Seven Layer Night

Okay, so it was a might chilly, last night, in that it did dip down to somewhere in the mid -20 C’s. 

I layered up and yes abandoned the furnace early in the evening, but I am still here and everything is still attached.

I added an extra layer of clothes, so I ended up wearing seven layers of clothing along with my winter boots inside the trailer.

If you add up the quilts that was around me when I slept, then I was up to eleven layers above me and one extra layer below me (two if you count the bottom of the sleeping bag).

I was warm though, and made it through the night and could have handled it if the weather turns colder. (Not that I’m daring it to.)

For me the warning flags start to go up around the mid -30’s. That is when I would look for somewhere inside to stay (or someplace to plug in) and weather the weather.

According to some of the weather forecasters, this should be the coldest it gets, after this it should get ever warmer, if even by a bit.

As for me, I will indeed take this one day at a time, one night at a time and just make it through to the warmer weather when I can start to peel off the layers, eventually leading me to be in just shorts.

On a side note, my attitude has taken a beating but for the most part I am staying positive. I have my moments of frustration and general bitchiness, but they pass.

Mostly they pass with me focussing and forcing myself to calm down and focus on the positive things. It is a struggle, but for the most part I am winning.

I find that if I focus too much time on the future and that property that I plan to buy, my attitude takes a turn for the worse. 

This is due to the fact that I must, even unconsciously, look at the stark contrast between where I want to be and where I am.

It is frustrating when the progress I make, however small, is marked in small increments which only happen every two weeks.

It is like taking a walk and only taking one step forward every two weeks. You feel like you are getting nowhere until you turn around and see how far you have come.

I know that I am making progress and constantly remind myself of that. 

I will persevere, and I will make it. I will be debt free this year and then I will save up to buy that property that I want. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

The Low Part of The Urban Nomad Cycle

This is it, we have officially arrived at the low portion of the cycle that is my life as an Urban Nomad: the dead of winter.

It’s okay, as I have been here before, so I know what to expect and I know how to manage; the cold doesn’t really bother me. I mean, I don’t like it, but I can handle it.

As witnessed by this exchange yesterday: 

“Damn, it’s cold out there!” My boss said as he entered our workplace from running his errands. 

He hadn’t been out there long; in fact he had just crossed the few feet from where his truck was parked right outside our offices to the front door.

“Meh, it’s not even minus twenty,” I replied with a shrug.

In my head I was thinking “You’re not even dressed for the weather; T-shirt and jeans? No wonder you’re cold.”

This told me that I am fully in Polar Bear Mode. This time of year is when I hibernate more, and just stay warm and do very little. 

I find myself spending most of my evenings in my sleeping bag, under the covers, staying warm whilst not wasting propane. 

I am okay, I am managing, and I know this cold will not last long.

This end of the cycle lasts for January and February; March and April is when it starts to warm up. As expected July and August are the high points of the cycle.

Hmm, warm weather: the door and windows all open (save for bug screens) a nice breeze blowing through the trailer and me in my shorts . . . good times.

This end of the cycle sees me in six layers of clothing when I am not at work, and constantly thinking about how long it will take for this or that to freeze (yes, even me).

It is because of this end of the cycle that I got into the habit of setting up my kettle and coffee percolator the night before. Usually they, and my water supply, are frozen by morning.

I still take home 3 x 1.5 litre bottles of water from work each day and bring them back each morning, even if they are not empty. This is so that they can defrost in the warmth of work during the day. 

I finally figured out why my deadbolt lock freezes up, and thus leaves me without the ability to lock up my trailer when I am asleep.

Typically I leave the roof vents open a crack at all times (except when driving). This allows the air to escape, fine. 

What happens is that in windy weather some of that wind is blown into the trailer through those roof vents. This then increases the air pressure in the trailer.

Air pressure must equalize, so the air must exit somehow, one of those ways is through the crack in the door, and past that deadbolt lock.

The problem, I surmise, is the fact that we have a very cold, frozen piece of metal that has moist air blowing over it. 

The moisture in the air then condenses on the metal and freezes, thus freezing the deadbolt in place. (Either in the locked or unlocked position.) 

