Finding the Perfect Spot

There are so many interesting and exciting things that go along with living in a van...besides the obvious of being able to go where you want and when with only the open road to guide you, some other perks include having a refrigerator and cooker inside your van making mealtime affordable, as well as a DVD player to watch many movies you would never otherwise rent or watch in your 'normal' life such as Red, Crossroads and B-Girl. Despite these exceptional perks, some stressful and painstaking situations do arise as outlined in the 'Triple Threat of Doom' in particular when it comes to the bedtime routine, but there is one other event that conjures up so much stress, anxiety and just overall annoyance that it must be discussed in a separate blog entirely and that is finding the perfect spot to park the old girl for some kip.
I have spent the past 3 months contemplating the more philosophical angles related to finding the perfect spot in an attempt of living a glass half full existence and have just completed my comparative study entitled 'Finding the Perfect Spot, not just in a Jucy, but in Life...after all this is a life changing trip and all these little experiences are sure shaping me, or rather bending and contorting me into all sorts of shapes and sizes. I suppose there are several variables to consider and components to identify when finding the perfect spot and there are ALWAYS choices and options, albeit some better than others and I find that there is a formula to identifying the perfect spot in a Jucy van and this can be applied to ones' life...and Alex and I have actually been living by this formula or code if you will for several months and it has not failed us yet.
The formula is as follows and let me comparatively explain:

Location x Preparation + Time + (Purple and Green)2 / Risk = Overall Spot Rating
**Bonus points can be scored for 'feeling the fear and doing it anyway**

Your first component is Location...a very important factor when choosing a suitable spot in general, but when trying to find a place to sleep uninterrupted and unbothered for a night or two, tends to be a bit more challenging than just popping into the shop for a coffee quickly. So many variables must be taken into consideration such as proximity to a toilet or trees/coverage for a midnight toilet run. This becomes ultra important after a day of hiking and drinking loads of water that decides it wants out at 3:00am, you see my point. Also, how close are you to a park where youths might like to hang out, as they can be quite brazen in groups of 3-4 and want to harass the local travellers in the wee hours of the evening. Equally as important in relation to a teen-filled park is the fact that police do like to patrol such areas and this might bring some unwanted attention to backpackers sleeping in vans. A relatively 'safe and secure' spot tends to be in front of a backpackers hostel where one might expect to find vans parked by weary travellers looking to lay their heads on dorm room beds for the night...or at least that would be the scam, as we would be tucked away behind the grey curtains in our Jucy fast asleep. Angles are important as well to consider, as the sliding door should always face away from the main street and towards some bushes/trees/brush or other cover...it is important to note, however, that parking too closely to said cover means a more dense population of biting bugs which brings no end to pain and suffering. Sometimes this cannot be avoided, or you do not realize that there is a population of pests in the area so you do learn the hard way from time to time. Dark abandoned streets have their advantages and disadvantages, as you could be forgotten about completely if parked down one in a best case scenario or stick out like a big bruised thumb in the worst case scenario...as well with highly populated streets blending in might be a bit easier, but there is the off chance that the neighbourhood is full of peeping neighbours just waiting to catch a backpacker in the act of freedom camping. The best locations of all time are the actual freedom camping parking lots which usually come with a Porto-loo and a nice flat surface to legally park the Jucy for free...they get the highest rating in the formula.
Now, in life location is a very important factor to consider when trying to find the best 'spot.' Not just location in the figurative sense of the word like London, Texas, New Zealand, though that is important, but also overall place in your life such as job/career, education (all kinds), home owner/renter, travelling, family etc...It is important to take each of these personal aspects into consideration when plugging the location variable into your own formula. For example, it might be very important for someone to move up in their job and that would score a higher point for that person, where as someone might feel they need to travel or go back to school or even start a family so those might be higher point earners for this/these individual(s)...really it is the overall location in relation to personal goals one has set to achieve.
The second variable in the formula is Preparation and this really has to do with how prepared we are to deal with the location selection. For example, if we decide to park in front of a bristly, wiry bush and sand flies are on the attack, do we have bug spray at the ready? Since we have been going through this spot formula for some time now we have really sharpened our location hunting skills and that part of the formula usually brings high marks, but in the off chance that our location is less than desirable, we are actually well and truly prepared for most issues. There have been times, in the beginning of our Jucy adventures, in which we found ourselves ill-prepared and once you go through some of the sand fly massacres, as we have, you never find yourself unarmed again.
In life, preparation seems to come with experience and usually...usually...the preparation aspect of the formula garners points with said experience. For example, as I have grown up and progressed in my job and met some of the career goals I set for myself, I learned how to be prepared for interviews and more responsibility and this has earned me some high points...not to brag. Now, since travelling the world, my goals have shifted and I have begun considering new ideas and setting new goals for myself, which may leave me a bit ill-prepared, as it will be new and uncharted territory so for some time this variable will actually earn me few if any points and may set me back a bit until I learn the ropes and maybe even some new life lessons.
Next, you must consider Time. Oh blessed time...Is time ever really on our side or are we always chasing the clock, running against time? One topic, two entirely opposing beliefs. In relation to the Jucy, it is more pragmatic than emotive...basically what time are we parking up for the night? Early is not so good...people are hustling and bustling around and it is very hard to be stuck inside a van for endless hours of daylight...you always need more toilet breaks as well. The later the better...most of the time. When it is quieter and there are less people to notice a giant brightly coloured vehicle skulking about is better, but with night comes patrolling so we have to be on guard a bit. That is why this variable can be added or subtracted as appropriate.
In life, time is just a mish-mash or flipping and flopping...at times I find myself feeling like I have all the time in the world and then in the next breath I cannot believe I am 33 and as Alex told me the other day and I quote, "if you die at 66, you are actually having your mid-life crisis at this very moment." So, for this variable it is really down to how the individual feels in their own personal location at that moment...if there is panic then this variable must be subtracted. On the other hand, if we feel any of the following, then we can add this variable to our overall equation and score some major points...it is only time after all:
"Calendars are for careful people, not passionate ones"
"An unhurried sense of time is in itself a form of wealth"
"All that really belongs to us is time, even he who has nothing else has that"
"Time does not change us it just unfolds us"
"A regret for wasted time is ore wasted time"
Purple and Green can be the highest point scorer in the formula if both factors are positive and not negative or one of each...follow me here. The Jucy is a big purple and green thing...well it is! But, this is what we loved about her in the first place and this is what we have found so much joy in one the street when people are drawn to her boldness and bright spirit and want to know if we hand out juice from the back. This is also what we get irritated with and what we hate at times, if we're honest. Imagine trying to be inconspicuous in a shiny green and purple minivan!?! Next to impossible, but we have had so much more fun with her and her colours and spirit have far outweighed any of the challenges we have experienced due to the spunkiness thereby earning major points in this region.

