Brian goes virtual

Written on Mar 21 2007 12,738 views, 21 comments

by Brian Madden

Those of you who've read BrianMadden.com over the last four years know that I've never posted articles about my personal life. I feel that today, however, warrants an exception.

Today is the day that I move out of this house:

And into this one:

I've spent the last year getting rid of just about every physical product I own. Yard sales, Craig's List, Freecycle, and Goodwill helped me get there. I sold my motorcycles and car, and I sold my house.

Everything I own can now fit in the trunk of a car.

I plan to travel the world full time. I'm not going to stay in hotels generally--I don't want to be that transient. Instead I'll use resources like Craig's List to find short term furnished apartment sublets in various cities. So for example, if I go to a conference in Amsterdam, I might stay there in a furnished apartment for a month instead of flying in and out.

I have no idea how long I'll keep at this. Maybe a year? Maybe ten years? Maybe two weeks?

If you're interested in following along, you can read whereis.brianmadden.com. I've written several entries over the past year about how I've been preparing for this trip (both logistically and emotionally), and now I'll be writing about life on the road and whether it is actually possible (for me) to be virtual.

Today I'm going from Washington DC to visit my parents in Ohio. Then I'll visit Gabe in Nebraska before I roll into Chicago for the month of April to work on the BriForum logistics. After that I'll be in Europe for a few months (PubForum, iForum Edinburgh, training class in London, etc.) before heading to Brazil and then to NYC for the summer.

Thanks everyone for your support! Without this amazing community my job wouldn't be possible, and without my job, this virtualization wouldn't be possible.

Comments

Jose D. Crespo wrote Cool!

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 10:00 AM

That's great! I hope I can do the same in my next reincarnation... if there's a planet left

Good luck and best wishes on your journeys Brian...

Rene Vester wrote Great idea

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 10:01 AM

Hey Brian,
 
Just wanted to wish you a happy journey, i hope i will get to hear about your experiences at Pubforum, but no matter if we have to keep up with where you are in the real world or on the website doesnt matter, it sounds like a very exciting experiment and i am looking forward to keeping and eye on your progress.
You should visit Denmark some time soon i am sure we can find interesting challenges or experiences for you :-)
 
Its great to see people taking it one step further, i checked the agenda of the major virtualization conferences and i havnt been seeing any sessions on: "Virtualizing your life".. gonna look forward to 'Virtualizing your life.. ' at a future Briforum ;)
 
/Rene

bjorn bats wrote cool

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 11:23 AM

Cool brain its brave!!!.
ill hope you have some time to write books,articles en answer my email ;).
 
see ya.
www.bjornbats.nl
 

Roman Mueller wrote Good Luck

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 11:54 AM

Good Luck to you Brian.

This is absolute brilliant.
I'll read your blog (thanks to RSS, I won't forget it the next minute ;)).


Have fun out there.

Souri Subudhi wrote All the best

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 12:57 PM

All the Best Brain !!
 
Warm Regards

Tim Mangan wrote I can see it now...

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 4:25 PM

Guy in suit:  "So Gabe.  Tell me why you left your last job before finding something new".
Gabe:  "Well I took this job working for a friend in D.C. that had his own company.  The arrangement was that I could work remotely from home in Nebraska.  It would involve some travel several times a year".
Guy: "I see..."
Gabe: "Shortly after I started my friend became homeless."
Guy: "Ugh"
Gabe: "No, that was OK.  I mean it really was his choice.  He WANTED to live on the road."
Guy:  "So the business went under"?
Gage: "Oh no.  Business was better than ever.  Things were great until he came for a visit."
Guy:  "To Nebraska?"
Gabe: "Yeah.  Came for three weeks.  Stayed in the spare room.  8 months later I had it."
Guy: "You quit and threw him out?"
Gabe: "Yes and no.  I wasn't that thrilled with living in the middle of nowhere, he was sick for a home.  I let him have it."
Guy: "Brings new meaning to being home-sick I guess."
Gabe: "So can I have the job?"
Guy: "Sure, you have great references. But you can't stay at my house."

Todd Turner wrote MAME cabinet

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 4:54 PM

Wow that sounds awesome.  Damn I had a chance to buy a MAME cabinet and missed it!!

Randy Brewer wrote Debbie Downer Says

on Wed, Mar 21 2007 5:07 PM

Are you exempt from capital gains if you live in your house for more than 1 year before you sell it (without buying a new one)?  Or do you have to spend the money that you made on selling your house within one year...i dont know how that works, but be careful that big brother doesnt cut your trip short by taking your money.
 
Good Luck!
 
 

Edgar Lopez wrote Good luck

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 4:15 AM

It is funny that I found your website today. I got a job offer for Citrix Administration and I am looking for info in multiple sources.
 
In 2005 I sold everything and started traveling around the world, my goal was to travel for 3 years, but I was tired because I was backpacking and staying in places less time than the one you plan.

