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Skiddo Story Pt. 1: I Live in a Van

When I asked for what people would think is interesting, they responded van life, so here we go.


I live in a van, and his name is Skiddo.


He’s green and named after a Pokemon. Yes, you read that right. A Pokemon. I mean, look at the resemblance!


Skiddo, the Van

<<< Twitterdex Skiddo Fanart by @korybing


My boyfriend protests that my Skiddo looks more like a Gogoat, but I digress.


Skiddo has been my home since last year in May when I found an ad for him on craigslist, going to find him neglected in the back of a driveway. He’s 18 years old, a little scruffy around the edges, yet on the inside, he’s kind, comfortable, and the perfect sanctuary.




The dream-catcher is a gift from my dad, and the Maid-of-Dishonor bouquet is from the wedding of my friend, Jess, a brilliant anthropologist and scholar. Behind the wooden panels are books, books, books.


I can narrow the reactions I get about Skiddo and I to about three: the Worried, the Cynical, and the Enthusiastic, or some combination of them. I could name a fourth as the Passive…except those are those people that just say, “cool” and move on in the conversation, which to be honest, is perfectly fine by me.


I usually don’t mention that I live in a van, not to classmates or coworkers, unless it naturally comes up in conversation. It tends to, since it inherently makes my lifestyle different.


First answer:


No, I do not live down by a river.


I’ve already forgotten what this reference is from because I’ve never seen it, but 50% chance that is the question.


“I live in a van.”


“Down by the river?”


Since I got this response so often, I thought I would give sleeping by the river a try so that I could say I did it once.


But nope, I can only say that I tried it once. It was utterly deserted, meaning every time a car drove by, I flinched. There was no way I would have slept. I left and went back to the 24-hour Pilot gas station.


Yes, I feel more comfortable at a gas station with truck drivers constantly getting showers or picking up food from Subway, and people getting gas. Witnesses, friends. Witnesses.


This past summer, I spent many days in my spot behind the McDonald’s drive-through for the month that I was in Maryland.


I admit, not super classy, but I had wi-fi, access to cheap oatmeal and parfaits (those are the only two menu items I will consider eating), as well as a bathroom and air-conditioning for most of the day. I would switch this up and go to local cafes, bars, restaurants, the park, the library sometimes, but honestly, the library was farther away from work, had a ton of more rules, and was crowded most of the time with no open spots near an outlet.


I should mention that I picked McDonalds for the majority of the days because I wanted somewhere that I could set up and work all day, whether it was one project or another, although it was almost always the Magii Chronicles.


If I had gone to the library more, however, I might not have gotten sick.


That was three-four days a week or so, that I worked out of McDonalds. Other days, I would visit or go out with family and friends.


My first summer with Skiddo in 2015, I was also acting in Romeo & Juliet with the non-profit Maryland Entertainment Group (MEG) in Hagerstown, MD, which produced an amazing show with lots of intricate stage-fighting and passionate performers. Those are some of the people I will never forget.



(June 2015)

Romeo & Juliet, presented by the Maryland Entertainment Group

I do believe that during the actual production, I was cat-sitting for a professor in Boonsboro, MD, which was nice. I was cat-sitting for about four weeks total throughout the summer, between him and another professor with an adorable, demonic kitten, so I wasn’t sleeping in the van as much as you’d think, but I still went out for my thinking time.


First year at Northern Michigan University, I lived in the dorms, finding it just as expensive as people said it would be. I considered my unlimited meal plan to be evidence to the contrary, but it was not. The unlimited meal plan…how tempting to drink chocolate milk with every meal, or Mountain Dew, and eat cottage cheese and all of those lovely sweet delicacies in the forms of cakes, cookies, ice cream…how could I resist? I mean, I did, for about a day or two at a time, but I’m afraid my sweet tooth is a bit unwieldy. Expensive, indeed.


So, this year, I decided to live in my van, which has been working out well so far. My boyfriend lives in one of the dorms, and there are showers in the locker rooms of the athletic building. I started my first off-campus job, and am reminded how silly I was to think that I could live in a dorm setting and work on-campus after I have already lived on my own, and in a van.



The Fallen Allies

I tend to be a hermit in shared spaces, leaning towards reading, writing, and research. I just happen to enjoy these activities in the wee hours of the morning, which isn't kind to a roommate. When I had my own room, I could hole up and work indefinitely, or isolate myself when I shouldn't. But with Skiddo, I'm more inclined to study in public areas, leaving my own Skiddo Space for idea-sketching and meditating. The white, cinder block walls of the dorm rooms were resistant to decoration by hanging and I had no where near the money to buy any. Skiddo has pretty woodwork, places for my books, and the option to hang colored cloth or scarves around the inside if I want to decorate poor-girl-style. My mental health and quality of life are just better, coupled with the other necessary stresses of college life. I enjoy the freedom, and lack of utility bills. Plus, it throws me out into the community more since I use public spaces more for studying. As a writer, I'm naturally introverted, so a lifestyle that keeps that aspect of my personality balanced can be crucial.

Mind, there are numerous occasions when van-life requires effort, patience, and more of my attention and money to keep above board. (Emissions...><)


To sum it all up, I dislike how pushed it is for us as a society to become complacent, alienated, and financially frivolous. There are exceptions and cultural variations, of course, but right now, we are being taught that money is the key to happiness, accumulating more than we know what to do with, spending more time with things rather than people. Greed is an acceptable, sometimes even expected, method of conducting business and social institutions.


It pains me, but that's part of the reason I live with Skiddo. He keeps me organized, mobile, social, and progressive. Maybe it's because he's the first larger investment I've made. I planned to buy and live in a van, saved up the money, found him, and did it even though everyone had so many reasons why I shouldn't. Not to mention, it's as much as I can afford on my own. I believe I'm already leaning towards staying with Skiddo even once I can afford more, save up to pay off those student loans as soon as I can.


I think this is where I will end part 1. This is just me, writing how I think and living up to the blog’s name, “The Draper Tangent.” I’ve tried to blog before, but I had always stressed over how formal, or correct I sounded. That tone just doesn’t fit Skiddo, though. He’s my companion, and we’ve gone through some funny stuff in the year and a half that we’ve been together, and some drama.


Skiddo's Warrior, Anntonia


I’m thinking that the next story I tell will be centered around one of the following:


“Good Morning, Officer. No, I was just sleeping, not creeping.”


Rear-ended five days after 'catching' Skiddo.


The Learning Curve of Living with Skiddo. (Stuff breaks)


The Joys and Pains of Rain


Let me know what you think, whether it's about which of the four above you would like to see, or any other thoughts/questions. I’m sure I could think of more, and stuff happens every day, so now that I’ve started this, I may update sporadically if anything major happens.


Have an excellent rest of your day, no matter what day it is. I hope it is the best that it can be.


**Disclaimer: I will not depict much of Skiddo's exterior throughout these posts as a necessary precaution since I tend to sleep in public areas.

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