A quick post aside from holiday madness

Christmas is steadily approaching and I'm super busy walking and sitting dogs. Right now, I'm staying at a clients house. Too bad the dingos can't come in. They're fine out in the car. I left them my pillows and blanket, and they got a pigs ear to munch on before bed. It is nice to have an entire house to myself. A warm bed with 3 layers of blankets, refrigerator for my food, and a coffee maker. I know most of us have access to these simple things all the time. But when you take away these comforts, and live without them for a while, I think you can appreciate them more when you do have access to them. There's so many people around the world who will never have these things, and they're content with what they do have. In this crazy season of mass consumerism, try to remember that having more is not always better.

I got to go- have to put a tarp on the inside of my car. I'm walking up to 6-7 dogs today and it rained ALL last night. Hoping to keep my stuff dry and clean...

Dingo Love...

I've never been so happy about Starbucks in my life... I've had trouble finding cafes and hang out spots that are open late past midnight or better yet, 24 hours. It isn't like New York here. This city DOES sleep, and I have yet to find many places (besides bars) that I can go hang out and use the restroom, etc... So yea, this particular Starbucks in Laurel Heights is open 24 hours except for Sundays when they close 1-4am. If anyone knows of any non-bar 24 hr hang out spots in SF, please let me know!

So it's almost 6am. The dingos and I were parked in the Presidio and I guess I was asleep for a good few hours after being out with some people for drinks downtown. Mona kept barking at something outside and I'm not sure what it/who it was but I trust her judgment. After a few rounds of "Mona, Shutupp!" I realized she probably sensed something that I couldn't. I took her word for it, started the car, and got out of there. I must say that I probably wouldn't feel comfortable living this lifestyle if it weren't for my dogs. I've grown so close to them in the past couple of months and I love them more than anything. Mona is such a great guard dog. And Sooz... well she's better as my heating pad... haha! No... she gets to barking just as much as Mona when there is someone outside of the car. She's just better at giving love & doggy kisses when you need them. Mona & Soozy... you guys truly are my best friends!

Wow, where do I begin...

It's been a while since I've posted. I've been busy!

So glad to be in CA where it doesn't snow. This whole car dwelling thing wouldn't work anywhere else. It's just cold enough that I sometimes wake up in the middle of the night to run my heat. Otherwise, I haven't had too much of a problem dealing with the lower temps. Note to self: After running heat, make sure to remove keys from ignition and lock doors! I'd rather not repeat publicly the story of my immense stupidity, but FYI there ARE people who comb rich neighborhoods looking for GPS's and UNLOCKED doors!

Moving onto other events... Wow dog walking & dog sitting jobs have consistently been knocking at my door in the past few weeks. Here's an overview of all the clients I've been working with:

Ingrid, owner of 2 dachunds (can never spell that damn breed), Hiedi & Coco. These 2 girls are super sweet and pretty easy. Coco is a little lazy and wants to go home right after she does her bizness. Ingrid works from home and needs occasional on-call walks when she leaves the house. Heidi whines and bothers the neighbor downstairs. Ingrid is such an awesome lady! Noticing my horribly stuffy nose, she gave me a prescription nasal spray that has worked for her. She's also hiring me to do photos of her and the girls atop her classic car with the GG bridge in the background.

Lori & Family with Skye the Samoyed. Skye has seperation anxiety and whines when someones not around. Lori's daughter is performing in the NutCracker so they are gone several nights over the next few weeks. I watched Skye last Saturday night and we walked down to Fillmore St. and tried an upscale taco bar. It was alright, but doesn't beat the mission's hole-in-the-wall tacquerias! Skye is such a handsome boy and super easy to watch.

Auggie- My regualar chihuahua that I walk on Sun,Mon,Tues nights at 10pm. He is just the cutest little thing and the dingos love him. His owner, Marlena is going out of town in Jan. so I'll be staying at her place to watch Auggie and her cats.

Wild Bill - his full timer Louise is going out of town so I'll be taking over for her again starting next week.

Jan- I'll be helping her to help take the load off on occasional Thursdays and Fridays

Jeff- I'll be walking some of Jeff's dogs the week after Christmas

Holy crap! I need to stay on top of being organized and writing things down right away. I have a lot on my plate. I'm still going to bikram yoga in the mission. That's where I'm headed now, so I'll write more later!

I spent the past few days at Stanzie & Rich's house in Oakland. They have an extra bedroom and I'll be staying there half the time for atleast the rest of December. I'm going to be taking on more dog walking & sitting so I dumped a lot of my stuff at my 'half-home' to create maximum room for the doggies. The cargo carrier is no longer on the top of the car and I took one of my plastic dressers out. I have half my clothes with me in the car and half at Stanzies. I'll most likely spend weekdays in the city for optimal dog proximity, and weekends in Oakland. I'll be spending Christmas Eve & Day with my little roommates! YAY! Oh and they have two dogs, so that makes 4 total. There are two stories, but the place is still really small, so both toes and paws are stepped on from time to time:)

Back to car dwelling in San Francisco... I've discovered my new favorite 'district.' It's 24th street in the Mission. The street is narrow compared to others in the area, and there are these amazing trees lining the sidewalks that create a canopy like tunnel when your driving down the street. You almost don't need an umbrella when it's raining because the trees and shop awnings block the rain for you. There are like a hundred taquerias, 2 of which are the best Mexican food in the city. Others I still need to try. By the way, those 2 would be Puerto Vallarta, and El Farolitos. There is Philz Coffee, undoubtedly the best in the city. And most importantly, the dogs can come into Philz with me and even sit on the couch! There's murals that add color & personality to the street. On 24th & Mission Bart station, they play live salsa and meringue music. I LOVE IT ALL! Yea, this is my new hang out spot- mostly because the bikram yoga studio is on 20th & Mission. Also because tacos are cheap and delicious.

