First Day At Work After The Move

I was camping this weekend in a beautiful area which had spotty to no cell service. That means that I didn’t get all of your messages and well-wishes until this morning . . . thank you, all of you.

McLean Creek was, as I said a well-organized campground in beautiful surroundings. The one interesting bonus was the fact that someone had horses in the campground area so they were wandering the forests around and behind my campsite. I also liked the fact that it had a fire-pit, a simple camping pleasure that seems to be denied you in Parks Canada Campsites (at least the ones in Banff).

I got up and drove back to town in plenty of time to do a bit of last minute shopping (for my lunch) and splurge on fast food breakfast.  I know that I need to do some proper grocery shopping tonight.

The two things that I left off my list of things which may screw me over are: 1) Theft, and 2) Towed/Impounded. 

As I sit here at work I can’t help but worry a bit that either someone will take the corner too wide and plow into Wanda. Then again there is the thought that someone could just simply steal Trea and Wanda. Then of course there is the possibility of some parking-Nazi impounding my truck for some obscure regulation.  I will resist the urge to go out at lunch to check, as either they will be there (in tact) at the end of they won’t. 

I still haven’t told my boss about this move and I am putting that off as I don’t want him to think that I am 1) too weird and/or 2) a charity case. The truth is and it was emphasised this weekend that I don’t need anything larger than Wanda right now. She has all the stuff that I need and as long as I can find a place to park and the pipes won’t freeze, I’ll be fine. Well, time  to start work now.

I Did It! I Am Now One “Event” Away From Being Royally Screwed.

At 9:12 AM this morning (July 12, 2014) I pulled away from the house that contained my room for the last time. I have lived here since late January of this year and I have mixed feelings leaving it. It is a nice room in a nice neighbourhood and Landlady has been good to me. I know that, however crazy, this ‘Urban Nomad’ endeavour is something that I must do, at least for now.

I got up at the usual time (for me), played a bit of LOTRO (Lord Of The Rings Online) this morning and then started my day. I decided to start early and slowly load up the truck and Wanda rather than in a rush.

I took Landlady’s advice and backed Wanda up to and part way up the driveway. She told me that she was going to be up and gone early this morning so she gave me my damage deposit back (in full) last night, even before the move (very nice). I figured that she had gotten a ride from a friend so I thought nothing of blocking her car in.

I tell you this was the easiest move that I have ever made. Can you ever say that you moved from one house to another when the new house was parked in the driveway of the old one? Hmm? I can, trust me, it was sweet, and didn’t take that long; I don’t have much stuff now.

I had just loaded up the last of the stuff into Wanda and was about to start the cleaning of my room when I heard some movement upstairs. I thought this was odd as it was almost nine and Landlady was supposed to be gone by now.

Sure enough it was Landlady just getting up . . . we have very different definitions of “Up and gone early.”

She was running a bit late and because I was parked behind her I had to either clean fast and go or move Wanda, clean then lock the house and put the keys in the mailbox. I cleaned fast because I didn’t like the thought of leaving the house as a “Thief’s Special.”

After that I:

• Deposited the refunded damage deposit into the bank
• Had a nice breakfast at IKEA. (remember, free coffee with your $1.00 breakfast before ten) (doors open at 9:30).
• Stopped by my storage unit to put my extra bedding into storage
• Went to Canadian Tire to pick up Firewood and a portable Propane BBQ.

I am now sitting in an information booth parking lot (stealing Wi-Fi) just inside the entrance to Kananaskis Country. I can’t check into my Camping Spot at Mclean Creek until 4:00 pm and it is now 1:00 PM.

I decided to go camping this weekend to celebrate my big move and to have the space to sort through my stuff and find homes for things and decide what I still have to get rid of. I will camp tonight (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday).

I can do this because I will just get up early Monday and drive to work. The campsite is not that far from Calgary, but still remote and in beautiful country . . . (I love this province) city life and still easy access to open and wild country.

