Craziness

Just an update, today we are attempting to charge the battery and its getting cold. We had our first snow today. The cats are starting to get their winter coats and I am getting anxious to go, ready for the warmth. My friends in AZ keep reminding me of that. Lovely. Hopefully everyone is staying warm.

Plans brain dump

I finally started paying off some of my old bills that have been sitting on the back burner, nothing major, just the little things. I am also taking my earned vacation for the month of Jan from my 2nd job where I work 3 shifts a month. That way I can pick up at my main job and its like getting double time. I will be taking some of my vacation from said job for the next 4 months until I leave. My main job won't have vacation time as I won't have been there for a full year at that point. But its all good. I tell you now that I am trying to get everything done its getting harder to stay focused at work. I love what I do but the winter is kicking my but and I am missing money that was in my van. I am not sure where it could have gone but its a bummer.

Tomorrow I will be charging my battery overnight and back in line with that. I will also be building my 2 boxes 6 inches tall each that will lay next to each other behind the passenger seat. They will be hinged wood boxes that will store those items that I rarely use but are valuable enough I won't part ways with. I am thinking on putting cargo nets as dividers and putting my kitchen stuff in one half and my office stuff in the other. Then the clothes can go in their tub (which already has clear plastic containers to hold socks, underclothes and shirts separate with pants independent in the back). Blankets can go in the roof top carrier along with the cat bag. The rear seat can house the cat carriers and the 3 drawers behind the drivers seat. The litter box will be up front while sleeping and in the back or in the kennel outdoors during the day. I am still figuring out where the instruments are going. I was thinking on the bed during the day and secured at night, but we shall see. I really do need more space, but its not going to happen right now, so I will make it work.

And of course realistically I need a class B OR a full size van and in the least an Astro that can have a cargo tailgate box and a roof rack that can hold some weight. Maybe I should make it work without a roof rack on the Lumina APV and save that money towards my next vehicle.

But right now getting out west, getting the van outfitted as a starter vehicle on the road and getting everything up to date is the goal.

The Moving Plan

Its been 6 days since I decided on a move across the country. I am going to AZ and have picked out several parking places in the area and decided on a roof rack and bike rack for the rear. This notion you save money by not living in a house, I am not sure it doesn't come close when you balance the additional repairs and hardware needed. I am going to make a list here of what the van needs to be functional for a month long excursion with 2 cats.
Repairs so far have been brakes, exhaust, windshield wiper motor, and now the windshield. Thats 420 so far.
Add a roof rack and cargo carrier to the mods as well as a battery and cont duty solenoid and a real spare tire. Thats just the beginning besides a box I am building to go under the bed by 6 inches for lesser used stuff.

Doing something you believe in

I was doing my usual scan of blogs from my dashboard in blogger and a blog called Zen Habits has a blurb on doing what you believe in to benefit everyone else.  We as humans spend to much time doing what society instructs us too, too much time accepting what everyone else says too, and way to much time doing menial tasks that make no sense like working jobs that leave us paycheck to paycheck and angry at the world and our families while we slave away and get absolutely no where. I have been pondering the time and money connection. The notion that time is money. There are those out there living without money who feel we should donate time and the things we don't use to others and I agree with this notion but I like money to some extent because I don't have to have what someone else wants and I don't like carrying a bunch of stuff around. But there is also the notion we should get paid lots to do little and I find this the truth in corporate America. Those who do most make least. I would personally rather make 10 dollars a hour instead of 8 because it means I can work the same amount of overtime and achieve 20 percent higher pay. That 20 percent can go to savings or buying something that will enhance my life (or someone elses) and allow me to have greater periods between work.

Nomadism is the between barter and mass money. You make little money but can save more than someone making 3 x as much because there is little to no rent and the car you would repair you have.
So what do you believe in, that your passionate about that is waiting and may need sacrafice but could happen. A dream is just a dream. A dream with a plan is a blueprint. Step by step goals one at a time is progress. And eventually the dream is reality.

I believe my "station in life" isn't getting better without a change of scenery and a better education. Those are my goals, what are yours?

a few instruments coming along

I am figuring out the logistics of how to take everything I own in one trip in a mini van, the stuff I have been down sizing for over 2 years. By far, next to the cats, I love my cello. I don't play as much as I used too but its coming for the trip along with my steel necked guitar. The question is how to take an earthquake of a drive and keep the cello and guitar safe and in sound repair so I can use them in the future.
I am just now beginning the research. I would like to play on my way with some me time, but I am still wondering if I want to just take the guitar and have the cello shipped like I did the first time. But I did drive from AK to OH with it albeit risky but less risky than the shippers moving it and me not having my hands in the pot the entire time so to speak. More to ponder. I am working quite a bit right now so updates are sporadic, but I have been on the computer doing some serious research and filling out one form after another. I realize this blog is about van dwelling mostly but this is my major travel adventure except I won't be near family or close friends so I won't have local storage for this or that, everything that happens, to start with, until I reconnect, I am on my own. I am working on cleaning up some past bills, figuring out logistics and the heat in AZ. I will be going to school in the evening which is nice, I might be nocturnal part of the year.

I also got the good news that some old friends from AK will be taking a road trip same time as me and the felines and I will get a chance to reconnect. She is great at knitting and said she would better show me how. I also realized there is a cello group there so it will be nice to be involved again. So much to do, so little time.