Back in the city. A new chapter begins...

It was good to go home to Lincoln for a few days, but I'm glad to be back in CA where its 50 degrees instead of 20! I always like flying because it provides a good chunk of time where you don't have to be anywhere else. You're either sitting in your seat on the plane or sitting in the airport waiting for a connection. So you have all this time to just be with yourself. Time to organize, prioritize, and breath without distraction from your everyday routine. I think we as humans try to fall into the pattern of a routine because it makes life more comfortable. Even with my unconventional lifestyle, I've found myself doing this in the past month. It's good to break things up and do things out of your comfort zone. Off to bikram yoga in the mission. The dogs and I are chillin at Philz coffee. Ill try to write more later. Thanks to everyone who reads this- I found out a lot more people read than I know! I better come up with more exciting stuff to write about!

career decisions

I've come to a point where I need to make a decision that will change the course of things from here on out. The dog walking & overnight pet sitting gigs keep coming my way by means of Bill and Jan. I almost have enough clients to say I have my own dog walking service. I've been hesitant to commit to something permanent, but the random gigs are giving me enough cash to stay afloat for now. If I take on just a few more clients, I'd make a decent living and might be able to pay off some bills, especially since I don't have to pay rent.

I had an in depth conversation with Cadrian yesterday about our photography careers. We both admitted that we aren't taking advantage of the tools we have right in front of us to become successful in our fields. The pet portrait business I've been working towards is okay for now, but I didn't go to The Academy of Art University to make a couple hundred dollars a week taking portraits of the family pet. I need to go bigger. I need to go where the commercial work is. I need to let the ad agencies know about me. Maybe I don't have a studio or all the best equipment right now. But I need to get myself out there. I have to connections and tools to make it happen, but I'm not making it happen!

So here's the dilemma- My heart lies in dog walking and the pet care industry, a very valid and lucrative profession here in San Francisco. If I commit to doing this, that means less time for photography, and traveling can be hard to do if people are relying on you to take out their dog. Maximum career advancement for my photography means lots of research, marketing, and traveling to LA or NY. The thought of this terrifies me...BUT this is what I went to 4.5 years of school for! This is why I paid to go to this school- NOT TO WALK DOGS!

Another post from Sooz

Sarah's been sick the past few days. She was coughing all night and kept me and Mona up. She made me go in her sleeping bag with her because it's getting very cold. We slept at Bernal Hill last night. We woke up at sunrise to the noise of people walking by with their dogs going for their morning strolls. Right now, we are outside of Starbucks. Sarah lets me stand on the table. I like being up here because I can see everyone better. Mona's in the car protecting all of our stuff. She's better at doing that. I'm better at keeping Sarah company. I overheard Sarah say that Aunt Sammy is coming in town tonight. IM SO EXCITED! We better get back to the car because we parked in the Safeway parking lot and we're not supposed to do that... Heres a quick pic of us...

from the desk of Susan B McGilicutty

Sarah brought us into the cafe this morning. Usually she has to leave us tied outside, but the man behind the counter said it was ok, as long as we behaved. Mona and I are sitting on the chair together I'm happy because its getting cold outside. We dropped the car off a few hours ago and walked to this cafe. Hopefully the nice man from the car place will make the squeaky brakes stop. It's getting rather annoying. Yesterday Sarah took us to one of my favorite places, Pet-co. We went with Stanzie and that annoying beagle, Zoey. I hate when she gets up in my face. Sarah gets mad when I show my teeth at her so I try to be on my best behavior. I love sniffing through the aisles of bones and bags of dog food at Pet-co. Mona was freaking out and peed in the store. Sarah didn't buy us anything. She kept mentioning words like over-priced, and marketing hype. Oh shit, another dog came into the cafe... Mona almost got into a fight with him. Sarah is pissed...got to go -Sooz

lots of dog stuff

I am getting ready for bed, and listening to the pitter patter of the rain on the roof of the car. I won't be able to submit this post until I get to a cafe in the morning. I'm parked in the Presidio in a semi-desolate area near a lacrosse field and a few parked cars. If you don't know what the Presidio is (NE readers) its an old military base on the northwest part of SF. If you look at a map, you will see that it takes up a huge chunk of land. The old military housing is now residential and a lot of the land is mostly woods. I love how it can feel like your deep in the forest somewhere but actually in a bustling city. Shannon recommended this spot since she often comes here to walk her dogs. It was funny. I slept here the other night and woke up to find her car right next to me.

So this week has been crazy regarding dog walking. Jeff, and Bill & Jan have been turning down gigs and handing them down to me. (Hey I don't mind- even if the dogs are high maintenance!) Eli the Vizsla started with me yesterday. It figures he got a huge gash on his side on our very first walk together. The dog is ball obsessed and could play all day long. We were at Douglas Park and he must have ran into a stick or branch. The cut was about an inch thick and looked pretty gnarly. Luckily his owner was more worried about me being worried than being upset over the situation. I do find it ironic that I've been dog walking for a few years without such incidents, and I this happens on the first day of my first personal client. Murphy's Law... Eli seems like a great dog otherwise, and I'll probably continue walking him after the cut heals. Also I may be doing overnights for 2 sharpeis every other month or so for 5-6 nights at a time.

Aunt Toni suggested I write from the viewpoint of Mona & Soozy. Maybe I'll do that next time...

Waiting for some files to upload at a cafe. Aunt Toni & Uncle Jim are on their back way in town from visiting Wine country! Last night, I slept at Heron's Head Park. This morning I woke up to this conversation between two women outside my car...

