Be A Dirtbag 101 (during a pandemic)
Your fellow YYC dweller has moved on to Canmore, sort of, and surprisingly enough is STILL flailing through it. It being life, and as we know, life is real weird at the moment. If you've been following along with my none-sense in our monthly articles, I've been writing on little check ins as well as sharing my adventures in coffee and rocks. (I touch of a lot of both). So now, I'll open it up here for the in-depth how to on the mess I got myself in (don't try this at home...unless your home also happens to be on wheels, in that case, this is not a tutorial).
Between the wealthy who live frivolously in time shares and homes that have no business being that big, and the ones who live crammed in the 3 person basement with 6 others just to keep the town a-runnin', I fit somewhere in between and yet no where at all. Being the granola I've become in galavanting, or better known as aforementioned, flailing around the mountains and periodically enveloped in what some might call #vanlife, I'm now and have been living out of my vehicle for several months, sort of wherever, but based out of Canmore during times of work (coffee related of course). Since I had been doing this near the time my lease was about in end in Calgary, it seemed pretty foolish to continue to pay for a place I rarely used, so now we're all in boys.
Welcome to my 2005 Toyota Matrix;
no passenger seat (extra living space ooooo),
some sweet shelving that splits the hatchback (books, coffee gear, water, and a stove dwell here)
foam, sleeping mat, and a sleeping bag in your favourite colour for that personal touch (for that next level comfort, because who needs that upgraded double bed with memory foam when you can plop right on something that's just the size of you for convenience and space saving sake, genius).
not to mention, how many of you can transform your bed into your kitchen.
It's a good space, enough to relax in with a pre-downloaded show or a book, but it does motivate me to get out more and keep busy. Maybe not even as luxurious as a van, but hey I guess that comes down to your idea of luxury, it is what you make it.
It is the hardest of times to live out of your vehicle I'd say, and it is getting harder. Showers are closed which means frequent glacier lake dips, water is hard to refill because no one wants your germs (they're missing out really), and there isn't a whole lot of hanging out at cafes and laundromats for days on the laptop for a slower change of scenery. With it being a rainier summer, it's not uncommon I'll wake up a bit damp from the windows being cracked for air flow.
I'll tell you this much though, I'm going to keep doing it. I feel quite lucky honestly. I'm clean, presentable most days (when it matters), and it's relatively warm which means my space is expanded anywhere outside. Cook outdoors, stretch outdoors, and I have a job where I can pretend to be a normal contributor, just with a bit of spice. It's a fun challenge, but meals have become a slower and more thought out process, there's designated time, its become simplified. I'm not stubborn, I will want to settle and have that ease again, but I have the energy for this right now, so why not keep things extra spicy and unknown. Here's to planning on what to do for the winter, so maybe I'll keep you updated on when this turns into survival. One things for sure though, I didn't expect to leave with a diploma and come out living out of my vehicle. #knowledge.