Author

Joe Gee

Hello, my name is Joe Gee and I've been a resident of Muskegon, Michigan my whole life. Living just a few blocks from Lake Michigan allows me to get some amazing West Michigan sunsets. I enjoy photography, art, music, bonsai trees, remodeling our home, trucks, motorcycles, plant medicine, working on my mental health and more. I have a beautiful wife and a 3 year old son as of January 2022. My wife is currently pregnant and that baby is due on June 3rd. I've been a local business owner for the last 16 years and a cryptocurrency investor for the last 6 years. Feel free to send me a message if you have any questions and I hope you'll read some of my articles and leave me some comments & feedback. Thank you :)

Giant Alaskan Malamute Puppy Dog Muskegon Michigan Alpha Joe Gee
AnimalsBlogFamily

A New Family Member

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 2 Minutes read

Welcome to our newest family member!

“Alpha” the Giant Alaskan Malamute will be delivered to us this week from Virginia 🥰 Most of you on my Facebook page know that I lost my most bestest friend ever last fall to nose cancer 😭 “Happy” was so special to me and it really hurt.

My husky “Echo” is getting really old and he’s like a grumpy cat. He doesn’t like affection and basically stays outside. I’ve been thinking about getting a new puppy over the last 6 months.

I found this company in Virginia called Mountain Ridge Malamutes that breeds the most beautiful Giant Alaskan Malamutes. They have a wait list and they were already spoken for. I was looking for a color and look similar to what Happy looked like. I began commenting on their page and asking anybody who has a puppy reserved that I would be willing to take over their spot for $500 extra. Coincidentally a few days later the owner reached out to me and told me that a family backed out and this puppy was available. I immediately knew this was meant to be. I know nothing will ever replace the bond and relationship that I had with Happy… My love for him will never die but I can cherish and love this puppy as a memorial to him 🥲🥰

Below is a photo of “Happy” the Giant Alaskan Malamute (Brown/White) and “Echo” the Siberian Husky (Black/White) along with my son Julian and my wife’s dog “Stella”. It’s so hard to look at this photo and not feel like part of my family is missing 🙁

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AnimalsBlogNatureTravel

Butterflies Are Blooming – Frederik Meijer Gardens

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 4 Minute read

The annual Butterflies Are Blooming exhibition at Frederick Meijer Gardens is the largest temporary tropical butterfly exhibition in the United States. Tropical butterflies from around the world fly freely in the Lena Meijer Tropical Conservatory every March and April.

We’ve been going to the butterfly exhibit every year for the last 6-7 years. It’s always a lot of fun and we really enjoy taking pictures of all the different butterflies on display. Make sure you dress for the warm humid weather though… you’ll get hot and sweaty pretty quickly.

Julian had a great time running around looking at everything. He was so busy and we spent most of our time chasing him around. He was going around telling the kids “don’t touch” (because we constantly tell that to him) and trying to make friends. When the parents would walk down the pathway with their kids, Julian would say “wait, wait, wait for me”. I even caught him holding onto a little girls hand, it was so cute <3 He loves other kids so much and being born during the first few years of COVID-19, he hasn’t had much time to spend socializing with other kids. He’s so curious, opinionated and on the go all the time.

Anyways, we had a great time. I hope you enjoy my pictures below. Please visit the Butterflies are Blooming website for more information about the scheduled events happening through March to April.

Butterflies Are Blooming Pictures

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Joe Gee Lake Harbor Park Family Beach Walk Hike Pregnant Maternity Muskegon Norton Shores Jenna Wife Son
BeachBlog