"Oh my god! There's a dog in there!" (she said as Soozy barked at her)
"Should we call it in?"
"No what if the person is in the park."
"It looks like they are traveling... Look at all the crap inside and on top."

Then I fell back asleep.

Why are these files taking soooo long to upload!!!

A weekend mostly outside of the city

YESTERDAY, I photographed Wild Bill with his girlfriend Jan for their new dog walking campaign. Wild Bill Peacock & Calamity Jan's Dog Wrangling Services! We went across the Golden Gate to a beach fittingly named Rodeo Beach! We hiked up the hill to an abandoned bunker. The shoot included costumes, props, and 14 dogs! The weather was absolutely gorgeous. While the sun was a bit harsh for portraits, I think it added to the whole western theme. Bill & Jan are the cutest couple ever! Words can't describe, so I'm posting photos. I think the black and white conversion was appropriate...





I'm at a cafe in Half Moon Bay, about 30 minutes south of San Francisco. I had a photo shoot this morning with two black mixed dogs named Evie & Sophie. I stayed here last night, just off the main street. I was lucky that my client slept in, because I did too. His tardiness gave me time to get coffee and walk the dingos. We met on Redondo Beach. Apparently there's a Redondo Beach here as well as in LA. It was gorgeous! The dogs were just photogenic enough to caputure a handful of good shots. Evie's got these fiery red eyes that were like magnets to my camera. Photos soon to come.

boys

Reason for ignoring blog = boy drama
conclusion = stay away from boys

minimizing & organizing

Every week or so, I "clean house" On Saturday, the dogs and I hung out at Heron's Head Park. It's a beautiful wildlife preservation area in the Bayview. With few people in the parking lot, I decided it was the perfect place to do some re-organizing while the dogs ran free and Jack Johnson blasted from my cd player. So for 1 month, I've barely had to access items that are in the cargo bag on the top of my car. I have a lock that keeps the two zippers together, but the bag is still vulnerable to theft. Anyone could easily cut into the bag and take what they like. While I'd prefer the stuff up there to NOT get stolen, I'm not going to cry if does. Here's what I have up there:

A tupperware of shoes, a blanket, and my extra purses/bags
A suitcase full of clothes I don't wear often or clothes that are too small the "oh I know I'll fit into this again... someday" clothes
My Coleman two burner propane stove that I bought off craigslist in Lincoln. Turns out I'm not doing any cooking here.
Cooler filled with all my 'kitchen' items... dishes, silverware, foil. same thing- not using much of this stuff
My tripod that I don't use often b/c it's clunky and hard to maneuver (thanks Joel and Pius X) hehe...

I've considered dumping these items at a friends house just so I don't have the extra weight to the car, but I don't want to have to bother anyone when I need something. Anyways, I took a few items to Goodwill and put some shirts down into my plastic drawers inside the car. I like knowing exactly what I have up there. I like having a mental inventory of every little item I own. If something isn't serving a particular function, it's got to go!

4 Joel, again :)

Here's a brief update of what happened in the past week regarding photo shoots and dog walking.

Jeff is a huge giants fan, so I spent a lot of time partying with him and his fellow fans. I walked dogs for him during the last few games and on the day of the parade. From what I heard, it was madness with around 1 million people there!

Jeff is going to watch my dogs when I go out of town Nov.28th - Dec. 6th ish

I walked two dogs for Shannon all week while she was out of town.

A friend of a friend asked me to walk her Chihuahua 3 nights a week at 9-10pm, since she works the graveyard shift at a restaurant. I agreed to the job and start this Sunday evening. Mona & Sooz like him a lot.

I finished editing Gio & Juno's photo shoot and posted the pictures online for the client. She loves them! I'll post some shots soon!

Had a pre photo shoot consultation with Eoin. He own 2 black long haired mixed breed dogs. he wants to shoot at a beach thats south of SF, closer to Half Moon Bay. We're waiting for good weather for the day of the shoot.

I have 4 people scheduled for shoots in Lincoln.

okay and now for my philosophical rant of the day...

When you focus on the negative things that are happening in your life, you leave yourself vulnerable to being poisoned. The poison stays in you until you generate enough positivity to flush it out. It doesn't matter how big or how small, whenever you let in conflict, unease, fear, anger, sadness, despair, longing, jealousy, agitation of any kind, its like you've opened a window for more negativity to flow into your life. The real power within you comes from NOT letting these feelings take you down.

back on the blog wagon

Persimmons are just starting to show up at the produce stands. I never knew what a persimmon was before I moved here. If you don't know, they are bright orange like a pumpkin, are shaped like a tomato, have the crunch of an apple, and taste like... I don't know- but they are sweet. The closer to reddish-orange, the sweeter and juicier they are. They are harvested only this time of the year, and I LOVE them!

Everyone is wearing orange & black here. Mostly to celebrate the giants victories, and partly for Halloween. I brought the dog's Halloween costumes back from Lincoln. Mona is a spider and Sooz, a lobster. Me= nothing yet. I'm not sure where we're going, but Stanzie and Rich want to find a dog friendly party to go to. Their dogs are going as Elvis and a bumble bee. Tomorrow I have a photo shoot with Gio & Juno, two Shiba Inus. I'm excited but a little nervous.

