12.31.2008 Wednesday: So this is the end?

Picture of: assorted nieces and daughters playing a game at our New Year's Eve party

Today I: shopped for party; did last minute banking; listened to a podcast on developing ethical behavior with storytelling- left me uncomfortable with conclusions drawn- maybe I will blog or article it; picked up kid from work; worked on www.twitter.com/storyteller; in the midst of the party; happy new year to you.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

11.15.2008 Saturday: Posting New Storyteller Amphitheater

Picture of: Dustin and I messing around for the camera backstage at last month's Mesa Storytelling Festival.

Today I: ran my eldest daughter to work at 5am- ouch; ran amok going to the postal facility servicing my neighborhood; posted the Storyteller.net Amphitheater with audio, transcript, pictures from the 2008 Mesa Storytelling Festival; worked on new blog postings; moved said daughter from work to school to home; cooked dinner for daughters who remain home with me while wife and other daughter camp out in northern Arizona; photo credit to Mark Goldstein.
::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::

10.12.2008 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::

09.23.2008 Tuesday: Locked In.

Picture of: the hotel van, as I returned back to my cell after dinner.

Today I: spent most of the day in the hotel just catching up with the mountain of emails, storytelling projects, coaching projects, writings, blogs and so on that I needed to complete; posted this new blog; edited and posted this corporate storytelling video; ate dinner; came back to hotel and kept working; mostly background stuff.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

09.17.2008 Wednesday: Layover At My Own House

Picture of: pile of things I leave behind for staff to do while I am gone over the next few days.

Today I: spoke with two clients about upcoming storytelling events- probably will be able to do one and not the other; researched new story; prepped handouts for event on Friday in Tennessee; reviewed CD-audio for a coaching client; went to lunch with wife; banged my head against my virtual virtual-server wall for the unbelievable amount of spam I am getting right now-wow; went banking and post officing; finished, finally, a huge stack of audio files that needed to be posted; went to Kinko's and Target with family; ate dinner; back to Kinko's and Best Buy for printer ink; washed clothes; finished packing; left pile of work for others to do; going now to watch "The Daily Show."

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

09.14.2008 Sunday: Packing Up Rewrites

Picture of: new handout for the "Ancient Secret of Public Speaking Workshop." You can download a copy at this link.

Today I: took daughter #1 to work at 5am; stayed up and then rewrote and tweaked the website for the "Ancient Secret" workshop; produced a working copy of the handout pictured left; picked up printing at Kinko's...yes it was wrong. That is rare for them as normally I have nothing but good experiences; went to store to replace my worn out shoes; got upgrade notice for my return trip on Tuesday- woo hoo!; read the pig's blog; took family to inlaws' BBQ and hung out a bit; drove me and daughter referenced above home- me to work and her to take nap; washed clothes for my trip; sorted through and prepared bags and suitcase for my corporate storytelling trip as I have not travelled for at least a month;

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

08.02.08 Saturday: Sequestered

Picture of: my closet-door-o' notes on the things I need to do, write and create.

Today I: sequestered myself away to get caught up on the pile of things to do- thank you Marriott Reward Points; posted the noodle blog; left my monastery to go have dinner with my wife; came back and worked some more; left the movie "Titanic" running in the background on the TV. The movie is also known as "Two brat kids do whatever they want on a boat."; noted that the mother telling bedtime story to children at the end of that movie is telling an Irish story, probably of "Niamh choses Oisin to be her lover and live with her in Tir Na Nog" Before you comment, remember that there is a lot of ways to spell those names.

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

07.30.2008 Wednesday: Research

Picture of: a historical marker that I pass every day on the way to the post office.

Today I: read a set of postings by Liz Warren; went to the post office; was inspired by Liz's post to pay attention to the history of my own area- so started a research project on the "Lateral 22. Over the weekend, I will write more at my storytelling blog and link this when it is done.


