The Journal of the Traveling Squid

It is our objective to auction off The Journal of the Traveling Squid -- signed international edition of the Squidoo Giant Squid t-shirt! This auction is to benefit a Squidoo charity. Once we have determined where the auction will be held, we will let you know. The winning bidder will have the distinct honor of determining WHICH charity will benefit from the proceeds.

WOW! Look at this shirt! Imagine the priceless miles, the priceless experiences, the sheer amount of DNA the shirt has collected in its worldly travels. I tell you, it boggles the mind! Yes it does.

This cool logo was designed by fellow lensmaster Janusz Biela. It was his creation to feature a Traveling Squid wearing the Giant Squid t-shirt, standing atop Mt. Everest holding the Journal! Pretty clever don't you think. Janusz offers his designing skills free to fellow Squidoo lensmasters -- that is mighty remarkable, don't you think. Thank you Janusz!

Somewhere just north of London, U.K. - April 6th 2009

I cannot tell you how pleased I was when Julie told me about her idea and asked if I wanted to take part. It was one of those "spooky" moments as I had just drafted a blog entry about how an idea or project can bring people together from all walks of life. One of the things I love about Squidoo is that it has brought me into contact with people from all over the world.

However, since the Journal arrived (later than expected - the goo old Royal Snail - oops I mean Royal Mail - failing to deliver on time as usual!) I have had some even more exciting news and I can now officially say how priviledged I feel to be the first Squid Angel to write in The Journal - may my halo never tarnish!!

I come from a very lovely, small city in the U.K., which has to remain a secret, to protect the identities of the children I write about in some of my lenses - so please forgive my vagueness about my location.

However, I can tell you that we live on the edge of the countryside and often see the red kites floating gracefully on the "thermals" above our house - they are amazing. Until recently there were a threatened species in the U.K. but are now making a comeback.

This Journal is a lovely project and I am looking forward to seeing all the pictures and updates on the lens.

Much love (and blessings!)
AJ
xx

Bristol April 22nd 2009

The journal of the Traveling Squid arrived in Bristol last Thursday, and it was delightful to read the previous entries by fellow squids. I had a plan of writing a quick entry and getting it posted off a lot quicker than I actually have, but it is quite a busy time here currently. We are in the process of leaving Bristol having lived here for 3 years now and moving down to the south coast after spending the summer in my campervan. The amount of stuff needing dealt with just seems to be increasing in direct proportion to the number of things we manage to get ticked off the list! But anyway, less about that and more about fun stuff.

The weekend just gone saw me and my partner, Sasha, travel to a friends 40th where we had a great time. Though didn't really allow us a moment to find a scenic place to take a pic. So we did this on the return journey whilst we passed through the centre of Bristol and could use the Magnificent backdrop of the SS Great Britain, the worlds first steampowered propeller driven iron hulled ship, built in Bristol by the legendary Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The wooden boat in the foreground being The Matthew, the replica of the boat sailed 500years ago by explorer John Cabot who originally discovered New Foundland, well before Columbus.

Currently the Journal finds us in quite a period of change as we close a chapter of our lives by leaving Bristol and the bookselling business I have run for over 3 years now. During this time, we have been through quite a lot as my partner was diagnosed with CFS/ME shortly after first moving here, meanwhile I was trying to build up the book business. The good news being that within 18months Sasha was well on the road to recovery, and had published a book (Joyful Recovery from ME/CFS) about her healing story and the methods she used to aid her recovery. I also discovered the joys of writing in this period and discovered Squidoo after some minor flirting with blogging.

Through squidoo I began to enjoy writing about the subjects that caught my interest - the first being Perry Mason, which almost broke into the top100 on a number of occasions! Squidoo suited my short attention span fantastically, with my previous blog I struggled to maintain an interest in books I was writing about, and a format that allowed me to write just one article about a subject that interested me or as many as I felt like before the next passion or interest seized me. I also discovered the joys of affiliate marketing due to squidoo and have found that by using good products to link to, and finding interesting niche subjects, that I could reach a much wider audience through squidoo. The direct result of this was the ability to then earn a passive income for months, if not years after originally publishing just one article. I have found it very hit and miss choosing the right subject matter and also finding the right affiliate programs, but I have learned a lot about increasing my hit rate over the last few years. My interest in being a bookseller gradually waned, as did the profits due to increasing competition on the market. But from finding squidoo it has allowed me to increase my earnings through affiliate sales, whilst my profits from bookselling dipped as well as enjoying the activity of writing and sharing my passions and knowledge in a fun way.

