Dress Shoes

New York City's first real heatwave of the year coincided with my heroic (and ultimately futile)  effort to get a New York State driver license so that I can register my new camper (which I still have not met).  Three trips to the DMV in one afternoon (on foot) and I still don't have a New York driver license. It turns out that the document California sent me is not the right one. I have ordered the necessary document - which will come in another seven-to-ten days [Update: Just found out that it is really 4-6 weeks.  I weep].

In the meanwhile, I discovered that I would not be getting any classes to teach for the summer and that final paycheck for the semester that I was counting on?  Well, I had counted wrong.  There went my main source of income and rent for the month of June. And July.  And August.  This was an unexpected but totally affirming example of why I am doing this life-style re-design. I do not want to be up a certain very smelly creek without a paddle (or even a canoe, really) ever again.

Part of my happy lifestyle design thing is creating streams of income that allow me to be independent and to travel. I didn't expect to dive into being my own income making factory quite this quickly but, who says life has to be convenient.  I've taken stock of my stuff and my skills and this is what I've come up with.

First.  I have a computer, video camera and shooting/editing skills.  I'm currently working on a sizzle (best of reel/EPK* type thing) for a band.  If you are in a band, have a small budget, and need a simple video, hit me up. My terms are very reasonable.

Second. I have a guitar and an amp, a mic and a chair.  This is all one needs to go out and literally sing for one's supper.  If you're in NYC and happen by the uptown side of the one train at 59th Street/Columbus Circle, check out the music.  You might just find me there.  Please be generous!

Third.  I have a sewing machine and a few self-taught skills.  Here is where some serendipity happened.

My mom happened to send my sister and me an email with the subject heading "Shoes"!  I'm still not sure what that had to do with the email she sent because she didn't say anything about shoes in the message.

My sister thought my mom was asking us to help collect shoes for the 120 or so kids she and my dad provide food and clothing for in South Africa (more on that in another post - they need your help and by that I mean go there and actually help).

Being a consummate entrepreneur, I wrote to my sister suggesting that, instead of sending shoes to South Africa, we collect money and buy the shoes there.

My sister pointed out that finding a place to get the shoes might be an issue so I fired right back, suggesting that we make the shoes.  I thought we could teach the older kids and so that they could learn entrepreneurship and earn some income. A quick Google search turned up easy patterns for making shoes.

I loved the patterns I found and I thought, I'd like to have those shoes! My mind went wild with the different designs I could create and the materials I could use. My aim is to make and sell 100% vegan, 90% recycled hand-crafted flat shoes.

I had spied my sewing machine buried behind some boxes when I had sold my chair to Jasmine. One long subway ride and a snug fit into my grocery cart later, I had my sewing machine at home. Check out my shoe video. For this shoe I have recycled an old dress that I can no longer wear.

Neat, huh? A quick call to a used tire business and I have access to all the discarded tires I can use for the soles. I'm trying to get over there next week. And I'm taking orders!

In the meanwhile, a big mediation came my way and I will likely be teaching a class in July after all.  It constantly amazes me how these things find a way of working themselves out. Life is good.

*EPK stands for Electronic Press Kit

What Makes You Itch?

Whenever I feel that, perhaps, I am the adopted spawn of Don Quixote and Sisyphus with this Happy Lifestyle Design stuff, I watch this video. A Facebook friend shared it with me. Someone named Angelina Smith posted it. It is my meditation.

Sometimes I forget that when I was pushed off the cliff five years ago, I discovered that I could fly! So, when I worry about how my rent for August will arrive or whether I'll ever be able to see a dentist about this tooth that is bothering me or whether I'll ever pay off these darned school loans, or whether I'll ever get this van or birth the sustainable farm/service retreat/entrepreneur incubator I am dreaming of, this little video helps me to remember what I already know to be true: It will come.  It always does.

The British philosopher, Alan Watts reminds us to ask the earth-shattering question, "How would you really enjoy spending your life?" Get that? How would you enjoy spending your life? You have permission to do that! We are taught the opposite. We are taught that one does not have permission to do what one enjoys but, rather, that one must do what is necessary to be successful (code for "materially wealthy"), no matter whether getting to "success" sucks the very joy from one's existence. Alan Watts calls this stupid. What a relief to hear this and to know it to be true. How would you really enjoy spending your life? Dream a little. Keep on dreaming. Dream bigger. Take that first step . . . and then the leap. It will come. It always does.

This Intentional Happiness Lifestyle Design Thing

Some people do well living life without particular goals or a sense of purpose. I am not one of those people.  I have been making plans since I can remember.  At the start of every year in grade school I would inventory my clothes and create a chart detailing which outfits and hairstyles I would wear each day.  At the beginning of this year, I created a chart to detail what I would eat each day, making sure that each meal was based on the key ingredients in each week's grocery list. Each week of the month features a different vegetable and legume.

Fifteen years ago I created a seven year master plan that saw me through graduate school. And then things fell apart (the moral of the story being: Make longer master plans). Falling apart took three years (I'm stubborn) and I have spent the five years since then trying to figure out the meaning of life (and why everything happens in odd numbers of years).

When I picked up Tim Ferriss's book "The 4-Hour Work Week", I was married, had a house, a dog, a husband, his car, was paying two mortgages, and was a corporate law firm associate on Wall Street. Having a child was the next goal - just like it was supposed to be. Looking back, I see how I was following the rules that our society insists is the right one: Wait for happiness, plan for success. So there I was with all this success, a ton of responsibilities, not a lot of happiness, and this book that says, dump it all, be happy. I read the book eagerly then put it aside. It all sounded great but . . .

Life took care of all that stuff for me and now it is time for a new plan.  I've had five years to think about it and here is what I've come up with.  Rather than planning for success, I am planning to be happy. With every part of the plan, the central question for me is, will I be happy?

There are three major parts to the plan:

• How I shelter myself
• How I give and receive value
• How I care for my embodied Soul

How I shelter myself will likely be the most challenging aspect of this Intentional Happiness Lifestyle Design. It will take the most planning and take the longest to achieve so I'm starting with that.

A few weeks ago, I suddenly developed the urge to live on a bus. I can't remember exactly how it happened but I learned of people who have transformed buses into amazing living spaces.  It took another couple of weeks for me to understand why I feel so passionately about living on a bus.

Leaving my house is one of my least favorite things to do. I love to be at home. By myself. With a good book, or writing, or watching a movie.  At the same time, I adore traveling and exploring new places. Living on a bus allows me to travel and be at home at the same time! It is perfect!

Here is an example of a truly impressive bus conversion.  It's like the Taj Majal of buses.

There are other options. For example, check out this tiny house on wheels. What I love best about this video is hearing the home builder and owner, Dee Williams (who owns fewer than 400 things) talk about why she was inspired to live in a tiny house and what doing so does for her. Her explanation basically describes why this kind of living would contribute to my happiness. She is my hero!

I'm giving myself three years to achieve this goal. I need to raise money to build whatever it is I decide to build and find the expertise to help me do the work. That leads me to my upcoming blogpost: figuring out how to pay for this project!

P.S. No, this is not a three year plan. I've learned my lesson. There is actually a forty-year plan in the works. It involves splitting time between two different continents, becoming a farmer, having 100 children, and living in a hut. Yes. Really.