At the end of every month, I will write down what I perceive as risks I took during that period. This will never be about trying to achieve the highest number possible monthly nor to take the boldest kinds. Rather, I began this purely spontaneously in May 2023 and out of curiosity of discovering where it can lead me.
May
- I gave directions for the nearest US-Canada border to a random driver while cycling.
- I drove during peak morning hours in downtown Montreal with lots of construction and traffic. I got lost in trying to find underground parking so my trip lasted 20 minutes longer than expected. I persisted until I eventually found it!
- I spoke to 2 random students during my Spring 2023 Convocation while waiting in line before going to the tent.
June
- Went on laptops and smartphones inside retail stores to open their Web browsers to my blog. I was hoping that it would be the first page they would see.
- Went to eat and catch up with an old friend.
- I cycled for 74 km in one straight line and to another US-Canada border. I came across a lot of scary abandoned buildings and some were churches. I was scared to peek through their windows , because I was imagining some scary stuff. I was surrounded by very scary forests with trees covering sunlight. When I made it back, it was even scarier because I had to cycle in the darkness. I was hoping that cars would see me while driving even if I had my lights on. I was not sure for how long they would last so I had to make it back home really fast!
- I sent 31 Linkedin invitations to people I came across or that I heard of during my studies. I did not know if some of them would remember me, know me enough or if they disliked me but I still tried.
- I sent 70 more Linkedin invitations to random people suggested to me on my recommendations feed. I never met these people in-person, but I had mutual connections with them.
- Dealt with customer service over the phone to have my laptop repaired. I was misunderstood the first time and I had to spend a lot of time with the guy over the phone to explain my situation.
- A very big, aggressive, muscular Rottweiler dog sprinted at me barking while I was cycling. I recorded my cycling speed using my phone during the moment which was around 18 km/h while it sprinted at me probably at 48 km/h (Yikes). It ran after me from its owner backyard all the way across the street where I was cycling. I was literally face to face with it with cars having to stop and I stood still in front of it while it was barking at me. The owner then came to get it and it luckily did not attack me.
- Went on a long bicycle ride and purposely got myself lost to try and see if I could find my way back which I did luckily and it was not as hard as I thought.
- I had to drive four two hours non-stop in heavy rain in a region covered with forests. I could not see anything at all during those hours and the road was really flooded with water. I drove at around 70 km/h just in case.
July
- Called customer service for my laptop repair again, because I missed one of their emails saying that they would have to charge me for a specific type of repair not covered in my warranty. I convinced them that it was not my fault and they waivered the fee for me while promising it will get repaired. (Saved me 115$!)
- Sorted all of my schoolwork from high school all the way to university. Stored everything in two boxes and I can access them handily if I ever need to.
- I went cycling for two hours even though the weather announced heavy rainfall with intense thunderstorms in the afternoon. The sky was covered with clouds with no sun at all and I was very nervous, but I still went. I could hear thunder on my way back with about 45 min remaining until destination and it scared me. I could even sense some small rain fall on me. I came back sharply on time, because the rain started 15 min immediately right after.
- Called customer service twice for computer repair updates
- Started a YouTube channel with this blog along with an Instagram page
- Went swimming and did all sorts of mobility maneuvers
- Had very hard conversation with people over the phone who escalated my case to a manager who referred me to another agent that could give me compensation.
- Had conversations with online brokerage firms about opening accounts.
- Swam in a pool even though it was cold and I could hear the thunder approaching.
- Almost got attacked by a dog again while cycling.
- Swam for three days in a row.
- Went to a store to buy something, but I could not lock my bicycle anywhere. I carried next to the front door.
- Cycled intensely uphill, kept going even if I felt uncomfortable.
- Went to the doctor to treat an otitis externa.
- Cycled extra hard uphill to visit another Canada-USA border. Visited the Roxham Road.
August
- I started recording when crossing the Canada-USA border until I was told by the guard to stop.
- I greeted random people within the Pennsylvanian neighborhood.
- I drove in the United States and on hectic highways.
- I cycled late at night in pitch dark. I saw a bunch of deers and two dogs almost chased after me.
- I did not pay a promotion hub services to promote my Instagram account.
- I sent out public messages to seek other early travel bloggers to work with.
- Wrote five public posts in five different Facebook public groups in an attempt to find any early travel bloggers to work with. I wrote them even though I was not sure if they were allowed according to the group rules and without waiting for admin approval, because I did not want to wait too long after them. UPDATE: One of the groups declined my post. Two of them approved them.
- I have made three other large announcements (about the previous) to let the whole world know as much as I could. One on my YouTube community, one on Instagram and one on the front page of this blog. I made it widely known and obvious for absolutely anyone to view it so that anyone could cold message me at some point. That was as far as I ever went to beg the world for help online at least. I commented that same announcement on some YouTube videos, but they got deleted by YouTube 5 minutes later for going against community guidelines 🤷♂️.
- Drove on a hard highway with confusing exits and stops.
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