Had pretty good weekend!

 

Friday I just chilled after a 13km bike ride around home.  How about from now on unless I state otherwise a bike ride around home means 13km because that is my route.  When the sun is shining I can’t help but want to get outside and a bike ride is my favourite way to soak up the rays locally.  Once the ride was over I chilled on the couch and slept most of the night away. 

 

Saturday night I went to a fundraiser for my buddy Gilbert’s pronounced Jill Bear (as in I have a black bear paw in my freezer still) daughter.  She was born with a serious condition that affects her nervous system and brain, as best I recall.  Gilbert’s daughter is absolutely adorable, and it is pretty heartbreaking to see such a small child 9 months dealing with such huge issues.  The money raised on Saturday night is to be used for out of country treatments that hopefully will change the prognosis.  Doctors in BC have claimed her life expectancy to be between 3 – 10 years old.

 

Despite the sad nature of the event it was a very fun, happy and positive night.  I hadn’t seen Gilbert or his sister Leanne and their family for a few years, and really missed them.  It was great to catch up.  The event had a Mexican theme with authentic food, music and salsa dancing.  More than anything I am just grateful to contribute to the cause of maybe giving my friend’s daughter a chance at a better tomorrow than the one the doctors here have been so qucik to predict.  I think everyone who attended the event shares in the belief that a big part of life is mind over matter.  Doctors are going to give the worst case scenario to save their own butts, but that doesn’t mean their word is gospel.  Love, support and positive thinking can go a long way.  Nothing is impossible as long as we never say never.

 

I got a good sleep on Sunday.  It feels as though I have been trying to catch up on sleep for a long time now.  I feel really guilty sleeping a sunny day away, so the overcast clouds I saw through my blinds on Sunday morning were like a green light to press snooze indefinitely.  When I did wake up, nearly afternoon, the clouds had burned off and I was feeling great!

 

I made somewhat last minute plans with my buddy Scott to check out the Swingin’ Utters show at Venue on Sunday night.  Venue is a pretty sweet little spot on Granville Street in Vancouver where I have seen such acts as Only Crime and the Mad Caddies play before (Caddies have a new best of album out today with two new songs available on iTunes for any fans.)  I also used this trip to Vancouver as an opportunity to see my dear friend Jeanine JC before she moved away.   JC and I started the night on a patio on Granville and made our way into the Utters show with Scott and his entourage.  We all finished the night at the Cambie.  Scott and I were stoked to see Chi Pig from SNFU chilling at the bar at the Cambie and wasted no time in getting acquainted with and getting pics with the punk rock icon that looks like he has been to Hell and back in recent years… well because he has check it.  JC asked me later why I was hanging with that bum haha…  She was surpirsed to learn Chi is the front man from a well known and respected punk band.  Drugs can kick anyone’s ass.  Damn! It just hit me!!  I should’ve interview Chi for my school project since he has mental illness and addictions issues… How rad would that have been?

 

It was a pretty punk rock night. JC rocked her GFYS t-shirt I made her.  Swingin’ Utters put on an awesome show.  I even recorded some of it with my new SONY Bloggie I just purchased.  For quite a while now I have been meaning to buy a FLIP and start putting a lot of footy on here.  Well Future Shop in Langley had no FLIPS on Sunday so I got a Bloggie instead.  Despite the lame-ass name the Bloggie is pretty sick.  It is pocket size and takes HD footy.  The sound surprised me from this little gadgit.  I took some shots from the Swingin’ Utters show as you can see here.  I was still figuring the thing out, so expect better footy to come.  And you can bet there will be a lot more punk rock and other footy in the days, weeks and months to come.

 

Well that is about all… Yesterday was a chill day off from school.  I spent it relaxing.  So today is kind of like my Monday.  The plan is to post this, get showered and fed and head to class.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

~: )

 

KB

 

PS.  Hope you had a rad last night in Vancouver JC.  I had a blast!  Gonna miss ya! GFYS!

This has been a jam packed week of healthy living for KB.

 

I have been riding my bike every single day and eating really healthy.  I am getting a pretty awesome tan and I have about as close to a six pack as somebody who does not have abs could have.  I have also been working my brain.  I completed my first full week of school at CDI on Friday. 

 

I started school on Monday as you may already know.  I am totally stoked on my class so far.  I have to say before school started I wasn’t 100% pumped on the idea of being in class five days a week during my summer vacation, but any preconceived notions I had are gone now.  It feels great to be doing something productive with my time.  The stuff I am learning is really easily applied to so much that I am doing with my life as a speaker that it just makes perfect sense. 