Hiking with the family at Lake Harbor Park

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 2 Minute read

HIKING WITH THE FAMILY AT LAKE HARBOR PARK

I don’t like being cold and wet, so I tend to hibernate in the house during the Winter months. We’ve had a few warmer days and the snow is finally starting to melt. We’ve been cooped up in the house all winter, so we decided to go for a nice walk at Lake Harbor Park in Norton Shores, Michigan. My wife Jenna is 6-7 months pregnant right now, so she packed a few dresses and had me take some pictures of her. They turned out pretty awesome 🙂 I’m so lucky to have such an amazing little family… my wife is seriously the best thing that has ever happened to me. She’s so sweet & caring and has an awesome personality. My 3 year old son Julian is the bestest ever. He’s such a crazy little animal and comes up with the funniest things to say. He’s just now reaching that stage where he can communicate back and forth with you while watching funny YouTube videos. Anyways, enjoy these pictures from our little hike at the park. It was a great day to walk through the woods, build some sand castles and walk along the shoreline 🙂

Joe Gee Lake Harbor Park Family Beach Walk Hike Pregnant Maternity Muskegon Norton Shores Jenna Wife Son
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Rythmia Costa Rica Spiritual Retreat Joe Gee Muskegon Ayahuasca Plant Medicine DMT
BlogCosta Rica

My Spiritual Retreat in Costa Rica

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 5 Minute read

Rythmia Life Advancement Center

While I was at Rythmia in Costa Rica, I was really busy working on myself and taking everything in. I tried my best to stay off social media but I made time to write over 50 pages in my journal. I had massages, colonic cleanses, delicious farm to table meals and met a ton of awesome people. We had the initial orientation classes, introduction into plant medicine, herbal support therapy, plant integration, breath of life breathwork classes, yoga classes and more.

Mother Ayahuasca

I met Mother Ayahuasca during my first ceremony and she told me that I should write a book about my experiences instead of typing everything out on social media. A lot of people on social media are close minded anyways. They judge you and look down on you for what they don’t understand. I had to block a few people for just being nasty and negative about my journey. They think plant medicine is a “drug” because the US government tries to control everything you do and made this sacred medicine illegal. Plant medicine is real, it’s beautiful and it works miracles… but I will get more into that later.

Facebook Updates

I’m going to embed a few of my Facebook updates that I posted below and I will update you guys more as soon as I get done processing everything. 🙂

Up to date

So, there you have it 🙂 You’re pretty much all caught up with what I have chose to share on social media. I will probably include some more content for my blog because I want this blog to be more informative than social media and give you guys something special to read about… instead of just mirroring everything I say on Facebook and Instagram.

Keep an eye out for some more blog posts and pictures from my trip.

Also, my book is a work in progress and I will let you guys know when it’s available if you feel like reading it or listening to it on Audible. Thank you 🙂

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How to get US passport last minute expedited emergency joe gee michigan united states
BlogTravel

How to get a last minute US Passport

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 3 Minute read

I got really excited and paid for an expensive trip to Costa Rica and forgot I needed a US Passport 🙁 I was freaking out but after doing a ton of research and talking to the passport agency on the phone, I was told there’s still hope as long as I apply for an expedited passport within 14 days of traveling.

I called exactly 14 days before my trip at 8am when they opened. I actually called at 7:59am because I knew it would take me about 1 minute to get through the automated system that would tell me they’re closed. I timed it perfectly and the guy answered the phone. I told him I made a mistake and NEED a passport or I’m out almost $8,000. He told me there’s a few appointment spots left and started naming them off to me. I immediately cut him off and told him to book any one of them before someone else does. He let me know that all the appointments in Detroit were booked but there’s a spot open on February 24th at 10:30am in Chicago. I was so happy to hear that! If you find yourself in a similar situation, just follow the instructions below and you should be able to get an appointment.

Update: It took me 12 1/2 hours to drive to Chicago, get my passport and then drive home. The whole process was pretty easy. Once you check in and provide your information to them, they tell you to come back in about 2 hours to pick up your new passport. The passport office is on the 9th floor and there’s a cafeteria on the 2nd floor. So I ate some snacks, played some games on my phone and read some paperwork for my trip.

Here’s some information from the US Passport Agency’s website.

Expedite at a Passport Agency or Center

We have two types of appointments: Life-or-Death Emergency Service and Urgent Travel Service. You can only make an appointment by calling us.

