JE#31 MIGHT HAVE TO MOVE

12/13/16 1:12pm

Listening to Masterpiece Theater 1-3 by Marianas Trench



I know that I passed my Programming logic and design class with a 96, I'm still waiting on the other grades to be input by my teachers.

Dad made the promotions list, he is going to go to school for 9 months to become a sergeant major. At first we were all under the impression that we would all stay here while he left for school, kind of like a regular deployment, but Amy told me yesterday that its looking more and more like we will have to go with him. She said that as far as I am concerned, I could either come with them and transfer to a Walmart and college there, specifically to el paso community college. Or, I could stay here, but I would have to live on campus in the dorms. Living in the dorms would add an additional $1700 to my student loans every semester, which would rack up my total estimated student debt to a little over $20,000 if I finish my degree in 2 years.

I don’t want to move. I like the current job and school set up I have, and while they are not the best at least they are relatively stable. I have looked at the el paso community computer science degree plans, and they are a complete joke so that’s not an option at all, which means going with my family isn't an option at all.



Listening to 2016 Best Melodic Dubstep Mix



I will NOT be peer pressured into going 20K in debt by my parents just to appease them or make them happy if I choose to stay here.
Fuck that.
So that leaves me 2 options if they move, I either have to find a room to rent, preferably with 1 or 2 room mates to split rent down to a manageable level; or find a way to live in my car.

Honestly, as bad as it seems, I'm leaning more towards living in my car. By no means will it be easy, but I have a general Idea of how I could make it work.
My main motivation is to save money. As of now I can put away a little over $500 every month with the current hours my job gives me. The family wont leave until June/July so barring any unexpected major expenses I should be able to put away almost $3000 between now and then.
By far gas will be the largest expected increase in my budget. A few modifications will have to be made to my car, such as finding a way to put up mosquito net on a few of my windows so I can crack them at night to let air in but keep bugs out, and putting a pad down in the trunk that I can sleep on when I pull my back seats forward and down.
Showering can be easily taken care of by buying a monthly membership to a 24/7 gym with showers, so that will take care of hygiene for the most part.

A lot of other things will have to be done, but that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head at the moment.
Internet access will not really be a problem, my job has free wifi, as do my school and most libraries, and my phone plan has 3gb of 4G data and unlimited 2G data after that.
Electricity will be a minor hindrance, but with the help of a few portable large capacity power banks that I can charge at work and school (I have one 10,000mah already, I can easily get several better ones) it shouldn’t be too much of a big deal. I will need an address, so I will have to rent out a UPS mail box for the duration of this situation, which will solve the issue of needing an address I can use on official forms as well as getting mail.

I can sleep in my car, though I will have to do so in different places every night, never staying in the same place more than once per week, and changing the days I do decide to sleep there at random so as to not create any noticeable pattern. Great care will have to be taken to become as inconspicuous as possible. Might even need to tint the windows as much is legally allowed.

Food and food storage will be an issue. My eating habits will have to change since I will lose use of an easily accessible oven, microwave, refrigerator, and cabinet to store things in. Eating out extra isn't an option since the extra cost isn't worth the extra accessibility. My job has several microwaves, refrigerators, and a single toaster oven, so while I can store some things there and cook them it will be in a limited capacity. School also has a microwave in the student lounge, so there is that. I know I cant survive on junk, so buying it will have to be kept at a minimum while I buy more fruits, vegetables, and other things I can eat within a few hours unless its fine to store in my car for a few days such as canned foods. Staying healthy is a must.

Will have to keep the car clean and organized because I cant stand clutter, keep up with oil changes, insurance, and make sure the whole thing is taken care of and kept in good condition.

Overall, my lifestyle will have to change drastically, but aside from the initial investment in materials, supplies, etc., I only anticipate my monthly cost of living to go up, say, $150? And that’s being a tad bit overzealous.
In march when I turn 21 I can apply to get my concealed carry permit, then buy a handgun, but up until then I can carry a knife for protection since I am going to be on my own.

All in all, that’s $644 a month I will need to live in my car and carry on going to school and working.

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Now, having said all of that, I could move with them…but I just think the whole thing would be detrimental to my education and job. Hell, I could even rent a room with a few people if I was okay with living paycheck to paycheck.

But I am not okay with that. I am soooooooooo not okay with any of that.
My parents have already expressed…great displeasure with my thoughts on living in my car. I don’t blame them, I think it sucks too. But unlike them, I think its much preferable to do this than go 20k in debt over a 2 year degree.




12/29/16 6:07pm

Listening to the tip of the iceberg by owl city



Christmas was great, though it seems to have come and go far too fast, even faster than last year. I got the raspberry pi 3 I wanted, and after 5 days of continuous failure I finally managed to turn it into a file server, albeit one that can (currently) only be accessed on our local network. I was deliberating over whether or not I wanted to add an external hard drive to it to boost the storage from the 16gb sd card it currently has, but what with my pending relocation here in 5 months I doubt it would be worth it. This was mainly meant to be an educational exercise more than anything else, but so far I have still managed to learn a few things while having my hand held by YouTube tutorials.
Even though school is out I am still trying to educate my self in my off time, for instance I am almost done watching a 6 hour video on YouTube about data structures and algorithms. When im done, I think I will get a small head start on my c++ class by watching some more tutorials by the same guy that helped me better understand HTML and css. Lord knows that taking 4 classes this semester is going to be painful.

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Oh, if I disnt mention it yet, Deanna Holmes came back, she just didnt pay her phone bill or something along those lines.
Also, found out I passed my 3 classes with 2 A's and a B.