 

I have learned some pretty interesting as well as harsh stuff in the first week.  This week we talked about street kids and Aboriginal people.  Both fit into high risk categories for addictions and many other destructive and high risk behaviours.   I learned a lot about both cultures, but took most away from the two days spent talking about Aboriginal people in Canada.

 

Before this week I never truly understood just what had taken place between the white settlers in Canada and the native people who first lived on the land.  I had heard bits and pieces through the media, but it never painted a true picture. 

 

Did you know…?

 

Over 100 years ago young aboriginal kids were taken from their families and communities and shipped to Residential Schools that were created by the government of Canada.  It was said the schools purpose were to assimilate the aboriginal people into Canadian culture.  It was also said behind closed doors that the schools were designed to “kill the Indian.”

 

Young kids were shipped away from their homes, families, community and way of life to schools run by white people.  Upon arrival children were deloused and had heads shaved because they were seen as being filthy.  In these schools children were taught that everything about them and their family, community, culture and way of life were wrong, even evil.  They were told that their families were going to Hell for their evil ways.  Children were forced to speak English, and if they did speak their native tongue repercussions were extreme.  Some were beaten mercilessly.  Others even had parts of their fingers or tongues cut off.  The children were fed a form of gruel and worked tirelessly.  This was no place for any child.  Minus the gas chambers, to me these schools almost sounded like Nazi Concentration Camps. 

 

Those who were lucky enough to escape the residential schools were hopefully not unlucky enough to be caught.  The beatings they would endure upon capture and return to the school were ferocious.  On top of this many of these young children were abused sexually, many multiple times by multiple perpetrators over long periods of time…  Many did not survive at all. 

 

This horrifying recollection is just what I can remember off the top of my head from what I have learned over the past week.  It was a shock to me to learn these grisly details.  I have spoken on many different reservations and met countless aboriginal people in my years.  I have almost always felt welcomed and embraced with open arms into these communities.  I have seen first hand the poverty and alcoholism and addictions and struggles many of these people face.  I never really understood why.  I had heard many different negative accusations over the years towards aboriginal peoples.  Can anyone say they haven’t?  Sadly, I think a lot of people “white people” do not fully understand the physical and psychological torment and torture the aboriginal people of Canada have endured and been forced to live with.  Looking at this culture with this knowledge gave me an entirely new perspective and level of empathy and compassion.  I think everyone should know what really happened.  And that is what I am writing these words.  To put ourselves in their shoes and imagine this kind of treatment, how would you or I react?  What would the long term affects be on our family, community or people?

 

To learn more check out this link, download the PDF and read.  Everyone should know this largely unknown and hidden tragic history.

 

So… isn’t this a happy Sunday topic?  People who normally read my blog may be thinking WTF!?  Hey, this is reality.  And this is what has been on my mind since I learned it.  But I don’t want to be all intense and sad on a lighter note here is a funny story…

 

So just this past week I was at a BBQ at my buddy Randy’s place for the tea-bagger’s B’day.  It was a pretty cool reunion of sorts.  A lot of buddies I hadn’t seen all under one roof together in a long time were there.  Many were partying – I was O’Doulin’and good times were had by all, except maybe by the neighbours who had to hear us all on a Thursday night.  One buddy Nate brought me some bear sausage and pepperoni.  He has shot a couple of black bears in recent months.  I guess one of these bears Randy and Nate gutted and cleaned together (or whatever it is called – I have no clue).  Randy being the jackass that he is has kept the bear paws in his freezer for a special occasion ie:  to F with people. 

 

So it is the end of the night (at least for some of us).  I am heading home and DDing for my best buddy Geoff and his GF when Randy pulls out the bear paw.  We tuck my left arm up my sleeve and I hold the bear paw with my unexposed hand and start tapping people on the back and putting the bear paw in the air for high fives.  Of course people laughed.  Some I am sure were horrified – and rightfully so.  Yes this is my sense of humour and Randy’s as well - probably why we are best buds.

 

 

The next day I was on my way to a couple of appointments before school and I stopped by Randy’s place to drop off a couple of things of his.  As I was about to drive away, he runs down and throws this bear paw in a Ziploc bag in my truck.  The paw had been on the porch all night and was pretty well thawed at this point.  I drove away kind of laughing, kind of mortified and 100% wondering WTF do I do with this thing???  I felt like it would be disrespectful to such a powerful and awesome animal to just throw the paw away.  So my only real option was to keep it.

