Today has been an interesting day. I woke up late because I'm sick (again). To my surprise I have a bunch of new comments, emails, and am one of the 'most viewed' stories at the LA Times site. Wild. Does this mean I'm famous or infamous? I'm not quite sure. I'm not really sure what to think or say. The article is much stronger than the previous one from the school's paper. Also, being a Mac Genius at Apple, this article has found it's way to Digg. So this means that everyone from the tech world sees this. Interesting. I read through most of the comments from there. Some interesting opinions and outspoken know-nothings on there bashing what they don't understand. Most of them speak of my credit card debt. We'll just say that I didn't always have the best job or a livable income and had to survive somehow (and this was long before I lived in the truck).
I've been meaning to post the dailies from my trip to Israel in December. I'm going to start that today. Might as well put this up-to-date as much as possible. And I'll be posting regularly again now though.
Everyone coming across this site: Thank you for reading about me and seeing this. It has definitely been interesting and a neat experience living like this and sticking with it for so long. Thanks for visiting.
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43 comments:
Great article in The Times. Cool blog too. I also did the Spamalot-Sardis circuit in Jan 06, loved the show! It is coming to Vegas next month.
I just came across your weblog via digg. I wish you all the best. I know
some people who have lived like this,
but never did it myself. In a way I do envy you. A life like that surely has some downsides, but also you'll make experiences (and possibly already have made) other people never
will make, hence will have a broader view on life.
I'll read more of your weblog, when I find the time.
Interesting article in LA Times. How accurate were they?
It definitely reflects a "can-do" attitude and I respect people who can make situations seem easy and do the unthinkable. At the end of the day, this is an experience you will always have to look back at, and no one can really know how it impacts your life in the future. Apple should hook you up bro! And maybe the documentary can make you a star. You never know - right?
Anyway, all the best dude! I lived in a camper for 6 and then a boat for 2 after that. You definitely learn a few tricks along the way.
Cheers!
Your one crazy dude my friend but I understand you, I sometimes want to do things like that but is afraid it will mess up my reputation in school Keep it up, to me, its not weird at all.!!
Tony Cai
http://tonycai.com
Please, get rid of that "being sick, again" aspect.
Begin with Prof. Arnold Ehret's Mucusless Diet Healing System [flawed science but excellent inspiration] and move on to Viktoras Kulvinskas's Planetary Healer's Manual. Your own body will soon become a reliable diagnostic instrument.
One September, I was weary of winter in Maine. With 12 cents in my pocket, I asked my brother Will, when he stopped by to visit, would he give me a ride to VT?
Sure, of course! So, I devised a goal (Drink a cup of coffee in Telluride, Colorado.) and decamped in less than 45 minutes.
I have also backpacked from Madrid to Calcutta and back again to Paris. Welcome to the Club!
Nice website, where's the rss feed?
It aint a blog without one - and I'd love to read the archive, but I'm not doing it in a browser.
I cracked up when I read this. In 1990 my girlfirned was attending CSF and PCC it's christian college neighbor. I had relatives living in Thousand Oaks at the time so I went for an extended visit with the intention of staying with my relatives. The drive was too far and the daily gas bill was starting to making a dent into how long I was going to be able to stay. I was driving a 1982 Saab Turbo hardtop at the time, and the great thing about the Saab was when you layed down the back seat it made a great full length area to sleep while the rear cargo cover made an excellent shade. I had used it on many road/camping trips so it didn't seem to out of the ordinary. So I would spend my days with my girlfriend in between her classes and when she was busy I would hit the arcade/bowling alley, and library at CSF. I to used the CSF gym almost every morning for my shower facilites. Since I didn't have a CSF parking pass and ended up receiving a couple of parking tickets durring my morning routine from CSF police, but that was my only real problems. I spent all of my nights on the outskirts of the PCC parking lot. My time lasted a little over 3 months no where near your time, but like you said once you get your routine it wasn't bad. Oh yeah and being a guy does make it much easier. It was a great time and an adventure that I turly enjoyed. At the time we shared the details with some of my girfriends dormmates and I was surprissed by their reactions, so after that we kept fairly quite about it. I was surprissed of the homeless stigma that people attached to it. Anyways great job on acheving your personal goals and good luck in the future.
Nice story.
Andy-see my comments under quick bit. I hope you will keep in touch. It was great reading about you! Tell you folks I said Shalom!
Jill (Ratner, not Bussell ;) )
The news article makes it sound like a big deal, but being an outdoorsy person, "urban car camping" is downright luxurious, with the exception of mid-sleep intrusion by police officers. Compare that to a party of Denali climbers a couple of seasons ago, who were hunkered down in their tents in -60 F, 60 mph conditions for 24 days straight!