Its my life, and this is the journey

So the title sounds selfish but I have been feeling rather emotional as this was a quick process. I woke up November 30 and decided I was moving out west and finishing college. At 4 m 30 d the clock is ticking. I have always been spontanious and this is no exception. I realized I won't have time to get a new van even though there are some costly repairs left to go but as much as I am done with already, to get another vehicle, I would have to repair that too and that gets really complex and fast. Exhaust and a new battery are tomorrow, then a new windshield next check. And after that, I am adding an AGM deep cycle battery and continuous duty solenoid.

Too see how everything fits, I put all my stuff in my apartment around my tri fold bed and realized that everything fits in the mini van but it fits exactly which means in order to drive and then pull over to sleep without tons of hassles, not to mention the easy possibility of losing things, AND room for the cats and their stuff/litterboxes (and not creating a huge mess) would be difficult without additional room. Realistically for this trip and to be comfortable until I decide on a housing situation (if I decide too) I need room to sleep, eat, cook, the cats, litterbox, have papers, books, electronics and clothes in order and easily accessible.

In addition, after I arrive, I will be starting school pretty quick, will need to transfer my plates to AZ, and figure out snail mail address and banking options. Thus, the van will be a home and later a camper as time goes on sort of like it is now. I will need power for my electronics ie laptop, cell phone, ect and space to write for papers and still have a bed and emergency kit. I will actually live between mountains and desert not so far from the Mexican border. So I will be getting a roof rack and pack, which while not stealthy, is the most affordable option compared to a rear box that anyone can easily access or a cargo trailer that I would have to get a hitch for and drive through rough terrain. As everything I own I won't use on the way there and everything I need for travel or cold weather I won't need there regularly although it does get cold at night, so upper storage is easy enough leaving me with room to sit and lie down inside the van.

And for the discussions I have attempted to have with family and friends, this trip is my life, its my journey. I came home the first time to take care of my grandma, to help out and too heal from some past events. I am thankful to those that have helped and hopefully the same is true in return. I am not taking this trip to run away, have vengeance on some past event or prove any points. I am doing this because the longer I sit here, not seeing family anymore often than I did while away the first time, and thinking, this isn't helping anyone, I am not going anywhere sitting here, and my life is slipping by. This trip is about me, the me without kids, obligations or a husband, the me that wants an education, desert, life without midwest winters and spring allergies, the me that needs to do this. I may come back in the end like I did, and I may just come visit, but in the end, this is my life, the life I want and need to live. To those that have supported me, who see I am doing what my soul is calling for, and has been for 2 of the 3 years I have been here, thank you. I came home, melted, and now I am recovered, I think.

So here is to the journey of life we must each embark on in our own unique way, that leaves a trail, tells a story and teaches a lesson to someone somewhere.

Winter is Here

Today here in lovely OH, the fall is now effectively over. Its snowing outside. I woke up to saying goodbye to the green grass. Yesterday and the day before were so pretty. Its now white and fluffy with the grass disappearing. This is my last winter for a while. YAY!

I am leaving a little sooner than planned and will be attending school in AZ as I want to finish up my degree. I love what I do but its time for a change. I have been saying that the entire time but hadn't thought of a concrete plan and this works. Plus I want to get back to the west coast and this is a way to slowly integrate. AND I started with this college back in 2005 and never got a chance to finish my BS but I don't have to pay an application fee or get new transcripts as they have my old file. I only have to take one class in person for funding so that leaves me some options. I have been been here for 4 years in this area so its time to continue on. I will figure out what I want to do after this point.

Its funny my dad went to the west coast and I was born there and he moved back for family. Things were always different he said. I went in the USAF and when I came home, its been different. I haven't felt tied to here nor like this is home. Its been an odd homecoming. I will miss some things here but I can visit, thats the nice thing with a home on wheels. I am going to be driving and living in my mini van for a few months and see how that goes. Then I will adjust as needed. In the mean time I am going to continue saving, planning and getting all the repairs done on the van as I can so it will be road trip roadworthy.

I lived in AZ for 9 months previously and it was a great experience and I look forward to seeing it again. I will also be getting an overhead container for the van, a roof rack and hitch set up for when/if I get a trailer. I won't be storing anything here as I don't want to pay for storage and I don't want family/friends to move and I am out that stuff. It gets cold at night so I will have all the uses I had before. I plan on leaving April 1 to the 15th, somewhere in there, I need to be in AZ by May 10 to have 2 weeks to get settled. I want to go slow and enjoy the trip.

I also found a day sitter to watch the felines while I attend school so they can stay with me the rest of the time meaning 90 percent of the time, which is what I have been looking for. I am hoping to find a place to park nearby as well or a campground to stay so I can focus on studies.

I am half way through the paperwork for the school, now the repairs on the van, getting the cats shots updated, and then planning the trip. After that, getting settled in a parking spot with hookups for an AC and establishing a system. It all seems so much easier when housing isn't such an issue. If I get a trailer, which I will likely do as I plan to stay at a campground or pay someone, as I have the funding to do so, then I am good to go. We will see how much funds I have left and how much rent the parking space will be before I make such an investment and the gas mileage difference will make towing a trailer a pain. I still want the livin lite trailer as I would prefer pre done facilities but light enough to haul with the mini van.