Did the diet work?

Well…it’s been a while since I’ve posted to the blog. What happened?

Did I go crazy from the lack of msnbc.com? Think maybe I couldn’t cope without knowing what was going on in the world? Wait! Presidential election? You mean there was an election? I finally checked out msnbc.com today and that guy looks nothing like Bush!

Just kidding. It seems that I was so productive at work that I was sent into a spiral of work that nearly led me to complete burnout. I am not kidding at all. The big downside of being productive is you might be expected to kick it up a notch. And like some people, it took me a while to get skillful in understanding my limitations and the need to pace oneself.

The great thing is I am still alive. I’ve learned a ton of life lessons all along the way, and I regret not sharing them with my readers.

But all that is about to change. As you can see, I have revamped the blog and I will be making more exciting changes along the way.

With renewed vigor I bring back Possess Less Exist More to help others find fulfillment in life from within instead of from without.

Special thanks to all my friends who stuck with me through my difficult times (you know who you are).

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I just wanted to thank all of you for your support of this blog. I could not do it without the awesome feedback (and the occasional donation) to keep this blog afloat. The postings have been irregular the last few months during my adjustment to the “single dad” lifestyle, and I appreciate you all bearing with me. I hope that the posts I have written have benefited you in some way.

I have also been “looking under the hood” of the blog and making some changes behind the scenes. You won’t notice so many changes in the coming weeks, but I am am looking at some ways to improve the blog and get more readers. Of course, if any of you know anyone you think would benefit from this blog, please pass on the url, or just tell them to go to existmore.com.

I will be doing some interesting things with the blog and will also do a few “experiments,” including being a “human guinea pig”. Just wait and see. It will be fun.

I wish all of you the best and please post a comment on any post. I ahve made some updates to the blog that I hope will provide some interactive dialog among readers of this blog.

Best wishes,

Carlon Haas

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Let me just say the lessons I have already learned (and continue to learn) on the topics of time management, making solid relationships, and the importance of possessing less could give me about a year’s worth of material on this blog.

And I should also mention that I understand now more than ever the importance of continually developing yourself. Those of you with children might know what I mean when I say that the time we devote to developing ourselves trickles down into our children’s development.

So, Possess Less Exist More is back! I’ll most likely go back to my 3 posts a week schedule. But for now, I wanted to share with you a video of my new “dream apartment”. Its about 650 sq. feet for two of us. But having little space is actually a lifesaver (I’ll blog more on the joys of having a small place–especially if you are like me and hate to clean).

The video is not that good and I shot it in haste. I’ll try to get a beter one up here soon with some commentary. Maybe the beginnings of some video blogging as well.

Thanks to all of you who e-mailed me wondering where I was. I do still exist and live joyfully.

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But hey…I get a 2-day trip out of it. So, why not?

But Japan. What do I really know about Japan other than what I learned in “Zen Buddhism and Japanese Culture” class I took in college? Well, I planned to make the most out of it. Lack of language be damned!

As you may have read, I have a much different travel philosophy than others. So, if you expect to hear about famous sites in Osaka, you probably won’t enjoy my story. But if you enjoy about a good adventure story about a guy who manages to find what he is looking for in a foreign country despite the fact he has no idea where he is, then sit back and enjoy…

Korean consulate, here I come.

I had directions. Get out at the Nankai airport and take the “Rapit” train to the Namba stop. Get out at exit 25. And then 10 minutes walk and you’re at the Korean consulate. Easy!

Yeah, right.

Found the train all right. But after getting off at Namba, I saw NO exit numbers. So, I used my Japanese skills said “hi” in Japanese to one man. That was where my Japanese skills ended. And he didn’t speak English. So, I broke out the awesome hand gestures, obviously impressing him. He points down twice and says (in English) “subway”.

Take the subway? But that wasn’t in the directions. But I decided to trust this man. And after realizing that I was on the 2^nd floor and the first floor was a HUGE underground shopping mall, I went to B1.