 

Over the course of the morning I looked at this severed black bear paw in a Ziploc bag sitting in my truck many times.  I laughed (sometimes awkwardly) every time thinking WTF?  For one…  This was another reminder that my friends and I are demented.  It also dawned on me pretty quickly that the sun was shining, I was in a black truck (so was the paw) and it would be hours before I returned home to put the paw in my freezer.

 

By the time I pulled into CDI College, the paw was almost fully unthawed.  I had messaged Randy telling him he was a jackass and that I had no idea what to do with this paw earlier in the morning.  Randy, maybe not realizing the metamorphosis I have gone through say since the “good old days” suggested some things I could do with the paw.

 

Some of his suggestions were:

 

¶     Find a half opened window to a car and leave a little gift

¶     Put it in a Tailpipe

¶     Leave it at a Produce Stand at Safeway

¶     Leave in an Elevator

¶     Leave it at a PETA Office

Or the ever so common suggestion from a fellow demented friend…

¶     Put it in my bum

 

Now honestly speaking, back in the day when I was a little Hellion, I would not have had to ask for any of these suggestions.  I could’ve likely come up with these and many more of my own too.  Honestly speaking, minus the last one, I likely would have done any of these and laughed my butt off.  But I guess today I am a different person. 

 

For starters I couldn’t disrespect the bear.  I also didn’t want to disrespect or violate anyone with a bear paw.  I didn’t see this as being positive energy, and I am all about the good vibes these days.  What we put out is what comes back.  I am about doing good and being good to people.  And as funny as these suggestions were, they were cruel and nothing that I wanted in my karma pocket. 

 

I reasoned in my brain… 

 

Surely if I were to leave a bear paw in the meat stand at Safeway I would be caught on camera.  Being a blonde guy with a Mohawk in a wheelchair plastered in punk rock stickers does not make me very inconspicuous.  This would be just perfect for my image and good name. On the flip side, the next time I am riding my handcycle in Whistler, hypothetically thinking WTF would happen if I crossed a black bear as I often do, I’m sure one would saunter out in front of me.  And instead of just running away or minding it’s own, I am sure by some divine knowledge among mother natures creatures and beasts this bear would know that I messed with his / her brother, sister, mother, father or offspring and would lay into me.  No doubt I would be made into a piece of human pepperoni.

 

 

NO THANKS!

 

… So I opted to put the black bear paw underneath my wheelchair.  My classroom at school has AC, whereas my black truck parked in the sun would cook that thing and likely leave some awful smell that would never leave my truck.  So for an entire 3hrs I sat in class, taking notes, participating in discussions, watching documented footage and acting all cool when I knew damn well that I had a severed black bear paw under my chair.  I only told one girl in my class named Kim.  She thought it was pretty funny and kind of cool.

 

When class was over I drove home and piu the paw in my freezer.  Just looking at it made me lose my appetite and consider vegetarianism.  I guess that is what I get.  Even cottage cheese seemed like meat to me.  I ate a meatless dinner that night after my 13km bike ride.  And I never eat meatless dinner’s people!!!

 

So by default there is still a severed black bear paw in my freezer.  I don’t know WTF else to do with it.  I figure at the very least it would be a party favourite for when I have company.  When people aren’t looking I can pull it out of the bag and pat them on the shoulder or comb their hair with its claws. 

 

I tried it out on mom first the other night.  She dropped by and I asked if she was hungry.  She asked what I had.  I opened the freezer, pulled out the Ziploc bag and handed her the severed black bear paw.  She was wearing prescription sunglasses, and I am pretty sure didn’t have 100% vision in my dark home.  I watched my mom examine the bag and its hairy black contents with a perplexed look on her face.  Finally she asked “What is it?”

 

I replied, “It’s a black bear paw mom.”

 

She screamed and threw the paw up in the air.  It landed underneath my wheelchair – back to its home from earlier in the day.  Before she left, my mom thanked me for ruining her appetite for the night and told me that I was demented.  Like I already didn’t know that!  Thanks for stopping by mom.  Love ya!  Good times!

 

Well that’s all for today people.

 

Have a good one and thanks for reading!

 

~: )

 

Kevin

 

Click here “Summer“ for tuneage!   (Rad song by the rad German rock / punk band) The Beatsteaks

Summer is here!  And I have been enjoying every single second of it!

