typed 11-27-10
So, I had planned to be in Vegas for Thanksgiving so we could find a free holiday meal, and sure enough we found one at a local high school. We woke up and headed over there. We were the fisrt ones there and the only ones for about an hour. This is the first year they had offered this meal, and their only publicity was a few flyers and an internet ad. What homeless people google "free thanksgiving meal las vegas"? We do! The local news was there and they wanted to interview someone. Luaren declined, so that left me. We'll have to keep watching mynews3.com for our story. There were hundreds of volunteers and they were all very nice and eager to serve us. We ate like kings. We stayed for about 2 hours, and a few other people trickled in. One woman sat with us, so we stayed a little longer so we could talk.
We finally left for the Hoover Dam. The TSA's felt the need to search the truck, and we obliged. We stayed there long enough to drop a bouncy ball off the edge, and take a few pictures. We headed on across the new bridge, got some gas, and drove all the way to a Walmart in El Centro on Black Friday.
We woke up, and checked out the damage. I though about getting in line for a TV, then selling the right to buy it to someone who actually wanted it. I also thought about going in at 5am to yell things like, "All the credit card machines are down!" and "OMG, the last rare purple robotic hamster thing!" Instead we just went in at 11 and looked at all the DVD's scattered on the floor and celophane wrapping everywhere.
We went to Del Taco, but they didn't have Lauren's 1$ fish taco deal, so she only got 2 of them. We went to Calexico, parked, and went into Mexicali. We had some tacos and headed back across the boarder. The Homeland Supremacy folks had a hard time believing that I was from West Virginia, and that I'd only come for lunch. They asked if i was bringing anything back with me, but I decided not to say, "just this bag," and point to Lauren. They brought out the dogs and checked lauren and I. The dog smelled Riley's fur on Lauren and they searched her. They asked if I was her husband, and if she was my wife, and if we were married, and if it was to each other.
They finally decided that they had nothing on us, and we went back to the truck. We drove to a place just south of Pheonix, and slept at a Best Western. This morning, I had to use the restroom, so I went into a Denny's. They were cleaning the men's rooms, and they said it was for customers only. My stomach has been a little messed up for a few days now, and the Mexican street food probably didn't help. I was only about 70% sure I hadn't crapped myself, this morning, so I ordered a cup of coffee. They said they had a 5$ minimum credit limit, so I sat down for an egg and a buiscuit and gravy. I ordered my egg over-easy, but their pan was a little to hot, and one side got a little crispy. Thats fine, but they should have put the crispy side down for easier forking. It wouldn't usually be a problem, but my meal had no gravy-free bread with which to sop up the yolk. I finished up, and went back to the truck to watch the part of Robocop, that I slept through the other night, and to have a beer. Today, we head to Tucson to meet Lauren's uncle, and I'll try to post this when I get a chance.
Later that day:
We went to Walmart for Lauren to use the bathroom and for me to restock on beer. I forgot that Arizona was a light-beer state. The Walmarts don't carry ANY ice beer. If I wanted light beer, I'd take it home and water it down myself. I got 20 tallboys of Steel Reserve. We continued to Tucson, and got some dog food at a Petsmart, and made it into a Mcdonalds. I hope those 20 skunky cans of beer last me until the Grand Canyon, where I know I can but some ice beer. Stay posted, the next few weeks should be fun.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Las Vegas, NV
So, after I bought some suspenders for my ski pants (that I even wear when I sleep, so the my mattress doesn't make my pants wet), we left Fresno, and headed toward Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. I love the way my suspenders make all my clothes feel as if they are one, but using the facilities has a little bit of a learning curve. The roads in the mountains can get pretty rough. I guess I should buy some snow chains, but they are like 50$. The road was snowy, and I slid around a little bit to show Lauren how much fun it can be. We checked out one of the few groves that was open this time of year. We are definitely headed back sometime soon. Riley ran around like a nut in the snow again, and walked around, and through, some enormous sequoias. We headed back out the west side of the park, and camped in a Walmart, in Visalia.
In the morning, we drove through miles of produce groves until the road went up a mountain. We reached an elevation of about 6000 feet, before descending around Lake Isabella and back up into Death Valley (100 feet below sea level). We started to camp near some dunes, but a ranger wasn't having that. He referred us to a free campsite, but it was in the wrong direction, and gas costs 4.25$ in the park. We went to a nice lodge and stayed in their parking lot. We watched Nashville the movies, and it was awful. Its the first movie I've actually deleted. We also recently watched Kurt Russell's Escape from L.A. and 8 1/2. Neither are fantastic.
I woke up early (because I slept through most of the last movie) and played games on my laptop till Lauren woke up. She saw a roadrunner, and I heard a horse go by. I would have seen it if I had bothered to sit up, but I've seen horses before. We backtracked to the dunes and walked barefoot long enough for Lauren to pick up some sand spurs. We had ham sandwiches and drove to the lowest point in America. Its covered in some sort of salt that tastes like baking soda (I'm not going to drive all the way there and not taste it). Shotly after we left, we saw a coyote by the side of the road. I stopped to take a few pictures, and some Asians came up to do the same. Only, they threw bread at it. They waved to me and I yelled at them. I don't think they could understand me, because they just laughed. Even the park pass has a picture of a coyote eating out of someone's hand with a "no" circle over it. We continued out of the park and I put another 2 gallons in the truck to get us to civilization where gas is 2.79$ per gallon. We rolled through a sliver of Nevada and into Las Vegas. We cruised the strip long enough for Lauren to be disappointed. We are going to find someplace to stay tonight, and try to hustle a high school for a free Thanksgiving dinner in the morning. I tried to find a fabled cheap buffet, but I couldn't find anything for less that 10$, though some were buy-one-get-one. I had a spicy version of the McChicken and a beer in a McCoffee cup. Well, I had better go and figure out what the next leg of the journey holds for us.
In the morning, we drove through miles of produce groves until the road went up a mountain. We reached an elevation of about 6000 feet, before descending around Lake Isabella and back up into Death Valley (100 feet below sea level). We started to camp near some dunes, but a ranger wasn't having that. He referred us to a free campsite, but it was in the wrong direction, and gas costs 4.25$ in the park. We went to a nice lodge and stayed in their parking lot. We watched Nashville the movies, and it was awful. Its the first movie I've actually deleted. We also recently watched Kurt Russell's Escape from L.A. and 8 1/2. Neither are fantastic.
