Mar 23

Bali Week 6

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We’re in day 3 of a self-imposed quarantine on the north coast of Bali and the most action we’ve seen is a bunch of chickens running around our yard (confirmed they do cross the road but we still don’t know why).

As Americans we have been inundated with messages from our government directing us to return home but IMO this country has less far to fall than the US in this crisis and I feel more confident in the Balinese’s capability to weather this storm. We are here in this tropical paradise for now until the situation demands otherwise.

It’s time to unplug and unwind as a society. Wednesday is the Balinese holiday called Nyepi, which is like Yom Kippur where all power is cut and it’s a 24-hour window of downtime. COVID is forcing this holiday at a global scale.

As nomads our situation is largely unaffected. I recognize we are fortunate in that regard and most of the world is facing an incredibly difficult time.

I highly recommend ordering a TRX as a way to stay in shape at home. @crispypelican introduced me to this device on @remoteyear and I’ve done it weekly ever since. It’s a fantastic way to have a home gym.

When one door closes another opens… If you’re like many you’re on an inward journey during this time. I recommend adding this book on Stoicism – I found it to be incredibly beneficial grid7.co/goodlife

@benlakoff and I are scrambling to retool @CharityMakeover_ and transition from physical hackathons to virtual hackatons so we can play a small part in providing much-needed aid to the non-profits which are on the ropes right now. Apr 11th is the next event.

@helensimkins and I have been holding down the fort but @nomaddennis and @travelinglifestyle just arrived and we have a little @nomadcruise commune now.

This is going to be a shitty week for a lot of people. Healthcare workers are the 911 firefighters of today. Please listen to this interview with a British doc: grid7.co/DrJack

If anyone is struggling to make remote work work for the first time, I have made my course 100% free for you. This thread-> https://twitter.com/scrollinondubs/status/1239769207518015488?s=20?
Strength to you (at Bali)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-E4-oLnkBy/?igshid=8a9x6ckrpl5l

Mar 16

Bali Week 5

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The world done changed this last week… still wrapping my head around how fast this COVID-19 thing has mushroomed into a pandemic.

A week ago Christina, Helen and I were munching JFC (yes it’s KFC but one louder) on the way to…

a remote part of the island to capture footage for @east_bali_poverty_project and what we’re doing for them via @charitymakeover_

We got to meet their students…

and see a part of Bali I had not yet experienced.

EBPP is doing amazing work in the jungle. They have a for-profit arm building bamboo bikes and the latest is this entirely-bamboo wheelchair they’ve put together. The proceeds from the sales of these items go to fund their non-profit effort that is educating youth and providing toilets and clean water to rural villages nearby. It’s an amazing operation and we were very fortunate to see it firsthand.

We have refined the CM format and did a better job ramping up with team leader engagement leading into the weekend event. We threw our biggest ever Charity Makeover on Saturday with a total of 32 volunteers supporting 6 different charities with workers spanning 5 different timezones. I have not had the chance to comb through all the assets developed but I am incredibly proud of the effort and energy of the volunteers this weekend. Thanks to our sponsors, mentors, the @canggucamp308 venue and everyone who mobilized to make this work.

Guys, don’t worry. I’m still crushing desserts in spite of the virus. I have a theory I’m testing now that it avoids chocolate cake. I will report back on how this pans out.

Nothing changes for me gym-wise. My gym has been this tree since I got here.

And long-time friends will be happy to know that not even a pandemic can stop The Tierney 51st St. Patty’s Party in Phoenix.

Be safe y’all. I don’t have answers but I know for the first time in a long while the world is rallying as one around this common enemy. Turn the media off, be with loved ones and take care of each other. We are all in this struggle together. (at Canggu)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9zHpblHufJ/?igshid=1u65ga0amcswz

Mar 09

Bali week 4

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Can’t believe we’ve been here a month already… A group of us went to a different water park on Saturday.

This is not me hahah.

This is more my speed. This place is a giant circular lake with a cable system running above it that tows you around and lets you wakeboard, kneeboard, waterski and/or drags you through the water when you fail to let go of the handle.

Prior to that I took advantage of the alternative healing scene here and had my first “live blood analysis” to see how healthy I really am. So crazy to see the cosmos of all the little microbes moving around inside of one drop of blood… one of those moments of zoom in via microscope to think about that universe then zoom out with a telescope and realize how incredibly vast the actual universe is. We’re the little microbes in someone else’s plasma basically hahaha?
?
We made the most out of a visa run and I got to have an incredible lunch with one of my favorite people in a magical place. I’m taking Nikki through “Start With Why” – this is one of the most powerful exercises I believe one can undertake. If there’s something that can yield a higher return in terms of being a force multiplier for one’s own impact, I have yet to find it.

We went to a villa party on Sunday in a place that could be on MTV Cribs. Unbelievable what you can get here for $1k/mo.

Ben and I are now in full-on attack mode with @charitymakeover_ #7 approaching this weekend. We have a sellout event of 30 confirmed volunteers for this one serving 5 charities making it our biggest event to date. We also should be having a nice little PR piece hit this week which will give us a stress test of the nocode application we recently deployed. Fingers crossed it weathers the impending PR storm.

Our workdays are punctuated by the occasional Balinese parade by the workspace.

This place continues to impress. I’m a big fan of Bali at this point and can for sure envision making this a regular stop on the yearly global circuit.