The only thing I can tell you is that the world is big, I traveled for 17th months and only went around 23 Countries. I want to go back but I have to get more money.

Best Luck

Edgar
www.demochilazo.com
Quit your job, buy a backpack and explore your world.

Dennis Pennings wrote kewl..

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 8:21 AM

go for it dude..
 
i tried it, but without a job, just travellling, and funny enough i ended with a "windows 2003 server unleashed" book in my backpack to read on the beaches of thailand.. so i figured coming back..
 
but i guess ur work won't stop, just the place where you are. the only thing i wanted to tell you is to take lots of short breaks between the work and enjoy the life where u live it. Happy travellin'!

Dennis Pennings wrote RE: kewl..

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 8:36 AM

1 thing though.. i read u wanted to be a "world citizin", i had the same idea, but i found out that travelling and staying in other countries really made me aware of where i was coming from. So at the end my ideals were kind of turned around.. Mayby the reason why there are not so little (known) world flags..

David Caddick wrote Congrats!!

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 8:36 AM

Hi Brian,
 
If you are lucky enough to find the time at some stage to make it to Sydney look me up, there's some spare room attached to the balcony overlooking the Harbour and the Pacific - on second thoughts, you might like it too much... 
 
Dave

Dennis Pennings wrote RE: Congrats!!

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 8:38 AM

ORIGINAL: Dave Caddick

Hi Brian,

If you are lucky enough to find the time at some stage to make it to Sydney look me up, there's some spare room attached to the balcony overlooking the Harbour and the Pacific - on second thoughts, you might like it too much... 

Dave

 
Same here.. if u would settle for a couch in the netherlands..

Beav wrote Travelin' Man

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 9:33 AM

 
OK, reminds me of the old Bob Seger song, but anyway...
 
I can just envision Brian now working on trading his posessions for bigger and better items much like the person that previously did that.
 
Toothpick -> Coffee Cup -> Thermos -> Bicycle -> ... -> House -> Personal Yacht

Rudy Bauer wrote How Does it Feel?...

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 4:16 PM

To be on your own, with no direction home?...

When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose...

Brian, I bet it feels good without all the overhead - have fun!

Damien Simmons wrote Brilliant

on Thu, Mar 22 2007 7:15 PM

Really impressive move.  I really hope it works out well for you.  Maybe one of you future articles should be on how to be completly mobile and stay valuable in a mobile IT world (hint hint). I am sure some of us would love to follow your lead at some point in their life...

sarav srini wrote Take care...

on Sat, Mar 24 2007 10:28 PM

And All the Best...

Greg Kern wrote If you need a Stop along the way...

on Mon, Mar 26 2007 1:09 PM

Brian:
This is both CRAZY and VERY COOL... I would bet that most of us reading this
wish we could do the same thing...  GOOD LUCK with this, man; it's bound to be
some of the best times of your life...

And, if you need a place to stay at any point, we don't have much, but my
wife and I would be glad to put you up; St. Louis is pretty centralized, and
you could do a little MBC (Missouri-based Computing)...

Again, good luck on your adventure.

DJ Eshelman wrote If you find yourself near Fort Collins...

on Mon, Mar 26 2007 10:01 PM

You're an inspiration, brother.

If you find yourself in the Fort Collins, CO area - drop me a line - dj *at! djeshelman.com

What's in it for you?  All the finest Fort Collins Microbrews you can drink, straight from the source:

http://www.newbelgium.com (One of our favorite clients - I wonder why)
http://www.odells.com (just down the road)
or http://www.fortcollinsbrewery.com (which is literally right behind my office)

I figure it's the least I can do - your site has been very helpful over the years.

-The Deej
http://www.thedeej.net

Frank Anderson wrote The world is my home

on Wed, Mar 28 2007 10:10 AM

Wait a minute, this sounds familiar…..oh, now I remember….
 
                                VINCENT
                       So if you're quitting the life,
                       what'll you do?
 
                                  MADDEN
                       That's what I've been sitting here
                       contemplating.  First, I'm gonna
                       deliver this case to Marsellus.
                       Then, basically, I'm gonna walk the
                       earth.
 
                                  VINCENT
                       What do you mean, walk the earth?
 
                                  MADDEN
                       You know, like Caine in "KUNG FU."
                       Just walk from town to town, meet
                       people, get in adventures.
 
                                  VINCENT
                       How long do you intend to walk the
                       earth?
 
                                  MADDEN
                       Until God puts me where he want me
                       to be.
 
                                  VINCENT
                       What if he never does?
 
                                  MADDEN
                       If it takes forever, I'll walk
                       forever.
 
                                  VINCENT
                       So you decided to be a bum?
 
                                  MADDEN
                       I'll just be Brian, Vincent -- no
                       more, no less.
 
 
Just kidding Brian, good luck.
 

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Brian Madden wrote The desktop and application virtualization 2008 year in review

on Wed, Jan 7 2009 11:58 AM

Another year has ended. We did a "year in review" article in 2005 and 2006 (not sure what happened