I woke up early (because I slept through most of the last movie) and played games on my laptop till Lauren woke up. She saw a roadrunner, and I heard a horse go by. I would have seen it if I had bothered to sit up, but I've seen horses before. We backtracked to the dunes and walked barefoot long enough for Lauren to pick up some sand spurs. We had ham sandwiches and drove to the lowest point in America. Its covered in some sort of salt that tastes like baking soda (I'm not going to drive all the way there and not taste it). Shotly after we left, we saw a coyote by the side of the road. I stopped to take a few pictures, and some Asians came up to do the same. Only, they threw bread at it. They waved to me and I yelled at them. I don't think they could understand me, because they just laughed. Even the park pass has a picture of a coyote eating out of someone's hand with a "no" circle over it. We continued out of the park and I put another 2 gallons in the truck to get us to civilization where gas is 2.79$ per gallon. We rolled through a sliver of Nevada and into Las Vegas. We cruised the strip long enough for Lauren to be disappointed. We are going to find someplace to stay tonight, and try to hustle a high school for a free Thanksgiving dinner in the morning. I tried to find a fabled cheap buffet, but I couldn't find anything for less that 10$, though some were buy-one-get-one. I had a spicy version of the McChicken and a beer in a McCoffee cup. Well, I had better go and figure out what the next leg of the journey holds for us.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Still in Fresno, CA
Ok, so after I typed these entries, I find that Google.com's renaming of Blogspot.com to Blogger just became manditory, and it can't find my account. I can go to my page, so its still there, but I can't log in to modify it. I pressed reset password and it asked for my account site. I entered it and it sends me an email, but Google Chrome can't open Hotmail, because the McDonald's Wifi connection gives it the willies. I open it with Firefox, but it is "undergoing maintenece". I finally get it to load, and click the link, to reset my password, and it says it needs to resend the email. I do it, and click the link again, I have to make my passowrd stronger than it was so people can't steel my blog. While all this is happening, I go out for a drink, and I notice that the truck topper lock linkage is now completely boken off, along with a peice of the castic that hold the entire mechanism together. It reminds me of a bad day I had a few years ago, I'll try to find the file, its from 5/26/2006. Here it is, enjoy:
The power went out last night so the phone didn’t charge and the alarm clock didn’t go off. My girlfriend assumes it’s my fault and proceeds to rant at great length until I leave. On my way to give a presentation for my final exam at a picnic, I run into some buddies, and we take a smoke break, and drink the rest of this girl's $2.50 wine and my $.75 tall boy. I got a B on the presentation, and some guy asked us if we wanted some munchies. I grabbed a can of pork and beans and they grabbed some pretzels. On my way home, I got pulled over for having a bad registration sticker on my plate. Turns out, my renewal card never caught up with my moving after I pad my property taxes. So I go to the court house to get a copy of my property tax receipt, and go to the DMV to get a new card, but they say my Insurance card is bad (even though it says, "valid for 30 days after expiration"). So I go to my insurance lady, and she says she can't print out a new card, because my last payment bounced. So, I go to my bank, and sit in the drive through for the better part of a Grateful Dead CD, when the bank lady says the computer down, I have to go to another branch. So, I go. The guy there says that my landlord cashed his check twice. WTF? He says it cleared up, but the money wouldn't be back in the account 'till the next day. I go home to get my stereo to pawn off, and my now-ex-girlfriend flips the f out 'cos I didn't runt he darned sweeper. I put the pawn shop money in the bank, and I'm back at the insurance office. I tried to use my card, but it wasn't activated yet, so, after I take two finals and drink a 24oz, I activate the card, go to the insurance office for the third time, get the car, and go back to the DMV. I get a new license plate and a temporary registration card. Now, force of habit takes me from the DMV to the nearby liquor vender, I notice hours late that the douche bag shorted me like $.68 in change. I've got insurance, registration, and exactly $12.66 left, so why not finally get my car inspected. I'm in the waiting room for two hours, and the turbo-skank who got there first wouldn't let me watch anything else beside the Tyra Banks show. Meanwhile, my phone rings and the cell phone company says there check bounced. I explained the bank situation to 'em, and they said that I had to have the bill paid in the next hour, or they would penalize me. I hauled it back over the pawn shop with my 27" TV in a K-mart shopping cart, through the worst of my city. I pay the bill, the phone rings, my car's done. I failed. I need a brake light, tie rod ends, tires, and a spring or two. I headed off to a cheaper garage across town. I haven't eaten all day so I go through Rally’s and use all of my coupons. I'm just about to pull away, when a state trooper nabs me for the rejection sticker. I'm in the process of moving wearing a nasty wood stain covered t-shirt and a Smokey the bear headband. The cop sees this, my 9$ worth of fast food in two bags, birdseed in seats from a previous fiasco, a pile of papers topped of with a ticket for bad registration, a bottle of 6$ vodka, and two pawn claim check in my shirt pocket. "Sir, I'm gonna need you to step out of the car." I tell my story, but he and the two other cars that arrived search my car until all of my food is cold except the milkshake. They finally let me go with a warning for my sticker, but I have to come into the regional office to prove I fixed it. After I find a gas station that'll accept a bad check, I go on to the garage. They say the parts need to be ordered. I call Advance, tell 'em I'm the son of the chief mechanic at the dealership I went to earlier (thank goodness for that Christmas card still on the wall), and I need the parts PDQ. He delivers them from a store 40 miles away, to the garage I'm at as a personal favor. I write another bad check for the work, and on my way to City Hall to get out of my registration ticket, I find my Birthday card from my grandma in my trunk. Cha-ching, the cops must have unearthed it. I swing by the pawn shop, pick up my stuff, and get out of my ticket. Because I was moving, I had the roof rack on the car, so I couldn't get my antenna up, without getting out of the car, so its just me and Jerry Garcia, stuck in two hours of stopped interstate traffic next to the sewer plant. It smelled worse than it did when Burger King came out with the Fiesta Whopper; Ole! I finally make it to the state police barracks, and the dick thinks my sticker's fake. He even picked the corner of it off. I show him my paper trail, and he said he'd take car of it. Oh, crap! I'm late for picking my girlfriend up at work. I book it back to town. She harassed me all the way to her mom's house, but, since I'd been nipping vodka and Gatorade since 9:00 that morning, it didn't really bother me. I dropped her off and got harassed by her mom and step dad until the phone rings. My education professor says that I did so bad on my final, I have to take it over again, now. I put another 8 miles on the car getting back to school for a daily total of 96 miles. I have to get an A on this test to pass the class/stay on schedule for graduation/keep my financial aid, etc. The test was on the one page of my book that happened to still be in the car from a Dr. Pepper explosion. I read it on the way over. I aced the test and headed over to mow the neighbors grass. I kept doing yard and roof work till about 9:30pm. Back to another liquor store with my fresh wad of cash. I made it to the check out at exactly 9:59 (within .06 sec. of the atomic clock at the Naval observatory in Greenwich). I head back over to my girlfriend’s mom’s house, and commence the mass genocide of my brain cells. Apparently there was some confusion about how she was getting home. I was told to wait there, while she had her mom drop her off. So I go home, sleep 3 hours, wake up, make up, break up, and head out for some breakfast. I found the can of pork and beans under my seat. A perfect end to a perfect day.
The power went out last night so the phone didn’t charge and the alarm clock didn’t go off. My girlfriend assumes it’s my fault and proceeds to rant at great length until I leave. On my way to give a presentation for my final exam at a picnic, I run into some buddies, and we take a smoke break, and drink the rest of this girl's $2.50 wine and my $.75 tall boy. I got a B on the presentation, and some guy asked us if we wanted some munchies. I grabbed a can of pork and beans and they grabbed some pretzels. On my way home, I got pulled over for having a bad registration sticker on my plate. Turns out, my renewal card never caught up with my moving after I pad my property taxes. So I go to the court house to get a copy of my property tax receipt, and go to the DMV to get a new card, but they say my Insurance card is bad (even though it says, "valid for 30 days after expiration"). So I go to my insurance lady, and she says she can't print out a new card, because my last payment bounced. So, I go to my bank, and sit in the drive through for the better part of a Grateful Dead CD, when the bank lady says the computer down, I have to go to another branch. So, I go. The guy there says that my landlord cashed his check twice. WTF? He says it cleared up, but the money wouldn't be back in the account 'till the next day. I go home to get my stereo to pawn off, and my now-ex-girlfriend flips the f out 'cos I didn't runt he darned sweeper. I put the pawn shop money in the bank, and I'm back at the insurance office. I tried to use my card, but it wasn't activated yet, so, after I take two finals and drink a 24oz, I activate the card, go to the insurance office for the third time, get the car, and go back to the DMV. I get a new license plate and a temporary registration card. Now, force of habit takes me from the DMV to the nearby liquor vender, I notice hours late that the douche bag shorted me like $.68 in change. I've got insurance, registration, and exactly $12.66 left, so why not finally get my car inspected. I'm in the waiting room for two hours, and the turbo-skank who got there first wouldn't let me watch anything else beside the Tyra Banks show. Meanwhile, my phone rings and the cell phone company says there check bounced. I explained the bank situation to 'em, and they said that I had to have the bill paid in the next hour, or they would penalize me. I hauled it back over the pawn shop with my 27" TV in a K-mart shopping cart, through the worst of my city. I pay the bill, the phone rings, my car's done. I failed. I need a brake light, tie rod ends, tires, and a spring or two. I headed off to a cheaper garage across town. I haven't eaten all day so I go through Rally’s and use all of my coupons. I'm just about to pull away, when a state trooper nabs me for the rejection sticker. I'm in the process of moving wearing a nasty wood stain covered t-shirt and a Smokey the bear headband. The cop sees this, my 9$ worth of fast food in two bags, birdseed in seats from a previous fiasco, a pile of papers topped of with a ticket for bad registration, a bottle of 6$ vodka, and two pawn claim check in my shirt pocket. "Sir, I'm gonna need you to step out of the car." I tell my story, but he and the two other cars that arrived search my car until all of my food is cold except the milkshake. They finally let me go with a warning for my sticker, but I have to come into the regional office to prove I fixed it. After I find a gas station that'll accept a bad check, I go on to the garage. They say the parts need to be ordered. I call Advance, tell 'em I'm the son of the chief mechanic at the dealership I went to earlier (thank goodness for that Christmas card still on the wall), and I need the parts PDQ. He delivers them from a store 40 miles away, to the garage I'm at as a personal favor. I write another bad check for the work, and on my way to City Hall to get out of my registration ticket, I find my Birthday card from my grandma in my trunk. Cha-ching, the cops must have unearthed it. I swing by the pawn shop, pick up my stuff, and get out of my ticket. Because I was moving, I had the roof rack on the car, so I couldn't get my antenna up, without getting out of the car, so its just me and Jerry Garcia, stuck in two hours of stopped interstate traffic next to the sewer plant. It smelled worse than it did when Burger King came out with the Fiesta Whopper; Ole! I finally make it to the state police barracks, and the dick thinks my sticker's fake. He even picked the corner of it off. I show him my paper trail, and he said he'd take car of it. Oh, crap! I'm late for picking my girlfriend up at work. I book it back to town. She harassed me all the way to her mom's house, but, since I'd been nipping vodka and Gatorade since 9:00 that morning, it didn't really bother me. I dropped her off and got harassed by her mom and step dad until the phone rings. My education professor says that I did so bad on my final, I have to take it over again, now. I put another 8 miles on the car getting back to school for a daily total of 96 miles. I have to get an A on this test to pass the class/stay on schedule for graduation/keep my financial aid, etc. The test was on the one page of my book that happened to still be in the car from a Dr. Pepper explosion. I read it on the way over. I aced the test and headed over to mow the neighbors grass. I kept doing yard and roof work till about 9:30pm. Back to another liquor store with my fresh wad of cash. I made it to the check out at exactly 9:59 (within .06 sec. of the atomic clock at the Naval observatory in Greenwich). I head back over to my girlfriend’s mom’s house, and commence the mass genocide of my brain cells. Apparently there was some confusion about how she was getting home. I was told to wait there, while she had her mom drop her off. So I go home, sleep 3 hours, wake up, make up, break up, and head out for some breakfast. I found the can of pork and beans under my seat. A perfect end to a perfect day.
