Thursday, 23 July 2009- Following Oshkosh, Forty Thank you’s and Forty Smiles.

Thursday, 23 July 2009- Following Oshkosh, Forty Thank you’s and Forty Smiles.
Today was great! After work I sat on a bus bench and enjoyed the warm sun. I also did some research on UA232.
At one point, on twitter, I typed, “I’m bored.” That evolved into “I’m lazy”, “I’m hungry”, “I’m tired”, and “I’m hot”. I finally got up and walked the two blocks to the library, which I was feeling too lazy to do earlier. I was also hungry, but I decided to postpone eating until I spent a couple hours at the library. I blamed my backwards priorities on the fact that I’m tired, and I was hot because I was wearing 3 layers of shirts.
At the library, I started following the #OSH09 twitter stream. People were already flying into Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the annual AirVenture, and setting up their tents under wing. I got a friend request on Facebook from the owner of MotoArt, how cool is that??!!
On my way to the shelter, I bought two bags of York Peppermint Patties. I couldn’t stop at the storage unit to get my new afghan for lack of time, but I will tomorrow. The wait in line was uneventful. I protected my peppermint patties from the sun and watch as the clouds gathered for rain. I prayed to the wx gods to delay the rain, but in the blink of an eye, it began pouring. The doors of the shelter opened and vacuumed us all in. I guess that’s a good thing, because wet (homeless?) people don’t smell pleasant.
I talked to an interesting lady who I thought was in her 70’s or 80’s. It turned out she was in her mid 50’s. My initial impression was that she had suffered from a stroke or seizures. I didn’t want to ask such a personal question. Her speech was seriously impaired. It was difficult to understand her. When she read my hat that says, “Virginia is for Flying Lovers”, and said “I’ve never been a pilot, but my father was…” she had my undivided attention. I had to make an effort not to be distracted by her involuntary muscle spasms and what I can only describe as reverse chin-ups: She stood with her back to the lockers, reached up over her head and grabbed the edge of the lockers and pulled herself up to her tippy toes like she was stretching her back. When she wasn’t holding herself up like that, she was like a marionette that was being operated by a child. She would bend over at her waist 2 or 3 times a minute and swing her arms and sway or touch the ground. About every third time, she let go of her purse handles when she bent over, and picked it up when she stood up. It made me dizzy at times just to watch Linda’s actions.
I have to be impressed that she can maintain her balance in these robotic poses. She said her dad had been a Brigadier General in the air Force and spent a lot of time at the Pentagon. I asked her if she knew when the Pentagon opened. She said, “Now that’s a piece of history I don’t know, but would like to find out.” I looked it up for her on my Blackberry. We were both surprised to learn that ground had been broken on Sept 11, 1941- 60 years to the day of 9-11. It opened in 1943.
Once inside the shelter, after the meal service was finished I went to (nearly) every lady there and offered a York Peppermint Patty. It made me happy to have my gesture so warmly and enthusiastically accepted. Most of the ladies were very gracious, some asked for a second one. I wish I had more!

Thursday, 9 July 2009- The John Young Center for Homeless Women

Thursday, 9 July 2009- The John Young Center for Homeless Women
One of my former managers at Taco Bell had offered his place as a crash pad for tonight. He had just moved there and didn’t forsee a clause in the contract he had signed yesterday calling for no overnight guests for the first 30 days. I think that was because the first 30 could be considered a probationary period. I went to the Germantown Police Department to seek direction to find shelter because I don’t want to get into trouble for sleeping in the wrong place. I joked with Carolyn that when I got to the PD, I was tempted to introduce myself and say I was there to turn myself in, in case there was a reason for me to. Better judgment called for me to scrap the humorous approach.
When I talked to the officer at the front desk (window), she said, “Maybe Social Services at the County Building can help”. I was amused by her uncertainty, but went there anyway. Social Services referred me to the Crisis Center, which had appeared to be a dead end when approached with a phone call. Social Services advised, “Don’t call, just go.” So I went. I felt like I was on a quest for a wild goose, but I went anyway.
To my relief, when I arrived at the Crisis Center and explained my need for shelter two nights a week, she had me talk to a counselor. The counselor filled out my application for me during the interview. I was really amused when asked to describe my mood right now. I said with conviction, “I am at peace with myself”. She was impressed. She gave me several referrals to shelters, I chose one in the District of Columbia that was near the Judiciary Square Metro Center. I left all of my valuables at the storage unit, and began the trip. The wild goose I was chasing bore a golden egg.
I got to the John Young Center just in time for the intake process. I talked to a very religious minded laid off nurse who stood next to me in line. She was a nice lady. I had a delicious concoction of vegetables such as squash, zucchini, potato, yam, tomato etc… The big news, and the source of the biggest crises at the shelter that night, was that a group from Indiana had included in their visit to DC, a service project to clean the shelter. Several clients had failed to comply with the shelter policy to take all personal items with them that morning, (for personal belongings left behind were subject to being thrown away). Those clients arrived tonight with the reality of having lost bed sheets, magazines, and some valuables. It was interesting to see the power struggles between the clients and staff. I maintained a polite demeanor in my interaction with staff and clients as I waited for word on whether there would be a bed available for the night. To my good fortune, the staff was able to secure a temporary bed for me. I thanked them with much gratitude, took a shower, and went sleep. Relief!
On a side note, I thought about buying a ticket to Salt Lake City for a group interview for flight attendants, and encouraged by my key twitter friends, looked into prices. After much introspection, I realized that the prices plus my current circumstances weren’t the best spring board for me to use to get a job as a flight attendant.