My Hand at Vagrancy

Last week I set a record. I slept in a different place every night for 6 nights in a row. I was going for a whole week, but I did a repeat on Tuesday. So why the vagrancy, you may ask? It all started last June when I got it in my head that I was completely disatisfied with my current situation and that chasing after a boy I hardly knew would be much more fulfilling. My lease ran out at the end of June, or rather, my period as a rent-paying squatter since I never signed a lease and wasn't legally supposed to live there (the apartment was capped at 2 by the City of Berkeley, and I made 3). I then moved back to Danville to my Uncle Mike and Aunt Shelley's house. I prepared to leave first by the end of June, then changed my date to the end of July, and then the middle of July, and then the end of September, and then indefinitely. In the midst of all the plan changing, I packed up all my things, sent half of my clothing home, and sold my car because I was "moving home". I came to the realization that I needed a change and that my current job wasn't cutting it as far as making me feel like I was accomplishing anything. I decided not to take the promotion they were offering me and find another job in the area. It was then that I was finally in the position to heed the prompting to go on a mission. It took quite a lot to humble me, but I was finally ready to listen. I already had my doctor's appointments set up, so I thought it would be a breeze to get my papers in quickly. They are in now, but it took a little longer than expected and since I put my availability date as essentially immediately, I am stuck in limbo, not knowing how much time I have left here. That leaves me in a weird situation. The bulk of my stuff is in Danville. I work in Pleasant Hill. The majority of my friends are in Berkeley. And I have no car to get between the three.

Therefore, I've become a vagrant, a mooch, and an avid public-transportation user. I've become fairly adjusted to this type of life-style. When I started, I often went hungry or made other people feed me. I grew weary of always packing an overnight bag, but I've become accustomed to always having a change of clothes on my back. Biking in the street no longer causes me anxiety, though biking up large hills still does. I have claimed one of my uncle's bikes as my own, nabbed a sleeping bag to cart around, and even taken all my clothes to stash in the basement of the Berkeley Institute building. I keep food at work for breakfast and lunch, so I'm fairly set. I used to have stuff across the US (CA, UT, and NC), but now I mostly just have stuff strewn across the Bay Area. It reminds me of my dad complaining about how my socks and snot rags were everywhere in the house. I just want everyone to be reminded of me always :) I try to rotate through my friends, so they don't get tired of me. I always find a place to sleep and have yet to sleep at the institute itself or in People's Park in Berkeley, but it's just a matter of time...

Next time...Life lessons learned as a vagrant...

Some thoughts on the deteriorating state of the world

Not really. Just one thought. 

I went to the Pleasant Hill Library today to get my Contra Costa County Library Card! I got really excited about it as I was leaving work because it brought back happy memories of all the time spent at the library growing up whether checking out books or looking at romance novels with my Cross Country friends instead of running. Imagine my horror when I saw the sign that said I must provide proof of my current residence. I left the building dejected, but after some quick remembered a recent paycheck that I had stashed in a book in my car that had my Danville address printed on it. Thanks Lincoln Law! 

I quickly filled out the online registration and hurried over to the accounts desk where the man issued me my brand new library card! As he was finishing everything, I pondered on how wonderful it is that we have a place where we can check out books and movies for free. Education for the masses. Thanks Benjamin Franklin! You're the man! 

I hurried off to find my book, and there the fact that indeed things are going downhill in CA became real to me. I couldn't find the book I wanted (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon) with the other books by the same author. I went to go ask the volunteer nearby that looked nigh unto death, she was so frail. She flashed me a big smile and informed me that she was deaf. I somewhat communicated my problem and she told me that since they no longer have funding, they can't afford to have "the kids come in," and the number of volunteers has been seriously reduced. She herself was a volunteer and could only come in a few hours every week. So, I had to look on the carts for my book since none had been shelved. I knew that California was going to cut Insurance for children and state parks, but I didn't know about the public libraries. Goodbye health, recreation, and education. I got my book and walked out, saddened by the deteriorating state of things. 

On a lighter note, I flirted with some tattooed, muscular men in white vans on the way home from work today. I caught one guy's eye completely innocently, I swear. But we exchanged amused glances as we passed each other back and forth in traffic. I didn't mean to flirt; it just happened. They all waved at me as I was exiting. I think they were prisoners. It makes it all the more exciting. 

