Vandwelling

I've been living in my van at Duke University since January of 2009. I've pledged to not take out loans or borrow money from anybody. I've done this in order to: 1. Afford grad school and 2. Have an adventure. The following entries detail my experiences vandwelling.

9/2/11 Some tips on how to afford college

FIRST SEMESTER - Spring '09

1/6/09- I find my the van on craigslist and buy it.

1/8/09- I renovate (or pimp out) my van.

1/14/09- I read "Walden" for the second time, reflecting on why I've decided to live in a van.

1/16/09- It gets down to about 10 degrees F.

1/26/09- I spend five hours trying to figure out how to combine the Flight of the Conchord's "Business Time" with 20 seconds of footage of my backseat turning into a bed.

1/28/09- With funds rapidly dwindling, I resort to doing MRI studies for money.

2/5/09- My van leaks and I deal with smells. Not the first, nor the last time I deal with this chronic issue.

2/11/09- I'm lonely as hell, so I tell a bum my secret.

2/16/09- I describe how I cook in the van.

2/18/09- I unveil my cookbook.

3/1/09- My mom finds out about van; thinks I'm crazy.

4/5/09- I get food-poisoning and throw-up in the van.

4/19/09- I take pictures of myself doing resourceful things.

4/22/09- I get my tax return and reflect on wealth

5/5/09- Some passersby compare my van to the A-Team's while I try to nap.

5/6/09- I entertain my first guest and discuss what it's like to tell other people that I live in a van.

5/8/09- I clean out the van and reflect on my first successful semester of vandwelling.

5/9/09- I break down my finances and compare them to the average American's.

[I go to Alaska to work as a backcountry ranger for the summer. Click here to view my "Alaska" series.]

SECOND SEMESTER - Fall '09

8/26/09- I shave off my summer beard and reflect on celibacy during the process.

8/27/09- North Carolina is F-in hot in August.

9/3/09- Ants take over my van.

9/30/09- I'm lonely in my library.

10/3/09- I almost witness an orgy unfurl.

10/9/09- Mom finds out about the blog.

10/16/09- I read aloud an article about living in my van to my travel writing class. The article would later be edited and submitted to Salon where it printed.

10/19/09- I eat trash for the first time and enjoy it.

10/25/09- I cook up another pot of spaghetti stew.

11/4/09- I go to halloween dressed as Thoreau. Also reflect on the miseries of grad school.

11/9/09- Some guy inspects the van while I'm in it.

11/16/09- A family has a picnic next to my van for 4 hours. I must remain still.

11/20/09- I record the sounds of vandwelling.

12/2/09- I find a pile of something mysterious in the back of the van.

12/7/09- I print an article in Salon. Chaos ensues.

12/13/09- I reflect on my newfound fame.

1/6/10- The Buffalo News does a story on me.

THIRD SEMESTER - Spring '10

1/11/10- I talk about going to the gym. Videotape myself shooting the hook.

1/25/10- I get in an accident and sprain my knee, cleverly blaming my blunders on a girl

2/2/10- I'm interview by radio host, Dick Gordon.

2/22/10- I stroll through Duke's infamous K-ville.

3/1/10- A picture tour of the van.

3/5/10- I have some mice problems.
3/20/10- A sleeping bag company sends me a free bag. I review it.

4/7/10- I go to Cameron to watch Duke win the NCAA Championship match.

4/18/10- Second installment of my "Image of resourcefulness" series

4/25/10- I hurt my tongue in a game of pickup basketball and use the opportunity to reflect on my lack of health insurance.

4/30/10- ABC News airs their interview of me and I get preoccupied with my image

5/9/10- I participate in a campus study by taking a drug.

5/16/10- My parents visit me.

5/24/10- A girl has a seizure and I reflect on the ridiculousness of school.

5/30/10- I talk about the people I met this past semester, including David who'd let me stay at his home for the summer.

6/8/10- I issue a belated manifesto and give back all the money people had given me over the past couple years.

7/16/10- I respond to a letter from a father seeking advice about his daughter.

[I spend my summer with a hermit in Stokes County, North Carolina in a cottage called Acorn Abbey. Click here to view stories from that summer in my "Other Travels" series.]

FOURTH SEMESTER - Fall '10

9/3/10- I clean out my van and discuss my first impressions of being back on campus

9/10/10- I go shopping and wax philosophical about anti-consumerism

10/2/10- Uh-oh P.1--I get an email saying I have to move out of my lot

10/4/10- Uh-oh P.2--I learn more details about getting kicked out of my lot

10/7/10- Uh-oh P.3--I decide that I'm not going to leave my lot

10/18/10- Uh-oh P.4--I say goodby to the Mill Lot. I put together a video montage

10/20/10- I learn that I've been illegally parked on private property so I say goodbye to my lot. Also, Duke decides to prohibit all students from living in their vehicles.

10/22/10- I write a letter to Duke complaining about their new law to prohibit on-campus vehicle-dwelling.

10/27/10- I create an adventure scholarship.

11/3/10- I reflect on why I've enrolled in graduate school.

11/13/10- I'm running out of money!

11/17/10- A local TV station does a segment on me.

11/25/10- I go to Wal-Mart on Black Friday, and reflect on the ridiculousness of our economic superstructure.

11/29/10- I publish Part 1, of my op-ed to the student newspaper in which I complain about how the "university experience" makes us into debtors

11/30/10- I publish Part 2, also complaining about a new anti-vandwelling parking campus law

12/5/10- Images of resourcefulness Part III. Getting desperate.

12/12/10- I explain how I keep warm during cold nights

FIFTH SEMESTER - Spring '11 (Final Semester)

12/19/10- I return to Acorn Abbey where I'll spend the rest of the semester writing my final project.

12/26/10- I reflect on my religious upbringing

12/31/10- A fellow Duke student conducts a video interview with me

2/6/11- I start writing my final project, which is also a vandwelling memoir.

3/6/11- Spring at Acorn Abbey

3/17/11- I visit Duke for a class and reminisce.

4/7/11- Summer's coming to Acorn Abbey.

4/14/11- I'm getting worried about my future.

4/19/11- I prepare for my last week at Duke

4/24/11- I take some pictures of Duke's natural scenery

5/2/11- My last day at Duke and in the van

5/5/11- I move out of the van for good and prepare it for sale.

5/8/11- I take note of spring growth at the Abbey.

5/8/11- I capture a groundhog on film

5/11/11- Is Duke evil? 

5/12/11- I get frantic about my graduation robe and the speech I'll soon have to give.

5/21/11- My conclusion to my vandwelling experiment. My mom films the speech I give at my department's ceremony.

Post Graduation

5/26/11- I say goodbye to two baby chicks who were eaten by a racoon.

5/29/11- I wonder aloud why members of my generation aren't revolutionaries

5/31/11- I get rid of most of my stuff and take off for Alaska to write my book.

6/3/11- I leave Acorn Abbey

6/10/11- I do an experiment wrap-up radio interview with NPR Buffalo.

Go to my Alaska section to read about my travels after my vandwelling experiment.