Well, Happy Effing Anniversary To Me!

Two years ago, today, I began my great homeless adventure!

Bleh!

Trust me, if nothing else, it has been an exercise in survival and instincts. One must be able to improvise in order to make the best of things.

This past winter, we hit actual temps overnight of -15 degrees. Winds gusting to 75 MPH. The little space heater I have, along with my generator, maintained 71 in The Conversion Van Of Wonders.

Some I know of lived on park benches during this past year.

As I write this, the Dow is down 300+ points. Unemployment is staggering. Gas prices are killing the economy.

And Barry Huseamus O'Bama is celebrating his 50th birthday (or is that 57th based on his prior knowledge of how many states there are ?). Then he heads out on a campaign....*cough*...listening sort of tour in key battleground...*cough*...heartland states.

Your tax dollars at work.
Every time I have tried to get out of this place something happens, be it medical or mechanical. Curse-0-De-M's. The most recent example being detailed in the post below this one.

Just can't get out of my own way.

Anyhow....2 years and counting. Sometimes I resign myself to dying in here...never getting out and moving forward. Rarely do I feel anything resembling optimistic. Who knows...

Don't get me wrong. I REALLY appreciate those who have supported me and continue to do so. It's tough though, believe it or not, to hear people tell me how smart I am.

Really? I mean, I live in a van.

In hindsight, it has also enlightened me to others I never should have given the time of day in years past.

(Just found out that the brakes can't be done tomorrow. Pushed off to next week. I am NEVER getting out of here, other than feet first at room temp!)

So begins Year 3. One more Commemoration Of "The Dawn Of The Downward Spiral" to observe next July. Another holiday season to ignore. The summer wasted. Opportunities I had, and will have, to turn down.

Welcome to my life. You who read this should, daily, thank whatever higher power you believe in for the good things in your life.

Good things can be quite fleeting.

The coming year or so is going to be a really tough one for this nation and the world. I regret to say that some of you can see your future reflected in my situation. Be smart, smarter than you have ever been before in your life! Your wits and instincts are what will allow you to navigate survival for you and yours.
In closing, tonight I hang out the festive Tiki and Palm Tree/Pink Flamingo lights, maybe crack a cold one. If you're in the area, stop by and say hello.

No rush, though. Looks like I am stuck here for some time to come.

PHOOEY!

I actually wanted to use a different word.

I got all prepared for today, to do the brakes and tires. Yesterday the very nice and generous man who got me the calipers, rotors, and pads came by with tires. The front ones are down to the steel belts and not really safe to rolling around with at 55+ MPH.

I put just enough gas in the generator so it would be empty in time for this morning. The thing weighs 100lbs. empty, thus if any gas is in it, I can't lift it. Add to that, my hernia is bulging a bit and uncomfortable from the swelling.

Then, 4 A.M. came...welcomed by abdominal pain of significant amounts.

My old friend, diverticulitis wanted to say hello. I kinda thought this was coming. My innards were grumbling with an occasional tweak of pain that I attributed to something I ate. The other warning sign is mah' belly (Fat Bastard voice) is bloating. I eat once a day and I don't menstrate. Thus, wondering if this was a sign was warranted.

Suffice to say, I had to postpone the work on The Conversion Van Of Wonders. I need to be able to lie down when I must and, if the van is on a lift, that isn't feasible. One of the problems of driving what you live in.

I am just about to throw in the towel. My stuff is on the verge of being auctioned, Thursday it will be 2 years living in here, and I simply can not seem to get out of my own way.

I had to turn down a couple of days of driving because the van is not safe to take anywhere. I took down an ad I had on Craig's List for that type work, for now. I have been misspelling quite a bit and running into other "Bad Brain Day" issues.

SIDETRACK: I see that a few from Twitter follow me here. The thing with that site, by being limited to 140 characters/letters, my misspelling issue is less of a problem. Thus, I tend to post shrunken dopey things I have to say there frequently.

This is not to say the occasional, sometimes frequent, blessing comes my way. The brake and tires are perfect examples. In the week or 2 prior, I was given generous support by a couple of long time friends.

So I deal with the flare ups for today, and hope this doesn't blossom into a full blown happenstance.

I am tired and HATE being grounded.

More later...

Ok...quick catch up....

One of the problem of this whole "day in a life" type of blogs, is you write stuff in your head as you are observing or experience...stuff. Then I try to sit and write something I already wrote in my head, 3 or 4 stories behind NEW stuff I am writing in my head.

I need constant supervision.

I think what I may do is pick days and MAKE myself write. Tried that once....give it another go.

Tomorrow I get my horrid brakes done. These are shot completely. Need new calipers, pads, and rotors. The story of how these came to me has many elements:

1 Obama Yelling Guy
2 Divine Providence
3 Karma

I hope that curries your curiosity.

Anyhow, on Thursday the 4th I will be observing my 2nd Anniversary of living in The Conversion Van Of wonders. Time flies!

Anyhow, I have been grounded going on 3 weeks now because of the brakes. After tomorrow, I will be mobile again.

Yay me!

Anyhow, thanks for sticking with me and I will post more often.

Thanks