Dave Courvoisier's Blog

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Andy Boyns is my new best Brit friend living in Istanbul. 

The thing I like about Andy the most…and the character trait that will serve him best in all his VO endeavours, is his enterprising spirit.  During 2009, Andy dug in and got to know many of us in the biz through his social network connections.  He has an engaging personality, a wonderful growing family, and a respectable talent.

Here’s the deal though:  like most of us who build up relationships online, he has the eventual desire to enjoy the face-to-face in-the-flesh meeting.  A chance to rub shoulders, share some laughs, some stories, and maybe hoist a cold one together,.

Andy’s dream is to do that at VOICE2010.  But again, Andy is in Istanbul, and VOICE is in LA.  Being a young father, running a fledgling VO business and trying to keep a day job in a foreign country, Andy’s budget is thin.

For some reason that hasn’t seemed to bother him.  He’s always just gone on faith that he’ll find the means.  Now he’s backing up that faith with an open appeal on a new website he’s designed.

You may not know Andy, but here’s your chance to help him get a leg-up on his travel plans.  Then you WILL know him, and your world will be richer for it.

Click HERE to go to his website and consider donating to his travel arrangements.  I did.

CourVO

Lunch with friends at a VERY busy Katz’s diner on Houston.

More food than I can possibly eat.

CourVO

My definition of a vacation:  any schedule or circumstances that differs significantly from the daily grind. 

That’s it.

Now….it CAN involve a change of scenery, people, duties, demands, responsibilities, or even internet habits, but it doesn’t have to.

Take last week, for instance.  I took 5 days away from my TV job.  That alone constituted a vacation.  Monday and Tuesday, I just hung around the house, and spent time with family gloriously untethered to deadlines.

Wednesday  I drove to Boise on 2-lane roads up through Nevada.  Thurs. and Fri., I participated in my duties as a member of the Board of Directors for a charitable organization headquartered in the Capitol city.  Saturday, I spent several hours driving through mountain passes of Idaho, but once I hit Interstate-15 in Eastern Idaho, I drove until I found my own bed in Las Vegas at 4:30am Sunday. Almost exactly 1640 miles covered total in the trip..

To me, that was every bit as good a vacation as taking a Royal Caribbean cruise to Mazatlan.  I mean it.

Driving is cathartic for me, and with the 2004 Chevy SSR (retro roadster super sport pick-up  convertible muscle car), I can’t imagine being any happier.

Sure, the work piled-up is crushing when I get back, but luckily the Bed ‘n’ Breakfast where I stayed had free internet, and I was able to  keep up with virtual things pretty well on my laptop.

Yes, I will absolutely suffer clinical depression on my second full day back to work.  I always do.  At least I know it’s coming.

Still worth it all?  Yes!  I was able to actually forget – completely separate myself emotionally, physically, and spiritually – for long periods of time, from THE ROUTINE by planning distractions and diversions.

Have you planned yours lately?  ‘Worth every bit of whatever lost work or productivity you may suffer.

Just do it! (with respect to Nike)

If you’d like to share in the fun I had along the way.  I’ve completed two videos of the pics I took, first of my cloudy-day drive through Nevada, and second, of mountain scenes in Idaho.  Enjoy!

Nevada
Idaho

CourVO

This is more than coincidence.  This is uncanny.

At least twice before I’ve blogged that a regular part of my business plan should be that I travel…like…all the time.  ‘Cause when I do..I invariably catch a boatload of sudden interest in my voice.

Wednesday, it took me 12 hours to drive from Las Vegas to Boise.  Don’t get me wrong, the drive was one of the more enjoyable I’ve ever taken.  Clouds, fog, rain, rainbows…very uncharacteristic weather for Nevada, and beautiful to see.

But when I finally made it to my room and opened up my laptop to check on things, I found at least four decent requests for auditions.  I know, I know, some of you get that and more EVERY DAY, and you love to tell us all about it.  (See MushMind…I’m not done with this topic yet!).  But four requests for audition – in my mailbox…as in, I DIDN’T have to chase ‘em down – THAT’S a good day for me.

Oh, and did I mention I had 300+ fresh e-mails waiting for me besides the auditions?

All of which brings me to the trouble with traveling.  Anymore, can we afford to be even ONE DAY without checking e-mail? (for some add Twitter, FaceBook, and LinkedIn to the question)

If the answer is “no”, is that good?  I mean, of course I’m kidding about traveling merely to prompt auditions…but I’m NOT kidding about the serious ball ‘n’ chain we have in the form of virtual communications.

