Enjoyed that? Donations please?

Don’t let me stop you.

I’m sorry so many of you out there couldn’t partake in the 1st Annual Pseudo-sports Olympics…because yesterday was AWESOME!

The Olympics are a testament to the competition and sportsmanship inherent in the human spirit. A grand event dedicated to the best in us and an opportunity for us all to vicariously experience greatness.

The PSEUDO-SPORT Olympics are more like thirty people running around in a park all day playing games they haven’t played since elementary school. In short it’s a grand event dedicated to the fun we all forget to keep having when we all “grow up.”

It started with a five-inning game of kickball that (let’s be honest) wouldn’t have been kickball without the occasional bloody toe or unexpected blow to the head while running down the baseline. There was even plenty of screaming about what constitutes “baby bouncies” and how wide the imaginary bases were. It was like none of us had ever grown up (that was supposed to sound more positive and less pathetic than I think it came out).

Also, blue team won that round. No big deal…but I feel that should be pointed out.

Next up was horseshoes and badminton which were both awesome but tougher to organize teams into so eventually that gave way to ultimate frisbee in the rain followed by more yelling about what constitutes “fair play” and whether or not tackling is legal.

Then came the game of the day: Dodgeball! Oh man, that was fun! There’s just something about maliciously throwing things at people and having them still be willing to laugh it off after they take a red rubber ball to the face. Extremely satisfying. AND…another blue team victory. Just saying.

My camera seems to be having issues again (The last year has really taken a toll on my few possessions.) so no pictures today but you’ll just have to take my word for it and get on with organizing a Pseudo-sports day where ever you are! Don’t forget to send me an invite!

I’m done.

Brett.






Like reading about the adventures? Want to donate?

Don’t let me stop you.

So about that potential mistake I may or may not have made…

I spent just about everything I had left today on a sixty day pass that will take me everywhere I need to go for the next two months. The down side? 1) It’s on Greyhound and 2) I still have to survive.

But, this should take most of the pressure off of finding transportation and in the long run will probably save a little cash. Not only that but you guys would be sick if you knew how much time I spent trying to arrange transportation to and from various cities in the first place (which by the way I’m working on a way to show you guys just how much time I waste on certain tasks thanks to some friends over at Tsheets.com).

Nowhere has that been a bigger problem in the past than in the Midwest. It’s relatively easy to catch rideshares on craigslist from one major city to another, so the coasts don’t pose too much of a threat, but things are so spread out in Middle America that I routinely found myself trapped places for longer than I would have liked. AND, since most of what’s left on my list has me bouncing around the country at large, and farm towns in particular, I was more than a little distressed by how much more time arranging travel was going to add to this epic adventure.

So I’m definitely looking forward to the freedom. Period. No two ways around that. And that’s a big deal, otherwise I wouldn’t have taken this huge step and purchased the pass in the first place. BUT…I’m not looking forward to the DAYS of my life that are going to be lost to that ruthless grinning beast of a dog called Greyhound. And surviving on what I have left will definitely up the ante in this crap game. (Does craps have an ante or is that poker? Wow, that was a pretty screwed up metaphor wasn’t it?) Most importantly, (and this has been addressed before) NO OUTLETS!!!

How am I supposed to feed Charley and stay productive on these ridiculously long bus rides?! I can go without food for a while. That’s fine. I’m tough. I can take it…but poor Charley! What’s a pal to do?

Bottom line: I’m super optimistic and stoked about all the potential adventure the next two months can bring but there is definitely some room for a heaping helping of suck. So if ever you were going to toss some luck my way do it now.

Thanks!

I’m done.

Brett.

If you enjoy following the adventure and want to help pitch in for a new battery for Charley feel free to hit that donate button!

Don’t let me stop you.

I’m feeling a little better today. Is it weird that I feel REALLY bad for getting sick? Like I’m kind of letting you all down by not being as productive as I could be?

Regardless, I’m still nowhere near 100% and this has definitely thrown off my “schedule” but I think I’m ready to move on today and head towards some kiteboarding back in SC (in the hopes that I’ll be nearer 100% by the time I get there).

