OD........Oh My!

Yesterday there was an OD in the bathroom at PSU. Cops, emergency workers out the gazoo! Funny how students and the homeless have no place to live, but all carry cell phones and can buy drugs!

Did I mention they are also stupid? They ask if you want some "shake & bake", what ever the hell that is, right on the the street. What happend to the rule of thumb, "Only buy from people you know?" No wonder at least 25% have done time!

Unfortunately, many of the social programs are geared toward helping alchoholics and drug addicts! So if you don't use, your abused by the system.

After sleeping outside, in cold clear air, three nights without blankets in 40F weather, I hope the buttwipe that stole my bedroll was warm, I finally got two blankets and a ground pad yesterday.....it was a small improvement, I guess I need more blankets! I need a friggen -10F sleeping bag! At least it's not raining or snowing!

Flush Again!

Wow, I almsot froze last night...35F and windy! At least there was no snow! Need a damn bag, -10F at least...LOL

This AM, a benevolent soul left me $2! Very nice of him!

Almost time for lunch, trip to the PO, and numerous "errands".

I'll never be warm again...my hands are freezing, brrrrrrrrrr!

Not as much "DRAMA" last night and today. Got a new coat, a nice Pendleton Herringbone! Very warm indeed.

Drama on the Street

Wow, police dragging "suspects" off streetcars! Yesterday, two wack jobs with a bike, huge trailer full of crap get on the train. The other guy was a 300# fatso in a wheelchair. Another old man (homeless) gets on in a wheelchair and can't fit because of the bike/trailer.......so this wack job wearing a women's hat, starts swearing at the old man, and some of the passengers start booing and cussing the guy out for saying, "F**K You" to someone in a wheelchair.

Then on the way home another woman starts up swearing at cop cars and flipping people off outside the trolley. I said, "Am I the only person who took their meds today?" LOL

COPS!

OK, too much excitement on the streetcar Saturday night. Some crazed and disheveled street guy was yelling about lawyers etc. The streetcar didn't move, doors stayed open, then three cops with pistols drawn are screaming at this guy to drop his bags and get on the ground......they tazered him! He was flopping around like a fish!

I guess before I got on, he was talking about a gun and shooting everyone. Uh huh.

Found a few other places to eat, good food too! I am thinking of actually going into a shelter for a few days to get out of the weather and actually sleep in a bed!

Although this entire week is supposed to be sunny and warm in the high 60's.....the warmest it's been in three weeks!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Rain, rain, rain...all night, all day! Bah! Next week.....sunny!

At 5:00 AM, some butt wipe is standing at my doorway staring at me. I asked him if there was a problem? He says, no just walking by......I told him to keep walking!

No mail yet, and no new debit card. I am trapped until at least next week. This PM will see about my application for my bookstore job.

Found a sporting goods store yesterday, looking for gear...sleeping bag, tent, and a bigger pack....all for about $100. Cheaper than rent and utilities!

The things I miss most about not having money or a place? Beer and TV!

Another Day in Paradise

Getting more screwed by the day! The bank wouldn't transfer the money to Pay Pal, yet charged me NSF...twice @$35 each for the attempt.

Now I probably can't get money even if/when I get my replacement card. It's been four days since I reapplied for my job and have heard nothing. I'll call them after the store opens. Wow, it's amazing how much worse things can get.

Last night it rained, but I was "safe" in my doorway, but forgot about the dance club, where it must have been "Hip-Hop" night with all the blacks who got into two fights, and set off a burgler alam in a closed store.........45 minutes it rang, no cops ever showed up!

I am thinking of bailing to Tacoma or Seattle, but don't have any money.........a nickle, bah! I hope I get my replacement card by Saturday.

Punks and Slackers Everywhere!

OMG, if I thought there were a lot of homeless, there are as many or more Punks and Slackers! They live for weed...seem to be mostly dropouts and homeless, they dress weird and ruin panhandling for us all!

I thought there were a lot in Colorado Springs.......could never understand why schools let them dress like that........no way in Michigan, where you can't wear hoodies or camo!

If I don't get my bookstore job back this week, I am outa here as soon as I get my debit card back!

OK, 12" of snow tonight in the Cascades, above 3500 feet elevation.....waaaaaaaaaaaaa! I need a tent and sleeping bag good to zero F degrees!

Currently raining...rain projected for next five days! Bah!

The Two Week Mark

My damn cane was stolen!

OK, it was sunny for four days in a row! now that I have arrived...the climate will change and the economy will become toast!

