 Good morning everybody. It's Robin with creativity RV and today I want to introduce you to a very special nomad named Patricia Who's in a self-built schoolie and I wanted to just point out so nobody's confused in the beginning of the video She tells you about her new YouTube channel, but she has changed the name to tipsy gypsy I'm gonna put the link for that below so it's no longer living in the moment It's tipsy gypsy because she's a little tipsy because she had her leg amputated. It's an amazing story through it She's still finished her schoolie. She's an inspiration and I'm really looking forward to you guys seeing her video Also, there's going to be a more in-depth interview with Patricia on my blog at creativity RV comm that will be out this Sunday So I'll put the link for my blog itself below if you have not subscribed to my blog as well as my channel Please do so because I have lots of interviews with nomads on that channel They just don't want to be on camera So there's a lot of great information and a lot of great stories on the channel. So here we go Let's meet Patricia Hey guys, it's Robin and this is Patricia We're at the 2019 RTR and I have been waiting to meet this woman for months Because I heard about her and her nomadic journey and her beautiful schoolie and I really wanted you guys to meet her So first of all, I want to tell you guys about Patricia's channel. It's new, right? Yes What's the name of your channel living for the moment because you never know when it's your time That is so true So you guys at the description for this video and also pinned at the top of comments Which is at the bottom if you scroll down I'm going to put a link to Patricia's channel and I really encourage you to check it out because she's seriously amazing So tell us about why you became a nomad well, I've always loved to travel with my parents and ever since I got in an accident in high school and I Found out that I was almost paralyzed I knew that I had to get out there and just get to see everything and life went on had my children and finally I Got to get out on the journey I looked at different things and I decided to build out my schooling. It's so great. I love it I love it. So what's the what's your channel about? Mainly because I'm disabled and I'm on a limited income, but to show those Women gentlemen anybody to get out there being disabled you can still do this The reason why I have this now is because I did have MRSA in my leg from a previous surgery And every time I got a sore it took forever to heal and this last time it was just Too bad and I was up in Colorado in July and it flared it back up and I Later around for about two and a half weeks and decided it's like okay I drove 12 hours straight home went to the hospital immediately told my doctor Let's whack it off did it on Wednesday and out on a Thursday Got this six weeks later, and I'm good to go. So you were in the middle of building out this rig Yeah, when you you had that problem. Yes, I heard From people with travelers campfest that were with her That she was Getting it done and people were passing you things through the window when you were still trying to build Out the RV or the schooling you were still trying to build out the schooling and that's what was important to you I bet that that was a little heartbreaking that you couldn't get that done there Well, I got my solar done there. That was one of the main things. I wanted the other stuff But with my leg I just couldn't do it. I mainly wanted my solar done because that was The heaviest part of it Now you mentioned something about after you had the amputation they wanted you to walk with a walker Yeah, I take it kind of slow, but you wouldn't do it you guys. No, I walked out without it Well, that's that's unusual or how long does it take most people before they people you have to do therapy for about You know five weeks with it. What do you attribute that speed to your success to? Mind mind mind. You've got to mind over matter. You've got you've got to be strong enough to Break through all that worry and woe. I am not a negative person I don't stress And I just want to live, you know life to the fullest that day is every day you take it for granted That you know, it could be next tomorrow I think a lot of people need to hear that no matter what their their issue is Um, I hear that all the time for people. They just can't get over the fear. Right. Were you always like that? Yes, I've always been like that when when things start to worry you. What's the next thing in your thought process? So don't really have a worry. I just Go fix it. Yeah, you just keep it moving. Yeah. Yeah, so you don't wallow. No So you don't let your you don't let your concerns turn into fears that you Fester inside of no you think about what has to be done next. Yes, that that is a great way to do it. Yeah Um, well, what made you choose a school? You tell us about the length and how you got it and all that stuff It's beautiful. The length is about Well with my rack and everything is probably about 20 foot