AND I still have to edit the footage from sailing. I tried a couple times over the last few days while I’ve just been laying around but if your head is already spinning and you suddenly find yourself watching tons of raw footage shot on a rocking boat it’s tough to stay focused. Here goes nothing.

Okay, less talk, more action!

Let’s do this.

Brett.

I’m too young to die. I better not be this sick because people keep calling this a bucket list! So help me if I just keep getting sicker and sicker until the last thing gets crossed off the list then know this: I will not hesitate to add a LOT more things to the list.

Ugh! The last thing in the world I want to do right now is write. I want nothing more than to curl up in a little ball in the dark and be unconscious until this all blows over. But this stupid cough and the alternating between sweating and shivering is NOT making that an easy proposition.

Plus, I keep having to go back and reread these stupid sentences because I can’t hang onto a train of thought to save my life and proper grammar keeps flinging itself out the window. (Even more so than usual.) Now that I think about it I don’t even have anything useful and/or interesting to say. I’m just babbling like and idiot in print. (Is it still called “in print” if it’s never actually printed out?)

My plan was to head up to Lowell last night and then to Scranton tomorrow but while I was in New York I started feeling a little sick and I thought, “That would suck a lot to be surfing a strangers couch with a fever.” So I put it off.

That’s when I took the walk to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and thanks to my superhuman ability to overestimate myself I starting thinking, “Bah! I feel fine! This will all blow over in a couple hours anyway. Bring on the bus! Nothing can stop an Amtrekker!”

It was about two and a half hours deep into the bus ride that I started to realize things were going horribly wrong. I think it was the uncontrollable coughing and shivering that gave it away.

Bottom line: I jumped off the bus in Boston so I could die at a friend’s house instead of a stranger’s or will myself back to good health.

Being sick is a stupid idea.

Wish me luck.

I’m done.

Brett.

Anyone want to help pay for health insurance?

Don’t let me stop you.

Here it is!

Amtrekker travels to Boston, MA to take part in the madness that is the 112th Boston Marathon. Ladies beware…

Sexy Man-leg ensues.

Enjoy.

Youtube version!

Thanks, Team

I’m done.

Brett.

I showed you leg. The least you could do is show some donational (it might be a word) love!

Don’t let me stop you.

The Boston Marathon is such a HUGE event. I never realized just how enormous the surrounding hoopla is on the big day. Not only that but there’s an insane dichotomy happening that you’d never believe unless you’ve seen it.

For 20,000 visitors it’s one of the biggest races they’ll compete in all year and it’s the culmination of month and months of training. But for 250,000 college students it’s a state holiday sponsoring debauchery that they’ve been waiting for since the semester began.

The runners warm up with a jog to get limber before the big race but the students warm up with mimosas to get loose before a full day of beer pong matches. And in a fitting, body destroying analogy; as the day wore on the drunken “fans” would slowly step further and further into the course to get a better view of the runners leaving less and less space for the hordes of athletes. Much like an artery clogged by plaque and cholesterol slowing choking off the blood supply to a heart desperate to keep things moving.

So, how did I celebrate this “Marathon Madness?” Duh. By wearing ridiculously short shorts, a bright green headband and bright yellow running shoe with green laces and running up and down the outside of the race course entertaining folks (and occasionally irritating) by stretching and checking my pulse every couple minutes. Mike had a Bob Ross wig on with a headband to complete his 70′s track star look and George and Jess from last week’s podcast were wearing similarly ridiculous running attire.

Bottom line: SUPER fun. Glad I had a chance to participate. (And I DID officially run in the Boston Marathon…sadly it was only for about 200 yards and I still feel sore today.) And I think you guys are going to like tomorrow’s podcast!

Okay, I’m done.

Brett.

Thanks a ton for all the support, Team! If you like reading then please feel free to hit that donate button down there!

Don’t let me stop you.

After a fun-filled weekend in Cape Cod it looks like tomorrow will be my last full day in Boston for a long time (unless I decide to head back up for the “Internet Superstar” taping on the 26th). But at least I’ll be going out in style. Tomorrow (the 21st, probably today for most of you) will bring with it some pretty exciting times.

The morning will bring with it a trip to the Garment District (where I bought my Halloween costume for Salem, MA) to complete an ensemble I like to call “Track Star circa 1973.”

