A Guitar And Gear Support Forum

Hey everyone... Sorry for my protracted absence from the forum, but I've had a LOT of life changes since the last time I was on. Back in January of 2022, my roommate of 7 years passed away from cancer, and after searching for a few months, I came to the conclusion that there were absolutely ZERO apartments in the San Fernando Valley that I could afford (rent is INSANELY expensive out here), and absolutely every apartment that I found in my area that I could (barely) afford, turned out to be an outright SCAM! The roommate scene was even worse, in various and sundry ways. In the meantime, I was paying the full rent on the apartment myself (my roommate was kind enough to leave me some money, so I wouldn't get tossed out on the street right away, but that had run out, and I was running out of time), so after a while, I figured my only option was to buy an old cargo van (a 2001 Chevy Express), and convert into a mini-RV.

I spent last spring and most of the summer building, and acquiring gear to turn this van into as comfortable a mobile apartment/office/recording studio as I could, until a chronic back problem flared up again, and I was forced to stop working on it. Then, in November (just as I was recovering from my upper back pain), I developed a screaming case of sciatica (probably the worst pain I've ever experienced outside of that time when my wisdom teeth erupted), which took a lot of painful physical therapy to recover from. I couldn't afford to go to an actual physical therapist, mind you (and the health care system in California is absolutely BROKEN), I just did a lot of research, and became my own therapist. But it worked... I'm not 100% recovered, yet. I still get some very slight pain in my lower back/hip area, but nothing debilitating, or even that bothersome. I wasn't quite ready to go back to work when I did (I was out of commision for quite a while), but now I feel ready to resume construction on the van. Fortunately, by the time my back problems hit me, I had completed enough of the project that the van was livable, and I had most of the essential (and a few non-essential) amenities in place. It just doesn't look very pretty yet.

I have three 200 watt solar panels on the roof (and an additional 100 watt portable solar panel that folds up and stows neatly away), feeding a 2000 watt-hour power station, and a 3000 watt-hour expansion battery (all Lithium Iron Phosphate, or: LIFEPO), a super comfortable memory foam bed, a fridge, an induction burner (though I haven't really done much cooking in here yet), a fairly large desk with a full computer set-up and recording gear, and most importantly; 3 guitars, 3 basses, a synthesizer, and a MIDI keyboard controller. The only things I really need to do now are to build some more cabinets/storage compartments and finish the cosmetic aspects. I fully insulated the van, and installed a great roof-top fan (MaxxFan) for ventilation/cooling. I tried using a portable air conditioner, but it just sucked too much power when it was 100+ degrees in the summer. Under the bed, I built a storage compartment for tools and various other gear accessible from the back of the van, and another compartment for guitars (accessible from inside the "cabin". I have paneling up on the walls, but I still need to install paneling and lights on the ceiling. I started documenting some of the project (mostly video), but after a while, I figured this would turn into a generational project if I kept stopping to take pictures/shoot video of every little step, but I'll post some of what I did capture later. I'll just have to dig around for it.

So how has everybody been since I've been gone? Sabas has been keeping in touch with me throughout this whole ordeal. He said a few members have gone AWOL? I was sorry to hear that. I haven't had a chance to peruse the message boards yet, I just wanted to let everybody that I haven't completely abandoned the forum... I hope everybody's doing well!

Glad to read your back and now well-ish. Sorry to hear about your roommates death. RIP. Van sounds impressive. When you are ready with the van, post some pics about it. I'd like to see the energy system, and whatever other crafty parts it has.

Sorry to hear about your troubles...I have seemingly developed chronic lower back issues (likely due to my gardening/landscaping way above my pay grade at 65)...but only seems bad upon waking...the key has been movement....walk as much as possible (currently 100 F daily here) but going to the big mall and gonna tread the walkways there today. Staying staionary for too long is not good ....mix heat and ice too on bad days. Ice pack and then hot shower works wonders.

Glad you are 'making' it....real estate prices are way out of control...hang in there....a Rolling Stone gathers no moss...man

Good to hear from you again Mossman.

Good to hear from you, the good and the not so good . Your van project sounds impressive and avoiding feeding the beast.
Same with your sciatica , it is a money maker for some. The self therapy is most likely more sceintific and helpful.
One thing if you can , do not scimp on security for your home , and stay safe .

