Typewriter Poetry: McClintock 2019 Whiskey Release Party

Once again, a line stretching far out the door. Eager fans pour in the room, new whiskies pour in small glasses, and poems pour from flying typebars.

Mark and I again take space at McClintock Distilling in Frederick, Maryland, each writing nearly 40 poems over the course of the day. Guests give us a topic and we craft written words.

Joey, avid hiker, requests a poem about the national parks.

Amy, recent college grad, requests a poem about new beginnings.

Will, beverage connoisseur, requests a poem about the strawberry mule he had just enjoyed.

Often, those who ask for poems linger, and we get to know more of their story. Photographers, aviators, recently-engaged lovebirds, imaginative children, and many more souls cross our paths and our pages. Sometimes, the exchange is full of laughter and humor, other times it carries the weight of pain. Always, the interaction holds goodness and connection.

While we were crafting our poems, the Sweet Farm was crafting ginger beer cocktails and Five-O-Air was crafting an incredible mural. Delightful music was provided by Pick’d Up.

With Ink: Typewriter Poetry provides on-the-spot typewritten poems at parties, weddings, corporate events, and more. Delight your guests with whimsical, unique, and personal entertainment at your next gathering! Send an inquiry at www.typewriterpoets.com

My First Travel Hack: Baltimore to Hawaii for $61.20

Let me take you back to 2014.  

I was two years into my career as a mechanical engineer.  On good days, the commute was 45 mind-numbing minutes on the beltway.  The work was detailed, and often weeks of effort had to be painstakingly redone due to client design changes.  My roommates began to know it was I returning home for the evening because of a habitual involuntary sigh, released as I passed through the doorway.

Not only did I begin to suspect my chosen career path was wrong for me, but I also was struggling in several other aspects of life.  In spite of great friends, coworkers, and mentors, I felt totally stuck and didn’t know what to do to get out of it.

For the past year, my friend Jim had been pestering me to come visit him in Honolulu, Hawaii.  “Stay at my place and we’ll kick it and explore,” he said.  I knew I needed a change.  I knew I needed to finally take time to care for myself, and as I’d heard in a book somewhere, “A change of place and a change of pace yields a change in perspective.”

I would have let money be an excuse not to go.  If I had to pay for lodging or plane tickets, it almost certainly wouldn’t have happened.  I’d have said, “I can’t spend that on myself, I have to save it for something else.”

Thankfully, in 2013, I had dipped my toes in the travel hacking world, using a credit card to earn a bonus 50,000 airline points without spending any extra money.  

As 2015 began, I cashed in the points and paid just 61.20 round trip, including bag fees, to go to Hawaii in May.  I got to stay with Jim, explore the island, camp, hike, snorkel, and decompress: all for less than $350 for the whole week.

Looking back at those conversations and adventures, it was a big turning point for me.  Jim’s investment of time with me that week was a tremendous gift.  I returned home ready to start making positive change.

Later that year, I accepted a different engineering position that provided me a lot more freedom to really figure out where I wanted to go in life.  I began to really get to know who I was in a deeper way, gain a whole new perspective, and start working towards living a more joyful, more fulfilling, and more impactful life.

Since then, I’ve used airline and hotel points for several other adventures in Ireland, Zion National Park, and elsewhere.  These experiences have been transformative, opened incredible doors, resulted in deep new friendships, and have developed me as a person.

Without the skills I learned from travel hacking - the art of scoring big mileage bonuses and getting nearly free flights - most of these trips would not have happened.  It’s possible I could have resigned myself to a life of quiet desperation.

Instead I began building momentum to a more meaningful life.

Travel hacking is often sold as an opportunity to take luxury vacations on the cheap.  It is.  It may also allow you to take your yearly camping trip on another continent instead of across the closest state line.

Best of all, travel hacking may unlock the chance for you - as it did me - to make serious positive change in your life.  It may unlock the chance for you - as it did me - to grow.  It may unlock the chance for you - as it did me - to get on a path more in line with your personality, your passions, your skills, your dreams.

Photo by Jim Baker

2019 Seniors: Kaylie

The Ellicott City Historic District is always a great place for senior portraits. I had a great time working with Kaylie, capturing some beautiful portraits of her both in everyday attire and one of her dance outfits. Kaylie is energetic and has a lot of irons in the fire: when she isn’t dancing, she’s in the school musicals, cavaliers, and getting ready for college!

Springtime is great for senior portraits!

I love capturing the hobbies and talents of my Senior Portrait Freedom clients!

Showcase your talents in your senior portraits!

My Senior Portrait Freedom experience is designed to be a fun part of the senior year festivities. You’ll have a great time, and get some great images to hang on the wall, share with family and friends, and use in your graduation announcements! Contact me to schedule your free info session today!

On The Set of American Dropout

I pull into the parking lot at 6 AM. A silent Sunday morning; spring birds have yet to rouse themselves. Across the street, a power plant; next to me, the metro line; behind and ahead, nondescript business park buildings. I see a glow through a glass-paned garage door, approach, and enter the Garden, a co-working and maker space.

Production staff say hello and bring me to a multi-use studio, where gaffers are rigging lights and the DP is discussing camera operation with the director.

Initial lighting tests, setting up for first interview.

So begins the day on set. In production is a documentary titled American Dropout, which will shed light on the issues surrounding high school dropout rates and how these problems can be resolved. Today, three women who have left the public school system for various reasons, as well as several experts with a variety of perspectives and experiences, share their stories. Filming, already ongoing on the west coast, will continue in Chicago and elsewhere.

As still photographer, I capture the day - setup, interviews, off-camera goings-on, and all the rest. The opportunity to be present for these storytelling hours is an honor. I hear of the difficulties that led to choices to drop out of school, of overcoming obstacles, of mentorship and relationship and real-world solutions that have helped many graduate and move forward. The director, Rob Carpenter, takes time out of the busy schedule to chat with me and share his vision for this film, as well as several others.

Rob talks with Ashley, one of the interviewees.

Most inspiring to me is the interview with Bill Milliken (see another one of his talks here). For 50 years, he has been a mentor and friend to young men who would likely have otherwise been swallowed up by gangs and prisons. After himself struggling in school, he moved to Harlem and began simply spending time with the young men that were out on the streets. That relationship, that love, brought hope to many young men who would otherwise have had none. Decades later, those relationships have grown into the Communities in Schools program, which “connects students and their families to critical community resources tailored to local needs. Working in nearly 2,700 in the most challenged communities, in 28 states and the District of Columbia, Communities In Schools serves nearly 1.26 million young people and their families. It has become the nation's leading dropout prevention organization, and the only one proven to increase graduation rates and decrease dropout rates.” To see this man continue to build relationships and speak about the need for love and for people in high-risk areas to get connected with resources to help them succeed is incredible.

American Dropout is slated to be released in late 2019. Based on these interviews (just a few of many), Rob’s passionate directing, and the attention to detail given by all, this will surely be an excellent and eye-opening film!