It's hard to imagine their plight, but when I find myself spending a cold, windy night in a bivy sack on a granite ledge high in the Sierra backcountry (which I often do), I'd seek solice imagining that I'm sleeping in the back of the truck!
I'm in aww i'm not really a camper so i cant relate but living in your truck has got to be hard. All i have to ponder at is where do you keep your cloths and bring dates? Caught the article from Digg.
Man that is exciting. I found your blog through Digg on the LA times site. It amazes me and makes me wonder why don't more people think outside of the box like this. I am tired of following. I want to lead.
God is with you man. This odyssey of yours is obviously for a reason. I hope you finish your goals but more importantly experience feelings and things you never knew existed.
I hope to do something like that in my life.
What interests me is have you been eating more healthy now than you ever have? or worse?
I would think more because you're not eating out fast food as much.
God Bless you man!
Great choice! I did it myself for a year, but in a VW 81 bus. I recommend it to everyone to try.
It's easier than you think, it frees you being attached to your living space, and what could be better than having everything you own/need a short distance away at all times -- need to throw on/take off a layer? Want to lend a CD,etc to a friend? It's all just a stone's throw away.
The temporary, quasi-vagabond life is a blessing in disguise.
Good for you, Andy -- and congrats on pounding down that debt!
Hey, great to see a like minded truck dweller. Well, you're living the minimalist version... Last year my boyfriend and I built a "housetruck" -- taking a 30' beast on wheels and turning it into a cozy little space (with a composting toilet, shower, gas powered fridge, stove/oven, hot water, and track lighting...) to venture about in.
You should check out our site. There are some nifty photos of the truck in our gallery...
www.housetruckers.com
Well it aint On the Road or Grapes of Wrath or even Travels with Charlie--Heck it aint even City of Night. It's just a California Dreamin version of all those day workers who also sleep in their trucks outside of home depot every night. Don't forget to change your socks. -Silly Fellowes Walk.
Hi Andy,
I work at The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Please call me when you get a sec at 818-840-2208.
Thanks!
Danielle
such a douche...dude get out of college its been 10 years
I found your site from the Digg link. I lived out of my 74 VW bus for about six months a few years ago. I also found curtains to be a great help in eliminating unwanted visits. I also agree that once you get a routine it is really no big deal, and it is also handy being a guy... Good luck in your venture!
people are giving this guy credit for what? Being an apple genius? He might be put on the Leno show for being a lazy piece of shit who has managed to become a much less cool version of Van Wilder? We are applauding him for being homeless? The only reason he's on digg is because the article mentions apple. Look at what category it was first put in. Such a joke
Way to go Andy. You will always value knowing you made it work. Active decisions work.
Cheers.
I've bookmarked your blog and hope to keep up with your life and times. I had no idea sleeping in a vehicle was against the law. At least you took the cost of the violation in stride. Can't keep a good man down!
dude... sweet. i lived in my truck in stints of up to 10 months at a time over 5 years i lived in Utah... that is the life. What most people don't realize is how free this makes you... you have your stuff with you where ever you go and save a ton of money to boot. In Utah during the summers i would get off work, throw my stuff in a pack and run out into the hills: waking up above 10,000 feet, in a meadow, get the stove going for some coffee... i miss that. i also did freelance work as a graphic designer while holding a job in a coffee shop and a job in a bike shop... my family was a little freaked out (i'm from so cal too) that i didn't have a place during the winters when it would get down into the teens... and my grandma alwaays sent me food care packages and money for food (she never believed that i decided to live like that... she was convinced that i was struggling).
I ultimately moved out of my truck because of my girlfriend (who i started dating at the end of a 9 or 10 month truck stint)... she couldn't have cared less and offered her shower, etc... i finally got an apartment (mostly somewhere to keep all our toys: bikes, climbing equipment, etc) and we've lived together now for 7 years!
I have spent months at a time out and about traveling on foot in the wilderness and by bike through alaska, etc... and like someone said below: for those of us who live and play outside, living in a car is pretty 'cush! it is interesting the negative stigma people place on the 'homeless'...
Nice article and lifestyle. That's one way to get out of debt. Good luck with grad school!
You seem like a bit of a prat.
Just saying...
Hey mate, nice article! I just stumbled into it via Digg, which is not so surprising, since it's on top of the list. I think you may have achieved something quite fantastic with your decision to live in your truck and then exposing your life to the world. I'm in Brazil and could read your story and read all all the reader's comments on Digg and now I'm posting a comment onto your blog myself. That's incredible! Never mind some of the firing comments people have made. They're usually based on uninformed opinions and on a judgemental manner. Good luck on your life's purposes. Take care.