Tonray's Ghost wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:58 pm Sorry to hear about your troubles...I have seemingly developed chronic lower back issues (likely due to my gardening/landscaping way above my pay grade at 65)...but only seems bad upon waking...the key has been movement....walk as much as possible (currently 100 F daily here) but going to the big mall and gonna tread the walkways there today. Staying staionary for too long is not good ....mix heat and ice too on bad days. Ice pack and then hot shower works wonders.

Glad you are 'making' it....real estate prices are way out of control...hang in there....a Rolling Stone gathers no moss...man

I'm finding sleeping on my stomach is a problem as my waist bends a little backwards into the mattress indentation. I have to stop that urge and stick to sides and back facing down. I should also start doing "back ups" like situps but laying on stomach and raising legs and arms to build better muscle support at lower back.

Glad to see you back on the forum. I too dealt with a serious case of sciatica years ago, brought on by a combination of squatting 3Xs my body weight, along with riding a hardtail chopper cross country with a thick leather wallet in my back right side pocket. The only relief I got involved alteration of sleeping position and application of heat. It eventually resolved itself, though I still have a very slight tinge of pain.

Regarding the guitars and the van, how do you keep it cool enough to prevent damage to the stringed instruments kept inside?

Welcome back and hope that your physical improvement continues. As others have mentioned, anything you can do to keep moving ( even a little ) seems to help.

Oh yes, back again!

@Partscaster @Tonray's Ghost @toomanycats

Oh, boy... Are we officially o-l-d?

Rentals are crazy - if you can find a place! Every owner with a spare bed in our town has now converted it to a short term rental Air B&B) leaving no places for long-term renters (read: our workforce).

Stay healthy and, as expressed by other members, post some pics of the van when you get a chance.

Thanks everyone for your welcomes and well-wishes. The last 14 months have been pretty rough, and some things have gotten rougher, but I won't get into any of that right now. It's just good to back.

uwmcscott wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:36 pm Welcome back and hope that your physical improvement continues. As others have mentioned, anything you can do to keep moving ( even a little ) seems to help.

bc rich wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 12:41 am Good to hear from you, the good and the not so good . Your van project sounds impressive and avoiding feeding the beast.
Same with your sciatica , it is a money maker for some. The self therapy is most likely more sceintific and helpful.
One thing if you can , do not scimp on security for your home , and stay safe .

Tonray's Ghost wrote: ↑Sun Mar 26, 2023 9:58 pm Sorry to hear about your troubles...I have seemingly developed chronic lower back issues (likely due to my gardening/landscaping way above my pay grade at 65)...but only seems bad upon waking...the key has been movement....walk as much as possible (currently 100 F daily here) but going to the big mall and gonna tread the walkways there today. Staying staionary for too long is not good ....mix heat and ice too on bad days. Ice pack and then hot shower works wonders.

Glad you are 'making' it....real estate prices are way out of control...hang in there....a Rolling Stone gathers no moss...man

toomanycats wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 8:57 am Glad to see you back on the forum. I too dealt with a serious case of sciatica years ago, brought on by a combination of squatting 3Xs my body weight, along with riding a hardtail chopper cross country with a thick leather wallet in my back right side pocket. The only relief I got involved alteration of sleeping position and application of heat. It eventually resolved itself, though I still have a very slight tinge of pain.

Regarding the guitars and the van, how do you keep it cool enough to prevent damage to the stringed instruments kept inside?

Regarding the sciatica; it literally crippled me. I couldn't sit in a chair for very long, I couldn't stand for very long. The only thing I could tolerate was lying down in bed on my side, and even then, the pain was pretty intense. I also lost all the strength in my left knee. I couldn't lift my own weight with my left leg (and I lost a LOT of weight.. I was pretty skinny to begin with, but I became downright skeletal!). When I had to walk up a flight of stairs, I could only use my right leg, one step at a time, and when I walked, my knee would often buckle if I didn't concentrate on keeping my left leg rigid when I stepped. There were SO many times I almost fell on my face, just stepping off the curb, or if I had to stop suddenly. Running, or even walking at a brisk pace (I'm usually a fast walker) was out of the question.

