Day 1 of #Vanlife

I don’t even know where to start this post. There has been so much in the last two weeks. Of course I’ve been talking about the pandemic which is still going on full force. On that front over the last couple weeks there has been some hints of normalcy returning. Many counties in Washington are entering phase 2 of reopening. Basically means places can open up at limited capacity. Most of the small rural counties went first which makes sense. King and Pierce are the biggest and of course the two I spend the most time in. As of today Pierce has applied for phase 2 so maybe this week it’ll start opening back up. It’s both exciting and concerning to see things slowly return to normal. On the one hand it’s showing that we are getting a handle on the virus but on the other this could also lead to a second wave potentially even worse. If history truly repeats itself than we should be worried and hold our excitement.

I wish the pandemic was the worst thing I had to write about but sadly it doesn’t even compare to what the last week has been through. A man named George Floyd, a black man, in Minnesota was killed by a police officer. The officer had his knee pressed to the back of George’s neck for nearly 9 minutes, he died right there underneath the officers knee in the street while three other officers stood around and did nothing. The whole thing happened in the middle of the street with people waking by, people were recording and yelling to check on him. It was one of the worst things I ever watched. Truly disgusting. Over my life I’ve seen many unarmed black people killed by the police on the news. It’s fucked that I can write that. There’s no excuse for any of them but especially not for George. Most of the others were shot, which doesn’t make it any better, but being strangled in the street just hits different. He was handcuffed and on his stomach. There was no reason for it to happen.  This spark protests, rightfully so, and these protests have grown everyday since it happened. I believe today is one week since he was killed. These protests are happening in nearly every major city in America. It’s amazingly powerful to see. Sadly however some of these protests are turning violent and becoming riots with lots of looting happening. From what I’ve seen and read, the property damage and looting is being done mostly by white males. Which is infuriating, they are trying to undermine the protesters and the cause they are working hard for. As for the violence, again from what I’ve seen and read from people physically there protesting, the protests are peaceful but the police are attacking first. Whether it’s firing rubber bullets, pepper spray or tear gas. It’s horrifying to see. Even members of the media just reporting the events are getting attacked without warning or reason. Trump hasn’t been any help not surprisingly, his answer is more force and violence. He is sending active military to states to “dominate the streets”. All this racism and police brutality is nothing new to America. Everything right now happened in the 90s too from what I read. And clearly nothing was fixed. America is so fucked up. There is so much deep seeded hatred and racism imbedded in its history. Imbedded into the systems and institutes that run our lives. How do we fix it? People always say voting is the best way. I wish there was more. I wish people were more educated on the history and where it comes from and why all this happens. I keep hearing people say things like “I’m glad the protests are bringing awareness” but like awareness ain’t doing shit. We all know it’s there, it’s been there for 100s of years. We need more than awareness. But idk what the answer is but I do know it can’t be more of the same. I’m really proud of my friends, James and Chey protested in Pullman. Austin was in Bellevue doing it. And I’ve seen a lot of people I know on social media getting out there. Ok and also I’ve seen so many companies posting about being against racism and supporting the protesters which is great but this shit happens almost everyday. This won’t change if it’s only brought up every once in awhile when something really bad happens. I need to educate myself more, I’ve seen a lot of people sharing books and movies that help depict what people of color go through and how to actually help. There is so much bad in this country right now. I hope that whoever reads this, whenever it is, reads about George Floyd and does everything they can to never let this happen again.

I usually end on some van notes. I won’t this week, it feels wrong. Just a quick life update. Yes I’m in the van now. All moved out. No it’s not how I planned or thought it would be because of the state of the country. High hopes for the future though.

16 Days to #Vanlife

Just about two weeks left. All of this is not how I imagined it happening. The Covid19 pandemic has completely altered my plans. Originally I planned on working in the city while van dwelling around the city using gyms for showers. I would go out and adventure on the weekends or take some time off throughout the summer. The main goal was to always save as much money as possible since I would not be paying rent. Now the city is basically shut down still and all gyms are closed. I have been working remotely from almost three months. I never planned on working from the van because of the lack of internet. Now my plans have shifted since I need a place to work and my lease is up at the end of the month. Sadly I have to resort to going back to my mom's, but with all public places banning any gathers and all restaurants and coffee shops only doing drive thru or pick up, I have next to no other options. The main goal is still being achieved by being able to avoid paying rent. But this is taking away from the real vanlife experience I was hoping for. As of now my office is closed until mid June and I know it will be extended past that. There are so upsides to all this though. I will not be forced to be in the city since I don't have to be there to work. If I have internet I can work anywhere. This is will allow me to visit James and Chey, or even Truth and Kayla in California. Normally it would require more communication with work to do something like that. I am planning on staying a couple weeks in California in June. Also James's birthday is June and Chey's is in July so I also plan on making more trips to Pullman. I am doing my best to find the bright side of whatever is thrown my direction, especially during this pandemic.

