Dopp Juice Archive

It begins when I leave my house in the morning (anything before that is not yet routinized, and totally up for grabs). My neighbor meets me at the corner, and together we walk into the local cafe. Jenny, the owner, perks up and says to both of us, “The usual?” We nod.

Then my neighbor and I spend the next forty minutes catching up on our lives — which, really, is just what’s happened in the last twenty-four hours since we last rode to work together. We’re both poets who work in the web industry, so we compare notes about the latest happenings. When it’s finally time to part ways, we end with our mantra: “Today is going to be awesome!” It’s usually accompanied by some kind of victorious hand gesture.

She goes above ground; I switch to another train. Once on board, I pull out my day planner, review my goals for the week, review what i did (and didn’t do) yesterday, and write down a few bullet points of things I want to focus on today.

When I get to my stop, I pull out my ipod and stick it on shuffle (let the universe determine my theme songs for the last leg of my journey). In my ten-minute walk to the office, I make a point to pass by the recycling center, because the squashed cubes of metal feel like art to me. The two fork-lift operators recognize me, stop what they’re lifting, and wave vigorously to me as I walk by. I wave back, dancing in my walk to whatever song has ended up at the top of my playlist.

I walk into the office, drop my things, and chuckle to myself that I’m still, always, the first one here. So fortunately, there’s time to blog.

Props to Mary Tsao for catching me mid-conversation with a very awkward “I see you taking a picture of me and I don’t know how to pretend this isn’t happening” face. I have so much processing to do… so many thoughts and experiences to put into words. I haven’t put them out there yet because

• My brain cells were totally fried yesterday.
• The Hyatt had inconsistent wireless internet access (apparently 800 blogging women freaked out their servers).

But I’m at WoolfCamp now, chilling with BadgerBag and the crew, and I’ve got some serious processing to do. (hey, i’m still a poet, even though i pretend not to know it.)

WARNING: Sarah’s scheming again.A while ago, a friend asked what I’d do tomorrow if I won the lottery. The fact that I wholly avoid the lottery notwithstanding, I think I came up with a pretty good answer:

“If I won the lottery, and had already received the money, and it was a particularly large amount of money, and I had already hired a good lawyer, accountant, and financial advisor to oversee it…I’d spend tomorrow embarking on a trip around the world with a handful of creative and entrepreneurial friends that would last several months, the purpose of which would be to observe the state of the world, enjoy ourselves, and brainstorm the best use of the money… so that when we returned home, we could invest the money in a combination for-profit and non-profit enterprise that addressed our collective dreams.Are you in or out?”

And sometime today, in a brief break between my full-time job and my full-time schoolwork, it occured to me, Screw the lottery! Let’s just do it!I hereby propose, and leave open for further brainstorming, a Collaboration Adventure.The ConceptA road trip around the United States (and perhaps parts of Mexico and Canada) with a group of driven, creative people who want to discover more options for their lives. Our GoalTo shake ourselves free of the daily-life rat-race bubble and by detaching, develop a clearer perspective of where we want to fall into the system. To see how everyone else is living these days. To talk to people. Lots of people. To write down those peoples’ stories. To have brainstorming sessions on mountain tops, in corn fields, and on city streets. To document the adventure and share it with others (there will be much blogging!). To collect more like-minded folk. To volunteer. To give ourselves to the communities around us. To scheme and dream and inspire each other and write it all down. To eventually re-emerge into society as a more focused, aware, and empowered group of people who know what they want out of life. My GoalTo find and create a plan for a new business or nonprofit that ethically addresses the world around me and satisfies my creative needs. And to include as many people in that plan as are interested in joining. The PhilosophyWe do not need to win the lottery to make this happen. We don’t even need to empty our piggy banks. We’d pitch the idea as a community project and apply for grants and financial sponsorship to get started (this may involve adding a focused documentary or writing project to the trip, which would be quite cool). We’d appeal to people’s hospitality. We’d attract media and ask for donations. We’d work for people, talk to people, inspire people, and make what they need our priorities. After all, this is about getting outside of ourselves, so we can see our lives. When you are fully free to give, you naturally receive. The TimelineA year to plan and solicit support (and let Sarah graduate, while we’re at it). We’ll make it Summer 2007. Are you in or out?Make it yours. Tell me what your ideal adventure would be.