Over the last week, several different officers have told me it is permissible to sleep in the 24hour Wal-Mart parking lot for a few days at a time. Since I really wanted one undisturbed nights sleep, I decided to try Wal-Mart out. I first went in and bought some stuff because I figured it would help, after that I talk to the security guard driving around the Wal-Mart parking lot. The middle aged lady very unemotionally told me "absolutely not, but the Corviena Wal-Mart allows people to stay over night." So I traveled five miles to the Corviena Wal-Mart. I talked to the security guard there (also a middle aged, over weight lady) who told me "absolutely not" - but that I could sleep in the Toy's R Us parking lot to Wal-Mart. The more I think about this statement, the more it amuses me. I can just imagine all the creeper vans camping in front of a children's store. That said, I didn't even try Toys R Us. Instead I traveled back to Glendora and spent a restless night in the Sam's Club parking lot, where there were a couple of other campers.
My first reflection is how interesting it is that people were so quick to pass along a problem. Second is how little people communicate. Third is how socially unacceptable it is to sleep in a car. Fourth, that all the Wal-Mart security guards were over weight women who seem to generally hate life.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A Busy Weekend
This last Friday I was woken up by three young policemen at 6:30am. It is always a different, but interesting experience. They were really nice, and once again left after I dazedly explained what I was doing. Although they had me stand against the wall with my hands in plain sight while I talked to them. Saturday night I was woken up by someone playing a harmonica near my car, who went at it for almost an hour. Last night a cop woke me up at 11pm, and for the first time was somewhat rude. I only explained that I was forgoing an apartment so I could instead support some children, which didn’t change his attitude towards me. After checking my ID and calling it in, the cop proceeded to tell me that “it’s technically illegal” to sleep in my car. This directly contradicts what I was told earlier by a policeman who said “it’s not technically illegal to sleep in your car, but you will probably be woken up again by us again.” However, this cop had woke me up at 11am though, so he might have meant it’s not illegal to take a nap in my car, while the second cop was telling me it’s illegal to sleep overnight in my car. After telling me it was illegal to sleep in my car the cop said he would not make me move “tonight,” unless someone called in and said I was a disturbance (which almost sounded like an assumptions). Soon after I had crawled back into bed the crazy person with the harmonica showed back up, except this time he brought his gypsy band with him. They had a guitar, and what might have been a drum, but it kind of sounded like they were just kicking a box around. Between the lot of them they had a grand old time, but they need to practice a little more before they make an album. I’m not sure what time they left, but I slept soundly until 6:45am when another cop taped on my window. I could tell immediately he was going to be a lot nicer because he did not pound on my window like the cop the night before, he just tapped. He was an older cop who was indeed very nice. I began this time be explaining that I was doing a project on what it was like to be homeless, and then added in the part about supporting the children with the money I was saving. He checked my id but seemed to be the first cop who was kind of impressed. During the course of the conversation I tried to indirectly ask if it was permissible to sleep in my car (i.e. is it actually illegal). He didn’t say one way or the other, but did say that the top of the parking garage was a good place to be, and talked about some folks in the past that had slept in their cars after falling on hard times. He also mentioned that some of the regulars might even begin to recognize my car and leave me alone. After this he initiated a hand shake and smiled as he left, whereas the cop the night before didn’t even respond when I asked how his night was going.
It has been fascinating to interact with all these cops in such a short period of time. I would have never predicted it, but every cop has handled the situation very differently. The younger cops are much more hesitant, and seem quite suspicious that im going to pull a gun out of my car (one of the young cops dint even want to see my id after I offered, because it was in my car). The older cops are much more confident, but one has been the meanest, and one has been the nicest. Over all I have learned that there is not a hard-and-fast rule for what they do, there is a law, but they are the on-scene judges who interpret the law and decide which parts they are going to apply. In the future I am curious to see how different explanations will cause these cops to react differently (emphasizing my experience being a project, verse it being a social good effort).
Beyond that life continues to be a curiosity. Today I walked into the restroom and found one of the toilets twisted sideways (but still operational). Im not sure what the janitors do when things like that happen, but im glad I don’t half to deal with it. Thankfully I was able to joyfully worship the Lord this morning after the cop left, but tonight I think I am going to try to sleep in a Walmart parking lot. It is humbling to not have a private space, but God continues to be my peace.
