The Last Dance

It's nice and cool outside as I type this.
My bed frame has already been removed and I am lying on the foam of my bed right on the floor of my van, Great White.
I signed over my trusty friend today to its new owner. Although I am allowed to use it for a few more nights.
This is it... my last 5 nights in the van.
The flight awaits on Saturday.

This is my last dance with Great White. My wonderful little home on wheels that kept me safe and dry from rains and the worst of the cold winds. A new vehicle awaits me in the future... probably something bigger and with a full kitchen and bath.

Each day from now on, there will be less and less stuff in the van.
Tomorrow, I will be taking my closet rack apart and keeping just the essential clothes in here.
By Friday, there will only be the foam to bring out into storage.

Good night, y'all.

My last nights in Great White

It's a nice 50 degrees outside. Very good temp for van living.
I think if I pick this up again later on this year, I will have to follow the nice cool (but not freezing) weather so I can live in comfort all year round.
For now, I am staying in my little home... these are some of the last days in my van.
I will be going overseas soon. I already have a buyer for Great White. It's been a lot of fun and a lot of learning.
After the initial freeze, these are good days to be in the van... nice cool nights that aren't freezing.
I will miss this.

Good night!

What I learned through all this.

So I am coming to a close with my second half year sleeping in my van.
I am selling it within 2 weeks. Would I get a new one? At first, I thought I wanted to... But this last episode of getting sick reminded me of how much stuff I had to give up in order to pursue this kind of life.

My observations:

1)Food is my best friend...
My food choices became painfully limited. With food being my only vice, I was reduced to steaming and the crock pot which aren't necessarily bad, when you think about it. But sauteing, frying, and all that juicy stuff... can't be done in such confined spaces. Cooking is therapeutic for me. It is actually becoming a real pain towards the end especially when I have all this knowledge and no way to apply it.
In my regular life, I kept a well stocked kitchen with everything to make my favorite dishes almost on demand. That means it is stocked with enough food to last me a month long siege if it came to that.
I gotta be honest... I miss that.

2) I knock things over a LOT.
Space is tiny. After a while, you do get tired of moving things around or knocking them down.

3)A rolling office?
I was hoping to work in my "home". That did not even happen. If I don't have room to fry and saute, then there's clearly no room for anything else. I am a regular freelance artist. I do miss having a comfortable nook I can retreat to and work... then step out into the kitchen to fix me something... or roll out of bed to work some more when I am struck with insomnia. My productivity this past year has been terrible because I have had to fill in blank time in the van somehow with just cruising online.
Unlike other folks working full time on their computers, I still use paper as an artist... lots of paper. Probably one of the last of my generation to do so. As a result, I accumulate a lot of paper drawings and need storage for paper printing, etc..

4) The only time you need it... and it ain't there...
Yeah, it can be bad when you are sick. If you miss being able to just flop onto your bed and then roll off it and shuffle your way to the kitchen to prepare yourself some hot soup, then the van life may make that a hard thing to do. It was one of the things I mulled upon when I was sick in the motel room these past 2 days. What I would have given to have a full kitchen with a full complement of ingredients ready to be assembled to make some comfort food!

5) Is size the issue?
realize that all the amenities above can be supplied by a large class C or an A. That huge class A looked really tempting last week when we toured the interior... But as I was hearing the rumbling of that giant engine, all I could think of was "gasoline".

6) Time versus efficiency.
There comes a time when I have to admit I am sabotaging my own efficiency by undertaking tasks which can be outsourced. I was recently reminded of this when I saw this show where the leader never delegated tasks. As a result, the leader did everything and the followers did almost nothing.
I can comfortably pay for my sewage elimination, water collection, etc... The economic model which I was hoping for really did not materialize for me, sad to say. Perhaps others who have more free time don't mind dumping wastes or cleaning out pee bottles, trekking far for water, cleaning dishes in small batches in cramped quarters... having to put away some things before you can get at the things you want to take care of... and then putting that away to bring back the things that were there to begin with... A lot of shuffling, rearranging, etc... I believe I am spending an extra hour daily just doing all these other moves that otherwise won't even be an issue for me in a regular setup. Time is literally money.
Life is painfully short.

A cold week!

Ooo Boy! It's major flu outbreak out there, my friends.
I am in a warm hotel room for the night to stave off an escalation of a bad cold I had yesterday.
And to isolate myself from any possible pathogen carriers in my weakened state...
...and to get some stuff done like cut my hair in a real bath.
I remember the tips of the forum veterans on here about doing plenty of things while you have access to a room and toilet.
So thanks for that.

Just in time, too. If there's anything I learned about living like this... it's to follow my body's signals early.
Man, am I thankful I am in a warm bed tonight. It's just too cold and too windy for my little home. Not to mention the cedar is out of control in my area.

Good night and stay warm!

The Weekend

Saturday.
Looked at my very first class A. Impressive layout and awesome interior.
Engine rumbling in the background, all I could think of the entire time I was inside was "Gasoline prices".

