Tall Decaf Soy Moksha

It’s been a little while since I posted an update. I’ve got quite a bit to cover, so here it goes! I’ve been spending a lot of time in Berkeley and San Jose looking for work. I’ve had one major interview and I have a second one in a couple hours. I’m writing this partially to relieve some of the nervousness I have for the interview lol! I’ve been trying to find design work, but since I rarely get responses other than to say, “there’s too many applicants,” I’ve been branching out a bit. I’ve started a house and pet sitter business for the holidays which has already had many requests.This morning I also received a freelance designer request on my website. I feel things are changing positively for me and I’m very thankful for that!

I spent Thanksgiving with Rachel and her family, which was quite fun! This TG was very different from the type that I’m used to. We went to a modern steak house in San Jose, which didn’t have a lot of options for a vegetarian, but what they did have was very delicious. I had a beet salad, truffle mac and cheese and sauteed wild mushrooms. We topped off our evening with good conversation and watching Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship.

I ordered my solar charge controller and wiring on amazon which arrived at Rachel’s yesterday. I spent time over the weekend at Home Depot and made plans for mounting my panel to my van. It’s an 80 watt panel that will be hooked up to a 100 amp hour battery. I considered many routes for mounting including drilling into the van roof or strong adhesion, but because the roof is curved at the back I decided to hook it straight to the roof rack. This will make it easier to keep the panel if I decide to upgrade to a newer van later on. It took me about an hour to get all the pieces together and attach the panel to the roof. I rented a drill and drilled wholes into the solar panel frame. Rachel helped me get it on the roof and held the panel during drilling, but the project would have been entirely do-able be 1 person which is great! Everything is setup and now all I need to do is make sure everything is working properly.

Wish me luck in my interview! Hope you are all doing well and had a good holiday =)

There are many issues to think about when planning your eating lifestyle. As with living in a home, you have to determine how much you want to eat-out or eat-in. Eating out can be very expensive over time, so I usually eat-in. I’ve setup two van kitchens now and I have to say that starting with the essentials is very important. It’s frustrating to buy a can and discover you don’t have a can opener! (I’ve done this twice now!) Living in a house or apartment, you rarely have to think about what’s there, because it’s always there. Every time I’ve moved into a van, it’s basically from scratch, so it’s really important to have the basics:

• Can Opener!
• Cutting Board and Knife
• Utensils (or at least a spoon)
• Stove (camp or propane)
• Lighter or Matches
• Pot (with lid)
• Oil and Salt/Spices
• Food and Food Storage
• Water and Water Container

Of course, it’s nice to have a bit more (plate, bowl, tupperware, mug, travel mug, etc) but you really don’t need more than what’s in the list to get started. The stove is the most expensive thing on that list unless you decide to get a tiny 12v fridge! Luckily, I’m borrowing my mom’s old camp stove. I get a lot of my things second hand; it’s perfectly good and much cheaper, not to mention recycling is more sustainable! I added a wooden trunk ($25 Good Will) to my van to organize my kitchen. (In Hawaii, I used a plastic bin.) I stuck a cardboard box inside to act as a divider. In the box, I keep all my dishes, pots and pan, which only takes up about a quarter of the trunk. On one side of the box (the small side) I keep my teas, spices and extra fuel canisters. On the other side of the box, I keep my dry food, cutting board, stove, tupperware, can opener(!) travel mug, oils, balsamic, soy sauce (liquid aminos) and a few non-kitchen related items that I use often.

Keeping fresh food can be a bit tricky depending on the location. Some people opt for the 12v fridge if they can afford it, but that takes planning a power system too. I prefer a cooler. I bought a Coleman Extreme 5-day cooler ($50 REI) for a few reasons: It’s the smallest, high rated cooler you can get and it has a spout at the bottom for draining. It also doesn’t have wheels taking up precious space. When I was in Seattle, keeping food cool wasn’t a challenge. In Hawaii and other warmer places, keeping a cooler is a daily chore. I have to drain the cooler once a day and replace the ice every 3-5 days. I try to buy small amounts of fresh food because I don’t want it to go bad before I can eat it. The ice floods the bottom of the cooler quite often, so I’m considering getting a small rack to keep my vegetables out of the water. I tend not to buy dairy or drinks that need to be kept cool, since I don’t eat those things fast enough. For someone who eats lots of cheese or eggs or milk, it would make a lot more sense. It’s hard to keep things like mustard too. If I go into a place that has free packets of condiments (delis, grocery stores or certain restaurants) I’ll usually pick up some packs and save them for later.

When it’s time to eat, I park my van in a flat location. I’ve never had a problem picking a spot to eat because I know I won’t be there long enough for anyone to care. If I’m in a town I might pick the back of a large parking lot and out of town I might pick a park or rest area. I’ve done plenty of cooking on residential streets too. I chop and cook on the trunk or, if I think I’ll be getting in and out of the trunk often, I’ll cook on the floor.

Water is obviously very important for cooking and just plain living. I bought a 2 gallon BPA-free container ($15 PCC) and I usually fill it for less than a dollar at places that sell reverse-osmosis water. I keep a second plastic 1 gallon jug of plain tap water to do dishes with or as emergency water. When I’m done eating, I do my dishes right out the side door. Soap (Dr. Bronner’s) is used only as needed, just like for camping. I keep my paper towels and clean dish rags next to the door too.

This system is working really well for me! If I were to upgrade anything in the future, I’d probably switch to a 2 burner, propane camp stove. Also, once I have my solar power going, I’ll be able to use my juicer ($30 thrift store)!

That’s right. I needed repairs done from the get-go; that’s just how it goes when you buy old vehicles. I probably shouldn’t have waited as long as I did to take my van in, but honestly, I’m glad I waited for Oregon’s no sales tax lol! I took Anahata in on Tuesday and the mechanic (a real honest fellow) told me that my tie rods were in such terrible condition that I shouldn’t be driving the van at all. $500 to replace all 6 tie rods in the front of the vehicle. While he was replacing them he said the upper right ball joint was awful too. He seemed really sorry to tell me that, so I had him replace that as well. My engine had been stuttering too, so I had him take a look. It’s $70 just for him to get into the engine! He found a clogged spark plug and replaced it. $715 total with an oil change! It was worth it though because my van is getting much better gas milage and isn’t so wanky to drive. The van was pulling to the right pretty badly before.

He told me that I should get it aligned VERY soon so I called up the local Les Schwab to see if they had time and I brought it to them an hour before they closed. The mechanic here took a look and then told me that the lower right ball joint would have to be replaced for him to align properly, which would cost an extra $100 on top on the $50 alignment. He said I could bring it back the next day to get all the work done. I didn’t really like his attitude about the whole thing, so I told him that I;m travelling south and won’t be around. The van was aligned poorly before the tie rods were replaced, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt too much to go a bit further. I schedule an appointment at a Les Schwab in Roseburg for Thursday morning. (Les Schwab had the lowest price for alignments and are consistently right off the highway.) The mechanic in Roseburg was MUCH nicer. He didn’t say anything about the ball joint needing replacement. He even test drove it after he aligned it and when it was still pulling to the right, he swapped the front tires!

Yup! Anahata is driving much smoother now! I’m still a bit nervous to take her on some of the more mountainous highways though. I’ll wait and see what happens as I continue down to LA to determine how much I should rely.