If you enjoy these weekly updates from me, you’ll love my bi-annual email update. Signup for that here: scrollinondubs.com/about
Or subscribe to my weekly podcast: nomadpodcast.com (at Bali)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9hMiTbnGFz/?igshid=7m7kyzgtlksw

Mar 02

Bali Week 3

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I’ve been in Bali three weeks now and I understand the appeal of this place.

These are some shots I took this morning on my 3min scooter commute to the workspace.

I pass 4 different Hindu temples on the way to work each day and all of them have intricate stonework.

Speaking of scootering, I picked up this stowaway the other day. He just jumped on my scooter and sat there like “where are we going?” Adorable.

This place has torrential rains most days around 4pm. It reminds me of the way the monsoons used to be in Arizona way back in the day before Phoenix was a concrete jungle.

I took this video yesterday while I was working on the Esperanca mobile app. It probably rained 3” yesterday in this storm. No wonder it’s so lush here.

It’s been Galungan and Kuningan holidays recently and the roads are lined with these giant bamboo poles with offerings on the end of them. Every doorway has a little tray of cigarettes, coffee, candy and incense. And at any given moment you’ll be driving and the road will get blocked off with a procession of people playing percussion instruments and dressed up like a life-sized monster.

Food here continues to impress. Their produce is next-level and everything is served with bamboo straws and wooden spoons.

I can definitely see how people come intending to make a brief visit and end up staying years here. My Portuguese residency requirements dictate that I need to get back to Lisbon in a month but 100% this will not be the last time I visit Indonesia.

Our Charity Makeover event is at full capacity with 2 weeks to go. We’re focused now on forming teams and laying the strategy for what we’ll be doing for each charity at the upcoming event. If you want to follow along with that effort follow @charitymakeover_ or visit charitymakeover.org and sign up. (at Canggu)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9Oi1DjnUxZ/?igshid=gwmlrry6owbg

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Feb 23

Bali week 2

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We’ve been here in Canggu just over two weeks now. My favorite thing so far was the long, winding drive yesterday to Udara. There was this giant temple in the middle of the rice paddy.

Perfectly paved and shaded road zigzagging through the countryside.

Every Sunday they have morning lineup of yoga, ecstatic dance, sound healing and chanting. The DJ yesterday was playing these hypnotic tribal beats and there must have been 300 people there.

The food has been excellent so far. I get this breakfast and a juice pretty much every day for 100 IDR (~$7).

Our coworkers are a little noisy in the workspace but we tolerate them because they’re so adorable.

We’re here during the rainy season which means almost every day around 4pm these massive thunderheads roll in and dump rain on us. You have to time your scooter rides accordingly and keep a poncho under the seat.

This reincarnation of Jimmy Hendrix melted my face last weekend. Speaking of face-melting: I’m excited to be playing my first open mic here tonight. I’m dusting off some old original tunes. Love that the venue is named after a Ben Howard song – that bodes well.

Our next Charity Makeover event is less than 3wks out and we’re in full prep mode. We’re supporting 5 different charities (2 of which are local Balinese ones). ?@charitymakeover_

I’m using this opportunity to build out the tooling necessary for running events exclusively through our app. The “Nocode” movement is a game-changer for entrepreneurs. The goal is to be able to be a consumer of this app and use it ourselves for everything. Once we can run things entirely without cheating and updating the site manually or opening direct access to the database, we will have reached v1 of the platform and it will be fully possible for anyone to bring Charity Makeover to his/her town using our platform.

Some exciting news: there is a high likelihood we’ll be accepted into Portugal’s most renown incubator program with CM. Fingers crossed we should know shortly on that. (at Bali)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B872yUNHMZj/?igshid=f8n2i14bva91

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Feb 23

Bali week 1

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About 50 people from Nomad Cruise have reunited in Bali, Indonesia and are roaming around. This was a
reunion gathering on one of our very first days in town.

I’ve only been in Bali a week now but it’s long enough to vouch that it is truly a magical place and I totally get the appeal now. I’m super glad I learned how to ride a scooter in Koh Tao because it’s pure chaos on the roads here.

The sunsets rival those of Costa Rica.

And they have these elaborate Hindu statues in random places.

I recorded my last podcast for Pagely on the rooftop of our cowork space this week with the amazing @poondingo. Could not have asked for a better last guest.

My transition out of my role there is now complete and thus ends a 4.5yr era. I was reminiscing back through my photos from Remote Year and subsequent travels at some of the amazing places it’s enabled me to work.

They are hiring for a couple positions. If you want to apply for the opp to work in this amazing culture visit pagely.com/careers to see what they have available.

I told myself I’d take some time off before going heads-down on @charitymakeover_ but the reality is I’m freakin’ excited to make this thing go. This is one of the
charities we’ll be working with at our next event: East Bali Poverty Project. They are doing amazing work in remote villages in Bali and are helping solve sanitation, clean water, education and work needs. They empower the locals to make these bamboo bikes which are then sold and the revenue of which goes to fund their development efforts. Win win.

We went to a waterpark yesterday and spent the day trouncing around like 5-yr-olds hitting all the slides. I can’t remember the last time I went to a water park but it was such a great day up until the last run when someone in our crew hit her head on the slide and broke some teeth. Be careful out there. This quarter pipe shoots you 40’ completely vertical before swooshing you down into the pool. I’ve never done anything like it.

Super stoked to be here in Bali for a bit and have control of my days. If you want to follow along as we turn CM into a global grassroots movement sub
@charitymakeover_ (at Canggu)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8n4BqKn_sE/?igshid=12uliqp6icqii

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