As I sit here and unwind it is not lost on me the fact that (for all intents and purposes) everything I own is with me. I mean in storage I have: two framed pictures, two small tables, and bedding which will be used to pad them for their trip to the coast (Vancouver) . . . that’s it. Everything else I own is either in my truck or Wanda.

While I am safer from some events than other people, you know, those who live in houses and other stationery housing. I mean if any of the following were to happen, I can just drive my house away:

• Fire
• Flood
• Riot and/or Breakdown of social order
• Godzilla
• Apocalypse
• Zombie Apocalypse
• The rise of the machines and/or the Apes

Other things I am not so protected from, and in fact more vulnerable and exposed to the risk of losing everything, such as:

• Car Accident which writes off Treabilla and/or Wanda
• Carjacking
• Home Invasion

Still other things I am just as exposed and at risk as anyone else, such as:

• Meteor strike
• Nuclear Holocaust
• Ice age (but then again I do have a furnace)
• World War 3

In all seriousness, I wish to convey that I know that this lifestyle is not for everyone and not without its risks but it also has its upsides. For one, and for the first time since I was 18, I don’t pay rent . . . to anyone.

Sure I pay for Wanda but that is only $122.00 every two weeks, and that is payments on ownership of her, not rent. There is a chance I can see some of that back down the road, should I sell her. With rent, once you pay it, it is gone and you don’t get any of it back, ever.

As far as I figure, if things go as predicted and we do have a warmer than usual winter, I should be forced to rent a room (or tough it out in Wanda with no water) for four – maybe five months, January to April sure, but possibly December, and even April is iffy, but I know I will have to pay for the full month, and April 1 is pushing it in Calgary.

I am on track for getting my first Credit Card done by the first paycheque of September. On the outside I may have a bit left over for the second of September paycheque, but that is at the latest. I know this is what I need to do, I am looking forward to getting caught up on these @#$% credit cards, then on to the fun part of saving up for my move and paying down Wanda.

One Week to Go

It’s funny, I asked for this, I planned for this, I have chosen this, but I am still anticipating and apprehensive about moving out into the great wide open.

Sure I have Wanda, but this is not a weekend but for now on. I will be moving out of a perfectly good room and into my trailer. I will be parking in parking lots and on side-streets and sleeping in a trailer still attached to my truck.

This is a process though; I want to get through it and into a place of financial stability and security. I look forward to the day that the only debts that I have are the current ones, or rather the ones with a fixed end date.

It seems like a lonely process and I know what you’re thinking, just get a girlfriend or roommate. While that is always an option, I somehow end up being the “responsible” one, the one where the bucks and bills stop at.

While it would be great to have someone to go through this process with, I know that this is not a realistic option. I can’t imagine a woman who would want to date a man living so . . . shall we say . . . in an unfixed way.

My ideal woman would be someone who would move into my life and Wanda, focussing on paying down my (and hers) bills . . . I won’t hold my breath waiting for her to appear. I have covered this before but I know what is expected of a man in a relationship; as a provider and you know . . . someone with a house and all that. I get it, I can’t give that, so I won’t waste anyone’s time.

I broke a promise to myself yesterday; I bought the power box, solar panel and charge controller. I was going to wait until I got paid on Monday, but I wanted to have enough time to put it through its paces of charging and using it to ensure that it would suffice before my move out next Saturday. If this power box system is not going to work, I wanted to know sooner rather than later.

The first initial tests worked out great, and with the connection accessories that came with the Solar panel, I was able to make a few quick connect options. This way I can use the charge controller at all times when charging the unit, but have options on how to charge it. I can charge it by: 1) Solar Panel. 2) Cigarette Lighter Plug, 3) AC Adapter plug.

Things are looking up. I am while I am still a little apprehensive I am mostly excited for taking this next step. I know that this is the path I must take to pay down my bills, I just wish I didn’t have to walk it alone.  

Solar Power Update

Okay, when last we talked I was considering my options when it came to how to get 120 VAC power within Wanda, economically. I need this so I can power my laptop and charge my cellphone (without leaving it plugged into Treabilla with the windows down so I can hear it ring.