Fresno, CA
We left that Enroute Camping beach and headed toward San Francisco, but it was quite a bit further than what I had expected (I hadn't looked at a map, and the GPS didn't account for all of our scenic detours). While I'm on the subject, I'd like to do an Equipment Review of my Garmin Nuvi 255W. My parents sent it to me for Christmas in 2008, while I was in Texas. It was great, except for telling me to occasionally drive off of an elevated highway. We learned that you had to take what it says with a grain of salt, but recently it has been seriously pissing us (me) off. It will list imaginary roads, tell us to drive hundreds of miles out of the way for no reason, get completely lost under clear sky in populated areas, loose which direction the vehicle is traveling, and generally slow way down. It's like the processor is slowing down over time. Since I don't think it’s worn out yet, I must assume that this is a case of planned obsolescence. But why would I pay 150$ to update the software if the hardware is crapping out so badly?
We camped one more night before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, and heading to China Beach. Some sunbather gave us a whole bunch of hell about bringing the dog into the No-Pets zone. We informed him that he was service animal and eventually cussed him out in front of a park ranger. We tried to get back towards Fisherman's Wharf, but we accidently crossed the bridge again. I had a few beers to make the 6$ toll repeat easier to swallow. We found a spot to park and walked around Pier 39. We saw the sea lions, but the bread bowl scraps that were once so plentiful, were nowhere to be found. We slept in a yacht club across from Alcatraz.
In the morning Lauren had to go to the hospital, but not bad enough to not argue with me for 3 hours first. I drove her to the hospital and waited in the truck so it wouldn't be towed. After several hours of playing Mario's Picross, which I beat and started Mario's Picross 2 (Exclusively in Japanese), we went to a Safeway to fill her prescription. Lauren called me from the lobby where she passed out because she forgot to eat anything for the past 30 hours. We spent the night across from the electric bus depot near a bunch of RV's. After most of a day of arguing, the police told us we couldn’t sleep there anymore, so we hit Lombard St. and went back the yacht club. In the morning we washed the dog, went shopping, washed dog pee off of my sleeping bag, at a homeless center, and headed for San Jose. We stopped for internet at a McDonald’s on the way and drove past Facebook's headquarters before finding a spot to go to sleep. This was mad more difficult by the fact that the GPS led us to 3 hotels that never existed. It also has no grasp on the concept of one way streets, takes and entire city blocks time to process the fact that I turned onto that city block, freezes up sometimes.
The next day, we looked at a sushi buffet, but it was 16$ each. We tried to go to a Safeway, but their sushi wasn't very good. The GPS continued its parade of failure by taking us to 3 shopping centers in search of a Fred Meyer. Nobody in any of the centers had ever heard of a Fred Meyer. We did swing past Google, though. We kept looking and found a Safeway and ate 22$ worth of sushi in the cab of the truck, in the sun of their parking lot, while cussing about how hard we worked for it. We sat there about another 2 hours before heading towards San Jose and going to sleep.
Early the next morning, I went to a laundromat to poop, but the lady said I had to be a customer. I went over to the gumball machines, but she said those were for customers too. I asked her how buying something doesn't make me a customer, but I ended up giving her a few words you don't find in an English-Chinese dictionary. I continued my search through a Walgreens, an Exxon, and a Wendy's. The Wendy's didn't open till 9:30, so I tried the grocery store nearby. It was a cool store, but no bathrooms. I went back to Wendy's and back to the truck to wait for Lauren to wake up. We went back to that grocery store and stocked up for our trip to Yosemite. We swung past the place where I found my tuck topped, but the proprietor was scoping us pretty hard. I went to Chase to cash in my pennies and organize my accounts, but they are the last back in the world to require incoming change to be rolled.
I opened a Chase checking account because they have the most convenient branch location across the country. Their free account required me to make 5 transactions per month, thereby defeating the purpose of an emergency account, so I "upgraded" to the one that made me keep a 1500$ minimum balance. That was fine, just some money tied up, or so I thought. The called me to say that my account would be closed because of inactivity. I begged them not to, but what I eventually had to do was open a savings account, and set up a 25$ automatic transfer from checking to savings on the 1st of every month, and another from savings to checking on the 15th of every month. This made their computer think that I was still alive by completing 2 transactions per month (automatically, through their computer), but my new system was obviously unstable (as well as tying up an additional 100$ for the minimum balance for the savings account.
We're running low on cash, so I needed to combine the accounts and downsized to the 5 transaction/ month plan. I explained this to "my" banker and he seemed to understand. He told me that if I had the funds transferred from savings to checking electronically, it would take a day to process and I couldn't close the account till the next day (which they'd do for me). I said fine, but when they transferred the funds from savings to checking, the savings account said that it was below the minimum balance and charged me 35$. That buffoon tried to take that money out of my checking account. I became livid to the point security began watching me. He undid the electronic transfer and removed the charge (notated as teller error). I had to close the account, remove the funds in cash, then deposit the cash into checking, where it was a second ago. It will still take 24 hours to close the account, and for my funds to become available in checking. Sweet Christ, I had 2 more beers in their parking lot before I was able to see straight enough to drive. I went to AAA of San Jose, and met Judy, from Maryland. I asked her about a class to remove points on my license, be she said I had to do it in WV. She then asked me why I had the points, and we discussed my record. She told me that they even bust people for seatbelt violations here. I laughed and said they're not gonna get me! They can get me for a lot of things, but never that. I gassed up (with the Chase card (Transaction: Nov. 1 of 5)), and we made it into Groveland; the last town on the outside of Yosemite. We watched Escape from Alcatraz and the original Gone in 60 seconds, and went to sleep.
We got up early, ate some ham sandwiches, and drove into the park. We took our time and saw some vistas. It was really neat. There was no overnight parking anywhere, so we blended in at the lodge. We ate and went to sleep, but it started to rain, then it stopped and it got pretty cold. In the morning we noticed that there was about 8" of snow on everything in the valley (more at higher elevations). It was the first snow of the season and Riley's first snow ever. He peed on Lauren's blanked and we started our day. We tried to take Rt. 41 south, but it was closed for snow. We went back out towards 120 and Tuolumne Grove, but the grove road wasn't plowed. We pulled over for lunch, and we decided to take 140 back out of the park. We turned around, but on the way out, we saw that the grove road had been plowed while we were eating, so we walked about 2 miles, round-trip, in foot deep snow, over steep hills to see some rather unimpressive sequoia trees. But Riley had fun. We decided to check Rt. 41 again and sure enough it was open, so we drove on out of the park, after seeing a snowplow that went off the road that day. Pics will be on facebook soon. We tried a few McDonalds, and the 3rd try had electric and Wifi. We are near the northern side of Fresno, CA, power blogging.