The most delightful side-effect of all was that the inflammation put pressure on my bladder and urinary tract, so I got an URGENT urge to pee about every 20 minutes, and when I tried to void my bladder, it felt like I was passing a kidney stone, while only producing enough urine to maybe fill a shot glass! This made sleeping (or living a 'normal' life) nearly impossible. Fortunately, I told my chiropractor about it (whom I had been seeing for my OTHER back condition), and he hooked me up with some powerful Chinese herbs, which took care of that problem. The stuff was pretty expensive, too, and he didn't charge me a dime.

In my case, the sciatica came about from a combination of factors. I was pushing myself pretty hard 24/7 for several months, working my full time screen printing job during the day, and then working all night and weekends on the van, with nobody to help me do any of the heavy lifting. But the biggest factor, I think, is the fact that I NEVER stretched... Ever. My hamstrings got tight as a drum, and that really pulled everything else out of whack. It took a lot of painful stretching exercises to undo that. In fact, stretching was the only thing that saved me. I went to the emergency room, and they gave me Tylenol and Motrin (which did nothing for the pain), and told me to put ice on it, and go to physical therapist. After spending countless hours/days on hold, trying to get Medicare, and never getting through to a human being (or being hung up on when I did), I said: "Fuck it... I'll do this myself", and spent all my time doing research, and put together a therapy regimen of my own. My chiropractor couldn't help much, because sciatica is a nerve issue, and not so much a spinal problem, but he did help me identify which stretching exercises would do the most good, and which ones to avoid. I figured the only benefit of going to a physical therapist was that they would push me, and not let me wimp out due to the pain of the exercises, but I was HIGHLY motivated. I went into it like prize-fighter, and pushed myself as hard as I could, no matter how much it hurt. It didn't take long to start to feel the benefits (though extremely incremental), which motivated me even further.

And @uwmcscott and @Tonray's Ghost; you're correct. Walking also did a world of good for my sciatica. Under ordinary circumstances, I usually walk 5+ miles a day, and while I couldn't walk quite that much when the sciatica was in full rage, I made sure to walk as often as I could (about 2 miles at a time), and I definitely felt better after walking.

@toomanycats I haven't experienced any problems with my guitars in the heat. Humidity is a bigger issue, but southern California is very dry. If I were living where you are (or even in New England in the summer time), I'd be more concerned about it, but they've been fine here, even when it gets above 100 degrees. I was more concerned about my electronics, but I haven't had any trouble with that, either.

I've been going through the pics and videos I took during the van building process and realized that I've already uploaded a video of my workspace/recording setup to YouTube that you might enjoy. I've got to spend some more time organizing the rest of my media, but here's something to watch in the meantime:

tlarson58 wrote: ↑Mon Mar 27, 2023 10:38 pm Rentals are crazy - if you can find a place! Every owner with a spare bed in our town has now converted it to a short term rental Air B&B) leaving no places for long-term renters (read: our workforce).

Stay healthy and, as expressed by other members, post some pics of the van when you get a chance.

Yeah, when I was searching for an apartment, I was amazed at how many people out here were renting out their living room, or half of their bedroom (in a single bedroom apartment), or a shed, or garage. That was definitely NOT for me. And people wonder why there's such a huge homeless problem in California? Nobody can afford the frickin' rent out here! Even a STUDIO apartment costs about 2/3 of my monthly income.

That sucks. I've known people who lived in vans or trucks out of a sense of adventure and frugality, but that isn't most people.

Welcome back!
Stay safe and healthy.

The whole wage vs. real cost of living has been worse and worse for working class / lower middle folks for decades.
Wages have been relatively stagnant / don't nearly keep up, since the 1970's.

At least partially by design I believe, but I won't go there.

Welcome back, brother. We missed you. Mat this year be a much better one.

Welcome back man! Hope your body recovers well and we see/read more from you.

Good to have. You back. Sorry about the problems. I love those van conversions. Wish my dad kept our old short chevy van w straight 6. Camped in it but never did all the cools stuff to it. The thing handled like a race car inthe mountains.
I had sciatica a few years ago. In a way I was lucky because the only think that didn't drive me crazy was walking. I hiked half Dome w it but even dead tide I had to eat walking around and going to bed had to pretent pedal myself to sleep to get my 3 hours rest.
Had t work at my computer marching and I had to put on metal so I could double bass pedal drum while driving.

