Vincent Van Go @vincentvangoblog-blog - Tumblr Blog

What I want to be

Just finished watching this video from Alyse. I’ve definitely been having all these existential thoughts as to what I want to do, who I want to be, where I want tao go, etc. So I’m going to try to write some of my thoughts down and maybe come up with some action plans to get myself there.

Ideal me:

Fluent in Spanish

Very good social dancer for salsa/bachata

Close group of friends that I can hang with in person

Solid friends that I can always call and catch up with

A healthy relationship with a nice, funny, and smart guy

In a healthier and more comfortable weight range

Coding skills

Construction skills

A fulfilling job

Travel experiences

Spanish

I should look for a conversation buddy

Watch, read, and listen to more things in Spanish

Netflix, books, podcasts

Come up with a schedule once in Florida

Create a dictionary that I can carry around and use daily

Dancer

Take more lessons

Go social dancing more

Watch more videos

Practice shines

Watch all of Anya’s videos constantly

Find a practice partner

Get back into ballroom

Close group of friends

Join groups for the rest of my activities

Make friends at a Spanish group or a dancing group

Be friendly and ask questions

Solid friends to call

Keep in contact with my current friends

Don’t be afraid to call someone

Healthy relationship

Meet more people

Tell people that I’m looking for someone

Don’t be afraid to make the first move

Be more confident by making progress on my other goals

Weight

Continue exercising

Perhaps combine other things with exercising such as watching a Spanish show while on a treadmill

Keep doing my daily exercises and possibly adding some

Tricep dips, lunges, toe lifts

Add abs, hip exercises, pushups

Eat keto

Try to find a support group or like-minded friends

Read more about the science behind keto

Coding skills

Try to code at new job

Work on freecodecamp.com

Construction skills

Look for volunteer projects

Read all the books I can

Watch YouTube

A fulfilling job

Notice what I like/don’t like about past jobs

Talk to people at work

Actively think about what I want to be doing and what career choices I can make

Travel experiences

Say yes more often

Don’t be afraid to travel alone

Look for more opportunities for vacation time

Look for more opportunities for miles

Look for more Workaway opportunities

Pretty much, whenever I’m bored, go back to this list and pick something and work on it! I’m going to finish up my toe lifts while watching some YouTube, then maybe do a little coding!

12/9 - the first frost. Thank god for my 0 degree sleeping bag!!!! Also as of lately (12/15), I have been wearing my shirt, sweater, and colorful fuzzy jacket to bed along with my black pants, turkey pants, and 1-3 pairs of socks. And a hat. Lol. I can’t move to Wisconsin.

Home improvements!

I cut holes in the towels to stay in place better with the nails that were already there. One nail involved using a cord to raise it since it was pounded down from my step stool! Also used some clippy things that I need to get more of.

Hung up some decorations on the towel for the window and also hung up some of my favorite earrings! I need more earring backers! Not sure if it will stay if I keep pulling on it but here’s to hoping!

Also I brought my suitcase in to help hold down my blanket and comforter. Hopefully it will be less messy and warmer at night!

Dating profile

Last night I kept thinking about what I would put on my dating profile.

Hello! My name is Abbie and I am looking for someone to date!! I love to laugh and make jokes and I’m rarely unhappy. I’m always up for adventure, trying new things, and being creative and random. At the same time, I’m pretty practical and logical (yeah, I like math). Not trying to be stereotypical, but my favorite animal is a panda.

My hobbies include dancing (salsa, bachata, social, awkward), going on Reddit, reading, calling my friends during long drives, doing Ken-ken puzzles, listening to podcasts, watching YouTube while walking on a treadmill, and playing Settlers of Catan on my phone.

If money wasn’t a concern, I would spend my time doing all of the above, plus travelling, maintaining friendships and family relationships, getting privates for dance lessons, volunteering, finding some cool people to play board games with, and doing outdoors-y stuff (I would like to improve my personal record of going 0 feet vertically while rock-climbing - yes, I just hung there. Yes, I felt lame.)

I’m decently well-traveled. I’ve worked and lived in 5 states, one of them being Florida at Walt Disney World. I visited China for a month in high school and got over 200 mosquito bites on my legs (I was born in China, so the mosquitoes must have missed me). I spent a summer in Colombia, South America. I’ve also volunteered at a farm in Chile this past summer. Internationally, I also have been to France and Italy.

