Shedvolution

Evolution. It never has -and never will - happen. ("And God created each according to it's kind.")

Shedvolution. It really happened. Three times. And I'm about to prove it to you. The pictures you are about to witness are in chronological order and were not forged, altered, or enhanced in any way. Please regard them with the merit and seriousness they truly deserve.

Exhibit A: Cavemen analyzing the livability of an actual shelter vs. a cave

[Sorry, this photo is out for cleaning]
Exhibit B: One adventurous young caveman goes for it-and moves into the shed! He is an engineer, bachelor, and primitive... and his home shows it! The ladder leaning in the corner, the crowbar hanging from the rafters, the rough and rugged look of the unpainted, undecorated wood,... attest to it.

Exhibit C: Civilized, classy women take pity on the caveman after braving just one month of rough, uncouth life outside a cave and offer to paint/decorate/civilize the shelter. Some historical texts suggest that their motives may have also had something to do with the fact that Tim-the-great, the landlord and a reputably amazing chef, offered to cook them a meal in exchange.

Exhibit D: A peanut-brained Caveman paints himself into a corner. Historians speculate that bystanders laughed hysterically.

Exhibit E: Ninja feels sorry for caveman's simple-mindedness and helps him paint. Several well-renowned schools of thought suggest that this picture is actually upside down, and that the ninja is not hanging from the rafters painting the floor with his feet; rather he is standing on his hands painting the ceiling with his feet.

Exhibit F: Well-intentioned women introduce caveman to shelves, color matching, and basic organizational skills.

Exhibit G: Many top archaelogists (including Dr. Jones) agree that this picture depicts jovialities taking place after the third and final phase of shedvolution occured. This is oft considered the point at which the caveman truly became a shelterdweller. Tears of joy were shed.
Exhibit H: After three strenuous, societally beneficial, historically significant "extreme shed makeovers", humankind has achieved the modern-day shed that we all know and love.

Home, sweet home! Birthplace of many a joyous occasion; shedwarming parties, BBQs, Thanksgiving dinners, warmth and security during hurricanes & snowstorms... it's actually going to be kind of sad when I move out. ...IF I move out. :)

On a serious note: THANK YOU to all of you who helped out! It's activities like these that make the shed life fun!

Mexico!!!

Yes, I do have a good excuse for not updating my blog Sunday night: I was driving home from Reynosa, Mexico! I have many tales to tell; here are a couple pics to give you a taste:

terror in the shed

BAM! BAM! BAM! The violent banging cut through the cool night air like a red-hot knife through butter. It jerked me from my peaceful slumber and resonated through my bones and I immediately jumped to my feet, muscles tightened and adrenaline flowing. Before I even had time to think my instincts kicked in and I had unsheathed the hunting knife - which resides under my cot specifically for emergencies such as this - and taken a defensive stance, fully ready for whatever - or whomever - may come rampaging through the thin, wooden doors. I stood there silently, waiting, watching, wondering.

"Could it be some kind of opossum or skunk trying to get into a metal container right behind the shed? Not a chance, too loud. Could it be a raccoon banging a nut on the grill trying to crack it? No way, this is much bigger. Maybe a Texas Brown Bear wandered out of the hills and into the city? Practically impossible. ...It's got to be the most dangerous animal in existence: the human being." Then I heard it again; another round of piercing, metallic volleys, very obviously not more than 20 feet away from the very place I stood. I knew a noise like this at 5am probably meant trouble... and I had to check it out - I was not going to sit idly by. Completely confident in the Lord's protection, I was neither fearful nor careless. I silently crept out of the shed into the ominous night, ready to face my fate.

Realizing the noise was coming from the other side of the privacy fence that borders the back of my shed, I cautiously and inconspicuously peeked over. And what I saw made me cup my hands over my mouth... trying to hold back laughter! (I didn't want my neighbor, who was indeed out there and who was indeed the source of this obnoxious clanging, to hear me.)

Here's what I saw (picture taken the next morning, sans my neighbor):

Yep, that's a baseball bat and some poor unfortunate piece of electronics equipment! (I think it's an audio amp; any of you guys know?) Being a EE and a nerd, I can fully understand frustration with electronics, and can fully appreciate the humor when someone releases those frustrations by destroying said equipment. (The scene in "Office Space" where some computer programmers kidnap their company's troublesome printer and go smash it in a field is one of the funniest things I have ever seen!)

