Roamin' Ruby in da house (err driveway)

[Qxxx]

Well you are definitely well prepared, lady . Even to the bugout bag. I have a kit of cobbled together tools, but half the time can't find what I need, so bought the redundant all inclusive set. Instead of throwing the tools at passersby, I imagine you have some of those emergency reflective road signs to put out.

You could join the caravans and run "Be Prepared" seminars for noobies, lol.

 

[SheketEchad]

I think that comes from being a prepper for several years. It's hard to drop that mindset down to what you can carry with you reasonably! I still have so much to learn, I don't think I could teach anyone anything except JUST DO IT!

I don't have the signs, but I have the compressor that does the emergency flashing light via the 12v outlets in the dash

Just emptied the van completely and reworked it after visiting a friend who is the Queen of Organization. Always good to have fresh eyes on something in my opinion. Most of the way I had it staged stayed, I just did more like things with like organization, and found a home for my solar panels that have to go in and out each day that did not block my food storage at night. That's awesome!

Headed back home, then out West for two weeks before making the trek down to Florida for a few months with all of my family. I feel like I could stay out here forever, and I love it!

 

[Qxxx]

Well Shekat, sounds like the only thing you're missing is being able to recite Kipling's poem "verbatim", or can you already do that?   (aside from the 19th Century bias).

https://poets.org/poem/if
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/46473/if---

Aside: I obviously fall down on the part where it says: "nor talk too wise". 

 

[SheketEchad]

Not anymore can I do it, but could at one time Thanks for bringing that poem back to mind. Too much new stuff crammed into this aging brain at the moment, no matter that I try to keep it fed with all kinds of goodies for synaptic elasticity. Could also give a three page speech in French at one time, and and win contests, but that was long, long ago.

Now I do good to remember where I put my list of things I don't want to forget I think it has to do with years of multi-tasking and loss of intense focus like we had when we were young. What is interesting though, is when I listen to music from way back, as soon as it starts playing, I can recall the lyrics pretty well, which probably means I spent too much time listening to music over and over again, haha!

Next adventure is out West, and I am filled with great excitement balanced with a bit of trepidation. It's a long haul, and I hope Ruby(and I) can take that kind of short rushed run across country successfully.

 

[Cammalu]

You can take your time. The west will still be there when you get there. I’m taking my nephew, Arturo, with me this year to help with the driving and he will go to Algodones to get his teeth fixed. It will probably take us a bit to get there. I know we are at least stopping in Albuquerque for a couple days and possibly Laredo. I’ll see you in camp Sunny.

 

[Qxxx]

"... could at one time ...".

Ha, I had a feeling about that, . I guess I must be more perceptive than the usual wolf cub. And as Cammalu said, no reason to rush. There was that recent thread on how far people are comfortable traveling each day, and most preferred *not* driving all day and into the night. Just stay south of the snow line and enjoy the trip.

 

[SheketEchad]

Well, I do have to rush, since I still work full time and can only travel on my days off. But I've reworked my travel plan to include two short evening drives after work to get me to a good point where I can do the three day run on Fri/Sat/Sun. Adds a little cost for overnights with electric, but should eliminate a lot of the stress. I have Monday to rest up, and then will work that week, then have a week to get out to Camp and have a few days to hobnob before turning around and driving to Florida. Poor Ruby, I hope she likes long road trips!

Now I just have to locate a park, Walmart, Sam's or such from which to work in each city after the camp check out time until quitting time, where I can rabbit out a few hundred miles again. Actually, the logistics planning of this is rather fun (I know, odd). It's kind of like a puzzle, but with long drives between the pieces!

@Cammalu: I sure hope we do cross tracks out there, as I probably can't make it back out that way again until next year and I don't know when I'll back in your neck of the woods at your home base. I had to shorten my Florida trip by a couple of months due to the van breakdown, so I'll be suffering a lack of travel. Might make some short boondocking hops locally if our weather holds out, just to keep the good feels going, until I can do another lengthy trip.

@Qxxx (raised eyebrow) I'm still trying to figure out how you knew that, lol. If you can guess any book on my bookshelf in the living room, I'm checking to make sure my camera cover on the laptop is still working, roflmao! David Whyte is my current favorite poet/philosopher, but I don't own any of his books yet. They are on my wish list for next year's tax return.