Great going. It's the thing to do. I did something like this during my student days, not because I was in debt but because I was flat broke mostly. I slept on the roof of college buildings, great view, fresh air, and silence. The winters were especially tough, I stuffed crumpled newspapers down my clothes to keep warm.
"Even though I had a good job, I was tired of living paycheck to paycheck and not making any headway with my credit cards," he said. "I've learned that I can push myself, break down my own boundaries. I've been able to learn that I can change and adapt to different kinds of situations"
I'm sorry to awaken you to the fact but you are not "homeless by choice". The choices you have made are the same as any other homeless person who ends up living in their automobile. You are the changing face of homelessness. You should know this, especially living in orange County. You did not move out of Aliso Viejo. Aliso Viejo forced you out due to the high rocketing rents in Southern California. This is not adventure. This is the future of living in Southern california.
I knew a medicine intern that lived in his Toyota truck for the first six months of his first year of residency.
Why is it illegal anyhow?
Several Things:
A) Is the Danielle Ledesma who contacted you for Leno the same one we went to highschool with
B) If assholes are going to post nasty shit about you then maybe they should grow a pair and leave contact information
C) The cost of living is so high and life so complicated that I applaud your decision to think "outside the box" and live an alternative life. We only go around once, why not be different?
D) To the jackass who mentions your ten years in college? Hey buddy, fuck you. Why not come visit my blog and be an asshole there? I can trace your IP address to the shit lower middle management job you have working as just another interchangeable drone, and then, call your boss. Prick.
E) I think the fact that someone called you a "prat" is funny.
F) I have always been both proud and envious because what people don't see is the amazing things you've gotten to do, the trips you've taken, and how much you've grown.
wow. you went all cool kid on me.
Hows my mac doing? :)
http://www.abstrakone.com/archives/2007/02/19/weird-mac-occurance/
Hey Brother,
Its a heck of a way to live. I did it years ago in San Francisco. Was one of the best decisions I ever made. It gave me a new perspective and drive. I paid off all of my credit card debts and put some cash away for other uses... I have never had a penny of CC debt since. After about 6 months I moved onto a Sailboat. I did that for 3 years and loved every minute. THAT is an awesome way to live. The sailing community rocks. Best of luck to you.
How about girls? When you meet a girl do you bring them back to your truck? WTF?
Let's all call Danielle and be on Leno!
That was a joke, btw. I just thought putting a # here showed courage and faith in the human spirit:). Good story, dude.
Hello Andy,
I found out about your Blog on Digg.
I just want to thank you for sharing; I read all of your Blog today and found it very suspenseful. Keep going, your doing the right thing; you’ve got something to say.
I was homeless last summer for about 2 Months, and I didn’t even have a truck with a shell, just a car. I had to stay at some friend’s houses; I could relate to, and comprehend every word of what you are saying in your Blog, and also what you are not saying.
I want to give you a hint: You seemed very confident and happy while you were travelling and on the Road in the summer time. And you wrote in your Blog “I came back for this?”
I don’t think it’s “living in a Truck” that is hard for you.
I don’t know the California Laws about Parking Zones and so forth, but wouldn’t a small RV, or a well furnished Van suit you better? (Table, Chair, Showering and cooking facility and some Heating?) You’re getting quite a bit of traffic and attention, maybe someone would sponsor you.
Regards & keep the Spirit.
Hey Dood,
Cool story, I'm really envious that you had the chance to do that. F*ck those bastards who are dissing you. I admire you and your plight and think it would make a great book. BTW, I noticed you have a Netflix link on yout blog. Where do you have the movies sent?
I'm glad you've had that experience. I spent almost two months homeless in Portland by choice, and have not regretted it--I learned alot from the experience. Aside from that, depending on where you are homeless in the U.S., and how much access to resources such as food and bathrooms and warmth you have, it is still an easier lifestyle than many millions of people living in slums around the world who have no idea where their next meal is.
Not sure if you know it, buuut..
You were also featured here:
http://www.i-am-bored.com/
On the 19th/20th time frame. Might explain some of the extra sudden-comments and such.
As a fan of Thoreau and self reliance, I commend you sir.
from the POV of someone having to live with the irresponsible (and illegal) life choices of others: http://www.beautifulwestoakland.com
to quote the gizmodo.com story that lead me to your blog: "Here's an easier way to get rid of credit card debt... don't buy what you can't afford, no matter how shiny it is" ...
i think the picture is the funniest because it makes u look like you sleep all day! cool stuff man
Saw you on the Amanda Congdon videoblog. Great stuff!
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