Meet Glorious!

I am now fully integrated into my third vehicle/home...Glorious!  As a decade of part-time, vehicle-dwelling passes, I can think of no better way, in which I choose to exist.  Although, I aspire to continue upgrading the vehicles, I live in, this lifestyle is exactly what I want to be doing, currently.  It is awesome.  And getting more enjoyable everyday!  

While, the interior design of my home is a never-ending, on-going project, I'll give a tour of the inside, in its current, semi-disheveled, state.  I still need to do a bit of downsizing, after moving out of the condo, that was my van.  

First I ripped out the middle row of seats (the back bench was already gone).  This left a decent size well, which is now my kitchen and pantry.

I also got rid of the carpet and most of the paneling.  The carpet was gross and the paneling took up usable space.

I installed a sub-floor, which leveled the whole space out, and created the storage area, where the middle row of seats were.  The trap door, is where I cook.  The extra eight inches is integral, as without that, the stove would be too close to the ceiling.

Then came the laminate flooring.  

Next, some shelving.

Another view of the shelving.

With all my crap.

A wider view of the crap.

And finally...me cooking bacon and drinking coffee!  

The Nano-Season

In a sea of endless seasonal opportunities, how does one fit in all the fun living/working situation into this short tour of earth?  With a nano-season!

The idea to do partial seasons came to me, years ago, when I worked the last two months of a summer season, at the Park Cafe, near Glacier National Park.  Although that was a GREAT job, I realized, if I had been there the whole season, I might not have enjoyed it as much as I did.  Not because there was anything wrong with the situation, but because the nature of many of these living/working situations have a short shelf life, for my tastes...and attention span.

These situations can be intense.  Living and working in the same place, with the same people, can be really fun and really exhausting at the same time.  In addition, I pick the places I live/work based on their proximity to the recreation, I hope to have after work and on my weekends.  With built-in friends and easy access to fun (which for me, usually entails miles up and down mountains), on top of a full-time, usually manual labor, job, all this activity can really take it out of me, quickly.  I would much rather show up, knowing there is a short time left and give it my all, both with the job and fun, than try to stick out a whole season.  This is usually the state I find the rest of co-workers in, when I show up, towards the end of a season.  They are counting down the days and are no longer enchanted with the awesomeness of the place, they felt earlier in the season.  It has become like any other "real life" hustle to them.

Finishing out the ski season, at June Mountain in June Lake, California

There are other reasons, I would choose a nano-season.  In the past I have had a short window of time, so opted to fill it, with what I subsequently dubbed a nano-season or a "tweener".  This may take convincing an employer to hire me for such a short time and is why these are primarily for otherwise undesirable employers, such as ski resorts and National Park concessionaires. In a nutshell, these are undesirable employers, because they are so big and corporate. While, generally I find these to be undesirable employers, I find the location to be highly desirable. (This is so sad, but is the current state of affairs at most of these national treasures).  So, to reconcile...a nano-season.  Get in, explore, and take advantage of the good, and get out before I become disgruntled by the big, inefficient mess of (usually) crappy and/or desperate management and the (in large part) degenerate workers, these desperate employers seem to attract.  I used to not even bother at all, opting to only work at a small, private lodge or restaurant, near the attraction, until I figured out how to make it work for me (the nano-season!).

I consider my current situation, a nano-season.  I actually, planned on this nano-season, although I did not know where I would be.  Months ago, I foresaw wanting to be in the snow, this time of year.  Knowing that the nature and scope of ski resorts, requires perpetual hiring, I counted on working for a ski resort that had employee housing (as opposed to a small nearly lodge or living in a town, which, while preferable, isn't as easy to get into, spur of the moment), as I was not trying to commit to any exact plans ahead of time.  Success!  It was too easy.  I applied, interviewed and was on my way within a 48-hour period.

While the process of starting to work/live somewhere new, can be arduous, I have got it down.  I pride myself on being able to slip into a new role, effortlessly, and continue with my own daily routine, without too much interference from the new situation.  This the only way this lifestyle is sustainable to me.  This was the case with this job.  I jumped right in, with no problem or blip in my daily routines.  My current role, as a lift operator, does seem to have a bit of curve, for being fit enough to stand outside in the elements all day, while wearing 30-ish extra pounds of clothes, and dealing with the general public, especially lots of kids.  I have been pretty tired after work each day, but have been able to bounce back to fully take advantage of where I am, on my weekends.  As I start my fourth and second to last week here, I know opting for a nano-season, was the right call.  There is a time limit for my full engagement with this post, and it is dwindling as quickly as the snow here, in sunny California.  However, knowing the end is near, allows me to give it everything I have, the next week and a half.

This was a three week, nano-season, at Crater Lake National Park, a couple years ago.

Although most jobs in the seasonal work world, mirror the four seasons of this hemisphere, my internal clock, detects more like, 6-8 season, per calendar year.  Ideally, a mix of longer and shorter stints, seems like a healthy balance.  Adhering to my schedule, and not the arbitrary ones based around what the robotic tourists are doing, and therefore employers are on, allows for more fun, better work, living in new great places and feeds my insatiable need to continuously change my circumstances.

Addicted To Spectacular

Jagged, snow-capped, mountain peaks, crystal clear alpine lakes, centuries-old trees, raging streams, dry air, boulders.  Yes, these are a few of my favorite things.  But, just visiting this dramatic mountain scenery is not good enough for me, I need to live amongst it.  And …. It has to have a spectacular element, to it.

