Comforters & Bedding Sets for sale In Stock eBay

UPDATED DEC '20! Some users quoted are no longer using those names.
MANY thanks to cptnobservant for poking me with links and stuff to FIX this post up. Kudos!
KNOW YOUR STATE LAWS ON RVs! https://www.rvtripwizard.com/rv-info/state-road-laws.php
You are responsible in doing things legally correct. Anything found here is a suggestion from people varying from experts to hobbyists. It is up to YOU to be legal.
Remember as you read this, I could be wrong. That semi famous YouSkooler probably did it wrong, too - I can think of one couple who just pushed along making mistake after mistake and now are paying for it on the road as they travelblog (they also split up). So take what you read here as a guide but not as gospel. What is right for your build is right for your build. Just stay safe and legal.
Remember this - there is a reason why everyone does something the way they do. From beds in the back to insulation, certain things can't really be cheaped out on... unless it is a conscious decision to be different, or you are trying a new product that compares with the old way, odds are someone has tried it.
Ask questions. Someone, somewhere, has run into your issue. Hopefully one of the awesome people here will have the answer.
SHOULD I BUY A SKOOLIE?
If you are here, the answer is yes. ONE OF US! ONE OF US!
But... MAYBE not the first one you can afford. Do some research. Would you buy that 1984 used Toyota hatchback with 350,000 miles for 2200 bucks? It's in your price range, and it LOOKS good buuuuuut... there are a lot of buses out there, and yours is just waiting for you.
Why a Skoolie? Well, they are solid machines. They get the same MPG as an RV, and you can make yours the way YOU want, without cheap parts, an engine maxxed to its capacity, and a vehicle that can actually take a roll without turning into confetti.
Plus they are cheap to buy, and keep a better resale value.
This post is to try and have a one stop place for info. And if a post online is older than 2019, disregard anything it says. Even if it turns out to be right, it's best to think anything (Text based, video is fine, because you can see what might be outdated there such as how to install a VHS player) 2 years or older is outdated as a general rule of thumb. Except this one if it has been recently edited.
HOW DO I FIND A SKOOLIE?
Craigslist, ebay, your local school district. Google, really. Also, promotion time - /skooliemarketplace and this post of mine which has questions and considerations.
DO I NEED A CDL?
Short answer: Most likely not, even with air brakes! Federally (USA), you do NOT, as long as you get rid of all the seats toot suite and your bus is under a certain weight unloaded. There is a state or two that is a little more restrictive on licensing, so if you are in the USA, check with the BMV/DMV or the web.
Is it a good idea to learn about the CDL process? Sure.
SHORT BUS, LONG BUS, AND YOU
Taken from a discussion between me and ShortBus-Nectar . I was being my usual anti shortbus self, and ShortBus-Nectar had a thoughtful reply (edited by me):
I do agree that van body anythings are more expensive to do engine removals/overhauls than other vehicles with more accessible bays. This also applies to a truck vs van with the same driveline (Like F350 vs E350). I don't agree that van body fronts are expensive to maintain outside of the horror stories you hear about engine replacement.
... I said not all short or van-front buses can be covered under a blanket statement, I meant that not every engine/transmission combination is prone to massive services, and there are other considerations as well. I used the 6.0 as an example because basically every 6.0 on the road will eventually need heads, along with all the other stuff that needs to get replaced when they go (EGR cooler, etc) and its crazy expensive to do it all in one shot. Whereas something like a mechanical 7.3 or a 6.5 have issues, but not frequent services requiring the removal of the engine, followed by a build killing bill. Not trying to turn this into a discussion about which engine is better, I have no love for any manufacturer after spending 15 years as a tech.
You have another good point with the cost of tires on a larger bus. Likewise service for the brakes and basically everything else will have a higher cost in parts and labor. I do all my own work, but if I had to take it somewhere, I could go to basically any shop and they could service it. With a full size bus, most small shops will turn you away or might not have the tools to do the job. Manufacturers in the "light truck" industry are not required to provide service information to companies like Alldata, Mitchell, etc so most shops will have zero technical information to aid in diagnostics. Heavy duty shops tend to charge more per hour than general service shops.
I'm not saying go out and buy any van body you see, but I wouldn't avoid checking them out.
WHAT ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION SHOULD I GET?
http://www.buslandia.net/blog/2016/10/11/which-engine-tranny
And then, to look deeper under the skoolie hood...:
http://www.buslandia.net/blog/2016/12/26/which-enginetranny-does-this-bus-have
MostImprovedPlayer, many thanks!
TIRES, RUST, AND YOU.
Rust is bad, but not as bad as rust holes. A rusty floor takes 24 hours of work to fix up. But that means you have to remove your floor, which means you have to look under the bus with a strong flashlight.
If you are buying an already converted bus, and want to know how the underbody was when they purchased it, grab a magnet on a stick, and sweep the floor from below. Bondo isn't magnetic.
Rust holes take days, unless you know how to weld. Bondo smells funky.
Big bus tires are expensive. If you can find a good bus under $5000 with excellent tires, you are basically buying tires with a free bus on them.
This doesn't count for short bus van front styles.
HOW DO I CHECK MY POTENTIAL BUS FOR STUFF?
From Ashandrik
Here's my kind of defacto answer for these kinds of things. The rust comments assume you're somewhere that salts the roads in the winter. This also assumes you're a novice at this stuff and not a diesel mechanic, body work expert, etc.
New tires on a full size skoolie can run between $1600 and $3000. Ask me how I know... Haha. Don't just check tread on tires. Also check for dry rot, small cracks in the sidewalls that may seem minor, but actually mean the rubber is breaking down making it more prone to failure. Most tires should also have a date of manufacture stamped on them. Even tires sitting in a cool, dry, dark warehouse are aging, albeit slower than if they're out in the hot sun. So, that date matters even if the seller tells you they're new-old stock and just put on the bus. Tires over 10 years old are probably garbage or approaching it. Also, keep an eye out for super shiny tires. Some assholes will throw a little Armor All on the tires before you go look. If they're not brand new, they shouldn't shine like they are.
As for rust... One of the best places to check for rust are on the back door frame and where the rubber flooring ends. You'll also see it most in the stairwell(s). Don't be afraid to crawl under the bus and check. Take a flat head screwdriver (and a flashlight and/or headlamp) with you. If you see a rusty spot, poke and scratch at it. That'll tell you how bad the rust is. If it's just a thin layer that scratches off and shines underneath, then great. If your screwdriver plunges all the way through the metal, it's fucked. Check the frame for both heavy rust and straightness. Check the brakes on the tires from behind. If the bus has airbrakes, the chambers that hold the air bladders get rusted to fuck there. Check the exhaust too. That's another problem area.
I would even consider driving down south to buy a bus. I bought mine in Texas, and she's rust free. Almost as pure as the day it rolled off the assembly line. I could own this bus 10 more years and never have to worry about rust.
As for engines... First of all. Tell them not to start it before you get there. You want to do a cold start. First thing you do when you get there is have them open up the dog nose so you can feel the engine. If it feels like it's been running, tell them you'll stop back another day when it's been sitting a while. Check the coolant. It should be green or orange. If it's any other color, the bus hasn't been maintained properly. If it looks brown, kind of like, like peanut butter, then there's a head gasket leak letting oil into the coolant. This is bad. Walk away.
Check the rest of the fluids. Check the airfilter. If anything seems grosser than it should, take that into consideration.
A cold engine should still start easy (as long as cold doesn't mean below freezing). Less than 10 seconds of cranking should get it going cold, and it should start in a couple cranks after it's warm. Diesels aren't mysterious, moody creatures. They pretty much sound as healthy as they are. If it sounds rough, it probably has problems. If it sounds smooth, it probably is. It should have a nice even rumble. If you hear any pinging, ticking, etc., it might mean a problem. Look for white or blue smoke out of the tailpipe when you first start it. If it's blue, that means engine oil is getting into the cylinders, and you probably need an engine rebuild. Walk away. If you get a white cloud, then you might have some air intake or injector problems. I'd probably walk away from this one too unless the rest of the bus was near perfect, met nearly all my preferences, and was cheap (<$2,500).
Mileage probably isn't a big deal. Most diesels can hit 500k before they need a rebuild, and another 500k after that. If you put a million miles on your bus, congratulations! Go buy a new one and start over. Haha. Or just drop a new engine in for a few grand.
Get maintenance records if you can. Call the school district the bus was from if the seller doesn't have them. Sometimes their maintenance folks will still have them.
Take it for a drive. If they argue with you over not having a CDL and won't back down, make them drive it for you. Sit halfway in the stairwell and listen, if they're driving. Listen to how it shifts. Feel for vibrations that seem unusual. If a bus has been sitting for too long, the tires might be out of balance. Make sure you get some highway time in. Many school buses find speeds over 55mph to be difficult or impossible. This is something you should know before you buy your bus. See how it handles turns. Wiggle the steering wheel a bit while you drive. Don't do it enough to swerve the bus. You're feeling for play in the steering. You should have about 30 degrees of play. Anything over 60 degrees means worn out steering components. My bus had a bad power steering pump and a worn out pitman arm. Repairing the pump cost me over $500, and I haven't done anything about the pitman arm yet. I will probably end up spending a couple thousand to put a whole new front steering system on my bus eventually...
Check all the lights, in the dark if possible. The clearance lights at the top of the bus are hard to tell in the daytime if they're on or not. When lights on older buses go bad, it can be the sockets that failed instead of the bulb. Depending on the age of the bus, finding matching replacements might be time consuming (driving to half a dozen junk yards in hopes of finding a $12 light socket), and replacing all of them so they match is expensive (up to $50+ per light sometimes).
Check the seal around the windshield. Check for rust inside the bus around the windows and doors. Sometimes a little water gets in, and you have to reseal those areas. These kinds of problems probably aren't deal breakers, but it's good to know.
As for preferences in buses...
Try to find a bus with belly boxes. They are infinitely useful (general storage, mounting your generator, house battery boxes, etc.), and adding them later is a royal pain in the ass, unless you are or know a body work expert. Belly boxes also generally imply the possibility of highway gearing that would mean higher top speeds and better gas mileage on the road. Buses that have belly boxes are generally special ordered by school districts for long-distance field trips (football games, state competitions, band trips, etc.)
My personal engine preference goes (best to worst): Cummins 8.3, Navistar DT466, Cummins 5.9 (what I have), Navistar T444e. The T444e is the only one I'd really avoid, but know that with the Cummins 5.9 you're going to have to do some tinkering to get the kind of power I'd be comfortable with (enough for highway speeds and hills). Rear Differential ratios will determine your highway speeds more than anything else. Aim for a 4.33 or lower. I'm almost positive mine is like a 5.57, and that's why my top speed is stuck at 55mph.
Transmission: The most common transmission is the Allison AT545. It's an automatic transmission, and it's rock solid. However, it doesn't have overdrive or a locking torque converter. This means slightly worse fuel economy, not as good highway speeds, and overheating issues in hills and mountains. I would avoid the AT545 if possible, but you might find that impossible. They are ridiculously common. What I would want is basically any other Allison transmission. The AT643 is better, but a 1000, 2000, or 3000 (particularly the 3060, which happens to be the most common of these) would be the best. It doesn't matter which of those your bus has as long as it came that way from the factory. They are just rated for different weights.
Air brakes are much better than hydraulic brakes, but some states require a CDL for any vehicle with them. Each state has different rules about CDLs. In Texas I didn't need one because my bus was an RV that carried less than 14 passengers. If you do need it, getting your CDL isn't hard, but if you get a ticket with one, the penalties are a lot harsher. Avoid it if the law allows.
Air ride suspension is amazing, but chances of finding a bus with it is pretty much zero. So consider it a perk if you find one that has it. Brag about it to your friends until they hate you. I would. Haha. Last thing to talk about is price and some purchasing options. You can get good buses on auction from government organizations (especially schools, of course) for around $1500, sometimes less. The downside of this, is you have to buy a little more blind. You often can't test drive them or do much more than look around them. Many of them don't come with batteries and assume you'll be towing them home. You are also given NO leeway in when you can take them. Third party sellers are often much more expensive, but they've vetted the buses and possible done enough to get them running again. They are likely to let you test drive them, and they will let you pick up the bus at your convenience. I know /SkoolieMarketplace lists buses as they become available, and CascadesDad put a lot of info up on this subreddit's sticky.
Good luck!
WHAT ENGINE? WHAT TRANSMISSION? WHAT DO I NEED TO DRIVE PIKES PEAK?
Honestly, the only engine to stay away from is the Ford Powerstroke 6.0 (short bus). All other forms of the 6.0 are fine, if a little wimpy. Pushers push, are quieter, and don't haul things as well. Front end engines haul well and handle a bit better.
The transmission is all about what you want to do with it. Mountains? Flat? Haul? Odds are, there is no one perfect transmission for your needs. Be aware of that. Google is your friend here - remember, everyone either loves or hates your transmission of choice, so no matter what you pick, someone will say it's terrible. Look for what's good about it, and decide from there.
NONE of them, excepting maybe the infamous Ford Powerstroke 6.0, is a zippy engine capable of hauling butt.
