Tag: Anne Marie

Casey

Nishi is now Casey. Their pronouns are they/them/their. They’re identifying as genderfluid.

They came out publically a week or two ago. We’d been talking about it for some weeks before that. They let me help pick out their name.

We’ve been doing really well lately, communicating well and talking things out. They’re doing especially well since they discovered gluten was the cause of most of their health problems. A change in diet has led to a dramatic change in their life. I’m thrilled about it.

We brought home some carpet for the bus yesterday, and I went to meet with my bankruptcy attorney and shower. When I got back Casey had laid it out underneath everything in the bus – one giant piece of carpet carefully cut around our built-in furniture. I am extremely impressed.

The bus is warm, and we’ll be here this winter. We’ve already had some snow, but not enough to stick. It’s cozy here. :D

Bus Life

We’ve been living nearly exclusively in the bus for a few weeks now. The temperature outside has steadily dropped while we’ve been out here, and we’ve been persistent in trying to keep ourselves comfortable. Our insulating curtains are not yet complete, and the windows are a great source of heat loss. We took some batting left over from Nishi’s upholstery supplies and covered the windows. Far from perfect, and further from beautiful, it has made a tremendous difference in the temperature inside the bus. The windshield and door, which remain uncovered, can be felt as the massive sources of draft that they are.

I’ve been reading Isaac Asimov’s Foundation lately, please forgive my writing style.

In addition to wood, our wonderful little stove also burns coal, so I made a point of picking up a few bags the other day. We’re still figuring out how to best use this fuel, but it’s incredible. The first night we used it we woke up warm for the first time in days. Sadly, we don’t have the perfect chunks of hardwood necessary for a long burn on wood alone, and our fire usually dies out in the middle of the night. Since our home is less than ideally insulated, most of that heat leaves us before we wake up.

Still no running water, or even a plumbed sink. We can heat water on top of the woodstove, but our cook stove is not attached to propane yet. Our electricity still comes from either an extension cord or a battery bank that is recharged from the mains. But we’re in our own space for the first time in years. I can’t express how happy this is making me. We’re going to make steady progress on finishing our missing utilities over this winter, and we should be ready to move in the spring.

Charlie loves the bus. I’m not sure why in particular, but he’s always taken to it quickly, even on our little road trips. He recently found the warm spot on the bench across from the stove, and will happily lounge there while we go about our business elsewhere in the bus.

As I write this I have a stove half filled with coal and half with wood. I’m continually trying new things to see what works best in here. I’m doubtful (but hopeful) that we’ll wake up to a warm bus, but as long as I keep learning something new, I’m pleased with our progress.

Behind

It’s officially been a month since I ordered the stovepipe for the bus. The manufacturer has been behind on some parts due to an increased demand, and we’re stuck waiting. Presently, we have all but one piece in our possession. That is all that is holding back the stove installation. It’s frustrating.

I’m feeling behind in many different parts of my life. I feel old, but not experienced. I feel like I’ve missed out on something essential. There are these common cultural experiences people share that are totally foreign to me. I’ve never reveled in my role as an outsider, but I don’t enjoy the mainstream either.

I keep wondering about the hair on my head. Would I be more attractive with less or more hair on my head? My face? It grows in so slow any decision is a major commitment. As it is, it’s all so unsatisfactory. How is it I still have acne while my hair starts thinning?

I’m sure a lot of this has to do with my lack of an occupation. That’s a really appropriate word, since not only do I not have a job, I’m struggling to fill the hours during the day while waiting for this last piece of stove pipe. It’s funny how a few days of doing nothing can so easily lead to weeks of it. I keep dreaming up new projects to occupy myself, but get distracted or disinterested when I realize the scope is grander than the pipe project presently paused. I guess I’m going to keep going through phases of boom and bust.

I do miss writing like this. I frequently compose journal entries while brushing my teeth, but go to sleep never writing them. Unfortunately, I’m not usually in quite as reflective of a mood earlier in the day – this is the prime time. I’m reading Cloud Atlas at the moment, along with Nishi and the other members of our book group. It is told almost entirely through journal entries and correspondence, which has (tonight, at least) compelled me to write.

From what I can tell my fear of missing out isn’t by any means unique, and it doesn’t seem like there will be a point where I’m not familiar with it. I guess I need to learn how to live with it.

Good night.

Time keeps whizzing by

It seems to be going faster and faster. I’m sure I’ve said something similar to this on here, but I think I put it particularly well in a recent email:

My favourite hidden feature of my bus is that it’s a bit like a time machine. Whenever I spend most of my days with the bus, time slows down to an appreciable pace. It’s still a construction zone, so I’m still spending my time in a real house, and it’s easy to hit a routine that just obliterates parts of a day. I tend to tuck and roll into a pattern, and time just flies by. It’s that whole “Did I remember to turn off the oven?” trope where you do things for so many days in a row you can’t tell one from the last. The bus puts up a barrier to this, and I’m able to appreciate little things each day that get lost otherwise.

