Today it’s sunny and in the 60’s, making it difficult for me to believe that Thanksgiving is really next week.
Though, on Monday the winter shelter at the Oakland Army Base opened up and the number of guys contacting me about getting a voucher to stay there is a sure sign that rain and cold weather is on the way. In total there are one-hundred beds, thirteen of which we distribute from SVdP. The guys can stay there for 28 consecutive days between the hours of 5p.m. and 8 a.m., and are also provided with transportation to and from the base.
It’s great to be able to help 13 people find shelter for the winter, but at the same time it’s a reminder of just how many people are in need of a place to sleep. I’ve felt a bit like Scrooge having to turn so many people away, but that’s just the reality of the situation.
In other news, the men’s center has been chaotic as always. This week I had to call 9-1-1 after a man had a seizure in the shower. After seizing for a couple of minutes, he seemed to be okay, a little disoriented, but the response time of the paramedics was less than stellar had it been a more serious situation. Moral of the story, please don’t have a heart attack in the men’s center.
While that was going on an older man who mostly just comes into the center to check his mail came in waddling rather quickly with a serious case of the runs. I’m not sure if he made it to the bathroom on time, and I didn’t ask as he re-emerged twenty minutes later shaking his head.
This afternoon there’s another graduation ceremony for the latest batch (pun intended!) of culinary students to complete the 12-week program. For the final project each student prepares a dish that is served after the ceremony for family, friends and staff, so in preparation I ate a light breakfast and lunch and should be ready to put on a Kobayashi-esque eating display.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Surviving
Yesterday after I gave a guy two bus tickets to get to a job interview, he thanked me and I wished him luck and he told me that he didn't believe in luck--that luck only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. I told him I thought the phrase was that "close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," but he wasn’t interested. He said “God Bless” and was out the door.
Sometimes that’s how it feels when dealing with the homeless--we get close, but never quite there.
We throw grenades in the form of a shower and bar of soap, a razor and shaving cream, a cup of coffee and a donut, clean socks and underwear, a place to make phone calls, receive mail and use the Internet and the only thing you can do is hope that something sticks and makes a difference. Most likely it won’t.
Often, I grow frustrated when I give the same guy a new toothbrush two days in a row, or when I explain the same thing four times, or when a guy comes into my office and tells me how I should be running the place instead of simply saying thank you for providing a warm, safe place to get off of the streets for a couple of hours.
It probably sounds selfish, but the only thing I know for certain after working here is that you have to save yourself.
On certain days I wonder if it’s a battle even worth fighting, and then I think about one of the volunteers in the men’s center who likes to jokingly rant about how “all them cats got amnesia.” The guys pretty much try to get away with anything they can, and when they get caught they plead ignorance, as if the same rules haven’t been in place for the last three months. It’s aggravating, to say the least, and the only solution I’ve come up with so far is to fight fire with fire and develop a similar case of amnesia--a process greatly aided with long naps after work, runs around Lake Merritt, Hamburger Helper and Charles Shaw.
I try to not let their failures become my failures, because when I do everything all too quickly becomes overwhelming and destroys any semblance of optimism that I still have. Without optimism there’s no presence, patience or compassion, and without that, coming back day after day and pitching horseshoes at a pit that may or may not have a stake is impossible, useless at best--you have to believe you're eventually going to get lucky and toss a ringer.
Sometimes that’s how it feels when dealing with the homeless--we get close, but never quite there.
We throw grenades in the form of a shower and bar of soap, a razor and shaving cream, a cup of coffee and a donut, clean socks and underwear, a place to make phone calls, receive mail and use the Internet and the only thing you can do is hope that something sticks and makes a difference. Most likely it won’t.
Often, I grow frustrated when I give the same guy a new toothbrush two days in a row, or when I explain the same thing four times, or when a guy comes into my office and tells me how I should be running the place instead of simply saying thank you for providing a warm, safe place to get off of the streets for a couple of hours.
It probably sounds selfish, but the only thing I know for certain after working here is that you have to save yourself.
On certain days I wonder if it’s a battle even worth fighting, and then I think about one of the volunteers in the men’s center who likes to jokingly rant about how “all them cats got amnesia.” The guys pretty much try to get away with anything they can, and when they get caught they plead ignorance, as if the same rules haven’t been in place for the last three months. It’s aggravating, to say the least, and the only solution I’ve come up with so far is to fight fire with fire and develop a similar case of amnesia--a process greatly aided with long naps after work, runs around Lake Merritt, Hamburger Helper and Charles Shaw.
I try to not let their failures become my failures, because when I do everything all too quickly becomes overwhelming and destroys any semblance of optimism that I still have. Without optimism there’s no presence, patience or compassion, and without that, coming back day after day and pitching horseshoes at a pit that may or may not have a stake is impossible, useless at best--you have to believe you're eventually going to get lucky and toss a ringer.
Friday, November 7, 2008
TGIF
It’s Friday again and I’m not quite sure where all of the time went. This week marks the third month I’ve been in JVC and in some ways it feels like I’ve been here forever, and in other ways I still feel like I’m just getting my feet wet.
For the most part I like to try and write coherent posts, but this is a blog and currently I have no coherent thoughts, so I’ll just give you a quick re-cap of the week.
