I give up.  Jet lag doesn’t usually get the best of me, but here I am wide awake at 2:30 in the morning.  Actually being awake at 2:30 am isn’t that big of a deal for me, but the problem this time is I just woke up after sleeping for the past 8 hours.  I have a feeling getting back into a Pacific Time rhythm is going to be difficult.
I just realized, many of you probably have no idea what I am talking about.  I suppose if you haven’t been on my Twitter feed or Facebook Page you may be out of the loop.  Yesterday, I ended a 10 day trip to Liberia with 32 straight hours of traveling.   It’s good to be home to say the least.  I had an amazing time, met some wonderful people and saw a part of the world I had never been to before.  It was quite a learning experience, and I want to thank MiiR Bottles for working with me on this project.  I will have a lot more to say and show in the weeks and months to come, but that is not why I am writing now.

Before I left for Liberia, I started a fun contest on Twitter and I want to extend it to everyone who reads my blog as well.  It’s very simple.  Guess how many pictures I took in Liberia. The person with the closest guess will receive a free print from my trip.   One guess per person, and I will only accept guesses left as a comment on this blog post, on Twitter (@johnkeatley) or on my Facebook Page.  I am looking for the total number of shots.  I shot for 6 1/2 days, and I used my Canon 5D Mark II and Hasselblad H3DII.  I will stop taking guesses on the 21st of January at noon PST.  If the winner Likes this post on Facebook and or guesses the EXACT number correctly there will be a bonus prize.  Good luck!  Start posting your guesses.

I recently shot an ad campaign for a new water bottle company called MiiR.  The images turned out pretty amazing, but you are going to have to wait a little longer to see them.  I know, what a tease.  That’s not the reason I am writing today, though.  Besides making awesome bottles, one of the great things about MiiR is the one-for-one business model they work under.  Every bottle sold gives one person in a developing nation clean drinking water for one year.  This is done through an organization called Charity: Water.  Through working on this ad campaign, I have learned a lot about Charity: Water and the work they are doing to provide clean water to people in need by drilling sustainable wells.  The video above does a great job painting a picture of what is being done and what still needs to be done.  That being said, I decided to join the Charity: Water September Campaign, and give up my birthday.  In just a few days I will be turning 30, and rather than asking for gifts, I am asking people to donate $30 toward the goal of $5,000 which will provide a well for an entire village.  I know you were probably not going to get me anything for my birthday, but I just felt I should take advantage of the small platform this blog provides me to ask you to donate if you feel inclined.  Although the campaign says to donate $30, any amount would be amazing.  $1, $2, $5, whatever.  It’s hard to make a difference as one person, but if each reader this week gave just a few dollars, we would be funding a well, and then some.  To make a donation and contribute toward building a well, you can go to this link, John Keatley’s 30th Birthday Campaign.

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  It is something that has been on my mind lately, and I hope it resonates with some of you too.

I should also mention that 100% of donations go directly toward water projects.  Administrative costs are separately fund raised by Charity: Water.  They are a very transparent organization, and you can find out a ton more by visiting their website www.charitywater.org.