but inside My living area is about six by 10 Okay, it's gorgeous. You guys we're gonna see it in a minute and the thing is is that I knew this wasn't gonna leak and I wanted something of my own. I looked at the tiny homes but they were just too big to pull and everything in my budget and um I just fell in love when the schoolies started coming out and I got this for a really great price And it's my vehicle too. So I sold my you know got rid of my vehicle and put that money into this Wonderful. Patricia. Are you handy? Did you know how to build out a schoolie? Yes, my father taught me a lot of things And this is not a diesel it is a GMC gas and I did that for a reason because I can work on gas Vehicles, I can't work on diesel if there was somebody else that was thinking about doing a build out That doesn't have your experience. Where would you tell them to start? Find friends that know Yeah, so to keep the cost down. Yeah, I went, you know, like I got boards free. I got um What I built with but the the main things I had to pay for was the insulation and the floor And pretty much everything else Um was free Where did you buy it? Where do you find a used schoolie? I found it um in the marketplace actually off of facebook No way. I got it for $19,000. You know what? I did not even know the facebook marketplace really worked until about three months ago And now I hear about it all the time people use it for everything 1300 1900 so then when you got it were there chairs in the back? No, he had them all out. That was the one thing I was so thankful. That's nice when I thought about doing this I wouldn't want to take the chairs out That could be difficult. So it was just a metal shell inside Kind of I had to take up the flooring because still had the rubber flooring and the rotted wood that was there So I took all that out And then I patched the holes where the floors, you know had been bolted down And then I put A layer of weather proofing paper And then I put two inches of Insulation down And then I put reflectives on top of that and then my floor nice and I went halfway up on the wall the same way nice What year is the engine? This is a 2001. Nice. You like it? Yes. What kind of gas mileage do you get? I get 10 to 12 Yeah, not bad. No, and I mean, how do you feel driving this down the road? Do you easy? It's like a big old van Yeah, yeah What else do you want us to know about the outside of the schoolie or the purchase of the schoolie or the build out before we Go on and take a tour. Well, it was kind of funny just recently coming down here. I did have the the school doors and I got Hit the hit and run. So actually my door is From the airberg cleanup that we had just recently also Some guys helped me get my door off and they found that it's an old pace arrow door And got it welded on and everything and so i'm still working on the window part, but uh got new stairs from a Another nomad. I mean nomads are the best. I think great. Yes You guys want to see more pictures build out just a lot of stuff on our channel and I'll also link that video Patricia, can we see the inside? Of course. Let's do it. Okay. Go on. All right. We're going in You have one of those gray curtains Yes I love it. How many packs do you have in here? I have two just my dog and my cat kitty. That's buzz He's pretty. He likes to look out the window. Yeah, so does my boy. Yeah And then tell us about this guy. This is titan. He's actually a service dog. Also. He helps me out Um, I think that's a lot of reason why I I used to be on anxiety medicine Mm-hmm because I did hold stuff, you know and get going and I got him and I'm not on it anymore That's great. Did you bring some stuff from home like yeah? I'm going to take every state that I have and take pictures and push him in here eventually I love it. What a great idea. It turns on at night. It's real nice. Oh gosh. You are an artist This is my shower I do have a camp flex here And I ran my piping to my water tank back here Okay, I have a barrel that I was going to stand in but I can't no more because of my leg So what I do is I take this part out At there and just and then sit on there and let the water run and you have a curtain up here Yeah, um, I actually have some new curtain Things because it does have a tin seat to fall And it's easier for me now to actually wash my hair and then sit and do my body, right So you're a hairdresser, so I noticed you have a good shampoo over there. Yes I do color my hair on the road I gave up I I can't do it yet. I just can't do it yet being a hairdresser. Yeah, but I brought this from home This is my dresser. And did you just bolt that down? Yes. Nice. Yep This cabinet I redid I do have to redo it some of the roads out here really knocked it down So I do have to rebuild that. Okay. So you actually have an oven. Yes. I have an oven I got these out of a friend of mine's RV Like I said, I still have things to do. We got to put another siding on here and everything Um, but I got each of these for $50. Wow So you have a fridge and an oven and they work off of