This was an idea I once had. But I also once took peyote in an Arizona garage with someone that told me he was Native American but looked more like a High School janitor. Not that there's anything wrong with that position. Not everything we do in life is a good idea. Like the time I licked that frog. So I don't know what to do with this website right now, but maybe when inspiration strikes....
Nope. It didn't strike. Well, then. Good talk. I think we're done here.
Timmy FreeWAY: An Official Travel Blog of NYC Comic: Timmy Daniels. Published every Friday @ 3PM. Travel Hacks, Life Hacks, & Sorted Stories
Thursday, October 16, 2014
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
The World of Travel Hacking with a Touch of ADHD
Picture this: It's winter. Cold outside. Most people are scrambling to get to work through the sleet and the grey slush. There's traffic. Rushing around, many people are late... morning coffee barely cracking the sleep fog which still has a light grip on the mind. Until they arrive at the office. Now it's different. Panic and deadline takes over the blur of sleep and it's now high alert. Around lunch, exhaustion has already slipped in. And it's like this every day. And sometimes people dream of just getting away. Traveling. Taking the time to plan that moment where you can let it all go.
As someone with ADD, my mind doesn't work like yours. Unless of course you have full blown ADD, hitting 17 of the 18 of the markers necessary to give an adult the diagnosis. If that's the case, welcome home; you'll like it here. Otherwise, you're gonna wanna have a firm grip on your handrails, new friends.
If you did an MRI scan of my brain right now, it doesn't look like the average person's brain. Parts of my brain are lit up where normal brains are not... giving access to something different. Also parts of my brain are unlit, like a dull lamp not even practical for reading. That mostly happens in the frontal lobe. This is the part of the brain that regulates short term memory and regulates impulse.
Have you have ever read about someone who has had a brain injury that turns into a math wiz, or someone who is autistic who can do some amazing things, but then can't do some seemingly normal things? Well, these people and the "average" person are like night and day. We now know from the blossoming field of brain science that people with ADHD have less in common with most people as a "man" has in common with a "woman."
Where am I going with all of this and how does it relate to Travel Hacking? Sit tight, my attention depraved friends, we'll get off the chair lift soon enough and head down the mountain. Just humor me for one more moment here.
When you have what they officially entitle: Adult ADHD, you have these bursts of thought. At the time they happen, it cripples the person. For instance you could be talking to me and saying "when are you going to talk about travel?" And that could make me suddenly remember: "oh wow, I have to finish plans for my Caribbean Trip." At that moment, I can no longer function or pay attention to what the person is saying from then onwards. The new thought becomes the most important thing in my universe.
Until the next one comes. And this scene of incoming bursts of thought, busting in like Cosmo Kramer blasting through the door... with a total sense of urgency... is endless.
I have a theory (and it's probably wrong) that if someone normal had to use my brain for just a moment... they would literally go insane, because they wouldn't be able to adapt. The biggest proof that this is true is the fact that I try probably 300% harder than anyone I meet on a daily basis. I try to get to places on time, I help people endlessly, I'm always giving people gifts... and yet... people are often frustrated with me, wondering why I was late and why I "don't give a shit" or why I don't "try harder."
When someone has ADHD, asking them to "try harder" is like teaching a child to walk by saying "Blue is Green on a Yellow Day" over and over again. It's the opposite of logic. In fact, brain science and measured energy levels suggest that when someone has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), they have to try 2-3 times harder to get to the same goal as someone without these issues.
A great book to read on the subject if you would like to get educated and would like to understand why someone with ADHD seems to "hurt" you or "Not care" about you is the following: "ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your life." Another is "Delivered from Distraction." You see... the problem isn't that someone with ADHD doesn't care for you or doesn't try to do what you ask of them... they just have to do so much more than you could ever imagine to make those things happen.
And, in truth, thinking that they "don't care," is actually quite the opposite of reality. Focus groups of study using patients with Adult ADHD show a 9 out of 10 personality type where they are "people pleasers" and often are trying to help so many people at once that they never for a moment do anything for themselves. And they go crazy wondering why no one appreciates them.
