Work

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An Unsustainable Situation

I haven’t said much on the subject of work these past few months, afraid to jinx myself again like I did last time something wonderful happened in that sphere. So I’m going to tread lightly with the details and say that I finally got my dream job. It’s not transcription, it pays a professional wage, and I have reason to believe that it would be long-term (there is no job security in the freelancing world). I work set eight-hour shifts three days a week and I need reliable internet because I have to respond to emails very quickly.

This is why my internet situation has become so critical this summer. I can no longer go up the hill in the morning to download work for the day and then go back up in the evening to send it. I really need to be online and available every second of those shifts. Every shift since I got this job has been incredibly stressful because I never know from one second to the next if I’ll be able to do a Google search or send an email. Now that someone is working alongside me during my shift, I know that my unacceptable internet situation is going to be coming obvious because he can respond to emails while I’m still waiting for them to come in because the attachment is so ‘heavy’ (less than 1MB).

Let me reiterate that I did my due diligence when I bought my property. I had every reason to believe that I would have internet here after the building of the new tower in 2013. But SaskTel screwed up and I have no recourse against them.

My booster is waiting for me in Plentywood and I’ll head out there first thing Friday to pick it up, then will have a four-day weekend to get it working. I don’t think I’ll want to do any permanent mounting until I’ve lived with it for a bit. I’m not expecting it to provide me with a miracle. All it will give me is, hopefully, a more reliable connection. I’ll still have the slow speeds when I’m throttled.

So the booster or a mobile office are going to be band-aids, nothing more. The fact is that this is it for internet at Haven forever because SaskTel will not bring us any sort of service except satellite, which is not much better than dial up, incredibly expensive to set up and use, and which has punitive bandwidth restrictions. They boast that I can get 40GB per month (which would be enough), but I read the fine print and there are daily restrictions that would slow me down to dial up speeds. I get better speeds than that on cellular when the connection is working okay, even when throttled.

Do you know how far hard wired broadband internet is from me? I bet you don’t and you will be surprised. I had a reader comment that I live ‘in the middle of nowhere.’ It does feel that way when you come from Assiniboia. But Willow Bunch has hard wired broadband and it is just 18KM away. When the gravel is well graded, like it was last night, I am ten minutes driving distance from the nearest house that has hard wired broadband. Ten minutes. It might as well be a hundred years because SaskTel won’t consider bringing that to my community either.

I have at least twenty working years left, possibly thirty. So if I were to spend my summers here, that would be ten to fifteen years of my life struggling with the internet.

I’ve always made plans for my current income because I’m not one to make plans for ‘the day I win the lottery.’ But now, it looks like I might have options I hadn’t anticipated. I’m mobile. Why would I come here and struggle to work when I could go anywhere in the world? All that would happen would be that I would come to resent this place I love so much. Haven will always be that, a safe port, a place to drop off stuff and to sit and breathe for a few days or weeks. I cannot anchor myself to this place at this time, but it will always be a security blanket of sorts.

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Scorcher

It’s been hot here the last few days! I haven’t really noticed because I’ve been working and my home has a little thing called AC. With heat has come massive swarms of bird-sized mosquitoes, so it really hasn’t been outdoor weather!

Today is the start of a four-day weekend for me. I’m burning out from a really long and unending transcription marathon, so it’s nice to have some time to just breathe. Of course, I utterly failed at sleeping in this morning, but I did take it slow. I waited for the post to come, then went to town to run some errands.

By the time I’d hit the post office, the bank, and the thrift store, it was only 11:10 and much too early for lunch, so I decided to go walk around the Shurniak Gallery. This gallery is a real gem for Assiniboia, featuring lots of beautiful art in different mediums. There’s mostly paintings, but also some sculptures and other things. I’ve been to the gallery once, in October of 2013 for a music concert, and I didn’t have time to view everything.

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The artwork on display would belong in any world-class museum. My favourite medium is oil, so I spent a lot of time admiring the colours and brushwork on a variety of paintings. You really have to go through the entire building because there’s artwork tucked into every corner.

