There are moments in life that amaze me. That’s likely all that keeps me going. Particularly such a moment that feels like somehow the universe is all in perfect alignment. There’s no possible way it could be a coincidence, only something that was absolutely meant to happen.
I had such a moment today. A friend and I were on our way back to his place when we saw fluorescent pink signs leading to a garage sale. The first thing that came to mind is that maybe it would be better not to go since it would just be other peoples’ junk. But one person’s junk is another’s treasure. I have also been looking for a low cost bike and had no luck at the local bicycle commuters’ society. So we decided to take a look.
They did have a couple of bikes there but they weren’t what I was looking for and had seen better days. We browsed a bit and I caught a glimpse of a bookshelf under a tarp. I hesitantly lifted the tarp a little to see the books. The woman running the garage sale excitedly leapt up and removed the tarp to reveal a bunch of books on the shelf and beside it. She was selling them for fifty cents each and had quite a variety of genres.
I am an absolute book whore. I freely admit it. She was very animated in saying which ones she’d enjoyed the most and asked what we liked to read. I told her that I write and as such like to read a lot and wasn’t too particular about genre. She said she envied me and said she was a teacher. So I browsed and selected books. Another person came along and purchased a lot of books as well.
The woman went to the garage and said she was waiting for some space on the shelves to put out more books as she put a box on the table and started to open it. As she did, she was describing her favourites again and none really caught my interest. When she got to the bottom of the box, she held up a book and looked straight into my eyes and said she was positive it was the perfect book for me. It’s called, “Blue Highways A Journey Into America.” She went on to describe that it’s about a man who’d lost everything, had no money, and decided to embark on a journey around the United States on secondary (blue) highways.
I was astonished and how freakishly accurate she was about selecting this particular book for me. I told her so.
I have no money. In fact, today I went to the bank to take some money out of my RRSP and harassed the government to get their shit together so I could sign what I needed to in order to get my welfare cheque. The premise of this whole blog is that I’d like nothing more than to sell all my stuff and live in an RV. I’ve always had a soft spot for rural towns and ghost towns and anything off the beaten track. I almost always select the secondary highways over the main ones. There’s so much to see that otherwise I wouldn’t have. I also love to take photos and write. There usually aren’t a lot of scenic spots to pull over on a main highway. They were built to get places quickly. I’ve got plenty of time.
So now the wanderlust has been sparked once again. Two years of school seems like a very long time. It doesn’t have to be though. I mean it’s eight months at a time with four months of break in between. I need to work on finding some way to enjoy life where I’m at until I have the means to move forward. Having a skill and a diploma will help me no matter where I end up. I know this program is what I want to do. In terms of school, the time does fly by very quickly.
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
31 July 2009
17 June 2009
Got That Out of My System!
So the last post was a little on the negative side. C'est la vie.
My situation hasn't improved a great deal, just my outlook. This is typical. I did have a meltdown a couple of days ago and I think I managed to cry most of it out over a few beers.
Anyhow, the show must go on as they say. I've been trying to make more proactive moves. Monday I called the number that EI gave me for Social Services. They told me that I need to go to a Service Canada/Alberta location and talk to someone. Okay. I kind of planned to do that anyway but at least I have some direction and know that's the place to ask to be enrolled in Social Services while I'm seeking employment. They likely have some resources for starting a business and such, too. My plan is to go tomorrow en route to an appointment with my doctor.
Today I did part of a mystery shopping job. It felt good to get out and do something a bit different. I learned a lot and technically am getting paid $20 for an hour's work. Not t0o shabby. Part two will be done in the morning. Busy day tomorrow!
Good to know I can bounce back reasonably quickly. It always feels like some kind of living hell in the midst of it all. Time slows down and everything seems impossible.
Some main contributors to the renewed optimism have been books. I'm currently reading four non-fiction books. One is more of a graze at best, but that's sort of the purpose of it. It's called "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget." Look it up in my Amazon sidebar. It's got a lot of useful tips and handy references. I read it through with a notebook ready to jot down useful tidbits. I also got the newest edition of the Canadian Press Stylebook (since mine is over a decade old and a LOT has happened since then). I'm also looking forward to starting on a book about selling freelance articles to magazines. That's how I hope to make my living.
Last week, I went to the doctor and the hospital foundation was having a huge used book sale in the lobby. I was running late, so I checked it out after my appointment. It was meant to happen that way because they were trying to wrap it up. There were lots of books left and they didn't really want to have to pack them all up so they said, "fill a bag for $1." They were handing out plastic shopping bags but I opted to use my reusable one. I filled it with at least ten books. I got some great ones both fiction and non. I got a Robertson Davies novel, a couple of Stephen King ones I haven't read yet. The biggest score was a medical reference book. It's from the 50's and had newspaper clippings that the previous owner had tucked inside the pages. I love that sort of thing!
