WHY CHOOSE THE HARDER ROUTE?

My apartment is being taken over by a friend, I found a tow vehicle, sold my old car and have slowly started selling my belongings. Things are falling into place but, wow, I am feeling completely ill-prepared.

Why make things so hard?

A good friend of mine asked me the other day why I like to make things more difficult for myself. It was an interesting question since I had just been asking myself the same thing a few days prior. Presently it's all so simple, so routine. I go to work, come home and without thinking I flick the switch for lights and they turn on. I can flush a toilet or have a hot shower because I have indoor plumbing, but I don't ever think about either of these things. I'm guessing I'm not alone.

I vividly remember returning home from my travels in the van and living in a place where all this was available to me again after 5 months of doing without. It felt like pure privilege not to have to think about how I would charge my laptop or where I would go to empty my Campa Potty or have a hot shower. As you can imagine, that feeling left rather quickly as life fell into routine again and the marvels of modern living became banal. Indoor plumbing, electricity, hot water are all luxuries we take for granted in this part of the world, myself included. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that, in fact, not having to think about such things allows us more time for other pursuits.

Routine vs the Unknown

 

I am not a creature of routine. Not because I don't want to be and, quite frankly, I am a bit envious of those who are content with their daily routine. The solo trip in the van really brought out some aspects of myself that I didn't know were there. I am more resourceful and capable of taking care of myself in various situations then I had previously taken credit for (see "what a week" in my Barter Van blog). My point is I get a great sense of satisfaction from having to be more resourceful and love how I am more in tuned with my instincts when I live outside my comfort zone. It's not that I want to make things harder for myself, per se, but I do feel more "alive" and "strong" when faced with the most of basic problems of daily living. I like being challenged and I have yet to be able to find a way to do this while being stationary, working two or three jobs and  feeling like I know what each day will bring. The unknown invigorates me, for better or worse.

How are you with routine? Would it be your worst nightmare not to have the comforts of modern life?

ATTACHMENT TO STUFF

To sell or not to sell?

The countdown clock I put on this blog is a crazy reminder of just how little time I have left to sell the majority of my belongings...again!

I originally intended to sell everything that couldn't be of use in my camper but friends of mine have been insistent they store some of my prized collections, like my velvet paintings. I'm sure no one else is as interested in these as I am anyways and the sale price of them wouldn't come close to reflecting my love for them. So I agreed to store those and thanked my friend for the offer. There is also a number of furniture items I am having a hard time deciding whether to let go of; my 1950's table, 1970s hutch, 1950s lamp with boomerang lampshade and the coffee table my father made for me. Then there's my tiki collection that I have spent years building on, ugh, that's a hard one. Virtually nothing I own is new, therefor, it's hard or near impossible to replace once gone.

Why are we so attached?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what it is that makes us so attached to inanimate objects. It's just "stuff" after all. Sometimes it's memories that make us want to keep certain objects or the idea that we couldn't sell it for what it's worth. For me it's a mixture of sentimentality, memories, rareness and just plain enjoying having items I like to look at surrounding me.  I have sold my stuff so many times and there may only be one or two items that I still think about; that red velvet hanging lamp with black tassels or the Bride of Frankenstein candy dish, everything else has been forgotten about for the most part. That doesn't make it any easier this time though. I keep telling myself I need money more than I need things right now, which helps some, but I am surprised by how much I am fighting with myself this time around.

Do you find yourself attached to your belongings? Would you be able to sell most of it in preparation for a big move or downsizing?

ANOTHER ADVENTURE

If you've linked here from my Barter Van blog then you are already familiar with my "problem" of never-ending wanderlust.  If you are new to me and my story, and have a lot of time on your hands,  you can read all about my previous attempt at living in a van full-time there. In any case, welcome to my second attempt, this time in a 13 foot 1976 Boler camper! I hope you stick around, maybe share your story with me, and by all means contact me with questions or comments. It can get lonely on the road and I always welcome the company!

Here we go again.

 

It's that time again where I get restless and look for ways to make full-time travel my lifestyle. Well, if I'm honest, I'm ALWAYS researching and trying to find ways to do this. I've recently been hired by  La Have River Campground here in Nova Scotia and will be working from May 15- October 15, 2016. So, that's five months of the year figured out as far as making money goes. I will be living on site while working in the store and the office, taking reservations, cleaning showers and rental huts, and (my favorite duty) monitoring the slip n slide!

How did I get this position you ask? I was working away on a menial task one day at one of my three jobs and I thought to myself, "maybe I can work at a campground". Now, I had this thought before but when I researched it I was discouraged that all information was aimed at snowbirds; retired people, and mostly couples, of which I am neither. But this day, as my mind wondered about how to escape this three-job-rat-race I'm in, I thought about the people I bought my van from. They own a campground! So, I contacted one of the owners through Facebook. Luckily, she had been following my Barter Van blog and remembered me. It just so happened that she didn't have a full time worker for the 2016 season and after some back-and-forth she hired me! Well, that was easy I thought. Truth be told, while I was waiting to hear back about that job I looked up every privately-owned campground in Nova Scotia and sent them all resumes, just in case I didn't get that job. I did eventually hear back from a couple and if La Have decides they don't want me back I have some leads for next year. Just goes to show, it never hurts to ask.

But that leaves winter.

 

Let me state the obvious; Canada is cold in the winter. There is no way I want to live through a Nova Scotia winter in my camper. Therefor, I am currently researching campgrounds that stay open all winter in British Columbia, our warmest province. I have also joined up with WWOOFing in case I can find a volunteer job that suits me and my dog. If you aren't familiar with that organization it stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. It pairs volunteers with farms and homesteads where you can learn about how to live more sustainable, something I am also interested in.

Ideally, though, I would love to be driving around the southern and mid-west states in the winter but this can't happen this year due to the terrible exchange on the Canadian dollar right now. So, for now, I have no real plan of what to do when this job is over. Am I panicked? You betcha!  But I'm slightly less anxious than working 50 hours a week to pay my bills while having few of what I would call "valuable experiences". There just HAS to be a better way to spend this life and I'm determined to figure it out.

So, from the comfort of your heated homes with electricity and flush toilets, join me on this new adventure. Hopefully it will be interesting and maybe even inspire you to discover and pursue the life you want, no matter how unconventional.