Blog

Skills

I went white-water kayaking earlier this week. I’m not sure if that’s what it’s called, everyone seemed to just call it kayaking or paddling, but it was so significantly different from every kayaking experience I’ve had before I feel I need to differentiate. First off, the boat is very short – standing it vertical, it’s shorter than I am. This gives it absurd handling, which translates into poor balance in the hands of someone as inexperienced as myself. I went with Mark, who has been paddling for 12+ years, and it shows. The thing with these boats is that if you know what you’re doing, you can do practically anything you can imagine and go anywhere.

It also felt like the first time I’d really tried to learn a new skill in a long while. That is, consciously tried. That’s a weird feeling, that I wasn’t ready for. I also noticed shortly after that I don’t really have any hobbies. It’s not that I don’t do anything – I have very little free time – it’s just that I don’t really have something that I’m always doing. New things keep popping up, and I embrace them, but it has left me without anything to identify with. The only thing I consistently do is surf the web, which is hardly a hobby, especially since that entails such diverse subject matter. Definitely a weird realization.

Back

Interesting feelings being back. Not especially disappointed that the bus is in Nevada – I know I’ll be back with it soon enough. Definitely happy to not be moving. Both Ali and I were getting tired of the constant onward push. It really is too much. Three months in the bus is nothing – I would happily do it for ten times that. The constant pressure to move is what takes the fun away, and makes it far too exhausting to keep up.

And I would still prefer it to this: the summer boredom where you feel too tired to do anything, without any good reason. At least with the bus you were forced to come up with something, and even when you couldn’t you could revel in the fact that you were thousands of miles from where you “should” be, and feel content. Existing in the bus is a constant sense of accomplishment. I miss that.

Especially on days like today. I did nothing today. Not even accomplished nothing, I did nothing. I’ve had days where I’ve gotten nothing done, that have been incredibly fun, entertaining and educational, but today was not one of those. Today is one of those days that drove me to follow through with the bus in the first place. I worry I’m jaded, if this is happening just days after returning.

Once I got home, I dove right into my favourite travelers’ blogs, and got the urge to go traveling again. Maybe backpacking, maybe in the bus, maybe both. I really need to be faced with something new everyday. Meeting new people, new situations. Not good that I’m feeling restless this fast. I hope daydreaming will still be able to tide me over.

Whoa

I am the busiest person ever. I’ll probably only update on the tour site for much of this summer. If you need to contact me, email is probably the best option.

Real World

Last night I hung out with a friend I made while working at Cheney – he lives in the real world. Not much older than me, he’s working, married, and raising a kid. He’s also incredibly happy, and lots of fun to be around. I haven’t spent much time in the real world, and it’s no scarier than I thought it was, but I still know it isn’t for me. I don’t know what that means just yet, but I have a good idea of what I won’t be doing.

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about what to do with the bus after the trip. A lot of people have asked me – it seems that I’m not the only one who is already thinking past the trip itself. At first I was thinking about selling it, since I think it’s a little too big to really work as a mobile home. I’m also skeptical about the future of veggie oil, and I don’t see it staying free long enough for me to justify keeping it. I’m thinking smaller, thinking about converting my next vehicle to electric. But at the same time I see all the benefits of a school bus that made me buy one in the first place. Maybe if I’m really clever, I can get the best of both.

Wow

Last week of classes is busier than finals week. I don’t remember if it is always like this, but it still sucks. Three papers due this week, three days spent working on the bus, the other two spent in class. Social life and internet monitoring are jettisoned, and my attention is devoted to one side or another of a toggle switch: work for them / work for me. At least I’m enjoying the work for me. I only just figured out what the paper I’m writing about really means, so now I can write on it…or could write on it. I chose to take a break instead, and post this while I still have some synapses firing.

Joe and I took the bus for a spin around Cheney’s parking lot, and it’s in great shape. Breaks work well, veggie runs smooth, but all in all it has turned out like most of my projects: miraculously successful. Meaning it works, but it probably shouldn’t. There are a million things that could go wrong, and we’ve got plenty of time this summer for each one of them to happen. We’ll see. I still have to edit some footage I shot this week at Cheney, and finish the zombie movie (I have the first two minutes edited).

I don’t mind being busy – I mind deadlines. I usually work in a pretty scatterbrained manner, and if something from another project pops into my head, I’ll give it attention while I can still remember it, lest it be lost to my sieve of a memory. I guess I should start writing this paper.

Everything works out

I love it when everything works out. Today (yesterday?) is a fine example: Through a series of random encounters, I found several captains chairs, water tanks, a sink, speakers, and assorted other goodies for the bus at an incredibly good price. Then friends got together to film and finish a zombie movie, explore an abandoned building, drive around aimlessly, and watch the sunrise. As if to balance things out, I returned to my apartment to find every sleepable spot occupied, so I’m still awake, waiting for someone to wake up so I can take their spot. Seems like a shame to sleep through such a beautiful day, but I have enough happy memories to bide me over for a while.

Worth it

So the zombie movie is taking unexpected turns, but last night Ashley told me a friend of hers needed to practice makeup on people, and could turn some of us into zombies. Which is awesome. Her friend is Tyler Menard, who is both cool, and very good at what he does. Tom got zombified, and you can see the process in pictures below (or on flickr):