Base Camp Journal
(02/17/25)
Ok, I finally remembered that I didn't update the journal at all in the new year, being preoccupied with doing the new podcast and waiting for the weather to improve. It's still raining off and on in February, but I suddenly have a new task to work around the wet days...
Because of the chaos caused by the Orange One and his co-President Elon Musk, particularly after he and his pack of Junior Brownshirts invaded the US Treasury and started threatening to cut Medicare and Social Security, I decided to safeguard the most vulnerable of my monthly bills - my storage locker. The monthly nut has gotten more and more expensive, and there's other reasons I'm not getting into, but I started looking for a cheaper, smaller space...
It turns out the only option is a 4 x 3 sq ft locker for a lot less than my current 5 x 5 sq ft space. I nailed down the new space at a facility in SoMa within walking distance of the old space, paid the first month's rent at the beginning of the month and stated moving my stuff on dry days...
This is what the new locker looked like on Friday the 14th. The storage chest is serving as a step ladder...
What the old locker looked like on Friday. I already suspect I won't have room for the frame unless I break it down, but if I have to, I'll try to take it apart as the very last thing to do...
I worried that it would be too small to hold everything, so I knew that some items would have to get crammed into my Nob Hill unit, and a few things would have to be discarded, but as of today, I've managed to move all of the household boxes, papers, etc., up to 90% of my stuff, leaving just enough room for the most unwieldy items - that big ass trailer.
What the new locker looks like on Monday the 17th. The previous week I hauled one load per day in the granny cart, but that day I hauled two loads...
This week is the crunch, so I'm gonna move the trailer and frame on Tues. before it rains again. That only leaves a few odds and ends...
(02/18/25)
Ok, I took my time this morning because I knew this the task would be taxing...
I pulled out the trailer, put air in the tires, seated the frame and loaded up the two raw pieces of white marble, then rolled over to the new locker...
Once there, I detached the top rails, then got on with it (I swear, the big marble weighs 40 or 50 lbs)...
After about 10 minutes of rearranging, cramming and sweating, I got it all situated. This is 99% of the stuff I intended to keep stashed, with very little left to finish up, and a week to spare. I can take it easy for the next few days as I enter the close out phase on the old locker...
(02/19/25)
The morning was almost rainy, mainly heavy sprinkles on the way down to the old locker. The last few items made a relatively light load on the one way trip to the new locker...
I managed to squeeze them all in, leaving one of my finished art works. I brought it and the granny cart back to the base camp, then celebrated with some Chinese take-out...
So, that's everything moved; only a few items remain in the old locker to be discarded, which unfortunately includes excess electronic components, odds and ends, and the magnet wheel and coils for my DIY Bedini Motor, but since it's actually just a lead-acid battery rejuvenator and no better than my power generator, it can go. I got the next podcast episode to work on, then during the weekend I'll empty the old locker, retrieve the lock and the old space will be done...
(02/22/25)
This morning I went down to the old locker in fairly beautiful Pre-Spring weather. The place wasn't crowded, so it only took about 10 minutes to clear out the locker and cram the final items in the dumpster. The desk clerk wasn't happy about it cause it's not a 'public' dumpster, but I was closing the account so he let it slide. I decided to wrap it up today instead of last minute next week; I wanted the account squared away well before the end of the month, just in case...
Technically, the lock became the last item brought to my tiny-ass basecamp. The complete list includes:
- My extra clothes
- Remaining Camp Gear
- Duffle, Rolling Duffle, Sport Bag, Backpack/Briefcase
- Utility/Granny Cart
- Black & Decker Workmate Bench
- Bike Sercive Rack
- Cassette Tape Archive
- The In-Progress Stones
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