ALRIGHT I HAVE A SKOOLIE, NOW WHAT?
TIME T'PLAY! Start thinking hard on your design, and where you are going to put the remarkably large amount of waste product that it will generate. Seats, metal, insulation, bits and bobs, screws, lenses, lightbulbs, skin and blood, and whatnot.
Seriously consider not putting in sideways facing seats. In the USA they don't really care (unless you are or have a child), but in other countries, riding on a sideways seat is illegal!
A lot of old posts that spread false or misleading information still exists. The only place that will have the answer is your local D/BMV or its website. If you are not satisfied with the answer you get from the person on the other end of the phone, look up your revised code. Here's Washington state's.
REGISTERING MY SKOOLIE AS A MOTOR HOME
The quickest way is this way: https://www.reddit.com/skoolies/comments/85lt6w/skoolie_insurance_how_to_immediately_registe
Seriously.
INSURANCE!
You CAN get insurance.
First off, only ask for insurance on what the title says it is. If it says commercial right now, get commercial. If it says RV, get RV. Do NOT say, "Oh it's a bus that I am converting in my spare time." Insurance agents get wobbly with what may be's. Just show the title, and say this is what I have, this is what I want. Get the bus converted, get the title changed, get the insurance you want.
You may have to investigate getting the bus titled in Vermont as an RV. See a few lines above.
Sidenote: if this will be your primary residence, let the insurance provider know. Especially if you bought the bus with a mortgage (which you can do for primary residences!). If they pull some BS about "You need another vehicle, this can't be your home AND be a primary way to drive places" drop them and move elsewhere. They are not right.
DESIGN AND DESTROY!
Know your state laws re: bus color and lights. Know your state laws re: seatbelts (resource here https://rvshare.com/blog/things-need-know-rv-seat-belt-laws/.) Consider how passengers will travel. Sideways seats are not good for kids, and may be illegal to use with safety seats. It is up to you to be legal.
SEATBELTS NEED TO BE CONNECTED TO THE FRAME (or a seat designed to hold belts from a seat maker). This is where reusing the bolts from the bus seats can be a great idea.
Measure your bus. Use graph paper to start a build design, and remember:
WATER - POWER - KITCHEN - BATHROOM - BEDROOM - TRASH (liquid and physical) - ELECTRICAL - SEATING (more may be added, but keep these in mind).
Also, remember comfort for when you are traveling. Sitting side mounted for hundreds of miles is exhausting on bulky wooden homemade seats. And really, recycled bus seats are not comfy sideways. And like I said, it's not a great idea in general, and wrong for kids. Lap belts sideways in a forward facing accident change the shear rates and really... bench seating is not comfy for rides. Consider doing it somehow else. I know, it really messes up the space on the bus.
Are you going to bring your bus to bare rims and metal? That usually is the best way to go - it allows you to see holes, places that need attention, and then allows you to fill in insulation as needed. You also get rid of some of the disgusting materials that have been subject to kids. And, as we all know, kids be gross.
Don't be afraid of cutting holes in your bus. You are gonna need to for plumbing, and power. Remember to think carefully on roof cuts.
Any cut can be fixed with welding, but remember to try and get a welder to fix all at once. Find a local fabricator and talk with them, unless you know how to weld, or have a welding buddy. And practice safe welding.
If you decide to remove the rear heating fan, know that they are looped into your engine system. You will need to examine the system, and be prepared to loop the lines near the front. If your bus is old or rusty down below, wear good eye protection or a face shield. And watch out for coolant.
Check in with your local community college or technical school if you need welding done.
MUST HAVE TOOLS
Impact Drill. Chop saw. Hammer. Angle grinder. With these, you can build a skoolie to rival the gods! Well, you can do most of the work. I once saw a family using handsaws to cut things.
My goodness.
A tool I love that isn't required but is nifty, is a pocket jig. Also, a bit that extends and bends for your drill - helps you get to hard to reach places.
Battery operated tools can travel with you, but you need to buy ones with good batteries. If your batteries don't hold a charge, buy a new battery. If it still doesn't hold a charge, you need a new tool. Modern battery powered items are amazing.
Also, buy tons of drill bits. And if you have issues removing bus screws in the ceiling or walls? Try a square bit.
Self tapping screws are worth it, too.
WOOD?
Wood. I used 2x3s to cut a bit of weight. You use what you feel right with. You CAN use metal framing.
BUILDING YOUR DESIGN (BUILDING BOXES AND YOU)
Every carpenter I talked to about skoolie builds (one of them) said that every piece of furniture starts life as a box. Get used to building boxes. Boxes can become chairs, beds, shelves, tesseracts - the possibilities are endless.
BY THE POWER OF SKOOLIESTROKE, I HAVE THE (ELECTRICAL) POWER!
A playlist of all the electrical questions you might have.
Electrical can be as simple as an extension cord that goes out one of your windows, to 50 amp fuse boxes.
Here's a quick overview.
gilliganphantom's youtube channel has one of the best pre planning videos for running electrical out there.
Also, instead of romex wire, people tend to use extension cords for wire runs. There is talk of extension cords being more robust in a vibrating world. I use both, never had an issue myself. That doesn't mean much, really... but just know either is viable for a time.
Wire stripper
wire crimper
Those two things are great, used in conjunction with butt connectors you should have code worthy splices. And lots of electrical tape.
When it comes to batteries, it's all about uniformity and amp hours. There's a lot of complicated math that talks about power usage and what not, and honestly, I am terrible at it.
Lead acid batteries put off gasses when charging. Deep cycle batteries are what you want, and this is an area you shouldn't cheap out on (but you can!). LiPo batteries are both amazing and can be dangerous. Your house batteries (those are your power my stuff batteries, not the power my bus type) need to be safely contained. It's a good idea to have a fire extinguisher nearby rated for electrical fires.
Ashandrik talks about Solenoids, and why they are a good idea:
"I used a 200A Cole Hersee Battery Isolator Solenoid. You can use anything similar, but make sure the amperage capacity is higher than your alternator puts out (my alternator was rated at 160A). 160A is really common on skoolies, but some buses that had a lot of accessories in them (charter buses mostly) have two alternators at 240A each.
I wired the control contacts (the ones on the top) to switch on my bus' control panel. You don't want the bus trying to use the house batteries to start from. You'll damage them. So, with the switch, I can turn it on after the bus has started. You could also wire it into a 12V source that is only one when the bus is running, but I didn't want the batteries connected until a few minutes after the bus had started and the starter batteries were topped off. This way I never have to worry about any deep draws between the starter batteries or the house batteries.
The other benefit of the switch is that if I'm ever in an emergency situation where I decide damaging my house batteries to get the bus started is worth it, I still have that option. I also let the house batteries top off the starter batteries if I sit for a while. If I have a net gain of solar or if I'm on shore power, I can turn on the switch for a couple hours to act as a battery maintainer."
Carolina_tiny_homes suggests a DC to DC inverter. They are expensive, but will extend the life of the battery and pay for itself in no time.
Depending on your power usage, you may not need house batteries. It's a discussion for another day.
CAPTURING THE SUN AND MAKING IT WORK FOR YOU
SOLAR AND BATTERY HAS COME A LONG WAY IN TWO YEARS. DO NOT BUY USED.
Solar power is free energy. Setting up Solar is not. It's cheaper to build your own system, but easier to buy pre-built. No matter what system you go with, there will be positives and negatives.
From c4pken:
Rule of thumb. If you can turn it off, do it. That's how you save power and passive draining. Ideally have a switch that takes it off the breaker.
Things you can't control or use a lot... try to see if there's a DC version.
Using an Inverter does get you AC power, but at the cost of 15%-20% energy loss during the inversion process.
This is why we made DC refrigerators, depending on where you're at, you can recover the consumption for all our appliance through a single 200W panel over a day.
...Lights and even a TV doesn't take too much juice out of a solar setup. Solar doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. It doesn't even need to be overbearing, know and understand what your needs are and then work from the consumption up.
(( check out www.c4pinc.com for more info, or the blog for more specifics ))
WATER? HOT AND COLD, WASTE AND CLEAN
Plumbing. It's simple, good water comes in, bad water goes out. Like the tides. Water can be hot or cold. You can use a propane tank to heat your water. You can go with a tank or tankless. With the water flow, tankless may be the way to go, especially with space issues.
When designing, remember in and out and leave space for that.
Also, leave space to work on your pipes. Pex is so easy to work with https://www.familyhandyman.com/plumbing/pex-piping-everything-you-need-to-know/view-all/.
You are going to have leaks. Vibration will cause joints to shift. Make them easy to get to.
Toilets in a skoolie - if you do traditional black water toilet, it is just like putting one in your house. If you use an expensive but well worth it composting toilet, plumbing is not needed. You can even use a bucket and Walmart bags and Ice Tea bottles.
Just be aware, getting sick in a composting toilet is a special kind of treat.
GREY WATER, BLACK WATER AND WHY PEEING IN AN OPEN TUBE IS BAD
I talk about this disaster all the time. One of the earliest skoolie builds I ever saw had a pvc pipe that went directly through the floor and dumped onto the ground below. It was in the middle of the bus. People used it to pee directly out of the bus, parked or while driving.
THIS IS NOT GOOD.
illegal.
Urine loves to mess with metal. Splashing happens. So plan to have places for waste product to go, and know that your grey water tank (Soapy water, shower water, stuff like that) has to be slightly higher than your black tank so accidental back fill doesn't flow into it.
When you do a water dump, you do your black water first, then close it and do your grey water second. You don't want black water to backfill your grey... because odor.
I will try and find a good resources for grey/black/drinking tanks here. But really, they are easy to do. Mounting is interesting, and you may wish to think of mounting (or cutting holes) these BEFORE you finish the floor. Or at least putting the mounts in, if you end up going through the floor.
Here's a post I did when a user wasn't so sure of a bucket full of poopgoop:
Composting toilets are a weird thing. In the USA we are used to flushing away all effluvia - anything else is just not done.
Even holes in the ground are suspect (like camping at a state park) and portapotties are just NASTY.
Even portapotties have fluid in them. So what is a composting toilet?
Well, I can't answer that easily. But I can link you to a blog I found that answers questions you may have:
https://www.gonewiththewynns.com/compost-toilet-big-questions
...
Here's NaturesHead's FAQ, this company is generally considered the luxury brand composting toilet. They are usually very expensive.
https://natureshead.net/faqs/
Wanna make your own composting toilet? Check out what MajerGlazer says:
"After 8 months of use, it held up great. We mounted it outside our vehicle (trailer tongue) for storage and transport but overall, limited smells were given off. We chose coconut fibers bought on Amazon since it was way easier to store and does the same as peat/sawdust. It came in small compressed bricks that you add a small amt of water and fluff and presto, you have your cover.
Use a bag in your setup, it will make your #2 cleanups infinitely easier. We also liked have an external liquids collection to keep things neat. We could connect the bottle (any size gatorade or juice container) and use inside but a lot of the time would drain to mother nature. Feel free to ask me anything.
Also, my original design had a small flaw when men were using the potty. The funnel worked great for ladies but some man parts were cramped near the funnel. I would have mounted a bit lower in the bin to give the parts some space."
Youtube has a ton of videos on composting toilets.
HEATING AND COOLING?
A/C is one of the most difficult things to have when boondocking. Heating is easier, due to the fact that it can be done with propane heaters. More to come when I collect resources!
Fans are easier and can do quite well.
INSULATION!
Blown or pink stuff? Rigid or foam? How about sound insulation? Links coming!
FYI, larger bus builders tend to go with blown stuff.
Rockwool or Denim? I use both, and they are very similar in sound proofing and R value. I like working with the denim MUCH more because less itch. But if you know Rockwool, you pretty much know denim.
KITCHEN?
Do you really need large ranges and stuff? Can you get by with butane cooktops? Propane? Electrical? Induction?
I personally use a coleman stove and a hot plate in my skoolie. I have a butane burner and a rice cooker (It died spectacularly in Colorado last year. RIP Rice cooker. I only used you once) as well.
I have a chest fridge/freezer and it has a built in battery. I LOVE IT.
PROPANE, AND PROPANE ACCESSORIES
Propane is a lot like plumbing, and you test for leaks the same way - system under pressure! Each joint needs easy access, and to test a joint, you put soapy water on it and look for bubbles. Run your propane to your kitchen and hot water tank. And furnace. It will most likely run in parallel with your water.
Here's a skoolie conversion that does the propane - they are fun to watch, but I wouldn't call them experts. It's a great jumping off place, especially if you watch all their videos. They learn so much by mistake, which is how many of us learn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lmy1uGzFgoo <-- Ian Robinson
Outdoor Propane tools can cause a bus fire, so make sure you know your propane setup and your state laws on propane canisters.
WIRELESS INTERNET AND YOU
Alright, so how to do you get your internets on the road? Well, all phone companies have some sort of option, and you really need to be careful with your usage and be aware of what is available.
There are multiple solutions, and change yearly.
PAINTING THE ROOF The best thing to do is paint your roof white. There are those that think the temperature changes are negligible, and sure, we are dealing with a game of inches. But when you are looking at a difference of 4-10 degrees, it can make a HUGE difference in your power usage in cooling or heating.
So paint your roof. Use silicone or latex. Make sure it is RV roof paint, though general white paint can work.
https://www.reddit.com/skoolies/comments/93zg7p/roof_coatings/ A discussion on the pros and cons of latex versus Silicone roof paints.
https://www.reddit.com/skoolies/comments/93nsoh/henrys_tropicool/e3f7jyx/ A discussion on WHY you paint the roof white.