Stopped by BBQ place to have brisket, green beans and creamed corn. Not bad for a pit stop.

Went downtown and strolled some because it was a fine, fine day.
Met old friends and had pleasant conversation much of the afternoon.

Dinner was at a Mediterranean restaurant with beef/lamb kabobs and Persian salads. Perfect end to the day.
Or so I thought.
Night time was different. wind came blowing in and along with it, apparently cedar and pollen.
My nose became a sneezing machine for 30 whole minutes, eyes began to swell. Ran down to Walgreens to grab antihistamines and an air mask.

I was royally ticked off. This has never happened to me before in my life!
Now I know what allergies feel like... or is it we are just polluting our world more that more resistant types like me are now feeling it?
The severe fluctuations in weather and temperature are messing with my sinuses big time this winter.

It'll be a relief to get out of here and into better climates.

Lent my little home to a friend the past 2 nights. Boy, did I miss sleeping in my own bed! When I get that next vehicle, I must make sure it has 2 beds at least.

Sunday was a swollen eye misery.
Man, I was hacked off. This allergy thing that people suffer under is a bad, bad thing indeed. I am all new to this and I am really looking for culprits. Am I just getting weaker? Or is the world getting worse, weather and pollution-wise? I really got ticked off this morning thinking about how them climate change deniers would say nothing is wrong. A cleaner planet is better for everyone regardless. Now even I am being affected. This is shit!

Well, day wore on.... went online, did a little work.
But nothing much got done. I am still with really red eyes.
For the first time, I tried the eyedrops along with the cucumber slices over the eyes.
What do you know? It actually works, the cucumber slices!
My eyes did feel better. But also, I wore the mask religiously as well as take one more antihistamine pill.

I was in a good enough condition to go to a fancy dinner thrown by my Editor in Chief for us artists in town.
Great shindig and good eats at a Brazilian restaurant. More steak and lamb chops galore! I am one happy camper tonight!
So there ends my weekend. Both the good and the bad.
Thankfully, I was well enough to enjoy it 80% of the time.

Good night, A!

A good day... A good week

Today was spent waking up rather late.
I got up all in time to have an early lunch with a couple of friends at Joe's crab shack. Ordered the crawfish etoufee with fried crawfish combo.
Wandered around and drove to look around SA for a bit before meeting another friend.
We went to Trader Joe's --yep, the van dweller's friend. Although I bought bags of walnuts and almond slivers, it's to pack away for my overseas trip. Every now and then, it's good to have walnuts in a salad where walnuts are kind of hard to find. So ready now for that.

Had a good Chinese dinner with the same Trader Joe's friend. I had the pan fried noodle with chicken and wonton soup. Good stuff, although there's better places in Los Angeles for that kind of dish which I am going to in about 4 weeks' time.

Wooh! Was looking up the procedures for transferring titles today so I am clear on what to do when the fateful day comes... *sniff*... I will miss Great White and all our journeys together! GW has been a good van to me. I wish it well with the new owner.

For now, I am enjoying the last weeks with GW. I am typing this from my little bed at the back. Hopefully later on in the year, I will be able to get my upgraded future home on wheels.
But that's down the road. We have an entire 6 months of stick and brick to look forward to before that time comes.

Good night, America!

Midnight shopping

ah, the late night Wally shopping experience!
I got me a nice tiramisu cake on sale for $4 (down from $7). Happily muching tonight!
I also bought some wet wipes for cleaning down tonight if I feel lazy and don't setup my bathing tub.
Still... having a hot water bath ain't bad.
Also bought some portabellas on sale for $3 (2 of them!).
Gonna have some wonderful sandwiches in the next few days! Can't wait!

4th was weird...

Weird day, the 4th. Was feeling really heavy headed the middle of the day so I just quit and gone to bed and woke up at 5:30 PM! As I got back to work, I got invited to an impromptu steak dinner. Of course I'll say yes!
But did not have steak. Just ordered chicken bites and some boiled broccoli.
Good company, though!
Got back to work around 8 PM and pretty much worked from there up till 2 AM.

Was unable to sleep after that, of course. So I just stayed up till 4 AM wandering around online in my bed.
Got up today at 10 AM. 6 hours of sleep .

A New Year!!!

It's January 3 and what a hectic 3 days it's been.
Not without its fun, though.
Before we get into that... here is the last good meal I had in 2012:
Elk burgers smothered in mushroom sauce, green bean casserole and brown rice. Sumptuous!

I just got back from doing a laundry batch. It's a good routine by now... on the 30 minute cycle, I fix my little home up and do some house chores. Thirty minutes up, I transfer the clothes to the hour long dry cycle and that's when I take off for lunch. I had lunch at my favorite Thai restaurant, simply called "Thai Restaurant". It's a small hole in the wall which serves the best Panang Curry in all of TX. Now, I am back in my office cubicle. Got work to do so ciao for now!