The gamble

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.” - Leo F. Buscaglia

What's the biggest gamble you've ever taken in your life? That's a question I find myself asking errr... myself. For many of us, a common gamble is that of post-secondary education. We go to pursue an education. We pay thousands of dollars so that we may become more marketable as individuals in the "Real World." It doesn't guarantee employment, but it definitely improves your odds.

Outside of that, how far have you pushed yourself? Have you ever put everything you've cherished on the line? How much of your life is dedicated to playing it safe?

There is a neat shift in life as we age. As we get older its easy to fall into a rut. This rut is in fact the safest path to achieve those things we want in life. As you grow wiser, you know its unwise to put all your eggs in one basket. You realize that risk-taking can be extremely irresponsible if you do so with undue care. Sometimes though, I think age and wisdom shackle us. It makes us fearful of stepping through possible doors of opportunity. We stick to the plan. We make safe choices. We do what we think is right for us and our families.

I think there needs to be a balance though. Risk-taking separates the do-ers from the dreamers. The "have's" in life who have built themselves up likely did so by taking many calculated risks. Some have gotten there on gut feeling. If you always play it safe, then you miss out on the excitement of achieving those things you may have thought were unachievable.

I think I'm talking about this today because today was not a bright point for the Green Traveller. I found out that a possible contract that could have helped finance portions of our project was given to someone else. At first i was bummed. I quickly realized though, this helps my resolve. It makes the challenge of bringing the Green Traveller to fruition, even harder. It makes the story behind the dream even more meaningful.

I realize this is a huge undertaking with no clear path. It's a huge personal investment without any guaranteed pay-off. The whole thing may fizzle, even after the pilot is complete. I could very well fail at the pitching level. We may not even get the weather to cross the Hecate Straits. Well my friends that's what you call playing the odds. The odds don't look favorable at the moment, but in the end when a gamble pays off, those odds are quickly forgotten.

In this moment, I choose to bet on Green. I choose to weather all the storms. All those who would rather dismiss this project then take it seriously only are giving me the fuel to do this on my own terms. For those that are with me, I hope we can all share in the achievement of a fully realized dream.

I love the idea of camping

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature." - Anne Frank

There are many things I think I would like to do. Many times over though, my expectations are dashed upon arrival. I've enjoyed fishing. I've enjoyed camping. I've enjoyed biking. I've enjoyed hiking. But to be honest, I can't say I enjoy any of those activities 100 percent of the time. For the most part when I'm in the middle of one of those aforementioned activities I'm underwhelmed. I think its my own mind set. I think to truly adore that scary outside place, a person has to alter their mind space. I'm not talking about acid/mushrooms silly. I'm talking about slowing down our racing minds, and learning to absorb those little things you may miss as you look around for the next stimuli to grace your eyeballs.

I used to be so proud of my multitasking abilities. I felt proud that I could juggle numerous activities at once. I am an apprentice in many things.. but the master of nothing. I think my brain has been jacked into this whirlwind society, and as a result I have societal ADHD (or societal ADD or whatever you want to call it). To be honest I think most people are the same. Many people like to think they have some sort of special individual fallacy. The honest truth (sorry if this sounds blunt), I think ADHD, more times than naught is misdiagnosed. (And no I'm not a Doctor, this is just my opinion, so take it with a grain of salt) I lump it into the same category as Fibromyalgia, and Migraine Sufferers.

I am NOT saying these illnesses don't exist. Not at all. In fact i know many folks who suffer from these debilitating illnesses and condiations. What I'm saying is these diagnosis' in particular are being abused by millions of people looking for a medical diagnosis for their problems. You know you no somebody with one of these "illnesses" that drives you crazy with their chronic trips to the doctor. Every month its something new. They abuse the system, but you could never tell them that.

Anyway on to my point.... I was talking about MY societal ADHD. It's not a medical condition, its not an incurable disease, its not something I can take medication for. Basically it is my continuous jacked in life. On a daily basis, my day is filled with random emails, facebook messages, text messages, TV time, videogame time, phone conversations etc. Most of these activities are concurrent with one another. I'm not alone... no siree. Our minds are so splintered by our day-to-day living we may feel tired, but at the sametime feel like we've accomplished nothing. What I'm saying is almost everybody who has a computer, TV, radio, cellphone, Ipod... likely have some form of societal ADHD. It's not a medical condition. It's our mental consciousness growing dependent on the ever expanding technological consciousness.

This, my friends, is why nature bores me at times and sometimes scares me. This is why I have a hard time enjoying the simpler things. Therefore I'm prescribing myself a three week dose of Green Traveller. If symptoms persist... I suck.

Ask and you shall _________.