I'm a 21 year old college senior, living in New York and making $18/hour as an intern

Hi everyone! Long time follower, first time poster :) I know college MDs can get a bad rap, but I tried to talk about a lot of the financial details of my parents and how I think about money as an almost post-grad to account for some of the criticisms of older college diaries. I’m definitely very grateful for all of the financial privilege that I have and don’t take any of the money given to me for granted.
Covid disclaimer: Every time I step outside my apartment, I have a mask on. I do take my mask off on runs, but only remove the mask when I’m physically on the running path and put it on as soon as I finish. Based on what we know about running and covid, I feel okay and safe about this.
Assets and debts:
Retirement balance:
Roth IRA: 12,000
Vanguard 500 index fund: $7,085
Equity: Yeah, no
Savings account $12,530. This is all in the Money Market, I have a huge fear of losing this money as I’ve planned on using this for covering costs as I transition into post-grad. As I start earning a regular salary, I’ll probably begin investing some of this.
Checking account:
Checking account 1: $10,356 - this is my main checking account linked to most of my purchases
Checking account 2: $3,665 - this WAS my travel saving/checking account (cries in covid), but now it serves as my college life account. At the start of the semester, my parents gave me a set amount of money for groceries and books (I think in total it was $1,000). Now, it’s up to me to budget that money accordingly and last me all semester. I keep this money separate from my main checking account so that I can more easily track what I’m spending on groceries each week.
Credit card debt: None. As early as I can remember, I was taught that you never put anything you can’t immediately pay off on a credit card.
Student loan debt: None. I am incredibly, incredibly privileged that my parents pay for the entirety of my tuition. I don’t qualify for need-based financial aid and my college doesn’t award merit-based aid. In total, my tuition will be about $280,000 over four years. Every semester, my dad tries to cause some issues about paying, but it’s actually in my parents’ divorce contract that they have to equally split the cost of college for both my brother and me.
Section 2: Income
Income Progression: I started making money first as a babysitter. I charged $8/hour at first (I think? It was 10 years ago, haha) and slowly worked my way up to charging between $17-20/hour, depending on the family and responsibilities. I’ve had 8 internships since entering college, and 4 of those have been paid at the standard intern rate of $15/hour. My current internship is the first office job where I’m making above $18
Main Job Income: I have two internships this semester. The one I spend more of my time doing (21 hours/week) I get paid $18/hour pre tax. This usually works out to $650/750 every two weeks (variable based overtime)
Other monthly take home: My second internship (11 hours/week) pays a flat-rate stipend of $80/week. This is paid under the table (kinda suspicious for an established company but whatever) so I get the full amount
Parents’ income: Something I’ve seen in response to a lot of college MDs is curiosity about parental finances. Especially considering that I am very financial intertwined with my parents, I thought it would be useful to include here.
Mom: $280,000-300,000/year. She’s self employed so her income changes slightly each year based on capacity.
Stepdad: Approx. $400,000/year
Dad: Approx. $150,000/year
Stepmom: Absolutely no clue. She and I have almost no relationship and I don’t even really know what she does for a job honestly. While my stepdad does support me financially in different ways, my stepmom does not, so her salary wouldn’t really be relevant here anyway.
Section 3: Monthly expenses that I pay
-$5: Emily’s List (it’s small, but I’ve had this recurring donation for over 4 years now
-$3: iCloud storage
-$5: Spotify student plan for premium Spotify, basic Hulu and basic Showtime. What a steal! I share my Hulu and Showtime passwords with my family #favoritechild
-$16 for the most basic Classpass subscription, paused since March due to Covid
-$15 for Nike Training Club app, paused since March due to Covid
-$65 for Amazon student prime membership - Annual expense
Section 4: Monthly expenses my parents pay
-$1,665: Rent. I live in a 3 bed/1 bath apartment with two roommates
-Phone bill (Mom pays)
-Health insurance (on Dad’s)
-Netflix (Dad pays)
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher ed? How did you pay for it?
Yes, there was never any question that I would be attending a traditional four year university. Both of my parents have advanced degrees (PhD and Law School Degree) and it’s actually a bit disappointing to them that I don’t plan on going to grad school (at this point, never say never!). There was also, and this is hugely privileged, never any question that I would take out loans to pay. My parents began saving for my college when my mom got pregnant and had about a year of college saved by the time they got divorced (I was 9). Each parent was required, per their divorce agreement, to save up enough to cover half of the remaining three years (so in total all four years were covered). My dad has made it very clear he disagrees with this agreement, but my mom overfunded my 529 account and now if I ever go to grad school the first year will be covered by her. I don’t take this gift lightly, and am very cognizant of how much of a financial help this is.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances?
My mom always gave me age appropriate money talks really from as soon as I could talk. I have a very clear memory of being 3 or 4 and her giving me a bath and talking about how important it is that mommies have jobs and don’t have to ask daddies for money. She took my brother and I to open our first real bank accounts at 6 and 9 respectively, and was always very clear about how important financial responsibility and independence is. As I got older, she got more transparent about her income, her various financial decisions (why she invested in X account and not Y account, etc etc) and has helped me make financial decisions like what retirement accounts to open. We’re very transparent about money and I have access to all of her financial accounts (save for her joint accounts with my stepdad) and she has access to all of my accounts (She’s very respectful about my account info, she has my log-ins mostly in case I croak since I don’t have a will yet!)
Additionally, I was taught how to turn a profit early on from my dad. I was really big into American Girl dolls as a kid, and would always ask for them for birthdays and holidays. As I got more and more dolls, I began to sell the dolls I got tired of on Ebay. Dad taught me how to take pictures of the dolls, look up the prices of dolls listed online to decide on a competitive listing price and would take me to garage sales around town to find used dolls I could buy for $5-10 and then sell for around $60-70. I made a ton of money (especially for a 7 year old!) and used the profits to buy myself more dolls, as well as buy an iPod nano using completely my own money. My dad and I have never been super close, but he did teach me growing up that I was never too young to make an honest dollar and to appreciate the hustle.
What was your first job and why did you get it?
Aside from my online doll business, I started babysitting right after I turned 11 because I wanted money. My parents have always been clear that the money we earn is ours to spend, and I very quickly got addicted to earning money, saving money and then getting to buy big special purchases. I would literally “work” the social scene at various friend parties and gatherings and play with the little kids and then schmooze the parents to get them to hire me. I mostly babysat after school and date nights, but had quite a few recurring gigs for several families up until I graduated high school.
My first office job was an internship the summer after my freshman year of college, but I didn’t actually start securing paid internships until my sophomore spring.
Did you worry about money growing up?
Yes. When my parents got divorced, my mom was stressed about money all of the time. She was incredible about budgeting and always made sure to put money away for birthdays, holidays, field trips, etc but there were some very lean years in my late elementary/early middle school years that I was hyper-aware of. My family used to joke that we would know my mom won the lottery if we ever went out to dinner and we were allowed to order appetizers. Additionally, both of my parents subscribed to the mindset of over-saving for things and being super panicked about hitting savings goals. For example, my family loves to travel and starting in about 7th grade, my mom/brotheI would take one international trip a year. My mom would pinch pennies for months and get super stressed about saving for these trips but then we would get to wherever we were going and we could do, eat and see whatever we wanted. Or, she stressed for years about paying for college, and whenever I would accidentally leave a light in the house on she would snap about “you can either live in a well lit house or go to college” and then it came time to apply to schools and the financials didn’t matter at all. It was a little bit of money whiplash that made me feel stressed. It was only in my senior year of high school that my mom made it clear we were actually financially comfortable and a lot of money anxiety I had went away.
Do you worry about money now?
Mostly I worry about how my expenses impact my relationship with my parents.
My dad has made it very clear that he sees my college (and everything it took to get me here: expensive extracurriculars, a year of ACT tutoring, etc) as a huge burden. As a result, I feel like every time I talk to him I have to justify the price to him by overemphasizing how amazing things are, or understating the cost of things to him. I also feel like I can’t talk to him about my finances because I worry he might use that against me and demand that I pay for certain things that are his responsibilities. For example, I love to solo-travel and have taken two trips (Colombia and Norway) and would have taken three more (Singapore, Cuba and Brazil — Fuck Covid) on my own that I never told him about because I was worried he would ask about the cost. I also just signed a lease for my first ever big girl solo apartment, but haven’t been able to tell him yet because I’m so worried about what he’ll say about the cost. He’ll be responsible for splitting the rent with my mom until I graduate, and even though it’s only about $200 more/month he’ll be paying, I worry he’ll get upset with me about it.
With my mom, she tends to overcompensate financially to make up for my dad, brother and her own faults. Obviously, my relationship with my dad isn’t great (although now it’s actually better than ever), but my relationship with my brother is also very challenging. He has quite a few disabilities that have made him my parents’ main priority over the years and my mom feels bad that this is the family she’s given me, so she tends to send me money whenever one of them disappoints me. For example, just two weeks ago she had to cancel our plans to deal with my brother and so she sent me $50 because she felt bad. It’s a weird place to be in, feeling like I’m paid to be the “good kid.”
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net?
It’s very clear I’m still financially dependent on my parents (lol). I definitely have my own savings to fall back on, but I also know that my mom and stepdad would be my real financial safety net.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? If yes, please explain.
Yes - both. This past summer, my mom sold my childhood home (traumatic). The house was in a very competitive and popular New Jersey suburb, and this coupled with the mass covid exodus from NYC into the suburbs means the house sold for $250,000 above asking price. Because my mom felt bad about selling the house(see comments above for context), she gifted me and my brother with $20,000 each into our retirement funds.
In terms of passive income, I have my Fitbit/apple health linked to an app that tracks my health stats and sends me $10 every so often. I figure that enough of my data is out there already that I might as well get paid for some of it. I also received a weekly allowance from age 6 to 17. My allowance correlated with my grade, every year I would get a dollar increase (so 1 dollar in first grade, 2 dollars in second grade, up through 12 dollars senior year of HS). Calling this passive income because I definitely did not do enough chores to earn it, lol.
Day 1: November 11
5:00am: My alarm goes off and despite not sleeping well, I feel wide awake. I’m an (mostly) early riser and try to get up between 5-6am most days. I scroll on my phone for ten minutes before heading into the kitchen to make breakfast. I make coffee with oat milk and grab two healthy(ish) apple/chocolate-chip muffins I baked on Sunday.
6:30am: Breakfast is eaten, coffee is drank and homework is in progress but I stop to get ready for a run. I’ve been a runner for about two years now, and even though it still feels weird and like imposter syndrome to call myself a runner, I’m currently training for my first marathon, which is definitely runner status.
7:00am: I’m lucky enough to live really close to Central Park, so I head there to begin my run. I have a 10 mile run slated for today, and it’s hot and humid so I carry an electrolyte drink with me and sip on my bottle every 3 miles.
9:00am: I’m slow but steady! Run is done and I head back to the apartment where I do a quick ab workout, shower, change, do my makeup and throw a load of laundry in the washer before throwing myself into my bed (which currently serves as my office, classroom, dining room table as well) one minute before my first internship of the day starts
9:30am-12:00pm: Work. This semester, I have two internships: one in the non-profit world and one in the consulting world (two very different fields!). I always thought I would go into non-profit development and I’ve had seven development/fundraising internships thus far, but my operations/sales internship this semester is making me think differently about my post-grad future. Regardless, on Wednesday mornings I’m at my non-profit job, and the morning is spent in meetings and completing some small tasks. At some point I eat some greek yogurt and also switch out my laundry to put in the dryer.
12:10-2pm: I switch gears and log into my virtual class. I front loaded my credits into my first three years of college, so this semester I’m just taking three classes. They meet once a week for two hours a day which is a mental drain to do via Zoom but I still enjoy my classes. Today’s class is my class about protests and social movements - my favorite of the three because I love the professor. She’s a total badass and I signed up for this class because I had taken a class with her last semester and enjoyed her teaching so much. Since I only have ten minutes between work and class, I eat lunch (sesame garlic noodles with kale, cucumber and green onion) for the first few minutes of class with my camera off and then I switch my camera on and participate in the class discussion for the rest of the two hours.
2:30pm: I walk to campus for my weekly covid test. Despite being 100% remote this semester, my school offers a free weekly testing program for all students living near campus. The test takes less than a minute, the swab doesn’t go all the way up my nose, and I really like knowing my testing status (all negative!) each week so I can’t complain.
2:45: On the way back to my apartment, I stop for a post long-run treat, boba. I get a medium lychee slush with bubbles which costs $6.35
3:00pm: Log into my other internship (consulting job). Technically the office is closed for Veterans Day but my boss is working on some time sensitive projects that I need to assist with. Usually I work 3-5, but he only keeps me for an hour. I don’t mind that I had to work today, I get paid hourly so there’s an incentive to log in! I use my freed-up hour to work on some homework
5:15pm: Weekly FaceTime appointment with one of my best friends
6:00pm: I make dinner. I roast a sweet potato and top it with sautéed red onion, kale, tomatoes, as well as half an avocado, a runny egg, hot sauce (#teamchoulula) and everything but the bagel seasoning. I love this meal because it’s easy, healthy, and cheap.
6:00pm-9:00pm: Time waste purgatory, I watch last night’s episode of the Bachelorette (Tayshia!), finally fold and put away my laundry and scroll through Instagram until I dissociate. I also eat a bowl of ice cream.
10pm: Bed!
Daily total: $6.35
Day 2: November 12
5:00am: I wake up and am hit with what my family calls the Covid grumpies. I don’t want to get out of bed, I don’t want to go to work, and once again I’m furious about how shitty my senior year of college is turning out to be. I intermittently snooze my alarm until 8, the absolute latest I can until I have to get ready for the day.
9:00am: Log into my non-profit internship. Get started on an assignment that should have taken 20 minutes but due to the way the document was formatted, takes almost two hours. I shove my prepped muffin and a coffee down my throat in an effort to calm down. It works for about 5 minutes.
11:40: Break from work to walk a few blocks to Whole Foods - I’m making a salad for dinner and realized I forgot to buy lettuce! I also pick up a prepacked, cold white iced tea from the beverage aisle, you know, to help with the covid grumpies. The lettuce and drink together come out to $6
3:00pm: Take another break from work to roast chicken and veggies for the salad tonight. In true covid-grumpy fashion, the veggies come out burned and the chicken is dry. Most of the food is salvageable so I pack up what I can and sadly toss some out.
