One Yellow Pushpin

Finally! A new post!

2006-09-25T00:19:00.000-07:00

Well, sorry its been a while, but finally I've been able to get around to putting up a new post. I've been so bogged down with school (already pulled 3 all nighters working on models and drawings). But, nevertheless, I need to put some time into this.

So, this week were gonna talk about who loves there mom...or mum as they say down under! Well, it turns out Nick from Australia does. In fact he loves her so much he's uptrading a black T-shirt to get her a house! What a guy. Gotta respect a guy who's not afraid to say he loves his momma! Anyway, whether you are in Australia or not, be sure to check out his trading blog: Nick's SwapSpot.

Do you seek the Grale?

2006-09-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Four score and seven beers ago....or was it just one? Yeah, it was one. In fact it was a Lincoln Grale beer that will be worth a VW Campervan!!! Who would try to trade a single beer up for a Campervan? Pete of course, at The Lincoln Grale Trading Blog. Pete began on July 16, 2006 and traded the beer to be editor for a day at the Lincolnshire Echo. This was in turn traded for a chance to be cohost of the Lincs FM Breakfast Show. This was swapped for tickets to see Zuton Fever!

Petes off to a heck of a start and should be seeing the fruits of his efforts in no time!

In the mean time everyone needs to keep Pete in their prayers because he was recently in a car wreck. Pete is OK, but looks like he really needs that Campervan now! So cmon folks, head to his site and offer him something for those tickets!!!

Smurf Me A House!

2006-08-27T16:03:00.000-07:00

Remember your childhood? Is it filled with little blue creatures running in and out of mushrooms and being chased by an evil old man and his cat? Well then you must have watched the Smurfs! One blogger has memories of this, and is now using her childhood fantasy as means to trade for a house! Rachel, the creator of Smurf Me A House! is starting with her childhood collection of Smurf figurines and will not stop until she had traded for a house. In face, she has already made her first trade only after three weeks of trying. And what a trade it is. A total of nine Hard Rock Cafe hurricane glasses were traded for her set of Smurf figurines. Congratulations on your first trade Rachel, and may your next one be bigger and better!

You can keep posted to her quest by heading over to http://smurfmeahouse.blogspot.com

Until next time kiddos!

Phill

Textbooks....ARRRRRGH!

2006-08-24T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well, its that time of year again. The time where hot fresman girls are showing up to campus, students are moving into their dorms, and everyone gets to pay $100 for five pounds of paper. Ok, I'm not the kind of person to sit and whine and complain about how bad things are (cuz seriously folks, we live in the best country on the world with blessings coming out the wazoo), but every now and then I kind of wonder what the heck is going on. I may just be ignorant about the subject, but if anyone can explain why the total amount that I pay for textbooks is almost as much as a month's rent then I would be pretty grateful for the knowledge...at least to set my mind at ease.

Rant, rant, rant, etc. Textbooks are expensive, textbooks are costly, textbooks cost an arm and a leg. But oh well, I guess thats life. The question is how can we get around the high cost of textbooks and maybe look for an alternative source? Well, I have found that the two best options (please if you know any better options LET ME KNOW). But heading over to www.half.com I found that I could save $25 on at least one of my books. Amazon.com would be the next choice for getting a better price on textbooks. But anyway, I guess I just had to get that out of my system. I'm really not a person to complalin, in fact I think I'm ready to go buy my textbooks now:) Cya guys later.

Phill

One BLUE Pushpin Paving the Way for Altruism

2006-08-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Today I thought I would do a bit of research on the community that is enticed by the world of trading and bartering. Every week for a short while I will showcase an individual or site in the trading community so people can get an idea of how popular, fun and good spirited trading can be!

So, that being said, who in the One Red Paperclip community is active in the trading world? A few site in particular come to mind as ones that are very alturistic. The first would be One Blue Pushpin. This trade blog is run by Jonathan Grant and is a particular intersting and very inspirational trade quest because of Jonathan's goal. The goal is to help a friend named Edward find a full time job, or a place to stay for 6 months. How can you get any more altruistic than this? Currently, Jonathan has a never been worn wedding dress for trade and is looking for the next uptrade that gets Edward a step closer to a full time job or place to stay. If you are interested in helping out, head over to One Blue Pushpin for more information.

