AlecTorelli
The world is my book. I wanna write it!
Merry Christmas
Hey Everyone,
I wanted to take this time to give a special thanks to everyone's support over the past few years. I have some reallyyyy cool and innovative stuff coming up this year that I'm going to share with ya'll. I appreciate everyone that took the time to write, and your encouragement and feedback keeps me going!
This is a house I went to recently to look at Christmas lights. Pretty ridiculous. (Sorry if it takes a minute to load)
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Merry Christmas!
Alec
www.twitter.com/alectorelli
alectorelli@gmail.com
I've Gone Back to College... Sorta
I'm sorry if I haven't updated the blog with the rest of the trip report from Highway 1. Something came up. What I have been doing however deserves some explanation...
For the past semester I have been taking classes at Chapman University. Wait a minute, I thought you dropped out of college? Well I did, twice. However two days before University started I decided I wanted to go back to see things from a more enlightened perspective. But how was a two time college dropout with no resume or transcript (not to mention not wanting to pay $40,000 a year to attend Chapman) supposed to attend University? There was really only one way... sneak in.
The day before school started I printed out a class schedule (found on Chapman's website www.chapman.edu) of all the classes I wanted to take along with a map of the campus. I went to class the next day, with a backpack and a laptop and just showed up. What's the worst that can happen? They kick me out?
My first class was a Creative Writing class with a maximum of 17 people. The class was obviously full and thus I was sitting on the floor. Following the class, the teacher asked me to stay behind. "I didn't call you name," he told me. "I know professor, that's because I'm not in your class." "I'm sorry but we have 19 people already, I'm afraid if you're not on the waiting list we have no room for you." I explained to him that I was a professional poker player with a passion for writing. "I'm going to work harder than every student in here," I told him. "Unlike them I actually want to be here." "Alec, I like your fire but I can't just let any kid of the street into my class. I could get fired for this. These kids pay $40,000 a year to be here. There's other people on the wait list that want the class and..." I wasn't having it. "I'll be your teachers aid. I'll get you coffee and bring you a bagel everyday..." After 15 minutes he conceded. He let me in. I couldn't believe it. One for one.
With new found confidence, I went to at least 15 classes over the next five days. It was awesome because I felt like I was shopping for a new car with no budget. If I didn't like a class, I would simply leave and find a new one that better suited my time schedule or interests. Since I had no defined major or agenda, I sat in every class with an open mind and best of all, my purpose for being there was actually to learn. I attended an eclectic variety of classes from writing to psychology to real estate development. After the week long binge was over, I had successfully crept into three classes of my choosing; Creative Writing, Real Estate Development and Psychology of Motivation and Emotion. Best of all, it was absolutely free! (Well almost free.. I did rent a textbook for $12 and decided to audit one class which cost a few hundred. I even managed to get myself an official Chapman ID card 
I developed a few rules and strategies that helped me maximize my experience while at University.
1) Always bring a backpack and laptop
2) When they call role don't say anything
3) Be honest. If you're passionate about something, the teachers dig that and want to help.
4) Always sit next to the most attractive woman.
I'm sure you have 1,000,000 questions and I could write a book on my experiences there. If so please email me and I'll get back to you! I had some ridiculous moments, good times and met a lot of cool people. Best of all, I learned a ton in the process. Ironically enough, I spent more time in University when I didn't have to be there than my entire time while a paid student at SMU. I attribute this to actually wanting to learn and not being pressured or forced to get a grade. Instead of worrying about coming out ahead, I simply tried to soak up knowledge which made the experience much more pleasurable. Of course I never did any homework or tests, unless I found it interesting and genuinely wanted to learn the material. I specifically remember walking into my psychology class one Tuesday afternoon and the professor said, "we have a test today." I turned around and walked right out. Most of the students had no idea I was a professional poker player because I'm young enough to blend right in. I wanted to keep it that way so i could get a more genuine experience and get the college experience. In the case of one class, the cat was let out of the bag early…
A week into the semester, I realized I wanted to add another class to my regimen. I hopped into a public speaking class and fortunately enough, the professor was sick the first few days of class so I didn't technically miss anything. We sat there in silence as the 75 year old man waited patiently for the clock to strike 2:30 pm. Promptly following it, he started blasting techno music so loud that the entire building could hear and jumped around the class screaming and dancing. What did I get myself into? He decided that we all need to overcome our fear of public speaking so he called students on his desk to stand in front of the class where he would interrogate and try to embarrass them. As he scanned the room I felt my heart beat quickly, like I was making a big bluff on the river. "He's gonna pick me." I thought to myself. I just knew it.