For anyone trying to do something like this (and is counting dollars) I have found that it is not cost effective to buy perishables and store them in an ice chest. For the most part I have been spending $1/day on ice, which ends up costing the same as the meat I am keeping cold. Because of this I have started buying canned meats, which cost a little more, but don’t have to be kept cold. Getting away from the ice chest will also give me a significant amount of room (relatively speaking :)
It has been fascinating to interact with all these cops in such a short period of time. I would have never predicted it, but every cop has handled the situation very differently. The younger cops are much more hesitant, and seem quite suspicious that im going to pull a gun out of my car (one of the young cops dint even want to see my id after I offered, because it was in my car). The older cops are much more confident, but one has been the meanest, and one has been the nicest. Over all I have learned that there is not a hard-and-fast rule for what they do, there is a law, but they are the on-scene judges who interpret the law and decide which parts they are going to apply. In the future I am curious to see how different explanations will cause these cops to react differently (emphasizing my experience being a project, verse it being a social good effort).
Beyond that life continues to be a curiosity. Today I walked into the restroom and found one of the toilets twisted sideways (but still operational). Im not sure what the janitors do when things like that happen, but im glad I don’t half to deal with it. Thankfully I was able to joyfully worship the Lord this morning after the cop left, but tonight I think I am going to try to sleep in a Walmart parking lot. It is humbling to not have a private space, but God continues to be my peace.
For anyone trying to do something like this (and is counting dollars) I have found that it is not cost effective to buy perishables and store them in an ice chest. For the most part I have been spending $1/day on ice, which ends up costing the same as the meat I am keeping cold. Because of this I have started buying canned meats, which cost a little more, but don’t have to be kept cold. Getting away from the ice chest will also give me a significant amount of room (relatively speaking :)
Friday, October 8, 2010
Week Two
I have been homeless for two weeks now. Thus far, I have gone swimming
every morning, and swimming with my head in the water is not quite as
horrible as it first was. I consider this quite an accomplishment
since I have always hated swimming. I am also much better at avoiding
attention. For example, I have discovered that if I arrive at the top
of the parking garage (where I sleep) and there is another person
there, I pretend to be talking on my cell phone. One of these days, I
might actually call someone, but for now, I have just been praying into
my phone until the other person leaves. So far, I have kept a careful
record of my costs, which in total averages $12.30/day. However, this
includes food and capital costs (things I will be using long term).
Thus far, I have been able to maintain a balanced diet with $4.50/day
and have spent an average of $4 a day on capital cost items. This
means my actual cost of living in the car has been $3.80, which is
$9.20 less than living in an apartment. While living in my car is not
convenient, it’s not horrible either, and I am excited that it affords
the opportunity to potentially sponsor nine children through a year of
school. At the one month mark I will be going to Food for the Hungry
and selecting a few children from there to sponsor.
My challenge to anyone reading this is to consider how you can cut
one dollar out of your daily budget, and instead use that dollar to
sponsor a child. If the average young couple cut just one dollar out
of their daily budget, they would be able to sponsor about six kids
from the time they enter 1st grade, all the way through high school.
In 2009, the median American household income was $49,777 (about
$136/day). While we complain about not having enough money, we forget
that 5% of this income could support seven children. A radical family
who gave 50% of their income (and still be one of the richest
households in the world) could support 68 children. If they gave this
amount throughout their lives they would be able to fully sponsor 408
children through school (68 children * 60 years / 10 years to get
through school). While that would be a challenged, it’s interesting to
think that we could completely alter the lives of more people, than
the number of Facebook friends we have.
All that said, remember two things, 1) we at war, 2) we have a
tremendous amount of power to make a difference. If we are willing to
focus less on what we don’t have and more on what we do have we could
very quickly change the course of history. My challenge to everyone
reading this is to cut one dollar out of your budget tomorrow, and
give it to the war effort.
every morning, and swimming with my head in the water is not quite as
horrible as it first was. I consider this quite an accomplishment
since I have always hated swimming. I am also much better at avoiding
attention. For example, I have discovered that if I arrive at the top
of the parking garage (where I sleep) and there is another person
there, I pretend to be talking on my cell phone. One of these days, I
might actually call someone, but for now, I have just been praying into
my phone until the other person leaves. So far, I have kept a careful
record of my costs, which in total averages $12.30/day. However, this
includes food and capital costs (things I will be using long term).
