Asking for Money 101

Hi all,
I know I should update the blog on a regular basis. However, with work (plus the impending traveling it entails), busy catching up on the first season of Justice League, and the aggravations of being a condo board member I'm sort of worn out. I'm formulating in my mind how to ask you all for some money.

Please, may I have some money?

Can you spare some change?

Help Me Help the World.

So speaking of helping... last night, I volunteered at Artomatic, which is a month long exhibition featuring artists who work in a wide variety of mediums. It's purpose is to provide a venue for local artists that may not have the opportunity to showcase in big museums or galleries. Artists have a place to sell their art. Take a look at the website at http://www.artomatic.org/about/facts.

The whole operation is run on volunteers and donations. My job was to sit by the money box on the 8th floor of Artomatic and talk.

People are quite generous, especially when you follow them around the gallery and hound them for money. I learn my persuasive ways by watching the Crazy Spoon Guy skit on Saturday Night Live, played by Adam Sandler. Some of you are quite familiar with the 1991 skit performed on SNL's Weekend Update with Kevin Nealon. It was around the time of Halloween. The whole premise is that Adam is using objects around the house as a Halloween costume, such as plant or spoon. He would ask(some variation of the line), "I'm crazy spoon head man! Give me some candy." Well, instead of asking for candy, I asked for money. And instead of a spoon, I used a knife. "Come on, I'm crazy knife girl. Give some money and some candy."

Needless to say, I was asked to tone it down.

I unfortunately could not find said skit, but here is Adam Sandler on the David Letterman show with his dog, Matzoball. It's very cute.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZKBHyIecDU

I've also learned that people do like a little song that goes with their donation in the bucket. I've learned that at the Cold Stone Creamery. Whenever someone drops some change in the tip jar, the whole ice cream counter erupts into a Fraternity Rush, where the peons (or the rushees) must recite the Fraternity's theme song. Instead of the Frat's fighting song, the songs consist of thank you and coming back and ice cream flavors, such as pina coloda, strawberry shortcake, and sweet cream ice cream. Man, I love that sweet cream! However, my song consisted of me clapping and saying "Yeah! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" I wished I had a tambourine. I think it would have come across better.

It's never easy to for ask money. Maybe it's that immediate expectation by the donor to see the outcome.

I mean look at the money drive on PBS or NPR. Always, trying to meet a goal within the hour. "If you contribute $75, you'll receive this tote bag..." I become considerably grumpier when NPR has their money drive. Your regular programming schedule is screwed up. I just want to listen to Morning Edition. PLEASE. Maybe if I donate, they'll sing a song. "Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. thank you." But it's really viewers like you and me that contribute, so to get the programming that we need. We see the outcome. We see the boy behind the counter at Cold Stone sing. We see the artist's sculpture/painting/whatever on display at an event relying wholly on the volunteers and donations.

So it leads me to this question, why donate when you may not see the outcome? Jen and I are very serious about documenting this trip. Our hope is that there are points throughout our journey to write blurbs about our adventures on the road and download images, and possible video, on this blog.

Maybe the outcome might not be so visible immediately. But we'll get there.

change here for circle, district, northern lines - m4w - 26

One of my crazy past times is looking at the Missed Connections on Craigslist. I scan just in case someone sees me. No one ever does.

I saw this on DC Craigslist Missed Connections:

"i think i'll listen to my headphones as loud as possible tonight.

everyone moves to brooklyn, no one lives in other cities anymore. i feel like i'm suffocating on my past.

what happens to your memories of sitting in cars and on benches and in coffeeshops, what happens to all those nights in frozen history, deep black space of memory, what happens to them all when you see these people again five years later? do they erase? i don't want them to erase.

why do people change? why do things never stay the same? i think i'm going to listen to music in the dark."

Autorickshaw

Hi all,
I'm excited about the new blog here. This is where I'll be posting my thoughts, stories and comments while on the road from Chennai to Mumbai. Of course, whenever I get a chance.

If you have not checked out the route, go to indianarc.com and click onto Mumbai X-press.

Some folks were asking what an autorickshaw is. Well, here is a pretty good definition of autorickshaw, which was not found on the Wiki!

"An autorickshaw (auto or rickshaw or tempo in popular parlance) is a vehicle usually for hire and is one of the chief modes of transport in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka it is also popular in many other countries. It is a motorized version of the traditional rickshaw, a small two- or three-wheeled cart pulled by a person, and the velotaxi. The autorickshaw is also related to its Thai cousin, the tuk-tuk and the Bajaj in Indonesia. Some more ways this is called are auto rickshaw, auto-rickshaw, autorikshaw, auto rikshaw, auto-rikshaw. Motorized rickshaw, Motorized rikshaw, Tuktuk, Three wheeler and in many parts of India simply as AUTO."

Sad news, Jen, my partner in this autorickshaw race, has left for CT this past Thursday. Jen is taking a job at a scooter shop that has an Indian rickshaw. I hope that we can practice over the months to come.

In other news, I would just like to give a shout out to Josh for starting the fund drive in the south. Thank you. Thank you. Thank