Post Springerville

I will not have my own internet access after this month and do not know when I will be back.

Being a poor bum has it's disadvantages. Like they say...

"I've been rich and I've been poor... rich is better."

I'm going to have to wait a bit longer for that though. I've stopped my software project at a good point and it's all saved to DVD. I'm leaving my computer behind for my folks. I hope to find a cheap laptop and may get back online with a cellular modem... but don't know when. I'll probably need to dual boot since most cellular modems don't work with Linux.

If my GMC Jimmy dies and I can't fix it, so do I and good riddance eh?

I'm not going to say anything about this to my ex-wife. I just need to get a power adapter for the car to recharge my phone which happens to need a charge at the moment. My car need a jump right now as well and the battery drains every twelve hours or so. I don't have time to run down the short so I'm hoping a ten watt solar charger will keep me going for a while. I may add a cutoff switch to one of my battery leads as well. I have a 1.8 watt charger that isn't enough. It was supposed to be 5 watt but the place ordered the wrong one. Life sucks like that sometimes.

A bit of bright news. My stepson Sasha visited my sister and her husband this last month. It will give me a topic to discuss next time I talk to my ex wife. They didn't recognize him. He shaved his head, grew out of his baby face, developed a bit of a belly and was riding a motorcycle. He didn't bring along his wife. She was either at college or working. He works two jobs himself. He lives in Sacramento. My sister lives in Lockeford.

Anyway, this will be my last post for I don't know how long. I will publish comments if they come this week but don't be offended if it doesn't happen after that. It just means I didn't see them.

I will be traveling, but not too many miles a day since I really can't afford the gas. But I do need a bit of freedom before the world all comes crashing in. Or by some miracle I overcome this prison.

Now think about this.

Weird update: I'm feeling a sense of freedom like being released from prison. I'm actually looking forward to being homeless. Today I went to a mechanic to see about my Jimmy. It was the wrong garage. I meant to go to another on the same street, but since I went there I discussed my options. None were good including $60 to not fix anything but determine where the short is. I went with overpriced option, I think it was D or E, I'm going to have a switch installed on my battery tomorrow morning so I can easily disconnect it while it's sitting so it doesn't drain regardless of where the short may be. I'll have someone go after the short when I'm not so low on funds.

So I needed to be able to charge my phone. Crappy option A was $18. Premium option B was $30. So I went with option C, driving 100 miles round trip to Walmart to get a 410 watt inverter for $40 because I had enough gas already and could use the drive. Now when I get a laptop I will have a means of charging it as well. It charged my phone during the 50 mile drive back.

The back seats on my Jimmy fold down to provide a nice sized area. This is the first time I've checked out this area since I drove my sister, her baby father and kid to Flagstaff for my niece's college graduation. It is full of her crap which I'm going to have removed tomorrow after I get back from the mechanic. I bought a $25 air mattress that should make that a comfortable sleeping area. The sleeping bags I priced were too much but I'll get one before I start my odyssey at the end of this month. I will not be able to buy a laptop the first month and probably not the second either. But once I do and get a usb modem with it I will not need much else.

I'm going to see the country and visit old friends scattered around the states. I still owe on the Jimmy but will have it paid off in a year. Technically I could use my [not smart, but regular dumb cell] phone for internet access until I have a laptop with access. Then there are always the libraries.

For 50 cents, swimming pools have showers, but I expect an occasional motel will be in the cards.

That sense of freedom is that no other person will interfere in what I do, so I may be able to accomplish more as a bum than I could here with folks (but still a bum which is one of the reasons I'm leaving.) Life is hard. My choice would seem to be making it harder. But in a weird way it is not. Freedom is not having to bear the burden of other's judgement even when unspoken (spoken is why I'm leaving. But it's always been there.) I am responsible for my life. That's freedom.

Cost of living (per week:)
Essentials...
Vehicle: $100 (46% to pay off debt in first year, 54% fuel and maintenance.)
Food: $50 (no food stamps.)
Luxuries...
Housing: $40; homeless does not mean no housing costs but this is a luxury.
Misc: $20; $10 for phone service, eventually $10 or less for internet service.
Saving: $20; a goal I will probably not reach without extreme determination.

I can do this. I will keep a daily log to make sure I keep to a budget.