Wonderful news everyone!  In a last minute development it would appear I am going to a burn event in just over a week!  I did not get to a single one all last year so I am pretty stoked!  For those unfarmiliar, a burn event is a regional gathering that adheres to the ten principles of burningman.  You can google that if you are still curious.  

     What is more important here is it is a chance to do some adventuring.  At the outset of this prodject, i had hoped to spend more time out exploring the world.  Even if it was at a very small, short range level.  But, for months all I have been doing is repairing my van and trying to save money.  Winter sucks.  And now that people are actually thinking about doing stuff again my work situation has changed as well!  

     My co-workers last day is friday.  He is heading off to greener pastures, but he is leaving me with a lot more work to do, and a lot fewer hands to do it with.  So, now I am going from being on call every third week to every other week.  And my fridays off are as good as gone.  The good news is I can really use the money.  The bad news is my adventuring is going to be limited to a half hour away from work!  

     Oh well, I cannot help but feel thankful for all I have.  And my boss is pretty cool about covering me on my big things so I still have those to look forward to.  Namely, Interfuse, TTaTC, and RAGBRAI.  Next week's adventure is interfuse.  It is in central MO and has about 1200 people in attendance for the weekend.  

     I am being joined by my fellow burner Natalie and we are taking the super cool tiny camper "the bod pod".  It is behind my van in the cover photo for this website.  I built it for Burningman but it has never been to a regional so I am super stoked to show it off to the local scene.  We are pulling it down to the event with the windi and Natty has expressed concern for its dependability.  last week I had a fun situation with the exhaust and cat.  I had to remove some things and now the exhaust system is about a foot shorter.  Now that I fixed that it seems to be in pretty good state of repair.  I can't wait to get down there and just relax for a few days.  Thanks for reading and wish us luck!

     I have a very complex subject that has been on my mind for a day or two.  I was chillin in the van last night out on the stub.  I had just finished polishing my shoes and doing some cooking and I was relaxing and enjoying the lovely weather.  A car with some smokers on their lunch break had pulled out to the street so they could burn a few off of the property.  Usually smokers park out on the end of the stub near were I was parked.  I considered how nobody smokes out there when I am parked there.  

     I should add that by now everyone at work knows I live in my van.  Very few have commented directly to me on the subject, but I have felt a shift in attitudes tward me.  Co-workers avoid eye contact when met in the halls.  If I try to join in a conversation with them it immediatly breaks up.  My reflexive "good morning"s are, more and more, met with silence and even the occasional look of horror!  

     It is worth noting that I have worked with these people for years now.  I did not just get off the prison release van wearing an orange jumpsuit, but that is the way I feel when I try to interact with my coworkers.  Certainly, this does not apply to every one I work with.  All of the handfull of men that work there have continued to regard me normally, as have most of the more mature women.  

     last night I found myself seeking ways to justify their attitudes to myself.  I realized that I had started thinking of myself as a lesser human being as well.  A beast not deserving of even the normal courtesy afforded a stranger on the street.   Why had I accepted this stigma?  As it happens I have little choice in the matter.  I cannot change peoples perceptions of me.  I may not wear a scarlet letter or be a registered sex offender, but society has judged me unworthy just the same.  Because my home is on wheels, not concrete?

     I think not...  The more you learn about a person the more importance you assign them in your life.  If you are a careing loving person you may value integrity and strength of charactor in someone.  If you are a typical american you rank others by what they can do for you.  nobody is lower on that list than the homeless.    

     When you live in your van only the real poeple in your life will still like you when appear to have nothing to offer them.  The rest will stop even trying to pretend they gave a damn in the first place.  The van life really lets you know who your friends are.  Kind of like the opposite of winning the lottery.  So to those of you who are still there for me, I thank you with all my heart.  To the rest of the world, thank you for telling me how you really feel.

     This week I finally got my rack put up on the roof of my van.  I had some steel laying around behind Jessica's house I had to get out of there anyway so I put it to some good use on the roof!    

     I have been looking forward to haveing my kayak with me in my travels this spring.  More than once I have had to forgo interesting kayaking oppertunities because my boat was hours away in storage.  With warm weather upon us those chances will get even more freaquent  Also, since I filled the inside of the van with furnishings in wich to live, I have had no room when transporting things like boards and steel and the like.  I am sure this new addition will adversly effect my fuel mileage but I think it will be a pretty small inpact considering the aerodynamic shape of the boat.

     Several considerations went into the concept of this rack.  I wanted it to carry one boat all the time and another only occasianally when shuttleing boats during kayaking operations.  I needed to keep the drivers side open to allow the sun to shine on my solar panel at least some of the day.  It needed to be far enough forward to allow the rear roof vent I plan on installing later this spring to open also.  I feel like this design adaquately accomplishes all these goals.  The permenant boat had to be mounted top down to keep rain and sun out of the inside of the cockpit.  

     As an added bonus, I think I will make extendable rods that slide out the ends of the cross tubes that will support a simple lightweight awning!  But that will be a different project for another weekend.  Thanks for reading!  for more images of the roof framework check out the photo section.  Special thanks to Kevin at BMI in waukon for the use if his shop!

     So I have been hanging at the public library recently.  Its bright and sunny and has a great place to relax and read the periodicals.  Twice this week I have been there and both times I have noticed the same fellow sitting in the same place.  Both times he was camped out with several items spread out on the table before him wile he worked on his small electronic device.  He was pretty scruffy looking and the state of his table made me wonder if he had been there all day.  I bet this guy could tell some stories.

     I wondered if he had a home at all?  If he even had a vehicle to crash in?  And were he would be if he didn't have this place to take cover in.  

     Like most folks I had not given a second thought to the local library.  Maybe to wonder when it was going to close because we have google now.  But, I had rarely considered what a pillar of the community this place was.  What an important place it is for people who are so poor they cannot even afford to have internet in their homes.  Something to think about next time that subject arises.

     My new tank is working fabulously!  I have had no fuel pressure issues since I put it on there.  Also, having a bike onboard has been a real blessing too.  Next challenge: kayak rack!  That one is still in the design stages, but i think i am getting close to a solution.  

     So I have been sick the last day and a half, but it was too nice out to not work on the van.  The prospect of not being back to the garage for several weeks has driven me to work through my discomfort and get my bottle rack, and bike rack mounted.  Aside from the tank, I had high hopes for this weekend to come up with a inventive way to mount kayak(s) on the roof of the rig but that will have to wait till next time.  I think i will be couch surfing for the rest of the weekend.  For now I am just glad the bomb is no longer on the back bumper, homeland security was looking at me funny!