Oct26

Getting By

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Last night I realized I had no blog post scheduled for today.

No problem, I thought. I’ll just go to the coffee shop after work and post an update of what I’ve been doing. No problem.

But now I’ve had dinner (that breakfast burrito with eggs, potatoes, cheese, salsa, and green chiles was freaking awesome) and messed around too much on Facebook (which was supposed to be for promoting the blog, not for wasting my precious rare internet time), and I am tired. Tired, tired, tired. So please don’t expect this to be the best blog post you have ever read.

I’ve been working selling shiny rocks and the hemp jewelry and winter hats I handmake. The shoppers have been more like browsers than customers, mostly stuffy old people. I’m talking to everyone, trying to be charming and nice, showing everyone how the clasp on the jewelry works, letting them know I’m downsizing and offering good deals on rocks. I’ve made a little money every day, and keep reminding myself that any money I earn is more than I had. I’ve also met my goal of not yet having to dip into my savings and haven’t even had to use the money in my checking account to support my eating and gasoline habits. I’m making it; I’m getting by.

I have a house sitting job scheduled to start next week. The woman I’m house sitting for is super nice, and I’ll be caring for an adorable father and son doggy duo. The house is awesome. (I’m not often impressed by houses, but this one is absolutely lovely.) The house also includes a shower and flush toilet (not really unusual, as houses in the U.S. go), a washer and dryer, a million TV channels, and WiFi! (Oh precious WiFi!) I might just stay in the house accessing the internet for four days straight.

I don’t have any other house sitting jobs lined up, but I’ve been spreading the word that I’m still looking.

I’ve spent several nights on the couch in the studio casita belonging to my dear friend the Jewelry Lady. She is such a good friend! She’s been keeping me amused and feeding me dinner and letting me sleep on her aforementioned couch. I don’t want to take advantage of her generosity and hospitality by continually invading her small space, but I’ll probably be back there tomorrow night, as a low temperature of 24 degrees is predicted. I’m not sure I want to sleep in the van when it’s that cold.

I also reconnected in a platonic/nonromantic way with my Rock Guy/exboyfriend. I think he really missed me. He was very nice to me when I was out at his place. He insisted I sleep in his bed (while he slept on the floor!) and he presented me with a pair of shoes he’d scored for me at the local thrift store. I’m driving him to the big city for a doctor’s appointment early next week, and he’s talking about us going on a big road trip later this month. It’s good to be friends with him, but we are not getting back together, and that does make me a little sad.

That’s it. That’s all I’ve got to say tonight. I need to do more writing, but at the end of the day, I am just so darn tired.

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About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

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