If you think I’m too supermegafoxyawesomecool, fret not! I can guarantee you I’m not cool. In fact, I’m a bit of a nerd and always have been.

I used to play Gameboy a lot, and I was very good at the games that required absolutely no skill and only extreme amounts of grinding (e.g. Pokemon, Final Fantasy [yes, I used a rubber band to hold the A button down]). This led to short-lived career as a famous penguin in Club Penguin (don’t look it up), which in turn led to my gloriously free-to-play life as a RuneScape loser (my highest skill was Cooking). Even today, I absolutely love a good Excel spreadsheet and once made the game 2048 in Excel.

Well, I think that’s enough rambling (and parenthesis) for now! Feel free to shoot me a message if you’d like to meet up sometime. Remember, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. - Wayne Gretzky” - Michael Scott.

Oh, and my favorite TV shows of all time are Friends, Parks & Recreation, and Avatar the Last Airbender. Side note: two people can like each other, even if they have different tastes in tv shows (or music, or movies). ;)

Invisibility cloak

I was reading an askreddit thread, and I think I would choose an invisibility cloak. Some ideas

Sneak into places like Vista Way or amusement parks lol

Spy on famous people and sell their secrets to tabloids

Sneak into peoples house and take their stuff

Become a PI

I would also have the Philosopher’s stone probably and live forever. Get really rich and then have an awesome soup kitchen.

Hitchiking

So this weekend I went to Chicago to visit the mom and just hang out with some friends. I got to see Jazz, Nicki, and Court, which was amazing!! Also hung out with the Pans. So anyway, I got a carpool to Atlanta with Aaron, Morgan, and Angela from work. I took the MARTA from Midtown to the airport. Also saw Carisa, a manager or something at Ethicon haha on MARTA. There was literally only black people! But it was convenient and easy. Just remember you need your card to leave the station.

I got back Sunday night and Morgan texted me saying that she wasn’t comfortable with me crashing there, because I asked her at work Friday. I guess I ambushed her because it was in front of other people. So I understand the awkward position I put her in. I guess it never crossed my mind because I would never care if someone stayed with me for a night on my floor. But I digress.

I frantically was messaging people all over Couchsurfing, and managed to find Zack! He was from Israel and newer to Couchsurfing. We talked about an hour then I slept for like 5 hours then I had to find my way to Morgan’s. The Uber would have taken 15+ min, so I started walking. However, I should have taken the Uber. Aaron picked me up on a random street intersection, then I ugly-slept on the carpool to work.

Hoping to hang out with Zack again. He said I drooled on his pillow. He likes doing outdoors stuff so it would be fun to go stay one weekend in Atlanta and do that. He doesn’t like making plans in advance, but I’m hoping December 10th weekend, because that’s Tumbao weekend, and I haven’t been.

All in all I’m glad Morgan didn’t let me stay at her place, because it allowed me to lose my Couchsurfing virginity!

So since I came back in a carpool, I had my luggage (books and Gameboys for Dixie and Duncan). Last night I was heading to walk home and some guy and his truck picked me up to take me to Star Auto. So nice! He was a mechanic at Ethicon.

He dropped me off and I loaded my suitcase in the trunk. Then he was like, “I’ll wait to make sure you get started.” So I had to get into my car and turn it on before he drove a little away. Then he was still there so I backed up a little. Then he left, and I pulled back into my parking spot. Lol. I could have just told him I lived in the van next to my car but I didn’t.

Just a fun little vandwelling story. Gonna be a busy week with school work and work work but here I am getting back into Kingdom of Loathing lol.

First night in sleeping bag

I am a huge wuss! Last night was the first time I slept in my sleeping bag. Before I went to bed it wasn’t that cold, so I didn’t zipper it all the way or wear socks. But I woke up pretty cold! I’m wondering if I need a blanket *inside* the sleeping bag because having my big gray one outside might not be doing much. Mind you, it’s around 40-45 degrees at night, just to reiterate the fact that I’m a wimp and can’t handle cold.

Some other life updates:

I’ve been reading in my van on my iPhone. I download PDFs of books and I read HP7 and I’m starting Ender’s Game again. It’s been enjoyable. I can no longer watch EE videos, because they don’t stay loaded offline. I’ve actually been tired much earlier (minus election night), so reading is definitely something I want to keep doing.