One can pay back the loan of gold, but one dies forever in debt to those who are kind. ~Malayan Proverb

I was driving to Prince Rupert today. As usual, it was a gorgeous drive. Not in the "it's-sunny" way. It was actually a low cloud, drizzle day. I guess I was in the moment, thinking about the project, and the new perspective I'll have WHILE I'm floating down the river.


Anyway, while I was driving, I was deep in thought. I've not yet found any cold-hard-cash sponsors, but I have found a better kind of sponsorship. A helping hand, an excited crew, and assistance along the way. Let me explain.


When we had decided we would need to sail across the Hecate Straits, we knew it would be a tough sell. First, we had to find a sailboat operator with the time to take us across, and we needed someone who was excited about this project as we were.


Anyway, I emailed countless Sailboat charter companies, and private operators. The interest was there, but the dates would not work. Many had pre-booked tour routes, and were not anywhere near Prince Rupert at the time we needed to cross. There were some other operators interested, but they either did not have the confidence in getting us across, or it just plain didn't work for them.


So I came up with a plan. Instead of relying on web pages, emails and the Internet to find my captain... I took my scooter down to the docks and tried a more primitive way of soliciting my project. I made a poster. I fielded probably 8 calls by interested operators, and in less than a week I found my sailboat. The captain was extremely keen in taking part. His wife was just as excited in getting involved. In less than a week, they agreed to sail me across, AND even took me on a day sail the following weekend. Working with this kind couple has been a dream.


For the first leg, I originally had planned to bike from Terrace to Prince Rupert. My father-in-law though came up with an even better plan. I would learn that Jude (my wife's) uncle had drift-boated down the Skeena river on a number of occasions, and when he heard about my project, he jumped at the chance to float myself and Marc for the first leg of our trip. All I had to provide was a launch date.



Another major "sponsor" has been a small kayaking company on the Charlottes/Haida Gwaii. "Green Coast Kayaking" is a relatively new eco-kayaking group on the island. They work quite often with the "Moresby Explorers." Jo-anne (or Jo) was extremely excited to help us through Gwaii Haanas park. She has given us a letter of support, and is giving us help that no dollar can buy. For three days, she and another guide are escorting Marc and I via kayak through Gwaii Haanas park. We are going to bring food, but this kind lass plans on bringing some local grub (deer meat, local vege's) that fall in line with our project. Amazing help....


Other major supporters have been the council of the Haida Nation who quickly backed my project with a letter of support. Jason Alsop is with the new heritage center in Skidegate. When I told him about my project, and asked for help, he put me into contact with all the major players on the island. One other person, Natalie Fournier works on the media permit aspect of things. So far she's been helping me along the way, and even encouraging me to keep on going. Dafne Romero, an experience filmmaker, joined the team after hearing about what we were doing, and is orchestrating the whole last leg of the journey.


All this help (and many other helping hands not yet mentioned), for an idea hatched a year ago. Amazing. I'm truly blessed.

An up and down day

Making this pilot, or rather organizing it has been one heck of a ride. It's not even close to starting and man is it ever tiring. Today was one of those good days. Why? Well because it was one of those rare days where things have been falling into place. I'll start by saying, raising money or finding sponsorship is tough. Few will take a chance on something with virtually no guarantees. Although my team is an experienced lot, this as a group effort is entirely new. The most concrete thing going for us, is the vision that this will be amazing. The concept is absolutely rock solid. Unfortunately money doesn't pour in, on ideas. This is part of the reason why I wanted to make this in the first place.

I had initially came up with the idea for the Green Traveller well over a year ago. I put together a synopsis, and naively started contacting people all over North America. I wanted to find someone to get as excited over it as I was and just make it. Well, that is not the way TV shows get made I quickly learned.

Anyway, my mind works in a weird way. For the most part, I'm a guy with a million ideas. I throw them all against the wall, and eventually one of them sticks. I recall driving back and forth along highway 16 for various reasons, and I couldn't shake this TV pilot idea. Like an addiction, I NEEDED to keep the ball rolling. I NEEDED to make it. I can't quite put into words how I felt about the idea at the time, but it was almost euphoric.

Marc Buzzell, is my cameraman on this pilot (we have a 2nd who has joined us on the island named Dafne Romero). Anyway, he's worked in the film industry for a number of years now. He's also my wife's sisters common-law boyfriend. We've talked about working on a project for years. I told him about this idea, and he was sold.

For the past 8 months we've been putting this together. Today, was the first day where I felt things had come together. Not the money part mind you, but the actual planning of the trip from beginning to end. Through back and for negotiations with my sailboat operator, kayaking sponsor, drift boat operator, and on-island camera-gal (Dafne), everything has comfortably fit together like a puzzle. Trust me, this is amazing. I've been so stressed trying to fit it all together.