I have checked around and there are better options when it comes to a permanent installation within Wanda. I found a place where I can get a single 250 watt panel and system (with 1000 Watt True sign wave inverter) for about $1000.00. Add to that the installation cost of an estimated $500.00 or more. I just don’t want to install it myself and end up with holes in my roof or a hack job on the interior.

All that said, I need to be willing to drop $1500 .00 – $2000.00 for this system. My simple solution of just under $500.00 is looking like the prudent option at this point. It will do what I need but not cost too much. I can get a better solar solution installed down the road but for my piece of mind I need to make headway on these credit cards.

I have already been six months on this journey with little headway to show for it. As it is I have a trip to the coast that will cost me around 500.00 in fuel. I need to take this trip to deliver this furniture and it will be good to see family. I hope to have my first card done by the Sept 7 paycheque.

Packing Wanda Went Well

I had to put Wanda in for service after our outing last weekend. As I was packing up, I realized that the driver’s side rear turn signal on Wanda stayed on, at full intensity, at all times. It took them a few days to fit her in so when I arranged to pick Wanda up on Friday afternoon, it seemed like as good an excuse as any to go away for the weekend. 

This time I didn’t want to go far, I just wanted to stay local so I could work . . . on Wanda. I decided to clear everything out of my storage and find a home for it in Wanda. I only left the two pieces of furniture (heading to Vancouver) and then pictures that will stay in the back of the truck.

I envisioned it taking most of Saturday to figure out what should go where and what I should keep and what should go. I had planned for this and bought some storage tubs for her pass through storage area. 

Well, the whole process only took a couple of hours, if that. Even after that I had a bit more space to fit the stuff coming from my room. So I had the rest of the weekend to enjoy the campsite, right?

Well, this was not a nice provincial or federal campsite, this was a private one, and an older one at that. Sure it had Wi-Fi, but it was so slow that it was practically non-existent. Sure it had campsites but they were back in ones and even then they were small. My water went out once and power went out for someone else . . . this was only one evening. To top it all off it was more expensive than the government sites . . . so I bailed.

I had done what I had planned to do so I didn’t need to be there. I thought about staying at a parking lot or forlorn industrial street in town, but decided against it. I didn’t need a dry-run-through as I knew what it was like and it would be reality soon enough. 

Instead I put Wanda in storage and went home, or rather I went window shopping for a few things I would like for Wanda. One is a power solution, ie, somehow to make my own 120 VAC power. I could get solar panels, a charge controller and an Inverter for Wanda but the cost of that and installation would be somewhere between 1 – 2K. 

Not something I am prepared to pay for now, so for now it looks like a battery box (with inverter built in), a small charge controller and a 20 Watt solar panel. This should be enough for what I need ie: charging my laptop and my phone, it should work. The built in solution will have to wait. 

I also have my eye on a small, portable BBQ for 30 bucks. Hmm barbeque. 

I’m Tired of Paying Everyone Else’s Bills

I got paid this weekend so I paid my rent, early as always. Landlady was nice and let me pay just half of July’s rent. If things go well I may get that back, as my damage deposit was about that much (I think). If I don’t I don’t, as I never count on money coming in (other than my paycheque). Landlady joked that I can’t leave because I always pay my rent early and nobody does that. I laughed and we went our separate ways. 

She may consider me the ideal tenant because I keep to myself, keep quiet and pay my rent early. I do all this because I still feel like I am a guest, an intruder in her home. As nice and kind as she is, I don’t feel like it is my place, my home.

It was nice to go to Lake Louise and I tried to bike from the campsite up to Lake Louise but I didn’t make it up that hill. I did go for a nice bike ride on trails near the campsite; that was enjoyable. Yet it would have been nicer to share this experience with someone, I am not ready for that. I need to get through this phase of my life first, I know that.

