11.17.2008 Tuesday: Show Me the Money?

Picture of: ingredient cans from chili we made yesterday...cans are waiting for recycle bin

Today I: did the post office run- still not completely paid from one of my big gigs a few weeks ago; worked on new ideations of stories, one about worm farming and another about popcorn; submitted ezine articles; followed up with participants from last night's teleconference; spoken on the phone with a potential corporate storytelling coaching client; twittered a bit; ecoached a few folks; made dinner for my family; worked on post card designs for new marketing.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

11.12.2008 Wednesday: My Advice Has Changed

Picture of: mystery storytelling coaching client (he's standing next to his car) I met with tonight for dinner and discussion.

Today I: did the bank and post office run; worked on new publications for storytelling websites; attended conference calls on marketing; worked on developing new performing-arttist TeleCourse; had "let's talk about storytelling" coaching session with a new client in regards to both performance storytelling and corporate storytelling/business storytelling. He asked me a great question about what my advice to new storytellers is- I realized that my advice to newbies has changed a lot in the last 23 years of storytelling and storytelling coaching- I will blog that soon.


::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

11.10.2008 Monday: The Last Party

Picture: crock pots full of pasta sauce.

Today I: worked on Emails; updated websites; continued on secret projects; prepped and shopped for groceries for family gathering this evening; had a small 18-person family dinner with an a cousin in from out of state as well as a mini-bday party for my Mom who's birthday on the 7th got kinda lost in the wedding events; the last party of the wedding events. So happy birthday again, Mom.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

10.30.2008 Thursday: Spooky or Just Creepy

Picture of: me performing for the Halloween party at the social center on the other side of town. This is a screen-grab of the story I am posting Friday for Halloween. Details Friday.

Today I: drove daughter #1 waaay across town for her volunteer time with the dog agility show and drove back; picked up the rental car; post officed; banked; re did the set list for tonight; washed clothes; packed equipment; messed around with new cell phone insurance company sent me...it is broken, too. sheesh; drove waaay across town during rush hour, along with daughter #3 as my roadie; set up and performed a 50 minute storytelling set for the senior center (Hi Lisa!); lost my keys, daughter found them; as I was leaving the grounds, one Senior woman on the way back to her apartment said to me, "I am surprised that none of your daughters have run away from home when you tell stories like that. This was some experience." hehe; daughter #3 responded to me in the car that it is because of my stories that she would not run away; ate Wendy's dinner in the car while I waited for my fibro flare to pass; drove back across desert; looked at the video quickly; twittered; calling it a night.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

10.27.2008 Monday: Prepping Files

Picture of: me holding the sponsors sign at the "Adults Only" show at the Mesa Storytelling Festival (MSF) this last weekend. Thanks again to Mark Goldstein for photo.

Today I: worked on audio and video files from the MSF-which should be posted Tuesday or Wednesday; post officed; banked; ate lunch with daughters #1 and #4; evaluated some promo materials; updated contacts database of my storytelling friends, customers and clients; read one blog another posted about the MSF; yet another blog here; read another blog posted by another teller from the NSF; had dinner out with my wife.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

10.17.2008 Friday: The List Arrives

Picture of: the list of all the children in our extended family, with the numbers of who is which number of daughter, cousin, niece and nephew. My wife made the list for me because I always get them wrong on this blog. Well, not the daughter part. For example, third-grade nephew #3 is not playing high-school football as I incorrectly posted earlier. That would be nephew #2. You may now sleep better at night, I know.

Today I: spoke on the phone with a client about an upcoming storytelling engagement; went to the bank and post office; wrote draft of future blog post; planned a wedding; caught up on Email; did some research on a new storyteller project; listened in to telecourses being taught by others; made pans and pans of cornbread for family party on Saturday.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

10.12.2008 Sunday: Frog Post.

Picture of: the frog who adorns my latest blog post.

Today I: made chicken chili for my family (sometimes referred to as "white chili" as it does not have a tomato base); drove out to the wedding site with my brother to view the location and talk to he and future bride about the wedding coming up soon; had an initial consultation with a new storytelling coaching client; finished my latest blog post on the adaptation of "world tales" to business storytelling uses.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

10.11.2008 Saturday: Wind-Swept Fields

Picture of: daughter #1 surveying the wind swept fields at the agility competition where she runs her dog(s) for show.

