Seattle, Salt Lake, Denver & a Gall Bladder!

After our Portland promotion, we drove a few hours North to Seattle, WA. We captured some incredible interviews with a local muralist/painter named Baso and a myriad of other Seattilites.

It was freezing and personally I was pretty under the weather (no pun intended). I had a 3-day cold apparently the progressed drastically the one day we had to spend in Seattle. The Space Needle didn't see the likes of me, but the rest of the group soldiered on to capture Unipaas Jet footage.

Seattle seemed to be over and done within a blink of an eye. The next morning, Vinnie wasn't feeling so well- and was super quiet (even more so than usual). We all thought it was the cocktails that Eve (Seattle Director & guilty culprit) bought for him the night prior. Little did we know.

After Seattle we began our decent to the great state of Colorado. It was pretty impossible to make it there in one day, so we had to stop of in Salt Lake City for the night. I had never been to Utah and didn't quite know what I should expect. Salt Lake City was the weirdest city I'd ever been to. The air was horrible, (apparently they were having a red alert in air quality), it smelled like sulfur and then vomit and then feces. It was an everlasting gobstopper of putrid smells as we traveled through. It was pretty disgusting.

All of the exits were labeled 9000 NE, 3400 SE etc. No street names just 4 digit numbers. I was enlightened later that these numbers and directions revolve around the Mormon Tabernacle in town. Wow! They don't have a state lotto so Matt couldn't complete his souvenir lotto ticket chain he's had for 7 states. I also noticed an abundance of self improvement signs. Lipo, lap band, acne scars, viragoes veins and a lot of those pass it on signs with Andre Agassi- I'm pretty sure they were outdated, I wonder if they know he's addicted to Meth? Utah was interesting for sure.

The mountains were incredible however.

The next day was a drive through Wyoming- breathtaking mountains, cliffs and canyons. Snow covered valleys and frozen lakes. Not a whole lot of anything, but gorgeous nothingness. Oh and people in Wyoming LOVE fireworks. There is a firework stand on almost every bend, and where there isn't a stand there is a sign advertising a stand close buy.

We had a fantastic meet and greet in Denver- tons of people showed for more information. We had some break dancers and Andy from the Flow Botts and a designer who croqueted sweaters that stragtigically fit your iphone, ipod and other electronics to be easily accessible. Pretty awesome. Denver is going to be a great one.

As we got into Colorado Vinnie didn't look so hot and asked us to drop him at a hospital- we had no idea what was so severe. A few hours later we get a call that Vinnie needs to go into surgery the following morning! His gall bladder was inflamed and they needed to remove it. He hadn't been feeling well the last few weeks- and apparently the clinic in Long Beach diagnosed it as Acid Reflux... BIG mistake!

We're happy to report that Vinnie had a successful surgery and is recovering in Poudre Valley Hospital. Although we asked to see the gall bladder, it was already gone.

Vinnie needs to stay and recover in Fort Collins Colorado for a few days (which is the nicest hospital I've ever been in). He may join us in Philly or head home to rest. We all think he's crazy for still wanting to go on the trip. As of this morning, we're Chicago bound leaving Vinnie and his gall bladder cavity will remain in Colorado.




We send him healthy vibes, and wish him a speedy recovery. What an adventure thus far, and not we're not even half way done yet.



Three RAWker's soilder on.

San Francisco & Berkeley -- Check!

Some things we did yesterday...

1. Pizza by the Golden Gate while we shot our first UniPaas Jet video. We met three awesome locals who were out walking and stoked to talk about a product they knew nothing about with such enthusiasm.

2. We made two dozen phone calls to local auto stores looking for chains or cables. No one in town (nor back at home) had our size -- apparently we're rollin' on Dubs? We finally found and reserved them.

3. The East Bay (Berkeley) Meet and Greet went great! We caught a local poet, singer, painter and curator on the documentary. Listening to the interviews helped reinvigorate all of us for the mission. It's easy to feel deflated of passion on two hours of sleep, long trips and a beginning signs of a cold -- so the meet and greet was just the remedy.

View some pictures on my facebook page www.Facebook.com/HeidiLuerra


PS. Vinnie and I are currently the back-seaters...

There seems to be a sound barrier when we say anything to Vy and Matt. They can't hear us -- so instead of shouting across the seats to talk to them, we're just whispering insults and making fun of them now from the back seat. It's funny.

With Gratitude...

I'm the oldest of four kids. My two brothers, my sister and I have an iron-clad bond. In a lot of ways, I feel like they're my kids.

Being the oldest, I was naturally the leader. I was the school teacher when we played "School House," I was the director when we played "Make a Movie" and I was the grandma in our oh-so-imaginative skit/play/game that we would play on long road trips called "Gross Grandma."

I have always been the leader of the pack.

My favorite 8th grade America History teacher once said, "Here's what you need to know about any leader in history -- he gets all the credit and all the blame!" I can picture Mr. Johnson now, with his red flannel tucked into his jeans, not a single button undone all the way to his neck. Huge glasses and a gut that competed with the likes of Santa Claus. He was one of the coolest teachers I've ever had. He was classic. (RIP Mr.Johnson)

I never forgot that quote. As I made my way into high school, I really learned what being a leader was. My senior year, I had taken on way too much and was pretty much involved in everything in school. Spearheading Key Club, Dance Team, The Yearbook and probably like 50 other things...I barely remember anymore (my hippocampus is quite full at the moment).

While learning how to be a leader, surveying the patterns of people, and leading several teams -- I lost a lot of faith in the human race. People were flakes, my dance girls would rather hang out with their douche bag boyfriends than come to my practice, and while I was busy trying to inspire and uplift -- there was no one to really inspire me. I had to be the rock, because when the rock crumbles so does the team. Sad story -- I know, but it has a happy ending.

Tonight, I'm beaming with gratitude for the mass of people that I have been lucky enough to surround myself with somehow. What an incredible group of people I work with.

Last night (in the wee hours0 Matt launched the national version of our website, check it out -- it's a beauty! www.RAWartists.org

Vy and Matt slaved over it for the past few weeks. Web design and development is NOT cake! Man, oh man. Cut to me giving them feedback about switching this color, that shape and the space between the logo. My lord, I thought I was going to be murdered with a keyboard.

Vinnie was in the office until almost 10pm last night editing the last of the seasons videos. We brewed coffee around 9pm.

Matt hasn't taken a day off in nearly 2.5 weeks.

Vy worked all Saturday and Sunday. Nick Vu came in to cut cardboard, staple ribbon and paint our RAWards credentials.

To be surrounded by people that just simply care, understand and are willing to do whatever it takes, brings a tear to my eye. They care about the well being of the whole, rather than just themselves. I'm right there with them.

There aren't many people like that out there (trust me I've worked with a ton of them in the past). Reading the blogs of our new Location Directors all over the United States, I've continued to gush with gratitude.

What a time we live in, what an opportunity we have and how lucky we are.

RAW is on the cusp of something so huge, and to look back and reflect on the road here is rewarding, exhausting and a little bit of "thank god that's over." The unknowns become less and less everyday. Everyday, I'm reminded that the vision and the mission is changing lives, helping people and working towards beneficial change on this planet. There is truly no one doing what we're doing, at this magnitude, that cares this much!

I am so very thankful. I raise my coffee cup!

I'm a mere fraction of why RAW is going on the road and expanding, why RAW has been so successful as a concept and a community... just a piece of the RAWberry pie (yes, I'm delirious again).

Though I may be the leader of this pack and I'm prepared to take all of the blame -- I surely don't deserve all the credit.

Thanks, guys. I'm forever indebted to you (especially Matt).