On Friday, I decided I needed to get out of my place and take a walk. So I grabbed my camera and wandered around downtown seeking arty things or angles or whatever to take pictures of. It turned out great! I managed to use up the battery completely just as I was arriving back home. I love photography. I like the contrast between writing and photography. Writing is painting pictures with words and photography is telling a story with pictures. In both cases, I seem to have a knack for seeing things in a different way than most which makes for an interesting end result.
Things may not be the greatest right now but I'm still here so there must be something I can do. I've been applying online to every job that seems remotely interesting but haven't heard back from any.
Oh, on my walking and photo taking adventure, I stopped and chatted with an odd, slim man walking a fat dog. I must be approachable because this happens a lot. What I mean is that people come up to me and just start chatting. I don't mind at all. In fact I find it rather fascinating a lot of the time. I also find it amusing that I am rarely asked for money - it must look like I don't have much. But I think the main thing is that I treat people as people regardless of their appearance or circumstance. Everyone has a story. I actually care enough to stop and listen. Sometimes I even wonder what the universe is trying to tell me. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with writing. I've been recently considering hanging out with some of the homeless folks in my area just to see what got them there, how they get through the day, that sort of thing.
My latest internet browsing addiction is "life hackers." Fascinating stuff. I'm talking the likes of Tim Ferriss. If you haven't read "The Four-Hour Work Week" I strongly suggest you do. It's a remarkable book that will allow you to flip your perspective and see things differently. He's working on an updated version. Cool guy. There are many others as well. Too many to list but you can find me on Stumble Upon (kerrilw) and find the links there.
The whole plan of living in an RV is based on the concept of being "location free." I can write, take photos, blog, take video etc. from anywhere in the world with my laptop and an internet connection. I also want to incorporate environmental responsibility by living off grid using solar power and solar heated water. Instead of toilet chemicals I've been seeking other options such as enviro-lets or even cheaper alternatives.
I guess there really is a lot of life left in this gal. I just get really frustrated on occasion when things don't seem to be going as planned or as smoothly as I'd like. There is so much I want to accomplish and one of these days I'll figure out how.
My situation hasn't improved a great deal, just my outlook. This is typical. I did have a meltdown a couple of days ago and I think I managed to cry most of it out over a few beers.
Anyhow, the show must go on as they say. I've been trying to make more proactive moves. Monday I called the number that EI gave me for Social Services. They told me that I need to go to a Service Canada/Alberta location and talk to someone. Okay. I kind of planned to do that anyway but at least I have some direction and know that's the place to ask to be enrolled in Social Services while I'm seeking employment. They likely have some resources for starting a business and such, too. My plan is to go tomorrow en route to an appointment with my doctor.
Today I did part of a mystery shopping job. It felt good to get out and do something a bit different. I learned a lot and technically am getting paid $20 for an hour's work. Not t0o shabby. Part two will be done in the morning. Busy day tomorrow!
Good to know I can bounce back reasonably quickly. It always feels like some kind of living hell in the midst of it all. Time slows down and everything seems impossible.
Some main contributors to the renewed optimism have been books. I'm currently reading four non-fiction books. One is more of a graze at best, but that's sort of the purpose of it. It's called "10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget." Look it up in my Amazon sidebar. It's got a lot of useful tips and handy references. I read it through with a notebook ready to jot down useful tidbits. I also got the newest edition of the Canadian Press Stylebook (since mine is over a decade old and a LOT has happened since then). I'm also looking forward to starting on a book about selling freelance articles to magazines. That's how I hope to make my living.
Last week, I went to the doctor and the hospital foundation was having a huge used book sale in the lobby. I was running late, so I checked it out after my appointment. It was meant to happen that way because they were trying to wrap it up. There were lots of books left and they didn't really want to have to pack them all up so they said, "fill a bag for $1." They were handing out plastic shopping bags but I opted to use my reusable one. I filled it with at least ten books. I got some great ones both fiction and non. I got a Robertson Davies novel, a couple of Stephen King ones I haven't read yet. The biggest score was a medical reference book. It's from the 50's and had newspaper clippings that the previous owner had tucked inside the pages. I love that sort of thing!
On Friday, I decided I needed to get out of my place and take a walk. So I grabbed my camera and wandered around downtown seeking arty things or angles or whatever to take pictures of. It turned out great! I managed to use up the battery completely just as I was arriving back home. I love photography. I like the contrast between writing and photography. Writing is painting pictures with words and photography is telling a story with pictures. In both cases, I seem to have a knack for seeing things in a different way than most which makes for an interesting end result.
