Fellow mammalian bipeds,
Hiya!
I know that I've been gone for awhile, more than was my intent but the push and pull of the world dictates my actions - amount of time spent on endeavors. Perhaps some of us carve our way into the world, perhaps some of us are buffeted about by the designs of destiny...and perhaps I'm just a dumbass, older and wiser but still an idiot riding the currents of fate.
Life goes on for me - day 20,101. The nights are less colder in this area and more tolerable. BT has had an oil change and her fuel system cleaned. The techs removed the fuel filter and cracked it open and it looked like dirty creek water which does not contribute in a positive way to engine performance. Her injectors were cleaned, and her air filter and PCV replaced. Registration and inspection sticker renewed - gotta keep her legal. The next check will renew the insurance with AIG; you know, the 'too big to fail' company. I didn't hear of that rationale in my business courses. BT still looks good but not 100% mechanically. Maybe 80-85% combat capable. She needs a new radiator because the current one is leaking and a tune-up is in order. Hopefully these things will improve the gas mileage. Need to save some bucks...
The job at the information dispersal facility is going well. The people I work with are a bunch of excellent humans, both in expertise and social technique...except for a couple of dickheads which we will touch upon later.
I hit a stump in the other writing project regarding the second chapter. I took some time reading 'how to' manuals and reading of other authors' mechanics, transitions, etc. In fact, took some more time reading of other authors. Did you know that five of the American authors that have won the Nobel prize for literature were alcoholics and/or drug addicts? I guess some people need a alteration of consciousness to get to where they need to be. I need to make more money to better position myself to chemically reach those altered states of...creativity. Maybe not, due to that some of the other projects material comes from the non-linear side of me.
I took time to review my notes and outlines on the project. I keep all hand written and printer...printed text in a backpack in the fine writing study of BT. I know I had a couple of chapters under construction but I didn't realize that I had six, yes, six underway. The material was beneficial to recalibrate my focus and now I feel better prepared to work on the second chapter.
I picked up a few pounds. No, silly, I'm talking of body weight, not marching powder, srooms or the devil's weed. Fast food is easier and cheaper, much cheaper but it has a lot of carbs which ain't good for fitting into the ol' party thong. The original jeans still fit though.; I'm still a 36" inch waist with the reflexes of a cat.
The weather in these parts has been unreliable for a person of my limited means. Of course, that is probably true in other parts of the planet, not to mention the global economy. I almost swapped my winter gear for my summer designer attire but I felt a whisper not to. I did go as far as donating my premium $14 Walmart blanket to a Goodwill bin. And there were a few nights since then that I could've used that furry puppy.
I haven't worked out on a consistent basis since the first of the year. Something about the cold weather. Also there was that other thing that had the facility shut down for nearly three weeks - a man suicided in the women's bathroom on a Sunday and he wasn't discovered for nearly a week. I remember working out a couple of times during that week and noticed the aroma but I thought the place was having plumbing issues...again. That area ain't exactly a premier socio-economic section of the town. The third time of that week I went to work out, the smell was so bad that I walked back out. From what I found out, the guy had a wife and three kids, lost his job and they were about to be evicted. He locked himself in the bathroom, wrote a note and ...self-terminated. His determination is to be admired in a way, or maybe his action was a reflection of his pain - he cut both wrists and both sides of his neck. I heard the place was covered in blood. The police had that yellow tape around the facility for nearly three weeks.
It seems he lost love and hope and the demons of despair and defeat consumed him. Now he will never see his children grow, hear their laughter or see the shine of joy in their eyes; will never take his wife's hand and look into her eyes with a smile on his face and say 'Baby, I told you we would make it' when their life paths reached better times. It seems that love of self and family can provide the determination to fuel the continuing struggle, and hope can present a goal to fight toward and to dream of achieving in the near future, Maybe if a person loses those two attributes it just hurts too much to remain alive. But then again, what do I know - I'm living outta my vehicle.
The next 3 or 4 entries will be about something that all of us experience at times in our lives. It has occurred to me over the past year and half. I've been meaning to share it with you but I wanted the situation to end in success; that outcome is pending. But I thought maybe you could use it in your life, maybe apply it better than I have.
Later,
David
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Homeless - 66
Greetings, New Year humans,
I know that it has been awhile since the last post but work, namely documentation, has been consuming my time and...my computer time. At any rate, Happy New Year! Hope yours have started well minus any nefarious effects of the Eve, of course. We have a new president and jeez, wouldn't you want to have a job like that? I would rather spend a couple of months in a room with a bunch of pissed off monkeys. Also, we have one less year before Armageddon and I hope you know what that means because I sure don't.