this propane bottle? Yes Okay, and you were just saying that you had trouble getting it to fire once you got here But now we just heard it. Yeah. Now my fridge is firing. So now I can I've been just putting ice in my freezer and keeping my meat and uh friend's beverages once in a while, you know Yeah, I know a lot of van lifers just use a cooler with ice. But that's been keeping it ice and cool Yeah, and you got some great storage up here. I just did that. Uh, because I can't that was the only thing I could not Build by myself the cabinetry and I really didn't want That bulkiness. I want to be able to see right. So I did that by just with the curtain rod hung on that and Does it look nicer? You know in some of the other interviews I've done When people do a buildup, they say one of the biggest mistakes they make is they line The upper cabinets With cabinets. Mm-hmm because they think it's going to give them more room and then they feel claustrophobic So that was uh, I think a smart move. Yeah, I mentioned that because you guys look how Open it isn't here. It's so great I just use baskets and then when I need to on certain things like I take this and like Little or things and food I put them in baskets and when I go I sit on the floor Then all I have to do is pick it back up. Right. Yeah, everything has its place probably. Yep, right? Yep Um, how much water do you have back there and you're 50 gallon and it's under the bed. Yes, okay great 50 I'm jealous. I'm jealous. I'm so jealous and my favorite part is this ceiling I did this because I have You know your exit door. Oh, right. That's where a lot of heat comes in So I put a cushion and then reflux and then they cover that up I love my tapestries and I have a tapestry here Which I'm getting ready to make with scarves and stuff and awning out front Oh, that would be great. So yeah, I'm going to do that and then tell us about the bed The bed I I got saved on this which has saved me. I got all the wood free What it was a door for some a gals garage door that got broke into Oh, wow, and so it was already made together So my son he did help me bring it in but what I did is as to get it built up I would just be on my I lift it with my back and drill in each corner You drill it into the metal. No, there's there's blocks. Oh, you got yeah. Yeah Yeah, support blocks for those of us that don't know how to do a build out Yeah, if you get a snug enough today, it's not going to go nowhere. Yeah, I built some shelves and learned that's amazing Yeah, that's great. And then you just put a foam topper on it Actually, yeah, it's a mattress, but I'm going to get a different I want to get a different foam one. It this one wasn't very good. I'm going to get a different one Yeah, and my dog and my cat sleep up there and you've got some little more storage up there Patricia, it's so cozy in here and I do lights at night Let me see if it'll show up very much today or not Oh My gosh, you know it blinks and stuff too. It's a disco party in here. Yeah, let me know when you're going to start dancing I'm no kidding. Come over. How long have you been on the road? June 17th. I left the day after my grandbaby's birthday. That's nice And even with the Merci and the leg you didn't want to stop. No, I got home and did that real quick and pretty much After it healed good enough, but I had to do a shower for my daughter's wedding and then I was out on the road You weren't going to let anything stop. No, I left December 2nd. Right. How long do you see yourself doing this? Till I die. Right and you're young. You look young to me. Thank you Um, so you got a lot of years ahead of you of adventure. That's great If there's somebody out there that's thinking about doing this life And they have some anxiety about it or they're on the fence or they're just not sure what direction to go What advice would you give them? just Get out there and do it if you need help. I will be more than happy to come and help you. Oh, wow I would I'm on the road. I can do it. Yeah, I can give you pointers. Um, I I would love to help build out Yeah, yeah, somebody build it out. Yeah um, if somebody is just scared to leave their regular life because they think being on the road is Scary I get that question a lot. Did you find that that was true? No No, people are nice. Yes, you feel pretty safe. Very safe anybody can get on the road Again, you guys, I encourage you to check out patricia's channel. Tell us the name Living for the moment. Remember the link is going to be below This is an amazing woman and actually she has really spoken to me today And this was a gift for me to do this interview and I appreciate you and thank you so much for giving us the tour And giving us an interview by the way, you guys, um, there's going to be a written interview With patricia where we're going to go a little bit more in depth on my blog I'll put a link for that also below you guys if you want to get out there. There's a way There's a way So I just want to say thanks again. Thank you. Everybody have happy travels out there and be free