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

07.28.2008 Monday: Can You Hear Me Now?

Picture of: mail from my PO Box.*

Today I: drove out to the post office; took check from the mail and deposited it in the bank; balanced bank statements (this time of year it's easy to do LOL); prepped for tonight's telecourse; baked blueberry bread in my bread machine; presented telecourse- the conference service had many audio problems tonight- thanks for hanging in there; re-did flyer for California client that vanished off my laptop this weekend (the flyer not the client); got a package of 40 hours of audio I need to review- yikes!; prepped for school show tomorrow; created invoice for school district for July shows

*Blogish stuff: We're about 2/3 the way done with 2008 and you'll notice I post a lot of the daily minutiae of being a working artist. For example it's another picture of mail today. Although I don't post every gig I have on this blog but here is just a thought for those of you contemplating a career as a full-time artist: I hope this blog helps you to recognize the daily grind of this lifestyle. A grind like every other job also has. I am honored to work with my audiences, but the storytelling business is a business. It's not all hearts, unicorns, peace and flowers. It's a job. One I love and one I am lucky to have created...but it is a job. Our telecourse tonight was about this as well. I always appreciate your comments and thank you for sharing them.
::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::

07.21.2008 Monday: Teaching and Learning

Picture of: the schedule for the Tuesday school shows I am doing this month.

Today I: took my kids to the movies and the other kid to work; did a post office run; at the bank, dealt with a bounced check presented to me by a client- mistakes happen but yikes it's expensive; updated and adapted the "Ancient Secrets" telecourse; presented the telecourse; worked on a new "back of the room" product; attended a telecourse presented by another person; started to inventory what promo products I have and which I do not have; prepped through some ideas for the school show tomorrow; answered emails I was behind on; spoke to a person on the phone who was mad I did not return their sales call- that's just a low priority for me; realized I don't have enough energy to respond to all the blogs I'd like to respond to; realized that I can't spell "tomorrow" and "scissors" ever correctly the first time.
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

06.17.2008 Tuesday: Posted

Picture of: why I don't want to leave the house.

Today I: negotiated hotel costs for the upcoming Philly event; finished the website and the flyer for the September "Storyteller.net Live!" event coming soon to Philadelphia, PA; posted the pre-release deal for the "Outside In" Marketing Camp Audio kit; did the bank and post office run; shopped for groceries; weeded through some audio for a new corporate storytelling project I am doing; posted a new blog;
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

04.27.2008 Sunday: Packing It In

Picture of: my suitcase staging area, clothes and Kinko's box.

Today I: put the finishing touches on the handouts for my corporate storytelling event next week in Miami; ran to Kinko's to copy said paperwork; went to Walmart (on a weekend-ugg) to pick up a few things for the trip; sent invoice to storytelling sponsor; sent letter of agreement to another sponsor; verified flight schedules; answered the emails of those who seek my time; put up a new blogpost at seanblogs.com; ran to another store to replace dead batteries- seven hours on planes with no Ipod makes me very crabby; ate dinner out with my wife- a little coffee house break; washed a lot of clothes; packed the suitcase and bags; lost and found two really important pieces of travel equipment; updated Ipod with all the podcasts I want to catch up on while trapped on tube speeding through the air; spent time on the phone late night with another professional storyteller who was also packing and prepping for her travel week; am wrestling with CEO decisions in a world full of owners; calling it a night so I can soon call it a morning
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

03.28.2008 Friday: Just Five a Day??

Picture of: wide view of the theater tonight for Liz Weir's storytelling concert at South Mountain Community College Spring Festival. Picture looked much better on the phone screen, lol.

