This March (2024) has been INTENSE!!.. but also extremely liberating, and full of upward life progression & correction. Through this month I have also been thinking about a lot and have had very important epiphanies, that extended to related others. But first, I will explain the physical details & steps.
Image of @ELAmental Provided by: @Alchemage
Why I have Been Offline for 2 Weeks
(The Story)
The entire last week of February and first week of March I was packing and moving my studio and bedroom. I was also coordinating on many levels: renting a storage unit, hiring a friend to rent him and his Sprinter van for transport while also asking my homie @Alchemage for help with their truck as well. I then stayed in PDX over the weekend to work and tie up loose ends while couch hopping/staying in my friend's camper on his "table-bed" as he calls it.
Images Provided by: Lab Rat
Week two of March was dedicated to my car, but also filled with obstacles and other tasks. My Oregon license of 10 years expired while I was in Mexico, and my tags for my car expired the following month. Since I did not have an active license, I could not renew my registration. First office in Vancouver crafted a DLW number for me & told me to go to a driver school office. The office I went to was 2 hours north, and I had to wait for an appointment to take the knowledge test (high school classroom scantron style), paid a fee. Booked my driving test for a different day, paid a fee.
Image Provided by: @ELAmental
Since I had to get my license before I registered my vehicle, I had to borrow my friends wife's car that happen to have a DUI blow & go device to do my driving test... not exactly ideal for a first impression to the instructor, and I had never used one before, but luckily it did not get in the way of a passing score.
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I then took all the paperwork to the driver licensing office, paid another couple fees for my ID. Went to yet another office to register my car and get new plates/tags, paid another couple fees. I also had to get a new set of tires somewhere in this mix.. and you guessed it... more money. I made just enough working in every moment of "spare" time I had to pay for all this, which ended up costing about $800 when it was all said and done... but I now had a legal and working vehicle again with a new driver's license.
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The following week was dedicated to truck repairs. I had the homie Matt (who knows his way around an engine better than I) come over to where I was moving from to install/calibrate the new TPS, fuel pump, and a few other things, so we could drive it back to PDX for the more in depth repairs. I had to remove and drive one of my tires to a nearby town though to fill it and come back since we were minus an air compressor. Jedi's truck hood flew up and blinded us for a moment on the river road. By the time we were done, it was getting dark, and I had also been packing most of the rest of my possessions I still had at the house in my truck, Jedi's truck, and my car for me to retrieve when I returned.
The truck overheated and was spuddering more times than I can remember during this journey. Usually it would only be an hour long drive, but we gave up at the Native Reservation Casino about half way bc it was almost 2AM and getting cold (talk about tired). The truck was in this condition because I had been waiting on another friend to come help me repair it for almost 2 years... even got hit on the side of the road when he left it there for too long at one point. This gem of a truck had been rotting away in the moist shade for too long at this point.
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The next day I ordered a single axel car trailer from U-Haul and towed the truck the final 30 miles back to PDX in his partner's Subaru station wagon... that thing pulled a 4500 lb truck NO PROBLEM! I also used Jedi's truck to dump that load into storage earlier that morning. Matt is still doing mods to the truck, but currently has it running better than when I first purchased it. We will be installing a newer tailgate I have for it soon also.
At this point in the story I am extremely exhausted (as you can imagine). I called ALL my friends in the area after dropping off the trailer with Matt to get a ride back to my car and hour north.. only one came through, and he was also very tired.
He drove me back to my car... and when I followed him out, I must have packed my car with too much weight and then MY CAR STARTED OVERHEATING!!! By this time it was dusk again, and I had a moment where I began to wonder how I was yet again dealing with an overheating vehicle on/near the river road. I watched my friends car disappear in the distance in front of me as I pulled over to avoid blowing a head gasket. It took me about 45 mins to color in a sign big enough for a passing car to read "NEED WATER / H2O". As soon as I held up the sign, someone came with water, and I was able to get back to the river house to spend the night for safety. I also could not get the hood open without someone to press on it (it gets stuck sometimes) so I could refill the radiator... another reason to wait till the morning, as no one else was home that night (everyone was out at a spring equinox event in PDX).