The way to free myself is to light a candle and have it burning as close as possible to the business end of the deadbolt lock. After a bit, this usually heats up the lock enough for me to force the deadbolt open. 

To air the trailer out I plan to leave the door open and open the roof vents for at least half an hour each night. (Whilst bundled up for the outdoors . . . joy.)

Again, it is little tricks like this that I have picked up over the two (not counting this one) winters which helps me survive, and yes thrive during this time of year.

What also helps keep me going, is knowing that this is only temporary . . . this too shall pass. (It will warm up a bit by the weekend, so there is a reprieve).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!

Old-School Countdown

In Eons gone by, to know the date you would look at a calendar, no not that app on your phone, but an actual printed out chart with days and weeks on it.

This thing would not automatically tell you what day it was, you had to, you know, figure it out on your own (horrible, I know).

So, since you were always looking at this thing when planning ahead, it would make sense to mark special days on this paper chart calendar. 

When counting down to special days, one would cross off days that have gone by so you can see the progress of time towards this special day. 

Why am I giving you this history lesson? Because I have marked up a calendar that I got for Christmas for that purpose. 

What I have done is started at the new Total Debt freedom Day of December 22, 2017.

  

And marked it up in the following format: “Months : Weeks” each week all the way from that day to today.

  

This way I get to make sure that my other countdown marker is on track and accurate.

  

For fun, I will cross off the days that I have passed by, as you can see by the January calendar page.

This is just another way to keep me motivated and on track for this next and my most aggressive goal yet: paying off the Wanda Loan this year.

As always: keep you head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Plodding Towards Positivity

Okay, so this is day two of this “I’m going to be positive” drive, and so far, it is going . . . okay. 

Yesterday was, for the most part a good day, but I will admit that I did have a few down and frustrated moments, but overall I did have a positive outlook.

This blog entry is to let everyone know that changing your attitude is like changing any other habit; it takes time and consistent effort.

I have no idea if this will “stick” after three weeks, but I will keep at it, because, I like living with myself when I have a positive outlook.

I help things along by singing a silly song that I have made up and reminding myself that I will be debt free this year, not next year, or in a year’s time . . . this year.

That is something to something to smile about, as it will be hard won, and because of that, victory will be all the sweeter. 

For now, I will continue singing my silly song to myself as I then look for things around me and aspects of my life that I should be happy and positive about.

Dreams and visions of the future are also good motivators in this the darkest and coldest time of winter (January – March).

I will keep going and keep moving forward, but I will do so with a smile on my face and a positive outlook. After all, no matter where you are going, you might as well enjoy the trip.

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!

The Essential Ten Minutes

One of the things that I am working on this new year, (not that I am calling it a “Resolution”) is to be more positive.

I have noticed a tad more negativity creeping into my attitude and self-talk as of late, and that has to stop. Mainly because I have begun to be a bit of a downer to live with.

I have noticed a secret which is essential to having a good day, or at least a positive outlook for the day. I will share that with you now, kids, so listen up.

That first ten minutes after you get out of bed, is key, it is vital and will help determine with what outlook you go through your day. 

Once you wake up, you are generally in bed, warm and all snugly, so . . . so far, life is good. 

It is once you pull back the covers and get out of bed, that things can go abruptly downhill and if you are not careful, pick up speed. 

In order to prevent this, you have to force yourself to decide to have a positive day. Yes, really, some of us don’t tumble out of bed all perky and oozing positivity.

I set my mood for the day by way of positive affirmations which I say out loud and proud, as I get out and get myself ready for the day.

This is corny, and I know it, but it works . . . trust me. (You may have to repeat this process throughout the day, too.)

You see, things happen, they are not good or bad, it is how we see them, how we react to them which makes them good or bad.

If you have a negative attitude, if even the slightest bad thing happens to you, you will see this as yet another affirmation that the universes is out to destroy your life.

If you have a positive attitude you will just swiftly deal with whatever has happened and not give it much thought. 

For me, in the dead of winter, having a good outlook is essential, as it is quite easy to get negative when your house is a deep freezer. 

This is also my way to help keep me being a person worth being around, one who will help people and who people genuinely want to be around. 

Mainly, I am choosing to be the kind of person that I want to be and would appreciate being around. 

I am also doing this to keep motivated as I move ever forward towards my goal of Total Debt Freedom (this year!).