 

My computer has been down for a few days, so I am not totally guilty of abandoning the old blog for blue skies and blazing sun rays.  I figured some of you may still be reading the last two blogs anyways since they were so long!  Unless, like my friend Anna you just skim.  HAHA!  SHOUT OUT Banana!

 

I spent the better part of the past week either boating, tubing, biking, swimming, BBQing, tanning and sometimes just plain ol’ chilling in the sunshine getting a tan!  Yes life has been good.  I love the sunshine.  I love having a tan.  I love being outdoors.  And I love hanging with the people I love the most.  Forget about good – Life has been great!  I spent most of last week in Whistler staying at Allison and Jeff’s place.  Then this weekend I was out on Pitt Lake both days with buddies.  We also BBQed both nights and had a jam sesh around the campfire Saturday.  I’m gonna try and sneak some guitar in tonight as I am getting pretty rusty!

 

Yes I have been seizing the days and absorbing the rays.  However today was a new day.  Today was back to business for KB. 

 

I started classes today at CDI College in Surrey.  So far so good.  I am totally stoked on the program I am taking.  And I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of school, especially when the sun is shining outside.  However, I already have a good feeling about this program I am taking.  I am all about practical learning…  you know forget all the abstract sh#t and please don’t waste my time.  I want the goods.  I want the skills to do what I want to do.  Is this not why we go to school?

 

The Addictions and Community Services Worker Program at CDI is very hands on, and I like that.  We’re jumping right in too.  I already have my first project.  Though it currently sits in my deckled out binder (Volcom and a Coastal Riders stickers so far if you were wondering) as I write this blog, I do plan to work on it after I write these words.  This blog is my warm up before my homework. 

My assignment is to find a case study in a high risk culture / and a counsellor in the corresponding field and write about the dos and don’ts from both the client and worker perspective.  I’ll also be touching on personal barriers and biases as well as ideas to effectively work with said group.  I like the assignment and my brain has already been storming ideas for it.  In fact, my brain was working as hard as my arms all along the 13km bike ride I just went on.

 

Oh check this…  You know how I write about energy and connections and this world being small sometimes?  No.  Well FML then!  Last blog ever!  Kidding…

 

Anyways…  In a crazy twist today I learned that my teacher at CDI is also a long lost cousin!  What are the odds?  I was in an interview earlier today with him when he introduced himself as Jereme Brooks.  I told him I had a cousin named Jeremy Brooks.  My teacher looked at me as if to say “Yeah it’s me.”   But I didn’t register.  See teacher Jereme was not the cousin Jeremy I was thinking of.  But apparently my teacher also is my Cousin Jereme #2.  Cousin Jereme with an ‘e’. 

This news that I, not only had a cousin I never knew, but also that he was my teacher blew my mind.  I’m still wrapping my head around it.  JB and KB discussed whether our situation would be a conflict of interest, but both of us concluded it wouldn’t be.  I mean, it’s not like we’ve been exchanging Christmas gifts or singing Happy Birthday over the years.  Meeting today was so random for both of us.  In my case, I knew him as my teacher before I knew him as my cousin.  And as for JB giving me any special treatment, he won’t have to because I plan to give 110% in this program and kick ass on all of the work that I do. 

Speaking of work…  I have work to do.

 

So for once I am going to be concise.  I need to save some of my creativity and energy for my homework.  Before I do jump into my homework, I am going to blast this song I heard on Jason Ellis on my way up to Whistler last week.  The song is also on G’N’R Lies, as they do a cover of it.  FACT:  See not only was I deprived of my blog having my computer down.  I also was deprived of new music.  But hey deprivation leads to greater appreciation.  And I am quite happy to be back online writing and punk rocking out WWoooowwwHH!!

 

Enjoy the Sunshine & Thanks Always for Reading!

 

~: )

 

Kevin

I am going to start this blog off with a story… 

 

April something or other, 2002…

 

The gold Mazda I am sitting in pulls up to Chilliwack Secondary School (CSS) in Chilliwack, British Columbia.  I am not sure the exact model of the car, nor am I that familiar with the driver either.  But he knows me.  To my immediate left sits a man named Micheal Weightman.  He is former RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) and now working for ICBC (Insurance Corporation of British Columbia).  Mike knows of me through my mom, as she works at the Surrey detachment of the RCMP doing 9-11 dispatch.  Her then boyfriend, also an RCMP member, went to the academy with Mike as well. It’s a small world after all…

 

I am about to do my second presentation of the day and my third ever talk at a high school.  Thankfully, I am not feeling as nervous as I was earlier in the day.  I started the morning speaking to 1700 students at Sardis Secondary School!  My biggest crowd ever still to this day 8 years later.  Nothing like jumping right in! 