"You there, in the orange shirt. Come up here." I stood quietly. How am I going to get out of this one? "Lets give him a round of applause. I walked forward as the class applauded.
I stood on the tall oak desk in front of 30 students as the professor paced back and forth in front of the class. His Micky Mouse button pinned freshly to his accompanying suit. His top had and full scaled beard polished off the look.
"Soooooo," he began very candidly. "What's your name?"
"Alec Torelli."
"Why did you decide to come to Chapman?"
I paused for a second. "To learn."
"Don't bullshit me son. I've been here 42 years and I've heard it all."
"Wanna bet?" I wanted to ask him. I thought better of it.
"Okay… What are you studying?"
"Well," I began. It's kinda complicated. I guess I'm not studying anything in particular."
"Yes, so you're undecided. That's okay too. So you're a freshman?"
"No sir."
"Senior?"
"Not quite."
"Well what year are you?"
"Um… I'm not really any year. I'm not sure how to answer that."
"So what are you doing here? Who are you?"
"Well. I don't really go to Chapman sir. I just came by today because I really want to learn and public speaking has always interested me. I heard your class was amazing and I really would like to sit in on it this semester."
"Hmmmmm." He paused for a moment and scratched his beard while thinking.
"So what is it you do?"
"I'm a professional poker player."
"And you make your living doing that?"
"Yup."
"So you play on all those tournaments we see then?"
"Yes."
"And what's the most amount of money you've made in a tournament?"
"Well it's sort of a difficult question because it's kinda personal. I mean I wouldn't ask you how much you make in a year right?"
"Well sure, we're open here. I make $100,000"
I laughed. "Look" he told me. "If you want to stay in my class you're going to have to be honest. Its the least you can do for sneaking in here."
"$336,000." So much for keeping a low profile. He looked a bit puzzled. The class erupted. Was this some sort of joke? The first 10 minutes of class and theres some kid in an orange shirt standing in front of the class talking about being a professional poker player sneaking into a University. Everyone was quite confused. After the turmoil settled he looked back up at me.
"In my 42 years of teaching, I've never quite seen something like this. But you know what, that's what makes my job what it is. Welcome to public speaking."
My experiences in this class proved to be the best of my life. I learned so much and his teaching style was the best I've seen. The class was awesome and we got to watch students speak all year about meaningful experiences in their lives. I was fortunate to share my experiences as well and be a part of the class. What I'm going to share with you is my final speech, given in the lecture hall in front of the students of that public speaking class. It was my semester's work and is very personal to me. I hope you enjoy. If you dig it, please let me know because I plan to do more of these video blog entires in the future, so instead of writing about an experience I can talk about it and convey and share much more with ya'll. Again, if you have questions or want to know some cool things about my stories at Chapman, let me know and I'll answer all them in a video entry or personal emails of some sort.
Here is the link to the speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1LZTz9NmoE
You can always email me at alectorelli@gmail.com.
Thanks for the support.
Cheers,
Trah
San Francisco!
Saturday - Monday, November 27th - 29th
I woke up around 8 am to the sound of pouring rain outside the window. I had ambitions of visiting the a nice stroll through the park, doing some reading outside and drifting around the city. So much for that idea. I headed to Starbucks to reevaluate. While ordering my morning Chai I inquired about local attractions in the area. "I would like to take a run, perhaps in a nearby park or something. Is there anything like that around here?" "Well of course there's the bridge just down the road," she replied hastily. "Bridge? What bridge." She looked puzzled. "The Golden Gate bridge." I felt like a moron. "Oh, yea… where's that again?"
I made my way to the base of the bridge and marveled at its grandeur. I realized that there was a pathway leading across the bridge where pedestrians could walk. There was a fair number of tourists, most of whom were lining up for the covered bus tours or driving slowly taking pictures in their cars. Not me. I decided the only way to truly see all the bridge has to offer was to cross it on foot. I learned that it was roughly four miles round trip on the pedestrian path. I grabbed my ipod, tied up my shoes and began running. Although it was pouring rain on the bridge, I was heavily compensated by an amazing view of the horizon. The sun's rays peered through the clouds and lit up the city. The runners high kicked in and I felt on top of the world. The bridge, city and skyline was all so grandiose, that it humbled me. I guess you had to be there, but it just made me what to be better.
