Thursday, April 10, 2008

shelter

it's just like april in colorado to dump a snowstorm in the middle of your spring frolicing. i was listening to the radio on my way home from work last night, it's the original radio with a dial, no digital precision here. there's something about the sound of an old radio that's both eerie and nostalgic. the show was about alien abduction, not tongue in cheek, but serious studies and analysis of peoples experiences. i felt like i was on a movie set, poised to drive up on some strange creature in the night that would send me spiraling into some creepy adventure.
i made it to my spot without entering another world, but it was a cold night in the van last night, the winds howling, snow dumping, a harsh whisper from winter reminding me that i have to get out of here before next winter sets in. the new van has windows and i don't have reflectix covers for them, so it's alot draftier than the old windowless cargo van. for every new convenience, there is a price i suppose. luckily, my down blankets kept me from shivering, but i don't like to sleep with my head under the covers, it feels like i can't breathe. last night, i had no choice, i had to burrow in. freyja snuggled up next to me, and i felt like a pioneer on a wagon train hunkered down for a rocky mountain blizzard.
with yesterdays hail, rain and snow, i thought i would find out if the turtle top was leaking, but so far, nothing. so that's good. there is some water damage inside the topper, but i guess it'll take a harder rain to show a leak. some roof patching material would be a smart purchase, i need to ask the vandwellers or search the posts for some clues where to start.
word from my co-workers is this van looks much less threatening. they called my old van "the molester van" because it had no windows and they are jerks. but this one has another name "the chateau faded rainbow", a name i came up with inspired by the old rainbow sticker in the window and the model name of my van. at the end of the day, there's nowhere i'd rather be.

4 comments:

who is john gault? said...

lol too funny. molester vans are all i have really been considering. was thinking about designing a fake security company logo on illustrator and getting a big magnet with it for the door so it acctually looks like a legit vehicle. what kind of issues did you have in the old molester van that you dont anticipate having in your new one?

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you found Coast to Coast AM. Great show, I try to listen every night. They have a website as well that will tell you whats next. Congrats on the new Van!

Anonymous said...

Yeah on "The Chateau Faded Rainbow". I'm glad it's a better fit. Now we need some pictures! You should give it a snazzy paint job!

stranger in a strange van said...

because i work at a small restaurant, everyone knows what everyone else drives, so it wasn't possible to keep people from knowing it was my van. it seems strange (i guess) for a young woman to be driving such a thing. then, the neighborhood i work in is very high end and my van looked out of place there because it was old, and when i covered up the windows, i think it caused alarm. my new van looks like an old person's camper, or a hippie-mo-bile which i guess doesn't draw as much attention. i don't really understand why, but that's what the evidence shows.