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When Addison helped me pop my hood the next morning, the guy helping me fill my radiator didn't put the cap back on, so now I have to replace my radiator AND the cap for it (more money). Luckily it was only a slow radiator leak, so Addison strapped on a piece of tin foil with a zip tie for me, and it made it back to Olympia that day without incident. I have also been staying in @Alchemage's short bus in his driveway up here during this time whenever not couch hopping in PDX for work and repairs. It's comfy and I have my bed in there, and Skwyrl and their wife were gracious enough to give me a little extra house cleaning work while I am here too.
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I had to get back to work in PDX THE NEXT DAY however.. and not having time to do the car's radiator repair yet, I had to borrow the blow and go car to get to work almost 3 hours south. The sun was directly in my eyes all day, I didn't sleep well the night before, and had to get up at 6:30 AM to make it on time.. glad I did, it was a great day, but man... I had never felt so zombified.. my left eye even began to twitch.
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I finally got some good rest in town that night after another post-work meeting, but then had to get the DUI car up to Olympia that next day to be there in time for a blow and go scheduled maintenance (scroll up to see photo). That leads me to today!
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Today I FIANLLY had time to get my PC up and running again, and I found a nice small desk for $25 locally on CL last week to operate with. @Alchemage is letting me use part of his lab for recording and mixing while I am here. I spent most of today detailing and vacuuming TF outa my car, and will be replacing my radiator in PDX with Matt on Friday (I already bought the parts, another $170). I got another AMAZING night of sleep last night, which I am very grateful for.
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I have also been searching for a new room to rent during all this (need to move by April 7th at the latest). One person had a room with other musicians, but was VERY bad at communicating, faked on a meeting, fed me incorrect info... def didn't feel aligned, they rented to someone else. Another house for rent was too expensive. I have a meeting on Saturday with a new person that actually has TWO rooms for rent, and he is also a DJ and producer, and had been great at communicating. This new option feels aligned and I am optimistic about it.
Image Provided by: @ELAmental
Image Provided by: @ELAmental
I still have to finish repairing/modding my truck, renew my truck registration, fix car radiator, and move my studio out of Olympia and unpack my storage unit as soon as I rent a new spot here in about 10 days... but check it, I LOVE MY LIFE.
In the midst of all this exhaustion, uncertainty, obstacles, expenses, work, moving, and technically homelessness (first time in over 10 years) I oddly have never felt better or more optimistic about the future. Finances are improving, bull run in FULL effect (I took my time to position pieces and make a plan for this one.. gots some experience now haha). I look forward to ACTUALLY being able to buy a house in the next year or two... start building that castle to resurrect Camelot on the prop.. no doubt.
Image Provided by: @ELAmental
The epiphanies I had were this:
Bring peace & love to myself & all those I touch, avoid projecting conflict, achieve happiness.
Follow what feels good, makes you and your soul feel good. Stop letting your head make your choices, and instead follow your heart. Let go of that fear and pursue what is aligned for you. Boomshackalacka.
Thank God I didn't have to pay rent this month... a great opportunity for repair & growth.
Zombified throughout the process though... this whole experience is REALLY making me value REST on a new level... but also remembering the value of extreme dedication to self. Been driving all over two states in the PNW for the better part of a month haha. It is going to fell GREAT to be beyond all these bills and moves, so I can start re-stacking, and build a more grounded life for me and my extended family & Kin. I couldn't be more blessed to be in the position I am in.
Image of @Alchemage & @ELAmental Provided by: @Alchemage
I have really been enjoying spending time with @Alchemage in the quiet lake country house they and their wife has procured. Check the pics of us cannoning on the lake near their house. Bless the motha fuckin Method!! It's the journey yo... don't forget that shit... I could say more about the contrast of how bad my homeless experiences were in VA back in the day, and the relations in all this... but I have typed so much lol.. it was almost exhausting again explaining it all to you haha. Check the photos - onto the next one. Be a part or be a blend.. its up to you, I'm a be running with Gods up top, meet me there if you on the path. Peace Bredren.
I have TONS of new music to finish up & release right now... back to work!
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That’s great you kept a positive attitude through all of this! Failing is never an option, and negativity never helps. That’s funny about that dui car, at least the instructor knew you were not drinking lol.
Love that bong btw
Thank you for the support and encouragement Brother! Always good to hear from you. I'll post another Terp Test ep in the new community with some of this dankness asap now that I have a few mins and the PC is up again!
Blessings.
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