The rest of the weekend was spent drifting around the city, window shopping, eating, reading and writing. I played some online poker tournaments Sunday, which was mundane to say the least.
I got up on Monday excited to tackle the city. I grabbed my REI day pack, loaded it up with protein bars, trail mix and fruit and was ready to go! I made my way through the Castro district where one can feel content drinking coffee, eating lunch and reading a book for hours upon end. After four hours of indulgence, I hit the road and walked to Haight-Ashbery. The charming little hippie town was home to smoke shops, health stores and homeless people. I'd be confident in saying there are as many unemployed homeless people as working citizens. One almost couldn't imagine the town without them. It would feel naked. Every third block there was a police offer escorting a drunk bum to a different corner where another cop would send him back. The whole process was quite amusing. It got my curiosity aroused and I asked the cop about the punishment for sleeping on the streets. From the impression I got, sleeping on the streets was about as enforced as jay walking in New York City. There were so many of them that their goal has shifted from preventing to containing and managing.
I couldn't help but wonder what it'd be like to be homeless. In some ways it must be liberating having nobody to answer to, nowhere to be and nothing to do. As I strolled down the street, I stopped to talk to a juggler. As we struck up a conversation, he began to teach me how to juggle bowling pins. It's quite harder than it looks. I showed him some magic and I inquired about his life. I learned that he spent the last two years backpacking through Europe and had traveled to roughly 20 countries. He spoke multiple languages and performed in a traveling circus throughout Europe. Him and his girlfriend slept wherever they could - in hostels, friends houses or even street corners if necessary. He was extremely well versed in European culture and informed me of many unique laws and customs of various countries. Who would have ever thought you'd be on a street corner learning European politics from a homeless juggler? His plans for the future was to save up $1000, head back to Europe and drift some more. He was fond of landing in a random city and just seeing where life took him.
Several minutes later, another homeless fellow joined the conversation where I learned more about drugs than I did in my entire D.A.R.E program. I bought them both a beer and said my farewells. Again, I was humbled.
It got me thinking. The life he's aspiring to live is no different than what most college students and Wall Street millionaires want. What I presume we want when we delve into these corporate jobs is to eventually gain the freedom to see and experience the world as we want it. We want to travel with no restrictions and leave all inhibitions at home. We don't necessarily want $1,000,000, but rather we want what we THINK that money is going to provide for our lifestyle. Ironically enough, this homeless guy was living it. He had no money, but he had bought his freedom with the courage it takes to live in a way that focuses on lifestyle choices. He enjoyed the freedom to go as he pleases, with nobody to answer to. I tried to put myself in a hypothetical situation where I could chose between a life in corporate america or a struggling juggle on the streets of San Francisco. At what point would I sacrifice my lifestyle for a job working in corporate america? In other words, how important is it to me to live a lifestyle where I make the rules? After a little thought, I came up with my answer. Priceless.
For thoughts, questions or comments please email me at alectorelli@gmail.com. You can also follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/alectorelli
Cheers,
Trah
A Trip to Nowhere... Day 4 (Big Sur, Carmel, Pebble Beach, San Fran)
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Friday, November 26th (Black Friday)
I woke up at 5:30 am and after a quick bite to eat, I hit the road. The sun was rising over the horizon which made the ocean sparkle like a girl who wears too much glitter on her face. I looked at my thermometer which read 37 degrees. I wasn't about to let the cold weather rain on my parade. I put on three layers on top, two on bottom, gloves, a beanie, seat warmers and the heat so I could comfortably ride with the top down. There wasn't a single car on the road which allowed me to tightly hug the turns at 70 mph. I blasted the music and sang at the top of my lungs. In those moments, I experienced the sensation of being alive. Best of all, like most good things in life, it didn't cost me any money. However, I would not classify this experience as free. It's much easier to purchase a sensation than experience one on your own accord. Purchasing a sensation is as easy as going to a movie, zoo, taking drugs or watching a broadway show. Creating your own experience requires much more than money; it requires letting go of control and inhibitions so you can experience things as they come. I find the latter to be much more difficult to achieve which is explains why the sensation is much more liberating and enjoyable.