The gallery now has a cafe serving soups, sandwiches, and coffee beverages at a reasonable price and is really a lovely place to wile away an hour. Admission is free and donations are welcome.

After visiting the gallery, I decided to check out the lunchtime buffet at the New Moon Cafe. I usually do the buffet at Andy’s, but a neighbour told me that New Moon has ‘more stuff.’ It did and it was tasty and the same price as Andy’s, but the ‘more stuff’ isn’t things that I enjoy, like breaded and fried mystery meat in a very sweet sauce (typical Canadian-Chinese offerings passed off as ginger beef or lemon chicken or sweet and sour pork). So I’ll probably to stick to Andy’s, which has really good pizza! But I’m glad I tried it out and I did enjoy my lunch very much, especially the chicken wings and broccoli!

After lunch, it was time to get groceries. The grocery store parking lot is absolutely chaos as the store renovations progress and I had to drive around the block to find a parking spot! It’s no wonder they are so adamant that baggers take out orders as I don’t think everyone would be bothered to walk their carts back several blocks!

They had some good deals today on everything on my list, so it was a fruitful expedition. Shopping in that store is such a chore because there’s no room and people for some reason don’t get that and just leave their carts in the middle of narrow aisles. I really hope that the expanded store will give us a little more room to move around. I really do appreciate the increased amount of selection in the store, though, especially when it comes to ‘ethnic’ foods and am optimistic that when I come home next May, I won’t feel a strong urge to go do a big Moose Jaw shop like I did this year.

Next thing on my list for today, make sure that I’m ready to move to my new computer, which should be here Monday but I suspect could surprise me tonight… I don’t think I’ve ever moved to a new machine running a newer OS before, so I’m not convinced that a ‘restore from last Time Machine backup’ will work.

It’ll be cooler over the next few days, so I’ll be able to start running some tests to determine where I’ll be installing the new booster antennas. There was a very justifiable delay in getting the booster out (which the Facebook followers know all about), so probably won’t get it till about this time next week. I can’t wait to write a report on that and give the awesome store and tech I dealt with some much deserved praise!

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Epiphanies

Ooh, today was bad, apocalypse level bad in terms of winds, rain, and property damage in the southern Prairies. I was right in the middle of it and unlike the eye of a hurricane, where it is calm, I was in a real maelstrom. There are trees down all over my hamlet and I had to use a lot of muscle to get a particularly large branch off my driveway so I could park my truck.

My internet service is flaky on a bad day and non-existent on a day like today. I ended up spending most of my day parked in a field about halfway to Assiniboia. That’s how far I had to go to get a usable cellular signal so I could do my work and about as far as I dared to go in lashing rain, gusting winds, and huge amounts of water on the road. It was a very long and unpleasant day.

Working out of my truck for a few hours is fine. I sit in the passenger seat and have a lap desk, so I’m comfortable. But I have no bathroom or means of making a hot beverage (which would have been appreciated on such a cold and damp day). I really don’t have an alternative place to work except taking a motel room in Assiniboia. The library in Assiniboia has weird hours and I obviously couldn’t do an eight-hour shift there or at the bakery that sort of doubles as an internet cafe. So I am rather resentful that I’m being put in this situation because we don’t have cellular service down in the valley, where I have a lovely office.

I am actively pursuing the connectivity issue this summer. I am at the point of seeking a political resolution, having reached an impasse with SaskTel, the telecom company that holds a monopoly in this province. As soon as I am ready to go to the media, I will lay it all out here on the blog. But the short of it is that at this point in time, there are no plans within the next 10 years to bring cellular service, and therefore good internet, to my valley and so I really need to reconsider using Haven as a home base. My flaky internet wasn’t such a big deal when I could schedule going up the hill to where there’s service on especially bad days while being able to work at home, but the new job requires me to respond very quickly to emails and is not compatible with a flaky internet service.

Which led to an epiphany regarding another decision I’ve been contemplating: buying a new (to me) vehicle.

