Work

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Last Shift!

I’m just about to head out to do my last shift at the gas station!

I’ve been on an earlier schedule since I got back to Victoria and thus have been getting a lot done in the mornings. My big contract has had extra hours for the past couple of weeks and I’ve been doing two to three hours of work first thing in the morning before going to do my gas station shifts. After doing some work today, I went outside to finish tidying up the workshop and start putting things away in my exterior storage compartments. The tools and related items are a disaster, but at least they are all corralled into one bin.

Someone finally came to pick up the bucket chairs today after weeks of chasing him, so tomorrow I can do a dump run in one shot. I have two mattresses, wood, and the wardrobe doors that need to go; I should be able to strap everything to the roof rack. After that, I’ll run a few errands and then spend the rest of the day prepping the inside and make sure that my laptop is synched to my desktop so that I can continue to work without interruption.

I’ve been getting weather reports from the Mainland to Dawson and everywhere has better weather than here so it’s time to go!

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Thirty-Three Hours

I have four shifts left at the gas station, for a total of thirty-three hours. I am beyond excited to get out of there, but grateful that the job turned out much better than I would have thought.

While I am off the next four days, I aim to be just about ready to go by Thursday night. This means that I have a minimum amount of stuff left to pack and only exterior things, like flushing the fresh water system, left to do, and that the workshop and house are ready for Croft and Norma’s imminent return!

Friday, I am taking a road trip north Island with a friend from work. We’re not going to the northernmost community, Port Hardy, but almost since we will be going to the ferry terminal in Port McNeill. I’ll have managed to see a lot more of Vancouver Island this winter than I would have expected!

Departure is still slated for May 1st, next Saturday! I had thought it would be nice to sneak out a day earlier than that, but don’t want to get ensnared in Friday night Vancouver rush hour, even if Saturday afternoon probably won’t be much better. I’d like to catch the 10:30 ferry from Nanaimo, meaning that I will need to leave Campbell River no later than 7:30 after dumping. It’ll be an early morning! That would put me in Vancouver around 12:30 and in Chilliwack by mid-afternoon after running an errand for a friend in Coquitlam. By the time I take on gas and propane in Chilliwack, it’ll be a reasonable time to hunker down and crash at the Walmart!

Last night, I planned my trip to Dawson to see what is the minimum number of days I’d need to get there safely and enjoyably: nine. That would give me six days flex time in case of weather issues. I do plan to spend two days in Prince George but would otherwise be thrilled to get to Whitehorse on schedule since that would give me extra time to putter around the Yukon before shooting up to Dawson. It’ll really depend on the weather.

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I Think It’s Actually Happening

The ‘It’ in this case is being able to support myself on the road without having to get a j-o-b.

I got a new client this morning, completely out of the blue, who wanted me to proofread a French translation. It was a small job that will pay for next week’s groceries. As for my ‘big’ contract, I haven’t been able to do nearly as many hours as I’d been given the impression I’d have to do and, yet, there will be enough coming in from it this month to cover my car insurance payment and I won’t have to worry about my RV payment next month. At the rate April is going, I won’t have to worry about the June RVing payment either. Small things that, when added together, relieve a lot of the financial strain.

May this year isn’t looking up to be nearly as scary as it was last year. I’ll have some money coming in while I’m traveling, know that I can boondock the whole way and still be able to work most nights, and know that I will have a job and no rent when I arrive at my destination. This is starting to look more and more like what I imagined my full-time RV life would!

Unfortunately, the writing contract didn’t work out since the person running it had family issues and couldn’t administer the project. He kept on delaying the start of it and now I don’t expect anything to come from it. I’m pretty bummed, but still psyched that someone was willing to pay me for my writing.

I’m going to have a lot to juggle this summer, but still plan to work full-time at the RV park, knowing that my hours there can be adjusted if needed. I’d rather be swamped and overworked this summer, then able to take off with a clear mind in the fall, than to fritter away my time and be stuck with limited options in October. I look forward to seeing what the next few months will bring.

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Walmart Shopping Spree

WHEW. I sure made this trip to Walmart worth my while! My cart was overflowing with household goods and groceries by the time I got to the cash. I’d been working on my list for a couple of weeks now and found almost everything. Home Depot will hopefully have the rest, including a grommet kit. I’ll be going there tomorrow to get more trim and will ask about my missing items.

The cashier made my night when he replied “Amazing!” to my “How are you?” I told him I love to meet people who share my zest for life, no matter what job we’re doing. We shared a couple of laughs about his packing skills and lack of adherence to the rules. I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun checking out at Walmart!

I’m glad I was able to go to Walmart tonight as planned because my boss asked me to come in to work a full shift today. I had said I would be available on standby (we knew this situation was going to come up), but there’s someone on spring break who was eager for shifts, so I hoped she would go in instead of me and she did! The money I would have made today wouldn’t have been worth losing all that home time. I did offer to go in at about 9:45 to lock up, and this was gratefully accepted. I suspect I will come home and crash after; spending a lot of money at one time always exhausts me. šŸ˜€

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Making Lists and Plans

I’m starting to feel a bit overwhelmed about everything that still needs to be done by April 30th, so I made myself a list. It is… extensive. I then colour coded it in red, yellow, and green. The red tasks are the big jobs that will require a lot of time and effort. The yellow jobs are little annoying things I need to do that will require some effort and time. The green jobs are easy little projects. I think that having this list is going to help me stay on track and finish up everything without losing my mind as well as make better use of the days when I’m at work.

I knew the list will help for sure when I finished it and promptly got up to complete one of my green tasks!

Even though I have had no reason whatsoever not to trust the glue holding the new shelf in the toilet room, I just couldn’t bring myself to risk a crash. So, I installed four angle brackets with teeny screws. Such a small thing and took only two minutes!

Another list I’m working on is what groceries and supplies I should be stocking up on when I get to Whitehorse. While IĀ  do hope to squeeze in a run back there mid-summer to replenish my supplies,Ā  I’d like to get to Dawson with a fuller larder than I did last year since I hadn’t anticipated spending the whole summer there! I have access to a large freezer in Dawson, so buying things that can later be frozen is a possibility. It can be nice to head into the known!

The final list is what I want to do and see on the trip I’ll be taking ‘down Island’ from April 13 through to the 16th. Taking a weekend off is going to force me to get a lot done this coming weekend and give me a chance to unwind a bit. Yes! There is more tourism to come during the Great Renovation Winter! šŸ˜€

Notice has been given at work and my last day at the gas station will be April 28th. Thirteen shifts (107.25 hours) left!

I’ve made my spending plan up to July, with projections straight through to November, and barring any disasters, I will have a reasonably stress-free return to Dawson City. If the weather is good and I can shoot straight north, I may even be able to squeeze in a detour or two. Unlike last year, I don’t plan to dawdle between the Lower Mainland and Prince George but rather get as far north as quickly as possible, weather-depending, so I can see a bit more of the Yukon this year than I did last year.

I’ve had reports from Dawson that spring is coming very early this year and if the trend holds, I may decide to do something impossibly bold and arrive in Dawson from the west, via the Top of the World Highway, so as to see southwest Yukon and spend some time in Alaska. Having driven the TotWH I feel that I could do it with Miranda and the toad so long as the conditions are reasonable. This is a decision I won’t be making until I get to Whitehorse.

As for the whole Cassiar vs. Alaska Highway debate I’ve been having with myself, it’ll depend on the answer I get about something that could give me more internet independence than I would have expected to get this spring.

There’s lots going on and April is going to be a whirlwind of activity!