Lo and behold, EXIT NUMBERS. I went out number 25. Went the wrong way. Had a “map”. Used my Japanese skills again. Said “Hi” in Japanese. The man looked at my map. Pointed in the opposite direction. Finally walked about 2 minutes past the station and there was the consulate (10 minutes…how slow can these direction-givers walk!).

Visa obtained. But now I was hungry. Didn’t I pass a McDonald’s?

Soft Jazz in the Smoking Section of McDonalds

I like local cuisine. But by this time, I was starving and McDonalds seemed the closest place. I got there and ordered some strange hamburger I’ve never seen before and went up the stairs.

How do I describe the scene? No seats, but there were plenty in the smoking section of McDonalds…smoking section? You bet. And with soft cool jazz playing in the background, it all fell into place. It was as it should have been.

Unknown burger…pretty good.

As I was leaving, I realized that I was saying “hi” correctly in Japanese. However, I quickly picked up another word, which is ironically “hai”, meaning yes. That came in VERY handy later, as only knowing how to say hi and yes made me very friendly and agreeable to most people I met.

The price of not making a reservation

Next, find a hotel. But one of the cool things about Osaka was all the bikes. They were EVERYWHERE. They were so pervasive, I almost rented one. Besides, they were cool. Retro cool like the old Schwinn bikes.

I digress. Where’s a hotel? I have no idea where I am, but I am in luck. I stumbled upon a tourist office where they spoke English…sort of. They gave me a map with hotel names. I was off.

Found one close to the Korean Consulate. The problem? No reservation. But they had a room.

Is a smoking room okay? NO view?

“Hai,” I reply. My bag is getting heavy, and I want to unload it. Besides, the rate was pretty cheap. Who needs to argue?

The map would come in handy though. It sent me to my next destination.

Amerika Mura = The “American” Village

I love observing “American” culture abroad, and Osaka actually has a place called Amerika Mura (America Village) that is an area of shops and where you can watch teenagers acting out their version of America.

At first I didn’t know where I was. But I happened to meet a couple of Korean students in Osaka on vacation (I speak Korean). I ask them where Amerika Mura is. After they get over the shock of a white guy asking them something in Korean, they tell me, “You’re in Amerika Mura.”

Let me tell you: it was interesting to say the least—fashion-wise.

The fashion victims were too many to count. But it seems the most popular “American” fashion at the America village is the striped knee-high socks and a style reminiscent of Linda Perry in her 4 Non-Blondes heyday.

“And I said hey yeah yeah yeah yeah….hey yeah yeah…I said, hey…What’s going on?”

The most interesting fashion style I saw was the “Mary-had-a-little-lamb” look. Picture Mary, as in having a little lamb, in pink ruffles complete with a little basket and, I kid you not, a lacy umbrella to match. Now, I first thought this was part of a show, maybe cabaret, but alas more “Mary”s showed up. Either that was the biggest show in the world or the latest “American” fashion. I’m not even going to guess.

The British Pub in Japan

It’s getting dark, and I’m starting to get hungry. I saw a sign for a place called “Pig and Whistle.” It sounded interesting. And it was…

I can say without irony that the first time I ate fish and chips was at a British pub—in Japan. Pig and Whistle is a British pub in Japan. But it was cool. I spent part of that evening talking to “Mr. Peterson” from Copenhagen, Denmark. He offered me a lot of insights into Japan. We also chatted about the origins of the group pop Aqua (Denmark, if you’re keeping score). We both agreed, however, we were tired of the—even though they have big followings in Asia and Denmark despite their breakup.

One thing he said that will stick with me is that the Japanese don’t do anything half-assed. He thought the “British” pub we were in seemed more “British” than the ones in Britain. They only drawback was that we were drinking Irish beer. Just didn’t seem to fit.

Blade Runner Revisited

“Mr. Peterson” had to go. But I hit an area that can only be described as a scene out of Blade Runner. Lights everywhere! Pachinko parlors, arcades, stores…it was awesome. I must have walked the area for hours until I got completely lost.

But along the way, I met and chatted with a few English-speaking Japanese people and two Korean families (yep…Korean comes in handy).

Luckily, in the end, a nice Japanese person pointed the way to the subway station where I found my exit and returned to the hotel.

