It was one year ago today when I arrived in San Francisco. It has been quite a journey over the past year. I started off living in my car, having everything I own stolen, getting a job about 25 miles north of the city, moving into an apartment, moving back into my car, moving to the city, coming out, getting a job within a few blocks from my apartment, lost 70 pounds, and having my car get broken into for the 3rd and 4th time where it got stolen and torched. It’s been a rough and very bumpy ride, but I wouldn’t exchange the past year of my life for anything. 

I remember seeing online all the cool events, people, and things to do and see in San Francisco while living back in Tampa Bay, Florida. I was so jealous of all the stuff I was missing out on. San Francisco is the hub of so many things I am passionate about and enjoy it felt like a perfect fit to move out here. I wasn’t working a full time job, just contract jobs and I had nothing really holding me back besides family and 1-2 close friends. I packed up everything I owned into my car, which pretty much was already packed that way..and drove out here a few days after my brother’s wedding. 

Even the trip out here was filled with disasters, but I continued on and made it across the country in about a week, with some stops along the way for a few days here and there. It was a personal experience by myself which I won’t soon forget and I think everyone should do a cross country road trip by yourself at least once. You learn so much about yourself when all you have is 3,000 miles of road in front of you. 

I remember driving over the Bay Bridge when I saw San Francisco (at the time I thought I was crossing the Golden Gate). I got out a dollar in change ready to pay the toll, when to my surprise I saw it was FOUR DOLLARS to get across the bridge. The biggest toll I’ve ever paid is $1 to get across the 5.5 mile Sunshine Skyway bridge. That was the first of MANY sticker shocks I have come across living in this very expensive city. 

It hasn’t been easy at all, but I feel like this is where I was meant to be. I had a dream nightmare dream the other night where I lost everything and was forced to move back to Florida. When I got back to Florida, it didn’t feel like home anymore, and all I could think about was trying to get back here. I woke up upset because I simply didn’t want to leave. 

Along the way, I’ve met so many amazing people and developed some great friendships. Back in Florida I had but one friend who I would ever see and that was quite rarely. Here, there are so many people who I can see out and about and hang out with nearly every night of the week. I’ve always been sort of introverted and never really had a large group of friends who I can count on and talk to. I still don’t quite have that here, but I know a ton of great people who, while even though I may not even have their phone number or go to a movie/dinner with, I know that they are there if I really needed someone. 

That being said, this has been one of the greatest years of my life and I’m happy I can be me. I feel like for the first time in my life, I am able to express myself and live the life I’ve always wanted in a city where I feel at home. There is still so much more to see and do here, and I look forward to many more adventures and friendships along the way…in my new home, San Francisco.

I am getting ready to fly out to the New Media Expo (formerly the Podcast expo, and about 3 other names which everyone will be saying. You will be seeing a lot of tweets about different meetups, dinners, lunches, events, and parties if you follow me on Twitter over the next few days, as well as some cool info about people I meet out there.

This is my 4th year, and the conferences 4th as well. It sort of became a bit too corporate last year, but I think Vegas will bring the life back into the attendees.

I’ll be headed to the GLBT Podcaster & Listener Meet & Greet hosted by Fausto & Marc of Feast of Fools Thursday at 7pm at the SpaceQuest Bar, Hilton Hotel, NLOL Comedy show Thursday night at 10:30pm, Revision3 Meetup Friday at the Double Down Saloon from 6-8PM, and have friends flying in from Toronto which I met recently just for vacation. I am sure that there will be other great events I’ll be at, so if you want to say hi and are in the area, watch my Twitter stream.

Also, if you want to see what is going on (wether you are at the expo or not) watch/bookmark this link for all tweets related to the New Media Expo. I try to filter out all the noise and get all the tags people will be using in that customized Twitter Search, but if there are extra tags I should add let me know.

I also did an interview a few weeks ago, which is live today with Victor Cajiao of the Typical Mac User Podcast about social media & new media. We discussed a variety of services and how you can use them to gain and keep an audience as well as other trips and tricks of the this new media world we live in. Make sure to listen to the show here, subscribe to future shows in iTunes, and follow Victor on Twitter.

Well I’m off…my brand new Moo business cards arrived 1 hour before I was leaving the office so I’m ready to have fun and party it up in Vegas baby! Cya there!

One week ago and again today, I was waking before the ass-crack of dawn to catch a plane. Last Monday, I stumbled home from the end of a weekend long Pride celebration and caught an hour of sleep before I left for Toronto, Ontario in Canada for a week. I personally didn’t want to go and was sort of dreading it.

When I got there, passing thru customs was a breeze. My boss and I went to the company condo and unpacked. We went over to the company’s club right on the main street of Toronto’s gay village off Church Street. It was in the evening that we arrived due to the 3 hour time change and 5 hour direct flight. We went and had an amazing steak dinner and finished off a great bottle of Cabernet.

