Move Out
Wednesday, March 30th…my checkout day. This is it; no more taking a comfy shower. No more plopping my butt on the computer for hours. And no more being lazy.
I had been sleeping in my van for a few days before this as I gradually got everything moved out. The sleeping portion is actually super comfy. I have a self-inflating air mattress that is lightweight and supportive. Its natural state is filled with air, and since I don’t roll it up, there’s less stress created on it. I have a good sleeping bag and a memory foam pillow, so it literally feels like I’m in a cocoon. I’m basically backpacking without having to setup a tent and more shielded from the elements. Yay!
Moving this go-around, and believe me I’ve moved a multitude of times, was the easiest ever. Stuff either went in the trash, in my van or in my storage unit. A few things got donated and a few more will be. But considering I had to downsize to move to Idaho, this downsize was easy. The checkout with my landlord was smooth and I was officially “homeless”.
Since the weather is beautiful here, I got out and took a walk in one of the many parks in town. It felt great to look at nature and have a newfound energy. Soon it was dark and I found a quiet street to park on and sleep for the night. Piece of cake.
Day 2
I soon would realize the challenges upon me. The biggest one is cramped space when you need to get something out of a container or out of the van. I’ve knealt, reached and knicked myself so many times already that if I keep this up without any grace or precision, I’ll be a crippled, beat-down man by the time I’m 50.
Taking a shower requires putting both my soap/shampoo and clothes in a bag and going to the gym. I was able to shower the previous day, so in getting to work, I would bypass this necessity. Thursday was a long 12 plus hour shift and by the time I got back to my van, all I wanted to do was sleep. I fiddled around my van setup and checked the internet on my phone before passing out on a street near my job.
I think work days like this one will definitely help in keeping things simple, as I won’t have to think about what I’m gonna do for several hours.
Day 3
And here it comes…
My first big problem: the van is not-starting. Luckily I was up early enough to try my backup battery, but the same issue occured. Oddly my lights were on but nothing but a click when trying to get my engine going. I’m thinking “great, this is gonna cost me a bunch to get towed and get fixed. Who knows what’s wrong with this 27 year old van”. I mean, I’m not that much older than it.
Without any luck, I packed up my necessities and rode my bike into work. One thing you realize real quickly is that you need to use the bathroom soon after waking. Your body will let you know, believe me! Because of that I raced to the nearby gas station before actually making it to work before my supervisor did.
I’m glad it was Friday because all I could think about is the reasons why my van won’t start. Worst case scenario: I could have it towed and fixed on Saturday. Best case scenario: the battery wasn’t charged enough to start it. Since my backup battery was recently declared “bad” at the AutoZone where I got it charged, I figured a better backup was in order. So I had my friend Brian give me a ride to AutoZone to buy a new battery. Work was normal, so I got done at a decent enough time for this to happen.
We circled around to the street that I had left my van and went down it finding no sign of it! Panic hit me and so did frustration. I figured it was towed. “But why?” I asked myself. This was beginning to be a quite horrible start to my van-dwelling days. After telling Brian I’d need to call the cops and figure out where my van was taken, we decided to go back down the street to make sure. And lone behold, my van was farther back on the street. Turns out I had Brian turn on a cross-street that I thought was a different one. Wow, what a scare! Now back to the battery.
I carefully removed the heavy box and replaced it with the new one, which was definitely wider. Not sure about how that all happened, but it didn’t matter because the van still would not start. I tried again and Brian noticed a small thing of smoke after a spark. Not knowing why, I consulted the internet on my phone. It looked to be either a loose terminal, corroded terminals or bad wiring. The terminals were definitely loose, which should’ve been a dead giveaway for me, but my car knowledge is anything but saavy. It took a while, but I got them terminals tight as a snare and tried again. FINALLY!! It worked! All that, and it was just because the terminals weren’t tight.
And once again I felt like I was king of my world. I went to the gym, actually worked out a little and showered. Then I took a drive down a road I’ve never traveled and slowly made my way back to an area to park. A rollercoaster of highs and lows, this day was definitelly a learning one.
The Weekend
Even though the weekend felt wide open, there were definitely some things to take care of. First off, I had an appointment to replace my back brakes, which were getting thin. Four hours or so later, I would return to the repair shop after a cool morning of riding my bike through a few parks. It was nice to get out and do that, but felt a lot better to have my van back.
I also needed to deposit my security deposit in the bank, get some mail from the post office and switch storage units. The first two went smooth. The storage unit went well except I’d have to take everything from the bigger one to the smaller one. And guess what: they weren’t next to eachother. So this process included loading and unloading my van about 8 times before all I had left were the seats originally found in my van. I got this all done in less than 2 hours, which is much faster than I originally had planned. I then rushed to Jalopy Jungle (a junkyard basically), and gave away the two rows of seats before they closed.
I still had a good chunk of the day to go, so I rode my bike on the Greenbelt path during mid-70’s degree weather. It was beautiful and perfect. There were many people walking, biking and fishing. I even saw a domestic cat on the path. It made me miss my cat, which I’ll cover in a later blog. Then I ate, worked-out, took a shower and headed back to a parking area.
Now it’s Sunday and after a long sleep, I’m trying to make the most of the day. I’m currently typing this under a pavillion in a park. Stay tuned for more of my journeys including: The Van Living-Area Assembly, The Letting Go of My Awesome Pet, and How to Efficiently Live In a Van.
"V"an-"D"welling RULES! 