It rained on Monday, and since I only wake up with exactly enough time to grab a quick shower, throw on clothes, inhale breakfast, and bike to work in exactly seven minutes, walking was not an option unless I wanted to be thirty minutes late. Also, I don’t own an umbrella. So, I put on my raincoat and braved the elements. It turned out to be a pretty enjoyable experience, though drying out for the next three hours at work wasn’t quite as much fun. But you know, saving the planet from dangerous greenhouse gases is a 365/24/7 job, not just like when it’s nice outside…
Tuesday was quite an historic day with the election of Barack Obama. There was a definite sense of excitement in the men’s center and Oakland in general. One of the older guys told me that he voted earlier in the morning for the first time in his life, and this was a man who spent twelve years in the armed forces.
From about the time Obama was officially declared the president-elect until I fell asleep shortly past midnight the sound of cars whizzing through the streets, honking their horns, filled the air. One of my roommates and I decided to join in the celebration and opened up a bottle of wine as we watched the speeches of McCain and Obama, and afterwards we went joyriding around the block! I kid.
Along with all of the hope and excitement there was a slight sense of melancholy and nostalgia as I thought back over the past eight years and all that has happened, both as a country and personally. It felt a bit like New Year’s Eve. Cheers, America.
On Wednesday I cooked dinner for my housemates and another former JV. I made chicken, stuffing and creamed corn--I’m a little excited about Thanksgiving. Also, the former JV was kind of enough to bring over mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is quite the treat these days.
On Thursday a former professional wrestler came into the men’s center to use the computer and get a cup of coffee. He pulled up an old clip of himself from Wrestlemania II which was pretty awesome--he was shirtless and wearing purple tights. I’m really hoping he never acts up, because I certainly won’t be intervening, but luckily he seems like a gentle giant.
Aside from that, Thursday was a fairly routine day, though I was a little tired. When I got home from work I laid down for a quick nap and about thirty minutes later I woke up feeling disoriented, thinking it was Friday morning and I had overslept work, but unlike the time I did that In elementary school, I didn’t get in the shower.
Tonight I’m headed over to the JV house in San Francisco for a “dress like you’re in your forties” themed party. I should be looking quite dapper rocking a collared shirt and sweater and I’m currently debating whether to wear some nice dress shoes or go with the old man cross-trainer look.
"The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. It is a state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible, something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is much greater than you. It is finding your true nature beyond name and form." -Eckhart Tolle
For the most part I like to try and write coherent posts, but this is a blog and currently I have no coherent thoughts, so I’ll just give you a quick re-cap of the week.
It rained on Monday, and since I only wake up with exactly enough time to grab a quick shower, throw on clothes, inhale breakfast, and bike to work in exactly seven minutes, walking was not an option unless I wanted to be thirty minutes late. Also, I don’t own an umbrella. So, I put on my raincoat and braved the elements. It turned out to be a pretty enjoyable experience, though drying out for the next three hours at work wasn’t quite as much fun. But you know, saving the planet from dangerous greenhouse gases is a 365/24/7 job, not just like when it’s nice outside…
Tuesday was quite an historic day with the election of Barack Obama. There was a definite sense of excitement in the men’s center and Oakland in general. One of the older guys told me that he voted earlier in the morning for the first time in his life, and this was a man who spent twelve years in the armed forces.
From about the time Obama was officially declared the president-elect until I fell asleep shortly past midnight the sound of cars whizzing through the streets, honking their horns, filled the air. One of my roommates and I decided to join in the celebration and opened up a bottle of wine as we watched the speeches of McCain and Obama, and afterwards we went joyriding around the block! I kid.
Along with all of the hope and excitement there was a slight sense of melancholy and nostalgia as I thought back over the past eight years and all that has happened, both as a country and personally. It felt a bit like New Year’s Eve. Cheers, America.
On Wednesday I cooked dinner for my housemates and another former JV. I made chicken, stuffing and creamed corn--I’m a little excited about Thanksgiving. Also, the former JV was kind of enough to bring over mint chocolate chip ice cream, which is quite the treat these days.
On Thursday a former professional wrestler came into the men’s center to use the computer and get a cup of coffee. He pulled up an old clip of himself from Wrestlemania II which was pretty awesome--he was shirtless and wearing purple tights. I’m really hoping he never acts up, because I certainly won’t be intervening, but luckily he seems like a gentle giant.
Aside from that, Thursday was a fairly routine day, though I was a little tired. When I got home from work I laid down for a quick nap and about thirty minutes later I woke up feeling disoriented, thinking it was Friday morning and I had overslept work, but unlike the time I did that In elementary school, I didn’t get in the shower.
Tonight I’m headed over to the JV house in San Francisco for a “dress like you’re in your forties” themed party. I should be looking quite dapper rocking a collared shirt and sweater and I’m currently debating whether to wear some nice dress shoes or go with the old man cross-trainer look.
"The word enlightenment conjures up the idea of some superhuman accomplishment, and the ego likes to keep it that way, but it is simply your natural state of felt oneness with Being. It is a state of connectedness with something immeasurable and indestructible, something that, almost paradoxically, is essentially you and yet is much greater than you. It is finding your true nature beyond name and form." -Eckhart Tolle
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