I’ve been touting the benefits of minimalism for years, even before I read the blog and books from theminimalists.com (who, I will have one of them on the podcast tomorrow!) As it turned out, I was a fraud.
Even after dropping off my bike and a file cabinet at a friend’s, giving a pile of clothes to charity, selling my surfboard, and donating some books to the library, the rest of my stuff did NOT fit into my car! I ended up leaving some gifts to my landlord.
But still, there was an issue. I couldn’t see out of my rear view mirror. Or the side mirror. And, at the last minute to add insult to injury, I saw my oversized duffle bag on a shelf in my garage, packed full of my ski/winter stuff. Ugh! I shoved that in the front seat, half spilling over onto me, and blocking the stereo and part of the dashboard. Luckily, on my way I called a friend and was able to drop that bag off in his garage! Then I moved stuff around just enough to be able to see out of my rear view mirror.
Freedom!
8.5 hours later, after a little traffic in Riverside and again in Vegas, I pulled into America’s Best Hotels or something, in St. George, UT. But not before a little snafu with my Google maps failing me on my new Samsung Galaxy III as soon as I got into Utah. Internet great, maps, not so much. I did the old school thing and stopped in a gas station to get directions. It felt like 1994! Plus it’s Utah. So it’s weird.
The America’s Best was actually quite nice for 50 bucks! And I got some complimentary “egg patties” for breakfast. Stylin’!
As crazy as Utah is, it’s also an amazing place for scenery.
And everything seems clean and new!
And, people smile and say “Hi” where ever you go.
I hit Jeremy’s in the afternoon and we drove off to a hiking area and did a hike. Fantastic! It doesn’t get much better. 78 degrees, crystal clear and green.
The next two days involved a lot of chatting and hanging out, as well as lots of laughs, especially over a couple of Louis CK comedy specials- both of our favorite comedians. He nailed it here:
I blazed out of town like a heard of turtles on Monday, making two long stops for snacks and more food. Left Salt Lake around 10am and cruised over the mountains and into the great state of Wyoming. If that’s not the windiest (that’s windy-est) place on earth something is wrong! Wyoming isn’t bad- there were some interesting things to see along the way. And this whole trip was made pleasurable as I listened to the audiobook Sex At Dawn, which is a pretty mind blowing challenge to what most people believe about sex & marriage. Although, the details about monkeys and other primates got a little dry for my taste.
I think the most amazing thing about this part of the trip was the mileage I got. I filled up the tank right outside of Salt Lake, and made it all the way to Utah- a total of 496 miles- on one tank! 52.1 MPG. I’m traveling the world and saving it at the same time!
Everything was smooth getting to Boulder. I took a toll road and didn’t have to pay. (will I get a ticket in the mail or something? I dunno. Big Brother was certainly watching.)
Called the neighbors of my subleaser, and picked up the keys. They are a couple and seemed ridiculously nice…he offered to help me move in! I decided to take the moving in phases, so I declined.
Since then I’ve only left the house for necessities- groceries and workout. It’s wrong to me to get to a new area and then hermatize, but I have my whole life of stuff with me and way behind on work…so that’s been the deal so far. I can see the Flatiron mountains from my apartment complex and it’s amazing.
I had some excitement last night as I was coming back from the store. I got pulled over! I figured I might have missed a stop sign and rolled through it….but no! I apparently have moved to bizarro world. This was the nicest cop I’ve ever met. He caught me off guard! He just wanted to tell me one of my tail lights was out. No ticket! And friendly chit chat about my move, and joking about how I picked the right time of year. And, I didn’t have my insurance card with me, but he took my word for it that I’m insured! Haha. Unreal. This NEVER EVER happens in California.
I’m currently 60% moved in. Some stuff still in my car and other stuff still in boxes. And Friday I fly to SF. It will be an interesting time here as so far there hasn’t been any time to even explore! I’d like to get a bike and cruise around very soon, might have to wait until next week.
Tomorrow I’m interviewing Ryan Nicodemus from The Minimalists, and hoping he can help me get a lot better at it.
Who knows, maybe I will soon be saying “Everything’s Better in Boulder!” 🙂