Also I’ve been feeling a bit lonely. There’s very little social interaction on my Mon-Wed. I know part of it is me, but I don’t really have friends at work. I’ve been working out with some older guys and Anthony though, so that’s been good.

Also I got the Epic job! They actually offered me two jobs, TS and EDI. I think I did well on my coding to get the EDI offer. I’m talking with someone today to hear more about EDI, but it seems like EDI is the better position in terms of having transferable skills for a future job.

Oh and lastly, I got my remaining security deposit back from Raj. After October rent and September utilities, I got $17.14. Woo! Pretty much living free until January, since I already paid parking. Weird. :)

Salsa songs

I want to become familiar and memorize the lyrics of all the songs on the Salsa Beat Machine YouTube page.

La Pantera Mambo

Sama - El Repartero de la Habana

Tito Punete - Hong King Mambo

Grupo Latin Vibe - La Llave

Cheo Feliciano - Felicidades

Uno Llega Y Otro Se Va

Ismael Rivera - Bomba de Navidad

Joe Arroyo - La Rebelion

Cogele El Gusto by Wayne Gorbea

Yo No Se Manana

Abre Que Voy

I think I’ll start with Yo No Se Manana <3

Eating habits

I am working on incrementally improving my eating habits.

Each Wednesday I will introduce a new rule. The rule I introduced this Wednesday was no sugar for sugar’s sake (e.g. candy, breakfast sweets).

Here are some ideas for future rules:

No eating past a certain time, progressively making it earlier in the day

Drinking 64 fl oz. of water a day (4 bottles)

Cutting out rice

Cutting out noodles

Cutting out bread

Cutting out dried fruits

So I can’t have chocolate, but I tell myself, at least I can have Taco Bell.

By the way, I love taco bell.

I’m thinking next week it will be bread.

One month

Today is the end of October, which means I’ve lived in van for one month!! It’s been great. It probably helps that I go away for the weekends, but I still think I could do it full time.

Some updates:

Bought an egg cooker. Have yet to open it, but here’s to hoping some eggs will be eaten soon! I have an interview Wednesday so maybe on Thursday. I plan on buying 12 eggs a week and eating them for breakfast, hopefully with cheese and bacon.

I saw a spider in my bed yesterday. I think I threw it outside. Ugh.

Will is thinking of getting a van!!! He sent me the link to this article and this guide. The guide is actually really nice. I wish I could help him with his van. I’m so inspiring. :P

So nothing really new. Excited to officially not pay rent in November! I need to get my security deposit back from Raj...

Two firsts

Wow this definitely has to be a private blog because last night I embarrassed myself. First off, was the first time I had to take a nature pee, circa high school Cross Country. I couldn’t find my ID before I left for work, so I didn’t go inside and go to the bathroom. Whoops.

Second, I have my period and there was a slight stain on my sheets. UGH. Put a towel under my sheet and dabbed

with water. Except I spilled some of the water on my floor towel, so I took that outside and hung it over a handle to dry. Except it gets very condensation-y overnight, so it was still wet in the morning and I left it to dry some more.

Also had to sleep on some towels, and now I wish I had a laundry machine. Shit, and I realized I just forgot my trash bag at home in the van.

Things to get

More towels to cover the entire floor

More plastic bags for trash bags

More towels for under my sheet

A waterproof mattress pad or something

Some system so I can write in bed without weirdly crouching over

Last night I couldn’t get to sleep (pre-shark incident), and I tried to read some SQL and take notes. Except it was all crouch-y in my bed.

Also! Yesterday I finally got Vincent’s plates and registration forms in the mail! Plates were $101 I think, and registration was $95, totaling $196. You could have paid more for special plates (like non-random ones). Also income tax was $40, although I bet I could have been exempt since Vincent hasn’t even been in Illinois. But I figured it was easier dealing with that tax now through Illinois than later through a different state (NC, GA, who knows?!)

I already have my spreadsheet, and starting in December I will have saved enough to start paying off the principle amount of Vincent. By the end of November, I will be at -$8,519.50, and by the end of December, I will be at -$8,099.50. And that is putting utilities at $40, but I know they’re more, because they’re mid-month to mid-month.

