Drink Responsibly & Get Sponsored Responsibly...

'Home is a Fire'
-Death Cab For Cutie


It's about time I posted a blog about this...

Let's face it!  I am a water racist.  I wont drink any other water but a certain Glaceau kind.  What kind would that be?  SmartWater.  It just taste better, smells better has better ingredients and I could keep going on for hours.  Oh but I must not forget to mention has the coolest packaging.  I have been drinking SmartWater exclusively for 4 years and before then I would mix my water purchases with tap water or San Pellegrino.  But I have been a avid fan of the Glaceau brand since I read an article on them in the Entertainment Weekly back in spring 2001.

There is just something magical about SmartWater.  No I don't feel smarter (which is the same lame joke people ask when they see me drinking it).  ---> I have always wanted to tell them that just talking to them makes me smarter, but I refrain.  Seriously the only ingredients are; Vapor distilled water and Electrolytes.  "So pure and crisp like from a cloud," as one of their marketing campaigns stated.  It's just down right tasty.

Thus brings me to my current goal...

I have spent enough money on this company that I deserve to be a major share holder in the company but I will actually settle for a major sponsorship of some sorts.  I'm sorry Jennifer Aniston may make drinking SmartWater look sexy in black and white (another campaign that ran last year) but I look sexy drinking it in color ALL the time, not just at the turn of the page.  I am a major advertiser for them and they don't realize it but it's high time they do.

So by year end I want a sponsorship with them!  I sent out a tweet about this a few months ago and one of my photography network members actually tweeted back saying Glaceau sponsored one of their wedding promo events and they ended up with tons of bottles left over.  To prove that I drink this liquid heaven everyday and everywhere I will be taking a photo of me and the SmartWater everyday until they notice.   I am creating a separate Tumblr page then my "Behind ARG IMAG Photography" page.  I will have the link for you by Friday as I am in the midst of designing the page :)

It's gonna be sick!

Let's look at the dedication I have to this liquid heaven:

1.  I have a 1L bottle with me during my gym work-out, which I attend 6 days a week.
2.  I have at least a full bottle and a backup one here in the office at all times.
3.  All road trips consist of a separate area in my car where I can reach a SmartWater at all times, even if I'm not driving.
4.  I will not waste a single drop by dumping out.
5.  Before crossing airport security I will guzzle the entire bottle I have left (see #4), which then causes me to pee a lot before flight and in flight.
6.  On my mission my dear friend Roxanne would send me packages in the mail with at least 3 of the 1.5 L size bottles at least once every 6 months.  I would ration it out to be used only during meetings and when I had a rough day teaching.
7.  I have a bottle with me whenever I do any public speaking.
8.  When I find it on sale it's all over.  I will buy a shopping cart full, but not in one trip, I make several trips.  I don't want people to think I run a mini-mart.
9.  I don't just throw the bottle away I will place it in the proper plastic recycle location just as it suggests.
10.  I actually just paused between 9 and 10 to drink some.
11.  Only water I will put in my protein shakes after each work out.
12.  I will turn my nose down at you if you reuse the bottle with any kind of water that is not the SmartWater.  I am not afraid to admit it.
13.  I can tell you are a good friend if you actually knew all this about me and don't offer me anything other than SmartWater at your BBQ's, parties, etc.
14.  Even when I was laid off I still managed to buy it and support the dedication.

AND ONE MORE:

15.  I have a bottle with me at EVERY photo shoot I do.



See I deserve a sponsorship!  So get ready for me to have it by year end of 2011.

(I totally just took this)

'You Are a Tourist'
-Death Cab For Cutie


-Gawdun

Cheap Pays Off...Sometimes

Just found this video on one of my photography contacts website. Amazing concept and sweet video. Enjoy!

Pacific Star II from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

-Gawdun

Bzzz Buzzy

*I did not proof this posting after it was completed. I wrote this over a few days so there might be some craze missing things. But I tried to keep it understandable.

Sit back and get ready for some scrolling action as you read up on the insane events I have been up to.