I made my way through Big Sur and marveled at the scenic beauty. I ate breakfast in Nacimiento which has one of the most spectacular views the coast has to offer.
I hiked down to Lafayette Beach which was completely secluded and just soaked up the view.
I crossed Bixby Bridge where I came across a young traveler. I gave him an elevator glance and noticed he only had a bicycle, sleeping bag, backpack and guitar on his back. His scruffy face couldn't have seen more than 20 summers and he looked like he hadn't showered since October. Intrigued, I asked him, "where you headed?" "South," he said candidly.
I was hoping for something a little more specific. "Well where'd you come from?" "North," he chuckled. "How far north?" "Vancouver." "And how far south?" "I'm hoping to make it to San Diego before Christmas." "And all you have is this bike and your guitar?" "You know it. I've always wanted to see Highway 1 and now I'm doing it." And I thought I was a champion. I learned this kid had never even ridden a bicycle before this trip and here he was averaging 60 miles a day on the coast. He was living and yet another example of how money is only an excuse we use for not doing the things we want.
I continued to Carmel, where I drifted around the quaint little town and stopped for lunch. I strolled down Scenic Drive which overlooks the gorgeous California coastline. The city was absolutely packed for Black Friday which made shopping quite an experience. I picked up a few cool souvenirs and added a Dogs vs. Cats chess set to my growing collection.
After lunch, I took the infamous 17 mile drive through the palaces that overlook the ocean and Pebble Beach Golf Course.
I concluded the trip around 3 pm and realized I was just a quick 2 hours from San Francisco. I made my way north and as I approached the city, got a call from Antonio Esfandiari, whom was also in the city for Thanksigiving. I agreed to meet him at his hotel in downtown. By the time I parked and got to his room it was 5:35. "Hurry up," he told me as he opened the door. "We're going to Union Square in 10 minutes for the lighting of the Christmas tree. It stars at 6:00." I had just driven 200 miles over 12 hours and all I wanted was a shower and some food. I scrambled to get ready, downed a protein bar and ran out of the room to Union Square. We watched as a choir sang and a band performed in front of 10,000+ people who lined up to see the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. The energy was amazing and it was cool to see everyone out in the city so excited over something so seemingly trivial. I bought into it, only because I love the spirit and atmosphere of Christmas. It made me feel like a little kid again, if only for a second. The entire city square was lit up with lights and if I wasn't third wheeling Antonio and Priscialla, one could say the experience was romantic. Too romantic, really.
Following the spectacle, we walked into a nearby Italian restaurant at 7:30 PM on Black Friday which (as you can imagine) was absolutely packed. Antonio made his way over to the hostess to inquire about getting a table.
"Hello young lady" (she was roughly 40), how long for a table for 3?"
"We're booked the rest of the night, sorry. It's Black Friday and we …"
"What's your name?" Antonio charmed.
"Megan."
"Hello Megan," he said sticking out his hand. "Antonio. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise."
"I'm from Las Vegas. If you take care of me, I'll take care of you," Antonio said with a smile.
"Let me see what I can do," she said with hesitation. "We're really swamped tonight." Antonio pulled out $25 from his pocket. "Watch and learn kid," he whispered to me.
"He strategically positioned himself in the middle of the tables where she would inevitably walk back to the front desk. As she approached, he slipped out his hand and shook hers saying, "Thanks for your help." I watched as he palmed her the $25. Two minutes later we were seated in a booth with a waiter taking our order. The food was amazing, and we gossiped for hours over wine, oysters, salmon and linguini.
After dinner, I headed out to Isaac "WestmenloAA" Baron's place on the Marina. The two bedroom, third story penthouse was equipped with modern marble and wood finish as well as a fireplace. It was also walking distance to a market, starbucks and 24 hour fitness. I was in heaven. By the time I got settled around 10:30, I passed out for a much needed sleep.
Do It Yourself!
Starting Point: Gorda, CA
Ending Point: San Francisco, CA
Distance Traveled: 181 miles
Cost: $60 in Gas
On A Budget: Busses and Trains can take you up and down the coast which provide a unique way to meet backpackers and travelers from all over the world.
Wanna Get Extreme: Bike it!!
For thoughts, questions or comments please email me at alectorelli@gmail.com You can follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/alectorelli
Cheers from San Fran
Trah