You cannot walk-in. We do not charge a fee to make an appointment. You cannot transfer your appointment to another customer. When you call to make an appointment, we will provide unique confirmation information that our staff will verify on the day on your appointment. 

Life-or-Death Emergency Service: We are prioritizing customers who are traveling internationally in the next 3 business days due to a qualified life-or-death emergency. If you need this service, call us. What number you call depends on the day of the week and time of day. Learn more on our Life-or-Death Emergency page.

Urgent Travel Service: Some agencies and centers are also offering limited appointments for customers who have urgent international travel in the next 5 business days for reasons other than a life-or-death emergency. You may schedule an appointment if you are traveling within 2 weeks or need a foreign visa within 4 weeks; however, the appointment cannot occur more than 5 business days before your date of travel, or 10 business days if you require a visa. Call 1-877-487-2778 from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET, Mondays through Fridays. Our appointment line for Urgent Travel Service is closed on weekends and federal holidays. 

Preparing for your Appointment: Collect all of your application materials before you arrive for your appointment. Bring the information you got in the confirmation email from the National Passport Information Center when you scheduled your appointment. 

Use our online form filler to fill out your form and print it before you arrive for your appointment. You can also print a PDF of your form and complete it by hand in black ink before you arrive. Both of these options reduce the amount of time you spend in our lobby on the day of your appointment.

Arriving to your Appointment: We have fewer chairs and more signage in our waiting rooms to enable social distancing. We require appointments, and we currently do not offer walk-in services. You cannot transfer your appointment to another person.

*We ask that you come prepared and bring a mask or face covering to your appointment. While public health guidance has changed during the pandemic as more U.S. citizens are fully vaccinated for COVID-19, some of our agencies and centers are located in buildings that have different policies for wearing masks and face coverings. Follow the signs posted in the building, which will display the most up-to-date mask and face covering requirements.

I hope this information helped you out 🙂

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Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra Review Joe Gee Muskegon Michigan Buds Pro Plus Case Charger Desk wood blue phone hand crashmasters phone repair
BlogTechnology

Samsung S22 Ultra Review

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 5 Minute read

The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best phone on the market, but it commands a price so high that most people will probably wait to upgrade.

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Brand: Samsung
  • Storage: 128, 256, 512, 1024 GB
  • CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
  • Memory: 8,12 GB
  • Operating System: Android 12 with One UI 4.1
  • Battery: 5,000mAh, max 45W charging, 15W wireless
  • Display (Size, Resolution): 6.8-inch 1440 x 3088 OLED @ 120Hz
  • Camera (Front): 40MP f/2.2, 26mm
  • Cameras (Rear): 108 MP f/1.8 primary, 12 MP f/2.2 ultrawide, 10 MP f/2.4 3x telephoto, 10 MP f/4.9 10x telephoto,
  • Price: Starting at $1,199
  • Connectivity: Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e; Bluetooth 5.2; 5G mmWave and sub6
  • Dimensions: 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9 mm, 229 g

PROS

  • Industry-leading display quality
  • Integrated S Pen stylus
  • Ultra-long update support
  • Powerful camera array
  • Fantastic build quality

CONS

  • It’s a gigantic phone that almost demands two hands
  • High $1,200+ price tag
  • Doesn’t come with a charger (but they give you a $250 credit to buy one)

Introduction

The Galaxy S22 is the reincarnation of Samsung’s popular Galaxy Note handsets. With the Galaxy Note series being discontinued, Samsung designed the Galaxy S22 Ultra to effectively become a new Note phablet.

It’s the top-of-the-line model in Samsung’s Galaxy S22 series. As fans would expect, this is the most feature-packed and high-tech model in the 2022 flagship lineup. A lot of great features and functionality are on offer.

Design

Samsung has redesigned its Ultra model to look like a Galaxy Note, you get the resemblance immediately. The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a metal and glass build with a luxurious haze finish for an elegant look and feel. The camera lenses are seamlessly integrated with the glass back. The overall design is streamlined with the signature Galaxy Note sharp angles.