 

I still remember the words Mike said to me as his car stopped in the parking lot of CSS…

 

He said “Kevin, this could be a great thing for you (speaking with ICBC).  We have speakers who started with us and now travel all over North America telling their stories.  One day you could reach thousands with your message and have your own little business doing so.”

 

Being just 22 years old and nowhere near where I am today in confidence and head space, I remember just shrugging these comments off a bit.  Not in a disrespectful way or anything.  I just never imagined that I would do more than a few speaking gigs and then who knows what after that. I was still pretty green in the chair.  I had no clue what the future had in store for me.  Quite frankly, or Stevely if you will, in those days my future seemed somewhat limited.  It scared me to even imagine being in a chair, let alone adapting fully to life in one, finding a career and all those other grown up things that each of us one day must accept and take on. I was still looking back at when I could walk more than anything.  I used to think more about what I could have done.  I hadn’t found the balance yet to be able to look forward and imagine what I could do while sitting down.

 

The conversation in front of CSS continued…  Mike told me about a girl named Cara Filler.  It was the first time I had heard her name.  She was also an ICBC speaker.  Their best he told me.  Cara’s twin sister had tragically died in a speed related car crash years ago.  Cara now shared their story.  And she was good at it.  She was great at it.  I learned that Cara was living in the states now and working with Tony Robbins.  She travelled the world with her story and sounded to be as happy as she was successful. 

 

You ever get mentioned in the same liking as someone that you feel is way out of your league? 

 

This is how I felt with Cara.  I remember thinking I could never do what she does…  I am just a punk kid who used to drive drunk, crashed one night and has a sad story.  I wasn’t a very confident speaker.  I still trembled in front of crowds.  Even as I sat in front of CSS in Mike’s car, I didn’t know what I am going to say to the next crowd I would soon face.  I was winging my presentations for the most part.  I could hardly entertained the future possibilities that Mike presented to me that day…  I had no idea what fate had in store for me.

 

Skip forward 7 years to spring 2009.

 

I am lying in bed at home in my condo in Cloverdale.  I had lived there for about a year and a half.  My walls were still mostly bare and lacking any personal style or vibe that would convince anyone that this was the home of KB.  I was in between road trips in BC’s Southern Interior and Vancouver Island relaxing and enjoying a rare morning off when the phone rang.  I checked the call display but didn’t recognize the area code.  It kind of looked like the Saskatchewan area code, but some numbers were reversed.  I assume the call is speaking related.  Most I get from an outside area code are.  I excitedly answered the phone, happy at the prospect of travelling to a new place to share my story.  Those words Mike Weightman had said to me years ago had been coming true, and I was busier than ever speaking all over BC and Canada.

 

On the other end of the phone spoke a peppy female voice.  It was none other than Cara Filler.  Cara the speaker Mike had told me about years ago.  I had heard her name a lot over the years, yet our paths had never formally crossed.

 

I was stoked she called me.  I had a lot of things I wanted to talk to her about.  My friends at ICBC had been suggesting I talk to Cara for a while now.  They thought that Cara would be a great connection for me in the USA.  And I had been dreaming since my first speaking related road trip to William’s Lake, BC (home of Rick Hansen) years ago that I would one day be visiting the USA and sharing my story.  I remember saying things in a wishful thinking kind of way like “imagine if I was able to do a tour in California, or go to Florida or New York!  How sick would that be!?”  I had been putting the energy out there big time.

 

Cara had called me to discuss a partnership.  She told me that her and her husband Jason had started a speaking team and were booking a tour called the Drive To Save Lives Tour.  They wanted me to be a part of it – one of the original 3!  Cara and Jason were interested in booking me in the USA and all over Canada in 2009 - 2010.  It all seemed too good to be true.  But it wasn’t.  Not only was it true but it was going to be happening almost immediately.  Cara told me that she needed me to fill in for her by speaking at the Washington State Conference in a couple of weeks.  She asked me if I was interested…  That was like handing me a new spinal cord and a skateboard and saying “hey I gotta surgeon waiting to implant this in you on our way to the skatepark you drove by last week and wanted to shred!?” F yeah I was interested!! 

 

A couple of weeks later, sure enough, there I was speaking at Fort Casey on Whitbey Island in Washington State.  I was so stoked.  And the people I met seemed to be digging my story and Canadian vibe as well!  I was digging their vibe too!  This was such a huge step ah err roll for me in my speaking career.  The opportunities in the USA were endless.  I could only dream where I would go next.

