20 Days Into 2020

We are 20 days into 2020 and all I want to know is… are you still keeping in check with your New Year’s resolutions? Are you still going to the gym, regularly? Are you still learning that new language?  Did you finish that book you promised you would read? Or did you fall back into your regular routine? Maybe you didn’t even make any resolutions because you don’t believe change NEEDS to happen on the 1st day of a new year.

Whatever you’ve accomplished, abandoned or kept consistent; just own up to it. 

And it’s okay to start your resolutions in February… March.. June.. or even in October. You know. Whenever you’re ready. You do, you. Thanks for checking in.

Oh, I guess before you go I should share my New Year attempts. 

Well, a new podcast will be posted here. I’m working on a title (I think I have something but maybe I don’t) Maybe I’ll run a full marathon this year. I kinda didn’t.. I mean, I DID NOT keep my word and I might owe ya’ll a promise. (scroll down to see a prior post about this) Will I make an attempt to reunite with my family? Nah, I have enough trash cans in my life. Maybe next year. Plus, they know where to find me. Why should I make the first move? We’ll discuss on the new pod. 

Happy New Year!

#MyLifeIsAMess

As you can tell by the title of this blog post, not much has changed with me. That’s partly why I haven’t posted anything in a while. 

I’ll start with some positives: 

• I just got back from an industry fantasy football draft at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I spent a few days with some of the top fantasy football minds. 

• My buddy asked me to officiate his wedding. I’ve been studying / doing mock ceremonies in my living room with stuffed animals. (I’ve never officiated a wedding before, but I’ve been an Ordained Minister for a while)

•  I’ve been podcasting with my boy Ani. You can can find every episode under the “PODCAST” tab, right here on my page! #FridayFriends (Check out the new logo)

• I lost about 8 pounds and I can fit in my pants again.

Ok.. Let me get to why #MyLifeIsAMess. I get out of work around 2-3am most days. In the DC metro area public transportation isn’t fully running at that hour, so I drive to work. When I get home 9 out of 10 times the parking lot to my apartment building is full. The free street parking around my apartment building is full. About 4-5 blocks away, there’s available parking but all cars need to be moved by 8am. I don’t mind the walk, right now while it’s summer, but I’m not a big fan of getting home, sleeping for a couple hours, walking back to my car and moving it to my lot before 8 am. Keep in mind, I’m not the only one circling around looking for a spot either. Picture starving sharks circling around looking for something to attack. That’s what it feels like.

MY SOLUTION: Instead of driving around looking for parking when I get out of work, I’ve been driving for rideshare companies until 4-5 in the morning. The ultimate side hustle flex! I live in the middle of 3 airports and I’ve had a steady amount of rides every night. Most nights, I have rides that head towards where I live and I periodically get a chance to check for open spots in between rides, but for the most part nothing has opened up before 4:30am. The people I pick up are a cast of characters and it’s been pretty entertaining.

My question to you is: What would you do? Would you rideshare side hustle or would you just park a few blocks away and move your car a couple of hours later?

Dang peer pressure...

Dang peer pressure… You’ve gone and done it. You, YES YOU are to blame for this. Ya’ll are forcing me to do something I’ve never done before, again.

Every Monday, as I’m scrolling through the BIG 3 social media apps, I come across the hashtag “#MotivationMonday.” Well, today is the day I have finally been motivated. In 2019 I will complete my first (and probably only) FULL MARATHON!

I hate running, but I bought running sneakers about 2 years ago and never used them. So, tomorrow I will dust them off and start my training. If you know any good marathons in the DMV, let me know. I haven’t figured out anything past the “get out a run” part.

#RunSandroRun

My Media is Social

If it happened, it's here..

Hey! I see you’re nuts. #sandro

#sandro

4 year anniversary #sandro

#2020census #sandro

When the #FridayFriends trade survival tips. #sandro

#Sandro

Heading to #SuperBowl  Soundcheck! Wish us luck! #SheWolf #FromTheBlock #sandro

Saturday Safari Adventures! Enjoy your day! Me and the homies are crushing it! #SaturdayMorning #SaturdayVibes #sandro

Who will be #SuperBowl MVP? #sandro

#FridayFriends with @anisri23 & @onlysandro #FF

• 
  Bing Bong Bailey AKA the #GetSticky Guy

  was it just me or did yall hear what Ekeler said?

