turning points

Another turning point in our trip around the sun, the winter solsice has come and gone. So now as we begin our slow march back to summer it is a good time to reflect on the year gone by, and the year to come.

I had a big year, (and have the receding hairline to prove it) Periods of great joy and utter sorrow, fortunes won and lost, families reunited and dissasembled, fabuouls parties, death of wonderful friends, little tiny babies (i love babies), car accidents, new jobs, old jobs, and numerous brushes with death. My first year in the bus as well.

I'm looking forward to next year, getting out of this apartment and back into my bus, being in my own home again. Setting up my summer camp. Planting a garden again. Working and learning, going to school perhaps. Taking a few trips, I would like to do at least one grand voyage this year, possibly up to the Haida Guaii. Spending as much time as I can with my daughter. Hosting parties again, (it's been a while.) And most of all being able to breath some good air again, and live out of the city.

I celebrated this years passing with a beautiful turkey dinner (mmmm triptofens) cooked by a good friend (who ironicly is vegetarian) It was a great family thing. Watching the children play was great, and having some grownup time with fellow parents was refreshing.

Just for variety the next night I went on a crazy overnight road trip out to a friends birthday which was AWSOME. She had reserved the Ashcroft Opera house which is a great venue to see a show, and as i discovered last night is also a great venue to play in! Great accoustics as well as the atmosphere. I had the opprotunity to play a great set of congas last night (thanks Chris and Stu), Damn I need some conga's!! I must have rode thos babys for a couple of hours! My hands are a little sore, I need to play more I guess. I also had a chance to play my good brother Matts new bass, a 5 string is FUN!! I didn't get home untill 11:00 the next morning, but the drive home was beautiul, sleep deprivation always puts a little glow on everthing!

Happy Holidays, all the best.

I realize what i'm missing,..

I love being Single. The freedom to do what you want, the flexibility to do it when you want, are truly priceless. My sex life is good, great even. But there's something missing, Something I don't even notice I'm missing - that is until I have it for a second.

Point in case, Last night I was at a friends house, watching a movie and we are curled up on her couch, and she leans back, rests her head on my chest and sighs. And at that moment in time I realized that it is these small moments of comfort, those fleeting instants of peace and companionship that truly make life wonderful.

And those are precisely the moments that are hardest to find while single.

That's Alotta Bus!

The Bus, Specs and planning,

She is a 1982 Bluebird with a International Chassis, 12 window, 72 passenger. (40 Ft bumper to bumper) The drivetrain is Propane, (the best environmental choice this side of biodesiel!) hydraulic brakes, with a single speed rear end.
Pretty much an entry level bus, no underneath storage(yet) no roof racks (yet)
After a winter of her in storage, and a summer of camping downtown I pulled her into the shop for some painting and love,
we got all the windows tinted, and a full coat of paint on her, she looks 1oo percent better, I am excited for the spring and the next steps in getting her on the road and full time livable.

So Far, I have done my basic design/setup, (I'm the type of guy who likes trying out a few things before settling on a final plan.) bedroom in back, living in front, galley/head in the middle, and have been collecting materials for this years work. 4 burner propane stove/oven, Full sized RV Fridge/freezer (got a wicked deal), 100 Gallon fresh water tank (an even better deal), grey water tank, plywood, lumber sheet metal, ducting, piping, etc etc.

Future plans,
Composting Toilet
(I have been using the portapotti for midnight visits until now) I thought of installing a standard RV Flush system, but the added materials, tanks, fluids, plus the dumping factor (I can see extended camping trips interrupted by the need to dump and flush tanks) never appealed to me. I was thrilled to discover that Sun-Mar makes composting toilets specifically for RV's and Marine applications, http://www.sun-mar.com/prod_self_mobi.html Composting systems eliminate the need for blackwater tanks an all the associated hassle. Once a week turn a handle, and once a month empty a drawer. Keep it clean and that's it! Plus because of constant vacuum out the vent, there is no smell! (unlike the damn portapotti)

Green Energy
There is not much i can do to reduce my mileage, a bus aerodynamics are based on the "Flying Brick" principal, however there are things i can do to reduce my overall energy consumption. It
Electricity; I am a relatively high tech nomad, I like watching movies and listening to music, and I like cooking and staying warm in the winter, (and cool in the summer) One of the joys (and frustrations) of designing this type of lifestyle is the limits imposed by the limited space (and budget). Of course I could just be like the big boys in their $100 000 RV's and just get a generator for my power needs, but that kind of defeats my ideals. So I am planning a combination Solar/wind powered electrical system, with an expandable battery bank supplemented with occasional engine powered backup.
Propane; In addition to running the main engine on propane, the fridge, stove, hot water tank, and (backup) heater will also run on propane. To supplement these, I plan on installing a solar hot water system on the roof to use in the summer, and a wood burning stove to use in the winter as a primary heater. Propane is cheap enviromentally and economically and so is wood (pine beetle anyone?)