Thus far, I have been able to maintain a balanced diet with $4.50/day
and have spent an average of $4 a day on capital cost items. This
means my actual cost of living in the car has been $3.80, which is
$9.20 less than living in an apartment. While living in my car is not
convenient, it’s not horrible either, and I am excited that it affords
the opportunity to potentially sponsor nine children through a year of
school. At the one month mark I will be going to Food for the Hungry
and selecting a few children from there to sponsor.
My challenge to anyone reading this is to consider how you can cut
one dollar out of your daily budget, and instead use that dollar to
sponsor a child. If the average young couple cut just one dollar out
of their daily budget, they would be able to sponsor about six kids
from the time they enter 1st grade, all the way through high school.
In 2009, the median American household income was $49,777 (about
$136/day). While we complain about not having enough money, we forget
that 5% of this income could support seven children. A radical family
who gave 50% of their income (and still be one of the richest
households in the world) could support 68 children. If they gave this
amount throughout their lives they would be able to fully sponsor 408
children through school (68 children * 60 years / 10 years to get
through school). While that would be a challenged, it’s interesting to
think that we could completely alter the lives of more people, than
the number of Facebook friends we have.
All that said, remember two things, 1) we at war, 2) we have a
tremendous amount of power to make a difference. If we are willing to
focus less on what we don’t have and more on what we do have we could
very quickly change the course of history. My challenge to everyone
reading this is to cut one dollar out of your budget tomorrow, and
give it to the war effort.
Friday, October 1, 2010
One Week!
I have been homeless for one week, and to celebrate God sent fireworks. From the top of the parking garage I had a perfect view of a short, but violent thunderstorm in hills. As I continue to work through the experience of living in my car I have been amused to watch my human nature continue to make it’s demands. While I struggle to keep everything organized and tucked away, I find myself thinking; “if only my car was a little bigger, I would be content.” Once again I see that no matter how much or how little a person has, they will always crave “a little more.” This has strengthened my resolve to ignore the mirage of “a little more,” and instead press into my quest for living water, and finding the joy of becoming who I was made to be.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Day Five and Six
9-29-10
Yesterday was my first day of class while being homeless. I had a presentation which kept me up a little later than I was hoping and so I only got six hours of sleep, which compounded my somewhat sleep deprived brain. I must admit it was really funny giving the presentation because I tend to be far loser when it comes to those things. My two partners had 39 slides for their twenty minutes of the presentation, while I had two for the last ten minutes. My first, much more organized partner asked me what I was doing for the activity (something else I was in charge of) and what I was doing for my part of the presentation, and a few other things my sleep deprived brain didn’t quite understand and so I just said “let’s just play it by ear” her response was one of those priceless looks and “no lets know what we are going to say.” The other partner has worked with me a couple of times in the past and is also more organized than me, but has learned to not worry about my lack of notes. But she did smile at one point and say “o Dustin, you stress me out sometimes.” It’s kind of funny though, I always want to say “no lets plan it out less,” because they both read off their near verbatim notes. I didn’t have any at all, so I just walked around the room talking about what I thought were the most interesting points of my section of the chapter, showed a few short YouTube clips (“Who You Gonna Call?” from Improve Everywhere was my favorite), and then had the class go skipping around the school to feel the internal tension of breaking even a minor social norm (I joined in – o how fun :), and then we ended by talking about the power of norms in regulating groups. Overall I think it went really well. I still don’t understand though why people think “knowing what we’re going to say” is ever better than just talking with the audience and trying to share something useful.
By the end of day (6pm), I seriously considered curling up on the grass and just going to sleep there. Instead I drove to “my” parking garage, where two nice trucks were parked near the spot I normally park (Luckily I had an extra key in my backpack because I had accidentally locked my main key in the car - opps.) I parked at the other side of the parking lot, and ate dinner while enjoying the view, hoping they would soon leave. While I was eating my dinner, the two guys came up, and then left again. I thought; “great, well I better not go to bed yet.” Sure enough a cop car showed up about 15 minutes later to check me out. The second time around it was easier to assure him I was not some axe murder and I was then free to go to bed. For the first time I got a great night’s sleep which is good because I have quite a bit of work to do today.