 

June 2010…

 

My flight touches ground in Orlando, Florida.  My face is pretty well glued to the window taking in all of the sights.  This is the farthest I have ever been from home.  I don’t think it has fully registered yet that I am in Orlando to speak at the SADD National Conference.  This is a dream come true.  Anytime, I had ever said something about speaking in the USA or in some awesome place I would usually follow it by “but first I need to get to the SADD National Conference.”  I knew that the National Conference was another critical piece to the puzzle I was building.  SADD was where I could make the firsthand connections to send me all over the USA.  And now… here I was…

 

Cara had gotten me to the SADD Nationals in Orlando…  Just as her and Jason had gotten me to Arizona, Ohio, Washington and Oregon earlier this year.  I can’t even begin to say how grateful I am for the connections the Drive to Save Lives Team has made for me.  I hope they are reading these words right now.  THANKS!  I LOVE YOU GUYS!!

 

I got off the plane in Orlando.  The humidity was like nothing I had ever felt before outside of a steam room.  I rolled onto a tram that was to take me to my ground transportation.  A friendly guy from Southwest Airlines assisted me with everything.  Southwest is BEST!  When I finally arrived at the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Hotel right near Disneyworld it was around 7pm.  I checked into my room, ate dinner and then wrote a huge blog into the wee hours of the night.  I didn’t much associate with anyone from the SADD Conference.  I didn’t know anyone, and they didn’t know me.  I looked pretty badass too – backwards hat, skulled t-shirt etc…  I remember feeling like the adults here are keeping an eye on me – Maybe it was just my imagination getting the better of me but I could’ve swore some daggers were shot my way that loud and clearly translated to stay away from our SADD kids PUNK!  Haha

 

I slept and slept through a good part of Monday.  I really needed to get caught up on my rest.  Tuesday was going to be the biggest day of my life as a speaker and I wanted to be rested and ready.  I finally rolled downstairs around 3:30pm.  Cara had messaged me that I would be going to Universal Studios with a group from Vermont.  (FINALLY hey Lindsay…  I get to you all!)  Well that is all I have to say about Vermont…  Psyche!  HAHA! 

 

On my way to search out Vermont people, I met great people from all over the USA who were also in town for the conference.  The first two people who really took me under their wings and made me feel at home and looked out for were a couple of fellow speakers named Tom and Terry from Massachusetts.  Great guys – great presentation!  We would be buddies throughout the remainder of the trip.  They pointed me in the general direction of the groups and off I went. 

 

I approached a group of students and asked if they knew where Vermont people were chilling.  They told me to just yell Vermont and so I did.  It didn’t take long until I found a huge group of students and adults from Vermont.  I introduced myself and told them I had heard I was joining them.  I was informed that the bus left in 15minutes!  Holy Crap!  So off I rushed to my room to get ready, but my room was a long ways away, especially with elevators and such.  I ended up losing the Vermonters.  So much for that plan.

 

I ended up getting on a bus with a bunch of students from North Dakota and Kansas.  They were all quite friendly, and we chatted during the drive, and then they were gone.  Just like on an airplane, I was first on the bus and last off of it.  By the time all of the straps keeping me from pinballing down the isles in my chair as the bus drove to Universal had been released everyone on my bus had ran off to play and I was alone.  Even worse I realized, I didn’t have anything that said I was a part of the conference.  I had slept in so long that I missed registration, which is where I would’ve got my name tag, SADD shirt and I was starting to think possibly my ticket to Universal.  Things weren’t looking too good for me here…  I was questioning my planning.  Usually I am a bit more organized than that.

 

I was feeling pretty random I must admit rolling around Orlando, Florida.  I had nothing on my body or in my possession to even prove that I was in fact a part of this SADD event.  I was pretty much on a full-on solo mission.  Luckily someone from World Strides (they booked everyone’s accommodations in Orlando and did a great job) recognized me and handed me a pass.  He told me to follow this way and that way and look for a bunch of people in green shirts.  It seemed easy enough.

 

I headed up an elevator and out into the surrounding madness on the outskirts of two theme parks - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.  The heat was intense.  My belly was grumbling.  I was wondering if I made the best choice to just randomly go to Universal Studios on essentially a solo mission.  I wasn’t much feeling like going on rides.  I wasn’t really sure that people wanted me to tag along with them either.  I met one really nice girl from Kansas named Sierra who said I could join her and her buddy, so we exchanged numbers.  It felt super random to me, and I wasn’t much into crashing anyone’s party, so off I went.  Sierra was super rad, and throughout the remainder of the night kept checking in on me that I was all goods. 