I read a book by Pete igosque (sp) lots of great exercises. I remember liking the one where I laid on the floor with my legs bent resting my calves on the seat of a chair. Really felt good and aligned things.

Great to have you back and glad to hear you are making the best of life's challenges. Sorry about your roommate.

Thanks guys. It's nice to be somewhere I belong again. It's been kinda lonely out here since I've been living in this van. The feeling of isolation and instability are pretty palpable. It messes with your head at first, when you transition from living in a traditional "home", with rooms, and walls and a front door and everything, to living in a van. You don't feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you, you feel like the whole planet has. Your whole sense of foundation and stability are gone... In the early days, it would hit me the hardest when I would get off work. When I lived in a house/apartment, I would always look forward to going straight home after work. I never wanted to make any stops, or run errands on the way. I just wanted to go home. But when your van is your home, you feel like you have nowhere to go. Like you're adrift in space. As such, I've come to think of this van as a spaceship, or a shuttle (like a Type-6 shuttle from Star Trek... yeah, you knew I was nerd. ). After I had been living in the van for a few weeks, I decided to give it a name. I never named any of my vehicles before, but I figured; if this going to be a ship, it oughta have a name. After much deliberation, I decided to christen it the "Rocinante" for a number of reasons...
1) It's the name of Don Quixote's horse
2) It's the name of the ship in "Cygnus X-1" by Rush
3) It's the name of the ship in: "The Expanse" (one of my all-time favorite sci-fi shows/book series)
4) I happened to come across an article about the custom camper that John Steinbeck had build for his GMC pickup truck, in which travelled all over the country in 1962, and he dubbed "Rocinante" as well.



Looked pretty nice on the inside, too.



However, I've read that Steinbeck spent more nights in hotel rooms than he did in the camper, and the book he wrote about the trip (Travels with Charley) was largely fictionalized, but he was nearing the end of his life, so I cut him some slack.

Actually, I debated whether to call it the "Rocinante", or the "Aluminum Falcon" (It really is more like the Millennium Flacon than a Mars Navy gunship - "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid... I've added some special modifications, myself". ), but there were too many references to the name "Rocinante" that were meaningful to me to squander the name in favor of a cheap joke.

I still kinda feel like I'm lost in space. Probably always will.

golem wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:12 am That sucks. I've known people who lived in vans or trucks out of a sense of adventure and frugality, but that isn't most people.

Yeah, I've watched a lot of "van life" videos on YouTube, made mostly by cute couples and hipsters, who have a ton of money to invest in converting a $50,000 Sprinter van into a state-of-the-art RV for fun and profit, but not a lot (or any, really), by people who've been driven into homelessness, with a limited budget and a beat-up old cargo van.

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:42 am Great to have you back and glad to hear you are making the best of life's challenges. Sorry about your roommate.

Thanks, Rob. Sadly, I think my roommate (his name was Larry) ultimately got what he wanted. I think he just gave up on life... Larry was in his late '60s. He was an albino and legally blind, so he lived on a fixed, disability income and didn't get out much. He didn't have many friends, or much of a social life, and I didn't even know Larry had any family until he was near the end of his life (he had two brothers - one of whom lived nearby - that I had never met, or knew about, and a son who was doing a long stretch in prison). Still, most of the time I knew Larry, he was a fairly up-beat guy, and pursued his own interests, but that last year, he fell into a funk, and started losing weight and completely lost interest in all of his hobbies and pass-times. I'm pretty sure he withdrew from the few friends that he did have, as started noticing that he was going out less and less, and didn't go anywhere on holidays, where he would usually spend them friends. After a while, he spent all of his time in the house, parked in front of the television. He stopped bathing, stopped eating,and stopped showing any interest in anything.