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

Total Debt Freedom Day Pushed Back

This is one of the many things that I came to realize upon reflection over this Christmas Break. Call it a bit nerdy, thinking about my trailer loan, but there you have it. 

Now that the New Year has begun, I now can focus on paying off the Wanda debt, my last and by far the largest loan debt I have ever had.

Sure the payments are only 122.38 Bi-Weekly, but the overall, original outstanding balance was over 36,000.00, it now stands just over $34,000. 

This loan was structured like a mortgage and so it is to be renewed every 5 years but meant to be stretched out over 20+ years. So, me paying this thing off this before its first renewal date is big.

I ran the numbers and it doesn’t look good for me to make my previously stated total Debt Freedom Day of: November 7, 2017. 

With that in  mind I have pushed it back to the last payday of this year: December, 22, 2017.

  

So, here is the new and updated debt countdown . . . 

  

The key thing to note is that I will still be debt free, and it will still happen this year. I will have a better picture of exactly when that will happen, once this month is over. 

You see, I am measuring what is happening to the Wanda Debt with each payment, and is the first month of me making regular extra payments.

I will be able to see just what impact each of these payments are actually making on that loan. With that I should be able to make some predictions on the loan going forward.

The other upside of me pushing this date back is that if I pay the loan off early, great! If I have to take up to the new date (December 22, 2017) then that is okay too.

I know that this will impact my savings plan (for the property), which comes next, but that is contingent on paying this loan off. So the earlier I can do that, the better. 

The key thing to stress is paying it off: 1) at all, and 2) ASAP!

I just have to be realistic, and that is one thing that I keep in mind these days, that is to be Optimistic, yet realistic.

As always: Keep your head up your attitude positive, and keep moving forward.

Christmas Break’s Bountiful Bounty

My Christmas Break is over and so I am back at work. I don’t know about all of you, but I really needed that break. The time in the mountains really did me good. 

Sure, it got off to a rocky start by me being snowed in, in the city for two days. I didn’t even leave on my Christmas Break until Christmas morning.

I did get going, though, and I did get my favourite camping spot in the mountains. Not to brag or rub it in, but here are a few choice shots from that break.

  

I made sure to bring two power cords with me: 1) to plug Wanda in with and 2) to plug the truck’s block heater in with. 

This way I could avoid having to run the truck each day to ensure that it would start when the time comes to leave. 

As for the weather, it was not too bad, with the exception of the last two nights which dipped down to the mid -20’s overnight. 

  

For the most part, my electric heater was able to keep things warm and mostly things were up to a steady and stable 20C indoors. 

I will admit that it took at least two full days to thoroughly get the chill out of the trailer and up and warm; all without using any propane (yay). 

I am thankful that I packed up and got “road ready” before sunset yesterday. That way I didn’t have to try to work the slide-out or other mechanical mechanisms after they have been put in the deep freeze overnight. 

I just got up this morning, perked my coffee, got the remaining bits of the insides ready to travel and off I went. 

(And stairs . . . I folded up the stairs . . . I forgot to do that once before hitting the road . . . once . . . never again.)

The last thing I did, and something I highly recommend before hitting the road, was to stop, just at the gate of the campground and do another walk around.

It can happen that during the process of going over the speed-bumps and other obstacles getting out of the campground that something can jostle loose.

I actually had one of the equalizer bars from the hitch fall out and was dragged for a few kilometres down the road by its chain. 

I heard the metal being dragged sound and pulled over to investigate (thankfully).

As I was doing that walk around I was wondering why it was a bit nippy in the air. When I got back into the truck, I noticed this . . . 

  

When I got down off of the mountain, I noticed this . . . 

  

(Before anyone freaks at me for taking pictures in a vehicle I was pulled over and the truck was in park.)

As far as driving this morning goes, I was able to make it all the way back into the city fine and dandy with smooth sailing. 

On a major road in the city, however, as I was slowing down to get around an accident, I lost traction and jack-knifed a bit . . . go figure. Thankfully I didn’t hit anyone.

With the break over, and work set to start I am now rested, refreshed and ready to tackle another year and what is left of this winter. 

As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive, and keep moving forward!

And yes: Have a happy new year!