Things may not be the greatest right now but I'm still here so there must be something I can do. I've been applying online to every job that seems remotely interesting but haven't heard back from any.
Oh, on my walking and photo taking adventure, I stopped and chatted with an odd, slim man walking a fat dog. I must be approachable because this happens a lot. What I mean is that people come up to me and just start chatting. I don't mind at all. In fact I find it rather fascinating a lot of the time. I also find it amusing that I am rarely asked for money - it must look like I don't have much. But I think the main thing is that I treat people as people regardless of their appearance or circumstance. Everyone has a story. I actually care enough to stop and listen. Sometimes I even wonder what the universe is trying to tell me. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with writing. I've been recently considering hanging out with some of the homeless folks in my area just to see what got them there, how they get through the day, that sort of thing.
My latest internet browsing addiction is "life hackers." Fascinating stuff. I'm talking the likes of Tim Ferriss. If you haven't read "The Four-Hour Work Week" I strongly suggest you do. It's a remarkable book that will allow you to flip your perspective and see things differently. He's working on an updated version. Cool guy. There are many others as well. Too many to list but you can find me on Stumble Upon (kerrilw) and find the links there.
The whole plan of living in an RV is based on the concept of being "location free." I can write, take photos, blog, take video etc. from anywhere in the world with my laptop and an internet connection. I also want to incorporate environmental responsibility by living off grid using solar power and solar heated water. Instead of toilet chemicals I've been seeking other options such as enviro-lets or even cheaper alternatives.
I guess there really is a lot of life left in this gal. I just get really frustrated on occasion when things don't seem to be going as planned or as smoothly as I'd like. There is so much I want to accomplish and one of these days I'll figure out how.
22 April 2009
In the Beginning...
This is the first of what I hope will be many posts about my personal RV adventures. As of right now I am unemployed, I will be dropping out of college tomorrow, and I do not yet have an RV.
Here's the plan:
- Sell all the excess "stuff" I've accumulated through the years.
- Apply for grants that are available to writers, find people who want to advertise on my site, build my own actual website, perhaps sell some articles to magazines all in an effort to raise enough money for the next point...
- Buy a used RV in June. I've been doing a lot of online research but still need to go in person and check some out. I've decided that I want a Class C model, preferably diesel, not too short - I like the idea of having a bedroom in the back with a queen sized bed and some storage space, one designed for four-season travel, it would be a bonus if I could find one that already has solar power.
- I plan to give my notice so I can move out of my shitty apartment by the end of May.
- I'm researching business cell phone and possibly internet plans.
- I don't have a destination in mind at this point. I think I want to stay within the province of Alberta as long as I feel like it - until I've seen all I can. I have applied to be an ambassador of the province.
My goals along the way...
- A sort of working vacation of sorts.
- Learning to live with less "stuff" and reducing unnecessary shopping and clutter.
- To seriously think about the purchases I do make in terms of need, source, waste.
- To live as "green" as possible - solar power, solar heated water, recycling, not using toxic toilet chemicals, solar oven, whatever else I can think of.
- Eating consciously - buying from local sources like farms, u-pick lots, farmers' markets, independent cafes and coffee shops, also minimizing waste (and waist) by not buying packaged foods whenever possible.
- Health is an absolute priority - beyond food as mentioned above, I plan to keep fit by running, possibly buying a foldable bike that I could bring along, maybe checking out local yoga classes or fitness facilities if they'll let me for free. :)
- Meet and talk to people along the way. Get a feel for what's going on.
- Discover neat towns with funny names, neat landmarks, interesting festivals, etc.
How will I support myself?
- Writing - keeping up this blog and hopefully also a website and possibly gaining some ad revenue from it (or an angel investor? or donations?)
- Writing - submitting articles to various magazines and newspapers
- Writing - books - maybe a guide to RV living in Alberta, whatever experiences I have are sure to make for good writing, there are also some books I've got going already that I just need motivation to finish up. :)
- Aside from writing? Well, I'll be shopping smarter which should save on the need to spend. Still, I'll have to put gas in the tank somehow. If necessary, I'll do odd jobs as I go along. Someone actually has coined the term Workamping.
- Contesting - may be slightly more difficult without a "home address" but I'm sure I could get a post office box.
- I've contemplated selling advertising space on the RV. Just a thought.
- Work for payment in kind - like help out for a free meal or something.
Obviously I'm not doing this in order to get rich. If I happen to sell some books or whatever, that would be a pleasant side effect. Primarily, I'm at a point in my life where I really need to shake things up. I've never lived outside of the city I'm in now. I just want to transform my dreams into reality. I'm looking for my niche in the world. Staying where I am only makes me miserable. Why not do exactly what I want with my life? If I don't start now, it may be too late!
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