It was a while before I realized there was something physically wrong with him. One day, I came home and found him sleeping on the couch with blood smeared down the right side of his face, and he had a bleeding sore on his ear. Larry had long hair, so I had never seen it before, and when I asked him about it, he shrugged it off as: "just a diabetic thing". He had had sores on his arms and legs in the past, so I took his word for it at first, but when it seemed to be getting worse, I got on his case pretty hard to go see a doctor about it. At first, he bristled at that and refused to go, saying he didn't like his doctor, or "they don't know anything", or "they're just going to tell me what I already know", but when I started pushing harder, he started lying to me (repeatedly) to get me off his back. He would tell me he made an appointment when he hadn't, or that he's: "waiting to hear from his social worker", or that he saw the doctor and he's: "waiting for lab results", etc. All the while, his health kept getting visibly worse, and there was nothing I could do about it. You can't force a person into medical treatment if they don't want it, and nothing I said to him could convince him. It wasn't until Larry started having trouble walking that he finally broke down and agreed to let me help him arrange to get some medical attention - something I had offered numerous times before - but this time he meant it. He gave me his doctor's info and his insurance card, and all his documentation, and by the next day, he was on his way to the hospital. But it was too late at that point. That bleeding "diabetic thing" on his ear turned out to be a ruptured malignant tumor, and the cancer had metastasized. They shipped him off to hospice, and two months later, he was gone.

I don't think he was in denial, or scared to go to the doctor. I think he was just tired of living. He had to know that there was something seriously wrong with him, and he was just waiting for it to take him. In one sense, it's a tragedy that he couldn't find a way to be happy (and nobody could give that to him), but in another sense, I'm glad he's at peace.

Sorry... didn't mean to be a downer. Sabas has heard the story in real-time, but I haven't talked about it at all since it happened.

nomadh wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:39 am Good to have. You back. Sorry about the problems. I love those van conversions. Wish my dad kept our old short chevy van w straight 6. Camped in it but never did all the cools stuff to it. The thing handled like a race car inthe mountains.
I had sciatica a few years ago. In a way I was lucky because the only think that didn't drive me crazy was walking. I hiked half Dome w it but even dead tide I had to eat walking around and going to bed had to pretent pedal myself to sleep to get my 3 hours rest.
Had t work at my computer marching and I had to put on metal so I could double bass pedal drum while driving.

I read a book by Pete igosque (sp) lots of great exercises. I remember liking the one where I laid on the floor with my legs bent resting my calves on the seat of a chair. Really felt good and aligned things.

Every case of sciatica is different, it seems. I had known people who suffered from it in the past, but all they complained about was a pain that came from sitting down for too long, and I thought that's all that sciatica was. In my case, nothing brought immediate relief. Even walking was incredibly painful, but I pushed myself to do it, because I would always feel better a couple of hours later. Same thing with the stretching exercises. But I ignored the pain for too long, until it brought me to tears, and I couldn't function anymore.

Mr. Leyvatone wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 11:33 am Welcome back, brother. We missed you. Mat this year be a much better one.

Tiga wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:57 pm Welcome back man! Hope your body recovers well and we see/read more from you.

Thanks guys, and you will. I can't say it'll be on a daily basis like it used to be, though... Time seems to slip away from me more quickly these days, and while the pain is mostly behind me, my energy levels are still kinda low. But I'll be around a lot more often that have been.

jtcnj wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:17 am Welcome back!
Stay safe and healthy.

The whole wage vs. real cost of living has been worse and worse for working class / lower middle folks for decades.
Wages have been relatively stagnant / don't nearly keep up, since the 1970's.

At least partially by design I believe, but I won't go there.

I completely agree, but I won't get into it here, either.

Mossman wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:51 am Thanks guys. It's nice to be somewhere I belong again. It's been kinda lonely out here since I've been living in this van. The feeling of isolation and instability are pretty palpable. It messes with your head at first, when you transition from living in a traditional "home", with rooms, and walls and a front door and everything, to living in a van. You don't feel like the rug has been pulled out from under you, you feel like the whole planet has. Your whole sense of foundation and stability are gone... In the early days, it would hit me the hardest when I would get off work. When I lived in a house/apartment, I would always look forward to going straight home after work. I never wanted to make any stops, or run errands on the way. I just wanted to go home. But when your van is your home, you feel like you have nowhere to go. Like you're adrift in space. As such, I've come to think of this van as a spaceship, or a shuttle (like a Type-6 shuttle from Star Trek... yeah, you knew I was nerd. ). After I had been living in the van for a few weeks, I decided to give it a name. I never named any of my vehicles before, but I figured; if this going to be a ship, it oughta have a name. After much deliberation, I decided to christen it the "Rocinante" for a number of reasons...

