gridlore: (Burning_Man)
This year was hard. After a two-year hiatus, everyone was rusty and bad at things. As [personal profile] kshandra said, this was the year we brought too much and forgot everything. She's not wrong. We, for example, totally failed to plan for lunch. Breakfast and dinner were covered, but I needed small things to snack on throughout the day to keep my blood sugar and energy levels up. We already have several good plans for next year.

I am both ashamed and angry at my physical failings. My low blood pressure led to constant issues with browning out when I stood. I am physically weak, and could not help out with camp duties. That will change. I'm going to see my doctor about the blood pressure issue, and I am committed to being in better shape next year so I can contribute! I'm also going to fill out volunteer forms for the departments I can do, like BMIR (the official radio station,) Box Office, or Earth Guardians.

I want to be better. I want to carry my share of the load. Everyone who knows me understands that I am determined to do my part.

But many thanks to my campmates who helped me through this hard week. Even to the point of walking me to the porta-potty bank (hereafter referred to as the "jots") and making sure I was OK. They also fed me. So, onto the breakdown!

ExpandFriday, August 26th )

ExpandSaturday, August 27th )

ExpandSunday, August 28th )

ExpandMonday, August 29th )

ExpandTuesday, August 30th )

ExpandWednesday, August 31st )

ExpandThursday, September 1st )

ExpandFriday, September 2nd )

ExpandSaturday, September 3rd )

ExpandSunday, September 4th )

ExpandMonday, September 5th - Tuesday, September 6th )

Well, that's it. I took very few pictures, as this was an amazingly hard year.

See y'all next year in the dust!
gridlore: (Burning_Man)
All righty! I've weighed all the fluids that will be going in Tramp Cripwire, and it comes out to 147.28lbs/66.8kg. Our fluids weigh more than I do.

Now, all that weight is on a one-way trip. The bulk of it is beer and vodka for our camp dues. The beer alone comes in at over 75lbs! We'll be drinking the rest of it ourselves.

Here's the issue. To balance the load in the trailer and the truck, I'm going to have to move about 74lbs/33.6kg from the truck to the trailer. I do have an easy out here. We always fill our three 7-gallon water cans, and never use all of it. If we end up with a full water jug, that will be about 60lbs/27.2kg, which should be enough to even the load out, considering the truck will have less weight after we eat all our food.

I still need to weigh the boxes and the propane tank, as those are the really heavy objects to be loaded, but right now I'm happy with my load plan. The Clothing Box, my bike, and our tools go in the trailer, and everything else in the truck.

If I'm missing something here, please enlighten me.
gridlore: (Burning_Man)
Tramp Cripwire has been repaired and is ready for pick-up!

[APPLAUSE]

We're going over Monday. There will be pictures! The next step is getting the wheels aligned, and we have a place in mind for that. This has been THE hurdle, mentally, emotionally, and financially, that we have been needing to get past.

Now, I can look at prep without wondering where I'm going to sleep, and start planning out loads. This weekend we're hitting BevMo for the liquid portions of our camp dues. We just need to keep going over what needs to go in That Box, needs to go in the Kitchen or Shade boxes, or needs to be stored in the trailer's cubbies or just loose in the truck bed for easier access.

WELCOME BACK FROM THE DEAD, TRAMPY!!!
gridlore: (Burning_Man)
After much consideration, we have decided to get the original trailer, the one damaged in transit, repaired using the insurance money we've received. Part of the reason was the insurance does not cover transportation costs, so we would be on the hook for shipping this trailer back to Outbound and paying for a new one to be delivered. That could cost close to five grand that we need for other things.

So, the place that did the estimate can do all the work except for the wheel alignment, and we've got a good referral to a place that can do that job. We just need to get the remaining insurance money (the deductible owed to use by the hauling company that caused this nightmare) and we can start work. We might get started earlier for a faster turnaround.

We will end up being a little out of pocket, but nowhere near what we would have paid for shipping trailers back and forth across the continental divide. So, that's the plan, and the name is officially the Free Trailer Tramp Cripwire, or Trampy for short.
gridlore: The word "Done!" in bold red letters. (Done!)
Goddamnit. I cannot, literally cannot take much more. Yesterday morning at work, I found out it was a minimum day from a student. When I went into the school office at the end of that shift to confirm this, the secretary said that she had meant to "drive around and hand you all this" "This" being a little yellow notice that was sent home yesterday. "But I got busy."

Halford wept. On a normal day, I arrive at 1345 and am on station until 1515. The school releases kids in two sets, one at 1425, the second at 1437. On a minimum day, I arrive at 1300 and stay for one hour. The entire school releases at 1325. If a very cool 10-year-old hadn't told me about the change, I would have shown up after everyone had gone home. My school has four guard positions because it is one of the most dangerous in the district in terms of traffic. I gave the secretary my boss' phone number and suggested that if another scheduling change came up, the best bet was to call him and he would alert the guards as well as have it on his radar should a relief guard be needed.

Speaking of which. . . I got home, sat down at the computer, and started feeling miserable. Full-body shaking, I could feel the fever climbing, I could barely work my phone to call in for the afternoon shift. I eventually managed to get into the bedroom without falling over. Long story short? One ruined t-shirt and pair of shorts, I continue to be an expert at puking into containers and spent nearly 14 hours in some form of sleep.

