Great news! Sleep is improving!
It’s still bad—just 3 hours a night. But that’s up from my 1.3-hour average. And I’ll take any progress with thanks.
Three nights ago, the temperature fell to freezing levels. It was too cold to sleep in the car. So I tried to power through a sleepless night in my toxic bedroom. Bt that proved too painful. So I showered, then returned to my car to brave the cold.
I fled to the most tolerable air location I could find. And I opened all the windows, as I usually do.
I also got lucky wth my sleep experiments. I found I could plug a tiny, 100-watt heater into a power inverter, then plug that into my cigarette lighter. And it pushed warmer air into my blankets.
I’m still worried about my cigarette lighter fuse going, or the car battery dying.
But for now it’s working. The heater hasn’t burnt out. And I was able to sleep an amazing 6.7 hours three nights ago!
But then the cigarette lighter broke. And when I tested it, it it was neither the fuse nor the battery. Something the dealership needs to handle.
That was bad timing since my heated blanket that only pulls 43 watts (instead of my heater’s 100) had just arrived. A day too late.
And the temperature was still dropping (it’s now forecasted to be 23F (-5C) with wind chill in a few days).
So I bundled up in 5 layers and wrapped my head in a long-sleeve t-shirt. That helped, and I managed 4.3 hours of sleep—even with 35F degree winds whipping my face all night.
The next night was colder. But I had an idea.
After spending 7 hours hand washing and drying what contaminated clothing I could salvage, I went to a super toxic Walmart that still sold disposable hot hand packs. And I got some painter’s tape. This was yesterday.
And last night I got 5+ hours of broken sleep! Covered in layers and blankets, and with hot hands taped all over my upper body and arms. It was fashionable. In a haute-couture, derelicte sort of way.
The forecast is now for 28F (-4C) tonight. That’s better than 23. And I have a new 298Wh power station and 100W solar charger (Amazon) due to arrive today. These would obviate the need for taped hot packs.
Hopefully, there won’t be another delay.
This is survival!
Reply