As Sasha's recovery, and subsequent training in the techniques she used, developed into a passion, training up as an EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) practitioner and then qualifying to teach others this technique. She is currently working on developing a new technique which has been developed from EFT, with Karl Dawson EFT Master, this partnership is currently writing a book on 'Matrix Reimprinting' and hoping to have it published by a major publishing house within the next year. This coincided with the book business becoming more of a burden than a source of wages or pleasure that the time had come to change a few things. So it was decided we would close the book business and I would concentrate on increasing affiliate earnings and set up a business which would offer website design services with a difference.

Recently we made the decision to leave Bristol for a number of reasons, and start fresh on the south coast, within walking distance of the beach. First we're going to be taking off on a UK tour in the campervan, so squidoo presence will be very low for the next couple of months. The arrival of the travelling squid couldn't have been timed better and I hope it has as interesting and fun time on it's travels as we are planning!

Squidoo has been a great training ground for learning about affiliate marketing and has given me a great source of additional income whilst learning. In total I've created over 150 lenses, many of these I quickly lost interest in, some I still keep updated, but my future plans are to develop further websites using many of the things I have learned on squidoo. I'll still make the occasional lens to test out a niche or for something that inspires me that won't fit in other projects.

Apologies for stalling the travels, but it has been very busy here!

Roo (aka the_book_garden)

Warminster, Wilts, U.K. - May 27th 2009

I think the Traveling Squid is emblematic of the great community on Squidoo. It's this community that has been so important to me since I started seriously making lenses (with Poddy's encouragement) in about April 2008, when I was going through a difficult time.

Squidoo is now an important part of my life and routine as I retired for health reasons. It's why I get upset with people who don't do good work but resort to plagiarism and spam.

It's wonderful to imagine the journey of the Traveling Squid and I would love to do it myself so I could meet all the great Squids around the world whose names and work are so familiar to me.

Instead, here I am in Warminster, a small country town surrounded by hills, in the county of Wiltshire. This county is very rural. It only has one industrial city (Swindan) otherwise there are small towns and villages. It's a great place to live -- as long as you don't expect excitement. I lived in London until 1993 and can now appreciate the peace and beauty of my life here.

Love and Good Wishes
Caroll (aka Stazjia)

P.S. Carol remarked about her picture, "It was a very hot and sunny day and we were in the graveyard of our local church in Warminster, Wiltshire. The graves around me are over 100 years old. A neighbour took the pictures for me but she wasn't very familiar with my camera but I could hardly complain as she was doing me a favour."

20th June 2009 - Haxby on outskirts of York, U.K.

I'm not much of a writer (and my handwriting stinks), so I'll keep this a short note.

The Journal has visited me in the small town of Haxby, on the outskirts of the historic city of York. Here is where I live with my wife and daughter (nearly 6), and two cats. We have an average sized house, a small garden, and a very big tree.

I love being a part of the Squidoo community, not for what I get out of it but for what I can contribute to it. It's wonderful to be able to create tools that Lensmasters really appreciate, as well as helping them out on the forum.

:o)
thefluffanutta

Retford Notts, U.K. - July 1st 2009

The parcel got to me today (had to pick up from our local sorting office from yesterday). Like a few others have said I didn't really know what to expect from this or if it was "really for me." However I'm so glad I had the chance to participate. And it seems such a great idea. The Squidoo community really makes you feel welcome and there is always someone on hand when you need help. Hopefully Squidoo will turn out to be a long term project and I still feel I have both lots to learn and lots to give (hopefully - lol). But just need the time to get "stuck in." Along with all the help and support I'm sure this is achievable -- apologies it's short and sweet but like the fluff I get short of words.

oneskms aka Steve [oops]

12th July 2009 Framlingham - Suffolk - U.K.