If I took a day to enjoy my drive to Boise…then why doesn’t it feel like I was really free of encumbrances and cares? 

To me this underscores the fundamental dependence we in voice-acting have on electronic communications as an intrinsic part of our business plan.  If this bothers you…I think you’re in trouble..

CourVO

P.S. If you want to see a quick video of my trip…click HERE.

These collections are priceless.  This time, though, I barely recognize half the names.  That is most certainly a reflection of my working knowledge of Hollywood and TV commercials, though, and nothing else.

Click HERE for the list on Paste Magazine.

And…this note that for the next few days I’m taking my annual, lone-driver trip out West…since I’m already here, and I don’t have to drive to get there…just drive IN it.

I’ll be hoppin’ in the ole 2004 Chevy SSR (with brand new tires, shocks, and alignment), destination Boise, Idaho.  That means driving the entire length of Nevada on 2-lane roads, and wouldn’t you know it…there’s a huge rain storm predicted.  IN NEVADA!

Actually, that’s OK….sunny and clear comes 320 days/year in NV.  Clouds, rain, even snowtopped mountains, should make for some beautiful shots that you rarely see out here.

Of course, I’ve got my iPhone and laptop, so I won’t be far from posting stuff, once I find a good wi-fi.

Finally, I’m burying this next link here, ‘cause it just seems so…no other way to say it….egotistical.  But maybe I’m just getting caught up in semantics. 

I’ve got my own FaceBook fan page now, not published by the director of my fan club (there is none)…it was posted by ME.  This is the thing to do now, I guess….(or should I say everyone else seems to be doing it, so naturally – me being a lemming – I have to do it). 

That’s right, I posted my OWN fan page, and (get ready for it)…I’m asking if you’ll visit, and become a “friend”.  HERE is the link.  Disclaimer: No real or implied advantage comes from becoming a fan of the Voice Overs by CourVO fan page!

CourVO

Of all the places I’ve dreamed of living someday, Colorado is certainly at the top of the list.  VO artist and science writer Carolyn Petersen and her husband are living my dream…now.

In the final day (Tuesday) of my 3400-mile sojourn to Illinois and back, my travel partner and I made the 40-mile sidetrip North from I-70 to the place where CC and her husband, Mark, live high high up in the Rockies.  They’ve been in their gorgeous log-cabin about a month, having moved from Massachusetts.  Both are from CO, though, and clearly seem to relish the reality of being back.

Here’s the video I took of the last few hundred yards of gravel road leading up to their mountain perch:

…and here’s the photo of (left) Carolyn, husband Mark (middle) and me on the right.

Both were very generous in sharing the story of their lives and their new digs with us.

Their stiffest early challenge was finding a reliable internet connection (microwave was the answer)…something they’re still tweaking…and how they might someday be able to bury some pesky power lines you see in the background of our photo. Those lines do tend to interrupt an otherwise incredible view of the Continental Divide from their front-porch.  Wow!

CC and I are beneficiaries of a wonderful online VO community I often mention, here, on my blog:  The VO-BB.  These virtual forums allow for strong bonds to be created, and yet, an eventual honest-to-goodness physical meet-up always manages to solidify the ties a little more.

Thanks, Carolyn and Mark for sharing your living dream with me!  You guys rock!

CourVO

As the dash-to-Illinois-and-back odyssey winds down today, I love to reflect on the value of these driving forays to the bottom line of my sanity.

Seeing the beauty of this country, however fleeting, is like taking a mental breath of fresh air.  We all need a break from the routine, and the chance to see something beyond the street we drive down every day.

Sure, I would’ve much rather gone to New Zealand, but budget and time practicalities dictated this trip instead.  Besides, nowhere grows corn as gloriously as the very countryside in Illinois that raised me.

Today, I’ll HAVE to trudge all over the hills and mountains of  Colorado and Utah on my way home.

Oh drat the luck!

CourVO

Safely situated in her new college apt., my daughter knew it was time for dad to go.

Being a parent is like having a piece of your heart loose in the world…and out of your reach.

CourVO

You know you’re in Illinois when you cross the “Mighty Miss” from Missouri.

‘Arrived in Champaign Friday night,  and spent ten hours Saturday moving my daughter up these rickety stairs

to her 3rd floor apartment.  Beds, couches, refrigerators, tables, TV’s…ouch my achin’ back!!!

‘gonna sleep well tonite!

CourVO

….looks a lot like my home state of Illinois, only hillier.

I looked all day for a “money” shot of Missouri, but most of the time this is all I saw, as we were going down I-70. (endless rank of 18-wheelers).

CourVO