9-28-10
I am amazed how fast the sense of ownership creeps into a person’s mind. Last night I drove to the top of “my” marking garage and found three high school boys just hanging out. My first thought was something along the lines of “scram, I’m tired and you’re keeping me from going to sleep.” It was good though because it forced me to go workout which is not something I want to do. Once again the elliptical machine kicked my butt, but not as badly the second time around. By the time I was done the high school kids were gone, but I now understand why homeless people get so grumpy when “their” space is trespassed.
Yesterday was my first day of class while being homeless. I had a presentation which kept me up a little later than I was hoping and so I only got six hours of sleep, which compounded my somewhat sleep deprived brain. I must admit it was really funny giving the presentation because I tend to be far loser when it comes to those things. My two partners had 39 slides for their twenty minutes of the presentation, while I had two for the last ten minutes. My first, much more organized partner asked me what I was doing for the activity (something else I was in charge of) and what I was doing for my part of the presentation, and a few other things my sleep deprived brain didn’t quite understand and so I just said “let’s just play it by ear” her response was one of those priceless looks and “no lets know what we are going to say.” The other partner has worked with me a couple of times in the past and is also more organized than me, but has learned to not worry about my lack of notes. But she did smile at one point and say “o Dustin, you stress me out sometimes.” It’s kind of funny though, I always want to say “no lets plan it out less,” because they both read off their near verbatim notes. I didn’t have any at all, so I just walked around the room talking about what I thought were the most interesting points of my section of the chapter, showed a few short YouTube clips (“Who You Gonna Call?” from Improve Everywhere was my favorite), and then had the class go skipping around the school to feel the internal tension of breaking even a minor social norm (I joined in – o how fun :), and then we ended by talking about the power of norms in regulating groups. Overall I think it went really well. I still don’t understand though why people think “knowing what we’re going to say” is ever better than just talking with the audience and trying to share something useful.
By the end of day (6pm), I seriously considered curling up on the grass and just going to sleep there. Instead I drove to “my” parking garage, where two nice trucks were parked near the spot I normally park (Luckily I had an extra key in my backpack because I had accidentally locked my main key in the car - opps.) I parked at the other side of the parking lot, and ate dinner while enjoying the view, hoping they would soon leave. While I was eating my dinner, the two guys came up, and then left again. I thought; “great, well I better not go to bed yet.” Sure enough a cop car showed up about 15 minutes later to check me out. The second time around it was easier to assure him I was not some axe murder and I was then free to go to bed. For the first time I got a great night’s sleep which is good because I have quite a bit of work to do today.
9-28-10
I am amazed how fast the sense of ownership creeps into a person’s mind. Last night I drove to the top of “my” marking garage and found three high school boys just hanging out. My first thought was something along the lines of “scram, I’m tired and you’re keeping me from going to sleep.” It was good though because it forced me to go workout which is not something I want to do. Once again the elliptical machine kicked my butt, but not as badly the second time around. By the time I was done the high school kids were gone, but I now understand why homeless people get so grumpy when “their” space is trespassed.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Day Three
Being homeless is not an easy exercise, but it is good. Last night I was feeling the weight of not having an established space to myself. However, I am praying a lot more because of how dependent I am on God for basic necessities. Having to pray for a safe nights sleep is not something I have ever had to do, and I love it. I never thought about how peaceful it would be to put myself in the hands of God for basic needs. I got to 24 Fitness at 10 PM an did a thirty minuet workout on a strange stepping/cycling machine that kicked my butt. After ten minutes I had burned 100 calories and wanted to quit really bad. I didn't quit though because there was a short little women going twice as fast next to me, and I just couldn't bring myself to walk away after 1/3 of a workout that she was doing twice as well. I am able to hike or walk for miles without getting tired, but that workout gave me a lot of respect for people who do it regularly to lose weight. In total, I burned less than 300 calories and was quite glad that I don't have to work that hard to burn off every sandwich I eat.
I got to sleep a little be for 12am and had a wonderful nights sleep. After waking up, I did a few laps in the pool and finished with a little time in the wet sauna (I do love that thing).
I got to sleep a little be for 12am and had a wonderful nights sleep. After waking up, I did a few laps in the pool and finished with a little time in the wet sauna (I do love that thing).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)