Van Damme Enroute Camping Beach (Written 11-12-10 )
A few days ago we left my aunt, Denise's place to head for dryer climates. We had a great time using the internet, sitting indoors, and charging [all of] our batteries. Her roommate, Crowley, is a great cook, and her fiance-ish (they're having a ceremony, but not really a marriage, so I don't know what to call it), Mike, has been all over. He played us a song on his guitar and gave us a tour of his camper-converted Greyhound bus, parked beside their house. Their other roommate, Marion, told us about walking around all day in downtown Portland, on a sunny (rare) day, and not being able to see anyone smiling. I assured her that they must have been out there somewhere, she just missed them. Her dogs (a Tibetan mastiff, that looks like a huge wooly rat, and a little blond spaniel) have a tendency to poop in Denise and Mike's section of the house, seeing as how its cold outside. Marion’s boyfriend, Brandon, has two pit-bulls and a Honda S2000 stroked to 2.2l.
Years ago, (in Texas) I bought a USB game controller for the computer from E-bay for about 4$. I used it forever before stepping on it one day when I was drunk. I borrowed a 20$ Saitek one from my brother, but it just stopped working due to faulty construction. I was checking the physical connections inside the device, after it became unrecognized on multiple machines (as a last ditch effort). While I was taking it apart, Mike saw the back of the controller (with the screws loose in it) and picked it up thinking it was his brand new PlayStation 3 controller (that it is almost identical too).
He naturally panicked briefly, before we cleared up the confusion. Don't worry, I know that a PS3 controller shouldn't be left "sticks down" or disassembled by houseguests.
As I was putting my tools away (under the hood; a space previously designated for my spare battery), I was checking my fluids. I'm due (miles-wise) for an oil change, but it still looked somewhat golden, and was right on the line. I was trying to show Lauren how to check various systems, but she wasn't interested. Brandon was just getting ready to change his alternator, so I heckled, and eventually pitched in. It was nice to work on a car again, but I specifically bought this truck to have plenty of knuckle room; his roadster cut up my hands, but he gave me a glass of my favorite whiskey while I worked. For the record, it’s Black Velvet: 8 Year Reserve; I know it’s not the best, but I've got some sentimental attachment.
While we were in Vancouver, Lauren cut my hair, and all three of us got baths. We dried our sleeping pads, stocked up on beer, and headed towards the coast after making one last trip to the "old neighborhood" in Portland for some salsa and a free paper. It was dark when we got to the coast, so we went to sleep in a hotel parking lot. When we woke up we realized that we were at Haystack Rock, from The Goonies. I can't remember if I've ever seen that movie, but the rock was cool (the geological formation, and the Sean Connery movie).
Next day, we got up and putzed around the parking lot a little bit. We looked at the rock, and used their bathhouse. I noticed that I have a chipped headlight, and I called home to see if we still have some headlight covers that my Grandpop used to have. Apparently, my parent's cats have fleas, and my Great Aunt Freid died a little bit, but she's okay now. My Grandmom left for Texas, and we waited for the rain to stop and headed south. I filled up in Oregon (mandatory full service) and the attendant forgot to put my gas cap on (I should have listed for the click). Also, he washed my windows while standing in the rain. I drove 300 miles and stopped for gas again. That’s when I found out about the cap. The attendant said my tires looked low, and I guessed all four tire pressures to within 1 psi (know thy vehicle). They weren't low, but he put a few pounds in the back because they felt a little warm (and I'm already paying for full service), they are for a light truck. My truck is light when I don't have everything I own in it.
We found a Wal-Mart and spent the night. In the morning, we went to a McDonalds for internet, but the inside was closed for remodeling. I bought a new gas cap and called about the old one. They said they had it, and I could swing 600 miles out of my way to pick it up. They are mailing me a check for 7.07$. I walked through the drive-through (i didn't feel like driving), and I got a McRib for the first time.. meh. We went back to that Wal-Mart and went to bed. They ran us off in the morning (they thought we had been there for 3 nights instead of 2, even though we bought something both days). We went to the visitor center for Redwood, and on into the park.
Redwood is awesome; we stopped every few miles. Lauren even found "her" tree. It was just some unnamed tree in some grove. We took a bunch of pictures, made a sextant to measure its height, and measured the circumference with my throw rope. While we were there we met some people from a town we passed through in Vermont, a few months earlier. We had premade supermarket subs, and slept in a Best Western. By "in" of course we mean on the premises; we have not paid to sleep anywhere on the entire trip so far. We ate our free continental breakfast, pooped in the lobby's bathroom, and headed to a beach with "volcanic" black sand. It was black, it just wasn't volcanic. I didn't care, i didn't want to get out of the truck, I was enjoying the windy, one-lane road, and couldn't wait to back track. We continued as close to the coast as possible, all the way to a beach on Rt. 1 that allows enroute camping. Last night we had ramen and watched the sunset. Today we stayed in and argued all day, while I played a Gameboy game and drank beer.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
To the vegans
To The Portland Mercury
Please publish this letter for the businesses of SE 12th and Stark and residents of the area of 14th and Washington. I would address them personally, but even after polite encouragement they are unable speak with us in person. If you are reading this, and are able to, please forward it to the people to whom it may concern.
My name is Jon, and I was living in the black Toyota truck in the aforementioned areas, with my wife, Lauren, and our dog, Riley. We are unable to find affordable housing or employment in the area, though we are actively searching everyday. We chose to stay in this general vicinity for the hospitality of the kind people at St. Francis Dining Hall.
It has become apparent that we are not wanted in your neighborhood, though I cannot understand why. You left a note on our windshield, explaining that you reported our home as an abandoned vehicle, and reported our unattended dog to animal control. We move our currently registered vehicle at least once every 24 hours in accordance with the law. Our dog is only left unattended for brief periods of time while we eat a hot meal or spend what money we do have in your local businesses. We have a permanent note inside our windshield, requesting anyone with questions or concerns regarding us, our vehicle, or our dog, to contact us by way of two working cellular phone numbers.
I understand that you may not desire to have my completely painted and undamaged truck parked across the street and down the road from your business front, but it is our legal right. We know the name of the woman, and the place of employment, who wrote that note. We left her a note, asking her to come meet all three of us. We know who stole the used records that we were trying to sell. We know these businesses had cars moved into the area while we moved the truck once a day to block us out. We are not here to bother you. We moved around the block, to not inconvenience you.
The reason we chose to park in that particular location in the first place, was that it was adjacent to the dog park that we often frequent. Our Riley is very special to us. He is an AKC registered Papillon and is current on all vaccinations, Heartgard, and Frontline. He does not eat the free kibble offered by St. Francis; instead he eats the blend of Science Diet recommended by his vet, at a great expense to us. He eats twice daily, as directed by his vet, and he drinks several bowlfuls of water per day. We spend significantly more of our limited budget on him, than we do on ourselves. He has all of the toys, treats, and warm clothing he could ever need. He is kept clean, groomed, and healthy. He is never left in a hot environment, ever. When we leave him alone, we do not leave food out, because he eats a specific amount on a particular schedule. We do not leave water with him, because we sufficiently walk and water him before and after we leave him, which is 45 minutes at most.
This morning we received a call from an officer Hawkins. Apparently, someone has been calling the police department in an attempt to have Riley and our home taken from us during the 30 minutes we were gone to have coffee. The warning citation on the windshield read that our truck would be towed. There is no parking term limit in this area and the truck had been there only 13 hours. We have proof of this from the ticket stubs of the movie we went to see for my birthday. But, you were watching us closely enough to have the police come during our 30 minute breakfast.