Please excuse my laziness, I was excited to use this phone and took some pictures with a lower end cell phone. I left my good camera at home 🙂

All of the physical buttons are located on the right side of the frame. On the bottom, you’ll find the USB-C port and the speakers. This is also the first Galaxy S smartphone with a built-in S Pen. The stylus can be stored within the device itself.

Specifications

The Exynos 2200 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 are the 4nm chipsets that power the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Chipset availability varies by market. It’s paired with 8 and 12GB of RAM. Samsung is offering internal storage options ranging from 128GB all the way up to 1TB. There is no microSD card slot.

The Exynos 2200 chipset comes with an AMD GPU. This is the first mobile GPU based on Samsung’s collaboration with AMD.

The handset is powered by a 5,000mAh battery with support for up to 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. Wireless PowerShare is also supported. A charger doesn’t ship with the handset in the box.

Display

The Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 6.8-inch QHD+ resolution Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It has a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate that can go all the way down to 1Hz to save battery life. In Game Mode, the display has a 240Hz touch sampling rate. Samsung has also introduced Vision Booster technology to further improve the high resolution display’s quality.

Since the Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with the S Pen, the display is obviously capable of working with the stylus that ships with the device itself. Gorilla Glass protection ensures that the front panel remains safe from bumps and drops.

Camera

The camera setup on the Galaxy S22 Ultra feature a 108-megapixel wide-angle f/1.8 camera in addition to a 12-megapixel ultra-wide f/2.2 camera. There’s also a 10-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and a second 10-megapixel f/4.9 telephoto camera with 10x optical zoom.

The Galaxy S22 Ultra supports 100x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution technology. There’s a 40-megapixel front camera for selfies. Samsung has made significant improvements to the low-light camera performance on this device.

Software and Features

Android 12 comes pre-installed on the Galaxy S22 Ultra out of the box. Samsung has confirmed that the handset is supported for four years of Android OS upgrades. This means that the Galaxy S22 Ultra is supported up until Android 16.

In addition to four years of One UI and Android OS upgrades, the handset will also get five years of security updates.

Available and Price

Prices for the Galaxy S22 Ultra start at $1,199 with the handset hitting shelves on February 25, 2022 (I got mine on February 23rd). Color options include Phantom Black and White, Burgundy and Green. The Sky Blue, Graphite and Red colors are offered exclusively through Samsung.com.

If you order through the Samsung App on your phone, you get an additional 8% cash back, a $250 credit towards other Samsung devices and accessories AND they double your memory for free! I picked up the Galaxy Buds Pro, the 45w Super Fast 2.0 Charger and the white leather case.

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Joe Gee Costa Rica Grand Rapids Michigan Liberia Blog Rythmia Ayahuasca
BlogCosta RicaHealthTravel

The Adventure of my Lifetime

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 4 Minute read

I can’t believe I’m actually doing this!

I’m going to Costa Rica for 7 days… alone… by myself… to find myself… to work on myself… and as many people say… to be reborn and shaped into a new and improved ME.

I’ve been watching documentaries, listening to podcasts, reading articles and hearing about celebrity success stories (Will Smith, MGK, Megan Fox, Jim Carrey, Chelsea Handler, Leonardo DiCaprio, Terrence Howard, Sting, Joe Rogan, Sir Paul McCartney, Mike Tyson, Miley Cyrus, Seth Rogen, Lamar Odem, Michelle Rodriguez) over the last few months. I finally pulled the trigger and did it!

This is going to be the scariest and most amazing experience of my life.

Rythmia is the #1 customer-rated specialty lodging in the world on TripAdvisor.

Rythmia transforms your life through Ayahuasca ceremonies, yoga, metaphysics classes, volcanic mud baths, life coaching, hydrocolonic cleanses, Rythmic breathwork, massage, and farm-to-table organic food in an all-inclusive, luxury medically-licensed plant medicine center located in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

This is a life advancement retreat where you take one of the world’s STRONGEST psychedelics 4 nights in a row. Plant medicine is real and the success stories are amazing! I will definitely be posting another article shortly after this one to help give you an idea of why I’m going and what’s going to happen, followed by more articles when I get back to let you guys know what happened.

