Pushing yourself to your physical limits is a transformative experience. Whether it's cardio, lifting, martial arts, or bodyweight training. You should be doing all of these, but the most useful to functionality and with the least barrier to entry are cardio and calisthenics. When you push your body to its breaking points, it unlocks your mind. Physical suffering can train the spirit. As both the physical act of working out and the metaphysical act of overcoming existential suffering are similar processes. Your mind and your body are inextricably linked to each other. An out of shape man with a good wit is utterly useless, so is a fit man without intelligence.
"No citizen has a right to be an amateur in the matter of physical training… what a disgrace it is for a man to grow old without ever seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable."
Furthermore, I consider that Israel must be destroyed
Living in a van as a young man is also just fun. I'm collecting cool gritty stories I can cash in when I'm older.
One of my favorites is when I played Tom and Jerry with budget rent-a-cops.
In my old town, there was a large grocery store that I frequented for shopping, and I decided to start stealth camping there overnight. After getting away with it for a week straight, I awoke in the middle of the night to a harsh knock upon my window. Flashlight shining in.
I remained hidden and silent behind my window curtains until the guard gave up and retreated. Once he did, I crept into the driver's seat. As it happened, this grocery store was part of a shared multiplex with an auto parts store and a Taco Bell. But despite all being in the same parking lot, they were three separate properties—with separate security staffing solutions.
So I just rolled a hundred feet over to the nearest parking space belonging to the auto parts store, and resumed sleeping there for the remainder of the night.
But little did I know, even while inside that bubble of immunity, I was being watched.
The next morning, I went back to the grocery store lot to loiter and shop, and I eventually received *another* window knock—this time in broad daylight. Deciding to answer this time, I emerged from my cab curtain to find a pissed off gentleman in an Advanced Security uniform.
He accused me of parking overnight, which I denied, despite him claiming to have taken my plates and pointing out the presence of the store’s security cameras (which he didn't have access to as a third party affiliate.) Since I didn't budge—and therefore gave him nothing actionable—he escalated to veiled threats, implying he would come after me if he got fired over this. 😂
A few nights later, I decided to just sleep at the auto parts store, figuring being out of his jurisdiction would remedy the problem. But Paul Blart over there had other plans.
Early the next morning, I get *another knock.* Once again, I played dead until the figure retreated. Peeking out my window, I saw a compact hatchback branded with the logo of *Premier Security.* Advanced had called in backup from the company responsible for patrolling the neighboring property.
Since the car was camping out, facing towards me from the side, I snuck into my front seat, and made a rapid three point turn, fleeing the lot at an angle where the guard couldn't glimpse my face. Going down the grocery store strip, I whipped around the receiving entrance, escaping onto the main road.
However, as I headed for the first intersection, I saw Premier's cruiser peeking onto the road from the parking lot—positioned to intercept me in his line of sight. Before reaching him, I pulled a quick uey through a gas station, retreating in the opposite direction…
*Only to find Advanced Security, waiting in his truck at the edge of the lot I had just fled from.*
The mall cops had coordinated a pincer maneuver.
However, being mall cops, they couldn't chase me. Only stare menacingly. I ducked my head down as I passed, concealing my face from the truck. Free at last, I disappeared into the refuge of my 9-6 at the local O'Reilly.
A few weeks later, I returned to the lot and decided to sleep at the Taco Bell—and was never bothered again. I guess they didn't have a security guard. 😂
I can also tell you about the three-tier policing that exists for overnighters across various Walmarts, and tales from deep in the BLM roads.
* There was one middle of nowhere area where I liked to hang out, no cell reception or anything. I never went in very far, but I always saw a fairly steady stream of random ass cars coming in and going deep into the woods, never re-emerging the same way. I suspected it was people going to get fucked up on drugs.
* One time while I was hanging out in one of these spots, two men dressed like literal druids emerged from the woods, approaching my rig from behind. I got spooked and took off. I think they were just random homeless wandering around, but it was fucking insane that they'd come that far out into the literal wilderness and managed to shack up there.
* Once I was sitting in a camp chair outside my van in shorts and a tank top. A ranger roaming the roads ended up finding me, but he just rolled on by without even slowing down. As if I were just part of the wildlife 😂
* I found a secret tiny road branching off of a rural byway, and decided to explore it. I figured it would eventually spit out into a cool area of some kind, but it just kept getting steeper and muddier and windier. By the time I realized continuing was a very bad idea, I had to do a 15 point turn to spin myself around and very nearly got stuck.
* Once was taking a piss behind my rig, and when I looked over I saw a bear and her cub crossing the road 50 ft away.
* I woke up one morning on my favorite huge gravel shoulder, and saw an old ass mini bus pull up. A guy gets out and starts setting up a tent among various other things. I curiously got out and asked him about it. Turns out he was setting up the finish line for a motorcycle race. That whole area was very mountainous and winding, and I heard bikes roaring up and down it constantly.
* I found one spot that had a semi-abandoned maintenance station on some train tracks running through the woods. It was cool because I could get out and explore around the train car and various large equipment they left out like some sort of industrial jungle gym.
* I was once intimidated by a local in the area for loitering on the wrong shoulder for too long. Pulled up next to my rig while I was hidden in the back. Growled "can I *help ya?*" Then revved his engine and drove off
* Once when I was chilling in the front seat, a beat up old minivan with two meth head looking chicks rolled up next to me. One gets out, comes up to my window, cups her hands and peers inside with wide-eyed intensity. But then after a second she goes "Oh my God. Sorry, I thought you were someone else." Then they promptly took off.
* These were also the spots I liked to bathe, because of the privacy. During winter I had to boil water on my alcohol stove in order for the experience to actually be tolerable.
I now have an employer who lets me live on site, so I don't create many of these stories anymore, but it was definitely the most adventurous period.