20220609_195859.jpg

1) It's the name of Don Quixote's horse
2) It's the name of the ship in "Cygnus X-1" by Rush
3) It's the name of the ship in: "The Expanse" (one of my all-time favorite sci-fi shows/book series)
4) I happened to come across an article about the custom camper that John Steinbeck had build for his GMC pickup truck, in which travelled all over the country in 1962, and he dubbed "Rocinante" as well.



Looked pretty nice on the inside, too.



However, I've read that Steinbeck spent more nights in hotel rooms than he did in the camper, and the book he wrote about the trip (Travels with Charley) was largely fictionalized, but he was nearing the end of his life, so I cut him some slack.

Actually, I debated whether to call it the "Rocinante", or the "Aluminum Falcon" (It really is more like the Millennium Flacon than a Mars Navy gunship - "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid... I've added some special modifications, myself". ), but there were too many references to the name "Rocinante" that were meaningful to me to squander the name in favor of a cheap joke.

I still kinda feel like I'm lost in space. Probably always will.

golem wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:12 am That sucks. I've known people who lived in vans or trucks out of a sense of adventure and frugality, but that isn't most people.

Yeah, I've watched a lot of "van life" videos on YouTube, made mostly by cute couples and hipsters, who have a ton of money to invest in converting a $50,000 Sprinter van into a state-of-the-art RV for fun and profit, but not a lot (or any, really), by people who've been driven into homelessness, with a limited budget and a beat-up old cargo van.

andrewsrea wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 11:42 am Great to have you back and glad to hear you are making the best of life's challenges. Sorry about your roommate.

Thanks, Rob. Sadly, I think my roommate (his name was Larry) ultimately got what he wanted. I think he just gave up on life... Larry was in his late '60s. He was an albino and legally blind, so he lived on a fixed, disability income and didn't get out much. He didn't have many friends, or much of a social life, and I didn't even know Larry had any family until he was near the end of his life (he had two brothers - one of whom lived nearby - , that I had never met, or knew about, and a son who was doing a long stretch in prison). Still, most of the time I knew Larry, he was a fairly up-beat guy, and pursued his own interests, but that last year, he fell into a funk, and started losing weight, and completely lost interest in all of his hobbies and pass-times, and withdrew from the few friends that he did have. After a while, he spent all of his time in the house, parked in front of the television. He stopped bathing, stopped eating, stopped showing any interest in anything.

It was a while before I realized there was something physically wrong with him. One day, I came home and found him sleeping on the couch with blood smeared down the right side of his face, and he had a bleeding sore on his ear. Larry had long hair, so I had never seen it before, and when I asked him about it, he shrugged it off as: "just a diabetic thing". He had had sores on his arms and legs in the past, so I took his word for it at first, but when it seemed to be getting worse, I got on his case pretty hard to go see a doctor about it. At first, he bristled at that and refused to go, saying he didn't like his doctor, or "they don't know anything", or "they're just going to tell me what I already know", but when I started pushing harder, he started lying to me (repeatedly) to get me off his back. He would tell me he made an appointment when he hadn't, or that he's: "waiting to hear from his social worker", or that he saw the doctor and he's: "waiting for lab results", etc. All the while, his health kept getting visibly worse, and there was nothing I could do about it. You can't force a person into medical treatment if they don't want it, and nothing I said to him could convince him. It wasn't until Larry started having trouble walking that he finally broke down and agreed to let me help him arrange to get some medical attention - something I had offered numerous times before - but this time he meant it. He gave me his doctor's info and his insurance card, and all his documentation, and by the next day, he was on his way to the hospital. But it was too late at that point. That bleeding "diabetic thing" on his ear turned out to be a ruptured malignant tumor, and the cancer had metastasized. They shipped him off to hospice, and two months later, he was gone.

I don't think he was in denial, or scared to go to the doctor. I think he was just tired of living. He had to know that there was something seriously wrong with him, and he was just waiting for it to take him. In one sense, it's a tragedy that he couldn't find a way to be happy (and nobody could give that to him), but in another sense, I'm glad he's at peace.