Today I: took wife and daughters #1 and #4 to the park 'cross town where the dog runs take place- it was actually cold today at 530AM; came home and napped after dropping them off; continued to reassemble my life onto new computer (OMGoodness, did that hurt)- there is light at the end of the data disaster tunnel; worked on developing new coaching proposal for corporate storytelling coaching client who is based out of California; finished corrections to new blog article which I will post on Sunday; returned to dog park to watch daughter and dog compete tonight; packed them up for the night; drove home, did the grocery store and make dinner thing; called it an early night.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.25.2008 Thursday: Home Again, Please.

Picture of: my hotel breakfast before I started this long day. Mmmm, oatmeal.

Today I: woke up earl(ier) than usual to finish a project that was bugging me in my brain; grabbed the hotel breakfast and ate it in my room; packed up my suitcases and supplies; checked out of hotel; taxi I prearranged did not come so I took the hotel shuttle to the airport and grabbed a taxi there; missed taxi meant I missed the group bus to go run up (or even amble up) the "Rocky" stairs in Philly; presented my brief workshop on the use of folktales/fables in business and corporate storytelling settings; talked with several people afterwards who might be interested in my services as a storytelling coach; had a great lunch with lots of positive conversation; attended a workshop on the use and development of telecourses; "split" a cab with another person back to the Philly airport; took a B767 plane from Philly to Charlotte- first wide-body (umm, sorta) that I had been on since I was in high-school; barely made it in time for my flight to PHX-which was a cramped, painful trip and otherwise uneventful. BOO to USAirways for the $15 baggage fee. I don't pay it 'cuz I travel so much but others try to get around it by taking everything on board causing chaos and unhappy people. (BOO USAirways for this!); finally got home to my lovely family at the airport and the drive home- just about 10 days straight on the road; ate some late dinner; wrote to you; crawling into bed. Whew!

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.24.2008 Wednesday: Learnin' Whatcha Know

Picture of: the "Independence Hall National Park" in central-city Philadelphia, PA.

Today I: ate the hotel breakfast; took a cab to my meeting; participated in a workshop on marketing (that was all about storytelling- yikes!); heard some good tips about platform selling; ate the great lunch this group provides; talked with several people who may want some storytelling coaching with me; headed back to hotel via taxi; ate delivery dinner; talked with a friend while I am on the east coast; prepped my presentation for Thursday; good night.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.22.2008 Monday: Third Plane/24 Hours

Picture of: a myspace inspired self-portrait taken in the airplane lavatory. See, nothing is too good for my readers. LOL.

Today I: after catching up and doing laundry, I took a nap until my alarm went off; repacked my suitcase with my newly cleaned clothes; drove to airport with wife #1 and daughter #4; took the plane "ride" across the country from Phoenix to Philadelphia wherein I was able to take this high-class picture for you; checked into hotel; changed rooms in hotel; finished the sleep I missed last night; ate dinner at restaurant on premises; laid out my storytelling-business related work for Tuesday; goodnight.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.21.2008 Sunday. Cramped, Missing Travel.

Picture of: gate 8 at the Knoxville airport

Today I: slept in; checked Email; packed up my bags and boxes for the trip home; drove to the airport from Gatlinburg- freeways closed for construction- many detours; returned rental car; checked in bags and did the security thing; loaded on first tiny, small, little plane which pulled back from the gate just a few minutes late only to go get parked on the tarmac for a 30 minute air-traffic-control-hold. Umm, you couldn't NOT load us up after the traffic delay instead of making us wait on this cramped plane?; plane arrived late and I did not make my connection to Phoenix- bumped to flight two hours later; ate dinner in the airport and worked in the USAirways club for a while; boarded flight out to Phoenix and had uneventful four hours across the US; family met me in airport and youngest daughter ran to greet me as kind of a silly joke- older couple sitting in seats in waiting area were very touched by her gesture- giggle; drove home with stop for quick food; copying VHS video of corporate storytelling presentation this weekend to DVD's so I can edit it during down time over next few days; washing clothes now, repacking for trip in the morning and blogging to you
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.20.2008 Saturday: Work. Shopping.

Picture of: the trolley stop right outside my hotel in Gatlinburg, TN.

Today I: ate the hotel breakfast and headed down to Touristburg Gatlinburg downtown for the workshop I am taking/presenting at; talked with booking agents here at the conference- good folks; good lunch provided as part of the conference; more workshops and networking; stopped by Walmart for few things I need; went back to hotel and worked on a storytelling coaching phone call with one of my clients- I love it when folks are open to learning; talked to my family on the phone; worked on a new mailing; settled in for the night. By the way, how can you tell a resident of this area from the tourists? All the residents were watching football tonight. You have to be a Tennessee fan here or they beat you with orange sticks. LOL.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.19.2008 Friday: Workshop and Networking

Picture of: the view from the hotel lobby in Gatlinburg, river running below, Smoky Mountains in the background.

