There are many questions one must find their own answers to in life…and one of those questions is…”What will by my drink.” A drink to be created by oneself and take the name of the creator or in this case the name of my handle (izuno) for years after I am gone. I introduce…the story of an ‘Izuno’.

Stage 1 – Setting Guidelines

So to begin the long process in figuring out what concoction of cocktail I will be using, it’s important to set some general guides and limits. If you are making your own drink, be sure to define yourself when defining guidelines for your drink.

1. The drink must be chilled with 2-3 squares of clear ice. I thrive on warm weather, and I’m happiest when warm…so therefore a perfect drink must accomodate the perfect temperature.

2. The drink must be unique. I’m sure whatever my final recipe is, there will have already been 20 different online versions of the same drink…so whether it is a particular brand of alcohol or a particular volume…I must be orginal and specific in creation.

3. I’m a traveler. Therefore I need to incorporate ingredients and liquors from around the world. Being careful not to get too wrapped up and sacrifice on taste. If I leave a continent or two out the drink it is not a big deal, however it must not be direct from one region.

4. A drink is special only when there is cause for celebration. So what I celebrate will have an impact on the drink. My life has been a celebration of discovery and truth…therefore an ‘Izuno’ must also be about discovery and truth.

5. And finally, as a designer, I realize the important of aesthetics. The drink must be a good color, a good scent, a proper smoothness, a natural clean look, and of course a great taste.

Stage 2 – Roughing Out Ingredients

Just a quick update to let you know about a couple of changes.  We’ve added an ‘Izuno Top 10′ to the sidebar to increase page views and let new visitors know a little bit more about us.  It’s a list of my favorite 10 entries (give or take).  Also, Josh and I have started to relax our strict advertising just a little.  We are still anti-google ads as they were annoying back when they first started appearing.  However, you may see a few additional graphic banner ads down the right column.  My rules for those ads you ask…?  No blinking, flashing, mashing, smashing, winking, wrinkling, flipping, turning, or any other kind of “teacher my hand is up and I know the answer now call on me because I desperately need site visits”…ad.

Lastly, I want to add more graphics, so you may see a few more graphics posts along with a few customs post or two.  It’s simply a matter of taking time by the honches. Cheers.

I recently did a post about Barack Obama.  And then after opinionated comments (that were in fact fair and accurate), I removed the post.  Pretty sure I need to stay on point…which is travel…not politics.  Lesson learned.  Maybe a picture of a happy pink logo balloon will cheer everyone back up?!

So as far as I can see my travel plans are very limited due to budget constraints. (@#$^!-ing 8-5 job’s are not fun). So here is what I hope to accomplish within the calendar year. And if you are going to be stuck at home this year…create your own list, we’ll survive together.

PROJECT Tic List:
1. Create handmade chess set (at least 4 pawns). I started this in ’08, using rocks and rock shaping tools, it takes a while, but it passes the time and I enjoy chess enough to justify this really nerdy project.

2. Master my Nikon D200. Finally find out what the fuck white balance actually is.

3. Recruit team of professional marketers/activists for big online project. Currently Izuno Travel is the only site I operate, but I have plans for a site to help small businesses. Mark my words…that will be my last of two sites I will operate.

4. Create and master one calligraphy font. I’ve actually started on this, but haven’t mastered anything yet.

5. Run at least one 5K with buddy in St. Louis.

6. Be able to hold breathe for 3 minutes underwater. This is probably the stupidest idea I’ve had, and most difficult for me as I’ve been inhaling more second hand smoke than ever.

7. Stop starting projects that I know I won’t follow up on.

8. Play soccer in park.

9. Get out of the country at least once, if only to Mexico for a week.

10. Convince 3 friends/family why economic growth should not be the goal but rather economic stability.

11. Go vegetarian for 1 month. I’m thinking February. (psss…it’s usually shorter than other months…shhh)

12. Update this blog at least 3 times a week for entire year. UPDATE 8/30:  Ya…so didn’t happen…my apologies

After that, it’s all a bonus. A friend of mine is going to New Zealand and Australia for a couple months, I’ll ask her to write a couple of posts so I don’t get completely off the travel subject. And hopefully see some good pictures. Oh, which brings me to 13. Start FlickR Photo set for IzunoTravel.com. I might even knock that one out this week.

