Hello from the soggy Cumberland Plateau,
The last 36 hours or so have been a struggle to get anything done as it has rained off and on since Sunday and now pretty much non-stop for the last day and a half. I had hoped to be on my way back north by yesterday. Now I hoping to get at least to the TN/NC border by nightfall. We’ll see how it goes. Over the last month, I have learned firsthand how little I can have to manage. There are some specifics, and a membership to Planet Fitness is a significant piece of that. Help from a dear friend in Bloomsburg is also a vital component in managing some of the daily health issues. As I am actually existing for the most part in a far-from-completed bus, there have been numerous moments I have questioned the wisdom of what I am attempting. There is such a steep learning curve, but the difference is I never took the elementary courses in electrical, carpentry, or plumbing, so the foundational comfort is missing. It’s like riding a bike, but skipping the training wheels. And coordination has never been my strongest suite.
Yesterday, I experienced the first personal-injury mishap of the build. The storage door created for the back area is substantial, both in weight and its sheer density (e.g. 14 gauge steel); it comes up to a 90 degree angle from the bus, and is about 5 and a half feet up (about forehead height). I know this height because walking around the corner of the bus, I walked into it full-stop (literally and figuratively) and knocked myself out. A trip to the ER resulted in a CT Scan, a tetanus shot, and 5 stitches to close the gash on my forehead. I knew the possibility was there, and I have tried to be cautious, but forgetting even a moment had consequence. I believe there will be others, but hopefully not something quite so extreme. In spite of the setback, because of the hard work and insight of my two bus building colleagues, the bed platform was installed. It’s incredibly sturdy and functional. There are still a couple of minor details that I work out when I get back to Tennessee. Which means, by the way, I’ve made a 700 mile track back to Pennsylvania. It was not my intention to drive so far one straight shot, but a dentist appointment early this morning necessitated such a drive. Driving the bus that far is much more consequential and exhausting than driving the bug. There are a number of things to manage back in Pennsylvania, but I’ve started on the to do list. I’ll be back here for about 10 days. And this back to Wanderlust Waypoints.
If I were to answer the question, what are the important things I’ve learned both conceptionally and otherwise in the last month, the list is long. And it’s been humbling. As I try to figure out the logistics of the build, too often I find myself questioning anything I believe because I do not understand what is required in the intricacies of framing, of wiring, of plumbing, and that is even the basics versus how managing it in a bus might complicate that process. For instance, doing the framing in a fiber glass shell creates issues of stability, and when you only have 7’7” of width, using a normal 2×4 is too big. So I am looking at 1x3s. And yet, it has to attach to the walls of the bus, which are merely a piece of 1/16 to perhaps to 1/8 fiberglass that sheets 3/4 in plywood and second piece of fiberglass. And before that, there is an issue of the weathering (26 years) of the shell and how recent heavy rains have revealed more leaks. All of that has to be remedied before I do any real inside building. There are also some logistic issues in terms of time and place here in Bloomsburg. I hope to manage some of that tomorrow (which is now Friday). Oh yes, there’s the DC and AC wiring, then the the 120 amp and 12 volt wiring and such I use all shallow gang boxes, and can I get them?
The manufactured doors, which are quite incredible (and heavy) are creating their own set of issues. I have broken the spring in the door latch mechanism twice in 4 months. The first time before it even left the shop. Today I was at Home Depot looking at heavy duty assemblies, which of course are not regularly in stock and must be ordered. That will be done in the morning. I should wash clothes tomorrow. I need to decide how to manage the leaks and there are some issue with the reinstalled windows (which will necessitate a trip to the window installer tomorrow also. All of this means arriving three days later her in Bloom might necessitate being here longer, which affects the Beetle retrieval in Iowa. I think you get the picture. I do have a consultation on Saturday with a master construction person and plan to ask lots of questions. I did reach out to set up an appointment with the Bus Guru as I refer to him, but somehow have not heard back. The points and parallels I imply in my title are both instructive and meant to remind me of a couple of important points.
When I had reached the dissertation stage of my doctoral work, there were a number of times I felt overwhelmed. And that is not uncommon, as writing dissertation takes time and focus. In fact, often someone might receive a finishing fellowship to get things completed. You are not teaching or doing anything else, you are writing. It is your total focus. People are strongly discouraged from going out ABD (All But Dissertation) because you will literally have two full-time jobs. However, I did precisely that because of my need for better health insurance than what our graduate health insurance provided. I knew this first hand because an emergency surgery the Fall of 1997 was not covered because of what they could argue was a pre-existing condition (so those who want to argue the efficacy of the ACA do want want or get me started on that). The reality of life took priority over the conventional wisdom of finishing my diss before taking a tenure track position. For the first two years I was at Stout (and I had a finish by date from my dean at Stout) I tried to manage a 4/4 teaching load, new preps, and spending every weekend focusing on my dissertation. Most of it was written in a coffee shop (thank goodness for both Caribou and Starbucks). It was only in the last year I head from one of my committee members that my dissertation, while passable was a bit disappointing. And thought it was published, I knew they were right. Having the appropriate time and focus is paramount. And so it is with the bus build.
Fortunately in the last 24 hours, people who have not seen it since I left here about 10 1/2 months ago are stunned at what has been completed. Since I see it daily, it is easy to focus on what is left to do versus what have I completed. As I lie here at the end of my first full day back in Bloom, that has been the predominant response, from friends to colleagues, who understand as well as anyone how far I am outside my area of expertise. That is gratifying, but each day it seems there is some particular instance that happens and requires a slight change in focus and priority. Fortunately the sun is out, so I think I can get something accomplished the next couple days. Some additional waterproofing, possibly the sanding on the trim areas. There are a ton of items to manage. Meeting earlier today with a master carpenter and builder was helpful. So many moments I feel overwhelmed, underprepared, and generally inadequate over the past month, but the words of encouragement from people I have known for some time provides a sense of hope. And also provides some clarity.
The 27th of September is a significant date and a poignant reminder in my life of things accomplished and things unexpected. Fifty-two years ago, I graduated from boot camp on the parade deck at MCRD – San Diego. There was more than once I was unsure I was capable of achieving that. I remember tears under a pillow the first couple days of my time there. I remember fear more than once when I was confronted with my diminutive size. Graduation was an achievement for me unlike anything I had done up to that point. I was on top of the world. Four years later, I experienced on the the most difficult days, when I received a phone call from my Great-aunt Helen informing me that my grandmother, my hero, had passed. I was crushed because of the guilt I felt for failing to visit her the last time I was back in my hometown. While I had cried only months before when my brother passed, I sobbed unconsolably at her committal service. My entire body shook as I wept at her graveside. Life has a way of reminding us what matters, of things important and things imagined important. As I work through this building process, much like I worked through the writing of my dissertation, there will be moments of inertia and other instances of extreme process. I remember an 11 day period in an early August when I accomplished a great deal (of course, I slept a total of 24 hours in 11 days). I remember when we were finishing the painting of the bus, and all the hours of prep work came together. And yet, while both significant, they pale when compared to people and life. For every season there is a time. I will not get this accomplished quickly or without frustration, but I will succeed. I will not quit, but I will be slow, not because I desire that, but because it is that complex.
Thank you as always for reading.
Michael
thewritingprofessor55 