  Apr 5, 2023, 10:14 PM
• 
  Bing Bong Bailey AKA the #GetSticky Guy

  RT @onlysandro: when your bet hits in the bottom of the 9th https://t.co/Trp2Bd5z41

  Apr 5, 2023, 11:40 AM
• 
  Bing Bong Bailey AKA the #GetSticky Guy

  RT @Monkeyfist1313: @onlysandro Thanks for the info.

  Apr 5, 2023, 11:40 AM
• 
  Bing Bong Bailey AKA the #GetSticky Guy

  RT @onlysandro: 🦒 https://t.co/qYmgTsH4GU

  Apr 5, 2023, 11:39 AM

Coast 2 Coast Bicycle Adventure 2016

Day 295..

July 1st marks one year living rent free… On April 29th I’ll be downsizing from the van to a bicycle for about two months. Van Morissette will be missed. I find it a bit funny that the final weeks leading up to my one year anniversary of #VanLife, and I might be thousands of mile away from the van. No need to worry, the Dude In Van will still be posting even though I technically won’t be in a van. I have some plans for the future of this website, and I’ll be testing them out while I’m on the road. If it makes you feel better you can type www.onlysandro.com into your search engine, instead of www.dudeinvan.com.

Most of you know I don’t really talk to my parents that often. In fact, they don’t know I live in the van. I did tell my father about the bicycle trip, last week, because he emailed me inquiring about vacation time in April or May. His reaction was the same as Phil and Nick’s parents. Our parents in general are not pleased, to say the least.

I understand my father’s concern. I am his son, he reminds every time he emails me. (He starts off all his email with “Hi Son”) I just don’t agree with him implying that I’m ruining the rest of my life and career by taking a two month break to ride a bicycle across America. That’s a tad bit dramatic. Regardless, I’m excited for this trip, as you know. Quitting my job hasn’t really set in yet because I gave them a 6 week notice.  I’ll give you an update in two weeks before I leave. Maybe by then I’ll be freaking out.

If you want to follow along with me and my friends, Nick and Phil, you can do so by clicking “Like” on our Facebook group Coast 2 Coast Bicycle Adventure 2016. We are planning on posting pictures and videos as we roll across the country.

Also, we have self-funded the trip. We bought touring bicycles, tents, all sorts of gear for the biking/camping, cameras, maps, and more. We are planning to camp and not using any hotels to keep our costs down. If you’d like to support the trip with more than just kind words, you can do so by visiting out GoFund Me page! www.gofundme.com/NJ2CA2016 Our plan is to use this money for food and bicycle maintenance.

Thanks for following along and all the support!

#NJ2CA2016

Day 226

Day 226...

I used a slow cooker today to cook my dinner tonight. I made some chicken dish. Sorry I don’t have any pictures. I'm also considering to sell my solar driven generator. I haven't used it much this winter and I'm thinking of downsizing for the summer. I'll keep you posted on that.

Yes, this is a blog post.. So you know what that means. No podcast this week. It’s funny the week I get two podcast cancelations is the same week I kind of missed out on a great opportunity because I haven’t booked any “BIG NAME” guests in my career. I’m sure the old me would get real mopey and start dwelling on where I went wrong, but honestly I’m okay with it. Now I can focus on my two month bike trip. 

Living in a van is easy. The hard part is being creative and adventures enough to follow through with actually doing it. My life hasn’t changed much in the last 226 days, and the things that have changed are mostly a change for the better. I’m not talking about the morning I woke up and my brakes weren’t working.(Click on the Social Media portion of my page and scroll down my twitter feed to catch up on that) That change wasn’t fun. I’m talking about my life socially and personally.  