There have been several occasions I have gotten to experience living in a shed that may have been initially annoying, but that, when they happen now, I can just laugh at. And being able to laugh at those kinds of things makes life alot more fun. I hope you all have gotten as much of a kick out of hearing this story as I did experiencing it!

my warm shed

What do you do right after you move into a new home you're very proud of? You throw a great big housewarming party in it with all your friends!

Well, that's exactly what I did; I threw a shedwarming party. The invitation my friends received went something like this:

"I hereby request the honor of your presence at the warming of the new Long's residence.

Please approach the shed by entering the gate on the LEFT side of the house. Walk through the gate about 15 yards and then take a right and walk for another 15 yards. My place has no address label, but it's the white one that is 64 square feet, 1 bed, 0 bath. ..."

it was a wild party complete with legwrestling matches
(these are my awesome neighbors Mark & Daniel)

Oh yeah, for memories' sake, and to add to the hilarity of the event: this was Sept. 12; the night Hurricane Ike was supposed to blow through Austin! I sent out a reminder to my guests earlier that day:

Rain or shine,
we've got spine.
Hurricane or no,
the party's a go!

(We didn't even get a drop of rain.) Thanks to all of you for thoroughly warming my shed!

Don't worry Mom

Please don't worry about me, Mom!
Based just on what I've written so far, you may have the impression that I'm having a hard time being in the shed. In reality though, not only am I doing fine, ... how should I say this... I am kicking butt!!! Would you expect anything less from a Long brother? Would you expect anything less from Wilderness Jeremy? (And I haven't even blogged about the upgrades yet!)

I can sit comfortably in the middle of my shed and reach anything (as a matter of fact, I have never lived in a more convenient layout); I sleep great every night in an army cot that is more comfortable than the $600 mattress I had before; I have a swamp cooler and a system of fans that keeps my place cool AND keeps the bugs out; I stay in good shape and diligently maintain a healthy diet with lots of whole grains, vegetables & chicken (and low sugar, Dad); I drink dispensed "glacier water" from my all-glass-and-ceramic dispenser and it is the best water I have ever had; I have a shower system that is superior in many ways to the showers in most American homes (more on that later); I am 100% debt free and my savings are growing quickly (after all, I only pay $100/month for rent + utils); I can sit right here and blog and trade stocks and get any streaming radio station in the world via my wireless internet connection; I can turn my shed light on/off just by clapping twice (three times to fire up or kill the fans); I have a security system that monitors my shed and records a video and emails me a picture whenever there's motion in the shed; ...I could go on, but then I'd just be showing off. : ) Let it suffice for me to say that I'm doing alright here in the shed. I am blessed.

Experimental swamp cooler


Cereal in the shed, Jeremy style


My previous shed security system ;)

This blog entry is actually not to comfort my mom, it is to comfort those who don't know me; my mom knows full well she could drop off any of her boys from a helicopter anywhere in the world with nothing but the shirt on their back and not only would they survive, they would thrive! When I told mom I was moving into a shed and explained why, she calmly responded, "...I'm not even surprised you would do something like this, and no, I'm not worried about you at all - I know you can handle yourself. I actually think it's kind of cute that you're doing this!" And that has become a source of inspiration. I love my mom.

Let us run with perseverance

I was reminded this morning what perseverance is, while running a 10K race with aches and a cold. It is easy to quit, and that is often our natural human inclination to adversity. Right now, I truly enjoy life in the shed, but there have been a couple of times when I was tempted to quit and just move into an apartment. One morning I woke up itching and found some little jumping black bugs on me ...I had fleas!!!

boric acid soaked army cot



any detergent with boric acid will dehydrate flea eggs - the most important part in getting rid of them :)

I boric acidized my humble abode, and my friend/neighbor/landlord/toxicologist sprayed the surrounding area, and I decided to stick with it and stay in the shed. The decision has come to mean something more to me though.

There is consequence for every decision we make. If we consistently allow ourselves to easily back out of goals we set for ourselves just because they become hard, we will become weak. (caveat: obviously there are situations where quitting is the right choice; ie you break a leg during a race!) If however, we develop the habit of consistently continuing to move forward even when it's hard, it produces in us an attitude/approach of perseverance - which will serve us well in our career, in marriage, ...in life.

