Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Buck up, girl

Ever feel like life is handing you one shit sandwich after another? Yeah, that's me lately. Legal troubles are bringing me down, man. Things catching up with me, other things rearing up as a result of inattention. Trying to keep a very honeybadger approach to life right now (my natural outlook) is the only thing keeping me from walking on down the road with what I can carry - a fantasy that I play out in my mind too often. Like the late great Levon Helm advises, "There's no running from your troubles / Or you're sure to make them double."

I am thinking more and more about how - after dogs aren't part of our lives - we can get out of here and become tramps/hobos/wanderers (Jules: "You know, like Caine in Kung Fu: walk from place to place, meet people, get into adventures."). Migrant work, web-based work, whatever. I am just ready to un-tie and become part of the underground economy. Being childfree we will have that luxury after we no longer have dogs. And that time is probably drawing near. Lazlo blew out his ACL on his rear left leg so he's on indefinite restricted activity (as the $3,00 surgery to repair it is obviously not an option) and I tried to convince Keith to make a doggy wheelchair but Lazlo seems to be doing better since we've cabled him to a tree in the yard when we're all outside + put him on a diet. Both dogs are about 9, so while we of course love them, we're kind of also counting down to freedom. 

Going back to PT work is awesome - such a relief, less responsibility, more time to myself/at home. I actually finished a book - maybe the first of the year? and continue to find a plethora of amazing articles via Longreads. Here a few that really stood out to me recently:

Scandals of Classic Hollywood: The Ecstasy of Hedy Lamarr (sex + brains in early Hollywood)
Wildcatting: A Stripper’s Guide to the Modern American Boomtown (the stripper circuit, who knew?)
The Boy Who Heard Too Much (phone hackers - fascinating)
Sinkholes: When the Earth Opens Up (environmental warning tale)
Natural Born Tourists (hilarious passive-agressive guestbook entries)
Superchief Interviews Zeb From POPO (never heard of this guy, but love the interview style)
Riding the rails: A report from the National Hobo Convention ("hobos were the first migrant workers and that they helped to build America")

6 comments:

Chris said...

I'm with you, on every friggin' point.

stephen said...

Poor Lazlo! He's such a solid fellow.

Becoming a rail hobo, at least for a while, has been on my list too. Canada to Mexico would be so fun.

When you two begin wandering, you're always welcome at my North PDX bungalow.

Unknown said...

"solid fellow" = big boned :) he's on a diet!
Canada to Mexico would be awesome. I keep trying to convince Keith we need to walk the Appalachian Trail. I realize it's not that rustic or difficult these days, but it would be about the adventure. Then there's the Pacific Crest Trail but that sounds a little hairy in parts.

moe_farms said...

i am wondering what is the lowest temperature that you lived in the house at? I live in South Dakota and have been given a 17ft x 8 ft trailer. I want to make it into a tiny house of myself and my support duck. I will need to have it ready for the cold winter nights. Candy is unable to be in the house of where we are staying. Any advice on how to be ready for the below 0 days and nights would be helpful.

moe_farms said...

How to get a camper/tiny home ready to live in during the winter months. Temptures down to -90 with windchill. Any helpful advice?

April said...

It gets cold here in the winter, can't give exact temps but low teens, maybe single digits (F). I would recommend making it air tight for wind/drafts (especially windows - shrink wrap those). Do you have electricity to it? These heaters are affordable and supposedly a good value. I wouldn't recommend propane heat since you want to have an air-tight environment. Just my two cents, hope it helps.