LuLu’s van build is so curious. It feels like I’ve been working on her for so long without any progress, and at the same time, like I can’t believe its been less than a year and I’ve made so much progress! If you asked me when I bought her where I’d be right now, its fair to say I’d tell you somewhere wildly different but also exactly where I am. Needless to say, this has definitely been a growing experience and I feel like I’ve had quite a bit of growth so far.
Power Tools
Perhaps I’ve said this previously, but as a child I was always tagging along with my dad (who was a general contractor) so I’ve spent a good amount of time around various types of tools. Power tools aren’t anything new, but for some reason every time I need to pick up a power tool I am reluctant and I procrastinate.
When I had to rip apart pallets for their wood, I used a reciprocating saw. Now for cutting those into the appropriate sized planks, I had to use a circular saw. I’ve powered up the orbital sander more times than I can count. The power drill. Even things that aren’t power tools – like a caulk gun. I’ve spent time around them a lot but its great overcoming my reservations.
I’m learning that a lot of the hesitancy comes from the sound generated by power tools, so I’ve invested in ear plugs. Just knowing I have them available eases the discomfort I have a lot. I’ve always been clumsy so I’m a little afraid I’ll do something accidentally really stupid and cut off a limb. And the most annoying reason of all – I hate being bad at things. For whatever reason, I can’t get over the fact that usually when you do something for the first time its naturally not good. We’ll put that in the areas for growth column.
Secrets
As it is with every single one of the posts in this series, LuLu holds lots of secrets and I’m slowly discovering them with each passing day. I can proudly say I’ve learned how to successfully lock the back sliding door! Still working on opening it from the inside…
I also learned a cool thing about her construction. I had to remove the sliding door recently (more on that later) and I learned an entire piece of metal just unscrews and comes off. Its the cover for the track and I thought it was welded on. Turns out it had just been painted over! That was nifty. Both sides come off and I’m really not sure why, but that is a mystery for another day.
Another neat thing I learned – her windows appear to be all original to her. They are all VW stamped so I’m reluctant to replace any of them. The only one that really could use replacing is the windshield because its delaminated in several spots. I’m going to hold off on that until absolutely necessary, though.
Let Go
This is some more wisdom that past Michelle (and future Michelle) definitely could have benefited from. If you’ve read any number of my blogs, you’re probably familiar with my need to control as much as possible and have back up plans for everything. That isn’t anything new, but I had a realization the other day that was quite liberating.
You see, I was trying to go to Carlsbad Caverns last weekend with a friend. It had to happen specifically last weekend because their Bat Flight program only lasts through October. You might think a last minute trip like that wouldn’t be ideal, but to me it was a great opportunity to get a portion of my journey “out of the way” so I’d have more freedom to go where I please.
Yes. You read that right. The person who is about to up and leave to live in a van is wanting more freedom. Feel free to roll your eyes as you please.
The Bat Flight program doesn’t start again until May, and the cactuses in Arizona bloom in April. That means to be as efficient as possible I’d have to time Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico in just the right way so that I get to Carlsbad in May and Saguaro in April and North Dakota in June. If, however, I went to Carlsbad before I left, I could go to New Mexico first instead of last.
This blog is about growth, though, so then I realized that there is absolutely no reason I can’t go to New Mexico and see everything I want to see EXCEPT for Carlsbad (or even including Carlsbad) and then go to Utah and then Arizona in April. Then, I can go back to Carlsbad in May and back across Arizona.
I make the rules! Silly me, right? But it was a moment of growth and I feel so much lighter now.
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