People leave their dogs unattended. Until the day when dogs are welcomed everywhere, this is inevitable. We do it as little as possible. Now we will be taking him everywhere we go and limiting where we can go, because we cannot risk losing him. I am receiving a check that will allow us leave the area, permanently. It is truly a shame. Everyone we've met here has been very nice and personable. It's the people that can't speak to us in person that have not been so hospitable. I don't hold it against all of Portland, just you, and you know who you are.
I realize people in this area are animal lovers, humanitarians, and environmentalists... but so are we. Is it humanitarian to actively try to have our home, family, and all of our belongings taken from us while we are in a church? And, is it environmentally conscience to burn extra gasoline, at a personal expense to me, just to circle the block to remain legal? I did, so I wouldn't lose my home. Though there is a Chevy van, a Volvo sedan, and an El Camino, that have spider webs spanning from the wheels to the curbs, parked on these same streets, unmoved for weeks. These vehicles have no notes. I now realize that our driving activity was not the reason we were of concern to you. You are bigots. You do not understand our lifestyle and the difficulties associated with it.
I would also like to know what your specific goal is in threatening us and reporting us to higher authorities, capable of separating our family and taking away our home and everything we own. Is our home unsightly to you, and is that why you can justify doing that to us? Are you really looking out for the best interests and well being of our dog Riley, an important member of this family? If so, did you think it through? Do you actually think the best answer is for him to be taken away from his loving "parents" and put into an animal shelter where his future is uncertain at best? Animal shelters are unfortunately already overflowing with dogs that end up there, through no fault of their own, and a lot of them end up being killed because of this. To me, that doesn't seem like a better life for him than living with a loving family who, because of their lifestyle, are able to spend almost 24 hours a day with him, except for the 30-40 minutes a day where they leave him in a safe and suitable environment, while they go to eat a warm meal.
We are very nice people, accepting of all peoples' differences and lifestyles, and we would welcome a pleasant face-to-face interaction with any of those who would like to meet us, but anytime you have had any kind of interaction with us, it has been cruel and covert. Why were you unable to address us with your specific concerns? You are judgmental and you are cowards. Do you not have anything better to do with your time than stake out our home and plot against us? Is this your idea of being active in your community? What business is it of yours, how we choose to live our lives? I hope you feel good about yourselves and that this was your intention. What worthwhile deeds and causes are you neglecting while focusing your energy on intensifying our turmoil?
You want us gone, and since we are the minority, we will leave. You win. I just find it odd that people who live their lives advertising lifestyles of varying perspectives, celebrating openness and differences, and fighting to not be judged themselves, are the only ones that are judging us. I hope your customers will consider these intolerances before patronizing your respective establishments. I truly wish no bad will upon you, and I hope that someday you will learn to be more accepting of people of different lifestyles. May God have mercy on you.
Please publish this letter for the businesses of SE 12th and Stark and residents of the area of 14th and Washington. I would address them personally, but even after polite encouragement they are unable speak with us in person. If you are reading this, and are able to, please forward it to the people to whom it may concern.
My name is Jon, and I was living in the black Toyota truck in the aforementioned areas, with my wife, Lauren, and our dog, Riley. We are unable to find affordable housing or employment in the area, though we are actively searching everyday. We chose to stay in this general vicinity for the hospitality of the kind people at St. Francis Dining Hall.
It has become apparent that we are not wanted in your neighborhood, though I cannot understand why. You left a note on our windshield, explaining that you reported our home as an abandoned vehicle, and reported our unattended dog to animal control. We move our currently registered vehicle at least once every 24 hours in accordance with the law. Our dog is only left unattended for brief periods of time while we eat a hot meal or spend what money we do have in your local businesses. We have a permanent note inside our windshield, requesting anyone with questions or concerns regarding us, our vehicle, or our dog, to contact us by way of two working cellular phone numbers.
I understand that you may not desire to have my completely painted and undamaged truck parked across the street and down the road from your business front, but it is our legal right. We know the name of the woman, and the place of employment, who wrote that note. We left her a note, asking her to come meet all three of us. We know who stole the used records that we were trying to sell. We know these businesses had cars moved into the area while we moved the truck once a day to block us out. We are not here to bother you. We moved around the block, to not inconvenience you.
The reason we chose to park in that particular location in the first place, was that it was adjacent to the dog park that we often frequent. Our Riley is very special to us. He is an AKC registered Papillon and is current on all vaccinations, Heartgard, and Frontline. He does not eat the free kibble offered by St. Francis; instead he eats the blend of Science Diet recommended by his vet, at a great expense to us. He eats twice daily, as directed by his vet, and he drinks several bowlfuls of water per day. We spend significantly more of our limited budget on him, than we do on ourselves. He has all of the toys, treats, and warm clothing he could ever need. He is kept clean, groomed, and healthy. He is never left in a hot environment, ever. When we leave him alone, we do not leave food out, because he eats a specific amount on a particular schedule. We do not leave water with him, because we sufficiently walk and water him before and after we leave him, which is 45 minutes at most.
This morning we received a call from an officer Hawkins. Apparently, someone has been calling the police department in an attempt to have Riley and our home taken from us during the 30 minutes we were gone to have coffee. The warning citation on the windshield read that our truck would be towed. There is no parking term limit in this area and the truck had been there only 13 hours. We have proof of this from the ticket stubs of the movie we went to see for my birthday. But, you were watching us closely enough to have the police come during our 30 minute breakfast.
People leave their dogs unattended. Until the day when dogs are welcomed everywhere, this is inevitable. We do it as little as possible. Now we will be taking him everywhere we go and limiting where we can go, because we cannot risk losing him. I am receiving a check that will allow us leave the area, permanently. It is truly a shame. Everyone we've met here has been very nice and personable. It's the people that can't speak to us in person that have not been so hospitable. I don't hold it against all of Portland, just you, and you know who you are.
I realize people in this area are animal lovers, humanitarians, and environmentalists... but so are we. Is it humanitarian to actively try to have our home, family, and all of our belongings taken from us while we are in a church? And, is it environmentally conscience to burn extra gasoline, at a personal expense to me, just to circle the block to remain legal? I did, so I wouldn't lose my home. Though there is a Chevy van, a Volvo sedan, and an El Camino, that have spider webs spanning from the wheels to the curbs, parked on these same streets, unmoved for weeks. These vehicles have no notes. I now realize that our driving activity was not the reason we were of concern to you. You are bigots. You do not understand our lifestyle and the difficulties associated with it.
I would also like to know what your specific goal is in threatening us and reporting us to higher authorities, capable of separating our family and taking away our home and everything we own. Is our home unsightly to you, and is that why you can justify doing that to us? Are you really looking out for the best interests and well being of our dog Riley, an important member of this family? If so, did you think it through? Do you actually think the best answer is for him to be taken away from his loving "parents" and put into an animal shelter where his future is uncertain at best? Animal shelters are unfortunately already overflowing with dogs that end up there, through no fault of their own, and a lot of them end up being killed because of this. To me, that doesn't seem like a better life for him than living with a loving family who, because of their lifestyle, are able to spend almost 24 hours a day with him, except for the 30-40 minutes a day where they leave him in a safe and suitable environment, while they go to eat a warm meal.
We are very nice people, accepting of all peoples' differences and lifestyles, and we would welcome a pleasant face-to-face interaction with any of those who would like to meet us, but anytime you have had any kind of interaction with us, it has been cruel and covert. Why were you unable to address us with your specific concerns? You are judgmental and you are cowards. Do you not have anything better to do with your time than stake out our home and plot against us? Is this your idea of being active in your community? What business is it of yours, how we choose to live our lives? I hope you feel good about yourselves and that this was your intention. What worthwhile deeds and causes are you neglecting while focusing your energy on intensifying our turmoil?
You want us gone, and since we are the minority, we will leave. You win. I just find it odd that people who live their lives advertising lifestyles of varying perspectives, celebrating openness and differences, and fighting to not be judged themselves, are the only ones that are judging us. I hope your customers will consider these intolerances before patronizing your respective establishments. I truly wish no bad will upon you, and I hope that someday you will learn to be more accepting of people of different lifestyles. May God have mercy on you.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Sunshine Laundry, 79th and SE Glisan, Portland, OR
Oct 20, 2010
Today is my four month anniversary. I haven't blogged since, I don't know when. We've been without internet and electricity for a long time. We're still in Portland. We stay in the truck near an abandoned school. Riley plays with other dogs in the field. We are about 2 blocks from St. Francis, where we eat, recieve mail, and take showers. Everyone is pretty nice except the REALLY crazy ones, but they're tolerable. Every morning, I wake up early, and play Gameboy games on Lauren's old hacked 5th generation iPod. I've been playing Picross. At 10:00 the shelter opens, so I can use the commode, and maybe get some coffee and breakfast. Today, I had sushi. They sushi lady comes by with the leftovers from her catering business. I check the mail on the way back to the truck, and see if the new edition of the free paper is out. Then, I walk Riley, read the paper, and have my coffee. I usually eat a light brunch of extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and bread and butter pickles. Lauren wakes up and lays with Riley for awhile, then we figure out what we are going to do with the day.