 

[Qxxx]

Shekat, I hadn't realized you were so locked in as yet, from Cammalu's comments I thought you were about to hit the trail.

I've never heard of David Whyte, as I mostly read techno stuff and little fiction other than scifi. I'll take 2 guesses, something by Barbara Kingsolver and or by Haruki Murakami. Not that I've read either of them, but I did pick up copies of Pigs in Heaven and Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, just cause I liked the sound of the titles. My wolf cub fiction tastes go about as far as Hemingway and Twain. I've still not recovered from reading The Mysterious Stranger, lol.

 

[SheketEchad]

Whew, my camera block still works

Two of Murakami's books are on my 'want-to-read' list: Strange Library and Norwegian Wood, but I've been out and about and haven't hit the library yet for them. That list is a mile long, lol.

Living room book authors are Berry, Thoreau, Theroux, Burroughs and a set of 1939 Collier Junior Classics with fabulous illustrations, along with a ton of herbal, plant medicine, tree and plant ID books. I've not had much time to read lately, which is making me a little cranky. But real life outdoors always wins over books if the weather is good!

I'm locked in, but blessed with a job that if I have wi-fi and power(my solar or a campsite), I can work from anywhere. I just don't tell my boss where I am, and as long as I show up and do my work, why should I? AZ will be difficult, as I'll have to be logging in to work at 0400 AM local time, which means I'll be in bed around 1900, LOL!

My goal was to travel for a year before selling the S&B, but I think that will have to wait until 2020, so until then I'm just a part-timer I guess. Does that make me a fraud?? Although I often stay in the van even when I am at home, weirdo that I am.

 

[Cammalu]

Nahhh. What does it matter where you work from.

 

[Qxxx]

"My goal was to travel for a year before selling the S&B, but I think that will have to wait until 2020, so until then I'm just a part-timer I guess. Does that make me a fraud??"

I wouldn't want to get up at 4 AM either. Especially not at my age. OTOH, it does get dark at 5 PM in the winter, even in AZ, so 1900 might as well be 2200. Not such a bad idea to keep working, as ya can't travel on beans, best have a mattress stuffed full of money. I imagine there are lots more part-timers on this forum, Cammalu and me included, than full timers. Of course, I do have a van, while Cam has that, that .... which shall not be named.

 

[JeanInaBox]

You can take your time. The west will still be there when you get there. I’m taking my nephew, Arturo, with me this year to help with the driving and he will go to Algodones to get his teeth fixed. It will probably take us a bit to get there. I know we are at least stopping in Albuquerque for a couple days and possibly Laredo. I’ll see you in camp Sunny.

Years ago while traveling to AZ, I stopped late for gas in Texas. There was a state trooper there and I asked him about a place safe place for me to take a nap. During the conversation he told me NOT to rest in Albuquerque because the gangs/ crime out of control. Wondering if things have changed.

 

[Qxxx]

I have relatives who live in Santa Fe, and they warn everyone not to stop or get a motel in Albuquerque. You will notice that city-data indicates crime rates there are **3** times the US average.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Albuquerque-New-Mexico.html

 

[Qxxx]

Two of Murakami's books are on my 'want-to-read' list: 
...
Living room book authors are Berry, Thoreau, Theroux, Burroughs ...

I did guess Murakami as author, so I imagine that goes for 50% credit. He has written a dozen books after all. 

Thoreau was too easy. I hope you mean Edgar Rice and "not" William S. Burroughs. I read Nekkid Lunch and put him in the genre with guys like Henry Miller Tropic of Capricorn and Allen Ginsberg. Reading about unsavory lifestyles is a non-issue for sweet little puppies like me.

 

[SheketEchad]

Actually neither, it is John Burroughs - Signs and Seasons I always like to read about unsavory lifestyles so that I know what I am missing. LOL!

But I'll give you 50% credit on Murakami, even though he doesn't reside on my bookshelves currently, he is an author I'd like to read. He has quite a palette of work to choose from. There is such a largess of works that I'd like to read, I fear I won't live long enough to read all of the interesting things people have written to contribute to life, understanding other points of view, experiences - that make us fully understand what it is to be human in this crazy world. The NYT recently had a book list of memoirs I'd like to add to my collection, so I tucked it away for later.