During the month of January, it was a tad bit chilly in the BT Hilton, especially in the early AM. Does toothpaste freeze? I don't know about that but I did have to let the tube lay beneath a heater vent until the toothpaste could make it's way to the toothbrush with a gentle squeeze. I do the same thing with socks and shoes so that they are warm to my tootsies. Wait...what's that I hear? But David, doesn't the vehicle smell like feet? Nay, my furless biped friends, because I use cedar shoehorns so the truck smells like...trees. Usually, I let BT run for 15-20 minutes in the morning before embarking on the day's adventures, say between 5 - 6 AM on those chilly mornings, and then drive for 15-20 minutes which works out to around 10 miles. It seems she runs better when I do that. It's odd that I used to avoid the morning rush hour at nearly all costs but these days, due to my circumstances, I have to navigate those treacherous waters. Ahhh, how the gods have their fun with me.
On the mornings when the temperate is in the 30's, or worse, I spend a couple hours at a place that serves a decent biscuit with meaty gravy for less than $2. They also have a couple of morning papers that I read and do the crosswords and sudoku - 4 stars or less of course. I back away from a 5 star sudoku. Why waste my time and the universe's on a useless endeavor? After I leave there, I go to a 'pausing spot' to catch another hour or two of sleep or to read or write or edit or trash.
The area had an 'ice event' recently where there was almost a .5 inch accumulation. I know...ooohhh...but closings were all over the place, wrecks all over the place, food hoarding all over the place. I know, people in the Midwest and points north are thinking those Texas pussies but trust me, you don't wanna be out on the roads in these parts even though you may have driving experience with this sort of thing - 99% of the other drivers don't. Hellfire, Billy Bob, a little ice doesn't mean we slow down. I ain't no fool; I took the advice of a benefactor and spent the the night at his place. Of course, there was no room for BT inside so she had to endure the icicles hanging off her young ebony hide. There was ice in the bed of the truck for over two days...and a frozen towel that would not yield it's position during that time.
I had to devote some finances to BT's upkeep since the first of the year; namely, a belt, a belt tensioner and an alternator. As it turns out, all were squealing in a most distressful manner, heralding the arrival of BT wherever we went. Such an attribute runs counter to her otherwise stealthy nature. To keep her legal, I had to renew her registration sticker. Repairs and sticker cost nearly $500. To save that amount of money out the fortune I'm paid every two weeks is not the easiest thing but a lot of people already know that. Next month, I'm going to have to spring for an oil change and inspection sticker and a new locking gas cap which all will total over $100. Last year, they let me slide on the gas cap which wasn't sealing tightly. I told the tech that I would take care of it and I can't come up with a viable line of BS as to why I hadn't taken care of in all this time.
I called the IRS last month to let them know that my circumstances haven't improved to the point to pay the back taxes, etc that I owe. I believed I mentioned my somewhat deep relationship with them in a previous post, that of owing more than many people don't net in a year. After being shunted through three people, I talked with a representative, who after hearing of my circumstances, informed me that account would remain in 'noncollectable status but penalties and interest would continue to accrue'. Since I currently am a working citizen and duty bound to file a tax return, I asked about the ultimate destiny of my refund. Now, a sophisticated customer service response would have been along the lines of Mr. Jones, while the IRS is fully cognizant and sympathetic to your circumstances, at this time there is no procedure within our policy exempting you from the responsibilities of a U.S. citizen regarding your past tax bill. However, I will enter a notation in your file, so that in the event that an exemption of that nature becomes active, you will be notified. Instead, the reply was Nope, we'll keep it all. That response certainly fuels the fires of my desire to get that form in the mail. Meanwhile, the penalties and interest will continue to accrue.
Given the amount of money I owe other 'interests', if I do secure employment within the national median range of salary, I will have so many 'interests' chasing after my check, that I will be working full time for the rest of my days and still living at the BT Hilton. To have a comfortable existence, I would need a big chunk of change at the onset to pay those 'interests off and have a decent roof over me and BT.
I'm working on that...as I write these words under a street light in a parking lot on a Sunday at 9:46 PM.
