paul wheaton wrote:There are openings at this time.
Paul, thank you so much for the quick response. I wanted to kind of introduce myself at least as far as my situation right now and how I found out about wheaton labs. Basically I recently found myself homeless after I chose to leave a roommate situation that started to present too many red flags. Instead of returning with my tail between my legs to try to depend on family to help me I have been trying to navigate the whole 'shelter living' system but this has been absolutely soul crushing. It becomes even more difficult when you are thrust headlong into a society that wants nothing more than to make you completely and utterly dependent on it just to survive, much less ever get ahead. So I had to really step back and take this time to ask myself what I really want out of life, what do I stand for and value the most, what do I wish to accomplish?
Anyway, I don't mean to go into some big long life story but through an interesting chain of events I managed to find out about wheaton labs and the bootcamp program and I feel beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is exactly what I have been looking for.
I do have a few concerns only in that I am coming there literally with only the clothes on my back, my little tracfone and a laptop (although I am willing to donate the laptop for the community there perhaps for there at the base camp when other people need to come use the WiFi). I am receiving food stamp benefits until December ($192 a month) and I still have about $100 on there and if there is a store somewhere in missoula I would be happy to use that towards staples not just for myself but other boots as well and would be happy to just entrust that card to someone that handles finances there at the labs because what's mine is yours. The only thing is I don't have any thing else as far as clothes, boots, tools or anything else but in the future I may be able to have some friends mail me perhaps a care package for clothing and whatnot but this is obviously not a damn fashion show either I was just wondering if that is going to be a problem before I come out there.
Also I didn't want to give the impression that I'm just looking for some sort of hand out since I'm currently homeless. There's a ton of work exchange programs and co-ops and places where I am locally that I could look into but frankly speaking even though the bootcamp will likely be exponentially more difficult and much more work than pulling weeds and planting seeds on someone elses farm in a WWOOF-type arrangement, I don't believe that anyone ever accomplished anything worthwhile and meaningful without much hard work and this is the only opportunity I have found where not only I can learn first hand all of the knowledge and skills necessary to living sustainably off the land but also be able to build towards a stable future with a community of like minded individuals. I'm not coming there as a tourist or with some pie-in-the-sky romanticized vision of what living off the grid entails. I also only have very basic experience - I know my way around a toolbox, not afraid to use a chainsaw and can tend to a garden without screwing anything up but that's about it. I want to learn as much as I can with an open mind, an eagerness to learn and the ability to shut up, listen and follow directions to make sure I do the job right.
So I just wanted to let you all know a little bit about my mindset, my situation, where I'm coming from etc. I have a friend that's going to help me with the gapper fee and the bus ticket to the station in missoula asap. Also as I am traveling without any cash would I be able to paypal someone the money for the ride from the bus station? Is that something I could probably work out? That's my only other concern. Anyway sorry for writing a freaking novel pretty much hopefully someone can address my concerns. Thanks again!
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