Here we are, one year later, in beautiful downtown St. Pete, Florida. Today’s weather was so perfect, I’d bet everyone up north that’s nearly frozen to death would sell their soul for. Weather so delightfully wonderful that it’s exactly the kind of universal THANK YOU to Olga Bof, founder of Keep St. Petersburg Local that was appropriate. The kind of deserved THANK YOU to Olga and her amazing Team KSPL, for unifying all things local, again today, February 7, 2015 with Localtopia 2.0.
As a fellow Entrepreneur, we all know that the solutions to our world’s problems and challenges MUST come from us. We, Entrepreneurs, are the superheros that save the day. That solve the problem, whether it’s a small margin step forward or a game changing improvement like what the folks at Google have been doing. Wear a cloak or tights if you want to, that’s cool, and then get back to work. And make sure to join us at venue NOVA 535 Unique Event Space in downtown St. Pete on Thursday nights for the Entrepreneur Social Club, where we drink, laugh and learn.
EY is calling for nominations for the 29th Annual EY Entrepreneur Of The Year awards, recognized as one of the most prestigious business awards programs in the country. There is a firm deadline of Friday, March 6, 2015 for completed applications, with the Florida Awards gala scheduled for Thursday, June 11, 2015 at the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate.
You might not think of artists as Entrepreneurs, but they, we, most certainly are. We create, we design, we build, we have vision(s) and occasionally turn those visions into realities. Almost more importantly we are NOT afraid to fail. To make mistakes. To F-up. To be laughed at, ridiculed, humiliated. Because we KNOW we have something UNIQUE, something special, we just might not be able to translate whatever-the-heck-that-is into reality. More so not into a reality that enough other people are willing to pay for, and that’s the rubb.
I really really love living, working and playing here in downtown St. Pete, Florida. Why? Is it because I was born and raised here? Is it because I’ve traveled to over 35 countries on 5 continents and have a global perspective as to what truly makes up a great city? What makes up a wonderful living experience? Certainly some of both.
(NOTE = Since first publishing this blog, we’ve updated our name from I Love DTSP to Downtownstpete.com)
Yes my Espanol esta muy mol. I should have been more focused in high school Spanish classes, something that is easy to do, focus in high school, right? Raging hormones, distractions galore, no clue how mas importante your lessons could be, would be, in future Michael’s world. Well here we are, spending a day as true tourists, in the lovely, bustling city of Buenos Aires, and working our way through a verbal translation blender. Deliciously a sucio mess!
After the 6 1/2 hour flight from Bogota to Buenos Aires, arriving at a lovely 3:30 am in the morning, after a lot of choppy weather, I was ready to hit a soft mattress and get some sleepy. However, I had yet to find that mattress. I tried AirBnB to get a crash pad for a 5 am early check-in but no bueno. So I went to the hotel where we are scheduled to stay the NEXT few nights with my amigos. They’d have a room for uno, correct?
After spending five lovely days in Medellin, truly surprised at the excellent quality and quantity of their street art, graffiti, murals and yes outright vandalism, I wondered what Bogota had in store for me. Well, compared to Medellin, the amount of pure trashy vandalism here in Bogota was so disappointing. It seems that every idiot with a pair of arms and access to spray paint decided to “tag” and RUIN so much of it’s charm and beauty. Yes there is also incredible world-class street art here, and that’s the focus of my story today.
Hola from the capital of Colombia, Bogota! As I’m making my way south to Buenos Aires for a friends wedding, I’m spending a few days in the center of the Colombian world. It’s a busy city, with people scurrying to and for, taxis swerving, honking and certainly keeping you PAYING ATTENTION, buses spouting auto exhaust and unfortunate vandalism style graffiti everywhere – though with some excellent street art peppered in to give the city artistic hope – Bogota is definitely alive and kicking! But this story isn’t about the street art, this is about the city as the capital of a friendly, growing major city withing South America, and about the fabulous Museo do Oro, the Fort Knox of Bogota. Well if Fort Knox was a museum…maybe it is, I’ve yet to visit..
Today, Saturday November 15, 2014 brings to me three words of beauty. No Mas Lluvia!. No more rain. I was up early with every intention to work for a few hours, exercise a bit then take a taxi down to the Museo de Arte Moderno, and spend a few hours enjoying Modern Art here in Medellin. I double checked with the gods of Google, and yup, the gallery is open today until 5:00 pm. Muy Bien. So I NYC whistle down a passing taxi, yes I’ve got a world-class whistle, and we are off to the Museo, about a brisk 20 minute ride.
I arrived in Medellin, Colombia on a Thursday afternoon, November 13, 2014 to be exact. Rain falling from the sky onto a beautiful green countryside. Many of my friends, amigos, were wondering why I’d pick a city in a country known historically for violence and kidnappings. Well, I’m on my way to a wedding in Buenos Aires, yes a wedding, I know, I throw weddings every week here at my venue NOVA 535 Unique Event Space in downtown St. Pete for a living. One more wedding, really? On your vacation Mike? Si. See the fact is that my best pal Drew Edwards, fellow world traveler extraordinaire, is the kind of guy, if you’re smart, and I try to be, you listen to what he has to say. If Drew says, “Mike come down to a wedding in Argentina during Thanksgiving” then I do whatever I can to get down there. Hence my blogging from here in Poblado, Medellin, Columbia.