Today I: packed up and had the complimentary breakfast at the hotel; drove off to the downtown Gatlinburg conference location; fought with the automatic parking gate; checked in for the conference; networked with some new friends and associates; presented my intro version of the "Ancient Secret" corporate storytelling workshop to this group- was shot in a three-camera video shot; attended the rest of the conference; returned to hotel; drove out for dinner; came back to hotel; calling it a night

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.10.2008 Wednesday: Last Minute Event

Picture of: trays at dining place tonight wherein I took six cousins and sisters, to have dinner.

Today I: had a surprise phone call from a client in (Austin area) Texas who wants to hire me for Monday night- last minute opening in an event, etc. I am the *perfect* person to do what they want and I have astongishingly, the time open before I head out for nearly two weeks travelling; spoke with potential corporate storytelling client; wrote and email proposal to same client; spoke again to same client and other decision maker some more- if nothing else in this business of being a full-time storyteller, I do get to talk with very interesting people- gotta love that part; spoke with another client for to expand my role for another project later this month; went to lunch to have business meeting with staff; began new writing project; took daughters/nieces to dinner and walked home with them; heard from youngest brother and his wife who expect new/first baby tonight some time.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.09.2008 Tuesday: Digging In

Picture of: fresh, real flower on the table of the fast food restaurant I spent time at today while writing.

Today I: had a cancellation from a coaching client; went and sat at above referenced fast-food place and was struck by the corporate storytelling that the flower represents and so added a need for a new article/blog post I need to write; spent most of the day making decisions on projects-what needs to be done, what I want to do, what won't get done; answered some postings about the state of storytelling; didn't answer some that I could have answered- glad to have stepped away from some things; talked with another storytelling coaching client on the phone; ate late dinner with my wife

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

08.25.2008 Monday: Notify the Press!

Picture of: last piece of bread from our meal tonight.

Today I: had a staff meeting at breakfast and worked on calendars; updated and retooled the Storytelling 101 package to a different, lower price point; worked on the press release for the "Ancient Secret of Public Speaking" workshops coming up in October and November; set the date for the next live version of the "Outside In Artist Marketing Workshop" for February 26-28 in Phoenix Arizona; did some research on a new story and found some interesting old variants- that kind of storytelling stuff is what I love in creating new stories to tell; had a late night dinner with my wife to celebrate our anniversary (Aug 15).

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

08.17.2008 Sunday: The Camp Concludes Cordially.

Picture of: screen of the video camera as daughter #1 video-ed me as I taught today at the"Outside In Storytelling Marketing Boot Camp" today.

Today I: got up really early to print up a few things for my students today at the camp; spent the last morning of camp today with good students, good family, good learning and good food (okay, the box lunches were not as good as I wanted them to be); hotel had a revivalist-style church in the meeting room next to us and they were *loud*- gladly my students were hang-loose types of people- thanks; got to teach something today in the OISBCamp that is really a cutting-edge marketing process for artists- fun and challenging to start sharing that learning with others; had one student take the discount coaching slot at the end of the camp so we spent an hour talking about her "map"; cleaned up the camp- but actually my fine family had already done much of it while I met with the student; made the trip home and took a nap; wandered down to make dinner; edited some audio files; wrote you this note; gonna go lay low for while.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

07.22.2008 Tuesday: Of Chocolate Chips

Picture of: me telling stories to the 2nd grade and under group at a local summer school show.

Today I: prepped for the storytelling school show and talked with their staff; travelled to the show and set up with daughters #1 and #3; performed two shows; did the post office run; attended yet again more marketing telecourse-workshops presented by others; laid out the plan for new storyteller products to be released from Storyteller.net; posted a blog about today's show; ate daughter #3's cookies she baked- nicely done.

::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

06.26.2008 Thursday: Workshopping in Texas

Picture of: the crowd (880 people) at the youth rally I am working this weekend.

Today I: was/am presenting at the youth rally in Houston, TX. Today I did two workshops with lots of storytelling for teens. The room was way too small and the sound system was something the hotel must have found in the basement of an old 1930's antique sale. Despite the very warm room and the bad sound, we survived. The kids were good, the boys' workshop went especially good I thought; walked about the Galleria mall for dinner, saw lots of kids from the rally in the mall, a number of the boys who were in the workshop walked up to me and told me the workshop was a good thing for them; worked on re-tooling tomorrow's keynote and workshop;
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::