Also, I got a voicemail at work from Jane who sells crocheted hats in San Francisco. She never showed up to her appointment yesterday, and I had so wanted to meet her. Sadly, she had been at the BART station waiting for the bus which must never have come! She always called by pay phone, so we can't reach her. Our phone system is stupid. We can't get our clients calls because they are all routed through Utah. I hope Jane tries again. 

That's it. Maybe I will actually blog in the future. 

Day Tripper

I am super excited because I'm going to LA next week to go check out UCLA and see grandma maxwell and all the extended family down there. I called my Uncle Raymond up and said essentially, "hi. I'm your great-niece. Can I stay at your house?" He was very welcoming and said there were a number of pull out couches, so plenty of room for both me and my grandma. He's going to have a big dinner at his house on Friday night with my Dad's cousin Deena and the other cousins, so that will be fun. Anyway, the question is, what is a good gift for an extended family host who you have never met? Bread? Pie? Any suggestions?
I also am a bit nervous about checking out UCLA. It's so hard to grow up and decide what to do with one's life. It's the normal thing where I've let it go so long without dealing with it (talking to the admissions people I mean), that I'm afraid I've missed some deadline and people will think I'm flaky, so I end up being so. It's a terrible cycle.

Speaking of whatever...

Speaking of illegal immigration (see Ted's comment on my last post), we had two people come into our office today that we were unable to help because they had received all their credit with false Social Security numbers. Sad for us because we could have gotten more money. Tragic for them because one of them has a number of houses and the other a large amount of credit card debt.
Speaking of tragedy, one of the most educational parts of this job are the interactions with people and their varying situations. There are the young couples steeped in credit card debt and the divorcees that have been cheated and abandoned to deal with their financial ruin by their former spouses. I'm interacting with people trying to keep their businesses from going under and others that are struggling to get by on food stamps and social security while the child they care for is in juvenile detention. Some are more tragic than others. Even in the short time I've been there, I've seen a few that look broken under the stress of their failing health and growing financial burden. I am grateful for the situation I have since the news continues to be bleak. The radio is full of the same news and the same songs recycled over and over.
Speaking of recycling, I got to send out a letter demanding money from a creditor that violated the automatic stay that our clients get when they file for bankruptcy. Just because they sent them a letter asking for money, we get to demand a large fine. Also, my roommate, Maria, is a recycling fanatic and even recycles the wrapper from the Costco toilet paper. I completely approve of this since ever coming back from Guatemala, where the wrapper was also quite useful, I have felt it a waste to throw it away. She's been researching on the internet for at least half an hour how to dispose of water filters, if anyone knows. She would prefer something green.
Speaking of waste, it smelled like sewage at work today.
Speaking of smells, when I came into my building it smelled like cat urine and tortillas. When I got into my apartment it smelled like stir fry and perfume. Outside in the hallway it usually smells like smoke. I would say it was marijuana, if I knew what marijuana smelled like.
Speaking of marijuana, I passed by the famous hippie craft market on Saturday. I need to actually go in person next week. There were real hippies! Not, the neo-hippies with dreads and cut-offs, but real 60s hippies, still wearing their tie-dye. A piece of living history right near my home!
Speaking of home, I like it here. Maybe I'll stay.

New inspiration

Blogging for me doesn't happen. It's like writing in my journal or calling my friends back in a timely manner. The days and then the weeks go by. It's always in my mind, but it just never gets done. For a person who likes to spill the inner contents of her being to almost anyone who cares to listen, it surprises me that blogging wouldn't be more of a draw. So I've decided to try again.
I was inspired this morning by all the facebook invitations telling me to vote no on SB81 and to tell the Utah Legislature of my dissapproval. Not living in Utah and generally being unaware of such things unless someone tells me, I really have no idea what this bill is all about. I will research it, but the main thing is that I felt rallied to the cause. I feel an overwhelming desire to protest something. Something that is fundamentally wrong, something that I have no doubt is a bad move for society. I guess I'm just feeling feisty, but if anyone knows of something that is perfectly evil and that many people will be holding signs up over in the area, do let me know.
Hopefully I will continue writing my thoughts as well as the events of my life. I lost my job two weeks ago and found a new one a week ago. I only have a week and a half left in this one. I feel like good times are ahead and a new beginning is just around the corner. Who knows, could be... There's something just out of reach, down the street, on the beach... OK, enough of West Side Story, I don't remember the words. I commiserated with a girl who used to work here who is in the Berkeley ward. She just kept saying over and over, "I'm so happy that you are getting out! You won't miss it." Something's coming, something good. Yay!