Life is grand in California and I have lots of updates.
First, BULL TACO is officially OPEN, with all our permits, letters, approvals and signs in place. We were pretty touch and go there for a few weeks. We opened, we closed, we opened, we closed... needless to say I was feeling the pinch. But we are open now *whew*!
Now, with business open, I was finally able to start to concentrate on where I was going to LIVE. The apartment I had previously blogged about was a temp sublet until August 15th while Ann traveled to Ghana volunteering at an AIDS clinic.
Ann, after her super-karmic duties in Ghana were finished had planned to go to Germany to relax for 2 weeks. On the way to the airport she and fellow volunteers got mugged by guys with machetes. They took everything. Passport, plane tickets, etc... and she had to come home almost 2 weeks early.
Cut to me back in Cardiff.
I was on my 85th craigslist search for an apartment, with not much luck. The best prospect I had was an illegal garage that was being converted to an illegal apartment. I would have to manage the weekly rental house also on the property and STILL pay $1200/month. Ummmm, what? Time was running out, as was money. I decided that I would give Ann her room back 2 weeks early and give me a chance to save some cash. But, I had no place to live...
What's a Pennsylvania girl to do?
As I lay on my newly purchased futon in my soon to be vacated room, I began to think of why I moved to California. I moved here to be close to the beach, to simplify my life, to be healthier and to be closer to nature in general. I thought of an article I had read in the NY Times about a trend towards really small houses. How with carbon footprints, gas/oil/water/electricity prices people were starting to move away from McMansions and into small efficient living. Considering I had just downsized to fit everything I owned into my truck for my cross-country trip, this made sense to me. I liked the feeling of not having a million things to clean, keep track of, put away and organize. I liked the feeling of being able to see everything I owned in one small area. It's pretty interesting to see what's really important to you. Good books, photos, a surfboard, clothes, a cast iron skillet and my computer. Oh, yeah, and DUNGEE, of course.
How could I keep this simplified life in a new apartment? I would have to buy furniture, dishes, curtains, rugs and everything that comes with a new place. I didn't exactly have the burrito sales to support these purchases, nor was I really psyched to. I was kind of SICK of renting. I wanted to BUY something. I wanted something of my own. Hell, I couldn't afford to buy anything though... or could I?
It hit me like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't I thought of this before? I COULD by my own place.
It took a few weeks to sort out and a few nights of living in my truck before I found the right one, but I made my purchase two weeks ago. I bought a Davlin slide-in camper, complete with stove, fridge, sink, bed, table, stereo system and a window on the roof that lets in the moonlight perfectly.
For less than the price of that illegal garage, I was now a proud co-owner of my first home. Jorma and I split it even-steven. Jorma and I hooked it up to his truck (Smurfette can't pull a load that big) and we've been on permanent camping vacation ever since. We get beachfront property every night, endless candlelit card games, a place to play monopoly while we look at the surf and the bed is surrounded on 3 sides by windows with a fourth overhead that lets in a cooooool ocean breeze while you sleep.
I am proud to say that living in a camper brings me happily back to my Pennsylvania roots. I have fond memories of a pop-up camper I used to play in in my backyard overlooking Tamarack. We had plenty of summer vacations spent camping throughout the Northeast, under the pine trees and drifting down cool Vermont streams. I also have plenty of family that has done the same thing, whether it be in a double-wide or a single trailer, they have also found happiness in the simple things in life as well, such as as Cadillac to fix up in your back yard and coondogs underfoot.
I call this phase of California "going back to my roots." I'll be trying to save as much money as I can while we get our Monopoly war on and someday soon maybe I'll buy a house without wheels.
For now though, I'm grinnin' like a butcher's dog.
