Oh wow. I can’t even write a headline for this post.

Holy shit. I just met a guy who lives in a motor home.

He seems like the equivalent of a free spirit-tent-loving-non-conformist. He has the “living in a tent” lifestyle. He is living the dream, right?

So, he sits down next me at and starts talking about how the cord on his computer doesn’t work (or match the brand of his computer). Then he tells story after story about living cheaply. His 6-foot surfboard that was $20, but it sinks. His computer that turns on and off sporadically. His watch for $8 (normally $20) that broke and then someone else gave him one. His guitars and amps (he is a musician — so he spent a grand on those things), but that stuff broke down too.

Then he says to me. “The moral of the story is don’t be a cheapskate.”

He says all of this while laughing at himself. He sounds like me — only exaggerated just a bit.

Now, rewind to this morning. Last night I had a dream about an old friend I know from Idaho where I used to live. I haven’t talked to her in three months.

I call her, leave a message, telling her about the dream (I can’t really remember it, but something about her husband and her traveling).

She calls back. Tells me SHE HAD A DREAM about me!

In her dream we were at the beach. I was telling her I had a job offer and that I was rejecting it because I didn’t want to change. I kept saying, “I just want to stay here on the beach.” But in the dream, the beach really wasn’t that nice. It was kind of dirty and run down. My friend kept telling me, “I think you should take the job.”

Okay, fast forward to today.

I had a job offer THIS morning AND earlier in the week.  I accepted a position a couple days ago (it’s a 3-month contract that could possibly lead to longer). It’s REALLY big shit for me. I’ll be writing for a name brand you all have heard of. Because I cannot do math, I asked for a decent hourly rate without realizing what I was doing– and it got accepted.

Wow, huh!

I just gave the musician guy my business card. Maybe I’ll buy him a new computer sometime. I’m having a burst of positive energy right now. I know this is going to be really hard and stuff, but it’s exciting too. At this time last year I was writing $20 articles online and couldn’t pay my bills and was getting ready to move back in with my parents in Utah (have I mentioned I’m 34?). It was so much suffering. I had to give up so much to keep going.

I really haven’t bought new clothes in like 7 years. I get hand-me-downs from my stepsister or from clothing swaps. The other night I went to dinner with a friend and I had just bought something new and she was like, “have you lost weight?” And I’m like, “No, this just fits me right.”

I haven’t bought ANYTHING for myself, other than food and necessities because I wanted to be a writer so bad (and hell, it has been hard to find a job for A LOT of people). Yesterday I went into a small business and spent $40 and it FELT SO GOOD. These places NEED our support.

Oh my god, the musician guy is watching a YouTube concert of Keith Urban and singing along to it. That is fucking funny!!!

“I used to run in circles going no where fast.

I’d take one step forward and look two steps back.

I couldn’t walk a straight line even if I wanted to.

I wanna love somebody, love somebody like you.”

photo by Jakob Montrasio