Perseverance, fortitude, courage... treasures I feel I have not had in my past, but that I now seek adamantly... these are why, within reason, I am now committing to be consistent and devoted to achieving my goals. Even if there were no other benefit, going through hardships to achieve even just a personal goal allows me to look back and think "wow, I just accomplished something difficult", and it becomes a source of encouragement and confidence for the future. And I believe this glorifies God. Lord, may your work produce in me commitment... fortitude... perseverance, and may these bring you glory.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1-2a

(shoutout to my fellow 10K runners!!!)

worth your while

On world poverty, the quality of life, and the changing circumstances; these are outstanding and entertaining presentations!

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_shows_the_best_stats_you_ve_ever_seen.html

http://ted.com/index.php/talks/hans_rosling_reveals_new_insights_on_poverty.html

Compliments of my good friend Mike Werle (affectionately aka the Werlepedia)!

humble beginnings...

Yes, I have been living in the shed since August 3. Yes, I am way behind in telling my story on this blog. I've had some unexpected but very welcomed distractions. And yes, now that my rationale for moving into the shed has been articulated, I will post less philosophizing and more stories and pictures about the good ol' shed life.

These should hold you over; they are pics from early on:

My shower; crude, but does the job.

Guess what this is gonna be used for...

freedom from the land

It's one thing to hear about poverty. It's another thing to see it.

I grew up in a country where serious material needs are essentially nonexistent. Not even our homeless and poorest of the poor have to worry about starving to death or freezing... some of them are even obese! I've become aware only recently how incredibly naive I was (and probably still am) about wealth and the quality of life for most of the worlds populace. These charts are counterintuitive but they tell the story:

May "God bless America", but it does not need a blessing, it needs a revival! Growing up here I have been fortunate, but I have also seen first hand how "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil" (1 Timothy 6:10). I have also seen how godly people can so easily become entirely sidetracked or even find their comfort & security in possessions.

"It is easier for a camel to enter through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God" (Luke 18:25). Does my wealth serve me or do I serve my wealth; do I feel I am the owner of it, or simply a steward of what God has entrusted me with? Would I honestly be willing to give up everything I own in order to serve God?

Tough questions - I grapple with them every day. When I was challenged to move into the shed I was excited to, but was actually a little fearful about giving up this small amount of comfort and convenience - realizing how attached to those things I was only drove me to want to do it even more. And I'm glad I did! I have grown and continue to grow less attached to my own comfort, convenience and possessions.

No, I'm not saying you should live in a shed* or give up everything you own just to make sure you're not overly attached to it. I'm challenging you to geniunely think about the hold your material wealth has on you, in light of Luke 18:25. Regard what you do have as a blessing. And don't let your desires for what you don't have rob you of joy.

*But if you do decide you'd benefit from experiencing the shed life, I am subleasing. ;)

freedom from myself

My dwellings may be humble by American standards, but I have way more than I need right now and I am happy. Paradoxically, there was a time in my life when I lived in a 'mansion' and enjoyed all the 'modern conveniences', and I was consistently unhappy because I expected more. I expected the temperature in my house to be just right and let myself get annoyed if I had to put on a sweater. I expected there to always be enough hot water and let it ruin my morning if I ran out during a shower. I expected this, I expected that... I was materialistic. I did not like who I had become.

Often when you want to improve something, you have to straight up go and do the very thing you are weak at. If your muscles are weak, you lift weights; if you are scared of heights, you take up climbing; ...if your character is lacking, you do hard things. I was materially-minded, so I decided to go without. This was when I was much younger, and I have come a long ways since then, but still thought this would be an invaluable benefit of living in a shed for awhile. (More on that later.)

But even more than all these seemingly noble reasons for doing this thing that 90% of my friends said was insane, I wanted to. I felt like I was stuck in a rut. Life was 'easy'... I longed for a real (and beneficial) challenge! I reckon only those who share such an adventurous spirit will understand this.

... And they ask me why I did it.

"It was for freedom. Freedom from myself and from the land."

I live in a shed.
It is 64 square feet.
There is an extension cord and a hose run to it.
I shower behind a tarp, and have an improvised toilet.
I also have an MS in engineering and work an 8-5 tech job.

If you're in America, Europe, Japan, or another well-off nation, your initial reaction is likely shock or even disgust. But if you were among the other 80% of the world's population, you'd probably be quite impressed and regard me as well-off. Nearly half the world's population lives on the equivalent of $2 USD or less per person per day; most are lucky if they have running water, a septic system, or even ...electricity (1,2,3). I live in luxury.