In other news, Monday I got rejected from St. Onge. Still pretty bitter, as I’m not completely sure what went wrong. But I already have a plan. I think I’m going to get the Disney PI, and I think I won’t have enough time to do the Southwest interview. If I get the Disney PI, I’m going to reach out to Southwest, say that I wanted to interview, submit my “Why Southwest” essay, and ask if there are possible opportunities for the summer, fall, or full time. Hopefully that comes into play. Also, I have a phone interview with Accenture Monday, so I’m pretty excited/nervous about that.

In terms of St. Onge, I’m going to become their perfect candidate. Study up on SQL and other programming, learn a lot about warehouses or hospitals, and maybe come back in August or September asking for another chance. I will say I’m in town and ask for an interview, then fly in haha. I will look fly AF and nail that interview! Or maybe I’ll be happy wherever I am then, and won’t want to work in York, PA.

You can always redeem yourself, non-existent readers.

(So obviously this is partially a personal blog now.)

#career #vincentvango

Solar panels

http://davidsandel.com/2016/10/10/how-to-install-renogy-solar-panels-on-your-van/

#articles

Wishlist v1.0

Wishlist

Velcro to fix car

Mattress pad

Security system (cameras?)

Fold up chairs

Rugs

Redone sitting area

Fairy lights

Tapestry for walls

Reupholstered seats

Window cover for side window

CD player

Radio

Books

Expand cell service and wifi

Egg cooker

Tiny fridge

Salt

Ziploc bags

Yoga mat

Safety box

Command hooks

#vincentvango

#vincentvango #pics

What I Do in the Van v1.0

So obviously I don’t have any wifi in the van. But I found out that my laptop charge lasts the whole night, and can also keep my phone charged the whole night! In addition, if I load an EE lecture video in wifi, the video will play in my van (but I can’t move the timer bar - mistake I learned last night).

In the future, I have plans to work on crafts (pockets on clothes, rug for van), read, write (journal or blog), do homework, do work work, etc. I’m hoping to get back to not doing homework on the weekends, so hopefully I can get a lot done ahead of time (like final reports).

Also, if I get a mat of some sort, I can maybe do some exercises in the van. I know I can exercise outside the van, but until all the mosquitoes are dead, that’s probably not happening. Also, I might as well exercise at the gym so I can shower. I don’t want to stank up my van too much!

(Took my first shower at work yesterday. Despite the semi-see through curtains, me forgetting a towel, and the wide radius water spray (leading to seemingly low pressure), it was pretty good! And my hair looks good today.

Aside from that, I pretty much just chill there, play some Catan, then go to bed. I’m hoping to go to bed at a more consistent time and waking up at a consistent time. I think in the end I will reach for in bed by 11, alarm set for 7:30.

#vincentvango

Update! 3 nights in the van

Sorry it’s been a while! Obviously a lot has happened. So I fully moved into my van on Friday (Sept 30), and its Thursday today! So I slept in it Monday, Tuesday, and last night :) So far it’s pretty comfy and I enjoy it a lot. Right now I wish I had a better mattress pad, which is on my van wish list (posting later).

Last night I heard a noise around like midnight, where I thought someone tried to open the back door. Freaked me out! I turned off the fan and peeked out the windows but I didn’t see anything. I should really get a security system!

Speaking of a fan, the solar power works! I went to Star Auto Electric Friday, and they got me the new battery (a cool $330!!), and hooked it up for me ^.^ The lights and fan and outlet all work.

Last night I had a dream that my van was bigger than it was. There was a whole huge basement and crackers from 2006 that I had to clean out. Bugs, too of course. And a piano without any legs. My Son Munecas teammate Andrea visited my van and made my bed. It was weird. Also the dream wasn’t last night, it was like from 8-9am when I didn’t get up and go to work haha.

Ok, I’m looking back at my first post, and I’ll try to update sequentially. Mechanic - it came back great! He said it was in good condition, and the previous owner took good care of it (s/o to Chris). The only thing was that the transmission was a little leaky - so if I was going to be doing a lot of driving, I should get that topped off frequently, or fixed (about a $300 fix).

I haven’t figured out or tried to figure out the hand pump sink, but I have like five water bottles just sitting in the sink. I haven’t really had to use them besides drinking, but sometimes I’m afraid to drink because then I’ll have to go to the bathroom in the night! I’ll probably eventually get a compost toilet.