Having received the journal and shirt last Friday I have so enjoyed reading the contents to date. All of us lensmasters have such different lives brought together by the wonderful Squidoo.

I stumbled on Squidoo about 18 months ago, and once I started to read some of the lenses, including JaguarJulie's, two things struck me. The content was interesting and you could write about anything at all.

Having been a winemaker for many years I have long wanted to write about my passion, now I had a great platform from where to start. At the moment I have little 'free time' so am unable to write as much as I would like, but soon I plan to move to Ireland and hope I will have a bit more time to pursue all interests. By being a member of Squidoo I have learnt so much from so many talented lensmasters about everything from HTML to affiliate marketing.

* THANK YOU FELLOW LENSMASTERS *

The squids weekend trip: Day 1 (Squids History Lesson) I live half a mile from Framlingham Castle at the edge of a small market town. This castle has an interesting history of which one aspect was in 1553 Mary Tudor - only child of Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon - gathered her supporters here before being crowned Queen of England.

Day 2: (Squids Cultural Outing) - Squid and I, along with my son, went to Snape Maltings, a famous concert venue. Located just 5 miles from the east coast the area is also known for the collaboration between Benjamin Britten, the composer, and Peter Pears, the tenor on many operatic works in the 1940's.

Time for squid to continue its travels. I have enjoyed sharing these moments with you all, and finally a big thanks to Julie for including me in this project.

Rob3

Thursday 30th of July, 2009 Cardiff, Wales

Hello there ladies and gentlemen! This is very exciting. I feel the pressure to write some thing witty or interesting or entertaining, as I know many other people will be reading this. Maybe I can think of a good joke to include. Perhaps I could tell a story.

I joined Squidoo many years ago, and I have had a lot of success with my lenses, doing very little promotion. Building lenses got me into affiliate marketing. Allowed me to start BuildMyLens.com with Tiff. And write about whatever I'm obsessed with at the moment and then lose interest in the topic and move on! I like Squidoo a lot. Like Roo said earlier in this book. It is perfect for someone with a short attention span.

I am writing this in Cardiff, in Wales. The photo of me holding the shirt is outside the Wales Millennium Center in Cardiff Bay. If you are a fan of Torchwood you will of course recognize the setting immediately. ;)

Dw i'n hoffi byw gu Nghaerdydd

Lewis Smile ;)
aka: MrLewisSmile

Wednesday 19th August 2009
Richmond-upon-Thames, Surrey (London)

Hello fellow Squids. What an excellent idea, this "Traveling Squid" is and I am very proud to have been invited to take part. It is great to do something for charity too. I like to donate to Cancer Research and The World Wildlife Fund.

I joined Squidoo just over a year ago. I had resigned from my job and set up my own consulting company, but intended to take it easy for a while, so I found that I had a lot more spare time on my hands. I read a review about Squidoo and thought that sounds like fun and would be profitable. In the first few months I made 8 cents, but that didn't deter me; the friendly Squidoo community encouraged me and kept me interested and now I have made well over one hundred lenses, mostly about my rather extensive travels all over the world, photography, and some about finance and investing (and several about monkeys!)

I am writing this from Richmond Hill in west London, just next to the gates of the wonderful Richmond Park. The photos I sent JaguarJulie, for inclusion in the lens, are of this beautiful location; the inspiration for many artists and several paintings by Turner in the 18th century. This view is often referred to as "The Turner View."

AndyPo

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Sheffield, U.K.

Tickety Boo and the World of Squidoo

Tickety sat up in his bed, stretched, gave a yawn,
sun shone through his curtains, how he loved the dawn.
He peered through his window to the Magic Tree Wood,
you know the place where all creatures are good.
He noticed the Phoenix, it's fire blazed a trail,
in it's talons clutched tightly it carried the mail.
Phoenix shouted "Old Tickety, I've something for you!
From 'Jaguar Julie' in the land of Squidoo."