Dad said I'd probably be sick of car dwelling after a week. It's been almost a month and I'm still going strong! Last night I slept in a hidden area of the Presidio. This was the most desolate spot I've ever camped at in the city. Since the Presidio is federal land, I was a little worried about waking up to a park ranger at my door. There were no problems except I left my window cracked and it rained. The bottom part of my comforter is all wet. :(

I checked my mail for the first time today. I got 3 checks. So I actually got paid 5 times today:

A Pause for Paws- my last mileage check $70
Pictage - my online photo service (my profit for the month) $130
birthday check from Grandma Linda (Angie's mom) $40
Wild Bill - 2 days of walking 1 hour each $40
Morgan - another installment for his dog walking photos $50

tomorrow, 2nd half of payment for photo shoot $250

Next week, Bill doesn't need me, but my friend Shannon who is also a dog walker AND from Nebraska hired me to walk her dogs for the week! Another $160
AND it looks like I overpaid for a doctor's appt. last year, so they owe me $350

I'm not going to add that all up, but basically I'm doing OK in the financial department. I'm not really even trying, and things just keep coming my way.

I'm back at Cafe Abir and there is a dad reading a book to his two sons. It looks like neither one of them is paying any attention to him at all.

Finding Peace

Cadrian is the kind of friend who's going to step in as 'mom' when you need it. I know, I know, Cadrian, you want nothing to do with that word. But it's true. She gets it from her mom, Candace. Cadrian offered her bed, a shoulder to cry on, an entire box of kleenex, and apple cider cocktails on Wednesday night. I woke up at 5:00 on Thursday morning to the ringtone of Katelyn's voice saying "gooooooooooose, goose" It was Katelyn calling, checking to see if I was home in NE yet. I wasn't. I decided on waiting until the funeral to come home. I know Alicia's family needs space, and time to find peace. I needed it too.

I know sitting inside wasn't going to be good for me, so I decided to join Wild Bill on a dog walk. I'm still getting to know his dogs, and he's been having me meet him at Crissy Field for the past few days. Mona & Soozy like being in a pack again. Sooz has made new friends. Mona keeps her distance but seems happy just to be out with us. Bill was planning on having me start walking dogs on my own, on Monday. The funeral is on Monday. I hope to catch a flight Saturday night and stay through Tuesday. If it doesn't work out with Bill because of my absence, then that's what is meant to be, and I'm okay with that.

The light was heavenly yesterday. I decided to call Morgan to see if he wanted to do pictures. Morgan is another dog walker I've known for a while. We ran into each other last week and he asked if I'd do photography for his new website. I wanted to keep my mind busy with something instead of just sitting somewhere, since I had nothing else going on the rest of the day. Like I said, the light was a photographer's dream. Just enough clouds in the sky to diffuse the harsh shadows & highlights, but just enough sun to make everything look like it was glowing. Morgan is tall, tan, has shoulder-length sandy blonde hair, and is such a surfer-dude, although he hasn't surfed in a while. He said he hates it when people say they don't have time for something they've been meaning to do. So instead, he said he hasn't made time for surfing.

After the shoot, Morgan left to go get his last group of dogs for the day. I told him I'd stay and wait for his next group. The group we just worked with were mostly old-timers and I wanted some more active dogs to shoot down on the beach. After Morgan left, I went down to the beach by myself.

I was happy to be alone. I hadn't had time to be alone with Alicia yet. I remember seeing pictures on her facebook of the beach with the caption "future home" at the bottom. I know how bad she wanted to make it out to California. We had talked about that on the trip to Kansas City. She wanted to wait at least another year or so until she'd saved up more money. She was so impressed that April (her best friend from childhood) had dropped everything and moved out there a few years ago with no job lined up. She said she wished she had the guts to do the same.

I sat on the sand, the part that was firm from the water washing onto it. My butt was wet. I didn't care. I watched the waves roll in and out. The sky was a dark blue with it's clouds bright white, the water a teal green, and the Golden Gate bridge seems to be glowing. I left my sandals in the sand back by the parking lot. The sand was warm on my feet. It was chilly, yet I was comfortable with only a half-sleeved sweatshirt. A seagull flew over me, hovering for a moment. The dogs were calm around me. It was just Mona & Sooz. A few dog walkers passed, but most of the time it was just us.

I had my camera with me, since I was waiting for Morgan to return for the second half of our shoot. I began playing with my dogs and taking pictures of them. A fly crawled on my hand then down to my camera. Instead of shoeing it away, I let it just be there. For that hour on the beach alone with my dogs, I felt an extreme amount of peace and joy, probably more so than I've ever felt before. Time seemed to stop, and I was just there, taking everything in. Everything about that moment was perfect, and I wasn't thinking about anything, expect for how utterly happy I felt.

Then it hit me, this moment, everything about it, was God. The light, the water, the sand, the bridge, the seagull, my dogs, the air, the fly on my hand, and the pure joy & peace I felt- was God. I knew, undoubtedly, with all my heart, that Alicia was with me for that hour on the beach. She had come to California to say goodbye.

for Alicia

As I read over my last post, I can barely believe that I was writing it just as the accident happened. When I heard what happened to Alicia, I was sitting at Cafe Abir getting some work done. I saw that Tara had called earlier and I wondered why since we rarely spoke. It was Katelyn that saw the car wreck on the news. She said it sounded bad. I was immediately worried, but knew Alicia was strong and was somehow sure she'd pull through, no matter how bad it was. I never imagined I'd get the call from Tara later telling me that they've done all the tests and there was nothing more to do but prepare her body for organ donation.

Words really can't be found to express how utterly horrible this is. I wish I could have been there to say goodbye.