First off Motley Chromatic the 3rd died. :-( He got ill, and after doing a little reading and net research I found out that he was depressed and starved him self. Your probably saying yeah right. However I swear to you that Betta's get depressed if they go through stress. They also are very demanding little fish. I think it's little man syndrome but I wont tell them that to their gills, they might get depressed and show you. (really sick way to prove a point, suicide). I did buy another one the other day and he is out of control active. I would swear he was in training to do a Iron Fish triathlon.

Speaking of Ironman triathlon...

This last weekend St. George held/sponsored their first Ironman event. The city was set up with a 5 year contract. It was super exciting. I remember being introduced to the whole Ironman world when as a young boy we were watching Baywatch (yes it's true the family would watch that on Saturdays and Roseanne on Tuesdays, so what) and this one story was set around an Ironman. However it is much more exciting in real life. I volunteered at one of the bike stations. The area I was at had a controlled pilot car that other vehicles could follow. At one point two cars completely cut off the athletes in an attempt to turn on the road I worked. Well let's just say I still wouldn't let them through and they had to wait a bit. Most vehicles were nice and allowed me to direct them safely around the athletes. But man alive, rich, older, people sure think they run the place. (The street I was working was one of the entrances to a wealthier community.) I also had a guy that came to watch tell me I wasn't an official volunteer if I didn't have my shirt or badge to say so. Eventually my team captain Rachel showed and gave me my shirt but I can't believe how that guy was. There were several other things he did and said to me that were rude but we wont worry. Needless to say Ironman was AWESOME!! There was one guy who broke his collar bone on the bike area but still finished the WHOLE event. I managed to be at the finish line when he finally came through. Two other guys walked the rest of it with him. That's 26.2 miles walked!!! Inspiring.

So this is where I make my prediction and hope. I am giving myself two years to be ready for an Ironman. That is right, I want to compete in the 2012 St. George Ironman. I'll keep you posted along the way.

Now you may ask why not get ready for next year. Simple there is a high $$ entry fee and with me going to Nepal in late Oct/early Nov I can't afford both. Yup that is right!!!

I AM GOING TO NEPAL on a service trip!!! I have noticed on my facebook it appears that the general thought is I will be gone a month or more. I will actually only be gone a total of 2 weeks with the travel times. Not long at all but we will do great things there. The whole purpose of this trip is service and helping in the cure of poverty. Nepal is a very poverish country about no bigger than Illinois, but population wise I would guess Texas in one little country. I am super exited!! I begin fundraising now and all the money I raise is tax deductible. Yup I will be hitting up all my readers and many more for donations! (more on that at the start of the week.)

Along with Ironman I also took part in a 8hour photography workshop held by local destination wedding photographer Kevin Hulett. Yeah he is the guy I work with once a week in his office (I freakn love working with him, and his wife and him are so supportive of my photography it is so bodacious). The workshop consisted of great round table style discussion where he gave information but we were all free to talk and ask anything needed. It climaxed with a live model shoot. The models rocked it and were a blast to work with. In fact two of the five want to work with me in the near future! Yeah it sounds like bragging but deal with it I am stoked that people want to do another model shoot with me. Sometimes you never know if your product it actually great. Go here to see some of the photo's from that day... TEP X class. (True Emotion Photography 10 class).

As of this moment I think you are all caught up. I have MUCH more to inform and relay in regards to the Nepal fundraising and trip so please be aware of the poverty and community help that I will be part of and feel free to donate to help get me there.

-Gawdun

P.S. I have some photos in regards to Ironman to post but it is late and I don't want this post to get longer so please check back very soon for photo's.

Ohh The Sweet Gem

While I look around society and find my next controversy to blog on I thought I would bring you some sort of wonder and amazement. I know you'll love it Trudi!

I love the fact that this was created! Oh how much I love Howard the Duck. They even used the tune of a church hymn in the movie. I'm pretty sure I heard the church song, 'All Creatures of Our God and King' in the movie. However this song is not that song. In fact you'll love this even more.

