April 25, 2026. Yesterday didn't go as planned.
I got a notification that my Amazon package had been delivered. A 5TB hard drive, a lifeline to all my video work, arriving just in the nick of time. I got a ride into town with Melanie, who I recently learned had considered training to become a rally car driver. The roads I travel at 7 or 8 miles per hour she was doing at 58. That was an experience in itself.
A couple of entries ago I mentioned General Delivery as a useful service for nomads receiving packages at post offices. I will never use it again as long as I live.
Three previous packages were returned to me as undeliverable. This fourth one shows as delivered but has gone missing. The post office says UPS packages addressed to General Delivery go to the UPS store. The UPS store says they have never received a General Delivery package, ever. Amazon says to contact the seller, who turns out to be a third party. So I have a dispute to resolve and no hard drive.
The frustration passed quickly. The message was clear: shift gears. Focus on something different for a few days.
That something is music. I've been unable to prioritize it over everything else, but now the path is obvious. My dedicated music laptop is a tiny MacBook Air, small drive, little RAM, but fine for what I'm doing if I work off an external drive. I have a small drive dedicated to music files. I'm excited to have a few days to move that forward.
Today is day 20 in this campsite. A personal record in 6.5 years of van life. I haven't turned on the ignition in 17 days. Two things make this possible. First, solar. I have 375 watts on the roof and two additional 400 watt panels on the ground. My generation is far exceeding my usage. Solar rich, as another nomad put it. Second, the freezer. Twenty-five pounds of frozen meat extends my ability to stay put from about 5 days to something closer to a month. I'll be doing more of these longer stays. Earlier in my van life I was constantly moving, trying to see everything as if it were about to disappear. That mindset has matured. Low and slow from here on out.
I've decided to pass on the OneWheel for now. This year is for the creative work. There are stronger leverage points for those resources at the moment.
Perhaps the most important thing I've done for myself, giving up alcohol three years and four months ago, giving up sugar four months ago, strict keto since New Year's Day, regular exercise, is what it's done for my mental health. My mind is solid. My mood is the most stable it has ever been by a wide margin. I'm more resilient. I know I have limited control over what happens, but I know that whatever comes I'll deal with it and it will be ok.
In the meantime, I fucking love my life. I am humbled and grateful to have come through difficult times and to be living this way for as long as I can make it last.