can do is to speak badly about your competition then you don´t belong in sales. Honesty is the best approach in my opinion and experience. Ask them why, and mean it. Invite them to talk to you. So you did your initial sales pitch, played your best cards (you think) and the owner says “no thanks”. Now is the time to be willing to hear what they REALLY have to say. His or her NO could very easily be the most polite thing they can say to you. But what´s behind that? What are they really thinking? If you are willing to ask them, and LISTEN to them, and let them vent that off, and not come back with a defensive statement or criticize them or make them feel wrong for saying what they really think, then you´re going to have a chance somewhere along the line to actually sell yourself.

When you are honest with people, and invite them to be honest with you, you get real communication to happen, and the result of that is real understanding. When two people can come to an understanding, even about things that they disagree about, then viewpoints can change. If the communication is not real, or sincere, your chances of breaking through the NO barrier are much less.

You would be amazed to find that the man or woman who says no several times, will, if you continue to invite them to tell you why and LISTEN, suddenly decide to sign with your company or product because they see you in someone who cares and isn´t just trying to sell them a product by any means they can.

I once had a guy tell me, in the course of a thirty minute interview, NO at least several times and insisting that he wasn´t going to change his mind. I invited him to tell me more about it, why, etc, and after a while I realized what it was that was holding him back. I said a few words to him, but they were the right words he needed to hear, the TRUTH, and he signed promptly. The only reason I knew what to say was that I had listened to him and was willing to hear his repeated NOs, and the barrage of reasons behind those NOs. Without that I would have been pitching balls to an empty field.

I am not a great salesman. I never was, and maybe, never will be. But I do know that where I have sold it was based on sincerity, honesty and a willing attitude to sit there and grant the other person the right to say NO and listen to their reasons. And I was completely willing to walk away from that meeting without a sale too. Let´s face it, there are 6 billion people on the planet, and a failed sale here and there is not the end of the world, and sometimes, it´s better for both parties to let it go.

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Réal Laplaine is the Marketing Chief Nutrinacks AB, a Swedish based company located in Göteborg Sweden, which distributes high quality naturgodis (nuts and dried fruits prepared with or without chocolate, yogurt etc) as well as organic products in the same genre. He is also a writer and author, having recently published a book in the United States and has several other books coming out in the near future through other publishing agencies.

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Réal Laplaine
Marketing Chief Nutrinacks AB and Author
Datavagen 57 A
Askim 436 32 SWEDEN
Tel: 031-706-9595
real@nutrinacks.com www.nutrinacks.com
www.reallaplaine.com www.RealLaplaine.wordpress.com
real.laplaine@gmail.com

Where in the Hell is WaWa Ontario....Heaven perhaps?

Oh Canada! Jeremy for Mayor of Buffalo!

My ethernet cable is hooked into a goose's ass that is flying south over Lake Superior....can you hear me? Can you hear me now? Hello...??? We rode bareback on a moose and drank beer right from the streams. This is where hockey pucks grow on trees. You feeling me? My Canadian friends are! I'm always busting on the "Great White North" and the folks that live here, but I have to admit.... it's gorgeous! After spending a few nights on the north shore side of this behemoth body of fresh water, I'm convinced it isn't a lake after all, but more of an Alien Shore (Rush fans??). Seriously. You can see down to the glittery bottom, chock full of perfectly smooth granite rocks that have been tumbling and tossing in the big waves for millennia. It is too cold to swim, however if it were hot outside the past few days I would have gone in for a little shrinkage action. My junk would have looked like an acorn on the bottom of a forest floor.... yes it its that cold.

We passed through Duluth and spent our first night at Grand Marais, Minnesota at a fantastic municipal park that was right on the lake. Yes, you heard right, municipal. I thought, how cool would it be if Buffalo did this down on Route 5 in one of the empty lots near the small boat harbor and Tifft Farms. Put in some basic utilities and hook ups for RVS and Wallah! People will come! I guarantee it. Almost every RV park we've stayed at, even in the middle of corn fields, has been close to capacity. This is a big industry in America. Plus, there would be no crazy funding needed and no top heavy bureaucratic oversight to take care of it. Charge $40 t0 $50 a night, which is pretty much standard anywhere in the US and Canada for full amenities and you've got yourself a start. Then have shuttle service to downtown, events, and Niagara Falls. Somebody email the mayor! Or hell, elect me instead!

We are camped for a night or two just outside of Wawa, ON near Lake Superior Provincial Park. I've been trying to spot the northern lights since the suggestion from aunt Linda a few days ago, but I haven't seen them yet. Both times that I woke up in the middle of the night to go outside I was amazed at the amount of stars I could see, shooting stars especially, but no northern lights. Maybe tonight? Here are some shots we took... mom took some especially cute ones of John! Hope you are all wonderful and warm! Jeremy