Today, while deciding what to do, Lauren's Big K overturned onto our mattress. Today is Laundry Day. Last week it rained pretty heavily, so we decided to pull everything out of the truck, and clean and dry it. Luckily, the soda didn't go into the padding, so we are able to wash the cover. Yesterday we went into downtown Portland to register with Labor Ready, and check on a free laundry program. Labor Ready only accept applications at 11am sharp on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The laundry program was discontinued due to some sort of abuse/excuse. I've heard various stories from each side of the debacle. They referred us to a place about 80 blocks East of where we park. I don't have a license, so we try to call the number for them we have in our recourse manual, but it was a bad photocopy, and the number was cut off. We called the 211 vagrancy hot line and got he number. As 211 had said, they didn't answer. We drove out there and signed up for a "labor exchange". They give us free laundry vouchers to a place that has free wifi, and we give them labor, 30 minutes equals a wash and dry (with detergent). They spot you the first 60 minutes though, so we went to the laundromat. Lauren and I both got vouchers. We have 10 minutes left on the wash.
Everyday at 5, dinner is served in the dining hall. We like to get there early so there might still be some coffee left. We usually find a spot, plug in my backpack, fill the water bottles, and maybe read a magazine or play a game. After announcements and a prayer, they bring trays of food to your tables. The food is a cross between school cafeteria food and what George cooks when he's to drunk to remember cooking it, the night before; only, its on the trays they have in jail. I love it. All the kitchen staff are volunteers, and volunteers get lunch the next day. I cleaned the women's bathroom last week. After dinner I make sure that I am through with plumbing for the evening, and head back to the truck to have my after-dinner beer. It's a Schlitz Very Smooth Lager, and its the worst beer I've ever consistently purchased. Its 8.5% alcohol, 24 ounces, and costs $1.30. I try to keep them at around 2 per day.
In the evenings, we sometimes go to the dog park or stay in and play cards or scrabble. If my computer has enough of a charge, we watch a movie or two. We park in the sun, so the solar panel has time to recharge the spare battery, which can buy us up to 3 more hours of computer time. We have to use my computer because, I have Divx, and I pirate movie torrents, and they come in Divx format. I used to play Nintendo roms on my computer, but my USB controller may have died. Before The War with the Vegans, we parked on the street in front of a strip mall. The had a coffee shop (with great wifi, but no outdoor electric), A vegan clothing store (Herbivore), a vegan grocery store (Food Fight) and a tattoo parlor. This was a nice arrangement since it was closer to the shelter and had trees to provide privacy. We parked next to a van that never moved. I t belonged to the a closed business. One day we came home to find a younger couple and a police officer standing behind the truck. They heard Riley whining while we were eating. The officer told them to leave us alone, and then explained that the man was wearing a PITA fleece, and that they were crazy.
The War With The Vegans started after about a week of using this spot. While walking one morning, I found some records in the trash. I walked 60 blocks, and tried to sell them to some record stores, but nobody wanted them. One guy said he'd give me .50 for one, so I said, "sure," but then he said, "look, we don't want 'em, okay!" We exchanged another coarse word, and I left. When I came back to the truck put a sign on em. $1.30 OBO: 1 beer. They were there for a few days with no interest. I even, told Lauren, that I wished someone would steal one, just to make me think I at least had something. Then someone did. They took Phil Collins and Steely Dan. I asked Lauren if she did it, because that would have been funny. I shrugged, and went to bed.
The first shot was fired early that morning; about 5 am. I heard some people talking about my records outside, and one of them tore down my sign. I said, screw it, and went back to sleep. In the morning the records were gone, the sign was tossed down the street, and there was a note on the windshield. (They could have recycled, by using my sign for the note.) The note read that the truck had been reported to the police as abandoned, and that we had been reported to animal control for leaving the dog in the truck for 40 minutes while we eat every night. Keep in mind, its like 60-70 degrees. I went to the shelter to find out our rights. I called the police to verify them. The law says that I have to move the truck every 24 hrs. That van has been there for weeks. I called the abandoned vehicle line, and the message said, that they are nopt even accepting reports of abandoned vehicles at this time, due to volume. I new they didn't call animal control, or they would have been there already. The note told us tha, if we could not take care of our dog, we could simply deposit him at "The Tattoo Shop or Stores Across the Street." So we walk into the tattoo shop, raising all kinds of hell. They started to call the police; I told them to. They didn't know anything about the note that was signed by them and written on tattoo copy paper. We proceeded down the entire strip mall inquiring about the note. Everyone was extremely embarrassed at being called out in front of customers. Every time they mentioned how they heard of someone saying the heard the dog whining, it got worse. Later the man at the tattoo shop came over, and said it was Michelle, from Herbivore. He conveyed his irritation at being associated with the note.
We went back to Herbivore to wait for Michelle. We eventually left her a note, encouraging her to meet, us and the dog, to see for herself that the dog is in no way abused. We even told her environmentally conscience self, that we would arbitrarily burn our gas, to move the truck once a day to be in accordance with the law. She has yet to have the courage to even call. The irony is that, the dog park was why we parked there. We decided it would be best if we moved the truck once a day, so we drove around the block to dinner. The next day, when we came back from dinner, all of the spaces on the street were taken by vehicles decorated with stickers along the lines of, "Stop Eating Animals." One would wonder why the grocery store sells these stickers. We had never seen more that 1 car in this 8 car area. After the stores closed, they were all gone. We were there when they tried to come back the next day. We kept this up for a few days, till we got bored and went to the next street.
I wanted to start working as soon as I got here, but it turns out that Oregon is between the 1st and 3rd least employed state in the country. You never notice how many vagrants there are going to shelters, until you're waiting in line behind them. I threw out what applications I could, and even typed a resume for some kitchen jobs that sounded promising. I got tired of walking blocks and blocks every morning, just to have people say no, so we decided to go to Labor Ready. We (or at least I) go back tomorrow morning. We Always walk into town, because there is nowhere to park, and I shouldn't drive any more than I have to. I get my licence back in 11 days. We applied for a townhouse through the Housing Authority of Portland, but the list is like 1-6 years long, and you have to spend $70 to get on it. We are going to need an income. We don't need money for anything besides a daily allotment for beer, and the gasoline budget for our eventual departure. We plan to leave around March and we will need at least $1000 to feel comfortable. I think it can be done; we'll see.
Equipment Review
88 Toyota Truck
This vehicle has 74,000 miles and is averaging 24 mpg, and has been nothing but reliable. If you cannot get somewhere, it is not the truck's fault. I have replaced the clutch master cylinder (a common and easy repair), and I recently changed the front brakes. I turn the key, it starts. There is a small patch of dulled paint on the passenger side door, and both the bumpers could use a can of $.97 Wal-mart black spray paint. The alternator needs to spin all day to recharge the axillary battery, but with the solar panel and rationing, we do not need to drive at all. The topper is slightly leaky, but this is minimized by closing the windows completely. It has never been "too cold." The modular mattress pad is essential to routine cleaning and drying. The black topper heats up nicely in the morning. A bungee system will need to be implemented to maximize organized storage.
Timex: cheapest watch you can buy (used)
It cost half a pint of vodka, and is very easy to scratch. I traded it for a new one, which I scratched immediately. It takes a 4 hour window to change the date. It always thinks that there are 31 days in the month. The "easy-replace" band has nubs to assist in compressing the pins. The nubs wore through the strap, and its getting ready to fall apart. The band was free.