Alicia, you were my first best friend. You were my sole mentor and confidant 6-8th grade. The first time we ever hung out was a NE volleyball game. My mom came to pick you up and she dropped us off there. Remember skating almost every weekend? You were there when I got my first boyfriend, Jeremy. You were the one I told about my first kiss. I remember staying the night at your house a lot. You were always on AOL. Remember how obsessed you were with chatting online? Rocky, your little pomeranian dog, would hump your pillows and your stuffed animals, and get into the trash during a certain time of the month.... Remember how we always got so pissed because Tara got all the guys? And then Tara's sister called me Sarah Zemugly, and you used to laugh about it. Remember how we hated all the teachers at St. Peters. We had nicknames for all of them. Remember going to Blimpie's and making a complete mess, then ordering a pickle and then putting it down the slide at Star City Shores, and pretending it was a piece of poop? Remember stealing signs everywhere we went, and then hanging them on our walls? You were there for my first concert, Destiny's Child. Our inside jokes are endless, and I'm sure I'll come across more when I go through stuff at my Dad's house.

You were always self conscious of yourself, but you had no reason to be. You've grown into such a beautiful woman. I'm glad I got to reunite with you on our trip to Kansas City this summer. You were the type of person that follows through with plans. I was so impressed by how much you matured since we'd hung out last. You were so driven and motivated. I was looking forward to your move out to California. I know people say they want to leave Lincoln all the time, but I knew that you were really going to do it. You were so proud of yourself that day you came to pick me up, because you changed a your flat tire by yourself on the side of the road. You were such a good driver...

I can't event begin to imagine the pain Tammy, Bob, and Anna are feeling. My heart goes out to them. There's so many people out there who love you Alicia. You will be missed! I love you.

The impermanence of things

Everything is fleeting. All forms are temporary. If we get attached to physical items, we may feel a sense of loss when they break, or when they are lost or stolen. But we NEED things, you might say. We need these tools in our life. We need these clothes to keep us warm, a bed to rest our bodies, a car or bike to get us somewhere, a stove to cook our food, pieces of art to decorate, a computer to write in our blogs... :) Everything we use, everything around us, everything in the physical world is just a tool. We don't OWN anything. Once we start identifying with THINGS, is when we lose ourselves in them. MY car, MY clothes, MY computer.

When my truck got stolen about a year ago, I experienced a great sense of loss. Yes, it was old and run down, but it was a valued 'tool' in my life.
1) It got me from point A to point B
2) It was the transportation vehicle for my job, my source of income, AND...
3) I had identified with it. I had even named it- Angel :)

It served as a function in my life, and it also had sentimental value. Even though I got the truck back, it was having mechanical issues, so it was already on it's way out of my life. I still 'miss' my truck, to this day. But why should I feel such despair for an old beat up truck? (or any car for that matter?) After all, it was only a tool. I didn't actually lose anything. Nothing about me or who I am changed because my truck was gone. Any sense of loss or sadness I felt stemmed only from my thoughts:

Thought 1) Now I won't be able to get from point A to point B, easily.
Thought 2) I won't be able to work, and make an income, and...
Thought 3) MY ANGEL is gone! We've had so many memories, and she's gone!

The thing we don't realize is that THOUGHTS are also forms, fleeting, temporary, impermanent, fake, misleading. If we identify with them, they consume us. These thoughts governed my feelings for the next few days. I became depressed and just sat at home, waiting. I OWNED the truck. It was MINE. How could someone take MY truck? The truth is Thought 1 and Thought 2 will take care of themselves. New tools will come into our lives that will make 1 & 2 possible. Maybe you start taking the bus to get around, maybe you get a different job. In my case, I got a new car. But these are also only tools, so we can't attach ourselves to them either, because one day, the bus will be late, and one day you'll get laid off from you're new job. And one day, you're new car will break down.

Instead of looking at things as OURS, like we OWN them, think of them as if we are renting them while we're on this earth, or renting them for a short time to serve a particular function. In essence, this is the truth. We don't own anything, because everything will eventually dissolve, even us.

dog walking

A post quick before I go to bed. I'm at Cafe Abir. They closed at 11, but Obah said I could stay until they're done with closing duties. The girl that works here gave me free tea. She is pretty awesome. For dinner I had Ali Baba's Cave. A schawarma... I know Daniel- we hated them when we went, but that was a fluke. It is actually really good. Always give second chances!

Today I walked Jeff's dogs since the Giants had a day game that he had to attend. So there was Mona & Sooz, Billie & Scout (vizlas), Johnny Drama (Jeff's dog, a pit bull), Rosie (a small terrier), & Rocket (a medium labish looking Taiwan dog). ALL 7 in the back of the car with my plastic drawers back there as well. After our walk, everyone sort of sprawled out on my sleeping bag and pillows, like nap time for kids. I had to pull over, take a few pictures, and just soak in how awesome it felt to have everyone back there and to just be walking dogs again.

I remember being stressed out when I walked 3 groups a day and went to school full time. I quit liking dog walking. It wasn't fun anymore. I was always so worried about getting done fast, so I could get to the next thing. Now that I only have 1 walk, its so much more enjoyable. Enjoy what you do. If you aren't happy, change something!

Got to go... Obah's kicking us out

Tetris

Things couldn't be better right now. Everything seems to be fitting into place, just like tetris peices. I'm back at Cafe Abir. Soozy's tied up chewing on her bone, Mona opted to stay in the car which is right in front of me. That is the main reason I started coming here. There's always a spot right in front. I don't bother to plug the meter, until I see a meter maid approaching.

I just met with Wild Bill and his employee whom I'll be subbing for. Her name is Louise. She was sporting the flannel shirt & cowboy hat, just like Bill. I'm not sure if I'm required to dress in uniform, since I'm only a sub. I think I might make a stop at the thrift store later, actually. I am pleasantly surprised. All Bill's dogs seem well behaved and under control. There are no flight-risk dogs, and no fights to break up either. Bill does most his walks at Crissy Field- one of my favorite places in San Francisco. My new rainbow colored rain boots, my birthday gift from Angie, are going to come in very handy for the beach. The cold and rain is coming soon as well.