I know things have a way of working out if you want it badly enough. In a weird way I feel like I'm being guided down this path. I can't explain it. Since the vision of this pilot was planted in my head, everything has slowly come together. Its been tough work so far, and I know there will be many challenges ahead, but I get this weird sense everything is going to be alright. It will be amazing to look back on this experience a year from now.

A quote for today:

"Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our
possibilities become limitless."- Jamie Paolinetti

Not a lot of time tonight, so a short FUN update

My list of movies NOT to take in before the Green Traveller begins:

Alive: (although if Marc my cameraman needs to survive and I don't make it, he's allowed to only eat a single calf.)

Lost in La Mancha: A film about Don Quixote that falls prey to numerous issues, and never actually gets made. A documentary is made about its utter failure to actually be finished.

The Endurance (film or documentary): This one is based on a true story and documentary about a disastrous Antarctic expedition in 1914. The conditions suck, the boat gets crushed into splinters by heaving ice... a guy plunges into the Antarctic ocean while in his sleeping bag, and the crews trusty sled dogs become trusty rations... mmmmmmmm. They were not rescued for over a year.

The Perfect Storm (movie or book)

This one is absolutely obvious. I can't really swim to well, and although I have a tough stomach... huge swells and waves make Robert a scared kid.

Planes, Tranes and Automobiles:

GREAT MOVIE!!! But I put this on here, just in case I become the John Candy to Marc's (film guy's) Steve Martin. Hilarity i'm sure will ensue, but in this film Candy drives Martin crazy. Marc and I are sharing a tent... and I dread the idea of putting my hand between two pillows.

Castaway: because although being stranded on a deserted island with fresh fruit and sand beaches sounds cool. I'm a people person. I'd get lonely.

Into the Wild: One of my favorite soundtracks of all time. Basically, young guy heads north to Alaska. Lives in the woods... eats the wrong berries, and dies. Kudos to him though, he killed a moose in the movie, but couldn't prevent it from turning rancid. Pretty brutal. I add this on here, becaue well I don't know my berries, and being green I should look at what edibles are available. Screw it, i'll buy local produce.

What to read, what to read

If you know me, you know where I'm from. Born and raised in northern BC, I'm no stranger to the north. It seems almost like cheating that I'm doing my "travel" pilot right in my backyard, but to be fair, the concept of the Green Traveller works amazingly well in this area. Anyway, the reason I bring up where I'm from is that although I live here, there is a lot i need to know about travelling in northern B.C.


I'm not aiming to lecture the viewers about the history of BC in my pilot. That is not the point. The idea of the green traveller is to challenge myself to be as green as possible while travelling. The voyage is the story. Nonetheless, I'm doing a fair bit of reading to bone up on my travel knowledge.

For the Skeena River portion of this shoot, I've decided to read a book that was first published in 1958. The Skeena River of Destiny was written by a former medical missionary named Richard Large. The book is a fascinating history of the river, and although it has been updated five times, it at times can still feel somewhat dated. So far though, very much enjoying this one. Skeena River is tres cool.

If you ever get a chance to read my article this summer in the Spirit North magazine, you'll quickly learn that I'm not a very "green" guy. In fact, I have a lot to learn. I'm wasteful, I don't eat "green," I'm an embarrassment to the "green" movement. I think in a way that will make things interesting. My constant struggle to make the right "green" decisions. Anyway, this little book is a helpful guide to leading a low-carbon life. I'll be honest. I've glossed through it, and marked off some key pages. I'm sure its a decent read, I just haven't gotten to it yet.




This here book is my bible for this trip. It's basically your standard travel guide to Haida Gwaii. I like it because it basically covers off on every area that a traveller MUST visit. It's kind of like a Canadian Lonely Planet guide. Maps are great (although small,) but it does its job of getting me excited to explore the island.

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and also by the bookstore lady that showed it to me. Being that I plan to sail through Gwaii Haanas, this was a logical buy. 26 feet to the Charlotte's is a clever book that follows an older 26 foot long sailboat (or rather sloop) across the Hecate Straits. Its actually an adventure tale. Its kind of scary because of course we're sailing across...

There are other books on my radar, but so little time. Another rad find is not a book but actually a website. I found it when I was trying to find my blog online. Get this, my show is entitled "The Green Traveller." There is an amazing UK site called the "Green Traveller." Its an amazing go-to guide for anyone planning on travelling green.