5:00pm: I sign out of work and do some homework while I wait to get hungry for dinner. I have two major assignments due on Tuesday for different classes. Both assignments are ancillary assignments leading up to my final papers due in both classes. The topic matter of the classes are incredibly similar so I’m writing my final papers on the same topic for both classes. Work smarter, not harder, right? I have an extensive outline due for one class, and a paper draft for the other, so I’m working on the outline first, knowing that will help a lot with getting the draft done. For anyone who cares, I’m writing about the sexual assault against women migrants that happens in US immigration detention centers
6:00pm: I eat my sad, burned salad. It’s fine.
9:00pm: It’s the grey’s anatomy season premiere! I set up camp with one of my roommates in front of the TV.
11pm: Um, WHAT was that ending?! No spoilers but iykyk. It’s completely past my bedtime so I fall asleep shortly after reading after possible season17 theory on the grey’s reddit.
Daily total: $6
Day 3, November 13:
6:00am: Ugh. I roll myself out of bed and plop myself in front of my computer to get some readings done.
8:00am: Breakfast and some Netflix. I have the same breakfast as the past two days while watching the docu-series Immigrant Nation on Netflix. It’s infuriating but an important watch.
8:30am: I remember that it’s payday and check my bank account! For my consulting internship I usually get paid on the 15th and last day of the month, but since the 15th falls on a Sunday, I get paid today. I also get my under-the-table stipend deposited today too, score. My hours for my consulting job always change a little week-to-week, and this week was weird with Veteran’s Day, but I’m pleasantly surprised to see my paycheck from them is $645.53, which is higher than what I was expecting.
9:00am: Log onto consulting work. Today I’m asking my boss if I can extend my internship into the spring, and I’m so nervous. I’ve never asked for an internship extension before but I remind myself that I’ll never progress in a career if I can’t stick up for myself.
11:00am: I’ve been working and now it’s time to message my boss asking for a meeting. I rewrite the message a bunch of times and settle on a brief message asking if he can set aside 20 minutes to talk about my time at the company since my internship is almost over. He responds immediately and tells me to put some time on his calendar this afternoon. I take it as a good sign that he didn’t immediately shoot me down.
1:00pm: Sad burned salad leftovers.
2:00pm: I get on the call with my boss and spit out a speech about how much I’ve enjoyed my time so far and how I think my boss and I communicate well and that I can see myself as an asset to the team as they continue to work given how much I’ve come to work on. My boss says that he agrees with what I’ve said, and that he wasn’t fully sure on intern protocols for the spring so he can’t really do much now. Still, we chat about what time commitment I might be able to make to the company in next semester and he says that he’ll reach out to the intern coordinator to ask about what happens next. I leave the call feeling proud of myself for speaking up and asking for what I want, and stressssed as hell about what happens next.
2:45: The intern coordinator messages me asking if I have time on Monday to “check-in.” We set a time to talk on Monday and I feel even more stressed now! I assume this is probably a positive thing, because if they weren’t going to hire me again, she would have told my boss to pass that message on to me, but still. “Check-in” is so vague.
4:00pm: I get an email from my college saying that my spring semester bill is uploaded and ready to be paid. I get a little gut check that this is my last semester. I never expected to feel sentimental about a large tuition bill, but it’s a reminder that college is fleeting.
4:15pm: Still in my feels, I get an email from my mom confirming that her half of my college bill has been paid. My parents split the entirety of my tuition equally, a gift that I cannot express my gratitude for. I feel especially proud of my mom, who was a single mom for the majority of my life, who saved up MORE than the entirety of my tuition to make sure I never had to take out loans. I text her about how I feel like I blinked and now I’m done with college essentially.
5:00pm: Bossman tells me to sign out and enjoy my weekend, so I head out on a run. I do an easy five miles, and enjoy watching the lights come on in different buildings as I lap Central Park.
6:00pm: Do a quick 20 minute arm workout and then make pasta. I always eat pasta with veggies mixed on on Fridays, it’s my superstitious pre-Saturday long run tradition. Since I have such a long run planned tomorrow, I eat a few pieces of sourdough bread too.
8:00pm: I shower and wash my hair. After, I sit down to make some more progress on this outline, which has been nagging me all day.
10:00pm: Still not done with homework, but cie la vie. It’s time for bed!
Daily total: $0
Day 4, November 14:
6:30am: I drag myself out of bed and into the kitchen where I make a bowl of oatmeal with a healthy dollop of both peanut butter and Nutella. Also a cup of coffee, but that’s obvious. I watch some random YouTube videos while I eat and then take notes on another reading
8:30am: I head out to the park with my packed running vest. It’s Saturday long run, baby!
1:00pm: 20. Freaking. Miles. Done. Easily the hardest run I’ve ever had (and the longest - the most miles I’ve done up until now was 16). I knew it was going to be tough when my legs started feeling seriously fatigued a quarter of a mile in. I thought I would be done closer to 12, and my total moving time would have got me there, but I had so many moments of just stopping my watch and telling myself I was done and then talking myself back into not quitting. I ran, jogged, walked and dragged myself those 20 miles, and I feel seriously proud of myself.
1:30pm: No rest for the weary. After a quick and much needed shower, I get dressed and walk about 15 blocks to Trader Joes. This location is tough because it’s walkable but just far enough to be kind of a trek, but not long enough to justify taking public transit. The TJs line moves quickly and I get into the store about 20 minutes after getting in line. I buy a bunch of staples for my meals this week: red lentils, kale, avocado, more pasta, a few frozen meals (super convenient for the days where I only have 10 minutes between work and class), fruit, etc. I also manage to grab the last pint of the candy cane Joe-joe ice cream, a huge victory considering it was sold out every.single.time. I checked last year. I put the groceries on my debit card linked to my “college life” account and the total comes to $36.
3:00pm: On the walk back from TJs, I stop by a liquor store to pick up a bottle of champagne. I wanted to get my mom a thank you acknowledgement of the last college payment. I’ll also get a bottle for my dad, but I’m not seeing him until Thanksgiving and I’m seeing my mom tomorrow, so I keep it to one bottle for now. I pick up a slightly smaller bottle of Veuve Cliquot (they were all out of the regular sized bottles) and wince as the cashier rings the bottle up. I remind myself that if my mom can drop $120K on her share alone for school, I can drop almost $40 on a bottle to thank her. I don’t get carded, which bums me out because I only recently turned 21 and I love getting to saunter up and use my real license as ID knowing that my days of searching out sus corner stores that’ll take a fake are over. $38
3:00pm: Home and unpacked groceries, eating a frozen lamb vindaloo I got from TJs for lunch. I never get hungry after long runs but I know I need to eat and I like that this has guaranteed protein and carbs
6:00pm: I order dinner. I usually always get takeout on the weekends. That’s definitely my biggest financial splurge. I don’t love cooking and so not having to worry about dinners on Saturday and Sunday is huge for me. I order grilled beef pho and boiled pork dumplings from a local Vietnamese place and price compare between UberEats and Postmates for the cheaper price. Ubereats wins out. I tip 25% for the delivery person, and with tip, the order comes to $36 (what’s with all of these $36s today?!). Expensive, but hey, it was payday yesterday.. $36
11:00pm: Spent the rest of the night goofing off online, but now it’s time for bed.
Daily total: $110
Day 5, November 15:
8:45am: I slept in! I feel great, I definitely needed that sleep. While I’m still groggy enough to talk myself into it, I roll over, grab my laptop and bang out two pages of my paper. Once that’s done, I eat a breakfast muffin and start getting dressed and ready for the day.
9:45am: I head out and walk the 40 blocks to brunch with mom. It’s a beautiful, windy day out and the fresh air feels good. On the way, I stop at a street cart for a cup of coffee. The coffee is $1.25 but I give him two dollars in cash and tell him to keep the change. I find myself a bit more generous with tips when I’m paying in cash, because I use my debit card for almost everything, cash has a bit of a “play money” feeling to me - I don’t count it in my accounts so spending cash feels less consequential. $2
10:30am: Meet up with mom! We weren’t planning on drinking but… we order two rounds of apple cider bellinis. I have French toast, mom has eggs and we talk for three hours. The restaurant is slow today so the waitress tells us there’s no rush (we checked with her a few times to make sure we weren’t holding a table!). Mom pays and the total was around $70.
1:30pm: Head back uptown on the bus. My stepdad’s job gives employees a crap ton of metro cards (not sure how the system really works but he just gets piles of cards at a time with amounts ranging from $30-90 on them), but he likes to walk to work. I’m so incredibly fortunate that he gives me all of his metro cards. Not having to pay for any public transit fare for the past 4 years has been a huge privilege. I usually give metro cards to my friends as well, but since no one is in the city, I have a huge backlog right now. A woman on the bus asks for a swipe, so I give her a metro card I know is new and has $ on it.
2:00pm: Back at my apartment, changed into comfy clothes and doing laundry and homework.
6:00pm: I’ve mostly been relaxing this afternoon but now it’s time for dinner. I have a $5 off coupon at dig inn, and I had planned to go there, but I’m really craving Mexican food now. I spent way too long looking at all the places on Seamless/Postmates/UberEats and am just about to checkout on a pricy Seamless order before I talk some sense into my self about how spending $25 on takeout when I don’t even fully know what I want to eat is absurd. I close out my cart and order from dig inn instead. I get a chicken bowl with veggies for $7, which is way less hurt to my wallet. I nearly get blown over by the hurricane-grade winds on my walk to pick up dinner. $7
8:00pm: Shower, get ready and organized for the week, relax until bed
10:00pm: Lights out!
Daily total: $9
Day 6, November 16:
6:00am: I wake up and simply don’t have it in me to go for a run. Instead, I do homework (it’s literally never ending) and drink coffee under the blankets. I also eat an multigrain English muffin with peanut butter and cinnamon — switching it up this week
9:00am: Work at my consulting internship today. Busy busy. I have various assignments that keep me occupied the entire morning.
1:00pm: Break for lunch. I have another loaded roast sweet potato, topped with avocado, kale, corn, onion and hot sauce. I get some homework done, but not enough.
2:00pm: I sit in on my team’s weekly meeting and take notes for my boss.
3:30pm: I have a meeting with the intern coordinator. It goes really well! I get an unofficial offer to stay on for next semester, and she tells me to keep an eye out for an official offer letter next week. I get off the call and jump around my room, and then obviously text my mom immediately to tell her the good news.
5:30pm: Work runs over, but I have to log off now because I have a meeting. I’m on the senior class fundraising committee for my college, and we have meetings every Monday night. I multitask during the meeting and finally, finally manage to finish my paper. I send it off to my professor.
6:15pm: Dinner, thank god. I copped out and made a bag of TJs cauliflower gnocchi drizzled with a little olive oil and EBTB seasoning. It’s… fine. I also smash the rest of the peppermint Joe joes ice cream.
8:00pm: I realize that the necklace from Catbird I’ve been wanting for months is back in stock, and text my mom about it. She had offered to buy it for me as a birthday present (back in September) but the necklace had been out of stock for MONTHS, and so I tell her that I’m happy to just have it be a Christmas present instead if she doesn’t want to spend any more money on b-day stuff. She tells me to go ahead and count it as birthday present, what a homie. For those Catbird enthusiasts out there, I got their signature gold key necklace and the adjustable chain. I have the option to get it engraved, and I go with the message I’d been planning since I finally accepted my family would be selling my childhood home and moving away: the telephone area code of my hometown. It feels like a perfect way to have a little piece of home with me and I love the symbolism of the code on the key. I have a 10% off coupon (from when Catbird mistakenly sent out an email saying the necklace was back in stock when it wasn’t) and the total comes to $206. I’m so excited about my new jewelry! Almost everything I wear on a daily basis comes from catbird (I’m a jewelry minimalist and love little tiny sparkly things that I can put on and then never have to think about again), and this necklace really rounds out my collection.
10:00pm: Bed!
Daily total: $0
Day 7, November 17:
6:00am: Another day of waking up with little motivation to get out of bed. My room is shafted and so no matter when I wake up, it’s pitch black outside. That coupled with the dropping temps makes it way hard to escape my blanket cave. I decide to give myself a chill morning and watch netflix until I have to get ready for the day. Breakfast is coffee and the same English muffin combo as yesterday.
9:00am: Sign into consulting work again. It’s a weird day where I have a lot of assignments, but none are particularly pressing or time sensitive. I press through and get them done, albeit slowly.
12:00pm: Sign off work and make the fastest avocado toast topped with an egg. I have class in 10 minutes!
12:10pm: Sign into my first class and eat my lunch, then switch my camera on. This class is a senior seminar for the political science major. The class looks at im/migration through a international human rights framework. Today we’re talking about deportation.
2:00pm: Class ends and I grab a banana before heading into my next class.
2:10pm: This class looks at the gendered aspects of immigration (Didn’t plan on taking two immigration-related classes back to back, but it actually works really well!). By the ever-loving grace of god, my professor decides to end class after only 20 minutes (usually this class is two hours)
3:30pm: After relaxing for a bit, I head out for a run. It’s COLD but the sunset over Central Park is unreal. I stop a few times during the six miles to take pictures of the sky.
5:00pm: Home. I do a quick butt workout and then head into the kitchen to make dinner. I make a double batch of pasta (always thinking about lunch leftovers) mixed with sautéed broccoli, peas and kale. I add in an easy sesame garlic sauce and also crack open a can of sparking apple juice.
6:00pm: While I eat, I debate buying a set of Tiffany’s martini glasses for my new apartment. I just signed a 12 lease on the most perfect apartment EVER - a true one bedroom on the UWS, with incredible views of the city, TWO giant closets in the bedroom plus an additional coat closet, brand new kitchen appliances, in a doorperson building with laundry and gym in building. We (by we I mean my stepdad) negotiated rent down from $2,300 to $1,760. My parents will pay my rent through may as this is technically my college housing, and I’ll pick up the rent payments once I graduate.
I received a set of four Tiffany’s wine glasses for my birthday, and I feel like 2 martini glasses would be perfectly kitschy to add to my collection, but $60 for two glasses is not an insignificant price. I go back and forth on the matter for nearly 30 minutes, and have my card out ready to make the purchase before quickly shutting down the page. I have a lot of anxiety around spending money on things I don’t need and have a hard time with the idea of buying something just because I want it - I was brought up with the idea that if you don’t budget or plan for something, it shouldn’t be bought. I’m working through this money anxiety, but for now I decide that these glasses would be a good Christmas present to ask for.
10:00pm: Couldn’t tell ya what happened between 6 and now. I showered, ate candy, watched tv? Anyway, it’s time to sleep, I’m tired!
Daily total: $0
Weekly total: $131
Reflection: I think this reflects a pretty accurate week of spending for me, though it can vary depending on weeks where I buy more non-essentials. For example, I definitely need some more cold weather running gear, so this week I’ll probably drop some $ on hats, gloves, better jackets. I have a lot of anxiety around making these non-essential purchases though so I tend to talk myself out of spending money on things I want because I’m super scared that I won’t find a job and will need to rely on my savings for a while. I wanted to write this MD to document the weirdest, busiest semester of college so far and am happy to answer any questions about my financial relationship with my parents, my savings philosophies, etc!