A notable exception to this is construction of the bus. My days are flying by presently, even though I’m elbows deep in buswork. I don’t remember much of the last year’s worth of work on this bus, and I certainly don’t have very much to show for it. One of the things that keeps me going is envisioning relaxing in the bus during my future downtime. Even now, when I choose to take breaks in the bus, I can feel its time-stopping power. I can’t wait to have that back in my life in a big way.

Time Versus Money

The bus project has always been a balance of time and money. Today was a perfect example of this: we needed a certain drill bit to countersink the bolts for the roof deck. Lowe’s, two miles away, had a bit for $35ish. Woodcraft, about a half hour away, had a comparable bit for $12. I made the trip to Woodcraft. I’ve often made the decision to save the time.

Instead of spending lots of time trying to find used tools/components that will work for our needs, I’ve bought many new components. In some cases, this is common sense – we wanted a new mattress to sleep on, and a spotless fresh water tank. But much of what we use could be just fine used. It’s tough to find that balance.

This project has taken far longer than I had intended it to, and it’s starting to stretch the budget. I think if I had held out for some more second hand items, I would have saved a bit of cash, but it would have taken even longer. I’m not sure which is better, but I don’t yet regret my choice. It’s still a constant battle.

Plugging Away

Still plugging away at the bus. We’re starting construction, and it’s really great to not be doing demolition anymore. We took a bit of a break between the two, and I really needed it. I was very burnt out – I don’t think I’ve ever worked on one project as passionately or for as long as this one. When I wasn’t physically working on the bus, I was on the computer planning and researching. It was too much. I’m a bit more relaxed now, but I’ll probably be at least a bit on edge until the project is actually done.

Physical Changes

I’m growing a beard. Slowly. It’s been about two and a half months, and it still only tenuously meets the definition of a beard. My facial hair just naturally wants to be a goatee, and the rest begrudgingly grows. And today felt like spring, so my time with it may be short. I started growing it in mid-December, and I think I’ll need to start far far sooner in the future.

I’m also really quite out of shape. I’ve started trying to exercise regularly again, though I’m having a bit of trouble with the regular part. I think I just really need to be out and about, and I’ll be fine. I just wither away when I’m working inside, but when I’m out doing things my body takes care of itself. At least I don’t have a desk job, but this lifestyle still isn’t particularly healthy.

As the weather is getting warmer outside, thoughts are drifting towards the bus, and what will happen this spring. It’s exciting, and scary. Our landlord really doesn’t want to see us go, she likes us as tenants. I’m honestly a little reluctant to leave, and I know Nishi feels the same way. It’s a nice apartment, in a nice part of town, and I’m sad we couldn’t spend more time here. The savings will be worth it long term, but it will still be sad to go.

It isn’t clear yet when we’ll be moving out of here and into the bus, but I’m hoping for Juneish. I’m a bit excited about the novelty of parking my new house outside my old one, and only moving things once.

Things are changing quickly.

Bit by bit

Slowly getting things done. Yesterday we finished deconstructing the majority of the interior of the bus. All that is left are the captain’s chairs and the veggie system. I wrote a post about it on Anne Marie’s very own website.

Same can be said for the Landshark reboot. I have a bit of a mental block keeping me from just sitting down and hammering out as much as I possibly can in an evening, so I just do bits and bits as I can, and it’s slowly coming together. It’s scary to be embarking on a risky business venture when I’m right on the verge of taking control of my life. I have considerable savings built up, and I’m ready to make my bus a home. If I can make myself a job at the same time, all the better.

Grey Fox into Tweed River

Grey Fox this year was incredible. Anne Marie is building a real community around her. In addition to the group of people who frequent jams and hang out, we actually had some groupies. There were two neighbors of ours who camped specifically near us, after seeing us last year. I think that’s legitimately fantastic. As always, we made new friends, and visited old friends, and the group grows. We’ve officially overtaken my parents’ camp in number – I’m hoping they’ll join us next year.

There was a week of downtime, in which I tried to focus on work. I tried to remind myself that I’m working so I can not work. But it’s hard to reject that instant gratification that comes with festivals.

Tweed River was this past weekend, and it was marvelous as well. It’s growing, around 1,500 people came this year. We’re meeting more and more of the people who organize and run the festival, and that is definitely a good thing. That festival has an aggressively good vibe. It’s hard to resist.

I’m excited to see what festivals will be like in Anne Marie 2.0.