My addiction has currently led me to June Lake, nestled amongst the eastern Sierra, in California.  I find myself here rather suddenly, though I am not surprised.  I am a crack-head for this shit.  While finding myself in southern Oregon since returning from Europe, last September, with ample odd jobs to feed myself and keep busy, I could not resist getting into the snow, since it decided to grace the Sierra with its presence this year (this was not the case the last two years).  I had been loosely inquiring into finding a spot in the Cascades for the winter, but opted for the dry, sunny California, after being away from my home climate for nearly eight months.  It does feel like home.  And…it is spectacular.  I live right on June lake, with awesome views in all directions and work on the ski hill, where the spectacular-ness rises with each foot of elevation gained on the chairlifts. 

View from chairlift that gets me to work.

I am certainly getting my fix.  The drastic rise of the eastern Sierra from the high desert, is not only visually stunning, but lends itself to endless opportunities for recreation. Within a half an hour’s drive is, at least, five hot springs, that I know about and endless desert trails and roads to explore.  I wouldn’t even be able to scratch the surface with the immediate alpine-side of things, but now, have no doubts, that this is a place I will be spending much more time in the future.  Especially in the summer.  Everything I want in a place.  Paradise….for sure.

This addiction has steadily taken a hold on me over the past ten years.  It began when I was working in the high school in Leadville, Colorado and would stare out the window at the Sawatch Range that flanks the western side of Leadville.  There, I had a realization that jobs, that once seemed intolerable to me, are totally bearable when the location and benefits overshadow the job, itself. 

Is there a downside to this?  Do I not feel right, when I am not amongst the spectacular?  A little bit.  But all contrast is necessary.  Spectacular is relative.  And it can certainly be taken for granted, if in it, full-time.  I have lived plenty of places where my co-workers do not even seem to notice, that they are in a special place.  On the other hand, my eyes and other senses have been pried open.  I see beauty in things, that I used to gloss over.  Now, the Midwest seems enchanting to me, because everywhere else I usually am, is so much drier.  I can appreciate it, for the lush, insanely green, swamp, that it is. 

Glacier.  Crested Butte.  Fallen Leaf Lake.  Crater Lake.  Norway.  Switzerland.  Yeah, I might have a problem.  But, its my cross to bear.  I’m not ready to seek help for this compulsion.  I’ll make the best of it and continue to feed the addiction.  It is still serving me.  And, I can not wait to see where it leads me to next.  

NEXT!

What started as a bookmark folder on my internet browser, has become a mantra of my lifestyle.  Over the past 10 years, dozens, of what start, as ideas for potential places to live, get a subfolder, and house links, I come across, either by chance or while specifically looking for the next spot. When one of these potentials slides into manifested reality, the subfolder of that place, moves from “NEXT!” folder to the “And Now” folder. Some subfolders sit there for years, before they become an “And Now”, while others have little time between the hatching of the idea and finding myself in that actual location.

At this point, it is hard to say, if my organizational process mirrors my thought process or vice versa.  When it gets to be that time, I get a visual of “NEXT!” in my head.  I use it in conversation, although the other person does not know, that when I say "next", I mean "NEXT!", more than just a word, but a way of life.    

Because I move so often, usually migrating along with the change of seasons, if not, more frequently, maintaining this lifestyle, and continuously trying to figure out the NEXT!, could become a full-time job.  I have certainly met people, for which this seems to be the case.  For me, it seems to defeat the purpose of this path, I have carved out. If I am always thinking about what is NEXT!, I am not fully engaged in the And Now. I strive for the balance between eagerly anticipating what is coming next and being fully present and, hopefully, thrilled, about the And Now, I currently find myself in.  This is the sweet spot. I have found a direct correlation between what I am feeling now and what comes next. If my now is good, what is coming next will be good. If I am loathing my current situation, it is difficult to not bring some of that into the NEXT!.  So, as all the wise ones claim, all the power is in the now, but the excitement of this lifestyle is getting stoked for what is NEXT!.

My current, And Now, has been a subfolder, hiding in NEXT!, for seven or eight years.  This seems to be the pattern of many of my And Nows.  They are an exciting thought, when I first learn of these locations. They become long forgotten, hiding in the vast NEXT!s, then without much effort or warning become my current reality.  Often, I find myself in a long awaited NEXT!, when I was loosely planning on something else, for that particular season.This is precisely what happened with Switzerland last summer.  Five years as a NEXT! and then one day, I found myself there, without even trying or planning.  This proves to me that events will coordinate themselves better than I can orchestrate, and it is only my job to launch the idea, then sit back and let it unfold.  I have also learned there is, not only no harm, but part of the process, to launch an idea, although it might be years, before it fully plays out.  Other people seem to be critical of this process.  They tell me, that I said I was going to do, so and so, years ago, and never did.  Their shortsightedness is sad and limiting.  It is never done.  All those NEXT!s are lined up, waiting to pop into my reality at the perfect moment.  Attempting to force a particular NEXT! into place is a waste of energy and counterproductive.

Currently, I find myself in June Lake, California, finishing out the ski season, as a lift operator at June Mountain.  So, the Eastern Sierra subfolder, that so patiently sat in NEXT!, for nearly a decade, as moved into the And Now.  When I leave here, it will return to NEXT!, for it is never done.  This is likely to be the first of many stints, in this awesome stretch of earth.  In addition, a few new NEXT! subfolders have been created while here, as I receive ideas from fellow seasonal workers, about their past and future NEXT!s and And Nows.  The cycle continues….