Chumdinger

As you all may or may not know, I’m in the process of transitioning out of my company. Back in April I decided to have a clean slate for what’s next… no preconceived notions about what I’d be doing, how much money I’d be making, or where I’d be living, etc. All I knew was that I wanted to do something I’m passionate about.

So what keeps me up at night? What do I love doing? Here they are in no particular order… photography, traveling, poker, using technology in community, telling stories… and of course I love Jesus. So whatever is next has to promote faith, love, and community.

Photography & Traveling :: These go hand in hand. I love telling stories through pictures. Some of my photos are up on Flickr.

Technology & Community :: I’ve blogged about this previously. Using social media and mobile technologies to increase community. I know that Jared Kleier, Rhett Smith and Matt Singley are passionate about this too.

Non-Profits & Being Socially Proactive :: I have a desire to live differently and make an impact somehow. I’ve been inspired by James Pearson and his community of friends in San Diego. He’s written a great blog on Creative Action which is a must read for all.

and Poker :: This one probably sounds like it’s from out of the blue. But I’ve always loved strategy games like Risk & Monopoly where you have to out think your opponents. Poker and Christianity do not have to be mutually exclusive which I’ve blogged about before as well. And I think I may have potential to take it further.

Ok, that’s great. Now what? It’s time to do something about it. Matt Singley wrote a timely blog about this topic.

“You can sit at your desk, day after day, dreaming about the building burning down, or you can start to do what you love. Tonight. Just start. Pick up the pen and write, pull out the video camera and start shooting. Read about other people that have done what you love, and have succeeded. Study them. Mimic them. Then come up with your own way of doing it.”

Well said. I’ve been taking the camera, both the digital SLR and the iPhone, and am snapping pictures everywhere to improve on the photography skills. I’m still traveling whenever I can. And I’ve been brainstorming with folks on different projects involving technology and community.

So what about poker? Is there potential for me to move to the next step? I’m not sure yet, but I’ve been talking with Dave T. a lot about it lately, playing more games, and doing more research. I’ve decided to start a separate blog… analyze specific poker hands, get feedback from better players, chart my progress, etc.

It’s called [HotDip] which is an acronym for [Hand Of The Day In Poker]. HotDip.com was taken so I opted for HotDip.Us, along the same lines as Del.icio.us. And I like the double meaning in it.

HotDip.Us
[with.your.chips]

Hot dip us with your chips. Get it? Dip & Chips. Poker & Chips. I thought it was clever.

Anyway, we’ll see if poker, or another of the other endeavors leads anywhere. These are all different things that I love doing and they don’t have to be separate. How about poker + ministry + traveling? Or non-profit work + technology + photography? I’m exploring them all. We’ll see where the next couple months lead.