Black Thought Daily readers please forgive me...for we are 10 days into the new year and this is my first blog entry of 2014. I hope everyone enjoyed bringing in the new year with family and friends. I know a lot of us may have been scrambling to get our plans in order, but never the less we are here! I don't like to make any resolutions for myself. I just keep a mental list of things that I want to do throughout the year, and hope that I get to it all! However...this year...I plan to live a little bit different.
So...summer of 2013! I was a very depressed man. My social life was obsolete. I took on a second job not just for extra income, but to stay out of the way of others. If I wasn't visiting my daughter in Oklahoma City, then you can catch me doing the normal routine (work, work, Adult Swim, sleep). I almost gave in like..."I guess this is it"! Until one Saturday afternoon where I made a trip to the Lewisville library. I go there often to read books and/or surf the net on my laptop, (YouTube is my favorite for I am always looking to learn something new through DIY videos). So I'm looking at "cooking" videos on YouTube and on the side in the suggestion area I see the title:
Living The Van Life - Why I live in a van. In it the gentleman was explaining that he had goals he wanted to accomplish. He saw that living in a van could free up some of his income and give him a way to travel to places he has long to see. More and more videos followed from different YouTube channels on this subject, and suddenly I became fascinated by the idea!
That night I remember going home and not being able to sleep. My mind was just working in overload trying to process what I just saw! Somehow...it's like those videos found me. Before this I had no idea what the term
Vandwelling meant. I was very curious as to why someone would want to live out of their vehicle. Then this feeling came over me like this is what I am suppose to do...a sign if you will. So I grabbed pen and paper to jot down some questions and concerns that I had on this subject. The following day (Sunday), I remember waiting inside my car for the library to open. As soon as those doors were unlocked, I had my laptop set up to begin my research. Every question that I wrote down I got the answer to three times over! For the remainder of 2013 I pretty much planned my life out to live in a van for the next year or three.
I haven't told my immediate family members of my plan to live this way. I started with my close friends. I got a lot of mixed reviews about it. Some thought I was going crazy, some actually showed a great amount of support. But all in all they understand why I want to do this. For the record...I have never been the one to just follow the norm. A coworker and I were talking the other night. Not sure how the subject came about but I told him that I have always been attached to the villain vs the hero. He told me the reason being is because I don't follow the standard. A hero wants to keep things they way they are. A villain wants to change the things that others think they shouldn't.
My whole reason of wanting to do this is simple. I want a reset on my life! I want to live just once. There are festivals that i would like to attend, cities that I am interested in visiting. I just want to see it! I want to save money for my daughter and give her a head start in life when she graduates from High School. My parents weren't able to purchase my first vehicle, or fund my ideas. I would like to be able to help my daughter with whatever plan she puts together for herself. I want to buy some property in Oklahoma and in Texas one day. It may sound far fetch but I believe I can pull this off! The 31st of January will be the last day of my lease. I found a van on
craigslist that I purchased for $1000. Needs some cosmetic work and a little maintenance, but I love it! I am also going to be converting as I go. I don't want to make too many modifications to the van. Just a simple place to sleep and set up a small office. Those who care shall have no worries for I will post my activity on my
facebook pages,
twitter,
instagram, and
tumblr so feel free to follow me.
Sometimes you gotta find another way of doing things. You gotta figure out how can I make it to this point and not be stuck in what I am doing now. This is my way. To all my friends I know that you care about the well being of your boy, but trust me I will be alright! Besides...I've put so much thought and planning into this that if I don't at least try....I will doubt myself forever. Here's to life and all new adventures! Sincerely Me, and Rusty aka Ol' Rusty Bastard, aka Bluevanatti!