Lenovo Yoga Book C930 is a great(-ish) Windows 10 eink laptop and tablet

All you idiots who love to buy cursed items on the internet

We had agreed to meet at the Smitty’s at Westbrook mall, which was kind of old and seedy but usually abandoned by 8pm. As promised, I waited in a booth by the huge fishtank in the middle of the restaurant. Blue and yellow cichlids eyed me hungrily while I sipped my coffee and waited.
LInda came and sat across from me in the booth. We exchanged a smile and a hello. I feel like world events have left me very socially awkward lately; I’m out of practice with the niceties.
“How are you holding up?” I asked her.
“I’m alright,” she said with a shrug. It was obviously a lie, meant to be polite. She was tired. Her black hair was usually smooth and straight but it was unbrushed now. She had dark circles under her eyes. She fidgeted. “How are you?” she asked.
“Every day I wake up feeling like I’ve been run over by a freight train. I have my coffee maker set to brew a pot every morning at 8:03, and it’s the only thing that can give me the impetus to crawl out of bed. If the power ever fails or I forget to set the coffeemaker, I will probably just lie there. I’ll probably piss the bed rather than get up. They will likely find my corpse withered and cold, lying in my own stale piss, and label my cause of death ‘no damn good reason’ or ‘gave up on life.’ And to be perfectly honest, I feel pretty good about that. It probably won’t happen. It’s kind of like winning the lottery though; I’ll have no more bills to worry about.”
I sighed. “Actually, all in all, I’ve been improving. Believe it or not. Still rough though.”
The waitress was hovering over us, obviously eavesdropping unintentionally. Without asking, she topped up my coffee, then offered some to Linda, who declined. She left two menus for us and went back to the kitchen.
“Michael, you’ve got to look after yourself,” she chided me. “I’ve been doing fitness routines in my basement with some makeshift equipment. Ordered a stand off of ebay, clipped it to my bike, and now I can use it indoors.”
“Why not just go for a ride outside? It’s beautiful out lately.”
“I’m having… trouble with sunlight. You know how it goes.”
“I suppose I do.” I don’t, but I didn’t want to argue. Linda’s got a condition, something like mine. Sometimes reality and her perception of it don’t line up so well.
Linda browsed the menu of reheatable garbage. I fidgeted with the pendant that I’d been keeping around my neck lately for luck. The cichlids continued to eye us up.
The waitress returned, and eyed us both warily.
“What can I get for you two?”
“I’ll have the bacon and egg french toast. Sunny side up.”
“I’ll just have the cheesecake,” I muttered. “And a refill, please.”
The waitress took our menus and wandered off again.
There was a long, quiet pause. I took a noisy sip of my coffee.
“How’s Dan?” she asked.
“Who? You mean Derek? My boyfriend? We’re doing okay. We went to a trade show last week.” I shrugged. “It was boring.”
“Sorry- Derek, yeah. I met him that one time. He seemed like a really nice guy. Really… genuine.”
“The funny thing about people who seem genuine is, they’re either truly genuine people or absolutely emotionally disconnected sociopaths who get really good at faking it.”
“Is Derek a sociopath?” She asked, alarmed.
“Nah. I don’t think so. I mean, he’d have moved on from a loser like me.”
“You’re not a loser.”
“Oh, I’m fine with it. I think of myself as an accomplished, professional loser. Really, I’ve made my peace with it. Last week, I was pretty sure that the neighbour across the road was getting obsessed with my driveway lights.”
“How does that-”
“Turns out he was bothered by them because they kept turning on at night and shining in his bedroom window.”
“Oh… okay.”
There was another long silence. I touched the glass of the aquarium, and a large cluster of cichlids swam towards my finger. She smiled.
“I know the guy who comes to clean the tank every other wednesday,” she said.
The waitress showed up with our food. The cheesecake was disappointing; it wasn’t the glistening three-inch high beauty in the photo on the menu. It was flat, stale, and topped with a dollop of what looked like cheap raspberry jam. At least she topped up my coffee.
Linda dug into her french toast. I’ve never been a fan of breakfast for dinner. Not a fan of eggs, either. I kept my eyes diverted; watching people eat was bad enough, let alone eat runny egg yolks.
She quickly got through about half of her plate before suddenly stopping and pushing it aside. Her expression suddenly became nervous and uncomfortable.
“I was here last wednesday when the aquarium guy was in, cleaning the tank. It’s quite a process. The fish seem to know him, and they all come swimming up to meet him because they know he’s going to give them treats. It’s really cute. He has this big long hose he uses to siphon some of the water out, and then he hooks it up to the tap in the maintenance closet to top up the tank.”
“Okay,” I said. I took a slurp of my coffee. I wasn’t sure where she was going with this.
“He told me the strangest story. He said that once a week he goes to the shop on the east side of town to stock up on all his supplies. He said that the last time he went, his boss was there waiting. He had a plastic box- a big aquarium filter, the kind that goes under the aquarium stand. I think it’s called a canister filter. His boss gave it to him and told him to take it home, hide it somewhere, and never open it.”
“That’s weird. Why would he say that?”
“Dunno. But he does what his boss says. It’s full of water, too, and it’s a couple of gallons big, plus whatever stuff you put in a filter to clean the water. So it’s heavy. But he does what his boss says, he takes it home and puts it in a corner of his basement and kind of forgets about it.”
I pushed the last couple of bites of cheesecake around my plate. I’m usually of the opinion that even bad cheesecake is still cheesecake, but this stuff is especially bad.
I realize Linda is looking at me expectedly.
“So?”
“So… he was telling me that weird stuff started happening. Around his house. He started seeing things out of the corner of his eye. Stuff started moving around. He heard weird noises but when he went to look, nothing was there.”
“So the aquarium thingy is haunted?”
She shrugged. “He seemed to think so.”
“I don’t know where you’re going with this.”
“Michael… I need you to take the box from me.”
I blinked and stared at her blankly.
“You have the box now?”
“He gave it to me. I had to help, he was desperate.”
“And now you want me to have it? Why? I don’t want some stinky old fishtank filter.”
She reached over and fiddled with something. I realized that the aquarium was sitting on a huge cabinet, and she was opening it.
Awkwardly, she pulled the aquarium filter from the cabinet.
“Jesus, Linda. You can’t just pull that out of there. That’s part of the-”
“It’s not from this aquarium, Michael. I told you. This is the one the fish guy gave me.”
“Why was it down there, then?”
“I kept it here, to give to you tonight.”
“I dunno. This isn’t making a lot of sense. I don’t think I want anything to do with it.”
“You have to,” she pleaded. She was on the verge of tears. She set the plastic box down on the table between us, and I could see water sloshing around inside it.
“It’s a goddamn aquarium filter. Where did you even get it? Did you take it from that poor guy? Tell me the truth, Linda!”
“I am, Michael. It’s the real deal. You have to take it, you just have to. Take it now, go and run and take it home. I’ll pay for everything. Quick, before the waitress comes back and sees. Just go.”
I’m not easily influenced by hysterics or tears, but in this instance I felt really put on the spot. I dropped my fork noisily on my plate, grunted rudely, and lifted the filter. It was surprisingly heavy. It had an electrical cord sticking out of it, which I wrapped around my arm to prevent tripping over it.
“You owe me bigtime for this, Linda. You and I are going to sort this all out later.”
She nodded tearfully, and smiled. “Thank you so much, Michael.”
I got up and rushed out awkwardly with the heavy box, throwing the glass door of the restaurant open with my shoulder. I tucked the box away on the passenger’s side seat of my car, and drove off into the setting sun with it. As I took off down Glenmore Trail I could hear it sloshing around, and I prayed it wouldn’t get months-old fermented fish shit into the carpet or upholstery.
Once I got home to my apartment, I set the stupid plastic box on the kitchen table and had a good look at it. It had a lid that attached with hinged clasps to the main body of the filter, and two short tubes emerging from the top that presumably were supposed to attach to the hoses that led into the fishtank.
It didn’t smell, despite the brownish particles sloshing and settling to the bottom inside. I figured it must be well-sealed or else it would leak everywhere. There was definitely no way I was opening it, though.
Now what? I poured myself a short glass of whiskey and stared at the thing while I sipped. God knows where Linda got it. She didn’t have the best grip on reality; maybe she’d stolen it? Or maybe the aquarium guy had given it to her like she said, but why were they tossing it around like a hot potato?
I left it there on the table and went to bed.
I didn’t sleep well. Not at all.
Like many people with my… “condition,” I’m prone to sleep problems. I’ve had nightmares, cold sweats, sleepwalking, insomnia, you name it. The very worst though, is the sleep paralysis.
Unlike most people, I usually don’t have the visual hallucinations. Not with sleep paralysis, anyways. Usually I just wake up suddenly in the middle of the night, unable to move, and feel indescribably bleak terror. It’s funny, knowing you are about to die by being torn apart limb from limb, but you can’t even see your attacker. Usually I imagine she is hiding behind my headboard. In the dark, I know her terrible sharp fingers are moving towards me. If you’ve ever had this experience, you know exactly who she is. Although you’ve probably encountered her sitting on your chest, holding you down, pushing the breath out of you.
I’m one of the lucky ones, who have experienced sleep paralysis so many times that it’s not really all that scary anymore. There’s the sudden waking, the panic, the adrenaline, the terror, and then the sudden thought bursting through:
Oh, this again.
It’s like I found the intersection between sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming. I know the mental state I’m in, and I’m in control. I still feel the adrenaline coursing through me, but my mind is calm. I know it won’t last. I know that the experience is playing out in my brain, some sort of ancient glitch in the human software that is ultimately harmless.
So I lay there, in the dark, waiting. I experimentally moved my lips, feeling the motor control slowly returning to my body. I knew that whatever primal part of the human psyche invented her, she wasn’t real, and she couldn’t hurt me.
She wasn’t here though. I suddenly became aware of the weight on my chest, precariously balanced on my ribcage. I looked down to see that damned aquarium filter sitting there, sloshing around.
“Fuh,” I gasped, still not in control of my body enough to speak properly. “Guf fuhhig dabbed Libuh.”
Well, now I couldn’t move until I was coordinated enough to grab the thing and keep it from toppling over. If it popped open and spilled in my bed, I would probably have to replace the mattress.
I heard a clack, a noise like a plastic mechanism snapping open. I watched as the clasps on the lid of the filter lifted themselves. When they were all raised it looked sort of like a dead insect with its legs in the air.
Then there was an obscene gurgling sound, like a corpse slowly letting out decomposition gases. The lid of the filter lifted.
The stench was indescribable. I’d encountered dead and rotting things before, but never anything like this. It was like a swamp full of putrefying trout and raw sewage. I felt bile rising in my stomach and panicked, realizing that I couldn’t even move enough to turn over and puke. If I threw up right now I could drown. With pure force of will I kept my stomach stable.
Something moved inside the filter. I couldn’t see what it was, just that had suddenly stirred up the sediment. It had to be something alive.
A blue tentacle, coated in brown slime, emerged over the edge of the box. It squirmed its way down the side, followed by two more tentacles. I could see pale little suckers on them; it had to be an octopus or squid.
The tentacles slid their way down the box, and I could feel them touch my bare chest. The cold, slimy suckers explored my skin and worked their way up towards my neck.
“Uhhh… no. Fuh no. Geh uff.” My brain sent waves of signals to my arms, but they just lay their limply. Finally I could feel the tips of my fingers twitch.
I couldn’t see, but I could feel one of the tentacles make its way up my neck and over my chin. It snapped back, seemingly startled by the texture of my three-day stubble. Then it continued, making its way up to my lips. I tried to clamp my mouth shut, but didn’t yet have the strength. It pushed past my closed lips and into my mouth.
I felt tears run down the sides of my face and it slid into my mouth. I could feel it’s suckers on my tongue, taste the fishtank sewage it was coated in. It stretched out and tickled the back of my throat, and now I knew there was no chance I could hold back the vomit.
Just in time, my brain reconnected to my muscles. I sat up bolt upright as the acids of my stomach shot forth and coated the blanket at my lap. I heaved and heaved, and my throat burned like I’d been swallowing glass. Finally my stomach settled down into a series of painful hiccups.
I looked down at the bed. The filter box was gone, and the only smell now was the contents of my stomach.
I threw the bedding into the washer, had a hot shower, remade the bed, and settled back in as I saw the first light of dawn rising. I sighed, shut the blinds, and reset my alarm for an extra hour.
It was a shitty day at work, on top of having an already shitty job. I’ll be honest, I work in the produce department at a nearby grocery store. I find it degrading work at the best of times, but during the pandemic it got much worse. I watched people cough and sneeze without masks, then handle all the fruits and vegetables and set them right back down for someone else to grab. People got right up in my face making demands, ignoring rules about distance and safety. Three different people commented on the dark circles under my eyes. Several times that day I wished that the pandemic would just hurry up and wipe us all out.
At home I showered and slumped down on the couch, flicking mindlessly through Netflix, trying to dull the ache in my heart. I wiped away a tear that rolled randomly down my cheek.
Then I glanced over and saw the box again. I’d been thinking about it all day. It sat there, still firmly sealed, still festering away inside. I stared at it for a long time, ignoring the Tiger King.
“Hey Michael.”
I must have nodded off on the couch, because I woke with a start when I heard a voice whisper behind me. I snapped around too look, but all I saw was the filter box sitting there on the kitchen table. I swear I saw something inside it move, but when I looked again the murky water was still.
I decided to set up the coffeemaker and go to bed early. Lying there in bed, I texted back and forth with Derek, told him about my awful sleep and my depressing day. He had a way of cheering me up, or at least making me feel like I was okay despite my mood issues. I felt sleepy, like my whole body was heavy and ready to sink down into my mattress. Derek said he was tired and said goodnight, and I wished him pleasant dreams.
I glanced at the time and saw that it was already 11:30pm. I realized I’d been fighting to stay awake. I put my phone aside and popped back my nighttime meds, and lay there in the dark.
I must have been ignoring the sensation by distracting myself with my phone, but now it hit me full-on. I felt like I was being watched. My eyes darted around the dark room, searching the corners and the closet for another pair of eyes looking back at me.
I must have passed out like that, and surprisingly I had good dreams that night. I had that dream where you’re walking down the street minding your own business, and you see fish swimming through the air. They made me a bit uneasy, but I let a school of goldfish nibble at my fingers with their soft little pursed lips. I remember giggling because it tickled. I remember the flash of their scales, their wide curious eyes. I haven’t had good dreams since.
At 8:03 I woke to the sound of the coffee pot gurgling, letting me know it was time to wake up and force myself through the day like a square peg through a round hole.
I still felt like I was being watched as I got ready for work. I thought about the metal sink in the kitchen, about radio waves interacting through unexpected metal items, about steel skull plates and orthodontic gear picking up radio stations. I thought about frequencies and resonance and signals and noise. As I ran the water to clean out my coffee cup, I swear I heard whispers in the stream from the tap.
“Hey Michael… you have… making the cadence of the… when the clasps… you’ll have fun… never going to… Michael…”
I turned the tap off and set the coffee cup in the drying rack. I had an urge, a difficult one to fight.
In Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, I learned a lot of things, but I don’t remember the specific terms or patterns. I remember the root concepts, though: my brain lies to me. It does it all the time. There are malfunctions going on all over the place, in the lump of fat tucked away in my skull. I have the choice to override them, if I keep calm and work my way past them. I knew that urges like these weren’t rooted in good thinking.
That doesn’t mean that they’re bad ideas, though.
I decided to give in and look for the eyeball down the drain in my kitchen sink. I leaned over and squinted down that dark metal tube. I knew that it didn’t matter whether I saw one or not, it couldn’t possibly be real.
The huge, cold, unblinking eye of a fish stared back. I yelped in surprise and jumped back, knocking over the drying rack and sending my coffee cup to the linoleum to shatter. I forced myself to stop and catch my breath, to react carefully and thoughtfully. I tried to pull on the therapy-trained part of my brain and remember mindfulness, deep breathing, grounding in reality, but instead I saw my hands reach under the sink for the bottle of bleach.
I poured the contents of the entire bottle down the drain, right on top of that fish eye. It wasn't a particularly sane or thoughtful reaction, but it brought me immense relief. I thought I heard some sort of hissing noise from the drain, but I ignored it.
I cleaned it all up and went to work, where I couldn’t stop thinking about the fishtank filter or the eyeball in the drain all day. I felt numb to the rude and angry customers. I forgot to eat my lunch, just worked right through it, like I was on autopilot. When the end of my shift approached I dreaded going back home.
Outside my apartment door, I stood for a moment, sort of frozen. I felt like I was in sleep paralysis, but now I was awake and I knew I could move again when I reached deep inside myself and found the motivation. I cringed as I saw my hand finally reach for the doorknob.
Inside, I found everything like I’d left it in the morning. I’m not sure why that was surprising. I made a cup of coffee with my little French press, and sat down at the kitchen table with the filter box.
It was difficult to think clearly at the best of times. Right now, I was struggling. I’d been taught how to reason my way around my own mind and it’s distortions, but I knew that there were limits. I wondered if I should call my psychiatrist, get my medications changed around, talk to a therapist again. I was doing so recently, staying relatively stable, getting close to ‘normal’ again. Until a few days ago. Until… this damned box. Damnit, I’d been hovering at about a 4 out of 10, crawling my way back up out of this depression. Now I was slipping backwards.
I was so deep inside my own mind that when I reached for my coffee, I ended up knocking it over and spilling all over the kitchen table. I cursed as I reached for some paper towel and began sopping up the mess.
Some of the coffee had spilled under the filter, so I had to tip it at an angle to wipe underneath it. When I did that, I noticed something strange. There was some sort of marking on the bottom of it. I tipped it further and leaned over to see. Someone had written on the bottom of the filter in sharpie:
THE ONLY WAY TO GET RID OF IT IS TO PASS IT ON
I picked up my phone and called Linda. I had to figure out what was going on, to try and settle things somehow.
“Hello?”
“Hi Linda. It’s Michael. How are you doing?”
“I’m doing well, actually. How have you been?” She sounded well, too. She sounded lucid and alert again.
I shrugged. I have a habit of using gestures on the phone even though nobody can see them.
“Uh… last few days have been rough.” I cleared my throat. “But you’re doing okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, actually, things have been looking up. I think the medication change I had recently has been working well for me. Sorry to hear you haven’t been doing well.”
“Yeah… I’ve been having problems ever since you gave me that filter thing.”
There was a pause on the phone. Linda took a deep breath.
“Oh. That thing.”
“Yeah. Tell me about that thing, Linda,” I snapped.
“Well, it’s kind of embarrassing. I don’t know why I was so fixated on that filter. I think I kind of let it get to me, got wrapped up in what I thought it was. Maybe getting rid of it was what helped me, in a psychosomatic kind of way.”
“What did you think it was, Linda?”
She chuckled. “I guess I thought it was cursed or something. It’s kind of embarrassing to look back at now. I thought it was getting into my brain somehow, making all of my symptoms worse. But honestly, it’s just some old aquarium filter. I don’t know why the fish guy gave it to me in the first place, maybe he was trying to get me into the hobby.”
“You know exactly what you did, Linda.” I hung up the phone. God, I hate modern phones with their little virtual buttons. I miss slamming an old heavy plastic behemoth down on its cradle. I miss that satisfaction.
I stared at the filter again, then turned away and tried not to think about it. It’s hard, when you’re brain’s in a bad place, to remember good times when you were stable and happy. I tried to remember the last time Derek and I went camping, about the last time I went to the movies, about hiking in the mountains and visiting the science museum and all the things that brought me joy. I tried to grasp on to that tenuous feeling.
I looked back at the filter. I needed out. I needed to get rid of this thing. I couldn’t just destroy it or chuck it in the woods, somewhere deep in my stomach I knew that it wouldn’t work. I need to pass it on to somebody else.
So… $100 if you pick up, $120 for me to deliver anywhere in a two-hour drive. I’m not shipping the damn thing, it’s heavy and if it breaks open it’ll probably spark a new pandemic. All you idiots who love to buy cursed items on the internet: what do you think of this?