Anyhow, the subbing gig I got with Bill is going to work out just perfectly. I'm filling in for Louise while she's on vacation, then I'll help out when there's overflow from the groups. Also, I think I'm going to do a photo shoot to go with their new campaign. The light is perfect today. It was perfect this morning as well, for Lucy's photo shoot... and on that note, I'm going to go work on those photos. Thanks for listening. Until next time...

post 4 Joel

I got to sleep in two different beds this weekend! haha! lol. it was nice, but not as cozy as my little apartment on wheels! Cadrian's bed with her mountain of pillows, and Jeff with his 20 layers of blankets. Thanks guys for taking a homeless girl in for the night...
Friday night, Cadrian & I celebrated Kimberley's birthday at an awesome Chinese restaurant in the mission. Way too much food! but amazing! Then Dogtoberfest at Douglass Park and Giants game at Jeff's on Saturday, like I even knew what was going on.... 4 beers and I was passed out for the night. I missed Giants victory and some good tacos, apparently. Photos from Dogtoberfest here:

http://www.pictage.com/935257

I'm preparing for Lucy's photo shoot tomorrow morning. I'm pretty sure she's a malit-poo. I used to walk her. I think we'll go to take pictures at Crissy Field. I'm at Cafe Oasis and there's a group of students next to me studying algebra. It sounds brutal. I'm so glad I didn't have to go through normal classes like that! I should probably use the potty and brush my teeth while I'm here.

Wisam & Wild Bill

Wow... what a crazy last 24 hours. It's getting back to the foggy chill I remembered, so I'm writing inside today, with the dogs inside the car. I had to get out of Cafe Abir. It was getting too crazy. Too many people. This is Oasis cafe, just 1 block north on Divisadero. The Wi-Fi is better, the coffee is better, and there's less traffic since they are pretty new still. I swear I could write an entire blog about the people the I've met at Cafe Abir. Here's an update of my encounters...

So yesterday I met with Tokjou, who's real name is Anthoni, but I think he likes having an exotic sounding name, as if the "i" at the end of Anthoni isn't exotic enough... He SAID he specializes in marketing and wants to help me with my Photography business. I'm not paying for anything, but I told him I'd do portraits of his yorkie. So I'm not sure if he told me anything I don't already know, but he's a great motivator with a very positive outlook and had a lot of tips for me regarding approaching possible clients and being confidant about what I do.

Allergies killed me yesterday. Nothing worked to control them. This old man told me to get a 365 pack of generic Zyrtec at Cost-co for $15.99. He told me about it several times, and even wrote it down so I wouldn't forget. Another dude told me to try these eye drops that supposedly cure all your allergy symptoms including congestion, sneezing, etc... Couldn't find them at the store. But he told me he'd buy them for me and bring them to the cafe. :) Then there was Obah, a very sweet guy who works at the cafe.

Do you see the trend here? I really don't mean to brag or anything, but since I've been back, I seem to be attracting a lot of male attention. I'm not really sure why. I look like a scummy car dweller. :)

As the day carried on, my allergies never let up. Then a thin, handsome, ethnic guy (couldn't put my finger on what nationality he was) with a thick accent sat next to me. I could tell he was trying to initiate conversation, but I had to get some work done, so i was trying my best to be as disgusting as possible by blowing my nose every 10 seconds. It didn't work. We started talking. Well let me rephrase... HE started talking. Wisam is his name. He's from Morocco, speaks 4 languages, 33 years old, very worldly. He knew a lot about everything. You name it, he knew a lot about world history, geography, politics. Very interesting guy, so outgoing and positive, but a little over the top for me. It was hard to get a word in, he just had so much to say! He took me out for a gyro in the Mission. Then we saw Andrew Zimmern doing his show Bizarre Foods on 16th & Mission, right by the Bart! Not sure what the bizarre food was, I'll have to watch for the episode soon. Wisam said one day he'd like to host a show like Anthony Bourdain's. I told him he'd be perfect for it.

Oh, before I started chatting with Wisam, WIld Bill Peacock, a former dog walking acquaintance, saw me at the cafe and pulled over to say hi. It turns out he's in need of a little help. He's got a small business and has just one other employee working for him. He's got horns on the front of his truck and wears a cowboy hat every day. We met today at the beach to talk about me possibly working for him. I told him about my car dwelling status and he said it'd be okay to drop my stuff at his place before I go to walk dogs. SO I GOT A JOB! I wasn't going to look for work. I figured I'd let it find me, and it did.

hot dingos in the city

Sitting at my cafe in the heat of San Fran's Indian Summer. I'm not sure it gets much hotter than this here. I'm loving it. My black dogs aren't. Mona keeps lunging and snapping at this old Asian man as he walks by. Every time, it nearly gives him a heart attack and he sort of trots away muttering words in his native language. Maybe Mona remembers him from her hometown, Taipai Taiwan. I couldn't help but laugh, but I had to punish Mona for being such a bitch. I gave her a time out in the car, but it is just too hot for that, so she's sitting underneath me and I've got a tight grip on her leash with my foot.

I sort of feel like I could be catching a bug. I hope not. Last night I found a parking spot on a hill, so I slept slanted downwards with my head nearly smashing into the back door of my car. I tried the other way, with my feet at the back, but it wasn't comfortable due to a bump in the floor that digs into my hip. When I lay backwards, the bump is close enough to the front that my hip isn't on it. The Asian man just walked by again. I held Mona by the collar this time. Why does he keep walking by anyways?
The Indian woman next to me said it was okay if I sat next to her, but she doesn't want the dogs in her space.