I believe I mentioned book club in my last post. I am really getting sucked into the book we are reading. I was hoping being in a club would make me read more and keep me motivated. I have really been meaning to do it more and I am glad this is helping me do that. I'm pretty sure only James, Chey, and myself are reading right now since no one else has posted in the FB group.. so I really hope this picks up some momentum and continues.

I have been watching a ton of car build videos on Youtube lately.. and I have been looking at salvage car auctions online. I am constantly thinking about more work for the van as well as finally getting started on my other two project. The 1959 Ford Custom 300 and the 1972 VW Bus. I am hoping being back home from a little while will allow me to really get my hands dirty on those. And once I save enough money I can build a shop and start building the collection. I have always had a passion for cars and mechanic work but being away at college and having been working so much the past 3 years those passions have fallen off some. Now that I have some more time and some good money coming in I can reignite the fire.

Speaking of, I have of course been getting more things done on the van each weekend. All small but very important things. Last weekend I got my drain installed on the sink so now the water system is one hundo percent done. I also got a new latch for my slider window, so the window now stays shut. The latch wasn't an exact match and will need some custom work but for now it is doing the job. I also did some body work on the hood and got it sanded and primed and ready for paint. This weekend I installed new glass runners and seals on my front windows. The old ones were some real crispy critters. Now I have a perfect seal around the window and driving is now even quieter. I also changed my transmission fluid and filter, everything looked great which made me happy. While I was doing some preventative maintenance I decided to check out the front brakes since I hadn't yet. Luckily they were still solid. I just added some grease to the king pins to make sure they continued to work well. I also ordered tie rods and shocks since my steering has been off, the current ones are pretty worn and loose. Those should be here by the end of the week. I am very excited to get the steering tightened up. Paint should be coming soon, I am trying to plan how to go about it. I am thinking I will try and utilize the long weekend next weekend to get that really going. Fingers crossed. Pics to follow as always.

27 Days to #Vanlife

I am now under one month. Time always goes faster than you think. I started this blog in January with 130 days to go. What have I really done in the last 100 days? It never feels like I have done enough or like I have done anything meaningful. Sure I have made a lot of progress on the van. I have spent a lot of time with my parents. There hasn't been anything really preventing me from doing whatever I want but yet I still have the feeling of the last 100ish days being a blink. How do you slow down time? Some days feel like they last weeks, and others its as if you are on autopilot until you realize its time to sleep. Hoping to find some of these answers soon.

Corona is still dominating the world and ever single conversation with everyone. It is exhausting. It's hasn't gotten better but yet it doesn't feel as scary anymore. Maybe because we are adapting to a new normal? Maybe because we just don't get care anymore? We are kind of blessed being in WA because parts of the country and world are WAY worse. Ignorance is bliss I guess. I am completely over the constant corona conversations and all the politics with every single decision. America seems so divided right now. Has it always been this way? or I am just paying more attention now because I am older? It doesn't need to be like this but America will never figure that out. I sound so bleak right now, but all this shit is so mentally draining. I feel like I want to runaway and completely "disconnect".

Surprisingly work has turned into a safe place from this madness. I really don't mind working at home anymore and actually working provides a nice escape. Of course I would rather being doing a million other things but it is nice to not dread working for the time being. I am thriving at work at a time where it seems my peers are struggling the most. They can't concentrate or be productive where as I have never been more productive. It's a shame because they cut our pay and raises seem completely out of the question because of all this so I can understand why my peers feel the way they do.

Last weekend I went over to Pullman and spent the whole week with the loves of my life, James and Chey. I had more time slowing moments there than the entire 100 days over here. Maybe that's the key, small towns, close community, and best friends. I worked over there all week without any issues, that was a great sign for me. We started off my visit with a virtual wine tasting which was so much fun. We drank five bottles between the three of us which was way too much, ask James about that. The following weekend we went to Wawawai in the vans for a night by the river. It was my first night in the van. It got me really excited for whats to come. I probably would have stayed longer as there was nothing really preventing me from leaving other than my lease ending this month. I am currently in the process of packing everything up.

I am trying to think of what else to cover from the past month of my absence. I like how I talked about posting more often and then did the exact opposite. I am just going to hit some highlights to come to my head. I made it through my third tax season at work. My roommate Austin and I bonded a lot. I joined a book club with James and Chey. Started watch Goonzquad on YouTube religiously. Yeah that's all I got other than van updates. Explains why I haven't posted.