I’ll keep this short. We are all busy and I don’t want to pull you away from your life too long. I’ll leave you with this.. Remember to think outside the box from time to time. I know what I’m doing doesn’t seem normal at first but if you take a moment to really think about me living in a van you’ll see it’s really not that crazy.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the picture above! (I know it's messy.. I'm messy!)

sandro@dudeinvan.com if you have any questions or interest to be on the podcast.

Ju-lie Babbo Natale

This past weekend I ran into someone I haven't spoken to in a very long time. It was a very brief encounter; we exchanged a few words, shook hands and went on our merry (separate) way. It's funny how people change over the years. I remember spending hours as a child trying to figure out ways to hang out with him and I even wrote him a few letters, too. I would ask my parents to invite him to dinner, or at least let me go visit him. They would always explain to me that he lived very far away. 

My friend and I never planned to meet up but he always seemed to be around in December, right around my birthday. The times we did meet up usually happened at the mall or he would come visit me at school. No matter how long we spent apart, it would be as if we were never seperated. I went back to telling him everything I wanted to tell him and his face would light up like a Christmas tree with excitement. As the years went on the conversations got shorter and shorter and our interactions would happen less and less, till they stopped taking place all together. I would still see him at the same places but neither of us would make an effort to start up a conversation. 

Back then I didn't think anything of it but sadly, after this weekend, I realized we both lost that twinkle that used to shine in our eyes when we used to see each other. Don't get me wrong, it was great seeing him after all these years. It was just different and it got me thinking how over the years I've met so many people and some of those relationships have faded away, as well. 

I've always thought of contacting someone randomly, via social media, to hang out, catch up, grab a bite to eat, maybe a drink or two.. something along those lines. But then a little voice in my head has always stopped me. 

"oh, that's just creepy"

"don't be that guy"

"hmm.. let's do this another time"

(This is usually when I delete the text message I already typed into my mobile phone and proof read 5 times)

Today I realized I shouldn't let that little voice control my original intentions. 

WOW.. I got off topic a bit. I just wanted to share with you that I saw an old friend the other day and we had good time catching up. I'm hoping I run into other old friends, in the near future, and get a chance to catch up with them too. 

Thanks for stopping by.

PS. Here's a picture of my friend and I.

I was always under the assumption he lived at the North Pole.. He told me he lives in Toms River. Must be a summer home while he's on vacation. IDK. What is Christmas in July?

Day 28

Two Weeks

I spent almost a full year talking about it. I spent many months planning for it. Countless hours daydreaming and fantasizing if it was even a feasible idea. At times I would bring it up joking, and then other times I spent time defending my plan. It’s funny because looking back on my actions, I realize I did almost the same thing when I was contemplating a career in Broadcasting. Originally I was a Business major, but then one day I flipped a switch in my brain and I handed in a change of major request form. The rest is history. I’ve been working in the industry with various jobs since 2010.

So two weeks ago I finally did it. Did what? I donated most of my belongings, I traded in my car, bought a van and started a new, minimalistic chapter in my life. My goal is to still be successful working in the radio industry, and at the same time I don’t feel the need to be tied down to any given location. I believe the term is NOMAD. It sounds crazy, believe me, I know. But I’m happy. Keep in mind at any point I can go back to, living a conventional lifestyle and sign a lease at a fancy apartment complex. I’m not jobless, nor am I homeless. This machine on wheels, at least for the past two weeks, is my home. I’m just a dude in a van.

So why did I type this? Why am I posting this on a website? Why am I really living in a van? The most simple way I can answer all those questions is….. You’re going to have to stay tuned in to find out.

I’m going to use this website to document my journey, finally get my podcast off the ground, and hopefully one day land my dream job as a Radio Producer. In the meantime I’m learning to live a stress free life and enjoying the simple things in my life. Thanks for stopping by and please spread the word!

www.dudeinvan.com & www.onlysandro.com go to the same place.

Follow me on Twitter @onlysandro

I’m inviting anyone and everyone on my podcast!

“Accept responsibility for your life. Know that it is you who will get you where you want to go, no one else” –Les Brown