I figured out this winter that I really want a camper van to use as a daily driver and to serve as a mobile motel room and office when I’m traveling. The epiphany I had today is that if I had a vehicle like that, it would mean being able to ride out poor connectivity issues in style. At the first whiff of bad internet, I could relocate to the mobile office, park where there’s a good connection, and work comfortably with access to a bathroom and means to make a simple meal. Yes, my home has wheels, but can you imagine having to pack up and move a 32′ motorhome a couple of times a week, never mind find a large enough place to pull off a highway to work?! There is a reason people like having toads!

Having contemplated the camper van situation for some time now, I’ve figured exactly what I want and why. Mexico has featured heavily into my consideration. I want something that I would be able to import when I move there semi-permanently in three to four years, so that means I need something older since you can only import vehicles manufactured eight or more years from the year of import. So that puts me at a 2009 to 2011 model year, a huge improvement over my current 2000 truck. I also want something that can easily be serviced in Mexico.

Next consideration is fuel economy; I want an improvement over my Ranger’s gas guzzling tendencies. I want something small that I can park anywhere. And I want something that is proven to be convertible into a camper van.

Tall order? Nope. I have found one vehicle that meets every single one of these requirements and it is hugely popular in Europe for camper van conversions: the Ford Transit Connect. It is not to be confused with its larger sibling, the Transit.

Unfortunately, the North American Transit Connects don’t have all the options of their European counterparts, most especially a manual transmission. Going to an automatic would be a huge concession. But we can get the longer body and high roof here, so there’s that. The Transit Connect makes for a very compact mini motorhome. The Transit is much more spacious, sort of like a poor man’s Sprinter in fact, but it doesn’t have the fuel economy of the Transit Connect.

I’ve looked at conversions of the Transit Connect and it would be just the right size for a small bed and work station with room for a potty, a cooler, and a cooktop. Pretty much every conversion I’ve seen has the same basic layout, and with good reason, as it lays out all these elements efficiently.

The conversion is a project I feel I could undertake myself. I would not add propane or plumbing. The most complex part of the job would be electrical, but that’s something I’m competent to do and I would actually pull a lot of materials from Miranda (solar panel, whole house inverter, battery monitor), which would really cut down on costs.

So now it’s a matter of finding my Transit Connect. I did a soft inquiry to see if I could get a vehicle loan and the amount and the answers are yes and enough to buy a recent model (I found a 2013 that fits in the price range). I really doubt that I would buy this summer/fall. I just don’t feel financially secure enough right now to jump into this project, although I am scanning the market. But it looks like my plan for next spring will be to find and purchase the vehicle and then spend the summer working on the conversion.

I need to decide how far afield I want to look. Importing from the US, which has a much larger market, would be a huge pain, but manageable with a broker. I just need to figure out how I could buy a vehicle there in the spring and drive it home while still having my Ranger and would appreciate suggestions for that. I love my Ranger and want to keep it as a cargo carrier until it rusts out from under me, so abandoning it in some junk yard like I did my beloved Accent isn’t my preferred option.

My fear of the Ranger rusting out is what is what got me thinking about buying a new vehicle in the nearish future. I’ve had three body repair guys tell me that the Ranger is too far gone to save and to stop putting money into it except for the most basic mechanical repairs. Independently of that, my financial planner told me that we needed to adjust my plan to fit in the replacement of my truck within a few years. So this is something I really need to be thinking about.

So to recap, I need a new vehicle, I need a backup place to work when internet at Haven is especially bad, and I need to cut down on costs when traveling between Canada and Mexico. Funny that the solution to all of those things is the same thing. I really do think that things are coming together for me!

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Under Attack

Wow, it’s been a whole week since my last post! For all the excitement that’s been going on around here, there really hasn’t been much to blog about. I got a huge unexpected transcription project that is going to keep me busy pulling overtime straight through the first week of August. What a blessing!

My friends C and C are away for a couple of weeks and I am cat sitting. I go over in the morning to give them their wet food and back again in the evening to spend time with them.