I applied for a job today, changed my mailing address, ate three lunches (hey, they were good!)

I rode the train to a new area yesterday that I was never in......kinda yuppie, but nice!

I have a plan...if I don't get this job, I am going "camping" and go to the coast! Work my way south to San Francisco, or North to Alaska! It's pretty mild here in the winter... Azaleas will bloom soon and some guy told me his Lemon tree is giving fruit! Uh huh!

Where is Big Foot?

OK there are a lot of characters and daily dramas among the homeless! Many have dogs...see pic, some are pregnant. Mental patients abound, nasty hookers, lots of druggies and alcoholics, one guy has cancer, many are vets...(our country doesn't help vets??), and several look remarkably like TV/Movie stars. One guy looks like Jack Black, I call him "Stinky", a couple of others look like bit actors I've seen, one looks exactly like Howard Stern!

I tried "pan handling", the last couple of days..lots of competition...I was told I dressed "too good", didn't look homeless! In three hours I got only $1.85.

Of course being an MBA dropout, I put $20 for a steak dinner and a grey goose martini on my sign, another about needing $10+ for investment in mutual funds. an old black guy gives me crap... says how long you been here? I tell him three hours...he asks my take...I tell him. He says you can make more at minimum wage........well duh! That's why I asked for $20.........why stand there all day taking in nickles and dimes?

Sleeping in the Cold and Damp!

My home is your front porch!

Dang it was cold and raining last night, now I have a cold and the beginning of a sore throat! I got a new blanket, but need a "0F" sleeping bag which I can buy if I ever get pay pal to release my deposit of 5 days ago!

Oh, and yesterday I got a cane! This keeps me from tipping over, since my arthritus squeezing my spinal cord is effecting my balance a little! I thought maybe it would help me cross the street in traffic........NOT!

The sun came out today, for a while, and I saw blue sky for the first time in two weeks!

This is starting to sort of suck, I can't leave broke and without camp gear........I can't buy a bus ticket without money. Dang it! At least I can get food and shelter during the day.

Have I mentioned that this entire town and college campus pretty much closes down at 9:30 PM? I have never heard of a college town or major city that did not have at least a 24 hr Starbucks! (They all close at 10 pm!) No Perkins or Village Inn's either.....strange, very strange!

Tuesday 10-9-07

OK, got a shower this morning, some clean new "free" clothes, ate a great meal...tonight? Dinner and a movie...free! I also got a new coat and some new socks.

Last night it was fairly mild, about 50F. At 2:30 AM, I got rousted by security. I wandered two blocks away and found a great spot! Road rules....do not camp in government buildings, apartment blocks, banks or other fancy large high-rise office buildings...all have 24/7 roving security and cameras! I try for the smaller offices, darker, less traveled streets and vacant! No way in hell am I going into "Old town" where 90% of the whores, drug dealers , and homeless live! Last night for example I was two blocks from the Hilton Hotel, in the nice area of town. It seems you can survive on zero income...if you sleep in doorways, get cloths from charity, and eat in soup kitchens. One guy told me he had been doing it for 10 years! Problem is no beer, eating out, etc.

So far I have seen transvestites, drug dealers, whores, psychos (I mean screaming, violent, psychos!) blacks, whites, Hispanics! Diversity at it's finest....duh!

WOW.....Things Really Can Get Worse !

Hmmmmm, just when I thought maybe I hit bottom, sleeping outside in doorways at 45F, wet from walking in the rain with leaky shoes, running out of money, and getting hungry.........what happens? I lost my ATM card.....caled the ATM owner..."Oh, we don't return lost cards, we destroy them!" Uh huh. So now I have $1.29 to my name.

I made a nice sign and attached it to my backpack.

Help!
Age=59
Education=BA, M.Ed
Homeless
Unemployed
Broke
Stranded & Need $110 for bus fare
"Priceless"
Also am Hungry

I'll see what happens. There are even less services and no shelter for homeless in this town. It's worse than Colorado Springs!

On top of that I explored a cool neighborhood yesterday, full of older apartment buildings lke that one I lived in in Ft. Collins........my kind of style. Oh, well.

I am "HERE"!

Yeah, I am here......1400 miles from Colorado, in a state to be un-named. It's different. I am not sure what I am doing yet. I've checked out some places for jobs. Housing is expensive. I'd be homeless in Colorado too, since I didn't have the money for the "rent" at the old hotel. Oh well, all I need is a little cabin or studio apartment........I miss cooking and need a stove! Running water and indoor plumbing..optional...LOL!