Just a little about the trading community and what makes it so great:
First of all, why would anyone want to trade or barter for something in the first place? Well, the answer is simple. NO MONEY IS INVOLVED. Thats right, absolutely no money is involved in the trading and bartering process. So, since no money is involved, what does this do for the participants? It allows either of them to be able to participate in an economy without having to have money in the first place. For instance, if person A has an item or skill that person B would like to have, and person B has an item or skill that person A would like to have, then they both swap based on each other's needs. It can't get any simpler than this.

Why do school children trade marbles, baseball cards, dolls, and seemingly unimportant items? It brings them closer together and allows them a chance to both help each other to achieve their own personal goals through cooperation. Zig Ziglar said it best: "If we help enough other people get what they want, we will evetually get what we want." In a way a sense of community and self-efficacy is generated. These are things that make us feel good...and we like to feel good about ourselves, right?

First Trade Confirmed!!!

2006-08-20T12:03:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I've got exciting news! I have completed my first trade by traded my One Yellow Pushpin for three empty propane tanks in good condition. I made the trade with Joe McHatton who has been a long time friend since I went to Onate High School in Las Cruces, NM back in 1995-1999. Joe is currently studying law at Texas Tech University's School of Law. Also, this is pretty intersting about Joe as well. He just completed a triathalon! An olympic length triathlon!!! Congratulations Joe!

The really cool thing about this first trade folks is that it definately reinforces the idea in me that the whole concept boils down to everyone winning. Joe had these tanks and didn't really have a need for them or space for them. I needed a trade and honestly anythin would have done. Joe was able to get rid of the tanks and I was able to get my trade. You can't beat how great this whole adventure makes a person feel. And its only the first trade!!!

Blog Getting Some Bells and Whistles

2006-08-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey gang. I'm going to be working on the blog today and adding a few quirks that will help the aesthtic and technical appeal (hopefully). The first thing added is a graphical hit counter from Clustr Maps. I would highly reccommend taking a look at their site and taking advantage of their service if you have a blog or some other site. Their service is free of charge and is a great way to track hits in your site geographically. The counter also looks nice too, as opposed to an ugly number ticker.

I'm also going to be adding a form to the site today that will allow anyone with a trade request to fill out the form and it will be sent directly to me. This way it is easier for anyone who has a item for trade to just send me a direct email from my site.

I'll be moving into a new house on the 26th! After a recent fiasco of sorts I was left as a squatter and temporarily had no place to live. Fortunately, when I was at J & B Coffee I found a flyer that advertised a great place to live. After a few phone calls and visits later, I signed a lease, payed the security deposit and BOOM!, I now have a new home (much cheaper than the original).

First Trade A Possibility

2006-08-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Hey folks! Thanks for everyone's interest so far. I've got good news. It looks like I might have nailed my first trade. There will be more to come very soon regarding information on it.

One Yellow Pushpin Created

2006-08-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. My name is Phill Miller. I started this site because I was inspired by this site. The story of Kyle MacDonald begins with One Red Paperclip. Kyle had the revolutionary idea to trade this paper clip for bigger and better things till he reached his ultimate goal: a house! Not only did he uptrade his paperclip for a house, but he did it in 14 trades and within a year. On top of recieving his house in Kipling Saskatchewan, but he recieved the key to the town, got to be honorary mayor, and had an entire day in Kipling to be celebrated as One Red Paperclip day just to name a few things. What an amazing accomplishment!

From this amazing feat spawned an entire community with the same ambitions of Kyle. Many have the same goal as Kyle, a new house, others have alturistic goals such as One Blue Pushpin.

What about me? What is my goal? My parents(I'll have a photo of them soon)! I LOVE THEM TO DEATH! They have been there for me whenever I have asked them to be, the biggest influence in my life, and for the longest time I didn't know how to repay them. Now I know how. My quest, my adventure begins with me bartering One Yellow Pushpin (generously donated by Anthony Presley)in the hopes that I can uptrade, barter, haggle, flip, and flop for a house for my parents! The only problem is keeping this a secret from them! I want this gift to be a surpise because I feel that in some way it will mean more.