Full disclosure: To avoid lots of “how much” questions and to let you know how much something like this costs… I show the price that I paid at the bottom of the screenshot just to book the reservation. In total, I will probably end up spending over $8,000 with airfare and baggage, additional juice cleanses, white outfits for the ceremonies, sandals, traveling insurance, Covid insurance, Covid tests entering and exiting the country, shuttle fees etc.

If this is something that interests you… Let me know in the comments and feel free to ask me any questions 🙂

Read more at https://www.rythmia.com/

Check out some pictures below and make sure you read some reviews here.

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BlogHealth

My 2022 New Year Resolutions

by Joe Gee
written by Joe Gee 3 Minute read

My new year resolution didn’t include the obligatory going to the gym and losing weight goals. Mine were much more than that. I decided that this is the year that I make some huge changes in my life that I have been having problems with over the last 14 years or so.

I want to stop ALL of my medications

Over the last 14+ years I have been taking Trazodone for insomnia and as a mood stabilizer, Adderall to stay focused, Xanax to help with stress/anxiety and Buspirone to help even more with bad anxiety throughout the day. It got to a point that I would have to take one pill for energy, then I would be too jittery and I would take another pill to calm me down a little bit. It’s been a constant uphill battle just trying to survive everyday. Then I would have to come home, try to relax and fall asleep but my mind would be racing. I would just lay in bed thinking about all kinds of business related things like marketing, advertising, inventory levels, etc. I could not sleep longer than 30 minutes at a time. Trazodone is the only thing that helped get me to sleep… but it kept me sleeping for over 8 hours everyday and I would wake up really dizzy and groggy.

I finally told myself a few weeks ago that I’ve had enough.

I stopped everything cold turkey except the Trazodone. I tried to cut back on that over the years and whenever I wouldn’t take it for a night, I would have cold sweats, goosebumps, mood swings and even dizzy pulses in my eyes. So I started taking a half of pill right before Christmas. After 2 weeks, I started taking 25% of a pill for a few days and then stopped it completely without any bad side effects.

My body was really nervous and jittery feeling for a few weeks but now I’m doing great. My insomnia is still there but I’m learning to handle it a little better… and to be honest, I have a little indica weed pen that I can use to help me get to sleep and can even use it during the day if I’m having really bad anxiety. It works great and you don’t get high unless you take a few hits in a row.

I want to start eating healthier

It’s really hard to eat healthy when you have a busy lifestyle like mine and just want to come home and relax after work. I hate that I have to buy so many groceries just to make a few meals, then I have a ton of leftovers that I don’t eat. I also have a lot of extra food ingredients rotting in my fridge because I don’t have any use for them. It just seems like a waste of food, money and time cleaning the kitchen after using all the dishes.

So I decided to try using a food prep service called Freshly (Click this link and get $90 worth of free food if you sign up now). I started out getting 7 meals per week delivered to my front door. It’s pretty easy to order your food right through the app. You can rate previous meals so that you can remember if you liked them or not. You can also substitute something in your next delivery or even one of your future deliveries. I will probably stick with Freshly for a few more months and try another service. Freshly has a big menu but I don’t like eating the same stuff every week. As long as they keep adding new items to their menu, I’ll stick around for awhile.

I want to work more on my mental health and wellbeing

I’m tired of being short tempered, stressed, anxious and always in a hurry for my next thing to do. I’m naturally high strung , very competitive and determined to get something done… even if I don’t know what that is at the time. I’m always finding something to do but most of the time, I have a hard time finishing it. Most of my issues should have been resolved when I started taking the meds listed above, but it seemed to make them worse. I want to be more calm and relaxed in life. I’m tired of work, work, work, stress, stress, stress.

I’ve started listening to self help books on Audible / Amazon Prime, reading lots of articles online and watching a bunch of self help YouTube videos. So far things have been improving over the last few weeks.

I have more information to share with you guys but that’s a whole different story. Stay tuned 🙂

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