Surrealism in my hotel room

While I didn’t go off adventuring, I made it back to my smoke-smelling room with a beautiful view of the parking lot and the competing hotel across the street. But a hotel has its moments.

For example, I wanted to watch a movie. But to watch a movie you needed to get a pre-paid movie card for about $10 and you could watch ANY movie in the library of Videos on demand. The card was available from a vending machine right next to the vending machine that sold beer (that’s right beer in a vending machine).

They had all sorts of movies, including a VERY LARGE selection of Japanese adult videos (AV videos) with interesting titles like:

Molesters on Fire (parts 1 &2)

Re-sex (parts 1 & 2)

English Conversation Pimp

And more…

So, what does a man traveling alone on a trip do with such a collection before he goes to bed?

He buys a card, grabs a beer from the vending machine and watches…

…”Flags of our Fathers”

Excellent movie. But something about watching a World War II movie about the Battle of Iwo Jima in Japan a day after the anniversary of Hiroshima…I don’t know…I found it rather surreal.

“The Underground” and Returning Home to Seoul

Osaka was hot. REAL hot. So, I spent most of the time I had left underground. But it was time well spent. I sampled some interesting cuisine. I have no idea what I ate, but it was pretty good. And I noticed that the miso soup I ate in Japan was stronger than what Americans have, but slightly less strong as the Korean version.

I shared some beer with a Japanese businessman on his lunch break when we decided to share a table because there was no room. I ate Japanese pork cutlet at that time. I had eaten it in Seoul at a place that sold mucho expensive “authentic” Japanese pork cutlet. I wondered at the time how authentic the Seoul version was. I have to answer that the Seoul place’s cutlet tasted like the Japanese version of breaded pork cutlet.

What did I talk about with the Japanese businessman? Not much. He didn’t speak English. But I think we were both agreeing that Asahi “Dry” was the best beer in Japan. Some things are just universal. NO translation required.

Then, I returned home to Seoul only to encounter a lot of lost tourists. I did help a Singaporean couple on my return find their way to their hotel. I figured it was the least I could do to pay back all the nice Japanese people who kindly dealt with a bald American looking lost most of the time, but having a great time doing it.

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 I am grateful to all of you for taking the time to read my blog,and hope they have brought value to you and your life.  I hope this will be the first of many posts of gratitude for you and all you do.

Happenings in the Possess Less Exist More Universe 

Over the past week, I’ve been honored to have some of my blog articles featured in some blog carnivals. There are many good articles (besides mine, of course) in these carnivals, and you may want to take some time to read some.

You can view the articles at the following blog carnivals:

Festival of Frugality

Abundance Thinking blog Carnival

Personal Development Carnival

More thanks

Also thanks to Steve Harper for his efforts in publicizing the Possess Less Exist More Blog and for taking part in the inaugural podcast. I plan to do more and more podcasts, and if you think you might be interested in participating in a Possess Less Exist More podcast, just contact me and let me know you’re interested. We typically cover personal development issues or frugal living.

Also, if you think other people from benefit from any of my articles, I encourage you to email them to your friends, “Digg” them, or submit them to your favorite social media site.  I made some changes to the blog adding a mail to button and easy submission buttons to most social media sites. 

Some personal notes

Great things have happened to me since returning to South Korea…almost too many to mention. But I finally got to see the English textbooks I wrote 7 years ago being used in a classroom. Seeing the kids laughing at the parts I had written specifically to make them laugh was quite gratifying.

Next week, I’ll be “existing more” in Osaka, Japan for a couple of days. I’ve never been to Osaka and plan to see all I can in the short time I am there.

Have a great weekend.

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The reason?

I have recently realized a long-time desire of mine which was to relocate to South Korea. So, here I am living again in South Korea and I am ready for a new direction.

To that end, I am changing carlonhaas.com from a marketing blog to a blog dedicated to my personal life philosophy of “Possess Less Exist More.”

The new blog will focus on personal development through simplifying your life.

For all my marketing readers, don’t worry. I will keep all the marketing stuff archived and I will occasionally still post on marketing since I believe that marketing is one skill you can take with you wherever you go and be successful with it.

