Lesson I: Choosing not to react
Working with elementary students, particularly the younger ones, is an incredible lesson on the choice to react. If I paused my lesson and listened every time I heard "Mr. Cranfill!," I would spend six and a half hours a day hearing about sleepovers, birthday parties, and mailboxes. (on Wednesday: "Mr. Cranfill! Mr. Cranfill!! Mr. Cranfill!!! Did you know I am shorter than a mailbox???" ... ... ... She is in fifth grade.) Learning to think before reacting in any way is a learned habit. It's is an exercise in mindfulness, the seven habits, and surely numerous other methods. How would our lives change if we could apply this sort of agency in our everyday lives?
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March, 2017
Y'all, this is big stuff. A few weekends ago I put the bed in. The stoke factor was high so I decided to begin before I had drawn any blue prints. Of course, I had been thinking it out for months and even considering specifics for several weeks. I just didn't have many measurements down...so I made them on the fly. Don't worry; it turned out GREAT. I decided I wanted the bed to allow for folding from the front or the back to create a couch facing outside or inside, respectively. This allows for easy access to storage. To achieve this I first mounted a center piece of plywood (10" in length, running the width of the bed) with several deck screws. From there, I installed four hinges on the front and connected the wood that would eventually lift up to create the backs for this convertible sofa. The frame (entirely 2" by 4"s) is reinforced with a little bit of trussing running lengthwise. Widthwise, I later put in some 6" bolts that push firmly against the sides of the wood paneling (with a tiny 2"x4" as a buffer) to provide stability. This way no width-wise trussing was necessary; the entire space, from where the mattress sits to the floor, is open to provide easy access to storage. Of course, the bed would not remain a futon for long without something to hold or prop it up. Because the couch facing inside would receive more use (year-round, rather than summer-time only) I decided to focus on it first. This configuration allows legal (believe it or not) passenger seating while driving. I realize this is completely unsafe. Any kind of propping mechanism would present a risk of popping out after driving over a sudden bump (many roads in Colorado Springs). Furthermore I was did not want to have to exit the van in freezing cold, rainy, or snowy weather to change the configuration. Because of these factors I decided to build a hoist system to suspend the end of the futon. This system uses four toggle bolts (rated at ~100 pounds each) that sit in the main (metal) van frame above the rear portion of the bed. The attached loop allows me to pull the bed up with ease, then a carabiner provides security. This system has not yet been thoroughly tested. The bed sits on par with the rear windows of the van for ideal viewing conditions. This setup provides a bit of additional room above the bed for storage. Here I decided to mount two shelves. One shelf sits just in front of the vent, the other flush with the rear doors. These sturdy plywood shelves are framed with 1"x2"s which are anchored to the wood paneling via metal corner braces. The rust issue on my van is quite prominent. It guaranteed me a great price on it, but occasionally plagues me with worry. This previous weekend I decided to finally take a grinder to the smaller spots. I ground down to bare, unaffected, metal. From there I primed the [insert your own word] out of it, applying somewhere between 5 and 20 coats of primer and paint over several days. The next step is to address the massive rust spots, some of which may require some tack welding. I will keep you posted! I was reminiscing on some stories about the Vansion today and my thoughtful mother hounded me: "You have GOT to write this stuff down." She's right, as always; I cannot allow these memories fade as virtually everything else in my memory seems to. You'll find some are funny; some are sad; and some are entirely uninteresting. Please enjoy the first of my Vansion Volumes.
September, 2016 I was talking to my roommate about how cool it would be to live in a van. I had been thinking about this for a long time. The next week I told him: "Dude, I bought a van." I will not write his response verbatim...he was fairly surprised. October, 2016 I found a fellow selling a cheap grinder on Craigslist. I was going to wait until the next day to come pick it up, but the stoke factor was running high. "I've got to get it tonight," I told him. He gave me his address but my GPS was not functioning right. Additionally, this was back before my regular headlights worked, so I had to run them on bright all the time. So here I was, in an unfamiliar neighborhood, driving my nine foot tall plain white cargo van around very slowly in an unfamiliar neighborhood...with my brights on, nonetheless. I was looking for the house numbers! I found out through some unconventional interactions with parents that it was Halloween night. November, 2016 I drove "the Vansion," as I affectionally call it, to Ector, Texas for Thanksgiving. Here my mom, dad, and brother helped me install Thinsulation (from 3M), sub flooring, and the vinyl floor. My mom also rocked some detail work on the outside of the van. My dad's best buddy, Richey, (apparently known as "Mr. Wiring" in high school) showed up and fixed my fantastic fan. December, 2016 I worked at my colleague Angel's house for many weekends to install the 160W GoPower solar panel, 30A controller, 100 AH AGM battery, and 1500W inverter, as well as the Espar D2 Diesel Heater. Angel's husband, Ken, was extremely helpful, particularly in brainstorming an adjustable stand for my solar panel. January, 2017 I installed velcro on the edges of my windows and cut black felt pieces to fit each window. I then installed velcro on custom-cut Reflectix pieces for additional insulation. At this point, the Espar D2 can maintain 72F inside as low as about 15F outside. I built and installed the overhead shelf (above the cab) at my colleague Angel's house. I installed the Battery Isolator. This handy device allows my auxiliary battery to charge from the alternator when the car is running. When the car is not running the device isolates the starter and auxiliary battery to avoid getting stranded. February, 2017 I worked with my buddy Cody to install tongue-in-groove pine wood paneling throughout the interior of the cabin. We worked and drank happily for three days to get the basics done, then finished trim work the next weekend. This whole process cost about $150. During this process, we experienced a small electrical fire. Somehow a short circuit developed in my vent wiring. I first felt the heat on my foot (I was wearing Chacos, naturally), then watched as the sheathing burned right off to expose the red hot copper underneath. I proceeded to open the sliding door and throw the battery out. The enormous weight of the battery was plenty enough to break the wire and thus discontinue the circuit. After this I disconnected all electronics for a while. Also noteworthy was the profound crappiness of our economy pine paneling. Cody and I bought this at Lowes because it was the cheapest available. Unfortunately we had to scrap a fair bit (~1/4) of the wood we bought due to bowing, knots, or tongue-in-groove defects. March, 2017 I spent about five hours in the parking lot of Advance Auto Parts building a fuse system for every electronic device connected to the auxiliary battery. I also rewired the fantastic fans with heavier gauge wire. Hey, y'all,
Lately I've been rocking and rolling. This, for me, means a lot of work. I'm killing it (in the good way) at school, rocking the Masters work, teaching four students private piano lessons, and continuing to convert the Vansion. My current stage revolves around continuous productivity. "Another day gone...What do I have to show for it?" I think this is the way to live life. Having an active mindset amplifies ones initiatives and thus legacy. What's holding me back? 1. An addiction to Facebook. I spend as much an hour or two a day browsing the website. This tool is important for me to maintain friendships across the country, but it's easy to overdo. I am attacking this head-on. Thanks to the advice of my mother, I have vowed to spend more time blogging and less time on Facebook. 2. A lack of proactivity regarding deadlines. Without imminent deadlines I frequently wait to complete projects. I am attacking this head-on by creating intermediate deadlines and reminders on my calendar. Do you have a strategy to overcome procrastination? What works for you? |
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