When crossing the border into the Golden State on I-10, you're struck by a few things:

1. There is a fruit inspection station that everyone must pass through before entering the state. This in turn causes a small traffic jam and lets you know what to expect for the next two hundred miles into Los Angeles.

2. The terrain looks just like western Arizona and is pretty much void of life.

3. Cars, trucks, and buses come out of nowhere to congest the two lane interstate which quickly becomes three lanes, then four lanes, then five lanes, then a carpool lane is added, and then it's all blur.

Don't hear me wrong. I think California is great and all that jazz, but when people say they are a country inside another country, they aren't kidding. The question I posed the most to others was, “why does everyone want to live so close together?” I know the ocean and weather are two big draws, but unless you have a house right on the coast, you brush shoulders with so many people. Truthfully, I almost felt claustrophobic.

It probably didn't help that my place of residency for five out of seven days was in a college dorm room. Jordan Crabtree, a friend of mine from when I worked in southern Iowa, is in the film department at Biola University and kindly invited me to make camp there. (I can't thank Jordan, Zach, and Joel enough for their hospitality while I volunteered in the state.)

I spent Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday contacting organizations and filling out forms. Very similar to my experience in Arizona. One of the things I started to notice is that each state has its own hoops to jump through when volunteering. I have a hunch that California may turn out to be the one with the most forms to fill out and the longest waiting times. I knew I couldn't just sit around waiting for people to call me, I had to be proactive. I flipped through my Moleskine notebook to a page full of instant service projects I had made in prep of starting 48 by 48. At the top of the list: giving blood.

I went to the American Red Cross' website and with a few clicks, I found out where the nearest blood drives were being held. Since I have given blood several times before and also hosted one in Iowa, I knew that there are always walk-in spots available. I got in my car and headed for the Courtyard by Marriott in Cypress, CA where I gave a pint of blood.

I really like giving blood. If you have never done it before, let me recommend that you go with a friend and give it a try just once. It only takes about an hour and is virtually painless. The nurses and volunteers are always caring and will walk you through the process, plus, you get a ton of goodies at the end of your donation. Also, you never know if you might get proposed to on the spot by one of the nurses...I did. Yikes!

The other service project I took up in California came from a posting on Idealist.org. Create Now was looking for a person with a graphic design background to help them with a few projects to help get the word out about their terrific cause. Create Now uses the arts to serve the youth of the Los Angeles area who come “from poverty-stricken families with histories of violence, substance abuse, or neglect.” These kids are know as the “forgotten children” as they are “tucked away in group homes, shelters, detention facilities, special centers and schools throughout the region, under the radar of the general public.”

I was excited to use my talents as a web/graphic designer and was hoping to do so sometime in this journey. I worked on a bunch of different projects for Create Now, mostly spending my time on fliers for the upcoming “Hang Out with Vivian Campbell” auction and other networking events. Create Now really is doing a great work in the Los Angeles area and can always use more people to give their time, talents, and resources to help the least of the least. I know I am saying this a lot with most of the places I volunteer at and I make no apologies on saying it even more in the weeks ahead, but in respect to what Create Now is doing, you need to get involved. Go to their website to see where you can fit in.

Another way I was able to serve others was through buying a homeless teen a meal. On Wednesday, while I was leaving McDonald's I was approached by a guy who was asking for change. One of my policies is to not carry cash so I won't feel pressured to give if I am hit up for money, so I looked at him and said that I didn't have any change but would love to buy him a meal. His eyes lit up and immediately took me up on the offer. I conversed with him for a while and then both went our separate ways. Something as simple as buying another person a meal and showing interest in them can really go along way. I hope Bernardo finds what he is looking for in L.A. and that our paths with cross sometime in the future.

I also wanted to give a shot out to my cousin Sarah who also provided a very nice couch for me to crash on while in San Diego. One of the super cool things about the day and age we live in is that you can do a lot of office style / marketing stuff online and it allows you to work anywhere. This advancement in technology allowed my to help out in L.A. while enjoying a few days in the San Diego sun.

Onward ho to Nevada! But before I could leave the state, I had to make a stop in Baker, CA at the Alien Fresh Jerky store. Talk about a fun little place in the middle of nowhere and must stop if you're wandering through the Mojave Desert.