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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Vandalism!!

I was at work today, and I got a friendly reminder of why I loathe certain people. Thanks a lot, Gary. I hate you. I hate you the most.

It's getting cold!

I woke up this morning, and it was chilly. I'm getting used to rolling over in the same spot when I sleep. Maybe it's because I know that if I roll into a different spot, it won't be pre-warmed. Neither here nor there. Just an interesting tidbit of info.

Dinner has been good. Since the chicken juice, I've been toning it down to ramen noodles and slowly adding things. I think a key to my success will be preparing my food over some plastic, washable basin of sorts. That way, I don't get chicken juice in the carpet. I get it in the basin, and I open the door, and I share it with the insects that may be congregating outside my van.

I go between feeling like an adventure and feeling like settling down. Part of me just wants to clock out and take off, never to return. The other part wants to get a great job and rent a place, get a TV, and just embrace the community idea. That's what I miss the most about having an apartment. I miss neighbors.

But the dream is now being lived. I'm thankful.

Monday, November 17, 2008

The StinkWagon Chronicles

The other night, I was going through the tribulation of making dinner. Normally, cooking is a stress-free, even fun way to spend an evening, but in the van, it's an adventure. I decided I'd make a quick and easy meal. A can of black beans with jalapenos. A can of chicken chunks. A green onion. Some salsa. Tortillas to eat it all up.

I added everything to my little cooking pot (except the tortillas, of course), but when I was opening the chicken, I spilled a little of the chicken juice onto the van carpet. No big deal, I thought. I sopped it up and kept cooking. Dinner was delicious.

I got up in the morning, and I realized the horrible truth. The van STUNK. It STILL stinks, and I made this dinner almost a week ago! The chicken juice killed it. I tried to introduce chicken juice to baking soda and then fabreze, but it seems as though the chicken juice has its own agenda. Sigh... such is life in the van.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Snow!

Last night, as I slept, a strange sound woke me up. I was groggy, as it was two in the morning, but it sounded like sand being blown against the van. I thought nothing of it. "Just the wind." I fell back asleep and dreamed that I was in a musical that took place in a cabin, where people kept trying to bring stuff into my cabin, and I was singing to them to take the stuff back. My wife in the musical, I called "deer face". It's funny what we dream about sometimes... but I digress.

I woke up this morning, and looked out my window, and I realized as I slowly gained consiousness that I was looking at snow. I survived my first night of sleep in the snow in the BattleWagon! The accumulation wasn't much. Maybe half an inch on the places where it actually stuck. But still, it was a spectacular feeling. I got up, ate my bagel, got dressed for work, and took off, driving away from the sunrise with a feeling of inspiration.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

My Personal Legend

I've been reading books and having some experiences that are leading me to believe in Omens and trust in good friends. I'm starting to believe in a Language of the World.

It's weird to sort of flow through life. I've had instances lately where I consider calling an old friend, and then I recieve an email from him. I've had moments where time seems to just slow down, as if it were giving me the opportunity to really take everything in.

Last night, I left Jenny's and went to my favorite Walmart for parking. I had to get a few groceries anyway, and when I was checking out, I spoke to the cashier. He was talking about Proposition 8 in California and how it passed. He was disappointed. I am, too. It was a crushing blow towards equal rights for everyone. Everyone. I comforted this guy, told him that we were taking baby steps. I told him about my beautiful girlfriend, and how we were all taking baby steps together to fight this bigotry and closed-mindedness that will not allow people who are in love to make a statement officially commemorating that love.

As I walked back to the van with my groceries, I helped an old Asian couple load their groceries into their Mercedes and talked to the gentleman about a guy who asked me for change. Apparently, this man has done this for days on end, and I'm just throwing money away by giving him a dollar. I think in the future, I'm going to start handing out the Denver Voice to the homeless, a newspaper for and by the homeless, that will direct them where to go toget food, shelter, and medical attention.

As I fell asleep last night, I considered my evening. I don't know if they're exactly omens or just a series of interesting events, but I'm starting to fall in line with a belief that God is watching us, not with orders, but with baited breath, as a father watches his son grow and take his first steps. I'm starting to believe in a Language of the World.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Realization

I've always wondered how people manage their lives in the wake of monumental changes. It never ceases to amaze me how some people will be stoic and strong after losing a loved one or becomming unable to do the things they are most passionate about. It also stuns me to see how some people will become absolutely destroyed over minor things.

Before taking on the BattleWagon project, I thought that rock climbing was the thing that put this into perspective for me. I had considered that, being on a rock way up off the deck put things into a certain perspective that I couldn't gain anywhere else. When you're thinking of life and death and the things most important to you, you realize that things that aren't important fall by the wayside, that those things become inconsequential.

I challenged myself to live by this mantra. I pushed myself to believe in the sort of un-stated religion of the rock climber, the faith of the hard core, the severe, the extreme, and the gentle acceptance that, someday, death will find me, and that day will come for me sooner than for others in my life.

Recently, though, I moved into my van, and while I feel that rock climbing is a big part of who I am, I realize though the coldest nights so far, that many, many people are living a life more extreme than I. I live in a van with blankets and heat, and I wake up in the morning with a very cold nose. There are people that live with a blanket and no heat, crowded together under a bridge or in an alley, trying to stay warm.

Perhaps the most important difference is that I choose to rock climb. I chose to move into my van. For these other people with lower life expectancies than my own, they do not choose this. They haven't been educated to find their path in life. They haven't been taught the value of hard work. Or they have, and they can't do it. They lack the mental stability or the physical prowess to do the work that needs to be done.

I guess the point I'm trying to make living in this van, at least for me, is that while I don't need much to survive, there are comforts that I still take for granted. I have friends that will let me take showers at their places. I have a job. I have health insurance at my disposal. I can afford to take my van places that I haven't seen before, to take it and visit my family 150 miles away.

We'll see how this thing turns out. It's not yet an exercise in futility, but it is an exercise in patience and understanding.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Catching Up

This last couple of weeks have been a landslide of work and tooling around and everything else under the sun.

Last weekend, I worked on Saturday and Sunday to catch Bob and me up with our painting job. I got started early in the morning, and I captured some beautiful "city clouds" marking the sunrise of the day to come. I love the sunrise. For some reason, it's like spring to me. It's like a re-birth to face the day, a fresh start. While working, I got to drive this huge International bucket truck. That was fun! I thought maybe I was in over my head, but this thing rode smooth like fine, German sports car.

I also made some stickers and business cards to advertise my website. They're prototypes, and I'm sure some better designs will come in the future, but for now, it'll have to do.

Dan and I found an escape and tore up to Mount Sanitas park just west of Boulder for some, well, bouldering. It was actually a pretty lax day as far as climbing goes. We sent a few problems that we've sent before, tried a couple new ones, and made friends with a couple, the guy from Westminster, the girl from San Francisco, both trying the ultra mega dyno problem that we've had so much fun with in the past. The dude nailed it, but I think the girl was frazzled. No worries, though. Just afterwards, though, Dan and I sent our Sharma-wannabe problem and just hung out on the top of the ridgeline, watching the shadows from the flatirons get longer and longer over boulder as the fall sun set. It was pretty neat. We cracked jokes. I'm sure Ryan would have been annoyed, but we just hung out like a couple of guys. It was a chill day.