Obviously I moved out of the house. I’m still waiting on the landlord to see what the expenses are for the month of August. It’ll be nice to start saving money from this van, because right now I’m at -$8,698.50.

My stuff is all moved into my van, but there is probably more things that I can reorganize, re-purpose, or throw out. I also need to move my step stool indoors, because the bed platform is a leeeeeeetle too tall for me. I also need to figure out a way to cover my bike (right now it’s locked to an old truck) and protect it from the elements (rain!). I should also grease the chain haha.

Oh, for parking, I was able to park in front of Star Auto Electric. Both cars for $22.50 a month! Not bad! S/O to Scott for bargaining for me! (previously was $45/mo).

Last on the previous list, was plates and registration. I called the Illinois Secretary of State again, and they are going to send me the two forms. I have to pay like $250 for title registration, plates, and tax. I have the numbers written down somewhere..... -_- I can’t find them :!!!! Going to have to call again! They sent the form to Ridgeway, which I feel bad about, but I’m not sure what else to do.

Also my parking lot is soooo close to work haha. Like half the distance from before, maybe even less (<= 0.75 miles/1200 meters).

Gonna make a separate post for what I do in the van, wishlist, and pics.

#vincentvango

Welcome~

This isn’t my first foray into the blogging universe, but this is the first time that I’ve had a concrete topic to talk about (aside from Club Penguin or Runescape).

This blog is going to be about the van I just purchased. It was a 2006 Dodge 2500 Sprinter Van. 118″ wheelbase and 9′ tall (I think?). I bought it for $8,300 from a guy named Chris in North Carolina. Him and his dad were selling it, and Chris used to live and travel in it with his old music partner. They would tour the country to play gigs.

I’ll add pictures later, but there is a bed area, cabinets over the bed, a tiny closet/place to store the solar panel battery, two benches with ratchet cushions, a sink attached to a hand pump, and storage under the bed area (accessible from the back). The van has a little under 300,000 miles (!!!). It drove well to Georgia, however.

Right now it’s sitting in my driveway. I’m planning on moving out soon, to a lot in between two coworkers’ houses. They also mentioned I could live with them for free, haha. I’m going to have to pay October rent, though, since I broke my lease. :/

One problem with the title is that there were previously two owners, but only one person signed (Chris). So he has to send a form to the other owner, get it signed and notarized, then mail it to me. Then I have to send forms and money to Illinois Secretary of State to get the title in my name.

The day before purchasing (9/19), I was really doubting whether or not I should buy it. It would be much easier if I didn’t buy it, and continue on living in my house. But I was rereading the blog from the Google employee that lives in a truck, and this post made me want to go for it. I guess in the world of vehicle dwellers, the uncertainty is normal haha. I had been thinking about living in a vehicle ever since reading an article about a year ago (a quick search showed late October, 2015). Once I moved to Jersey, I seriously considered getting a vehicle, because I disliked living with the family I was staying with so much.

After talking to my coworkers about my truck dreams, one of them suggested a sprinter van (thanks James!) So I did a craigslist search, found Vincent, and made a plan to meet with the owner. The day before the meeting, he told me there was already a buyer I convinced him to let me see it, drove up on that Friday, then offered an additional $500. And I got it!!! Just goes to show that being persistent can sometimes pay off. :)

My goals are to live in it long enough for it to pay for itself. Already I’ve spent $50 on gas (diesel tanks are huge!), 6 hours (and gas) of driving back and forth to the van and dropping off the owner in Athens, and $400 in insurance ($800/yr). Right now, my projected 2016 savings are about $900, since I won’t have to pay November or December rent, which is $380 + utilities. (That was another thing that made me not want to get it - rent is so cheap here. It would make more sense if I lived somewhere expensive, like California.)

Regardless, I’m happy with my decision and I can’t wait to live full-time in it!! I’m hoping to get the solar panels (aka the fan) to work, but I know it’s livable without the solar panels working.

To do list:

Get it checked by a mechanic - I’m doing this Monday

Figure out the solar system - I think it’s a battery problem, but I’ve asked for advice on reddit and will figure that out

Figure out the hand pump sink

Move out of the house

Move my stuff in to the van

#vincentvango

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