It has been a crazy past few days. It is almost 1:30 in the morning, but I wanted to post quick.
Tonight is my last night sleeping in my apartment. I am turning in my keys on my lunch break tomorrow, and it is all VAN from here out! I'm very excited. Wish my last night of sleep in here was going to be longer than 5.5 hours though...
8/30/11
8/28/11
3 More Days
Even after offering co-workers and neighbors $10 an hour, $15 an hour, lots of beer, etc, no one was interested in helping me move. This shows me that I really am ready to leave this town. If these are the 'friends' I have, there is no reason to be here.
I called my mom Friday night in a panic, I have so much stuff, and so little time left. Plus, it is really hard to get some furniture down a flight of stairs and across a parking lot alone. She agreed to drive the two hours to come help me today. Yay! So, I originally budgeted paying people $100-$200 to help, I ended up paying nothing, and making $40 on a mattress and box spring that I was sending to the dumpster! This left me without a bed my last three nights in my apartment...
I have a couch that I acquired a few months ago and was trying to sell. A neighbor left it behind when he moved out, and though there was lots and lots of interest, no one ever even came to look at it. I realized that the cushion on it will make a perfect van mattress. It is one long cushion, and inside it is just a thick piece of foam, which I have seen vandwellers spend lots of money buying! The material is scratchy, but covered with sheets and such, it should be just fine. I eventually want to sew a new cover for it, so I can just take it off, toss it in the laundry and zip it back on again, instead of trying to keep a queen size sheet to stay put while I toss and turn in my sleep.
I brought it upstairs. I get to adjust to the tiny mattress early. Totally worth the unexpected $40
I'm really glad, in the long run, that no one ever bought the couch.
Here is my new bed! On my living room floor for three nights, then into my van. I'm pretty short, and without the pillow it is about the same length as me. With the pillow, my feet hang off. I'll have to find somethings to prop up under half of the pillow, so I can move it up a little.
I called my mom Friday night in a panic, I have so much stuff, and so little time left. Plus, it is really hard to get some furniture down a flight of stairs and across a parking lot alone. She agreed to drive the two hours to come help me today. Yay! So, I originally budgeted paying people $100-$200 to help, I ended up paying nothing, and making $40 on a mattress and box spring that I was sending to the dumpster! This left me without a bed my last three nights in my apartment...
I have a couch that I acquired a few months ago and was trying to sell. A neighbor left it behind when he moved out, and though there was lots and lots of interest, no one ever even came to look at it. I realized that the cushion on it will make a perfect van mattress. It is one long cushion, and inside it is just a thick piece of foam, which I have seen vandwellers spend lots of money buying! The material is scratchy, but covered with sheets and such, it should be just fine. I eventually want to sew a new cover for it, so I can just take it off, toss it in the laundry and zip it back on again, instead of trying to keep a queen size sheet to stay put while I toss and turn in my sleep.
I brought it upstairs. I get to adjust to the tiny mattress early. Totally worth the unexpected $40
8/27/11
Four More Days
My packing is coming along slowly. I have SO MUCH CRAP!!
I can't wait to be out of here. I'm putting everything in my garage for now. I will be in town until mid-November to get rid of and sell more stuff. Even though, the few things I do want to keep, I have no cheaper option for storage. Unless I convince my parents to let me build/buy a small shed at their house to hide back in the trees. I think that will be my plan for next summer. I'll be in Colorado until mid-April. Then I can either come home for a little while, or get a summer job and come home in the fall. We will see. But I don't want to have storage in this town. There is no reason to be connected to it ever again. Even if it is more expensive, I'd rather eventually move it all to my parents town, two hours away. Then, if I need them to find something and send it to me, they would have access to it.
I'm proud of the amount of boxes I have marked 'Good Will.' As the move-out date get closer, It becomes easier and easier to shove things in bags heading for Good Will, rather than group them and box them and label the boxes. Plus, I'm running out of boxes. I can only use them for the things I love :)
8/18/11
First Trip With the Van
A few weekends ago I took my van to Hocking Hills, to camp with my parents. Though I did not sleep in the van, I did get a feeling for what she can carry and what I will need to keep with me.
Unfortunately three days after I started driving the van the 'Check Engine Light' came on. Auto Parts plugged it in and said it was a loose gas cap or a few other things. I found an old gas cap in the back of the drivers seat, so the previous owner must have had the same problem, and tried to solve it with the gas cap. I assume they got the light turned off and sold it ASAP. It is NOT the gas cap. I have no idea about what it really is. I've been driving around with the light on for a month now.
Unfortunately three days after I started driving the van the 'Check Engine Light' came on. Auto Parts plugged it in and said it was a loose gas cap or a few other things. I found an old gas cap in the back of the drivers seat, so the previous owner must have had the same problem, and tried to solve it with the gas cap. I assume they got the light turned off and sold it ASAP. It is NOT the gas cap. I have no idea about what it really is. I've been driving around with the light on for a month now.