Crocs Shoes
Open shoes are essential to preventing foot rot. I got mine for $1 and they are 2 sizes too small. They are very slippery on wet surfaces. Water comes up though the holes in the bottoms. They don't slow glass down, on it way up into my feet. They are awkward in sand, useless in mud. They are like house shoes for the homeless. I wear my old Timberland boots, whenever I have to walk very far. They do offer more protection and are easier to drive in that flip flops, though. And, they don't hold stink as bad as sandals. I rotate my socks, and every week, I choose the worst pair, and wash them in the the shower. You only get 10 minutes.
Devices (various)
2nd Generation Nano: Great battery life, but needs to have the music replaced after too many sloppy transfers. Everything that is on it now, was downloaded to my old laptop, as quickly as I could, when I was in Texas. Then I put it all on my old Ipod Nano2, then the computer died, and the Ipod was about to (after impressively extensive abuse including multiple immersions). I transferred everything from the disassembled Ipod to Lauren's Old computer one night. I let it "yes-to-all" everything, so I could let it run for the 8 hrs I slept, before leaving for Florida. Then that laptop had eventually crippling power cord problems. I was able to move everything, unsorted to Jeff's old Ipod Nano2. I keep it in a water proof box, so It still functions well, except at low temperatures. It uses a flash memory system that makes it more durable, but a high-density hard drive works under more circumstances.
5th Generation Ipod (Video): This was Lauren's primary Ipod for about 5 years, but then it was formatted when we put our webbing march on it. I recently erased those songs, and loaded a Rockbox onto it. Rockbox is an open-source, multi-platform, firmware, with a built in Gameboy/Gameboy Color emulator. Most games are difficult, if not unplayable, with a clickwheel, but I can play Freecell Solitaire as part of a Windows-ported Microsoft Entertainment Pack. I downloaded about 100 titles, and I'll try them when I get the chance to. Rockbox also allows you to drag-and-drop files onto the Ipod without the headache of Itunes (the proprietary apple "you WILL keep paying for what you already over payed for" music player and online store). So, I dumped all the songs off my ex-girlfriend, Emily's old Compaq desktop. I had some rare songs, maybe I'll sort them out someday.
Olympus Stylus Touch Waterproof Camera with 5x zoom.
Bombproof. I use a 16Gb card that also has the boot.sys for hacking Nintendo Wii's, and some roms. The camera take a little while to turn on, and another little while to actually take a picture, but it has many helpful macros. I would still like it to have a viewfinder, but this is a GREAT camera. I'll try to post pictures on here someday. In the mean time, lots of them are on facebook.
LG100 Cell Phone
$.99, no touch screen, no keyboard, no blutooth, no internet, no camera, no games, no problems, whatsoever. I have it in a rubber case, with 2 quarters in behind it. It'll make one last call, even if its dead. (Or, I might end up drinking it)
Panasonic Toughbook CF-51
It was the latest thing when they were advertising the latest thing about 2 latest things ago. It is the semi-rugged model, with a rubber hard drive cradle and shock absorber and reinforced lid hinges. It was originally for school use, but was sold on e-bay for $300. With Windows 7, or optional downgrade to XP. I chose Xp, so it would just work most of the time. I found out that there is a driver issue with the DVD-R drive, but I didn't notice until now, because I don't own anymore CD's or DVD's. I may fix it someday. It is usually fast enough for me, but I did fill up the hard drive with movies. I put some of them on Lauren's external hard drive, but it stays about full. I am very cautious with the power cable, since that has been what most of my devices have died of, but so far this has not been and issue. Always bring a 3 to 2 prong adapter (or 2 for stacking) and some splitters and adapters to be able to fully utilize any electrical source. Be able to ask for an outlet, socket, or plug in various situations. Tienne un coma de torriente de electrica, por favor?
The laundry is washed and the last bit of it is drying. I hope to post this to my blog today, but maybe just "soon" Since, I am unable to blog as frequently as I like to, I may also start typing select passages from other journals and notebooks i have lying around. I also want to post Nassau county, NY's video of me running a red light on Long Island. I may post more pictures to the blog, but some people (some with metal roofs) have less that optimum internet connections. Remember 56k? FYI: I type these in Notepad, so get off my back about the spelling. And I may never get around to formatting this any better. What you see is what you get.
Today is my four month anniversary. I haven't blogged since, I don't know when. We've been without internet and electricity for a long time. We're still in Portland. We stay in the truck near an abandoned school. Riley plays with other dogs in the field. We are about 2 blocks from St. Francis, where we eat, recieve mail, and take showers. Everyone is pretty nice except the REALLY crazy ones, but they're tolerable. Every morning, I wake up early, and play Gameboy games on Lauren's old hacked 5th generation iPod. I've been playing Picross. At 10:00 the shelter opens, so I can use the commode, and maybe get some coffee and breakfast. Today, I had sushi. They sushi lady comes by with the leftovers from her catering business. I check the mail on the way back to the truck, and see if the new edition of the free paper is out. Then, I walk Riley, read the paper, and have my coffee. I usually eat a light brunch of extra-sharp cheddar cheese, and bread and butter pickles. Lauren wakes up and lays with Riley for awhile, then we figure out what we are going to do with the day.
Today, while deciding what to do, Lauren's Big K overturned onto our mattress. Today is Laundry Day. Last week it rained pretty heavily, so we decided to pull everything out of the truck, and clean and dry it. Luckily, the soda didn't go into the padding, so we are able to wash the cover. Yesterday we went into downtown Portland to register with Labor Ready, and check on a free laundry program. Labor Ready only accept applications at 11am sharp on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The laundry program was discontinued due to some sort of abuse/excuse. I've heard various stories from each side of the debacle. They referred us to a place about 80 blocks East of where we park. I don't have a license, so we try to call the number for them we have in our recourse manual, but it was a bad photocopy, and the number was cut off. We called the 211 vagrancy hot line and got he number. As 211 had said, they didn't answer. We drove out there and signed up for a "labor exchange". They give us free laundry vouchers to a place that has free wifi, and we give them labor, 30 minutes equals a wash and dry (with detergent). They spot you the first 60 minutes though, so we went to the laundromat. Lauren and I both got vouchers. We have 10 minutes left on the wash.
Everyday at 5, dinner is served in the dining hall. We like to get there early so there might still be some coffee left. We usually find a spot, plug in my backpack, fill the water bottles, and maybe read a magazine or play a game. After announcements and a prayer, they bring trays of food to your tables. The food is a cross between school cafeteria food and what George cooks when he's to drunk to remember cooking it, the night before; only, its on the trays they have in jail. I love it. All the kitchen staff are volunteers, and volunteers get lunch the next day. I cleaned the women's bathroom last week. After dinner I make sure that I am through with plumbing for the evening, and head back to the truck to have my after-dinner beer. It's a Schlitz Very Smooth Lager, and its the worst beer I've ever consistently purchased. Its 8.5% alcohol, 24 ounces, and costs $1.30. I try to keep them at around 2 per day.
In the evenings, we sometimes go to the dog park or stay in and play cards or scrabble. If my computer has enough of a charge, we watch a movie or two. We park in the sun, so the solar panel has time to recharge the spare battery, which can buy us up to 3 more hours of computer time. We have to use my computer because, I have Divx, and I pirate movie torrents, and they come in Divx format. I used to play Nintendo roms on my computer, but my USB controller may have died. Before The War with the Vegans, we parked on the street in front of a strip mall. The had a coffee shop (with great wifi, but no outdoor electric), A vegan clothing store (Herbivore), a vegan grocery store (Food Fight) and a tattoo parlor. This was a nice arrangement since it was closer to the shelter and had trees to provide privacy. We parked next to a van that never moved. I t belonged to the a closed business. One day we came home to find a younger couple and a police officer standing behind the truck. They heard Riley whining while we were eating. The officer told them to leave us alone, and then explained that the man was wearing a PITA fleece, and that they were crazy.
The War With The Vegans started after about a week of using this spot. While walking one morning, I found some records in the trash. I walked 60 blocks, and tried to sell them to some record stores, but nobody wanted them. One guy said he'd give me .50 for one, so I said, "sure," but then he said, "look, we don't want 'em, okay!" We exchanged another coarse word, and I left. When I came back to the truck put a sign on em. $1.30 OBO: 1 beer. They were there for a few days with no interest. I even, told Lauren, that I wished someone would steal one, just to make me think I at least had something. Then someone did. They took Phil Collins and Steely Dan. I asked Lauren if she did it, because that would have been funny. I shrugged, and went to bed.