I think a visit to the beach is pretty much mandatory today. I don't have much else to do here on the computer. I'm almost done with my new business cards and 4x6 flyers and now I have an address for them to be shipped to. I feel like I'm going to pass out . I'm probably going to go do that at the beach. Yea I gotta get out of here, the dogs are dying.

"It's peanut butter jelly time...: Thanks Daniel for getting that stuck in my head.

cafes eating away at my wallet

OKay, need to put an end to the frivolous cafe spending... yikes! i went to Bikram today, only to leave class early due to light headed-ness from an empty stomach. Because of this, I talked myself into having breakfast at The Grind (Brother Bear and I's favorite omelet spot) My total with coffee came out to $11.... not good!
But its so great to sit and eat a delicious breakfast with internet access! One day when I'm rich, I'll still live in a car or van, and I'll just eat out everyday, all day, for every meal. It will be great.

So I TRIED to cook a meal last night. Unsure where to cook on my propane stove in the city, I headed west, to Ocean Beach. There were tons of people with bonfires, but I decided to cook my assortment of veggies, that I got at Berkeley bowl a few days prior, on my propane stove in the parking lot. I let the dogs out to run around. Mona stayed close, but Soozy disappeared, naturally. I'm not sure you're really supposed to cook in the parking lot. Before I could even light the stove, I noticed cops coming in and out of the parking lot. I decided not to continue with my cooking. Instead, I had to search for my dimwit dog, who still hadn't come back after an hour. I even had to drive to the other parking lot to look for her. SO when I finally found her, I wasn't even hungry anymore. I went to Safeway to get some ice for the cooler so the veggies stayed fresh. Instead, I ended up giving my meal to some travelers sitting out in front of the store. They were extremely grateful. SO much for buying food and trying to cook. I think I'll only be able to do that while using a friends kitchen. Unless I can find a good place to cook.

more fateful encounters at the cafe

Today at my 'regular' cafe, I met Kip, the executive director of a business networking group called Nopa+. There are 700 members, all who own businesses in the Nopa, Western Addition, Lower Haight, USF area. Hopefully I'll make some good contacts. Also met a marketing guy named Tokjou, who is going to help me with some marketing ideas in exchange for portraits of his yorkie.

I'm at a different cafe now on Fillmore, where the internet sort of sucks and an old lady has been chain smoking behind me for the past hour. Oh, I got a mailbox today! It was the cheapest monthly rate I could find, a little mom + pop mailing shop, with a cute asian lady with purple hair named Lou who says "chao for now" when you leave. She's awesome. The place is in Pacific Heights, pretty much the richest neighborhood in SF, and I have an actual street address, not a PO box. I don't get much mail, but I need a place for packages to be sent. So if you want to mail me for fun, my address is:

1450 Sutter St. PMB #209 (PMB stands for personal mailbox. Lou told me it makes it easier for them if I include that)
San Francisco, CA 94109

Jeff, my friend who owns his own dog walking business, asked me to cover for him next Tuesday. YAY for more random gigs!
I found a really cute green top at Goodwill today- so much for spending money on things I don't really need. ok but it was only $3!
So I'm spending too much money at cafes... I guess that's like my rent then.

Chao for now...

Serendipitous Meetings...

Sitting at what seems to be my 'regular' cafe on Divis & Fulton. There's outdoor seating and I've tied the dogs to a chair out here, only to have it being pulled down the sidewalk each time another dog passes by.
A pretty blonde woman and her cute, freckled daughter came to sit down at the table next to me, Alisa & Sophie. We began talking and it turns out we have a lot in common. They just moved back to San Francisco from LA. Alisa remarked at how relaxed San Francisco is compared to the botox infused culture of Southern California. Soozy loved them because they were eating sandwiches :) So ironically, Alisa got a job here with a video game company that is currently designing a dog video game. She said they are always looking for photos of dogs to use. Right place. RIght time... I love it.

Staying Clean

Yes! $2 for the washers at The Wash Place in the Mission, and free wi-fi! I've been doing more laundry than expected due to the high volume of sweaty-ness incurred through Bikram. It's gross and has begun stinking up my gym bag, which I also threw into my load. I walked into a laundromat in the Castro the other day and the price on the washers was $3.75! Way beyond my budget. So I think I'll be visiting the mission for laundry from now on.

After Bikram today, I went to take my shower at the 24hr Fitness on Ocean Ave.. I've never been to this one before. There's free garage parking, a hot AND dry sauna, and private shower stalls .I sat in the dry Sauna for a bit, which felt really nice, then I took a long shower. It seems I've been taking more showers as a car dweller than when I lived at my Dad's house in Lincoln. :)

After my shower, I took the dogs to Ocean Beach via Sloat ave. We just missed the sunset. I think dogs aren't allowed off leash at the side, but we did it anyways :) In the parking lot, I opened up the back of the car and cleaned out trash, and organized things. Despite my hippy-like qualities, I am actually quite clean and organized. Everything has to be in it's place. I made sure all my clothes were in the correct drawers and everything I wasn't using immediately was tucked away or put on top in my cargo carrier. More later... Laundry's almost done.

King Crispy and Bikram sore-ness

I'm sitting at a cafe in Lower Haight checking my email and charging my devices. A couple has just sat down next to me. As their food arrived, the man looked down at his burger and fries and said to the waiter "crispy". The waiter had that look on his face like 'are you serious?' The man said again one word, "crispy". I'm not even sure if he was referring to the fries not being crispy enough, or if he wanted the burger crispy. Again, the waiter said nothing. Then the guy was like "are you going to take it back?" So the waiter did and the man sat down disgruntled as his girlfriend ate. He looks so pissed off! The place is super busy so I'm sure he won't be getting his crispy-ness until his girl is done with her food. I'm curious to see what the waiter brings back.