My boss went home and I decided to hit up some of the local bars. I stumbled into what would be my evening home for most of the duration. Being in a new city and not knowing anyone there, I decided to break out of my introverted shell and started walking up to random people and striking up conversations. I started off by introducing myself and asking what local spots are good to hit up on various nights of the week.

Almost everyone was very receptive and it lead to some conversation and sometimes just a, “thanks, have a good night.” I ended up making out with one guy, and then losing him. I found another guy and we decided to go home…

Well my boss is sometimes hard to read and tell when he is joking and when he isn’t. He said, “Alright no tricks in the condo” (which btw the company condo is a BEAUTIFUL huge 2 bedroom 2 full bath condo with washer/dryer and everything u could want). I was late and I figured what the hell maybe he’s asleep and/or maybe he was joking. We get back to the condo and I open the door and see him there. I decided that going back to the company club might be a better idea, so we did.

The next day was a bit strange. It was Canada day and the managers weren’t in plus add to the incident the night before. After realizing no one would be there my boss after about an hour of us around said I could go for the day. I decided to see some of the area by walking around. I shipped something off, and did very light shopping. I think I spend more in shipping costs then on what I bought that day.

That night, I decided to hit up Woody’s again as it was pretty hopping and no one had given a good suggestion on what to do on a Tuesday. This is where the trip really began for me. I started walking around and saw a few groups of people. I randomly decided to walk up to this one group of 5 guys. I start by saying I am from SF and wanted to know if they knew what to do, etc. One of the guys then asks, “Are you Nick Starr?” Shocked, I turn and say, ” Yes….ummm. How did you know that?”

In my preparation for heading out to Toronto, I messaged a bunch of people that came up in the Tornoto network about things to do and see while I was there. Turns out he was one of them. They eventually tell me to pull up a chair and we begin talking the night away. There were 2 couples, Neale and Shawn, Richard and Alex, and then Phil. When they went to go on a smoke break, I told Neale that Phil quite cute.

By the end of the night Phil and I were making out as he was leaving. I was sad to see him go, but we made plans to go to The Barn the next

On Wednesday Tara aka @MissRogue also had a Tweetup and a nice bar/restaurant closer to to the waterfront and I met some very insightful people.

Later, the Barn was a blast and while I am going to leave out quite a few details, I did enjoy myself quite a bit this trip . Phil wasn’t able to make it to The Barn as he was rehearsing for a performance at Crews and Tango tonight (Monday the 7th) & his throat was hurting and wasn’t feeling well. I ended up not realizing the higher alcohol levels in the Canadian beer and ended up going home. I couldn’t find Shawn to say goodbye, and felt so bad. I emailed them to make sure they knew I was okay.

Thursday was a bit of a lull. I remember going out, but it wasn’t a very eventful night.

Friday was awesome. We went out to, the newly opened after a 10 day suspension for overcrowding, Crews & Tango. It is where they have drag performances almost nightly on one stage, a upstairs dance area, smoking deck, and dancing area in the back. We watched some of the show, we danced…Neale and Shawn disappeared for an hour or so and Phil and I had a great time together.

Later we went to The Barn for maybe a half hour and off then off to bed.

Saturday was the downfall of the whole week. Phil and I had setup to go out for dinner, yet he wasn’t able to make it b/c of his rehearsal schedule and other obligations. We all ended up deciding to go to Fly another 3-4 story club, and showed up before the $20 cover charge took effect.

We were dancing, drinking, and having a great time. Here’s where the drama started….I personally didn’t witness ANY of this so I don’t know, but someone got upset at something someone else did in jest…and things came tumbling down from there. I later learned that Shawn and Neale broke up that night. I feel bad b/c they are both great guys and seemed to be happy together.

I had to leave, as I didn’t want to be in the middle of all the craziness that was happening, and it was nearly 2am anyway. The club goes all night, but stops serving at 2am. I kissed Phil goodnight and went home. We talked online that night and made plans to hang out on Sunday, my last day there.

Sunday I enjoyed the town, and our club one last time. Because of all of the drama the night before, not everyone was in the best of spirits, but Neale came out to Crews for one drink with Alex and Richard. Phil showed up around midnight, after a long night of rehearsing since their performance was tonight. Alex and Richard left shortly after Phil got there and we talked and watched the drag show.

We left as they were kicking everyone out around 2am, and talked and kissed till 2:30 or so….My airport limo was stopping by at 4:30, so I decided to stay up and we talked on IM till I had to leave.

I was very emotional and sad to leave….I never in my wildest dreams would of thought that I would of had so much fun and made so many great friends while being in Canada. A few of them might be headed to Las Vegas at the same time as the New Media Expo in August, so I should be able to see them then, although Phil won’t be there.

I hope to make it back sooner rather then later, as there were quite a few other people I only briefly got to know, and would love to talk to longer. Thank goodness for the internet…I am able to talk to them more now…and hopefully plan something big when I come up next time.