7/24/11
My Childhood Travels
For the first 25 years of my life, I have visited 15 states. Most of which I just drove through, going to Florida, Myrtle Beach, Chicago, Washington D.C. or Niagara Falls. I hope to double this in the next 12 months. 15 more states? I think that is more than possible.
visited 15 states (30%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
visited 15 states (30%)
Create your own visited map of The United States
Here she is!
| My dad brought her to his home today. He took about 100 pictures, and this is the only one that gets the whole van. I'm so excited to start driving her. 12 more days! |  |
7/23/11
Proud New Owner!
Of a Van!!!!
This is really going to be happening. I have an apartment lease that ends in a little over a month, and today, the van was paid for.
It has been a long 5 months. I spent the first few really excited about vandwelling, researching for hours a day. My dad was even helping me look for a van (being clueless to the real reason I wanted it) I guess he thinks women are good with vans. My truck I got almost a year ago is not getting as much mpg as I expected, and I told him I missed being able to drive people. A van would allow me to carry my bicycle still, but would put a roof over it and other passengers.
Then a few months later, for some unknown reason, I told my mom the wonderful idea I had of living in a van. I should have known, from past experiences, not to share any plans with my parents. They are dream-crushers. They are the typical Americans. Live, work, go in debt. They don't do anything out of the ordinary, and don't think I should either. They want me to buy a house and settle down in Ohio. I need to get married, raise a family and die. That is all. Of course my mom told my dad my plan to live in the van I buy, claiming that she thought he already knew because he was helping me look for a van. He abruptly quit looking.
Lucky for me, I brought it back up this month. This time with my job in mind. I am currently slightly unhappy working at a local preschool. I told my parents that I have been looking for a nanny job, for the freedom it would bring me being able to travel around town doing different things with the children everyday. But in order to be a nanny, clients want me to be able to drive their children. So I can only apply to 1 in 100 that have a spare vehicle for me to drive. In order to actually land a job, I have to own something other than a truck. A van perhaps?
Within a few weeks my dad found a van. I don't know anything about vehicles, so I just left it up to him. I had to go with a mini van because that is the best choice, without sharing my plans. I'm surprised they have not mentioned them from before. I have not seen the van yet. My parents live 80 miles away from me. They picked up the title and paid for it today, tomorrow they will pick up the van. August 5th I will travel to their town and get the van :) It is all going in my name. It will be my first vehicle I actually have my name on the title. My dad has access to one of my bank accounts, so he was able to get the money and buy it for me. Unfortunately this also means I have to now pay car insurance. This would have happened eventually, but that is another $40 bill a month that I did not want to have.
My van? A 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette. I do not know anything about it. But I hope it runs for a while.
I am now researching winter jobs at ski resorts and similar places for the winter. I am eager to get out of Ohio and travel. My job does not pay me enough to afford to travel, so I must work and travel at the same time. I think working seasonal jobs in different states is a great way to do this for a while. Some big ski resorts actually have day care centers! This is what I hope to be doing come November.
This is really going to be happening. I have an apartment lease that ends in a little over a month, and today, the van was paid for.
It has been a long 5 months. I spent the first few really excited about vandwelling, researching for hours a day. My dad was even helping me look for a van (being clueless to the real reason I wanted it) I guess he thinks women are good with vans. My truck I got almost a year ago is not getting as much mpg as I expected, and I told him I missed being able to drive people. A van would allow me to carry my bicycle still, but would put a roof over it and other passengers.
Then a few months later, for some unknown reason, I told my mom the wonderful idea I had of living in a van. I should have known, from past experiences, not to share any plans with my parents. They are dream-crushers. They are the typical Americans. Live, work, go in debt. They don't do anything out of the ordinary, and don't think I should either. They want me to buy a house and settle down in Ohio. I need to get married, raise a family and die. That is all. Of course my mom told my dad my plan to live in the van I buy, claiming that she thought he already knew because he was helping me look for a van. He abruptly quit looking.
Lucky for me, I brought it back up this month. This time with my job in mind. I am currently slightly unhappy working at a local preschool. I told my parents that I have been looking for a nanny job, for the freedom it would bring me being able to travel around town doing different things with the children everyday. But in order to be a nanny, clients want me to be able to drive their children. So I can only apply to 1 in 100 that have a spare vehicle for me to drive. In order to actually land a job, I have to own something other than a truck. A van perhaps?
Within a few weeks my dad found a van. I don't know anything about vehicles, so I just left it up to him. I had to go with a mini van because that is the best choice, without sharing my plans. I'm surprised they have not mentioned them from before. I have not seen the van yet. My parents live 80 miles away from me. They picked up the title and paid for it today, tomorrow they will pick up the van. August 5th I will travel to their town and get the van :) It is all going in my name. It will be my first vehicle I actually have my name on the title. My dad has access to one of my bank accounts, so he was able to get the money and buy it for me. Unfortunately this also means I have to now pay car insurance. This would have happened eventually, but that is another $40 bill a month that I did not want to have.
My van? A 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette. I do not know anything about it. But I hope it runs for a while.
I am now researching winter jobs at ski resorts and similar places for the winter. I am eager to get out of Ohio and travel. My job does not pay me enough to afford to travel, so I must work and travel at the same time. I think working seasonal jobs in different states is a great way to do this for a while. Some big ski resorts actually have day care centers! This is what I hope to be doing come November.
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