Today I: spent time talking about goals and needs with a new corporate client; got a rental car to cover while van in the shop; took my van and its bad brakes, bad undercarriage bad blah blah blah into the dealer for service; picked up my lost and found cell phone from SMCC office; spent time on the phone with my core faculty advisor; had second phone meeting with corporate client- I love learning new things with people and hearing them learn; spent much phone time with a peer in the biz talking about possibilities, hold backs, value and on and on; dealt with catering order for huge family party tomorrow; spoke with another local client who thinks artists are booked by the hour. explained how one hour of performance takes up to three hours of support; spoke to my brothers both #1 and #2 and sister #1; resolved billing issue with hotel regarding presenter's room; communicated with school regarding my upcoming "substitute teacher" gig for college class; prepped my presentation for Sunday morning event; answered Emails about an October event; picked up car from dealer and paid with a pound of flesh, a pint of my own blood and my first born child's future earnings; had lunch with my kids; went to SMCC for the Liz Weir concert- great evening; spoke with storytellers Dustin, Elly, Sandy, Liz, Mark, LynnAnn, Loren, Don, the other Liz; restarted my 43 folders; added yet another topic to my "blog and write" list.

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

03.12.2008 Wednesday: Po Pour Ree

Picture of: setting up the room and kids trickling in for the school shows I did today. My roadie, aka Daughter #1, is on the left.

Today I: did two school shows, age skewed, went great; edited two new audio tracks for my next two CD's; sent invoices to a sponsor; tickled another sponsor about a contract; did some planning work with meetings room coordinators and caterers- if you don't call me back, I can't give you any money, kids; made tweaks to the Echo Chamber posting; added audio stories to Storyteller.net; sent a note out to my Arizona Emailing list about the next http://www.storytellingatborders.com/ event; sent my learning contracts to my school; updated my web page calendar at seantell.scom; bought another URL, I think I own 175 now; bought diet dr pepper and apple juice on a late night run to the store with daughter #3
::C2008. Picture blog for storyteller Sean Buvala ( www.seantells.com). My written blog is at www.seanblogs.com::

03.03.2008 Monday: Blogging and Websiteing

Picture of: two Arizona automobile license plates. One reads STORY and one reads TELLER. Aww, how precious. We finally got them (I'm Teller) lined up at the OISBC camp last week.

Today I: reworked the schedule for the Outside In Camp and found a way to add even more content; got some great books from Margaret Read MacDonald today- I love it when when she autographs the books she sends me; did a lot of work on the website for the marketing camp- most of it is done with the new information and we are ready for booking the August event; wrote a blog post about the cost of our Storyteller.net Live events; posted the comments from the camp; negotiated with an Arizona hotel for the Recording Workshop and the OISBC this summer; had lunch with my kids; made a commitment to tell at the South Mountain Spring Festival; tried to fend off my FMS exhaustion; talked with another podcaster about his work; discovered another podcaster doesn't understand about the real nature of Storyteller.net and what I do; posted the Storyteller.net mission statement on the Storyteller.net website.

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

02.21.08: Thursday: Meeting Space. Mania.

Picture of: my receipt from Denny's. 12:21AM it says, started at 10:46PM on the 21st, so does this picture count?

Today I: did the banking for the Marketing Camp; paid the big bill at the hotel; ate lunch with my wife; worked on my new "one sheet" (I'll post the link Friday) for a long time -if you don't know what a "one sheet" is or how it is used, you should come to the workshop. Only recently am I getting actual requests for the one sheet from booking sponsors, that is a good sign for storytellers; ordered pizza and watched my kids play Toontown; spent two hours in Denny's tonight organizing the manual for the camp, looking for missing pages and so on. I forget what a lesson in humanity it is to sit in a Denny's late at night, it has it's own, umm, life to hear what people are really concerned about in their own (mostly young) lives and storytelling ain't it even tho' they are story telling to each other for an hour each in those booths. Maybe they are. I confuse myself with all these opinions I have.

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

02.18.2008 Monday: Menu(s)

Picture of: the menu lists from the hotel where our Outside In Storytelling Marketing Boot Camp will be next week.

Today I: had my regular Monday morning staff meeting; spent time finishing the menu for the storytelling marketing camp; finished the paperworks for the Austin, Texas "Storyteller.net Live" event on May 10, 2008--stay tuned; posted a new blog on personal stories; reminded myself that it is okay to let things go on without me bu to be sure that I say what I mean; "The price of clarity is the risk of offense."

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