-Gawdun

And Their Off!

Ok here it is. The first ever reader and Gawdun interaction hoopla.

Yesterday I made a living purchase. I purchased a Crowntail Betta. I know how childish of me, but as always stated, this is Gawdun your are reading about and he doesn't generally play by normal rules. Anyways... Here lies the fun...

Giving of a Name.

I have some names in mind, such as: F Stop, Chirp, and Tahoe (due to his blue coloring). These are just my ideas. Now for the next week I turn the mic over to you. Over the next week post in the comments a name or as many names as you can think of. HOWEVER there are rules and regulations...

1) Know your audience (that's me). Meaning what do you know about me, Gawdun, socially or one on one? I tweet, photograph, dig me some Gaga (not her new video thought, that was scan-do-lous), watch Roseanne late at night, and etc.

2) Human names do NOT count. This means no names you would hear in a group of people. I will not consider it one moment.

3) The more creative the more of a chance I will gravitate to that name.

4) You have till next Thursday April 15, 2010 @ 5pm pacific time to enter.

5) Oh and one other thing. Posting your name idea on my blog, DM tweets and postings on the facebook page that had the link you clicked on to get here are the the only way I will take entries. I will not accept text or vocal entries. I wont even consider them this is a fun blog adventure. So play along please. :-)

That is it, no other rules. The selected name and winner will be announced next Friday, April 16th, 2010. The winner will also be mailed a special prize worth winning. Now here is a few shots of the guy.

'Shine Right Through'

-Correatown

-Gawdun

Da Plane da plane!

Well this will be short. Starting tomorrow, April 8, 2010, I will be holding a contest of sorts on this blog for one week. It will need reader participation. Winner receives something nice. So check back tomorrow for the contest!

I'll make sure you all are aware of the posting through social sites such as Twitter and Facebook. (no myspace though)

-Gawdun

How's My Flash?

As many of you read in the past few posts I was and am a big supporter of Earth Hour. (refer to past post 1 and 2) My family also supports this grand cause. This year we participated in a couple fun rounds of Uno Attack and all this is done by candle light. Along with my little brother, mother and I, we had the neighbor over and two friends of mine over, Karyn and Susi. After we partook of this glorious game of alliances and deceiving each other we took some night photo's using our little LED lanterns. (I understand several of you may wonder why we had a LED lantern when we were supposed to be in the dark. Well flashlights are ok, it's using electricity and turing the lights out that Earth Hour tries to make people aware of.)

Here is the result of our LED light work... I'm learning to use a new Mac photo editing software called Pixelmator so this is not the best photo stitched image. You'll get over it I'm sure , if not that is your fault. :-)

I felt that Earth Hour would not be complete without a special candle so I made a quick trip to the local Dollar Store and picked it up. I won't lie when I say that it seemed to complete the darkness, what do you think?

Hope everyone is having fun this conference weekend !!!

-Gawdun

So There I Am....

Yesterday I am unloading stuff for FHE and I walk over to the side of my car where my car antenna resides. I, like most normal people, don't spend much time admiring the beauty of a car antenna. However due to my finding I will probably spend more time doing such...

Let's discuss that someone placed their, what I think to be a tampon applicator, onto my car antenna. One may have been angry but I burst out laughing. The best part was I left it on there meaning to show someone but forgot all about it. Then again today I noticed it. I just want to guess at how many cars noticed it as I, a guy, drove around town with this on my car?

-Gawdun

Hey Hey Hey

Earth Hour is this Saturday at 8:30pm - 9:30pm local time. Go to www.earthhour.org for more info!

And then again 2 do become 10.

-Gawdun

EARTH HOUR 2010, March 27th

It's that time of the year again everybody. It's Earth Hour! Time to switch out your lights on the designated day and hour to support our grand earth that we have. Last year was my first year to participate and it was a blast. Watch the video for more info.

Please support this cause it only takes one hour.

-Gawdun