What is in store for 2009?  I have no idea.  But it will be better than 2008 (and hopefully that goes beyond this site).  A couple alternate projects are sucking up more time, and I know everyone is tired of hearing about travel packs and such.  Not many people are thinking about travel at a time like this.  So I want to create more custom posts.  More custom artwork and design goods.  We will still try to keep you up to date on any major travel trends and products, as well as spending more time creating custom posts.

2008 started off okay, but it chose to turn crappy as the year went on.  I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions, New Year’s parties, New Year’s predictions, or crap like that, but this year I am excited about having a New Year.  Take care and watch for more custom posts to come.

I don’t remember Bush doing anything like this.  Barack Obama has set up a Change.gov site to learn about his agenda, his staff picks, and even sign up or apply for a job.  Even if you want to argue about the effectiveness of this site, I don’t think anyone can argue about his planning and motivation at this moment.  He’s already taking actions showing us how involved he wants to be.

Weekly Update:
I’ve created a new Italy Travel Button you will see tomorrow hopefully.  I’m starting to advertise a bit on Facebook, and we’ve seen the site traffic up a little bit.  I’m also working on getting another author to create some posts, but it’s not set in stone yet. Have a good week.

I was excited to see the buttons turn out well. It’s motivated me to knock out another two or three this weekend for next Friday. (Friday 8:00 am central time is when they are generally available). My buddy Matt is as big a dick as ever with a couple mean comments. I wonder if guys throughout history have expressed their friendship by ripping on each other or if it’s a 21st century trend.

Next week will be Pet Week. I’ll try to get some good content for all those who want to travel with your pets. “A good time will be enjoyed by all.”

[note: words in quote's are not mine]

I’m glad to be back here working on izunotravel.com instead of the project that sidelined me from my blog. Here’s what’s rolling around upstairs right now. I have always wanted to do a “…week” on the blog where I gather content about a specific topic. Pet Week, Coffee Week, something like that. So you may get a few of those throughout the year. I do plan on posting something every weekday, and then working on a really good quality post over the weekend. (because honestly, they all can’t be winners) Also I’m trying to recruit a few more friends/readers to create posts, so if you or anyone you know is interested, contact me…just don’t expect to be paid a salary, although there would be benefits. And of course there is the never ending marketing of a blog that must take place. This is where Josh comes in, and he was even more involved with the other project than I was, so hopefully he’ll get his ass in gear on that.

Overall, after looking at the analytics, I was surprised to see that quite a few people checked us out this week, not nearly as many as what we had before the break, but we’ll get them back too. Thanks, Jordan

Ran out of NoDoz. Ginseng makes me delusional. Couldn’t afford any RedBull. Materialistic Priorities.  Take your pick of excuses for me not updating this blog since August 8th.  What it comes down to is I needed a break, and I needed to push another site I’ve been working on for the last few months to the finish line.  Well that site is 98% finished, and ready for launch, so hopefully, I can give more time to my blog…if anybody still checks.   One thing I will tell you is, I’ve not ran out of ideas for this site.  There are many things planned, some of which I was hoping to publish for the 08.08.08 mass post day.  Which I will no refer to as the 08.08.08 disapost day.  So….for my re-curring readers and friends…I say…hang with me…it will be worth the wait.

I apologize for the lack of new and quality posts lately.  My time has been going to another site currently getting ready to launch.  But, that doesn’t mean I don’t have plans for izunotravel.com.  I hope everyone is liking the new layout.  It’s a step down, design-wise, from version 2.0, but now you can leave comments and actually get more involved, plus the RSS feed is finally working if you subscribe to that.  Remember our mass post day is coming up August 8th, 2008.  Also, be on the lookout for new buttons, a calendar, and a lot of new travel destinations.  Plenty to come, so if you haven’t already, set your bookmarks.