Ah, sleep, perchance to dream. This brings me to the Nightmare. Getting bugs like this is second nature to me now, and I know what to treat them. Acetaminophen, fluids, and rest. But when I go to sleep, I get the same damn dream every time. The details change, but the basic plot is I am involved in a land dispute, usually in England, that is wrapped in Byzantine layers of old deeds and surveyors' maps. I have no idea why I want this land, and it's one of those dreams where I know I'm dreaming, and keep thinking "If I just stop looking at the broken marble column, it will end." This one at least featured a duel. Turns out I'm a pretty good fencer!

But I finally woke up this morning and began to process what Kirsten had told me the night before. Our new trailer arrived, and not only did the dimshit delivery driver manage to cause significant damage, HE HAD BEEN SLEEPING IN OUR TRAILER AND LEFT HIS DIRTY CLOTHES BEHIND! The bracket that holds the front wheel is bent, the wires that link the trailer lights to the truck's lights had been cut clear through, and worst of all, he did enough damage to the brand new floor that it goes through the floorboards. We are livid. We are talking about getting a lawyer. This is the same idiot who "forgot" to get the envelope with the trailer keys out of his truck when he had what he said was an engine problem and had to transfer our trailer to a different carrier.

I'm serious, world, I can not handle anything else going wrong.
gridlore: One of the penguins from "Madagascar," captioned "It's all some kind of whacked-out conspiracy." (Penguin - Conspiracy)
Halford, what a day. Our trailer was supposed to be delivered today, but the driver bringing it had his engine die hard in Anaheim. OK, tomorrow is good. Then we learn that the first driver forgot to get the envelope with the damn trailer keys out of his cab! Luckily, Outbound had the key code and we're having them shipped. When do they show up? Anyone's guess.

Luckily I already had tomorrow off for an appointment at the Stanford Eye Clinic. Which I'm now doing solo, so [personal profile] kshandra can be at work for both the trailer and the keys. Speaking of medical issues. . .

It feels like I'm getting a new doctor every three days. I understand the need for speed here, I mean, I'm the guy who might have cancer again, but I've run into the most frustrating thing in existence: the convoluted schedule of doctors. I get a referral for an interventional pulmonologist to do the biopsy. Call him the other day. "He's only in the office Tuesdays and Thursdays, and needs to see you right away!"

Too bad I'm booked for Thursday. So now, next Tuesday I'm getting a fucking lumbar puncture and then going to see this guy while still flying on pain meds. [personal profile] kshandra WILL being coming back with me to speak with the doctor. Because fuck all of this. But at least the next series of appointments are set, right?

Right?

I laugh. Because today, about ten minutes before I had to go handle the nightmare that is school let-out on Wednesdays, I get a call from a different interventional pulmonologist to set up a consult. When I pointed out I already had a damn appointment, she sounded shocked, then looked and said "oh, yeah. . . "

NONE OF THESE OFFICES ARE COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER!! And I, with my stroke-fuzzed brain, am supposed to juggle all these names and dates, which is something I simply cannot do.

I have next week off. I'm hiding in Bear Fort. This crap has me so mentally exhausted it's affected my self-care and my ability to be cheerful to my kids at work.
gridlore: (Burning_Man)
What a week. We got the news several days ago, right on schedule, that our trailer from Outbound Trailer was finished and ready to ship. [personal profile] kshandralooked at what they wanted to charge for shipping, and decided to shop around on the advice of some people in her office. We got an amazing quote, went for it, and the trailer was supposed to be picked up last Friday.

And the driver never showed. Come Monday, we learn that the first driver was going to tow our brand new trailer the 1,500-odd miles from Hastings, Nebraska to Santa Clara. Yes, I want that much wear on my brand-new tires right away. Then we got told a flatbed could pick it up, but for TWICE the price we agreed to pay. The broker kept saying we had an estimate, folks, that document had contract written on it in several places. Cue both of us freaking out.

In the meantime, the amazing folks at Outbound were working with us. They actually found a solution that entailed meeting a truck in Madera, in the Central Valley, and picking up the trailer there. Want a laugh? The place we'd be meeting the driver was someplace I had been when I was driving for SuperShuttle. It's like a three-hour drive each way but would have saved us a lot of money. I figured this was going to be our best bet.

Until today when Casey called to say they had a driver heading our way who had some space! So now the trailer will be here (hopefully) next Wednesday and for only a tiny amount more than we originally got quoted from the weasel broker.
gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Default)
We dropped off the Sun Box containing the old Harbor Freight solar panels at the home of the people who bought the trailer. What a relief.

Those things generated 45 watts and were outdated almost the instant we bought them. They were a pain to set up and tear down on Playa. The Sun Box was heavy and just another thing we had to load and unload. Now that's gone.

The Far Trailer Empress Marava has 100w panels installed, with an actual control panel so we can monitor things like efficiency and battery temperature. One less thing on the camp to-do list. More importantly, one less thing to load!

More importantly, as [personal profile] kshandra took a book from their little free library when we were there yesterday, I added one before we left today.

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gridlore: Doug looking off camera with a grin (Default)
Douglas Berry

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