 

I spotted a Bubba Gump Shrimp and decided I was going to eat before I did anything else.  I eat dinner alone a lot being on the road so often, but in Universal Studios I definitely felt a bit of an L factor as I dined alone.  I washed away my lonely thoughts with glass after glass of Blueberry Lemonade.  OMG!  This is one of the tastiest drinks I have ever had!  I considered calling a cab and heading back to the hotel because this was pretty lame.  But with dinner in my stomach and sugar pulsating through my veins I decided to at least have a look around Islands of Adventure.  I had paid to go there after all.  So back into the heat and madness of the theme parks I ventured.  Apparently at some point I rolled straight past a Vermonter who yelled out my name.  I might have answered her and not been such a snob had she called out Kevin instead of Steve.

 

I was surprised at the lack of green SADD shirts I saw in Islands of Adventure.  From the number of people I saw get off the busses, it seemed that half of the park should be green shirts.  Then as fate would have it, I was reunited with a group of 6 Vermonters.  One of the 6 thought my name was Steve.  And it kind of is now because after laughing about her yelling out the wrong name as I passed I suggested that Lindsay and the rest of the girls just call me Steve from then on.  I joined the Vermonters party and off we went.

 

I have to say that I had one of the funnest nights I had had in so long!  Lindsay, Lindsay, Shelby and Jordyn (if I spelled anyone’s name wrong – too bad you call me STEVE!) took Steve under their wing and showed him an amazing night.  Had Steve not met these girls, he likely would not have ridden sick rollercoasters or had such an awesome evening.  This night really set the tone for the rest of the conference, and I can’t thank my friends from Vermont enough for being so awesome to me and Steve.  My night was pretty MEH before I met up with you girls.  I was kind of being MEH.  I needed to get on those rides and test myself and conquer some challenges in a bad way that night.  I was stoked for the remainder of the trip and that is a big reason why the next day I had such a sick presentation.  I was in a great place physically and mentally!  Thanks Vermont.

 

I spoke at 11am on Tuesday, June 29^th in the Regency 2 Room.  I was on my game from the start of the day and throughout my talk.  I finished my presentation at the SADD Conference all smiles.  I can honestly say that I would not change a single thing about it.  I was 110% stoked on it and still am!  This is a bold statement because I have pretty high standards I aim to reach in my craft.  I am a perfectionist.  Not that I am saying my presentation was perfect…  I am just saying I gave the talk I intended to give and more.  The response was phenomenal.  People were lined up at the door and being turned away as the room was at capacity before I was even set up.  Man!  I am still so stoked! 

 

It was like a dream come true to speak at the SADD Conference.  Leading up to it, I wondered if I would get nervous or anything because conferences are not so much my forte.  I am more of a school speaker.  I’d take a group of hardcore students who make bad choices and party and who have reputations of being rowdy and unruly any day over a group of leadership students, who make good choices and would never think of doing the things I talk about in my talk.  It is a comfort thing for me.  But the more I grow and the more positive experiences I have at conferences, the better and more comfortable I feel.  I was on my game at the SADD National Conference, and I will say it was my best conference presentation I have given.  I am stoked for the next ones now!!!

 

After my talk I met people from all over the USA who were interested in bringing me to their states, cities, schools and conferences next year.  I spoke with people from Illinois, Kansas, North Dakota, West Virginia, Louisiana, Georgia, Washington, Kansas, Massachusetts and Vermont.  I was so stoked!  I am so stoked to see any or all of these places.  I want my message to reach as many people as it can possibly reach.  In the meantime I really love seeing new places and meeting new people.  I LOVE what I do so much! 