60 Days to #Vanlife

Its been about two weeks since my last post. I had just briefly mentioned the start of Corona Virus. In the last two weeks things have only gotten worse. Everyday there is breaking news. Today we just hit 1 million worldwide infections, and I believe upwards of 50,000 deaths. There is no sign of it slowly down yet. Especially in the US. Washington has been ordered to stay home unless absolutely necessary. I am going on week 3 of being remote for work. Just the other day my firm extended the closure to April 20. Will be about 6 weeks at this point. I will not be surprised if that gets extended again. Trump also announced an extension of the "social distancing" guidelines until May 4th. New York has it the worse by far. Central Park is becoming a war zone hospital with tents and beds being constructed for the sick and dead. I also heard that we are ordering 100,000 extra body bags from Canada. Projections right now show 100,000 to 250,000 deaths in the US alone. The economy is taking maybe its biggest hit ever. In the last two weeks just about 10 million people have applied for unemployment. As a comparison, in 2008 about 300,000 people applied for it. The markets surprisingly have not reacted much since the massive drops almost a month ago. There has been some rebound in the last few weeks. I have a feeling in the next two weeks that will not be the case. I am fully expecting the worse and a massive drop like we have not seen before. The unemployment numbers are wild and stimulus packages are taking longer than expected to hit. Also it doesn't seem like things are getting better yet. Trump said the country will go through hell in the next few weeks. Also speaking of the economy, today my firm announced pay reductions starting May 1. I am losing 5% of my salary which completely blows but I am staying positive being thankful that I still have a job right now. I still have it good compared to many others. Although it is strange that no other accounting firms have announced pay reductions. It makes me wonder what mine did or what is making our situation different. My friends at other firms have only heard they are not getting bonuses. Also we were one of the last firms to close down but the first to cut pay. Not giving me a lot of faith in my new firm.

Other than Corona I have just been held up at home everyday all day other than the occasional trips to the store for food. Austin and I are thriving here. We are talking a lot more and our friendship is the best it's ever been. I love that. We are cooking a lot together. We made a pact to only eat wings for dinner until we perfected the process which we did after about 6 days. Wing restaurant coming in the future. We are also playing a ton of Runescape which actually amazing. I use to play in elementary school but was too young to fully grasp the game. Nostalgia is real when playing it. We spend more of our days working, usually 8am to around 6 or 7pm. Tax season doesn't stop for the sickness. Motivation is almost nonexistent so working is the biggest drag of all time. Days feel so long.

I have been going to my dad's on the weekends to continue van escapades. So last time I posted pics of the cabinet doors on and the flooring secured in. I have some updates but I will have (hopefully) some massive updates in a couple days. I ordered a lot of fun things to do and install so I hope all that goes to plan.

I ordered carpet from the front. A cooler instead of a fridge. I found a dash cover for the nasty gash it had, I went with black and painted all the red pieces on the dash black, as well as the engine cover. I also fixed the power steering since it was leaking. I added handles to the doors. And I added the cover to the battery box.

Below are pics per usual. I will add some VW pics since I cleaned her up some.

75 Days to #Vanlife

I haven't been on here in a little over two weeks because life and the world have been insane. I'll just start with the biggest news. We are in the middle of a global pandemic that seems like no one was prepared for at all. Coronavirus aka COVID-19 is what they are calling it. The first case was back in January in China. I had thought about posting about it a few weeks ago but thought I would have been premature in my concerns. That definitely was not the case. Since my last post, just in the US, cities have began shutting down, school is being cancelled in multiple states, all non-essential businesses have shut down, the stock market has tanked hard, almost all travel has been suspended, and much more. Point is that we are in unprecedented times. I don't think anyone currently alive has experienced something like this. I think maybe that last time something like this happened was in 1918 with the Spanish Flu but I am not familiar with that topic. Seattle has been almost completely shut down for a week now, its so empty that it's haunting. Today is Thursday and as of Monday my firm, among many others, have been shut down and we are completely remote for the time being. Literally everyday there is more breaking news about it. It would be too much to cover in this post. But I want to document some of it up to this point. Honestly it feels really early in this whole thing. I think life will be changed for quite awhile. Some quick notes of the last couple weeks; grocery stores are mostly empty especially toilet paper for some reason, CA state is in lockdown, the government is scrambling to contain all of this and to save the economy, thousands have already lost their jobs, China, Italy, Spain, and France are all basically shut down and quarantined, thousands have died across the globe from the virus, it effects the respiratory system and is most deadly to senior citizens.

Now on to some lighter topics I have some exciting van updates. I have finish installing cabinets and I installed flooring in Tammy. Pics to follow.   

I also had an amazing opportunity to save a 1972 VW hightop bus. Thanks to Jim. This thing will be a massive project but I am so excited to get started. I am also excited to dive in the VW scene since James has sent our entire friendship hyping it up. She doesn't have a name yet but once I spend more time with her I am sure it will come to me. Also pics to follow.

I wanted to do a high level recap of the past few weeks but really I have just been working and processing how fast the world is changing at the moment. I will definitely be documenting more as things develop. I am hoping to maintain the van builds but part of me is worried those will have to be on hold for a bit. As of today I have 75 days before I am out of my lease. I am not worried about making the jump to vanlife, it just might mean I will have to finish some things up while living in it. Makes the adventure more exciting I guess. Regardless vanlife must and will happen one way or the other.