New York

This last week I was in New York for a training. This was my longest trip to NYC and I was there for 5 days and 4 nights. My hotel was only a block from Times Square and my office was directly on Times Square. When looking out the window I could see the lights that influence so many that come to this great city.

While there, I stayed in a nice hotel, drank 11+ dollar drinks, enjoyed Times Square at Bar 54 (54 floors above), and had dinners that costed way too much. And the one big thing I realized? This is my life now. I am no longer "that boy from Iowa" or "a guy living simply" or "a human out to change the world"; rather I'm "a man teaching fortune 500 companies how to utilize tools to continue growing larger". In layman's terms, I'm in the corporate world.

Here's the crazy part: I like it. I like not having to worry, I like not thinking about money, I like watching other people live, I like teaching others, and most of all, I like feeling like I contribute to the growth of America and the world.

New York is the cornerstone to everything I once hated with this world and found ridiculous. With it's superficial feelings and views on life. Beating people down, but at the same time giving them hope because it's the "central of the world" and give them a new start in life. It honestly felt that people work to simply live, rather than thinking of the future or a more stable life. I don't know this might just be a personal rant, but it just was something I could never do.

New York, the city that never sleeps. While this may be true, I don't see the value of this. But then again, I am a simple midwesterner just attempting to understand the world.

Next up, San Francisco, my current place of residence.

To consider this a start, it's be a lie

Though I start this blog today, it's hardly the beginning. When I was living in Iowa I traveled a lot, but that all it was, travel. Now, traveling is living for me. I had my first realization when living in California that the midwest isn't "the right way" of living, rather, it's merely, "a way" of living. In light of this realization, I am traveling around the US (and the world someday) living out other areas and cultures while working.

In the past two years here is my approximated list of the places (and conferences) I have traveled to:

San Francisco, CA
Napa, CA
Lake Tahoe, CA
Los Angeles, CA
San Diego, CA
Seattle, WA
Vancouver, Canada
Pheonix, AZ
Salt Lake City, UT
Dallas, TX
Omaha, NE
Minneapolis, MN
Milwaukee, WI
Chicago, IL
Atlanta, GA
New York City, NY
Providence, RI
Orlando, FL
Detroit, MI
Denver, CO
Laramie, WY


Google IO
Tech Crunch
Ad Week
Adobe Summit
Evernote

If I think of more, I'll add them later. But this blog will be more than listing place I have been. Rather it will be about the experiences I have, the people I meet, the things I see, and on more of a personal level, the personal struggles that come with traveling.

New York Next week!