The boy cat is wonderful and always glad to see me. You’d think he’d be excited about the wet food in the morning and the treats in the evening, but he’s more thrilled to see a human who will pet him and tell him what a good boy he is. In the evening, I sit in the living room in a comfy chair with my feet up and read while he sits beside me on the floor so I can pet him. I’m hoping that he’ll eventually move to my lap!

The girl cat is the devil incarnate and I steer a wide berth from her. This morning, I couldn’t find her and I didn’t like that. I searched the basement and main floor, then decided that perhaps she was hiding in the hallway upstairs. I climbed up the stairs, turned the curve, and BOOM. I found myself with an armful of hissing cat hell bent on scratching me to death. The little monster ambushed me! I managed to get away unhurt and I could swear she was laughing at me as I raced back down to the kitchen!

And speaking of getting attacked, let me tell you about my wasp situation.

Monday night, I was going into the shed when a wasp came and stung me behind the ear. It was the worst pain I have ever felt and I have had a dentist drill into a nerve for an hour with no pain killers, so I have a good point of comparison. My ear swelled up like a cauliflower and was numb for days. So soon as I can get an appointment, I need to go see a doctor so I can get a prescription for an Epipen as it looks like I might be allergic to wasp stings. Reactions apparently get more severe each time, so this isn’t something I can just brush off.

I found out that the wasp came from a nest inside my shed. I need my shed! I asked Charles before he left what I should do and he told me to get some wasp spray, wear thick clothing, go to the shed at dusk when the wasps are bedding down for the night, and shoot the nest until it’s soaking wet, then slam the door shut and run for my life. This sounded like a plan except for the possibly getting stung and dying from anaphylactic shock part.

Well, he came by the next day to let me know that he’d spoken to another neighbour (the one who leveled gravel and moved my power pole) and this neighbour said that he would deal with the nest for me!

I went to town yesterday and bought wasp spray (conveniently 25% off this week), then went to see him as it was perfect wasp killing weather (cold and wet). He promised to be by in the evening. We had a big rain storm (my roof doesn’t leak anymore, by way, YAY!) and as soon as the sky cleared, he was at my door. He was dressed in jeans, tall boots, a heavy coat with a hood, thick gloves, and goggles, looking ready to go to war!

I explained where the nest was and he went to work spraying it. He just stood there calmly and sprayed while I could see (from a safe distance) that wasps were pouring out of the nest! He sprayed about three quarters of the can, wanting to save some for this morning. Then he shut the door and promised to follow up today.

He was here this morning around 9:00 and went to check out the shed, telling me to stay back in case he opened the door and there was a swarm of angry wasps waiting to take their revenge. Nope. There was a huge pile of dead wasps on the floor. He still sprayed the nest a second time and left just a bit in the can in case I find another one growing nearby. He volunteered to get rid of the nest, but research tells me to leave it there as it will discourage other wasps from moving into the shed.

So that’s all of the excitement out of southern Saskatchewan this week. Stay tuned for the next riveting installment of Little RV On the Prairie!

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A Much Needed Domestic Day

I’ve been back at Haven for just over a month now and today was the first day that I was able to just focus on home. Now is the time to confess that I wondered what it would like to return to teeny tiny Miranda after a winter of rattling around in my huge Mexican casita. Well, it’s been wonderful, so cozy and comfortable. I’m in no hurry to move!

Before beginning the domestic stuff this morning, I started some updates for my computer since I wouldn’t need it today. Unfortunately, I had to cancel them a few minutes ago after trying all day to get them downloaded and my connection repeatedly timing out. I called SaskTel yesterday and we determined that there actually is something going on with my account, but they can’t figure out what until my billing cycle resets in two weeks. *sighs*

While the computer was busy, I set to work in the kitchen. It’s been feeling very chaotic since I got back, mostly because of the under sink leak and not being able to put things away under there. So I spent some time cleaning the area well, making sure that there were no other leaks, and put things away.

Then, I decided to empty out and clean my pot cupboard since I found some weevils in my soup pot the other day. I’ll spare you a picture, but let’s just say I’m glad I’m not squeamish because I found weevil central. And by weevil, I mean little critters that look like tiny worms, not necessarily actual weevils.