Bought a fixer upper. This is 2 years later. Multiple albums included.

Hi all,
First off, this is a very long read due to the sheer size of the job so sorry for any formatting issue’s as im posting from mobile. Secondly, i hope this post contains enough information to keep the mods happy. I will try and breakdown each album to give enough information of how the work was completed. There was a lot of other work completed but i feel these are the best parts.
Location: UK
Cost breakdown:
House: £184k
Total spent: £35k
Ive broken it down into 5 sections:
1: Living Room, Kitchen & Driveway
2: Bannister
3: Kitchen tiling
4: Under stair dog bed
5: Garden
I wanted to post this to show everyone that they can do this. Yes i had a pretty large budget, but i also completed a large amount of work myself. This house has been 5 hard years in the making. I worked my arse off, saved hard and was self taught for anything i could possibly do to keep the cost down. Multiple sections of this job were completed by professionals, this is either due to the sheer size of the job or the legalities of installing (such as gas safe, electricals etc). I managed to buy my first home made extra payments and with the increase in value was able to sell that at a profit to allow the funds for this house. Everything bought was bought to last and i tried to purchase top quality products as to not need to replace them for the foreseeable future. I want to concentrate on building a family in this home and actually enjoying it rather than worrying about repairs.
If you have any questions ill happily try to answer, hopefully everything you could need will be in this post!
1: Living room, kitchen and driveway:
https://imgur.com/a/x3F2SPi
So from the photos you can see the house looks ok, however it was in complete disrepair. The house was a previous rental that was never looked after with multiple issues throughout.
Starting off you have the kitchen to the right, living room at the back of the property and a room located at the back left behind the garage.
Our plan was always open living, we planned to take the 2 walls down and open up the living space. The SO’s dad works in the building industry (mainly steel work and installing RSJ’s) which was lucky. We did get a quote for an install which was around the £200 mark, however that was suppling the RSJ ourself. However on closer inspection we noticed the supporting beams ran horizontal to the house rather than vertically. I was told this meant the roof would be supported without an RSJ (always get a professional opinion).
So we started by ripping the walls down, simply took a shovel and a hammer to the wall, smashing away until we had removed both wall sections. Taking our time around the connecting sections to not destroy any beams and wall we wanted to keep. This was probably the most fun i had on the entire job, who doesn’t love smashing things up.
We then removed the kitchen, along with the ceramic floor tiles and fire place. We wanted all the walls bare and taken back to brick so we could have them spray plastered. We had the boiler inspected and this was immediately condemned as it was leaking into the house (always check your boilers guys)! This boiler was still kicking but around 20 years old so it had out lived its life!
We removed the electric fireplace which broke in the process which was a shame as it was marble framed. You dont need any licences for electric fireplace removal in the UK.
We had electrics installed throughout the whole house at a cost of £2000.
We then had a company come in and spray plaster the entire room, this cost £2000 but was a risk as we’d never heard of it before and they were new to the industry. If you have spray plasteres in your area its definitely worth checking them out. The entire room was done within 2 days, 1 day of spraying and 1 day for any corrections. We then painted straight over it.
The floor was very uneven due to it being 2 separate rooms. We bought self levelling cement, installed that and left it to dry overnight. Ive included a time lapse below:
https://streamable.com/x3mdg8
Simply used a drill with a paddle mixer.
The kitchen was purchased from Wren Kitchens, they came out and measured up, total cost £4500. They wanted another £4000 for install however we did that ourselves by watching videos on youtube. I had to get a professional in for the counter tops and that cost me £300 (big saving there). The SO wanted a modern look mixing the older cabinet look with a modern grey colour. She opted for white walls to contrast with the dark kitchen and make the room feel bigger with the lighter colours.
The flooring cost around £1000 and is probably the easiest thing i did. Its a simple push and clip in, just used a floor fitting kit £9 from screwfix and electric saw to cut the boards.
The window and front door were professionally replaced as thats not something i could do or wanted to risk doing. The old windows were failing and we didn’t like the style as it made us feel like we were in a prison.
We had central heating professionally installed as you need to be gas registered in the UK to install a boiler. We used a small local company and the total cost was £4500. The boiler alone was £1800 as we opted for a 38KW Combi boiler with a 10 year warranty.
The driveway was professionally installed, required tools i didn’t have and a digger, i probably could have done this myself, however its something i wanted done right. The garage door we painted to match the front door.
Added surprises:
The back room smelt like dogs had been pee’ing in there all the time, it stunk to high heaven and was still damp when we removed it.
The waste pipe had a crack in the ceramic meaning we had to fix that, some rubber bungs and new pipe later and it was sweet. However, chipping away at piss soaked cement was horrible. We installed a new wooden frame around it and plaster boarded that ready for plastering.
2: Bannister:
https://imgur.com/a/YSQ4KCU
Ill start by saying, i hated this job and everything about it. Ive promised myself never to do another bannister again however im glad i did it and the comments we get on it are definitely worth the work.
We started off by ripping out the old bannister along with the posts. The new bannister was purchased off eBay for £800 which i thought was a bargain. Its not real oak and we did that to keep the cost down.
Annoyingly it came with one large hand rail and the under rail was in 2 separate sections. We then dyed this with wood dye and went to work.
We installed the bottom frame first, screwing through the gap the glass sat in straight into the wood. We attached the posts to the concrete floor and wood floor at the top of the stairs with something similar to a post base.
We used wood filler to fill in the gaps around the posts and the small gap between the 2 sections of frame. The glass is installed with wood between each piece to give it the space, all supplied from the supplier. In total it cost us £800 and about 30 hours or work, it took a lot of time as we didn’t want to make a mistake.
We did encounter a problem with the handrail not fitting and had to chip away at the second floor to get it to fit. We used a dremel drill with a specific attachment to cut away at the plaster, you can see this in the first 2 images.
3: Kitchen Tiles:
https://imgur.com/a/98sb8vZ
The tiles were bought from a local tile company. I think they cost a couple hundred quid, but i cant actually remember the full price. I really enjoyed tiling and id advice anyone to give it a try. Little bit of trial and error but its actually pretty easy once you get the hang of it. Youtube has some great installation videos.
We used a tile cutter, along with a ready mix tile adhesive, tile spacers and grey grout.
Simply apply the tile adhesive to the back of the tile, we used a tile starter kit you can buy pretty much anywhere, and move along the wall applying each tile next to the previous. Use the spacers between tiles to give the exact space needed and leave to dry. We went for a whole tile on the bottom row for the first piece then half tile for the second row to give it a better effect (image 1). Tiles tend to be cheap and you can buy more than enough to get used to cutting and for any mistakes.
Once it has dried to the wall, mix up the grout and apply throughout, dont be scared to apply too much as it easily washes off once it starts to set. Just make sure you wash it off before its completely set! (Image 12)
4: Under Stair Dog Bed:
https://m.imgur.com/a/vhHdXR5
We soon realised we wouldn’t have space for the dog kennel in the living room and thats when the idea for the under stairs dog bed arose.
Luckily the wall under the stairs wasn’t thick. We simply measured and marked out the area we wanted to cut and went to work. It was a bit of a botch job, we drilled some holes big enough to get the hand saw in and just sawed away.
Once the hole was cut we cut some wood beams and screwed them in the gaps around the frame to create some strength. (See image 2 & 3)
We then filled in the gap at the bottom with cement (image 4&5) to make it level and installed floor skirting around the hole to hide the screws and to create a frame. It was all painted white to match the wall, installed a baby gate and voila! A dog bed.
5: Garden:
https://imgur.com/a/LN0Mv0G
This is the only job im still yet to complete, mostly due to the sheer size of the job and the fact it costs an absolute fortune. Ive probably spent in the region of £5000/£6000 on the garden, with all the work being done myself. This job is still on going 2 years later and the last photo is where we are currently at.
I needed multiple skips to remove the waste and had to hire multiple different machines. This will probably be the longest part of the post.
The first photo was the state of the garden when we moved in. As you can see its massively overgrown and in much need of some TLC. There was 5 massive tree’s at the back of the garden. I probably should have hired someone to take these down, but wanted to save money so did it myself.
I hired a chainsaw and wood chippeshredder, dumping it all into a skip. The skips cost around £200 each and the hire equipment i think cost me £160 for the week. I paid someone £250 to remove the tree stumps from the ground. Removing the tree’s allowed so much light into the garden which is south facing. The neighbours couldn’t thank us enough due to the shade they were creating. Always good to get on with your new neighbours!
Funnily enough we found a tiny pond hidden in the overgrowth, but that had to go pretty quick after the dog decided to use it as her personal bath at any opportunity. It was filthy with no life in it. (Image 3 far right in front of shed).
We then got to work digging up the old and broken slabs. They were all removed, and we dug it out making sure to level the ground. We measured 3 metres out and dug the grass back to create a level slabbing area. Im not really sure why they previously slabbed one side of the path further out than the other.
We bought new slabs, cement, sharp sand, builders sand and a sub base, however we got delayed by the great british weather! I hired a compactor, and laid the sub base. Some great videos on youtube on how to do this.
I wont lie, i went cheaper on the slabbing and might regret it in the future, but the long term plan was never to keep the slabs and is actually to extend out where they currently are. So i did this next step to last a few years until then.
I mixed the half a bag of sharp sand, half builders sand and 1 quarter concrete. Created 4 cement patties in each corner and laid the slabs on top. I used a rubber mallet to level the slab and a spirit level to check it was perfectly flat (Image 10 onwards).
I completed the 3 metre area outside the house and that was that for about a year. Once the lockdown came around i restarted with the garden and moved onto the path that i’d never got round to finishing.
Once again same method, this time i pulled out the old slabs, used string and pegs to line it up straight (the old one was at and awful angle) and then dug out the grass. I actually used the grass again, relaying it next to the slabs and once replaced soaked it to get the grass and mud to take (Image 15 onwards). I then lay soil in the gaps left and reseeded the ground.
Once that was completed i started on the back. My plan is to install a large decking area. I cleared out the space and got to work installing the decking base.
I did this in 2 separate sections to make it easier to move and bolted the 2 sections together once the posts were in place.
We used 2x4 wood beams for inside the frame and i believe 2x6 for the outer (cant remember the exact size) so we had more surface area to attach the decking surround. We placed the wood beams 12inches apart (they advise no more than 16inches gap) and screwed them in with treated decking screws.
We marked and dug out the post holes, making sure there was 3 posts on every other beam. This is where having 2 sections was invaluable as we could easily remove them to dig the holes. Once dug we used wooden fence posts and filled around the posts with cement mixed at a ratio of 4 to 1 (4 shovels of ballast 1 cement).
Once the cement had dried we placed the frame back over, bolting it into the posts and reinforcing with multiple screws. We checked for any weak sections by walking on the frame and looking for movement, we installed a couple extra posts (luckily only needed 2). I then laid weed protector on all the dirt to make sure nothing can grow below.
The total cost for the wood was £450 from a local business and im currently awaiting the delivery of the decking boards costing £1200 (we went with composite which is more expensive than wood).
Conclusion:
And that brings us to today. Its been an ongoing job for the best part of 2 years. I don’t think you ever truly finish renovating a home. Wether its big jobs or just small changes your constantly updating your house be it furniture or complete redesigns.
There was loads of other jobs i could have included such as carpeting, painting, decorating, light fittings, bedrooms and so on. However this post is probably way too long as it is and im thankful to everyone that got this far. I know id probably look at the pictures and just move on, but with the last post being removed for lack of detail i wanted to make sure i included as much as possible as i put 100% into this project. Its been a hard road, with a lot of work and at a large cost, and something im truly proud of. Ive never posted this to any social media so i hope this project gives some of you the confidence to go out and actually try some home improvements yourself.