I did feel at home in Wanda and the campsite was nice even though all I had for hookups was the electricity. I know that I will be able to survive in Wanda, but a few things could make things easier, like an inverter and solar charging system. 

One thing at a time, while it would be nice, it is not necessary. I can charge my laptop either at work or plugged into an inverter in Treabilla. Likewise I can charge my phone either at work or in Treabilla. I have already arranged to up my data package on the phone and get an internet stick so I will not be cut off or living near McDonalds/Starbucks or anywhere else with free Wi-Fi. 

I am looking forward to the twelfth (the day I move out) for a few reasons. For one I will truly be on my own and mobile. Also this little place will be mine, sure someone may complain about where I am parked, but I can always move. Someone may say that living in a trailer is not that safe, well how safe are you living in your house? Really? If stuff is going to happen, it will happen.

Another reason that I am looking forward to living in Wanda fulltime is that I am tired of throwing money away on rent. I get nothing of value from it; it does not help me get further ahead. In winter, for a few of the colder months I may rent a room or a place to park and live in Wanda, but I will deal with that then. For now, I will save and get ahead. By my estimates this will put me one credit card ahead, just by doing this.   

I say that I am tired of paying everyone else’s bills because I have always made sure to pay my bills but shove things for me to the backburner, never, if ever to be dealt with.  

My clothes are all from discount stores, and never that stylish, as being in style costs cash, cash which is needed for bills or some other urgent thing which must be paid.  Treabilla was the first vehicle in my life (bought her at 43) that I have ever splurged on. Every other vehicle has been the cheapest and the minimal I need to function. 

I have atrocious teeth, even though I have had dental coverage a few times in my working life.  Why is this you ask? Because dental coverage does not cover everything and the longer you put it off the more expensive your portion is. I look forward to finally being able to getting something done so I can stop hiding my teeth.  

I want to get out from under this dead weight of credit card debt so I can look at doing something for me and not feel guilty. I know that I still have a truck and trailer to pay off, but there is an asset with that, and a fixed date, with credit cards, they are the debt that keeps on taking, and growing. 

I was, however, able to get myself out of the overdraft and pay a bit off of one credit card. All thanks to my plan to live in Wanda. 

Possessions Are Fleeting

As I get ready to go back to work after tossing out and/or disposing of most of my possessions this weekend a few things hit me. While it is true that a good chunk of my possessions I still technically own, since I have put them up for auction, I don’t consider them mine anymore, they are in limbo.

What hits me is that possessions are fleeting, things break, you lose stuff, clothes go out of style. As I sit in my room, I know that a good portion of what is here will go with me, but there will still be more which goes bye-bye. 

I am on the cusp of literally bringing everything I own with me wherever I go . . . I am okay with that. It doesn’t mean that I can just go “wander the earth” it just means that I will not pay for storage, nor rent for the foreseeable future. I am looking forward to that. 

The ironic thing is that the reason that I am going through this temporary, drastic lifestyle change is to pay of credit cards which were run up buying stuff and experiences that I no longer have. I have a few select items but the vast majority of what was charged to those cards are gone. 

The trek towards running up the cards started during the last few months of film school. I ran out of money and needed to live on my credit cards. Then I decided to film a test pilot for a TV show that I wanted (and still do) to get going. After film school, I had moving and living expenses. Add to that a few impulse items and you have full credit cards  before you know it.

I spent a year working hard to pay down my Brick Card just to pay off the bedroom set that I will now auction off for a fraction of what it is worth. I know on one hand I should keep it but it will cost me more to store it until some unknown time where I may have a house to put it in. 

Stuff is replaceable; things should be used and have a purpose in your life. Don’t get me wrong, I like stuff and I don’t see myself living as a Buddhist monk or a Jedi, forsaking all possessions. For now, at this point in my life, the less I own the better. 

If it does not fit within my truck or trailer, I won’t own it, not until I am settled somewhere. Exactly where that is or when that will be, I do not know. That is part of the fun of this adventure, first get my credit cards paid off, then save up to move while paying a bit down on Wanda.