 

I am feeling the conference vibe more than ever after speaking at the Arizona State Conference in Phoenix, The Lights for Life Conference in Ohio, the Canadian National Conference in Regina and now the US National Conference in Orlando all this year.  The best thing about conferences is that it brings together so many like minded people who are all doing their part in making this world a better place.  I met so many awesome people in Orlando, I can’t even describe them all.  I will talk about two though… 

 

Before my talk in Orlando, I ran into some friends from Arizona SADD named Jessica and Justin.  It was awesome to see my friends and awesomer (Yes I am making up words again) that they introduced me to a rad guy named Jesse.  I had heard about Jesse the night before from my friends from Vermont.  Jesse plays guitar and sings in a band called Parker Theory.  He looked like my kind of people.  We had similar styles from head to toe and even more stoked we shared a lot in common when it came to music.  Jesse also has chosen a similar career path that I have.  He travels around to schools with performers and recording artists delivering a positive message to youth.  I think we were destined to meet because it was like insta-brothers.  I see us working together on projects in the future if he ever texts me back haha!  Jesse and I journeyed away from the conference that afternoon to the outlet mall where we both bought ridiculously over priced smoothies and nothing else.  Check his band out here.  They are pretty rad!

 

The other honourable mention goes to Celia from Vermont.  Celia and I hung out for the better part of the day and night on Tuesday in Orlando.  Celia is a SADD Advisor and she is as sweet as the maple syrup that I learned comes from Vermont.  Celia and many of my other new friends I met from Vermont told me interesting facts about their home state, where I hope to be speaking this fall, like how it’s the home of maple syrup, how Vermont is the only state capitol without a McDonald’s and also Vermont’s proximity to Quebec.  Best of all I really just felt that I had met someone in Celia that I would be friends with long past we headed our separate ways from Orlando.  As I mentioned before, conferences are the bringing together of great people, and Celia is a great person!  Everyone I met from Vermont and elsewhere were great people.  It really was that kind of an experience.  Amazing to quote the TV show The Bachelorette Jimmy Kimmel has an “amazing” count going on for the show because apparently this is the word of choice when it comes to describing anything for the contestants on the show – Yes Steve did just make a random Bachelorette reference!…

 

One more RAD thing happened on Tuesday night in Orlando.  I was already so stoked on all of the potential places I could be visiting when the icing landed on my cake.  A lady I recognized from being in the room at my talk approached me.  Her name is Carrie and she is from none other than Ventura County California!  Guess where I will be speaking next year?!  So YES my friends KB and Steve are pretty darn stoked right now.  I am so happy and excited about next year and beyond… 

 

I know I am not the best at this but I’ll try to sum it all up…  FLORIDA WAS AWESOME!  I AM STOKED!  I HAVEN’T STOPPED SMILING PEOPLE! 

 

I see this story I just shared as another huge step, roll ah err whatever, in the direction I want to be going in my life.  I thought I should start this blog way back when to show the journey… This journey leaves me speechless sometimes.  I guess mostly because I never knew I could find such fulfillment and happiness in life.  Almost ten years ago my biggest goal was surviving the day ahead.  I was in a drug induced coma fighting for my life.  I doubt anyone you asked around me, or me if I was coherent enough to answer, would have guessed I would be writing this blog telling this story that I am years later here today.  But here I am.  I believe that all of this exciting stuff is happening for a number of reasons…

 

I have always put 110% of my heart and energy into my talks.  I have followed my passion to places I once never dreamed I would see and accomplishments I could have never imagined I would reach years ago.  From the start, I never turned down an opportunity big or small and just believed in what I was doing.  I just took everything day by day and gave it my everything.  Over time I learned that by staying true to my goals and dreams that there was no limit to the possibilities or boundaries to where I might go.  And that goes for anyone with passions and dreams.  Believe, work hard and fight for what we want and the possibilities are endless.  Aim big.  Why not?

 

I believe wholeheartedly in the philosophy of karma.  Life is full of energies.  And depending on the forms of energy people chose to align themselves with, the same energy we will attract.  There were times in my life not all that long ago where I was creating, perpetuating and attracting negative energy.  These were troubled times – many of which I now speak of to thousands of people. The lessons I learned, many the hard way, are now lessons for others.  I’ve taken negatives and turned them into countless positives for myself and in turn so many others.  My mind is blown anytime I consider the journey I have been on over the past decade and all of those I have met, reached, inspired and been inspired from.  I intend for the good karma to continue.  I am in a really amazing place right now.  Content, happy, motivated, inspired and functioning with a heightened awareness of the incredible gift of life and the endless potential to learn, grow and share and live, laugh and love are but a few ways I would describe my mind space.

 

Lastly I am surrounded in awesome people.  I have such supportive family and friends and each is growing.  This past week was yet another opportunity to expand my personal community around me, and I am so grateful for those I just met.  Who knows where this journey goes next.  All I do know is I am super stoked to have you all onboard! 

 

The sun is shining and my bike is calling my name!

 

Thanks for reading!!

 

~: )

 

Kevin