Canada

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Domestic Bliss

It’s amazing how long the days are when you don’t have to waste time at a job. Even after I’ve done as many billable hours as I can, worked some leads, and caught up on my bookkeeping, there’s still time to clean the rig, take walks, go swimming, and be silly with the cats. At the rate I’m going, I might actually finish the toilet room and get the dressing room done! I also have a library project I’m itching to get to, in addition to desperately needing new window coverings for the study.

The weather today wasn’t as nice as the last few; very windy and overcast, and it only went into the high teens (*cough, cough*), but still nice enough to throw open windows and roof hatches. I even had the front door open all day, something I didn’t do once this summer, and which delighted Neelix who loves to lie on the landing and stare through the screen door.

I just love being home; there’s no better place to be!

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Matters of Income

Oh, I was born to be retired! 😀

It’s been such a lovely couple of days, what with the good weather and lack of schedule. I’m slowly catching up on things at home and have reorganized the study into a place where I might actually be able to be productive. One thing that amuses me is that after a year and a half on an evening and late-night schedule, I’ve been an early bird for over a week! I know it won’t last, these phases never do, but I’m feeling a tad turned around!

Income-wise, I’ve applied for a few contracts, was accepted as an article writer for suite101.com, and visited the Osoyoos employment office. The setup is exactly as it was two years ago in Oliver, advertising jobs that I can find online, in addition to picking positions that are not going to be worth my while. I’m fairly convinced that I’ll be wasting my time looking for a job at a physical location and am focusing on online contracts. I’m only committed to being here two to four months and will be taking a week off in November, so that makes me look even less desirable to potential employers. I will look for a cashier-type job when the holidays come around, if I’m still in Osoyoos then.

Also, this time around I don’t have RV park management expecting 60+ hours a week in exchange for a site (*cough, cough*) so I am expanding the search radius to Pentiction for professional-type jobs that would be worth the commuting time and expense.

One of the things I’ve learned about earning income on the road is that I’m better off having a bunch of small contracts than a single full-time job. This gives me more security in that if one contract falls through I still have some income and it allows me to pretty much set my own schedule. This latter part is especially important since it means that if I find a short-term lucrative project, I can take it on by shuffling my other commitments without worrying about the full-time job that’s eating up all my time.

There are still three weeks left before I hit desperate status, so I’m just going to chill, work my contacts, and enjoy pretending that I don’t have a care in the world. 😀

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Anatidae and Serpentes

My first day in Osoyoos was a good one. The weather was HOT! I can’t believe that just a few days ago I was scrambling to find cold weather gear!

One of my contracts picked up speed this week, so I was able to put in a full day of work (if only it would keep up steady like this for the next four months!). Having the attention span of a gnat, I like to break my work day into roughly one hour chunks, then take a break away from the computer. I work a much longer day that way, but I find I am more productive.

For one of the breaks I took today, I headed to the beach, just a couple of minutes from my spot. There are a bunch of ducks who like to lie around on the sand and I had fun watching them for a spell.

Okanagan Lake

Okanagan Lake

Mallards chilling out

beautiful mallards

Mallard making sure his boy parts are still there?

For my lunch break, I decided to walk into town to see if there was anything practical within reasonable walking distance (nope). I made sure to capture this sign placed just before the entrance to the RV park:

 snakes crossing sign

Longtime readers will not be surprised that my reaction to this sign was Ooh! rather than Ew!

I have to say that this geographic area astounds me. There is no doubt I am in a desert, and many people practice xeriscaping, but there is still this lush abundance that fits in with what I think the Mediterranean coast would look like. On my walk, I saw cacti in one garden and grapes in the next!

lush desert

Sometime in the middle of all this, I met some more blog readers (thank you for stopping in!) and soon as I hit publish, I’m off to the pool. This Okanagan stay is off to a good start and I hope it stays that way!

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Fear and Loathing in the Okanagan

It wasn’t until I passed Oliver town limits this morning that I realised just how much I loathe that town and had no desire to come back to this part of Canada.

I know that ‘loathe’ is a loaded and serious word, but I do not use it lightly. Other than the friendships I made, nothing good came out of that place and I am a worse person for having been there. Since then, I have found myself to be wary of people in a way that is completely unjustifiable. I have been treated so well by so many since I hit the road, but the experience in Oliver poisoned my mind. I can barely recognize who I was while I was there and I know I am not the same person who pulled into that town just a little over two years ago.

In some respects, the changes are good. I’m more self-assertive and take much better care of myself, but in others the changes are devastating. I’m so wary of people’s intentions now and so much less willing to work hard and pitch in without a clear job definition and remuneration agreement.

It’s been two years and I’m still ‘not over it.’ Perhaps this winter in Osoyoos will help me pass through whatever mental obstacles I need to pass through. This RV park will probably be a refuge: it is beautiful and a good distance from the southern part of Osoyoos so I do not feel like I am even remotely in familiar surroundings. I don’t want to say too much lest I spoil surprises for Donna, so I’ll share pictures when she gets here. 🙂

The game plan now is to take the weekend off, tidy up the rig, and then start looking for income on Monday. I have a head start on that this time around in that I know that going to the wineries and handing out resumes on foot is a waste of time. Instead, I’ll head straight for the employment office and see what’s available. I’d really rather find contracts than a job so that I can have better control over my time this fall, especially since I’m flying to Montreal for a week on November 4th and I also have a lot of stuff to put together for that thing that’s coming up that I still can’t talk about.

I’m hopeful that coming back here was not a terrible mistake and will instead help me to close one of the darker chapters of my life. Knowing that I will literally be surrounded by friends soon enough makes all the difference.

That, and a pool. 😀

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No Resolution

Miranda started up fine and performed normally and optimally to the repair shop, Elite Auto Service. They spent about a half hour scanning the rig to see what trouble codes came up:

P0118: ECT circuit high input
P0743: TCC system electrical fault
P1290: cylinder head temp sensor low input

They said that there was one part, the name of which escapes me, which might need to be replaced, but the rig performed normally for them and they felt there was no sense throwing parts at a problem they couldn’t see. I was advised to go for a long drive, see if the problem recurred, and, if so, under what circumstances. They did not clear the check engine light, but gave me the list of codes so that the next time someone looks at Miranda they won’t have to start from scratch.

I left feeling a bit bummed that there’s still quite likely a problem, but very pleased with the service. I was there a half hour and was not charged!

Since I was feeling uncertain about the rig and had also just found out I could have my spot in Osoyoos for $15 a night plus tax (Full hookups! Pool!) I decided to just head for Miranda’s fall mooring.

I drove the 150km or so to Osoyoos and had one stall when I had to come to a pretty sudden stop at the bottom of a hill in Summerland when a light went straight to green from red. But Miranda started back up normally. The drive was otherwise 100% normal. I’ve spent enough time in this thing to recognize an odd sound or behaviour and there was nothing.

So, ironically enough, mechanical troubles saved me money on this trip. Well, so long as they don’t end up being ‘something’ after all. 🙂