Greed is bad
...So apparently I spoke too soon about that bus. We went back to talk to the guy with cash in hand, and he said that after talking with his wife he needs to get more for it (what it was "worth" according to e-bay, not how much he'd put into it, which was the price he gave us previously). He more than doubled his price! Almost tripled it! For a van that is a total project and hasn't even run since he got it. He said he'd put the engine in and get it running, but it's still not worth that much. What a greedy poo-head! So we're back to square one, and probably going to find a gas bus and convert it, since the diesels (like this one was) are rare and greedy people charge way too much for them. I am just steamed that we could've had a bus, a LOCAL one at that, and then greed has to get the better of people. The guy was pretty cool too, it's a shame.
Arrhghghghhhhghg this is becoming frustrating. We wanted to be running on grease by July for the Rainbow Gathering. Now it's almost June and still no bus. :(
Just needed to vent. Hopefully I'll have good news soon.
Labels: volksvegan grease bus
HOT!
Wow, the high for today was 94 degrees, and it's only May! Can we say global warming? :oP It's so hot in this house, and even hotter when I'm working on a computer all day. Funny how it acts like summer as soon as all the students leave town and school is over. I love this time of year in Moscow, the frat boys are gone and there's hardly any traffic. It's much easier to ride my bike around without being narrowly missed by a car since there seem to be more bikes on the streets than cars these days.
We went camping last weekend, which was awesome. I always love the first camping trip of the season. Some friends came up from Boise and we went to a barter fair. It was fun, I bartered and sold some of my soap, some jewelry, and massage oil. Hopefully we'll be going to plenty more barter fairs and festivals this summer. Especially if we get a bus. Speaking of the bus, we found one in town! It's a diesel and the current owner is putting a new engine in it (I believe he's putting in a turbo engine, which rocks). There were a few other people interested but we're hoping we can just offer the guy more for it. The only problem is he seems to be taking his time finishing it up and putting the engine in. So who knows when it will be done and if we can get it. Keep those fingers crossed! I can't believe after all this time looking that we found a local bus, I really hope this one works out. :)
This weekend I need to work my little butt off. I need to design a new template for the Co-op newsletter since we're moving to a new press, work on a proposal for a web site I'm designing, and get some cleaning done. I'm hoping to go to the Farmer's Market Saturday morning as well, I love Farmer's Market season! Fresh organic local produce is definitely worth getting up early on a Saturday for... Memorial Day weekend I am going to Portland for my cousin Lynn's wedding. It will be nice to see some family, it certainly has been a while. Last time I was in Portland we were just there for a night and stayed with my cousins on the way home from San Francisco. It will be nice to see my cousins and meet my newest cousin, baby Esther, who I have yet to meet. She sure looks cute in the pictures though!
Freelance jobs continue to grow, I just got an e-mail from a dog trainer in Seattle who wants a web site, but since I'm totally busy it may have to wait a while. I met with a client last week who wants some illustrations designed for a book she is writing. She also fell in love with my magazine and suggested that we start something similar for the Peace Coalition, which would be pretty cool, but of course very time consuming. If I get any more job offers I might have to start turning them down. Maybe it's a sign that I need to start my own business and focus on the freelance work, but I really don't want to give up my awesome job or any of the benefits that come along with it. It's so wonderful to be able to believe in what I do for a living and make a difference in the lives of animals that can't speak up for themselves. Most of the clients I do freelance work with are small family-owned businesses or non-profits as well, so I really feel good about all the work I'm doing, but I don't know what PETA would do without me! We are a bit short-staffed lately and it's been so busy!
Well, I'm gonna get off this hot computer and go sit out on the deck. Hopefully we'll be playing some poker tonight, so wish me luck! :)
Not enough time in a day!
Wow, it's been a busy week so far, and it's only Tuesday! :( Work has been keeping me really busy. We have to make site-wide changes to all of our web sites (and there are a TON), all because Microsoft decided to be lame and change the way the new release of Explorer handles embedded flash files. So I get the wonderful task of using a new process for using flash elements on pages for the entire peta2 site, which has flash elements on every page and is probably the largest PETA site. Can we say tedious? Argh! Not sure if that paragraph made any sense, but it feels good to vent... I guess I am learning something from the process...
Freelance work is blowing up like crazy. I took over the design of the Co-op newsletter and have designed 2 issues so far. Everyone loves it, all is well, but we are changing presses and now I have to design a new template. Not a big deal, and I'll have a chance to redesign things a bit, but it means more time spent working after regular work hours. I am working on a proposal for a landscaping company's website, and will be meeting with a client about a book project on Friday. That probably won't start for a while, since the book is just in the planning stages... and then out of the blue I get an e-mail from another possible client! She loved my work and my design approach, which is totally awesome, and is interested in having me do a logo and identity system. I'm excited about that since it will give me some variety and I haven't done a logo in a little while. Not too sure about the details yet, but it sounds like that project won't start until June. Why is it that when I'm swamped with work, more comes my way? I rarely turn it down, because I love design and doing freelance work gives me more creative freedom and variety than the day job, but juggling everything has been hard and I'm really really glad I work 4 10's so I can have a 3-day weekend. I usually only work on freelance stuff one day of the weekend, and occasionally in the evenings, but I might be dedicating more time to it soon by the looks of it. I'm just hoping things calm down this summer so I can take a much needed break! :)
Still no VW bus :( but we've found lots of possibilities. The diesels are getting snatched up super-quick. One guy had 48 people in line to look at his '82 diesel Westfalia! We're broadening the search and are considering getting a gas one that's in need of a new engine anyway and putting in a bigger turbo diesel engine so we can tackle the mountains without being too sluggish... I have a feeling this process may take longer than we'd hoped. It's already May and it's going to take a while to do the conversion to grease (and from gas to diesel, then to grease if necessary) and pimp out the little home on wheels before we do a lot of traveling in it. But I'm hopeful, and looking forward to finding our perfect bus. My parents had VW buses from before they were married until just a few years ago when they sold out and got a Honda mini-van. So it runs in the blood, and it's been a while since I had a VW in my life... I still miss the Corrado I had (even though it was a pain in the ass and wouldn't start...). I never thought I'd be so interested in cars! But a grease-powered car is yet another way to reduce my footprint on the earth and save money at the same time. :)
Speaking of reducing my footprint, Seneca got a bike trailer from a friend who's moving, and we've been doing errands in that lately. It's been so nice out, it's hard not to ride bikes everywhere. The bike trailer fits a whole load of groceries (we just tested it out with a big grocery trip last night)! Juneau even helps pull it, Seneca clips Juneau's leash to his belt and he pulls Seneca and the cart along. I have yet to try the pooch-powered bike with the cart, but boy can that dog pull. He just loves to run, he's a husky all right!
Well, this is definitely a long enough post. I guess I just had a lot to vent about. :) Life just keeps on chuggin' along, although I've noticed it goes faster the older I get...
Labels: volksvegan grease bus, work
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