The first shot was fired early that morning; about 5 am. I heard some people talking about my records outside, and one of them tore down my sign. I said, screw it, and went back to sleep. In the morning the records were gone, the sign was tossed down the street, and there was a note on the windshield. (They could have recycled, by using my sign for the note.) The note read that the truck had been reported to the police as abandoned, and that we had been reported to animal control for leaving the dog in the truck for 40 minutes while we eat every night. Keep in mind, its like 60-70 degrees. I went to the shelter to find out our rights. I called the police to verify them. The law says that I have to move the truck every 24 hrs. That van has been there for weeks. I called the abandoned vehicle line, and the message said, that they are nopt even accepting reports of abandoned vehicles at this time, due to volume. I new they didn't call animal control, or they would have been there already. The note told us tha, if we could not take care of our dog, we could simply deposit him at "The Tattoo Shop or Stores Across the Street." So we walk into the tattoo shop, raising all kinds of hell. They started to call the police; I told them to. They didn't know anything about the note that was signed by them and written on tattoo copy paper. We proceeded down the entire strip mall inquiring about the note. Everyone was extremely embarrassed at being called out in front of customers. Every time they mentioned how they heard of someone saying the heard the dog whining, it got worse. Later the man at the tattoo shop came over, and said it was Michelle, from Herbivore. He conveyed his irritation at being associated with the note.
We went back to Herbivore to wait for Michelle. We eventually left her a note, encouraging her to meet, us and the dog, to see for herself that the dog is in no way abused. We even told her environmentally conscience self, that we would arbitrarily burn our gas, to move the truck once a day to be in accordance with the law. She has yet to have the courage to even call. The irony is that, the dog park was why we parked there. We decided it would be best if we moved the truck once a day, so we drove around the block to dinner. The next day, when we came back from dinner, all of the spaces on the street were taken by vehicles decorated with stickers along the lines of, "Stop Eating Animals." One would wonder why the grocery store sells these stickers. We had never seen more that 1 car in this 8 car area. After the stores closed, they were all gone. We were there when they tried to come back the next day. We kept this up for a few days, till we got bored and went to the next street.
I wanted to start working as soon as I got here, but it turns out that Oregon is between the 1st and 3rd least employed state in the country. You never notice how many vagrants there are going to shelters, until you're waiting in line behind them. I threw out what applications I could, and even typed a resume for some kitchen jobs that sounded promising. I got tired of walking blocks and blocks every morning, just to have people say no, so we decided to go to Labor Ready. We (or at least I) go back tomorrow morning. We Always walk into town, because there is nowhere to park, and I shouldn't drive any more than I have to. I get my licence back in 11 days. We applied for a townhouse through the Housing Authority of Portland, but the list is like 1-6 years long, and you have to spend $70 to get on it. We are going to need an income. We don't need money for anything besides a daily allotment for beer, and the gasoline budget for our eventual departure. We plan to leave around March and we will need at least $1000 to feel comfortable. I think it can be done; we'll see.
Equipment Review
88 Toyota Truck
This vehicle has 74,000 miles and is averaging 24 mpg, and has been nothing but reliable. If you cannot get somewhere, it is not the truck's fault. I have replaced the clutch master cylinder (a common and easy repair), and I recently changed the front brakes. I turn the key, it starts. There is a small patch of dulled paint on the passenger side door, and both the bumpers could use a can of $.97 Wal-mart black spray paint. The alternator needs to spin all day to recharge the axillary battery, but with the solar panel and rationing, we do not need to drive at all. The topper is slightly leaky, but this is minimized by closing the windows completely. It has never been "too cold." The modular mattress pad is essential to routine cleaning and drying. The black topper heats up nicely in the morning. A bungee system will need to be implemented to maximize organized storage.
Timex: cheapest watch you can buy (used)
It cost half a pint of vodka, and is very easy to scratch. I traded it for a new one, which I scratched immediately. It takes a 4 hour window to change the date. It always thinks that there are 31 days in the month. The "easy-replace" band has nubs to assist in compressing the pins. The nubs wore through the strap, and its getting ready to fall apart. The band was free.
Crocs Shoes
Open shoes are essential to preventing foot rot. I got mine for $1 and they are 2 sizes too small. They are very slippery on wet surfaces. Water comes up though the holes in the bottoms. They don't slow glass down, on it way up into my feet. They are awkward in sand, useless in mud. They are like house shoes for the homeless. I wear my old Timberland boots, whenever I have to walk very far. They do offer more protection and are easier to drive in that flip flops, though. And, they don't hold stink as bad as sandals. I rotate my socks, and every week, I choose the worst pair, and wash them in the the shower. You only get 10 minutes.
Devices (various)
2nd Generation Nano: Great battery life, but needs to have the music replaced after too many sloppy transfers. Everything that is on it now, was downloaded to my old laptop, as quickly as I could, when I was in Texas. Then I put it all on my old Ipod Nano2, then the computer died, and the Ipod was about to (after impressively extensive abuse including multiple immersions). I transferred everything from the disassembled Ipod to Lauren's Old computer one night. I let it "yes-to-all" everything, so I could let it run for the 8 hrs I slept, before leaving for Florida. Then that laptop had eventually crippling power cord problems. I was able to move everything, unsorted to Jeff's old Ipod Nano2. I keep it in a water proof box, so It still functions well, except at low temperatures. It uses a flash memory system that makes it more durable, but a high-density hard drive works under more circumstances.
5th Generation Ipod (Video): This was Lauren's primary Ipod for about 5 years, but then it was formatted when we put our webbing march on it. I recently erased those songs, and loaded a Rockbox onto it. Rockbox is an open-source, multi-platform, firmware, with a built in Gameboy/Gameboy Color emulator. Most games are difficult, if not unplayable, with a clickwheel, but I can play Freecell Solitaire as part of a Windows-ported Microsoft Entertainment Pack. I downloaded about 100 titles, and I'll try them when I get the chance to. Rockbox also allows you to drag-and-drop files onto the Ipod without the headache of Itunes (the proprietary apple "you WILL keep paying for what you already over payed for" music player and online store). So, I dumped all the songs off my ex-girlfriend, Emily's old Compaq desktop. I had some rare songs, maybe I'll sort them out someday.
Olympus Stylus Touch Waterproof Camera with 5x zoom.
Bombproof. I use a 16Gb card that also has the boot.sys for hacking Nintendo Wii's, and some roms. The camera take a little while to turn on, and another little while to actually take a picture, but it has many helpful macros. I would still like it to have a viewfinder, but this is a GREAT camera. I'll try to post pictures on here someday. In the mean time, lots of them are on facebook.
LG100 Cell Phone
$.99, no touch screen, no keyboard, no blutooth, no internet, no camera, no games, no problems, whatsoever. I have it in a rubber case, with 2 quarters in behind it. It'll make one last call, even if its dead. (Or, I might end up drinking it)
Panasonic Toughbook CF-51
It was the latest thing when they were advertising the latest thing about 2 latest things ago. It is the semi-rugged model, with a rubber hard drive cradle and shock absorber and reinforced lid hinges. It was originally for school use, but was sold on e-bay for $300. With Windows 7, or optional downgrade to XP. I chose Xp, so it would just work most of the time. I found out that there is a driver issue with the DVD-R drive, but I didn't notice until now, because I don't own anymore CD's or DVD's. I may fix it someday. It is usually fast enough for me, but I did fill up the hard drive with movies. I put some of them on Lauren's external hard drive, but it stays about full. I am very cautious with the power cable, since that has been what most of my devices have died of, but so far this has not been and issue. Always bring a 3 to 2 prong adapter (or 2 for stacking) and some splitters and adapters to be able to fully utilize any electrical source. Be able to ask for an outlet, socket, or plug in various situations. Tienne un coma de torriente de electrica, por favor?
The laundry is washed and the last bit of it is drying. I hope to post this to my blog today, but maybe just "soon" Since, I am unable to blog as frequently as I like to, I may also start typing select passages from other journals and notebooks i have lying around. I also want to post Nassau county, NY's video of me running a red light on Long Island. I may post more pictures to the blog, but some people (some with metal roofs) have less that optimum internet connections. Remember 56k? FYI: I type these in Notepad, so get off my back about the spelling. And I may never get around to formatting this any better. What you see is what you get.
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