The cherry on top is... Travel hacking. How does it relate? In the beginning we reviewed a story about how most people live their lives... in the hustle and bustle of modern work, never taking a moment to go on vacation. Living from paycheck to paycheck, thinking to themselves: I don't have the time, energy, or planning available to travel anywhere. I would fall behind, and I don't have the money. What if I were to tell you that you were dead wrong? What if I were to tell you... that I belong to a loose "group" of travel hackers all over the globe that have been traveling for pennies... like an elite tribe of people who live just on the outskirts of society's rules?
Maybe you've read about Best Rate Guarantees and air miles and how to take advantage of them. And maybe you know a touch of how to plan for a trip. But where do you start? Well, my kittens, I'll bring the milk bottle right to you... that's the purpose of this blog: to entertain and to share travel related stories.
Sure, I comedy, because its the only career that helps my ADHD. It's the only thing that I can possibly do to work "With" my ADHD and not "Against" it. Otherwise I'm just a farmer trying to program... it doesn't work. But, because I do comedy... and have ADHD... I travel... and because comedians don't make much money (most of us are not Chris Rock or Louie CK, believe it or not)... that means I don't have the money to survive and live. In fact... I live in hotels. I have been staying in hotels because I have to do comedy in New York. And because I have to be in New York .. and don't make 100,000 dollars a year... I can't survive. And so I do this... because I have ADHD... a choice that I didn't make or want. I was born this way as Gaga says... I didn't pick it out of a book, this is just how I came out. Given a choice, I wouldn't pick it. But this is my curse, and so I spin it as a blessing and be thankful. And I am. I love life and I embrace how I am... but because my mind is spinning like a top at million RPMs and firing off all of these processed ideas... and I write them all down and use them... and because I only think about travel and how to survive being constantly on the go.... there is no one single person as qualified to teach you how to get around the world... for pennies. I'm the modern equivalent of a trip hopper. Not because I want to... but because I have no choice.
I now invite you to visit me every week... Fridays at 3PM... because I want to share. Some of you won't like what I teach you or will not feel comfortable with grey areas. But you can go, no one's begging you to stay. And the rest of you... slow down a bit... take a day off. That project can wait. It's time to look at life different and ask yourself what you really want out of it. Welcome to your new club. You are very welcome here.
As someone with ADD, my mind doesn't work like yours. Unless of course you have full blown ADD, hitting 17 of the 18 of the markers necessary to give an adult the diagnosis. If that's the case, welcome home; you'll like it here. Otherwise, you're gonna wanna have a firm grip on your handrails, new friends.
If you did an MRI scan of my brain right now, it doesn't look like the average person's brain. Parts of my brain are lit up where normal brains are not... giving access to something different. Also parts of my brain are unlit, like a dull lamp not even practical for reading. That mostly happens in the frontal lobe. This is the part of the brain that regulates short term memory and regulates impulse.
Have you have ever read about someone who has had a brain injury that turns into a math wiz, or someone who is autistic who can do some amazing things, but then can't do some seemingly normal things? Well, these people and the "average" person are like night and day. We now know from the blossoming field of brain science that people with ADHD have less in common with most people as a "man" has in common with a "woman."
Where am I going with all of this and how does it relate to Travel Hacking? Sit tight, my attention depraved friends, we'll get off the chair lift soon enough and head down the mountain. Just humor me for one more moment here.
When you have what they officially entitle: Adult ADHD, you have these bursts of thought. At the time they happen, it cripples the person. For instance you could be talking to me and saying "when are you going to talk about travel?" And that could make me suddenly remember: "oh wow, I have to finish plans for my Caribbean Trip." At that moment, I can no longer function or pay attention to what the person is saying from then onwards. The new thought becomes the most important thing in my universe.
Until the next one comes. And this scene of incoming bursts of thought, busting in like Cosmo Kramer blasting through the door... with a total sense of urgency... is endless.
