An Unexpected Journey
In my intro post, I mentioned that I was in Alaska recently.
The crazy thing is.. I didn't know I was going to Alaska, and I didn't have any plans to go there any time soon. But, as I said in that post, the mastermind group I'm in is usually the cause of crazy and unexpected things in my life.
Recharging in the Wilderness
Peaceful, isn't it?
Photo Credit: Me
Above, you see a small boat on a beautiful, serene lake in Alaska. And the moment really was that wonderful.
I wish I could be back there now - I felt more connected with nature than I had been in years.
On that pebbly beach out in the woods, I sat on a log and caught up with my good friend 
I couldn't recommend it more.
Something, Something, Juxtaposition
But let's back up exactly 24 hours - back to when I had absolutely no clue that I'd be in Alaska a day later.
It was a completely different kind of vibe:
Photo Credit: @decimus
See, immediately before Alaska, I was actually in Las Vegas doing some pretty ridiculous things.
You might have also seen in my intro post that I mentioned being handcuffed and lightly tortured to learn about stress inoculation. That was actually part of an entire weekend intensive in which my group had to do various spy-like missions around Vegas.
We were broken up into small, competing teams, and were told that those who did well would get a nice reward.
They did.
Okay, fine - they only got to drive it for a day, but still.
Source: @mgat
While I did have to do things that made me very uncomfortable (in a good way), the most notable thing was how little sleep I was running on.
Let me give you an example.
The first night, at 11:45pm, we were instructed to open the envelope containing our next mission. This is what was inside:
Photo Credit: Me
By the time I got back to my room that night, it was around 1am. I set the alarm for 5:30am and quietly assured myself that it was just one weekend, and that I could get through it.
And I did get through it - in fact, it taught me a lot about myself.
In brief, it's incredibly valuable to be pushed to do challenging things and put under stress while you're low on sleep. You learn a lot about how you're going to react when a real, stressful situation comes up - and you have to make not just a decision, but the right decision.
To be honest, I didn't like everything that I saw about myself. And since I was captain of my team, neither did some of my teammates. I really can't blame them - there were some things I simply did not handle well.
It was a very powerful experience to have to face myself at my worst and watch how I behaved.
Now, since this post is ultimately about my trip to Alaska, I won't go into all the craziness that went down during that weekend. But suffice it to say: it was a lot of action and very little sleep.
To Drive a Tank
On the last day, we finished up around 7pm. After watching the winning team crush an (unoccupied) car with a tank, my teammates and I grabbed a celebratory dinner at Bazaar Meat. My team did take third place, after all, so we wanted to treat ourselves.
Around 1am, I hopped into bed anticipating the second part of this adventure.
You see, as if this weekend wasn't enough, I had signed up to go on a mystery trip with the group. And for 6 months leading up to the trip, the organizers had been dropping subtle hints that we were going to Mexico.
In fact, a few weeks before the trip, I received the following email.
Source: My Inbox
I was a little pissed because I liked the uncertainty of not knowing where I'd be going. I was thinking, "Oh come on, you make a big deal about this trip being a mystery, and then ruin the surprise in an email?"
Boy was I wrong, but I wouldn't realize that until the next day - at the airport.
An Early Morning Surprise
So I woke up around 5am. We had been given instructions to be in the lobby around 5:45am so we could board the bus at 6.
We all gathered in the lobby, and sure enough, right around that time, a tour bus pulled up. As the doors turned open, I eagerly anticipated a long, sleepy ride down to Mexico.
What happened next was probably one of the strangest things I've experienced.
We all boarded the bus. I went about halfway back and sat next to a close friend of mine, not taking notice of my surroundings. Some of the other group members plopped down in their seats and promptly passed out. I started preparing myself to do the same.
Then, one of the coordinators the trip stood up and began to make an announcement. He told us we had a very exciting trip ahead of us and said some other ambiguous things, finishing up his announcement with,
"And without further ado, turn it up!"
And then this happened:
Video Credit: Me
Yes that's right.
A real, live, loud Mariachi band was hiding in the back of our bus, and was now blasting the sweet, grating tones of its instruments to us at 6 in the morning.
And without skipping a beat, the bus peeled out of the hotel parking lot and took off.
We're Just Getting Started
I got distracted talking to my friend for a while until he stopped me and said "Wait a minute - we've passed that same building like three times! Are we fucking driving in circles?!"
We were.
Correction: Up at 5am to be blasted with live Mariachi music and drive around Las Vegas in circles on a tour bus.
I can't remember the last time I was more disoriented.
That's all for now. Stay tuned for Part 2 and how I actually ended up in Alaska.
Photo credit: Me
Hey, I'm Ryan.
I'm a software engineer living in the Bay Area who's into hypnosis, handwriting analysis, and futurism. You can learn more about me from my intro post.