When it comes to writing novels, there are two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Plotters are writers who sit down and before ever typing a single word into their computer, plot out their entire novel. Sure, some details may change along the way, but the theme, plot, and character arcs have all been carefully planned out long before work on the novel begins. Pantsers, on the other hand, simply wing it. They fly by the seat of their pants, thus the name. Pantsers sit down, start typing, and hope something good comes out after they’ve knocked out 60-70,000 words. (Pantsers tend to do a lot more revisions than plotters.)
Me? I’m a plotter. YouTubers — I mean, the really good ones — make it look like they’re pantsing things, but they’re not. You can’t just show up in the middle of the woods and randomly decide you’re going to make, oh, a homemade pizza. You have to have dough. You have to have pizza sauce. You have to have cheese. You have to have ingredients. You have to have a way to cook and cut and eat a pizza. Most vanlifers are dealing with refrigerators not much larger than an Igloo cooler. Nobody in real life is “rummaging through their fridge” to see what ingredients they happen to have, trust me.
One funny thing about vanlife is it forces plotters to become pantsers. If you like surprises and plot twists you might want to watch this week’s video first before reading the rest of this post.
My plan for this video was to drive to a local casino, cook a bowl of Ramen noodles, and eat soup while sitting in the middle of a thunderstorm, watching it rain. That was my plan. Later that evening I realized I had left my camera bag at home, forgot most of my Ramen ingredients… and it never rained.
By the time I realized I had forgot my big jug of water, what little rain we got had come and gone. I was hoping that if it rained, I could collect enough rain water in all those bowls to make Ramen. I might have had to add some water too the rain water, but it was a moot point as it literally never rained. That sent me scrambling for another “story,” and that’s when the idea for an “expensive” bowl of Ramen came about. Truth be told, I didn’t spend any more or any less in the casino than I normally do. My wife and I visit the casino once or twice a month and when we go, we each take $100. Last year we tracked every dollar we spent, won, and lost at the casino. By the end of the year, we were up about $400. You win some and you lose some. The most important things for me is to view the money as an entertainment expense, never expect to win anything, and never take more than I’m willing to spend.
Forgetting my camera bag left me in a pinch. The iPhone 15’s camera is more than adequate for YouTube HD video, but the microphone leaves something to be desired. Sometimes pantsers gotta do what pantsers gotta do and hope for the best.
Here are links to a few things that appear in this video. As always, if you have questions about any of these or are considering buying one, feel free to shoot me a message with any questions.
AllPowers R2500 Powerstation ($600 off!): https://amzn.to/3SYEnlb
Maxx Air MaxxFan Deluxe: https://amzn.to/3QPHDx5
20,000mAh Camping Fan (VIDEO): https://amzn.to/49KnVvn
Farverware 1,000 Watt Microwave: https://amzn.to/3Avg3B1
USB Rechargeable/Magnetic Lights (6): https://amzn.to/40Q6GVo