Late morning heralds the start of the 112th Boston Marathon and filming for this week’s podcast will begin (complete with “Track Star” garb)!

By 12:30pm some of the elite runners should be wrapping up their 26.2-mile race through Bean-Town. Hopefully this means I’ll get a chance to interview a few of the athletes after they do their thing.

And finally, by early evening I should be working my way around the city to various houses and parties to say goodbye to all the fine Boston friends I’ve made!

I’ll keep you kids in the know via twitter and hopefully the 22nd will bring some great pictures and stories and the 23rd will bring an exciting podcast. (I know for sure that it will at least bring the Colbert Report!)

All right. On to adventure!

I’m done.

Brett.

I couldn’t bring you guys all this awesome without your help.

Don’t let me stop you.

Here’s a fun story that should probably start with an apology, so…

I’m sorry. Mostly to all the folks I handed Amtrekker business cards to yesterday (especially since many of these people were REALLY cool). Why the apology, you ask? Because (hopefully) those folks are reading the site today and learning that I helped lie to their faces. (In a fun way?)

I’m still hanging around the North East waiting for the 23rd to roll around so I can check out the Colbert Report and Monday I’ll be in Boston to film a podcast about the marathon. But right now I’m in Cape Cod. And how do you make a spontaneous trip to Cape Cod even MORE fun?

First, grab a group of friends that you would never have even met if you hadn’t decided to leave your home and your job behind in an immature effort to accomplish a nearly completely random list of goals you’ve accumulated. THEN, pick one guy out of that group at random to be the “bachelor” for the weekend!

My Saturday mostly involved walking around quiet seaside towns in “The Cape” wearing silly hats with a spider painted on my cheek (for charity of course) telling folks that my friend (George from last weeks podcast) is getting married on June 15th.

It was a TON of fun! Everyone treated us incredibly well, we got lots of pictures of random people kissing George on the cheek, he got some free drinks and a free dessert and we ended the night by meeting a bachelorette party at a club in Hyannis, MA! (They tried to buy my new t-shirt from me! Don’t worry, Team. I fought them off.)

Fun was had by all. Granted, some of it was at the expense of people who believed George was getting married soon but I’m going to go ahead and justify that by convincing myself that we made everyone’s day just a little bit brighter just by being part of it. Nothing brings up a sour mood like silly hats and friendly personalities. Even if it was under less than honorable introductions we still did a fantastic job of making people happy.

Seriously, good times. I’m glad I met these guys. Thanks George, Mike, Aaron, Frank and Ben!

I’m done.

Brett.

Want to help out?

Don’t let me stop you.

Ever play fifty-two card pickup? You know how there’s always that clump of cards in the middle that are easy to grab but then you spend the next twenty minutes looking for the last few? Yeah. It’s like that…but with two less cards.

I’m a little frustrated this week. I have to be in New York on the 23rd and that’s too soon to bail to another piece of the country but I don’t want to just sit around WAITING for the 23rd to come.

In the plus column the Boston Marathon is this weekend so I might stick around and check that out.

Okay, less talk of frustration more focus on the new and exciting.

There’s an Amtrekker Twitter account now! If you have one too the URL is: http://twitter.com/amtrekker

And if you DON’T have an account you still get to see the updates right here on the site! It’s that new box over on the right hand side of the homepage that says, appropriately enough, “Twitter Updates.”

So what IS Twitter? Good question…I’m not sure how to describe it. It’s kind of web 2.0ish in that it’s a social application but it’s also kind of like blogging 140 characters at a time. So now I get to text message Twitter to make sure everyone knows what’s going on if I don’t have the time to write a full update! (Which has been getting progressively tougher as I keep biting off more than I can chew. Luckily, I’m kind of awesome.)

One more quick thing. I’ve had two people tell me that there are some issues with that right hand column on the homepage. It looks fine on my browser but if it doesn’t look right to you do me a HUGE favor and let me know somehow. And please include which browser you’re using in the message!

Thanks, Team!

I’m done.

Brett.

You could always do ANOTHER HUGE favor if you felt like it…

Don’t let me stop you.