Ginsberg is in a place by himself. I also found a lot to learn from Marc Lewis, a neuroscientist that wrote about his personal struggles with addiction, which my late husband suffered from. That someone who is aware of the science of the brain can write about that topic is fascinating to me. But I am easily entertained when it comes to others knowledge. I figure I can stand on the shoulders of giants and peer into their purview.

Thankfully, I plan no stops in Albuquerque - will be driving straight thru from TX to an AZ town.


@Qxxx: We can't give Cam's rig a name? I think it is the House d' Yarc I know who I am hitting up when I need to do laundry though
@Cammalu: We are in agreement there re: where I am vs how my work performance is.

 

[Qxxx]

You mean this John Burroughs? I do like outdoorsy stuff.
https://www.amazon.com/John-Burroughs/e/B001HCW440

Neuro is one of my interests. Good one is My Stroke of Insight by Jill Taylor. As a trained neuroscientist, she watched several of her cognitive faculties turning off as her stroke progressed. I believe she even had a good idea of the part of her brain that was being impacted. All in real-time.

I am hoping to have the 2000 or 3000 books that I have on the shelf pared down greatly by time I give up the ghost. But too many projects get in the way of reading, until I head to the desert.

The name of Cammalu's RV is the Leviathan (don't say I told).

 

[SheketEchad]

He be the one! I had to pare down my bookshelves when I lost my farm back in 2011. I tried to put them all on my Kindle, but, it's just not the same The feel and smell of books is part of the experience, for me at least. But I make do. I lose time in libraries and bookstores, particularly those like Haslam's in St. Pete and Powell's out in Portland.

Jill Taylor's work was excellent! I've always loved the study of the brain, since I seem to have misplaced mine and live by my gut mostly these days, rofl! I've not read her book yet, but I've watched many of her clips on TED, another guilty pleasure of mine. Neuroscience piqued my interest when I did my college biology paper on Alzheimer's and I've kept up that interest since. Amazing thing, our brains.

Today is list making, map routing, and all of the fun pre-work before the actual trip taking begins. Guess I'd better try to find my brain and get to work!

I'm still chuckling over Cams rig name...

 

[Qxxx]

1 of 2 posts, another to come ....

You may be able to appreciate the single most important story I've ever read was "The Epic of Gilgamesh". There are several versions, I found the John Gardner version the best. Inquiring minds want to know. Sumerian culture of 5,000 years ago was the "genesis" (no pun intended) of later greek and hebrew, and modern western cultures.
https://www.amazon.com/Gilgamesh-John-Gardner/dp/0394740890

I've mentioned this on the forum before, but people were afraid to look into it. As someone raised a sweet catholic boy, when I matured, I found that Gilgamesh put the entirety of judeo-christian writings into context. Speaking of which, the concept of Leviathan has ancient parallels back into said culture - see the 2nd paragraph here. Tiamat (actually the Milky Way, as seen from earth) and Marduk (son of Sumerian god Enki aka Ea).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Everything new is a reflection of the old. If interested, find books by Samuel Noah Kramer.
https://www.amazon.com/History-Begins-Sumer-Thirty-Nine-Recorded/dp/0812212762

 

[SheketEchad]

Yes, I have read it, even had (or may still have) a copy on a bookshelf here somewhere. I'm pretty sure mine was/is a Penguin book form or something cheap paperback. First read was back in the 80's when I went on a comparative religion study of my own invention. Then I re-read it again probably two/three years ago. I'm pretty sure it was Kramer's co-authored book on Inanna that I read way back then as well.

A few of my friends have asked how I hold a faith when I have read so much. It is inexplicable for me to describe to someone else, but it is what it is.

The book you referenced looks really interesting and is one I was not aware of. I may need to add to my 'want to read' list; maybe having so many things to learn and read will give me a longer life? LOL.

 

[Qxxx]

It figures you've read Gilgamesh, . It seems to have had much more of an impact on my perspectives. There are several versions of Gilgamesh. Some are very abstracted into simple story form, and others like Gardner have literal translations of the original clay tablets dug up in the old archeological sites. Scholarship. One can even learn how "transliterate" Sumerian from Gardner's book if so inclined.

Of all the Sumerian/Mesopotamian gods, Enki/Ea is the most interesting, I think. Try transliterating "Ea".