Here is the link - http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/

Getting in Green Traveller shape

My biggest obstacle when it comes to losing weight? My love for eating out. There is no doubt that If I loved eating at home, I'd probably be about 30 pounds lighter. Surprisingly enough, in my younger years, I was a former competitive boxer. My body fat percentage was likely under 6 percent. In latter years, I was into weightlifting, and built got into the best muscle-shape of my life. After years working out, letting it go, working out, letting it go... this five foot seven guy who was always fit, learned what it was like to not be rail thin skinny. I jumped up for the first time to 180 pounds from 165... then 190... then 196. Well, I fought back, and got back into a routine. Just last year I ran and completed the Vancouver marathon. Well, i guess I thought I needed to have a little bit of a rest. One year after that amazing race, I hit an all time high. 210 pounds. I don't think I look fat. But if you knew me back in the day, I'm pretty sure, it's noticeable.

So as part of preparing for the Green Traveller, I figure I need to drop a few. I've already been hard at work getting healthy. I'm eating better already, thanks to having a newborn, and a tight budget. I'm actually using the body for life program and trying to get to the gym BEFORE work. When I can't, I squeeze it in after work. Every Sunday, I do my "long" run (this week wasn't so long, 4km). I alternate cardio with weights. Today I'm actually doing a lower body workout. Let me say this right now, you may think I might be a gym monkey... but I hate working out. There is no person on this planet who can say honestly, - I love wasting hours in a sweaty place, doing monotonous exercises, knowing full well that eventually it will be all for naught. Working out sucks. That why the higher power invented the I-pod.. or rather got his people to make one.

Anyway, to a better body!!! And the ability to kayak Gwaii Haanas without dropping dead!!!


RD

Organizing the unorganizable

Its quite interesting to try something you've never done before. I have abackground in radio journalism, with a dash of TV experience (actually.. maybe more like a pinch). This project isn't a paint-by-numbers goal. The path to fruition is not a straight line. Each week, each day, I'm learning that if you truly want something, you have to learn how to cope when the chips are down. Its easy to give up. As I've been told many times over, when you want something you will be given a thousand reasons to give up. What seperates dreamers from do'ers is that the do'ers will continue, regardless of how coherent those thousand dream-dashing reasons are.

This week has been a tough one. It's easy to doubt yourself, and your project when you don't have a model to follow. The Green Traveller idea is simple. Get from point A to point B via the greenest means possible. Executing this though, is anything but simple.

I'll give you an example. We still dont' have sponsorship. We have plenty of people who LOVE the concept. We just don't have people willing to shell out cash for an unproven concept. Each week, I've found new costs, and my budget keeps going up and up and up. I've received a number of suggestions about where I should look for money. The strange thing is, I have to make sure I know where that money comes from. I can't for the sake of this project ask an oil company or dirty business or cash. It would go against the message of the overall pilot. So thats a toughie. Either way, I'm in too deep, so likely the cost will fall on my shoulders.

Another difficulty I'm having is acheiving my fully realized idea. The current rough schedule is as follows. Bike to Terrace, BC. Drift-boat down the Skeena River to Port Edward, than bike from Port Edward to Prince Rupert. After that, I'll sail across Hecate Straits to Haida Gwaii. After that, I'll head into Gwaii Haanas park. After I've visited a number of sites, I'll kayak for three days, then make my way back to Skidegate. From there I'll bike north to Massett, then North beach.

That sounds straight forward right? Wrong. What happens if I don't get the weather to sail across? What happens if I cannot meet my kayaking group at the right point at the right time while in Gwaii Haanas park? (there is no cellrange, or way of making contact while in the park). How do I get my bikes across? (they can't fit on the 40 foot sailboat).... Right now I feel like a guy trying to thread a needle, but 100 miles away.... blind. It's crazy.

All I have to say is... keep your eye on the prize Robert. Never give up, otherwise you'll always wonder what could have been.

Here we go... behind the scenes of a quirky idea yet to be realized

This blog, I've created to follow my progress as I become the Green Traveller. The idea is simply a travel TV program with a unique green twist. Carbon neutral travel to specific destinations with an attempt to showcase environmentally sustainable tourism in places around the world. The pilot will be shot entirely in B-C's northwest. I plan to start in Terrace. I'll than driftboat down the Skeena River, bike from Port Edward to Prince Rupert... embark on a sailboat adventure across the Hecate Straits into Gwaii Haanas park and then kayak from the northern portion into Skidegate, Queen Charlotte Islands. The final portion of the trek is a bike from Skidegate to North Beach, then on to Massett for a final feast.

Progress has been amazing. I've found an interested sailboat operator willing to take myself and my cameraman across. I have a driftboat operator read to go... a kayak group willing to work on the plan... and of course a reliable crew to help the shoot along the way.

So what are my obstacles? They're big ones. Well first, I had never kayaked before... so i've been taking lessons and learning on my own. I'm also in the worst shape of my life. I'm about 30 pounds overweight.

In addition to that, money will be tight. I'm looking for sponsorship, but am pretty much realizing this will cost me.

So is this deterring me? heck no... its going to be one heck of a summer