I must read this journal of the travelling Squid,
so he popped on his glasses and read it he did.
With a wave of his wand made the pages turn faster,
realising his quest to become a lense master.
A landmark he must find here in his own land,
He stood scratched his head for a while as he planned.

Tickety called for his friends, made this appeal,
To come on a quest to the City of Steel.
Find three bronze giants, all standing tall,
In a magical place known as Meadowhall.
So with Yabba Rat humming and Gizz who was shaking,
Old Autumns bones creaking and Stumpy's noise making.
All set off to Sheffield to find Meadowhall
And find those three bronze giants standing so tall.

The Journal did state how a picture they took,
should be put with this story, inside of this book.
Using his wand right there on the spot,
made a magical picture with a man we call Scott.
With those three bronze giants, all his friends too.
Also magically included himself, dressed in blue,
Did you enjoy this tale of Great Tickety Boo?
Check out more' Wizard Morton' lenses here on Squidoo.

All the Best

Wizard Morton

Tuesday September 8, 2009
London, U.K.

The Travelling Squid was delivered today (08/09/09) having been temporarily lost in a backlog of mail due to the postal strike. With great excitement and indeed much relief, Catherine and I opened the parcel to view its contents - think kids and pass the parcel! Catherine (Auntie KatKat) is visiting from Spain and introduced me to the joys of Squidoo, so it was fitting that she should be here to share the fun.

First impressions made me feel rather daunted; other squids had written such interesting, poetic and clever comments and one talented individual had even drawn a cartoon figure - I am career consultant, not a writer or artist, so how could I to do the Squidoo community as proud?

Foolishly, it being 27c degrees today, (it is not always raining in London!), I decided to take the journal up to the cafe on Tooting Bec Common, so that I could sit and read it carefully in the sunshine. I cycled past the athletics ground, onwards past the open air, Victorian lido - I could have done with a dip at that stage and the fountain sounded very inviting, but would never have risked the Travelling Squid near the water!

Sweating and puffing somewhat, I continued with achy thighs and several wobbles, (the thighs and the bike!) across the common, past the children's playground and pond, and was pleased to see an empty table outside the cafe, at which to collapse with a cool drink.

After a minor panic while I searched for my specs (found hanging round my neck where they had been all the time!), I read and marvelled at the Travelling Squid's contents - such time and care had clearly been taken by all to write in their best hand-writing and to create a real 'sense of place' for their location. For the second time today, I felt like a child, this time scared that I might blot my copy book (the Travelling Squid) with a smudge or spelling mistake! I took extra care with my drink!

I thought about the numerous beautiful parks in SW London, the architecture, the history, the rich cultural mix, the interesting, wacky people, and I felt very pleased with my lot. I pondered over how small the world has become with international travel and of course the internet. How easy it is now to communicate and share one's world with others whom one might never have met!

I wracked my brain for a famous local person to mention - there were a number of possibles, but as a career counsellor, I had to mention the one who worked in 'the oldest profession in the world' - Cynthia Payne, the brothel madam immortalised by Julie Walters in the film 'Personal Services', still lives in Streatham. Hopefully my career lenses will help others forge a less controversial path!

Onwards!
Sherridan
www.sherridanhughes.com

GILTOTHERESCUE
8/10/2009 - Boulder, CO and New Orleans, LA

Wawaweewa! I'm delighted to be the second Squid to sign the US journal. For the collection, I've taken two photos - one at work and another at play.

In the photo at my desk I am hacking away, most likely on a lensrank bug or our new modules as pages project (hope you like it).

In the other photo I took the journal to my home town: the European-inspired, laissez-faire city of New Orleans. After walking around the French Quarter all day, I made a pit stop to take this photo on the corner of the famous (or is it infamous?) Bourbon St. before making my was to Port of Call, home of the best beef and portabello burgers in town.

Before I go I want to say thanks to all you fantabulous lensmasters for using Squidoo. We've created something special here, and I'm thrilled to work with such a talented, eclectic group of writers and marketers. Keep on rockin.