Later,
David
I know that it has been awhile since the last post but work, namely documentation, has been consuming my time and...my computer time. At any rate, Happy New Year! Hope yours have started well minus any nefarious effects of the Eve, of course. We have a new president and jeez, wouldn't you want to have a job like that? I would rather spend a couple of months in a room with a bunch of pissed off monkeys. Also, we have one less year before Armageddon and I hope you know what that means because I sure don't.
During the month of January, it was a tad bit chilly in the BT Hilton, especially in the early AM. Does toothpaste freeze? I don't know about that but I did have to let the tube lay beneath a heater vent until the toothpaste could make it's way to the toothbrush with a gentle squeeze. I do the same thing with socks and shoes so that they are warm to my tootsies. Wait...what's that I hear? But David, doesn't the vehicle smell like feet? Nay, my furless biped friends, because I use cedar shoehorns so the truck smells like...trees. Usually, I let BT run for 15-20 minutes in the morning before embarking on the day's adventures, say between 5 - 6 AM on those chilly mornings, and then drive for 15-20 minutes which works out to around 10 miles. It seems she runs better when I do that. It's odd that I used to avoid the morning rush hour at nearly all costs but these days, due to my circumstances, I have to navigate those treacherous waters. Ahhh, how the gods have their fun with me.
On the mornings when the temperate is in the 30's, or worse, I spend a couple hours at a place that serves a decent biscuit with meaty gravy for less than $2. They also have a couple of morning papers that I read and do the crosswords and sudoku - 4 stars or less of course. I back away from a 5 star sudoku. Why waste my time and the universe's on a useless endeavor? After I leave there, I go to a 'pausing spot' to catch another hour or two of sleep or to read or write or edit or trash.
The area had an 'ice event' recently where there was almost a .5 inch accumulation. I know...ooohhh...but closings were all over the place, wrecks all over the place, food hoarding all over the place. I know, people in the Midwest and points north are thinking those Texas pussies but trust me, you don't wanna be out on the roads in these parts even though you may have driving experience with this sort of thing - 99% of the other drivers don't. Hellfire, Billy Bob, a little ice doesn't mean we slow down. I ain't no fool; I took the advice of a benefactor and spent the the night at his place. Of course, there was no room for BT inside so she had to endure the icicles hanging off her young ebony hide. There was ice in the bed of the truck for over two days...and a frozen towel that would not yield it's position during that time.
I had to devote some finances to BT's upkeep since the first of the year; namely, a belt, a belt tensioner and an alternator. As it turns out, all were squealing in a most distressful manner, heralding the arrival of BT wherever we went. Such an attribute runs counter to her otherwise stealthy nature. To keep her legal, I had to renew her registration sticker. Repairs and sticker cost nearly $500. To save that amount of money out the fortune I'm paid every two weeks is not the easiest thing but a lot of people already know that. Next month, I'm going to have to spring for an oil change and inspection sticker and a new locking gas cap which all will total over $100. Last year, they let me slide on the gas cap which wasn't sealing tightly. I told the tech that I would take care of it and I can't come up with a viable line of BS as to why I hadn't taken care of in all this time.
I called the IRS last month to let them know that my circumstances haven't improved to the point to pay the back taxes, etc that I owe. I believed I mentioned my somewhat deep relationship with them in a previous post, that of owing more than many people don't net in a year. After being shunted through three people, I talked with a representative, who after hearing of my circumstances, informed me that account would remain in 'noncollectable status but penalties and interest would continue to accrue'. Since I currently am a working citizen and duty bound to file a tax return, I asked about the ultimate destiny of my refund. Now, a sophisticated customer service response would have been along the lines of Mr. Jones, while the IRS is fully cognizant and sympathetic to your circumstances, at this time there is no procedure within our policy exempting you from the responsibilities of a U.S. citizen regarding your past tax bill. However, I will enter a notation in your file, so that in the event that an exemption of that nature becomes active, you will be notified. Instead, the reply was Nope, we'll keep it all. That response certainly fuels the fires of my desire to get that form in the mail. Meanwhile, the penalties and interest will continue to accrue.
Given the amount of money I owe other 'interests', if I do secure employment within the national median range of salary, I will have so many 'interests' chasing after my check, that I will be working full time for the rest of my days and still living at the BT Hilton. To have a comfortable existence, I would need a big chunk of change at the onset to pay those 'interests off and have a decent roof over me and BT.
I'm working on that...as I write these words under a street light in a parking lot on a Sunday at 9:46 PM.
Later,
David
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