Greetings from Saigon… Trying to record some bits in a big boomy hotel room can be a challenge. π Blankets and pillows to the rescue. New logo and teaser coming very soon.. no, really..
Hotel room recording…
Coming up with a logo is tough work
We’re trying to choose a logo for Rootabaga. It’s tough. But at least the office is comfy.
εθ¦ Hong Kong, ααααΆααα½α Cambodia
No podcast episodes planned from Cambodia but it is a stop along the way – and I did run into an old colleague who, like myself and a couple of upcoming Rootabaga guests, hails from Alabama. He’s a long-term expat – a small-town Alabama lawyer who ended up teaching in Asia and eastern Europe and resides part of the year in Cambodia with his wife.Β Had a few too many Angkor beers and forgot to take a photo together but did manage to take a few shots of Phnom Penh the last few days.
Hitting the road..
Only one way to do a podcast with face-to-face interviews in a bunch of different countries – pack up and go. πΆ
In this case it means putting everything in storage, giving up the comfy apartment, and calling it quits in Hong Kong. Off we go Feb. 20.
Good bye cozy rooftop..
Stay tuned for updates on the road if you are following…
Podcasting with a view (almost)
Thought I’d try a new environment to record some voice overs for the teaser episode (coming soon!). Hope the company doesn’t mind my using a board room.. results: The usually stunning view of Hong Kong Harbour was drearily hazy and the hum of the city and carnival below may be hard to work with. Live and learn!
Recording at Knowmium
Recording our teaser episode at a friend’s cool Hong Kong office.
My good friends at Knowmium allowed me to record in their funky office space in the hip Sheung Wan hood of Hong Kong. Many thanks guys!
Was a little challenging to stay out of their bottle of Buffalo Trace, however.
Mui Wo to Central Blues
Inspired by my decision to quit my job last week (Jan 8 2018) to work on the Rootabaga podcast full time, I made this little video of my commute from my little village in the Outer Islands of Hong Kong to my office in the city. Figured I’d want to remember it on down the line. Enjoy…
More videos soon sharing the making of the podcast.
Music – Mui Wo to Central Blues by me made on Garageband
Equipment – Samsung Galaxy Note 5 and Smooth Q gimbal stick
A digital nomad legend (teaser)
SWEEET…
Just a couple of hours after our post yesterday kind of semi-officially announcing the no-turning-back point for the Rootabaga podcast, fate would have it that an absolute internet legend (in at least one very wide international circle) gave an enthusiastic “yes” to my invitation to be a guest. Can’t tell you how stoked I am. He’s a great guy and his “idea” has helped thousands, probably tens of thousands of people, since the very very early days of the internet.Β As probably one of the very first and most successful digital nomads ever, he’s been a huge inspiration to me and even this podcast. I’m not going to give away more just yet but at least half of you will know who it is and I find it amazing that he has not been the subject of a podcast if not documentary. If you guess who it is, don’t say. If you recognize that this is about you, thanks again and can’t wait to meet you in person in Los Angeles this spring! (and don’t accept any other invites before that!)Β 
π
No turning back now…
This post is a week after the fact but it really just sunk in today when I got an email from HR confirming my resignation on January 8 from a very comfy salary (at a soul-sucking job) and overinflated job title (assistant vice president/research division at an investment bank!!??) to pursue one crazy idea – a podcast about a bunch of expats who pursued their own crazy dreams to start unusual careers in foreign countries.
I could just wait till the whole thing is finished and drop ten episodes on the world all at once but I thought it would be much more fun to share the whole experience as I ramble and tumble through it. So it starts here.
Shout-out: I would not be to this point at all without the encouragement and ideas of two amazing people that this page won’t let me tag (??) – Murashka atΒ Thumb it up / Hitchhiking around the worldΒ , who was with me when the idea sprouted and was an inspiration, sounding board and motivator in the early days and Wendy, whom I’ve known since middle or elementary school and who has not only been a sounding board and motivator but also become a creative and technical contributor and full time partner in the whole damn crazy thing. Thanks y’all!
If you’re interested in this project please follow here or head over to our Facebook page to see the podcast in the making.
Wait for it…..
Tokyo calls…
One of the best things about working on this podcast (coming soon) is that it is taking me to some of the coolest places in the world. A week in Seoul in October kicked things off and five days in Tokyo last week was epic. Two interviews in the bag. One with my former bandmate in We Need Surgery who not only runs an English/guitar school on the outskirts of Tokyo but who also has his own line of Tokyo hipster e-cigarette liquids…
And then it was off to Omotesando to see professor, poet, PhD, pal Jordan Smith who, well, does all those things right before his name.
Sounds are in the works.. and future trips include the US, Sweden, Canada, (maybe Nepal) and who knows where.. stay tuned.