Since I had to wash everything in that cupboard, I decided to do some much needed scrubbing of my pots and pans with Barkeepers Friend and some steel wool.

I’ve been using the same set of Meyer pots and pans since I moved out on my own in 1998 and I have made thousands of meals with them. Needless to say, they get pretty crusty and covered with grease and scorch marks, no matter how hard I scrub them after making a meal. So a couple of times a year, I do a big scrub and restore them to a mirror shine with the Barkeepers Friend and steel wool. It’s a process that’s really hard on my hands, even when wearing gloves (!), hence why I don’t pull out the BF after every meal.

I did this to the lid of my soup pot in just the last couple of weeks after using it as a lid for my cast iron pan:

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That black stuff is all under the lid, along the rim, and it goes right to the top of the lid:

And after a few minutes of scrubbing:

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Once my pots were all shiny, I put everything away again and took the time to reorganize the cupboard a bit as well as some of my overhead cabinets. Then, I washed all the cabinet doors.

By this time, I was beyond ready for lunch, so I finished up the zucchini and chicken I had for dinner last night. I still can’t believe that I have found a use for zucchini outside of chocolate cake. It is such a wonderful replacement for pasta.

After lunch, I started the dishwasher, collapsed in my chair, put my feet up for a bit, and read for a couple of hours!

Speaking of the dishwasher, it is amazing. 🙂 It is exactly the right size for my kitchen. It lives between the bookcase and the canned good cabinet, leaving me ample room to access both, and it’s not in the way to climb the ladder to the loft. I can pull it out, turn it, and bring it to the sink without having to move anything. I haven’t had any use for that space since I lost my cats, because that was where I stored their litter box, so the dishwasher doesn’t feel like it’s taking up any precious space.

It also gives me the little bit of extra counter space I needed for my food processor and tortilla press. I use both too often for it to be worth storing them between uses.

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I am really happy I bought the dishwasher. It is a huge improvement to my quality of life.

Late afternoon, after cleaning the dressing room, I went for a walk. It is very smoky and hazy out there. Saskatchewan is having a record breaking dry June and we are having tons of wildfires. I’m not sure where this smoke is coming from, but I know that the northern part of the province is burning, so I imagine that the smoke from there is drifting south. The conditions remind me of my first Klondike summer, when Yukon was plagued by wildfires.

When I came in, I made a giant pitcher of lemonade. All the recipes I found had the proportions as being 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water to 1 cup of lemon juice, and then dilute as needed. Since I don’t do much sugar anymore, I only used a half cup of sugar and it was still way too much. Next time, I’ll do just a quarter cup. I really like lemonade when it’s very hot out as it seems to quench thirst better than just plain water and I haven’t had it in eons. For some reason, there are no lemons in Mexico, so I do ‘limonada’ there, which is limeade. Tasty, but not the same!

And then, it was time for dinner and I didn’t feel like cooking. So I went to the grainery to get a quarter of Co-Op’s amazing frozen ‘deluxe’ pizza (peppers, pepperoni, sausage, onion, black olives), quite simply the best frozen pizza I’ve ever had (they also do a yummy chicken and pineapple over BBQ sauce pizza!). I buy the pizzas on sale (3 for $9.99). They are a little soft by the time I get home, so open them up and use scissors to cut them into quarters, rewrap, and toss in the freezer. Then, when I have a day when I’ve been active and my kitchen is perfect and I don’t want to mess it up, it’s easy to pull out just as much pizza as I should be eating at one time.

While the pizza was baking, I went outside and dug a hole for my antenna pole. I might actually get that project done one day. It’s just that I have service now and every time I play with the antenna it takes ages to find service again. So I really need a full day for this project. Maybe this coming Friday will be the day…

I’m so glad I got this day off before starting the new job tomorrow. I feel like I managed to reboot my brain. I’ve had a lot of technological frustration in the last few weeks, so having a day away from the computer did me a world of good!