Thank all of you for your loyal readership, and I hope you will come with me on this next journey and enjoy the new blog content.

You can sneak a peak of the “beta version” of the new blog here. That blog will be replacing this current blog in about a week.

Best to all of you,

Carlon

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This may have nothing to do with marketing or social media, but I am saddened by what I consider to be a tragedy for the English language. As a writer, I do read literature. And, yes, I think all of you should too.

One writer I enjoy reading is Kurt Vonnegut. Vonnegut, for lack of a better word, could turn a phrase. Consider what he wrote about the firebombing or Dresden (which he witnessed firsthand as a prisoner of war)

“The firebombing of Dresden was a work of art.” It was, he added, “a tower of smoke and flame to commemorate the rage and heartbreak of so many who had had their lives warped or ruined by the indescribable greed and vanity and cruelty of Germany.”

Language does not get better than that. We may not agree with the statement, but you cannot deny its beauty.

I was going to try to somehow turn the life of Vonnegut into a marketing lesson for all of you. As much as writers hate to hear this…the best authors are great marketers. And Vonnegut was no exception.

But I just don’t think it’s appropriate. I do suggest though that if you’ve never read a book by Vonnegut that you go pick one up now. My favorites are:

Slaughterhouse Five

Breakfast of Champions

Mother Night

The great thing about Vonnegut is that his books are short (if you have no attention span) and they are wildly entertaining. You can’t say that for most literature out there. Heck, you can’t say that for much ad copy you see out there either.

So it goes….

Carlon Haas

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Well…he soon realized that I was, in fact NOT, Darren.

Of course, I didn’t know who he was, but I did find out that the “guy calling me Darren” (as I referred to him in my head for a couple of days) was Joel Comm author of the AdSense code..good book, check it out.

But, it didn’t end with Joel.

I still had no idea who Darren was. But it became clear. At the Underground Online Seminar that I attended, one of the speakers there was none other than the problogger himself Darren Rowse. And then it hit me…Joel must have confused our heads. Understandable. I assume the lack of an Australian accent was what probably tipped him off.

But then after Darren Rowse spoke, I had other people coming up to me telling me about my great presentation on blogging. I admit it started going to my head. In fact, whenever people came up to me and asked for advice on blogging, I suddenly developed an Australian accent.

They were all spellbound by my advice on blogging like only post once every 6 months, use a lot of profanity in B2B blogs, and–my favorite–make sure your blog talks about a wealth of unrelated topics to keep readers on their toes.

All the while, they were busily taking notes.

Yeah…it sure was good being the problogger for a while.

But all good things must come to an end.

I may not be the problogger, but I did learn a lot from him. I have already started implementing some of the things he recommends in my blogs.

Tune in tomorrow when I talk about why I dig Digg.com (and why if you have a blog you should too).

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Man, I feel so sorry for most of the contestants because Melinda Doolittle is wiping the floor with them.

I mean, nice as she appears to be, she’s a pro and the rest are rank amateurs.

It would be like watching Michael Jordan and yours truly in a game of horse. How fun would it really be to watch Mike swish one after the other while I clanked them off left and right.

And what if you were forced to watch weeks of this agony? That’s American Idol.

Though I am going to speculate here…and I don’t do this much, but I think Melinda will get voted off in the top 4. You heard it here first. Yes, everyone will be surprised. There will be all sorts of conspiracies, but I’ll save you the trouble of needing one.

No one likes bullies. And right now Melinda Doolittle is picking on the less-talented singers out there. If the game of horse between Mike and myself was decided on votes instead of skill, I might just be able to get the sympathy votes required to knock Mike off his pedestal.

I think the same thing will happen to Melinda Doolittle.

Sorry Melinda,

Carlon Haas

http://www.BraveNewMarketing.com

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I was pretty upset because I have not seen a dime of that “model money” coming into the company coffers. She (of course) proclaims her innocence.

You be the judge. One is from the journal, the other my wife’s passport picture (yes…it’s from her passport). Tell me if I shouldn’t be expecting some extra “model money” this year?

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