35 hours. in A small but passable life.

  • March 17, 2014, 11:43 p.m.
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  • Public

Saturday was another beautiful day for lounging in the van with a book. It warmed up to 80 degrees by dusk.

It was 59 degrees in the van at midnight. I crawled into my summer bag with the same amount of clothes I'd been wearing the last few nights.

Sometime during the night it started raining. Sometime during the morning the rain turned to freezing rain. By the time I got out of bed at 2pm it was snowing and 40 degrees in the van. No sense in going out anywhere. No reason to go out anywhere. I ate a tuna sandwich and went back to bed. I added my hoodie to my wardrobe. I didn't feel like messing with the goosedown sleeping bag.

At 11am this morning it was 22 degrees. That was 35 hours I'd spent in bed. I got up and got dressed and took off walking to the library. I turned in the last two books and the two CD's. I checked out the book that was waiting for me.

Back at the van I decided to go ahead with the plans I had made for Sunday, but didn't get around to. I packed up my grocery tote and headed over to the student union. Over the next six hours I read the book, I read the local paper, I had two cups of My Monster Mocha and a can of chicken noodle soup with a can of chicken breast meat in it, and a pint of orange juice.

It was a fine day.

When I got back to the van at dusk I'd found that it had warmed up to 66 degrees. I guess I could've spent the day in the van, but a day out of the van felt good. I needed to stretch a bit.

When I got to Hardee's tonight I found an email from Mom. She said she's mailed a phone card and a check. I told her the last time I'd called her, about a month or so ago when Jassy and I called her, to keep her money and don't cut herself short. During that call she said the dust was giving her a hard time again. I told her to hire that gal to clean her house again and don't worry about me.

I just don't know how to explain to people that I really have very little use for money. The P.O. Box rent is due at the end of June and my driver's license will need to be renewed in August. And that's it. I've got the child support taken care of by recycling that $25. Well, I guess maybe I might need another box of checks in a year or so. Maybe. I haven't counted them.

I'd planned on doing another load of laundry after I know for sure the weather has warmed up and will stay warm. I should have enough change in the van for that. And I still have the jug of homemade laundry soap that Jassy gave me.

Ever since the 99 weeks of unemployment ran out in the Fall of 2010, I've had no income and have learned to live with that fact. It's not that hard. Especially when you have nothing you really need to buy.

Call it anti-consumerism. Yeah, that's the ticket.

Anyway, tomorrow should warm up nice. After not really needing the goosedown bag last night, I may even store it in it's storage bag tomorrow. And then I'll be kicking it out of the way for the next seven or eight months.

Oh yeah, the Saran wrapped busted window didn't leak, again. I'm still amazed that quick fix four months ago is still holding up fine.


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