I have a theory (and it's probably wrong) that if someone normal had to use my brain for just a moment... they would literally go insane, because they wouldn't be able to adapt. The biggest proof that this is true is the fact that I try probably 300% harder than anyone I meet on a daily basis. I try to get to places on time, I help people endlessly, I'm always giving people gifts... and yet... people are often frustrated with me, wondering why I was late and why I "don't give a shit" or why I don't "try harder."
When someone has ADHD, asking them to "try harder" is like teaching a child to walk by saying "Blue is Green on a Yellow Day" over and over again. It's the opposite of logic. In fact, brain science and measured energy levels suggest that when someone has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), they have to try 2-3 times harder to get to the same goal as someone without these issues.
A great book to read on the subject if you would like to get educated and would like to understand why someone with ADHD seems to "hurt" you or "Not care" about you is the following: "ADD Friendly Ways to Organize Your life." Another is "Delivered from Distraction." You see... the problem isn't that someone with ADHD doesn't care for you or doesn't try to do what you ask of them... they just have to do so much more than you could ever imagine to make those things happen.
And, in truth, thinking that they "don't care," is actually quite the opposite of reality. Focus groups of study using patients with Adult ADHD show a 9 out of 10 personality type where they are "people pleasers" and often are trying to help so many people at once that they never for a moment do anything for themselves. And they go crazy wondering why no one appreciates them.
The cherry on top is... Travel hacking. How does it relate? In the beginning we reviewed a story about how most people live their lives... in the hustle and bustle of modern work, never taking a moment to go on vacation. Living from paycheck to paycheck, thinking to themselves: I don't have the time, energy, or planning available to travel anywhere. I would fall behind, and I don't have the money. What if I were to tell you that you were dead wrong? What if I were to tell you... that I belong to a loose "group" of travel hackers all over the globe that have been traveling for pennies... like an elite tribe of people who live just on the outskirts of society's rules?
Maybe you've read about Best Rate Guarantees and air miles and how to take advantage of them. And maybe you know a touch of how to plan for a trip. But where do you start? Well, my kittens, I'll bring the milk bottle right to you... that's the purpose of this blog: to entertain and to share travel related stories.
Sure, I comedy, because its the only career that helps my ADHD. It's the only thing that I can possibly do to work "With" my ADHD and not "Against" it. Otherwise I'm just a farmer trying to program... it doesn't work. But, because I do comedy... and have ADHD... I travel... and because comedians don't make much money (most of us are not Chris Rock or Louie CK, believe it or not)... that means I don't have the money to survive and live. In fact... I live in hotels. I have been staying in hotels because I have to do comedy in New York. And because I have to be in New York .. and don't make 100,000 dollars a year... I can't survive. And so I do this... because I have ADHD... a choice that I didn't make or want. I was born this way as Gaga says... I didn't pick it out of a book, this is just how I came out. Given a choice, I wouldn't pick it. But this is my curse, and so I spin it as a blessing and be thankful. And I am. I love life and I embrace how I am... but because my mind is spinning like a top at million RPMs and firing off all of these processed ideas... and I write them all down and use them... and because I only think about travel and how to survive being constantly on the go.... there is no one single person as qualified to teach you how to get around the world... for pennies. I'm the modern equivalent of a trip hopper. Not because I want to... but because I have no choice.
I now invite you to visit me every week... Fridays at 3PM... because I want to share. Some of you won't like what I teach you or will not feel comfortable with grey areas. But you can go, no one's begging you to stay. And the rest of you... slow down a bit... take a day off. That project can wait. It's time to look at life different and ask yourself what you really want out of it. Welcome to your new club. You are very welcome here.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
Satisfries: Free Alert!
Burger King fries are at a price proportionate to value: Free. All weekend here on October 12 & 13. Go get some, nerds!
Timmy Daniels
He's been gone for a while.
Why? Because this site will end up being a lot more automated and he's actually been working faster than a one-legged duck. It's true. One-Legged Ducks have jobs. Saw one in a cubicle near 42nd.
Also: Do yourself a small solid: STAY ALERT.
