I Have The Power!

Hi blog!  We sourced and received almost every little thing I need to run my c-pap out in the desert.  I've got a battery, solar panel, charger, inverter, and wire.  It's really hard to find wire!  You'd think Radio Shack would have spools of all sorts, but they only had ready-made cables for TVs and stuff, and some speaker wire.  We finally found wire at the auto parts store, but they only had 10 gauge and I wanted bigger.  The Internet seems to think it will be good enough, but I'll be running the thing for a week at home to make sure.  The only thing I didn't find was a specific connector that goes to the solar panel.  Sheldon's grabbing a set of those off Amazon right now.

I also did all the math and found out that the battery I bought should actually power my c-pap for 57 hours on one charge.  8 hours a night * 7 nights is 56 hours.  That means with the 100W solar panel I'll have plenty of power to spare for charging phones and such, I'll want to run some LED lighting in the tent, and....?  Oh, I should make a quick swamp cooler!  What else awesome can I bring to power?  The inverter's 400W.

I don't think I have time for my art project. :-/  I really wanted to build a hula hoop with total control lighting that could be programmed and then controlled via a remote to speed up or slow down the pattern or change patterns.  That would probably take me $200 I shouldn't spare and a number of hours I don't have.  I'm kind of bummed about that.

Two in a row!

I'm eating a big chunk of watermelon at 11pm for dinner.  Just finished working.  Long days happen when I work from home.  I took a couple hours out of the middle to see a counselor though.  That's going to be interesting.  They'd like to see me up to once a week, but I can't make time or money for that much.  I'm going to try every other week.  Paying fifty bucks to talk to someone for an hour seems weird.

Parts have been delivered.  By this weekend I hope to be able to put together and test a solar setup capable of running my C pap machine all night every night for a week.  We have not sourced the wires or connectors we need though.  If that stuff can be gotten locally I'll definitely be able to test this weekend.  Also on the docket for this weekend is solving the housing crisis (procuring a suitable tent), and starting to take seriously the issues of clothes and food.  Oh, there's a camp meeting I'll be attending via Skype.  

Hello again Margaret

Whew.  Ok, I stopped blogging again.  I'm not doing too good with eating, I'm not doing too good with exercising, and work is...omg work is crazy.  It's like working as fast as possible all day to get stuff done and still having more at the end of the day than I started with.

BUT other stuff is happening.  Most of the parts I need to run my c-pap machine via battery and solar power are on their way here, and we got a bunch of stuff from costco that we're going to need for Burning Man.  We have a list, and we will be spending weekends sourcing and packing from now til then, so I think that'll be ok.

Greg will be happy to know we procured a sturdy bucket and lid.

We decided not to make a hexayurt.  I found some tough reflective sheeting though that I hope to heavy spring clamp onto whatever tent we get in hopes of a darker cooler sleeping spot.  I have not figured out tent or bedding.  I hate sleeping bags, they make me feel claustrophobic. How many comforters would I have to bring in lieu of sleeping bags?  I have a lot of comforters, but they're bulky to pack.

Clothes is proving to be a pain in the ass!  I need to find light cotton pants and stuff.  The only pants I have are work slacks, y'all, and I can't find any that are right in a flowy cotton style.  I have a sewing machine, but I'm kind of shitty at sewing and fabric is expensive too.  Shoes, oh shoes.  I need good shoes but I want pretty shoes.  I need hiking boots but I want go go boots.

On another note, I've got a counseling appointment Thursday.  Please send kind thoughts to the poor intern that gets my business!

Ignorance

Sheldon and I were talking about some Zimmerman trial juror quote and Sheldon said he felt that Trayvon Martin was doomed the moment Zimmerman decided to stalk him.  I said, "Maybe he could have saved himself, maybe he could have called the police... Sheldon interrupted and said, "Sweetie, Black people don't call the police."  I never actually realized that was a thing.  I thought everyone who wasn't a criminal could just call the cops if they needed help.  I feel a little foolish for thinking that way.

The Sun is a harsh mistress.

We went to Six Flags Discovery Kingdom yesterday.  It was pretty fun.  I can't do big rides.  I understand why they're fun and all, but I can't breathe when I'm on them, and feeling like I'm genuinely going to die quashes my fun.  We ran around all day from attraction to attraction.  We ate nasty expensive food but I burned a ton of calories moving myself around all day.

We learned after the first four drinks that it would have been cheaper to get their refillable all day drink pass for $16.   We got the drink pass and still saved money.  It was hot, and cold beverages were amazing.  I think I need to prioritize chilled water for burning man if I can, so we'll have to bring a good cooler of ice for drinks.  It also made me realize that yeah, a camelback will really come in handy.

I meant to use the opportunity to get some more sun in preparation for Burning Man, but I got a moderate sunburn instead.  Even my arms, which I'd thought were pretty well farmer-tanned got burnt. I'm grateful I got burned now so I can while away the burny hours somewhere with AC.  I've learned my lesson.  I won't rely on my melanin to keep me safe at Burning Man.  I'll be researching to find a sunscreen I like to wear.  I've always just got the cheapest kind before and it's always been goopy and slimy and I've hated it.  Perhaps if I venture into the pricer brands I'll find something nicer.  I think I might want to get something specifically for my face too.  Oy, I'm too many years off the farm.

Burning Man skin care is a worthy topic though.  I bought a hat at Six Flags that I like.  I generally hate  wearing hats, so finding one I can get along with is good.  That should help protect my face, neck, and hopefully cleavage.  I have a really funny looking burn line there right now, y'all.  I'll definitely bring different medicated and non-medicated foot creams.  I have some great steroid cream for rashy stuff.  I'll look into what the best body skin stuff there is.  I heard vinegar helps counteract the dust alkalinity on skin.  Just what I want to smell like, old wine.  I'll have to make a kit for skin injuries too.  Oh, I need to remember that bodyglide stuff too.  After the raft ride at Six Flags we walked around in wet clothes for hours and I really wished I'd used some that morning.

11:11

I think I overate, but only a little.  I didn't get much exercise, but I did jump in the teeny pool at lunch and pulled myself around and around by the arms to make a whirlpool for Evy.  I also got a bit of sun.  I know that's not the healthiest, but I've spent a long time working in an office most daylight hours over the past year, and I don't want to go from that to spending a week in the outdoors without getting in a bit of precursory melanin.  I think I'm going to buy that solar panel this weekend, as soon as I see if I have enough spare cash.

Blargh post

About to go to bed super early because I want to be alert tomorrow.  I didn't exercise or eat well today, but whatevs, can't win them all.  I did a bunch of stuff at work today, it made me happy to feel productive instead of like I was trying to get stuff done with my hands tied.  Then at the end of the day they literally took away my toy that was letting me be so productive.  I'll get it back Monday, but tomorrow will be a pain again without it.

I did something for burning man!  I put a 100 watt solar panel in my amazon cart.   I didn't buy it only because I need to make sure I need to spend a couple hundred dollars on one, or if it's completely unnecessary.  Is it the more power the better out there, or will there be so many places to charge my deep cycle battery that I could spend that money better on something else.