For sale: Thelma

I'm sitting in Starbucks, feeling a little sad. Also queasy, but that's more due to something at lunch. And nerves, always nerves.

The title probably tipped you off, but I'm going to be selling Thelma. There's a whole bunch of reasons for it, none having to do with the actual camper (which is amazing), but with me and what I can handle on my own.

I've been dreaming, as many of you know, of having a camper/RV for years and years. I'm absolutely glad I did it, and got to experience it. But sometimes a dream isn't quite what reality is. It's not that living in the van was bad - it wasn't. I adapted very easily, and I'm pretty self-sufficient. 

The problems I found are outside, and how they affect me, inside.

Other People's Opinions

This shouldn't be surprising I suppose, but people don't understand why I wanted to live in a van (save for a real house with reduced expenses, while making travel a necessity, which I adore). People see it as something sad though, not empowering. I know people's hearts are in good places, but asking if I needed a place to sleep, shower, cook, launder... It made me feel like I was a charity case and looking for a handout. I am not.

The Need to Relax

The days where I was travelling, finding a parking spot for the night was an adventure. New places, new experiences. Since I took a job in the Ottawa office of my company though, it means I'm somewhat tethered. Suddenly, the fun search for a parking spot became finding a place I could park without being too noticed, drawing attention, and where I could possibly come back often. There are only so many Walmarts in Ottawa, and its not a long-term solution to keep going back to the same ones over and over. This isn't so much of an issue for travellers, as they're in one spot a couple days then move on, but for a (cringe) city dweller, it's more... awkward. And I'm awkward enough. And it doesn't help that it's a completely new city I'm not familiar with.

Dozer

Sigh. I love the pup. But I probably shouldn't have him. My life is always in a state of change, and there just isn't a lot of consistency for him. When I first came to Ottawa, I had him in day and overnight daycare. Then he went to my Dad's for a week. Now, he's in day care again, which means dropping off and picking him up from the daycare in Nepean, leaving the van at carpool and taking the bus to work. It's made my days SUPER long. I'm dropping him off at 9 or 9:30am, work at 11am, picking him up at 8pm after leaving directly from work, then having to find dinner and a parking spot while it's already dark. The point is to have more time to myself, not less. 

Sad lump sad.