In life, we all our purples and greens...those things that we hate so much about ourselves that we can never ever change no matter how hard we may try...it could be curly hair, total lack of athleticism, complete inability to be coordinated and/or graceful, our amazing height, the genetic size of our thighs, that funny shape to your nose that no one can see but you or even our social awkwardness...or what we feel is awkward. But these are the things that make us so great and special and the things that partners and best friends and family members love the most...what sets us apart. When we harness the power of the purples and greens in our own lives and relish in their beauty and uniqueness, these can be the most powerful aspects of the formula in finding out perfect life spot...that is why they are squared in this equation.

Finally, we divide all of these factors by the Risk and you have to divide this due to the overwhelming stress risk can cause. When parking the Jucy in a non-Freedom Campers parking lot, there is an element of risk. Not so much or bodily harm or physical anguish, but more of being moved on or possibly fined...two things that are just not nice in general. No one likes to be woken up in the middle of the night by a whack to the window with a flashlight by a cop or a security guard or worse a jobs worth security guard! It is stressful and embarrassing and just...well...yuck! It has only happened twice and honestly, they were both lovely and easy going, but there is that small risk that a fine will be handed down. We do earn a few extra points in the preparation variable due to our script that we have prepared for any such incident, but the risk is still there and that cannot be helped.
In life, risk is all around us, though I seem to feel it and see it more now as an adult than when I was a youth. Changing your life is risky and moving to new cities and countries or giving up work to travel, changing a career all come with risk factors that cannot be erased. Though, they can be managed and accepted, they cannot disappear.
Because of this, there are bonus points that can be scored in the Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway component to the formula. Should we be confronted with a risky situation in the Jucy or in life and we choose to go for it anyway, the sheer balls demonstrated in that scenario is worth a few bonus points, as fear is a great manipulator in our lives. It can destroy dreams and reek havoc on in our hearts. Guts and bravery shine through in these situations and sometimes make all the difference.
So there you have it. The comparative study on Finding the Perfect Spot, both in a Jucy van and in life...it is funny where you find inspiration and metaphors. Who would have ever thought that a Jucy van could teach us so much about life?