I recently read a blog entry by someone who spent the last 30 years in the advertising industry getting paid for his creative ideas. The overall tone painted a very bleak picture of where creatives have a place in the current industry and where it's heading. He mentioned a few times how the Zeitgeist of his line of work occurred in the eighties and now a creative mind is just another commodity. He ended with a note that when read between the lines was a suggestion to others like him to spend more time with your family and if you can, do something else for a living. I've heard different renditions of this perspective from people who are still struggling to make something of themselves and also from a few who have. I'm going to take the next few paragraphs to offer my own perspective for what it's worth, and you guessed it, it incorporates living in a van.
I'm going to tackle this "we're past the Zeitgeist, so why start now?" notion first. Let's assume that that is true for starters. Why would I argue with someone who's done it for 30 years, lived through the changes, and saw it all first hand? Is there anything I can do about that? I certainly don't have any access to a working time machine, so no, their isn't. I often consider the "glass half full or half empty" analogy in my daily life. The way I figure it is nothing is fair, ever. So forget about fairness, that's not life. For the few sperms that are lucky enough to find an egg in the first place, some get hatched in a North Korean concentration camp. Lately that one has been my go-to whenever I'm feeling like I'm getting shit on (at least I'm not one of those poor people).
Speaking in terms of making money, I wasn't born very lucky. I was born a creative person and according to the blogger I referenced, as far as making money and the ease of which that will come to me, being this way is a curse. I will be taken advantage of whenever possible and as industry/technology progresses it will only get harder. I apparently value people's positive reactions to my work more than money (ok that's true) and thus get trampled on in the free market. Does that suck a lot? yes. Do I wish it was different? yes again. By all fairness should it be different? Shouldn't people be answering to the idea man and not the other way around? yes, I believe so. Out of a little over seven billion people on this planet ricocheting off each other like charged electrons around a nucleus, am I going to be able to change the way things are. NO! Instead of choosing another career path to be comfortable I decided to place money lower on the totem pole of important things in life. Easier said than done as even basic necessities cost money. If you've been reading my blog from the start you see where I'm going with this. That answer: Live in a Van. Did I mention that this blog entry was a two part-er? I'm going to shift gears now and tell a short story about a slice of life that doesn't have anything crazy happening in it. No narrow escapes, or eccentric people encounters. It's an example of a casual day that could have gone unnoticed in a van dwellers life but the reason I remember it so well is nothing goes unnoticed in a van dwellers life. That's part of the philosophy, you learn to appreciate things that say, a North Korean concentration camp refugee might appreciate.
It was a sunny fall day when I woke up next to my girlfriend, Rachel in my comfy van bed. I took a moment to appreciate her as I always do because not many smart, talented, and beautiful girls would move into a van with their boyfriend in the first place. Sure I could say I'm lucky but I like to look at the van as a giant filter that scares off all the others early on so the best ones are the only options from the get go. You know that if your girlfriend moves into your van with you that real or fake diamonds on the engagement ring aren't going to be an issue down the line for instance.
I fired up the engine just to drive it two blocks while she still lied in bed stretching and yawning. I parked next to a park and about ten feet away was a bench where I began setting up the propane stove. Cheese and avocado omelets were on the menu this morning. After that we went to the gym for a shower but started with our ritual of a ten minute soak in the hot tub of course. Noon was upon us now and we sat in a coffee shop sipping our drinks which was the first I reached for my wallet so far.
"What should we do today?" she asked. "It's too nice to waste the sun, the rainy season will be here soon" she warned. I had an idea:
"Let's go to Stevenson, It's a gorgeous little town only about 40 minutes away from here," I said. Stevenson stays quaint because most people don't want to pay the dollar toll go over the bridge to get to it. West Coasters hate tolls even if it's cheaper than a Popsicle.
"I shot a wedding out there once and drove around a little to explore it while I was there. It's a beautiful place," I continued.
"That sounds nice, I'm tired though and I don't know if I want an adventure today", she replied. We were up late the night before and the sun had woke us up, a common inconvenience of sleeping in a van. We had sleeping masks but didn't always remember to wear them.
"How about this, we go to Stevenson, find a park, and take a nap in the van. After we wake up we'll go out to dinner at one of the restaurants overlooking the river." I enthusiastically suggested. She agreed and everything went as planned. It was a wonderful day and the van helped every step of the way. Slightly more than a regular car in gas money to get there but the amount saved by not getting a hotel room for a few hours for our nap made it a wash. Money aside, who would ever get a hotel room to take a nap? it just doesn't happen. under non-van circumstances, I would have just dealt with being tired all day and as a result probably would have become irritable, I know myself at least that much.
That evening we decided to sleep in Stevenson for the rest of the night because after all we lived in our van. A few extra drinks helped make our decision as well, but once again, the van gave us that option -to be able to responsibly indulge in that last round. That was about a year ago now and I am currently engaged to Rachel. We are getting married this fall.
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