Storage
OMG Storage, before purchasing the bus i lived in a 2600 foot house, with all the furniture, art, hobbies, tools, and collections such space allows. Immediately following that experience i ended up homeless in a small ford ranger (with my big ol hound dog!!) My bus is somewhere in the middle of that, but it really forces me to consider what i need verses what i want. I am pretty pared down now but a little more storage would be nice. So now i have 5 spaces for future storage;
1) Underneath. I am planning to build some storage boxes for items like hoses, power cables propane tanks, battery's, lawn furniture, and other random assorted items.
2) On the roof. I would like to build/get a decent roof rack plus a ladder for rarely used items, i am also planning on a solar hot water heater and solar panels for the roof as well. (my greatest wildest idea is to put a second bedroom on the roof, either a VW van, or a station wagon or even another bus!! It has been done before....but it's a long term idea not one for next year.)
3)In front. Ok ok, there's not much i can put on the front of my bus, other than a bikerack (which i already have there) Spare tire perhaps?
4)In Back. I have seen some other buses around that have some great ideas for storage racks, some people have put full decks on the back of their buses! I would like to keep my bumper to rear axle distance as low as possible however, so i am looking for a trailer for the bus that would allow both towing of a vehicle (a toad if you will) as well as storage for other items. I have a nice design in my head that would allow my trailer to act as a deck while I am parked and have some secure storage for tools and a bbq.
5) Inside. This is a no brainer, storage everywhere possible! Under the bed, under the couch, above the counters, under the closet, near the firewall, the trick is finding the maximum storage without it looking (and feeling) like a built in closet. This is going to be my HOME not just a storage unit.

There is an order of necessity involved in what needs to be done, for legal reasons. Because she is still regestered as a BUS (as opposed to an RV) insurance rates are sky high. There is a checklist of items to be completed before I can have her re-regestered as an RV (and have the corresponding insurance rates) The good people at the Govt have given me a checklist of items to complete before this process can be completed.
The list is as follows:
In addition to a bed an RV must have at least 3 of the following 5 items permenantly installed.
Indepentant Heating System
Cooking Facilities
Toilet Facilities,
Fresh Water/Grey Water systems,
Refrigeration capabilities
So before anything, it appears i need to become a plumber! (or need to find one anyways) So as much as i woud like to get my big screen LCD installed, I need my running water! Makes sence i suppose, man can live without Movies and internet. (though some might disagree) But not without water.

So that's the long and short of it, i will be posting more as I work on her.

what it means to be a nomadic gardener,

Nomadic. no·mad (nō'mād') Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A member of a group of people who have no fixed home and move according to the seasons from place to place in search of food, water, and grazing land.
2. A person with no fixed residence who roams about; a wanderer.

Gardener. gar·den·er (gärd'nər, gär'dn-ər) Pronunciation Key
n. One who works in or tends a garden for pleasure or hire.

At first the two concepts don't sound compatible. How can one garden, if one is a wanderer? It just requires a paradigm shift.

A little background, I grew up on an organic vegetable farm, Selling at fruit stands and farmers markets and that kind of upbringing proved very beneficial to me, indeed formed many facets of my personality and individuality. In the core of my being, no matter where I am living, working and no matter what else I do, I consider myself a gardener.

Fast forward to today, and you find me, Steve, living a semi nomadic lifestyle, living in a schoolbus, cultivating work possiblilities and friendships outside of my hometown and yet still craving that connection with the earth, and more specifically one particular place to call my own.

I am constantly recreating and re inventing myself, where I am and where I am going and what I am doing whilst on this earth. I do my best to push boundries where I can, and to do so without losing myself is indeed a great challenge. Finding a balance between these two facets of my life is a goal I work towards everyday.

Peace

My First Blog.

My first blog. Blog. Blog, it sounds like somthing you get when you are sick, "Honey i blogged all night!" Why a blog? Why the hell not, i have interesting things to say, interesting stories to tell.

Ok a quick 'bout me, I am 30, a political/social radical, enviromentalist, nomadic carpenter. A father, a musician, and now apparently a blogger. I live in a schoolbus 8 months out of the year, (for reasons i will get into later), wear kilts in public, and have been known to participate in social nudity.

I have decided to start this blogging process for a number of reasons, some disiplinarian, some bordome related, but importantly because... well because I think I am pretty awsome, and have an interesting point of view.

I would also like to say "Hi Mom!!"

peace