Timmy Daniels
He's been gone for a while.
Why? Because this site will end up being a lot more automated and he's actually been working faster than a one-legged duck. It's true. One-Legged Ducks have jobs. Saw one in a cubicle near 42nd.
Also: Do yourself a small solid: STAY ALERT.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Consumer Handbooks for the Best Consumer Price
Oh, if I could only tell you the amount of times that I have used information related to consumer data in order to get things free, we'd be having coffee all day and late into the night. But let me at least spit this at you, while I'm vacationing for free in Denmark: Knowing the consumer rules and regulations can be a difference of thousands of dollars. Where do you learn these things, you may ask...
Well... there are two very important handbooks. You could get a PDF delivered to you for free, but why do that when you can get the actual books for free just by inputting your address. Here's where you can find them:
Consumer Information Catalog
Consumer Action Handbook
Study hard my sweet sytede drue-agurker! (I'm also learning to speak better Danish for free, but I'm not sure that one is 100% on the side of legal).
Be kind... Be Studious... and most importantly:
Stay Alert!
Timmy Daniels
Comedian. Idiot. Savant.
Well... there are two very important handbooks. You could get a PDF delivered to you for free, but why do that when you can get the actual books for free just by inputting your address. Here's where you can find them:
Consumer Information Catalog
Consumer Action Handbook
Study hard my sweet sytede drue-agurker! (I'm also learning to speak better Danish for free, but I'm not sure that one is 100% on the side of legal).
Be kind... Be Studious... and most importantly:
Stay Alert!
Timmy Daniels
Comedian. Idiot. Savant.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
I want a free tee-shirt!
You do, voice in my head? Okay, give me just a half second here... Calculating algorithms... Searching the interwebs... Hey... I like saying the word "interwebs..." It's all fancy and makes me like uber-nerd, which is now "cool." But not cool like a cup of cranberry juice, cool like maybe if I looked at a gnarly bike, I would think seriously about... taking a picture of it and posting it to my Facebook. I'm edgy. I want a tee-shit that says interwebs then...
Nailed it. Free interwebs tee shirt coming up!
http://www.singlegrain.com/blog/free-single-grain-t-shirts/
Stay... Classy....
No, that's not it....
Stay Alert, Interwebs, stay alert...
Timmy Daniels
(Now available in NEW Comedian format!)
Thursday, June 27, 2013
What's Free? Contests!
Many moons ago in a movie called "Real... Genius" I think it was, there was this brilliant all-knowing character who found a way to hack the system and win so many contests that he never had to work another day in his life. He did it by fast tracking his entries into contests. At the point where he only won maybe 1% of the time, it still was a high number due to sheer volume! All about volume...
At the time I saw it, that was an impossible hacker's dream.
Welcome to hackers 101 slash "today it's like this...." Read: easy!
Try it first here... Why not win a nice vehicle!
www.WinYourChevy.com Click link to register for a chance to win a New Chevy Traverse. Rules: http://bit.ly/18pH8i8
Stay Alert my friends,
Timmy Daniels
Award Winning Comedian
(Disclaimer: Actual awards are subject to question and may or not be made up, lies, slightly false, highly improbable, incorrect, misleading, or dead wrong... where applicable).
Thursday, June 20, 2013
No Fare Street Fair
This Sunday down on 18th St there's a trifecta of food, fun, & technology. All put on by Adorama electronics. Petting zoo (if you still get high, I know you're excited 'bout that), rides, blah blah something.
For free there are photography clinics (in the Adorama Technology Learning Center. Learn how to shoot photos and videos from the experts and and check out the newest technology from the experts! Get better at pictures so you can tell your sister to stop duck-lipping it in the bathroom with her iPhone (& toilet) in view. Otherwise she won't marry off and you'll have to trade three goats to find a good family. That's how marriage works, right?
Sunday 10am - 4pm
W. 18th st
"Stay Classy San Diego."
Oh wait... That's not it.
"Stay Alert."
There we go.
Timmy Daniels
Comedy Rockstar
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