Well that’s my story…well the non-juicy parts…we will leave those details for another blog perhaps I’ll miss ya Canada, Shawn, Richard, Alex, and especially Neale and Phil.

Well I finally made it to “the city”. I know I haven’t updated as often as I wanted to, but there isn’t much WiFi or 3G connectivity in the mid-west of the country as one might expect.

After leaving Cali and Neal in Dallas, I traveled my longest day yet. About 10+ hours to Albuquerque. There wasn’t much to do there, so I simply slept that night and traveled the next day to Las Vegas, NV.

I made it into Vegas in the late afternoon/evening, and drove up and down the strip. I went to the MGM Grand and played some poker for about 4-5 hours. I left afterwards tired and fell asleep for the night. I went back the next afternoon and played for a while longer, earning around $8 in comps ($1/hour of play). Nothing special, but I was able to get a good lunch at their buffet.

I left Vegas after visiting some other casinos and enjoying the city sometime around noon-ish and started driving towards San Francisco. Oh yeah, I did cross the Hoover Dam which was pretty cool, and decided against going to the Grand Canyon since it seemed like a 2-3 hour drive out and 2-3 hour drive back. I did see the Cadillac Ranch in Texas and took some pictures.

I also recorded another video while driving and you can watch it on YouTube here (or download it here).

Well I should get going…lots to see/explore/experience. I will be sure to post more as things develop…until later buh bye.

Well today I arrived in Dallas, Texas and was able to get my windshield replaced for no charge by my insurance company. Afterwards I went over to Cali and Neal’s house where we went out to eat at a local restaurant. Afterwards we hung out at their place and now are watching The Godfather. I’ve never seen this movie, and we are watching it on a great looking projector.

Cali has been a bit under the weather the past few weeks, and turns out she came down with Rubella, a disease that has been “eradicated in the US since 2005″ (Wikipedia). I had my MMR(ubella) shot a few years back, so hopefully I won’t come down with it. I wanted to say thanks again to them and their amazing hospitality for putting me up for the night and the wine we shared over dinner.

Also, I have up Part 1 of my video diary that I am trying to keep updated on the road trip. You can watch it in this YouTube window, or download it as a video podcast, but simply subscribing to my No Free Refills feed right in iTunes.

That’s it for updates right now, I’m worn out…until later, buh bye.

Well I’ve made it to Texas, and am inside the welcome pavilion here, which features free WiFi…sweet! Today has been quite a hectic day. Let me try to figure out where to start.

I decided last night after visiting the Big Easy to drive and try to find a rest stop, and drove for about an hour without finding anything. I eventually just parked behind a shopping plaza for the night and slept there undisturbed. On the road, I wanted to see if I could connect to my 3G laptop card to get online. This didn’t seem to work out so well, since I seemed to of left it back at Krystal Burger in New Orleans. I tore the entire car apart trying to find it.

After heading back on the road an accepting that it was gone, I went to grab for my wallet which was in the pants pocket from the night before…low and behold the wireless card was in the pocket as well…..nice.

Shortly after this, I hear a rock hit my windshield. Now my windshield is COVERED in dead bugs, so I wasn’t able to see any visible crack at the time. Within a few minutes the crack became VERY visible. The crack has now grown to what you see below. I was paying for only basic insurance with my insurance company, because the collision was covered by my lean holder. I called them up to see if a cracked windshield was covered and they said no. So I called and added comp/coll to my car insurance. They said that the policy would be effective immediately.

It is now about 3 hours after that, and I’ve called up a national glass company to set me up with a replacement windshield in the Dallas area. They right now are calling my insurance company to file the claim. I HOPE that it goes through and there are no complications.

I’ve got about a 2-3 hour drive till I hit the Dallas area, and need to get back on the road very soon since I have an apt to keep with the glass company. Until later, and hopefully in better spirits…buh bye.

Wow….I thought I would be in chocolate town, err New Orleans sooner then this, but I have to say that I am glad I got here when night had fallen upon the city. Bourbon Street is one most unique experiences. There are some amazing (and some unpleasant) smells, sounds, etc. Tons of people on the street walking up and down with drinks in hand.

This is quite a unique city….very very poor neighborhoods surround the downtown area where all of the festivities occur. It is a saddening feeling seeing the poverty around, especially after the tragedy that was hurricane Katrina.

Right now I am sitting in a Krystal Burger joint on their free WiFi, and uploading some pictures to my Flickr photo album (link). I have posted pictures of each state line that I’ve crossed on Flickr as well (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana). Also, tons of updates have been posted to Twitter as well (Twitter.com/NickStarr).

I’m having a great time so far, and the car seems to be holding up well. Tomorrow night I hope to be in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. I guess I will post more as things unravel…..oh yeah. I also recorded a 10 minute or so video podcast from the car, and that will be up soon in a downloadable iPod video format, and YouTube video. Watch for more video updates as the trip progresses. Until later….buh bye.