Hello! I currently live in Northern Oregon. I am very pleased to have found such an awesome community! I was very moved reading Michael's Founding Principles and was inspired to share some of my mistakes and what I've learned from them.
First thing that comes to mind is my first car (which I still own!). I was very grateful when my father passed me his 2009 VW Touareg and am grateful to own it still. It has an incredible V8 engine that drives like a race car, air suspension to get over obstacles and ride higher if I'd like (which I definitely do), locking differentials, and loves to drift in the dirt and the snow! Around 2014 I decided to start making some modifications. This is where I've learned my lessons.
Growing up in NY you fall heavily into the consumer society. At least I did. Looking back with some clarity I am shocked by how much I cared about things that afforded me zero functionality. If anything they did a great job of lending negative functionality. Always holding me back, getting in the way, and begging for attention. Get rid of it! Anyway, that being said my "modifications" were: equip vehicle with better brakes (the one functional addition), vinyl wrap it (looks great, pain in the bum), and throw on some new wheel and tires. I knew I wanted beefy tires. I wanted something to better absorb the bumps. And as a mountain biker I could appreciate an aggressive tread. Somehow that turned into me getting 22" rims and thinking that the original sidewall height would remain. Well, it didn't. It looked like I was just driving on rims. Paper thin. Terrible. I imagine a Ferrari would be more supple. I mean with the wheel fully turned the rims touched the ground.
It taught me a lot. A few cracked rims after a winter in NY will do that. It taught me always put function first, and form will follow. Put form first and function will laugh from afar (puffing a cigar). It taught me how important tires are and how much they affect performance. It taught me to not put much emphasis on things that don't affect performance. And how cool having a large sidewall is. It's funny looking back at how upset I would get after scratching a rim. I now reverted back to 18" rims and threw on some KO2's. Amazing tires.
I changed up my tires right before traveling cross country with my girlfriend. We minimized our possessions to fit in my Touareg, left anything that didn't fit, got rid of a lot of junk, threw our mountain bikes on the back and hit the road. We booked camp sites along the route, did a little zig zagging to see some things, and really enjoyed ourselves. We spent about a month on the road and it was beautiful. Such an incredible feeling having everything you own with you at all times. Very mobile, very capable, very free. I learned about what is actually important to me. I learned that experiences are better than things. And to only keep things that facilitate getting out there and experiencing. Getting out and surviving.
Fast forward over a year later. I created an app, run a restaurant, am extremely busy and extremely unhappy with how my time is spent. I find myself getting very frustrated. I look back to that road trip and how wonderful and fulfilling exploring was. I look to now and see how distant and disconnected I am from nature. From the Earth. How because I do not have to "survive" I get frustrated by the little things. Living in the city I am not accountable for my actions. I do not have to be responsible for keeping myself alive. Don't have water, okay just run the tap. Storms rolling in, okay stay inside. I don't wanna cook, okay order in. Don't wanna do laundry, okay I can do a bigger load. Don't wanna clean up, okay leave it in the sink. The biggest thing for me is how much time I am stuck indoors. Seasons have gone by, sunsets and sunrises, changes in the wind, changes in the clouds, changes in the weather. I've missed all of it. I've missed it all.
I'm taking a stand against the monotony in my life. I am making moves to live full time on the road and in a capable vehicle. The next question is do I try to outfit the Touareg or trade it in for a Jeep. We'll discuss that another time, possibly in another thread. I look forward to getting to know the crew.
MCP
First thing that comes to mind is my first car (which I still own!). I was very grateful when my father passed me his 2009 VW Touareg and am grateful to own it still. It has an incredible V8 engine that drives like a race car, air suspension to get over obstacles and ride higher if I'd like (which I definitely do), locking differentials, and loves to drift in the dirt and the snow! Around 2014 I decided to start making some modifications. This is where I've learned my lessons.
Growing up in NY you fall heavily into the consumer society. At least I did. Looking back with some clarity I am shocked by how much I cared about things that afforded me zero functionality. If anything they did a great job of lending negative functionality. Always holding me back, getting in the way, and begging for attention. Get rid of it! Anyway, that being said my "modifications" were: equip vehicle with better brakes (the one functional addition), vinyl wrap it (looks great, pain in the bum), and throw on some new wheel and tires. I knew I wanted beefy tires. I wanted something to better absorb the bumps. And as a mountain biker I could appreciate an aggressive tread. Somehow that turned into me getting 22" rims and thinking that the original sidewall height would remain. Well, it didn't. It looked like I was just driving on rims. Paper thin. Terrible. I imagine a Ferrari would be more supple. I mean with the wheel fully turned the rims touched the ground.
It taught me a lot. A few cracked rims after a winter in NY will do that. It taught me always put function first, and form will follow. Put form first and function will laugh from afar (puffing a cigar). It taught me how important tires are and how much they affect performance. It taught me to not put much emphasis on things that don't affect performance. And how cool having a large sidewall is. It's funny looking back at how upset I would get after scratching a rim. I now reverted back to 18" rims and threw on some KO2's. Amazing tires.
I changed up my tires right before traveling cross country with my girlfriend. We minimized our possessions to fit in my Touareg, left anything that didn't fit, got rid of a lot of junk, threw our mountain bikes on the back and hit the road. We booked camp sites along the route, did a little zig zagging to see some things, and really enjoyed ourselves. We spent about a month on the road and it was beautiful. Such an incredible feeling having everything you own with you at all times. Very mobile, very capable, very free. I learned about what is actually important to me. I learned that experiences are better than things. And to only keep things that facilitate getting out there and experiencing. Getting out and surviving.
Fast forward over a year later. I created an app, run a restaurant, am extremely busy and extremely unhappy with how my time is spent. I find myself getting very frustrated. I look back to that road trip and how wonderful and fulfilling exploring was. I look to now and see how distant and disconnected I am from nature. From the Earth. How because I do not have to "survive" I get frustrated by the little things. Living in the city I am not accountable for my actions. I do not have to be responsible for keeping myself alive. Don't have water, okay just run the tap. Storms rolling in, okay stay inside. I don't wanna cook, okay order in. Don't wanna do laundry, okay I can do a bigger load. Don't wanna clean up, okay leave it in the sink. The biggest thing for me is how much time I am stuck indoors. Seasons have gone by, sunsets and sunrises, changes in the wind, changes in the clouds, changes in the weather. I've missed all of it. I've missed it all.
I'm taking a stand against the monotony in my life. I am making moves to live full time on the road and in a capable vehicle. The next question is do I try to outfit the Touareg or trade it in for a Jeep. We'll discuss that another time, possibly in another thread. I look forward to getting to know the crew.
MCP