Sorry... didn't mean to be a downer. Sabas has heard the story in real-time, but I haven't talked about it at all since it happened.

nomadh wrote: ↑Wed Mar 29, 2023 12:39 am Good to have. You back. Sorry about the problems. I love those van conversions. Wish my dad kept our old short chevy van w straight 6. Camped in it but never did all the cools stuff to it. The thing handled like a race car inthe mountains.
I had sciatica a few years ago. In a way I was lucky because the only think that didn't drive me crazy was walking. I hiked half Dome w it but even dead tide I had to eat walking around and going to bed had to pretent pedal myself to sleep to get my 3 hours rest.
Had t work at my computer marching and I had to put on metal so I could double bass pedal drum while driving.

I read a book by Pete igosque (sp) lots of great exercises. I remember liking the one where I laid on the floor with my legs bent resting my calves on the seat of a chair. Really felt good and aligned things.

Every case of sciatica is different, it seems. I had known people who suffered from it in the past, but all they complained about was a pain that came from sitting down for too long, and I thought that's all that sciatica was. In my case, nothing brought immediate relief. Even walking was incredibly painful, but I pushed myself to do it, because I would always feel better a couple of hours later. Same thing with the stretching exercises. But I ignored the pain for too long, until it brought me to tears, and I couldn't function anymore.

Mr. Leyvatone wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 11:33 am Welcome back, brother. We missed you. Mat this year be a much better one.

Tiga wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 12:57 pm Welcome back man! Hope your body recovers well and we see/read more from you.

Thanks guys, and you will. I can't say it'll be on a daily basis like it used to be, though... Time seems to slip away from me more quickly these days, and while the pain is mostly behind me, my energy levels are still kinda low. But I'll be around a lot more often that have been.

jtcnj wrote: ↑Tue Mar 28, 2023 8:17 am Welcome back!
Stay safe and healthy.

The whole wage vs. real cost of living has been worse and worse for working class / lower middle folks for decades.
Wages have been relatively stagnant / don't nearly keep up, since the 1970's.

At least partially by design I believe, but I won't go there.

I completely agree, but I won't get into it here, either.

Dang...that van looks pretty stylish man ! Hey...not sure about your age...but after my Mom passed in 2014 I retired to Thailand...not the paradise people might imagine...but life is a whole lot easier here..both on the pocketbook and in attitudes. My p;oint is...with real estate out of control and stagnant wages....don't think you're stuck forever where you are now. There is greener grass somewhere as long as you're flexible and open minded enough to appreciate it.

Love the name! That is a perfect fit for all the reasons you listed... plus, now you can call her "The Rossi"

Tonray's Ghost wrote: ↑Sun Apr 02, 2023 6:56 am
Dang...that van looks pretty stylish man ! Hey...not sure about your age...but after my Mom passed in 2014 I retired to Thailand...not the paradise people might imagine...but life is a whole lot easier here..both on the pocketbook and in attitudes. My p;oint is...with real estate out of control and stagnant wages....don't think you're stuck forever where you are now. There is greener grass somewhere as long as you're flexible and open minded enough to appreciate it.

Believe me, considering the way things have been going here (and I know where it's leading), I've seriously considered retreating to some island nation somewhere (or non-communist Asian country), to live out the rest of my days (I'm 54). I'd really like to go to India, as much of my spiritual philosophy is based on the Vedic tradition, but India seems to have more people living there than they need already, and I'm not sure what kind of quality of life would be available to me. But at least most people speak English there.

I'm glad you're back Ed, you were definitely conspicuous by your absence. I'm not happy with the way things have been going either but from what I know, India has terrible hair weather so that's out. I've been searching for a place that is reminiscent of the TV shows that shaped my expectations of what life was going to be like when i grew up (Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Giffith Show, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, etc) but so far, no luck...

tobijohn wrote: ↑Sat Apr 15, 2023 1:36 pm I'm glad you're back Ed, you were definitely conspicuous by your absence. I'm not happy with the way things have been going either but from what I know, India has terrible hair weather so that's out. I've been searching for a place that is reminiscent of the TV shows that shaped my expectations of what life was going to be like when i grew up (Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Giffith Show, My Three Sons, The Donna Reed Show, Father Knows Best, etc) but so far, no luck...

Man oh man..that Donna Reed was a hottie