2020 Minecraft Ubuntu Server Tutorial + Tips! Full Setup / Auto Reboot / Backup / Plugins

Mere hours ago I have finally finished my first MC Server Build for BOTH Bedrock and Java Minecraft (running simultaneously) for all of my friends to play on. I have been running the servers themselves for a month with no issues, the startup script was the real long hassle because some tutorials didn't work. Aside from that, the community has provided so much, I have went through many struggles, lemme save you some hassle if you're in the same boat. Let's Begin!:
Warning to Server New Comers: DO NOT Share your IP address publicly. Please be aware that giving out your public IP can create a way for people to Dox you. Dont Risk it. You are most likely building a server with friends, please note over whom your friends may share this to. Look below at the Port Forwarding section for more info on how to keep your IP address safer.
-If you lack of basic computer knowledge, consider purchasing a server from apex hosting or other providers. This guide is for those that want the One and Done deal.
Why Ubuntu over windows? Windows may be better if you are more familiar with it but Ubuntu is more lightweight, less process/ram intensive. Overall a better choice for performance reasons.
The Machine:
You can use just about any computer with a 5 year old processor. Though if you're looking to buy something cheap and used get something SMALL. Takes up less real estate next to your desk. On eBay there are dozens of cheap Mini PC's on the market for under $150.
I picked a used HP EliteDesk 800 G1 Mini for $120 on eBay. This thing runs extremely silent and outputs low heat when running, it's an amazing little thing.
The Processor, i5 4570t, isn't super powerful, but I have never experienced any slowdown that could be CPU Wise, if so, very insignificant.
I had some extra SODIMM Ram (ram you'll need for these small computers). 8Gb Total is enough. With a MC Server you could maybe get by with 4Gb. Generally for how many players your server will hold at once, 1GB could hold 5 Players, 2GB can hold 10 players, Add a gig for every 5 players more, that's how I determine it.
For Storage, it's best to go with an SSD. A mechanical HardDrive could cause slowdown. I wouldn't know because I automatically switched out for a TC SUNBOW SSD right before installing the OS. This SSD has DRAM which is super good, and at a great price.
Another modification I did was replace the thermal paste of the machine as it could have been used a bunch by its previous owner, just a good habit for those nice fresh thermals am I right?
Other honorable mentions is the: Lenovo Thinkcentre Mini PCs, or any HP Elitedesk 800 mini models.
THE "Initial" SETUP:
Go ahead download Ubuntu: https://ubuntu.com/download/desktop
When Installing pick out a simple short name+password for simplicity.
-Also be sure to enable auto-login when setting up
After installing Ubuntu, click the app button in the bottom left (where windows button usually is) Add Terminal And System Manager to your "favorites". Those two will be used a lot.
PORT FORWARDING: There are many tutorials on how to setup port-forwarding, just search your router model and how to port forward for it. You'll need to know your linux computer's IP Address. You can go into terminal and type in hostname –I to find the device's IP (it's the first set of numbers, usually 192.168.xx.xx). You will need to input this number into your Port forward settings. You will also need to create 2 different ports to run both java+bedrock simultaneously.
To Avoid giving out your full Public IP Address, Use the site NoIp to basically "Forward" your IP so you can give it a name: NoIp Link
Instead of giving out the server link as 098.765.432.221:42069
You can give out to your friends as: somecoolserver.ddns.net:42069
-Note: you'll have to renew this address every 30 days unless you pay for it, so make it your monthly task
BEWARE, should still avoid sharing your server to the Public, technically there are still ways for people to find your public IP. This just adds an extra small safety net.
BASIC LINUX:
Im not gonna go over a lot. Everything is going to run in terminal, there's no escaping it.
Commands?
sudo is a BIG command that lets you essentially run as ADMIN. You will be using sudo for almost everything.
cd = change directory. You move through folders with this. doing "cd /minecraft/server" moves your to that folder.
~ using this means your root, or home folder.
For more commands just look it up.
Auto-Restart Script
If you are planning to leave your MC Server running 24/7 it is best practice to have a daily restart routine, as well with auto-startup for Bedrock and Java Servers. For this we will create a script to set your Linux PC to automatically Restart.
Open Terminal
Type in:

sudo nano /etc/crontab

Scroll all the way to the bottom, don't delete anythiing. Type in:

00 6 * * * root reboot

The "00" means minutes. The 6 means 6 am. So if you wanted your restart to happen at 1:30p.m. You would type 30 13 * * * root reboot. But 6 am is a good restart time. If you're still playing around this time get to bed, stop staying up so late.
Press Ctrl + O to save, Ctrl + X to exit
You're all set.
BEDROCK MC Server Steup Installation:
This is the easiest setup thanks to this Website (James A. Charles Blog)
Basically open terminal and input this command:

wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/TheRemote/MinecraftBedrockServemasteSetupMinecraft.sh chmod +x SetupMinecraft.sh ./SetupMinecraft.sh

Hit enter and Bam, Youll be asked for auto startup, and auto restart+backup. do Y and enter for them. Input the port forward number you chose for IPV4. Ignore IPV6, just input nothing and yes. Name your server and you should be good to go. Visit the website for more info.
Note: Even though this command includes a way to auto restart your Linux PC, it never worked for me. However, with the auto restart script above, your server will automatically startup upon reboot.
This server will be saved in ~/minecraftbe/BedrockServer (or home/minecraftbe/BedrockServer).
double click server.properties to edit various settings. Basic Info on these settings can be found at Minecraft Gamepedia <--Link
I recommend changing the view distance to 44, and the server name
JAVA MC Server Setup+Installation+Startup Script:
Download PaperMC: https://papermc.io/downloads
Paper is a server type that can run Spigot and Bukkit Plugins, Basically this is the best version of an MC Server to run. Its also more optimized. Requires no additional setup.
Rename file to "paper.jar" for simplicity. This will be your server file. EVERYTHING runs off of this.
Open the terminal. You can copy&paste these commands if you will.
First to Update linux: (click y to install updates, possibly restart afterwards)

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Second, Install Java 8 Headless (Do not install regular Java)

sudo apt install openjdk-8-jre-headless screen

Third. Install Nano Text Editor

sudo apt install nano

For this Entire Tutorial we will be following Wilhelm's guide: https://youtu.be/tNyN2LmaRVA
This tutorial helped me get the startup script going. I thank him a millions.
Link for the startup script: https://github.com/WilhelmRoscheminecraft-systemd-service-file
NOTE: Startup script requires Modifying. Details down below in this tutorial.
-There are also other startup scripts available online, This one does the simply job of auto-starting after a reboot. The Bedrock script will automatically reboot the PC, so it makes sense to install both servers. If you don't plan to Install bedrock, I recommend using a different script that will reboot the linux pc.
I will be listing out all the commands you will need to use. Some commands are modified because we are running PaperMC, so we will replace all minecraft_server.jar with paper.jar
(1) Open Terminal, Make a new group:

sudo groupadd -r minecraft

(2) Create a new user + directory:

sudo useradd -r -g minecraft -d "/vaminecraft" -s "/bin/bash" minecraft

(3) Create Server Directory:

sudo mkdir /vaminecraft

(4) Copy paper.jar to Server directory

sudo cp ~/paper.jar /vaminecraft/server

(5) Change terminal location to server folder

cd /vaminecraft/server

(6) Run the Minecraft server, this will create all folders/files

sudo java -Xmx1024M -Xms2048M -jar paper.jar no gui

(7) You will get an error "failed to load EULA" and cant run the server. You have to agree to the EULA rules. This creates a text file that you have to change a value to true. To do that do:

sudo nano /vaminecraft/serveeula.txt

(8)This will open up a text file in terminal if you installed nano txt editor correctly. Scroll down to eula=false, change to true. Do Ctrl+O to save then do Ctrl+X to exit.
(9) Do the server startup command to run/process the rest of the files/folders

sudo java -Xmx1024M -Xms2048M -jar paper.jar no gui

(10) Change back to /vaminecraft

cd /vaminecraft

(11) Give minecraft (user) permissions to the server folder

sudo chown minecraft.minecraft -R /vaminecraft/

(12)Change directory to SystemD Service folder

cd /etc/systemd/system

(13) Create SystemD service file. Basically create the auto startup script!

sudo nano minecraft.service

(14) Paste all the code found from Wilhelm's Github.
We will need to Modify line 22 from:

ExecStart=/usbin/java -Xmx10240M -jar server.jar nogui

To: (If your computer has 4Gb Ram, do 2525M or 3025M, for 8Gb 5250M or More)

ExecStart=/usbin/java -Xmx2525M -jar paper.jar nogui

-We can add more commands to this line to make the server run efficiently, Details about this will be below
Hit Ctrl+O to save, then Ctrl+X to Exit
(15) Activate the newly created System Service

sudo systemctl start minecraft

(16) After about 30 Seconds, your server should be up. You can test this right now.
(17) Enable the minecraft service. This will set the service to run when the computer reboots.

sudo systemctl enable minecraft

Now every time your restart your Linux PC, your server will boot up automatically (assuming you set install to auto login)
Congrats! You are up and running!! Now to Modify your server
JAVA MC Server Modifications:
There are many things you can now modify to give your server some flavor. Right ou now lets check out what you can change in your server.properties file. To edit type in:

sudo nano /vaminecraft/serveserver.properties

From here we can change a whole lot. Here's a wiki page that explains all the options: Link
Below are some recommendations

To change the name (or motd) go to server properties and change motd. Visit: https://minecraft.tools/en/motd.php to edit with colors and special stuff.
view-distance: Can change to any value up to 32. Doing 32 view distance doesn't take a whole lot of processing power, I would just enable it. Might use up more ram.
online-mode= true: I cant remember if I changed it initially, but you need to keep this on true to enable player skins
level-seed= go check out /minecraftseeds for some cool submissions

-To add a server icon. create an image that 64x64, save as .png and rename to server-icon.png
Place image in the home folder and Use this command to transfer:

sudo cp ~/server-icon.png /vaminecraft/server

-An Advanced Option (but may be unnecessary) is to optimize your server with some Java Commands. Following this Reddit Forum. Trying this can help reduce ram usage and create less micro stutters. For me this is some experimental stuff, but worth mentioning. For line 22 of our auto script command we can add JVM Arguments. Using the following commands helped reduce Ram usage by 40% or more, but I am unsure how performance was impacted. Try them out if you want.

-XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC
-XX:+CMSIncrementalMode
-XX:+DisableExplicitGC
-XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=35
-XX:G1NewSizePerzent=20
-XX:G1ReservePercent=20
-XX:G1HeapRegionSize=32M

(DONT Use -XX:+UseG1GC ,caused my server to not startup)
JAVA MC Server Plugins:
With a paper server, you are able to add Spiggot and Bukkit server plugins. These plugins do not -require mods from any users joining the server. Best of all- These plugins are all just copy and paste within terminal.
Use SpigotMC for a repository of plugins. Make sure the plugin you want is compatible with 1.16 or the latest version. Check reviews to see if someone claims it is compatible.
to add a plugin, drag the plugin to the home folder (or ~) and use this command to port to your plugins folder:

sudo cp ~/[plugin-name.jar] /vaminecraft/serveplugins

Next restart your server (or reboot yoru linux PC) and the plugins you installed should be enabled
To check for plugin errors we will need to enter these 3 commands:

sudo systemctl stop minecraft
cd /vaminecraft/server
sudo java -Xmx1024 -Xms2048 -jar paper.jar nogui

Here we can see the server starting, and all the plugins being loaded. Use this to determine if plugins are not working or running just fine! You'll see errors highlighted in red or yellow.
Recommended Plugins:
I've done a lot of window shopping with plugins. I don't want to over-mod my game but there are some neat thing you can add to enhance Minecraft to make it more chill and exciting to your liking. Here are my favorite plugins that I have added:

Dynmap: This plugin adds a google map style web browser map for your server. You can see player locations and even chat with whoever's in the sever. It's really nice to see who's online remotely. Definitely my top pick
Harbor: Not to be confused with the band. This plugin allows for less people to be in beds for the whole server to be asleep. Really useful if there's no server admin online and your friends/players want that nighttime to just go away.
ServerRestorer: This plugin presents a super nice backup system that automatically backs up your server. You can even set it to backup to a remote computer. Perfect for when your house gets on fire and everything is destroyed.
LuckPerms: This plugin allows Users to be allowed to use selected server plugins without having to set them as a Server Op. Haven't messed with this one too much, will update this once I try it.
FastLeafDecay: Super amazing plugin that basically makes all tree leaves instantly fall after knocking down that last log. Can confirm does work with 1.16.
VillagerOptimiser: This plugin reworks Villagers "instructions" and basically optimizes them so they aren't as CPU intensive. This plugin was made for 1.14 where it was problematic, but the newest version it isn't as much of a problem. Still might be worth installing to save on performance.
MoarBows: Add a variety of cool bows to the game, some are very creative, others are just cool.
SheepColorSwapper: Right click and you can change the color of your sheep. Helpful if you're to lazy to work for color wool.
SnowierSnow: More of an aesthetic difference, just adds a layer of snow within snow biomes. Very simple and elegant.
BetterGiants: Scare your friends with giant zombies.
NoBedExplosions: Ever wanted to scare the sh*t out of your veteran Minecraft friend? Now you can build a bedroom in the nether with this mod.
NightVisionGoggles: Self-explanatory
ColoredSigns: I consider this a must. Adding color to your letters adds so much flavor to your world. Follow this link for color codes.
BetterChair: This adds the ability to not only sit down on a chair but the ground and almost any sit-able surface. You have to right click with nothing in your hands and click shift to stand up again.
ChestSort: This plugin automatically sorts/organizes your chest when you double-right click within it
LightCleaner: Sometimes there is glitches black shadows in minecraft. This plugin allows you to fix that.
CustomJumppads: This plugin is one of my favorites. You place a pressure plate and you can create a custom trampoline like jump and not be hurt by fall damage. Very fun and unique.
Celeste: Adds shooting start to Minecraft. You will see small stars gleaming every now and then. Occasionally you may even get one crashing down near you within the region.
AutoPickup: Just a lazy plugin to allow you to have items you mine be picked up for you.
MultitoolPlus: This plugin allows you to have a few special slots be added that allow you to switch to your needed weapon on the fly. Hitting stone>pickaxe .hitting a tree> switches to your axe. Hitting dirt>shovel. Its another lazy plugin.

CONCLUSION
Congrats for pulling through, you did it. Go buy yourself a giant chocolate milk champ.
Your server should be set on auto pilot once you have everything configured. This info post is rather congested, and I don't care, I included as much info as I could give because I know I can profit from reddit karma either way. Feel free to post questions, I might have an answer, or someone else might.
Also shutup Cody, you stink.

Laying a Limestone Floor on a Budget

You’ve probably seen a glimpse of our new tiles over the last few posts, because well, our kitchen renovation has been done in a kind of sporadic order, going back and forth between jobs like crazy. It’s a job we started back in the late summer of last year (September, if I remember correctly!) and finished at the start of Spring this year. Yep, it really took us that long! It wasn’t the actual process of tiling that took us so long, but having large appliances in the way that couldn’t be moved until tiles had set, needing to constantly clean the area before starting again and then there was the small (big!) issue of needing to replace some (all!) joists in the dining room and re-concreting part of the kitchen floor before we could even begin to approach the finish line on this job.
But it’s done now. And I’ve had so many questions about our flooring, where it’s from, how we laid it, what we used, that this post is looooong overdue.
One of the first images I had pinned as inspiration for the kitchen was one that featured some gorgeous limestone tiles from Floors of Stone. I loved them. But the price tag? £52 p/m (!!!) and never in a million years could I justify spending that much money on some flooring. But they were everything I wanted in a kitchen floor and every other material flooring I looked at, just didn’t cut it.I searched what felt like the entire internet for a cheaper alternative and stumbled upon an eBay seller Stoneworld-uk who sells pretty much an EXACT match to the Umbrian limestone from Floors of Stone, but at HALF the price, £23/m. I ordered samples from both Floors of Stone and the cheaper eBay one and there was virtually no difference between the samples. The only real difference was the underside, which obviously is never going to be visible. I’m no limestone expert, so I can’t vouch for the difference in quality in terms of how they’re made/mined – but I can confirm, they definitely didn’t look any different – And that’s good enough for me!
The small sample in this photo below is from Floors of Stone and the large tiles underneath are from the seller Stoneworld-uk on eBay. They’re both Umbrian Limestone and you can see – there’s literally no difference!
So, excited as I was – I made the order instantly, they arrived within days in a giant crate and so perfectly packed that there was only one tiny breakage. Since we don’t have a drive, the pallet had to be dropped off at the kerbside, which meant I did have to manually carry each tile from the crate into the house for storage. Let’s just say I had some muscles by the end, but I was chuffed to bits with my new purchase! I even bought some dark grey cathedral limestone for our log burner hearth as well

Fitting Limestone Tiles DIY-Style?

Even though we’d saved hundreds on finding affordable limestone, we still didn’t have the budget to pay for a professional tiler to fit the floor for us. Luckily, I’ve tiled SO many times now that I may as well be pretty much qualified Generally speaking, there’s not THAT much difference between laying other tile materials and limestone. Bigger tiles are always more awkward to lay, tiles that aren’t consistent in thickness are also a bit harder and of course, natural stone is a little harder to cut. But really the same rules apply, it’s all just a bit more fiddly. Unless you’re totally new to tiling and DIY in general, fitting your own Limestone floor is totally 100% DIY-able and you can save a fortune!
The first step I took was the lay the limestone tiles out and I thoroughly recommend doing this so you can pick some kind of pattern in which to lay them – I’ve gone for a kind of brick-work pattern. Since limestone is a natural material, the tones vary from tile to tile as well, so it’s also a good idea to do this so that you can mix up/blend the different tones to make sure the overall look of the floor is natural as possible.

Which Adhesive?

Okay so this is pretty important as there’s about a bazillion different adhesive’s on the market. Firstly, you need one that’s suitable for Natural Stone – these are usually cement based I think, don’t quote me on that. And secondly, it depends on what kind of floor you’re laying them onto. If you have any kind of underfloor heating, whether it’s electric or water – you’ll need a flexible adhesive. If there’s any movement on the flooring beneath, such as movement from floorboards, then you’ll also need to go flexible as well. We have underfloor heating in our kitchen so flexible was necessary for us. I’ve used mainly this Wickes Tile Adhesive, but also a couple of bags of Mapei Tile Adhesive as well. Both worked a treat!

Laying Limestone Tiles

Much like any other kind of tiling the steps are pretty easy, but getting it all perfect is sometimes easier said than done. You’ll need to trowel out an even bed of adhesive onto the floor, lay the limestone tile over the top, push onto the adhesive firmly and then check with a spirit level that it’s perfectly level and matches up in height with adjacent tiles. If it isn’t level, you need to press firmer into the adhesive where required. I actually find hitting the tile with a rubber mallet is easier to do this with, but you need to be careful not to hit too hard. If you find you haven’t laid enough adhesive, you’ll have to fight the tile off the floor and adhesive and try again. Adhesive is sticky sticky messy stuff – so you’ll have great fun
You’ll also want to make sure that the tile has full contact with the adhesive and there are no air pockets underneath. This causes a weakness in the tile and if anything was to ever fall onto that spot of the tile, it would be much more likely to crack. It’s also really important if you have underfloor heating, as air pockets are less effective at allowing the heat transfer between the cables to the tile. You can usually tap onto the tile and hear air pockets beneath them – but generally speaking, as long as your adhesive is evenly laid and you’ve pressed the tile firmly into it, you shouldn’t go too wrong.
You’ll also want to make sure to clean up any tile adhesive that forces its way out into the grout line – if you don’t, you’ll have a nightmare trying to remove it once it’s dry. I also recommend clearing up adhesive around the tile if you need to take a break – it dries faster than you think and you certainly don’t want raised bits on the floor pushing the tile up higher than it needs to be.
A word of caution – tile adhesive never goes as far as you think it will – or it says. We ended up spending way more than we had planned! Although I think I had been mixing it a little too thick in the beginning. :/
Normally with tiling, you’d use spacers to evenly space out the tiles – but Limestone tiles aren’t perfectly square, so spacers here wont work. I used my finger as a rough guide to space out tiles, but gaged how square it was to adjacent tiles by eye. Some of the grout gaps are smaller than others, some are slightly larger – but this is really the beauty of limestone and its natural look.

Cutting Limestone

You can cut limestone in a few different ways – but I just used a wet tile cutter with a Diamond blade suitable for natural stone. This probably isn’t the most recommended method unless you have a cutter recessed into a table, purely because the size and weight of limestone can make it difficult to manage pushing through the cutter. If you have the ability to recess your cutter within the table so the limestone can rest onto it, you’ll find it much easier! Otherwise it’s a bit of a balancing act – but is still totally do-able if it’s all you have, like us! Although I will say, expect the blade to jam fairly often going through a particularly long cut. You can also use an angle grinder with a diamond blade, which gives you much more control over the cut and means you don’t have to move the tile itself during cutting. I was really nervous about snapping the tiles, but we didn’t have a single breakage. They’re 22mm thick and are really very tough tiles!

Sealing Limestone

Prior to grouting, it’s recommended to seal Limestone so that any colourings in the grout don’t affect the pores of the Limestone. I made sure to clean up any adhesive on the tiles (thanks to the dogs, this was quite a bit!) by using a carpet brush and hot water. It took quite some scrubbing, but it does come off, so don’t panic if you do have some adhesive on the tiles. The sealant I’ve used is this one by Mattstone which leaves the tiles brilliantly water resistant leaving actual droplets on the tile and it really brings out the colour of the tiles with a shine too, although it didn’t half stink the house out!

Grouting Limestone

For wide and deep grout lines I thoroughly recommend using a wide-gap grout like this one (we’re using the colour ‘limestone’) and using a grout bag with it. A grout bag is basically like an icing bag, but for grout. Instead of smearing grout all over the tiles and pushing it into the line, like you typically would when grouting – it allows you to fill up the grout line from the bottom, without making a mess. It also means you can ensure the lines are properly filled without any air pockets underneath which could eventually cause the grout to crack and crumble – which is obviously far more likely to happen with deep grout lines. It makes grouting SO much easier and I would seriously recommend using one with Limestone. I actually made one from a bin bag when doing the hearth, but they’re cheap to buy and fully washable, so well worth it in my opinion!
To smooth the grout out, I actually just used my finger. Probably not a recommended technique, but I couldn’t find a large enough grout smoothing tool to use – and actually it worked really well and looks just as natural as the rest of the floor, plus it was totally free!

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