Last night, I slept next to Buena Vista Park. This is my 2nd night sleeping there. One side of my car is completely blocked by the park by bushes and trees and I put my 'curtain' up on the other side so no one peeks in while walking by. {The waiter brought back the food and the fries look as if they've been triple dipped in the fryer. I sure do hope they're crispy enough for King Crispy}
So yea... I actually slept in super late today, almost till noon! I've been car dwelling a little over a week now and every other day I've woken up to the sun rising or shortly after. Does this mean that my little apartment is getting too comfortable? I guess it's because I've been really tired from Bikram Yoga. I've signed up for 30 days for $30 and I'm trying to go every single day. If you don't know what Bikram is, it's a form of yoga where the temperature in the room is around 100 degrees and 26 (or so) yoga moves are practiced for 2 sets each. It's pretty intense. I am super sore and may go redeem my massage gift card that I bought for myself as a graduation gift last year. Since I woke up so late today, I'll be going to Bikram at 3pm. I've been showering there, but there's only 2 showers and the water pressure isn't great so it takes a while for the shampoo to rinse from my head. I may venture to the gym after yoga to take my shower today.
{King Crispy seems pleasantly satisfied as he finishes his burger. He's barley touched his fries}

First entry to my daily journal

okay, I've been wanting to write to my blog consistently for a while now. So here goes...

So for those of you who don't already know, I'm living out of my car in San Francisco. Please don't worry, or feel sorry for me, or be scared. I'm not in the process of searching for an apartment, and I did not resort to this due to a lack of funds. (Well there is the lack of funds, but that's not the main reason I'm doing this.) I've been researching the van/car dwelling lifestyle for quite some time now and I genuinely believe this is a completely valid way to live. Some people, well most people, see living in a car in a very negative light. I have to say that I was one of those people not too long ago. The first thing that comes to mind is a homeless, dirty, lazy, uneducated, stinky, bum with no job. Please don't judge! Open your mind to the possibilities. Below are just a few reasons as to why I am car dwelling and happier than I've ever been!

*First and foremost... NO RENT! Your biggest bill is nonexistent. This includes utilities, cable, and any other costs incurred while living in an apartment or house. I have a pretty heavy student loan bill and a few credit card payments that bring my monthly expenses to a number I'd rather not mention. It'd be impossible for me to cover rent on top of my bills. I do still have to pay for food, gas, and car insurance, but this is manageable because of NO RENT!

*Mobility - My bedroom is on wheels, wherever I go. Everything I own comes along with me. I'd like to be able to travel with my business, possibly up and down the west coast. San Diego, LA, Seattle, and Portland are all on my "to do" list.

*Freedom - Since I'm not working full time, struggling to pay rent in this crazy expensive city, I have lots of free time to do things I've always wanted to do . The stress of having to be somewhere or having to get something done has vanished. My short-term bucket list includes: Bikram yoga daily or as much as possible, self defense classes, surfing, getting to know every nook and cranny of this awesome city, and spending more time with friends.

*Owning less stuff - Seriously, try it. It's extremely liberating. Everything I own fits in my car and on top in my 'roof bag' Minimizing my belongings really got me thinking... How much do we really need to live? Most of our possessions are unnecessary and don't add any real value to our lives. Most things we hold on to that aren't functional just take up real estate in our physical spaces and in our minds. It feels nice to not have so much to lose.

*Adventure/Exploration - I'm always checking out new cafes to use the internet and parks to sleep by.

OKAY so I know you may have lots of questions. Here are the most FAQ's

Q: Showering? How do you stay clean?
A: I have a gym membership to 24hr fitness. It's only $30/month and there are locations everywhere. There's about 10 just in the city of San Francisco. This is great for me, because I need to stay in shape anyways. The bikram yoga place I've been going to also has showers. Last resort, I have plenty of friends that have offered up their showers! (thanks guys!)

Q: Isn't sleeping uncomfortable?
A: not really, not yet anyways... My seats fold down and the length of my body fits perfectly right behind the driver's seat to the rear of the car. My stuff occupies the other side. I sleep on top of a sleeping bag, which is very cozy, and I have a thick comforter that has so far kept me very warm, even for cold San Francisco nights. It's so warm now I've been sleeping with the windows cracked.

Q: What about your dogs?
A: My two dogs Mona and Soozy are loving it! Since I have so much more free time, the dogs are always out with me. Either at parks or outdoor cafes where I can pick up free wireless. When I have to leave them in the car, its usually no more than 2 hours and it doesn't get hot enough in San Francisco for the car to overheat. I leave the windows cracked and a bowl of water for them and they are happy enough napping on my huge pile of of pillows and blankets. They are actually getting way more exercise than they did when I lived in a house and worked as a dog walker. (how ironic is that!) I was so busy I could only let them out a few times per day to potty and my boss wouldn't let me take them with me on my walks. This is probably the most time I've been able to spend with my dogs since I got them. Also, I feel much safer with them. Mona barks when anyone is within 15 yards from the car. I also think the car is less likely to get broken into with two dogs barking.

Q: Yea I know you're thinking it... Where do I go to the bathroom?
A: So yea... I have had no problems so far using the restroom in cafes, restaurants, grocery stores, and of course parks (with lots of foliage to hide behind) Although I do have a bucket in the car for emergencies.

OKAY so thats all for now, but check back to follow my daily adventures...