--Gil aka giltotherescue

Squidoo Kimberly / Kimberly Dawn Wells
August 24, 2009 - Medford, WI

Hi Lensmasters!

When I started doing web design in 1997 I never dreamed a service like Squidoo would become available and make the process so simple; nor did I ever guess I'd one day be part of the team running it!

In my photo I'm multitasking - kicking back in my office between a long day of coding and writing and preparing to be on ambulance call for the night.

The potential of Squidoo has only begun to be tapped. Every day lensmasters surprise us with new ways to collect, share, and archive information through their creative use of lenses. Keep up the great work, and keep working hard on what you are passionate about.

K. D. Wells

Wednesday September 2, 2009
New York, New York

SQUID ALERT!
________________________________________

That's the little Seth action figure wearing his too big t-shirt.

Keep Creating

Keep Leading

Keep making a difference

Seth

Thursday September 10, 2009
Winchester, Virginia

The traveling squid has made its way to historic old town Winchester, Virginia, in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.

I'm sharing two pictures ... the first is one of me in front of The Bright Center, where we have a coworking location. The second is me hard at work, reading an email from Blake on something Squidoo-related and coming soon.

Thanks to all the Squids for all you do. You've made this platform better than we could have imagined.

-- Corey Brown

Monday, 9-21-09
Greenwood, Arkansas

What on honor to be part of the Journal of the Traveling Squid project - and what a tough act to follow!

My picture was taken with the t-shirt in our city's park, on a bluff overlooking town. The peak you see to the right of my head is Cavanal Hill in Poteau, Oklahoma. It's the world's highest hill at 1999 feet - another foot and it would have been a mountain! Yes, we have quite a view.

Squidoo is a huge part of my life and I can't express enough my appreciation to Seth & the staff for providing such an outstanding platform. I'm proud to be part of the community.

Blessings to all!
Susan52

Saturday, October 10, 2009
Los Angeles, CA

The traveling squid has reached the west coast for the first time, and has taken a scenic tour of Hollywood.

This month marks my third anniversary as a Squidoo lensmaster, and I'm very proud of what we have achieved as a community.

It's an honor to be involved in this project -- connecting with my fellow lensmasters throughout the world.

Squid Angel Blessings...

Kim Giancaterino

Kathy McGraw aka Kathymcgraw
Oct. 15, 2009
So. Cal Desert Commun.

What a joy to open my mailbox and find the Journal of the Travelling Squid inside.

Squidoo is such a diverse community so I decided to take the Traveling Squid out to the Desert Communities by Palm Springs. Boy, this was an adventure, just like rest of the community has been. It was 104 deg F out in the desert and I was afraid both of us wouldn't make it as we went on a hunt to find the perfect charity!

My favorite part of Squidoo is people helping people - then Squidoo helps charities. A win-win for everyone - My kind of place for sure!

As I am fast approaching my 1st anniversary of being a Squidoo lensmaster I can celebrate with the new Giant designation and now having participated in this fun Community Building Activity.

Thank you Squidoo.

Kathy McGraw

badmsm aka Bette Miles-Holleman
(under the little hat)
Modesto, California
Home of 500 (teeny tiny) Hats!
11/1/09

To All My Squidoo Friends,

You have your Golden Ticket right here! Make the most of it. Tell us all about yourself, your life, loves and passions. We are waiting to meet you. :)

Big Squid Hugs,

Bette Miles-Holleman
AKA BadMsM

squidster aka Anne Corcino
December 12, 2009
Riverside, California

When I look upon a star. I pause to wonder how you are.

I feel very lucky to have been a host to the traveling squid on his journey around the United States.

It brings the sense of community and friendship from cyberspace right into my home. All of a sudden, Squidoo is so much more than just the sum of individual web pages - it is a home for all us travelers on the web; to be among friends and kindred spirits. I consider it a great honor to have served the community as a Squid Angel and I wish all those who decide to join us that they may experience the same good fortune that I had.

Season's Greetings to all Squidooland. Peace and Goodwill to all Squidkind!

Anne Cordino
Aka Squidster