It's the next
day.
I wake up on the floor in Eric’s old office. The only difference
from this day and any other day prior to, last night will be the last time I
ever sleep in this office ever again and last night was the last time I will
ever be homeless again. Speaking of,
I also signed a month to month agreement with my new roommate last night with
the contingency that I cannot move any furniture in until I pay him my first
two weeks of pay. I’m able to move in but I’m not able to move any furniture in
and to be honest, the jokes on him, because homeless people don’t have
furniture.
Now I can’t tell you how amazing this feels, after being homeless
for months and (officially) no longer be homeless. I have a home guys, I have a
home! Lets back track for a moment, I was evicted out of my condo, evicted out
of this office that I’ve been living in for smelling foul, I had lost my GF, my
family, my son, my ride, my job and my income. I had been living on nickels and
dimes that I found in the cracks of sidewalks, to eat food that I didn’t have
to fish out of a garbage dumpster. I have one duffel bag of clothing and one
friend, Eric. I have also finally found a job and because of that job, found a
new room for rent. Officially taking me out of homelessness and hopelessness
and I have done (what most would call) the impossible. I’m not out of the woods
yet by any means but I have possibility and hope and my new found income
doesn’t hurt either.
Now, I know that I have found a job (even though I haven’t started
yet) I’m still going to look for better work. That pays better than $8.75 an
hour. Yes, I just landed a new job, yes I just landed a new place and yes,
technically I'm no longer homeless and I should be grateful, yes I should be
satisfied, but I'm not. I want more. I want better. I need better. Not just for myself but for the sake
of SJ. I need to be that shining example of failing and falling hard on
your face and not only getting back up, but getting back up surpassing
everything you were to become everything I ever wanted to be. This starts with
demanding better, not asking, demanding better. So it's back to Craigslist
I go, to continue to look for a better job. Crazy I know, but this new me
is revitalized, refreshed, and determined.
I send out my resume to what seems like 1,000 companies with new
job openings on Craigslist. Nothing has come back yet and after an hour my
attention drifts off to, how am I going to get to and from work next week? Well,
time to start planning my route! My new job starts Tuesday and I don’t have any
time to waste.
I MapQuest the address to my new condo (yaay!) and then map it to my
new jobs address, by car it's 28 minutes and 16 miles all together. Next I
check the bus routes and of course, there aren't any buses that travel to that part
of Summerlin at all… great. Nothing comes easy these days. I'm assuming
that my new potential neighbors would never have a 'city' bus driving
through their communities.. smog'n up the place, ruining where they rest
at. See in the surrounding communities there are, gated, 2 million dollar
homes. These homes are quite large and how does a man going from homeless to
living next to millionaires (I assume that they are millionaires because they are
living in million dollar homes) get here anyways? Anyhow, there aren’t any
bus routes near where I'm going to be living and I know this is nowhere near as
big as a problem as being out on the streets but, it doesn’t take away from the
fact that this is still going to be tough. This trying to get back and forth
without a dime for transportation is going to be tough. Without money for
transportation, that would mean that I will be potentially walking 16 miles a
day (or 32 miles round trip) to work and even if I left today, I still wouldn’t
be able to make it there on time on Tuesday… or will I? Then it hits me, how long does it take to walk
a mile? I don't know? I know I've walked a
lot since losing my
truck but, I've never timed myself? Then I got an idea. I look down at my
remaining $5 in rolled up nickels. I look at my duffel bag in the corner, then
back to my nickels. I got it! Dollar
Store baby!! I'll walk to the Dollar Store. Here's why? This is genius!
I'll walk to the Dollar Store which is just over 1 mile (I think) from Eric's
old office suite and time myself. Not only that but with $5 in rolled up
nickels (which I know they will except) I can get 5 boxes of Cheez-its or some
type of snacks/food for the next five days or so. This is perfect. I know
what you're thinking, 'why didn't you just walk to the Dollar Store for food
vs. spending it at Subway in the first place?' Well because you can't live
off of snack food (even though I'm forced to right now) plus I needed the nutrients
that you can find in a Subway sandwich to live off of but also because, well, Subway
was just 15 feet away vs. over a mile (one way) for the Dollar Store. So convenience
won, I guess? Anyhow, I MapQuest the address to the Dollar Store against Eric's
old office. Just over 1 mile, yes! Perfect. I empty out my duffel bag
of all my old smelly clothing. I grab my saved up $5 in rolled up
nickels and take the first step out of the office to embark on my one mile
walk/journey with timing myself as a major priority.
Now keep this in mind, I start off by walking down North Rainbow
Blvd. Now this is sort of a major street in the local suburbs of Las Vegas it
is and can be very congested as times. People use this road to scoot from the
North West part of town to the South West in no time and as I walk, I can't
help but to think how many people I know, are passing me by right now and even
if they noticed me at all? Because I haven’t been able to shower or shave
in months, I’ve grown out my beard completely and it looks horrendous. I can
image them passing me by as I’m walking, noticing me and asking themselves
"Was that Siloh? ... No! Can’t be!" This is a little
embarrassing for sure. But who cares, it's not as embarrassing as
being homeless or convincing a convenience store clerks to please take my $1 of
rolled up pennies at the register so I can eat tonight. So I brush it off
and finally make it to the Dollar Store.
Time check! I look down at my phone, over a mile and a half in just
under 20 minutes! And I walked my ass off! So naturally, I'm sweating. Showing
up to work sweating will not work and if I have to walk there every day?
Not good. I'll try not to walk so briskly next time. I sit down on a bench
next to the Dollar Store to do the math. Thinking to myself, 'lets see, if one
mile walking equals 20 minutes then 16 miles walking at 20 minutes per mile will take
me 5 and a half hours.’ So if I had to be at work at 9am I would have to leave
my new pad and start walking at 4:30 am, the latest.' Now the same for at
night, after work, if I get off at 5pm and it takes the same amount of time to
walk home, that means that I will not be getting home until 10:30pm at night.
Combined to and from work walking I would be walking 32 miles a day, both ways
and walking for over 10 hours each day, Monday-Friday. I would be
walking to work longer than it would take me to actually work my day?
This is not a good solution for my transportation worries….enough calculating
for now, time to get something to eat.
I head inside the Dollar Store excited to get my shopping
started! Why? Because tonight I get to place all of my purchased items in cabinets
and a refrigerator! I haven't used cabinets or a refrigerator in months! Not to
mention, I was kind of starting to miss these things. I get a box of
impostor Cheez-its, spaghetti, rice, spaghetti sauce and a gallon of
water and with that, it's officially good bye to my last $5 in rolled
nickels. Good bye to the last amount of currency I have to my name. I
pack up my duffel bag with my Dollar Store food and make the long journey back
to Eric's old office. I make it back to the office suite. I look down at my
phone. 22 minutes back. Not bad. Still about the 20 minutes it takes to walk a
mile. I throw my bag down. Sit on the ground and revisit the idea of getting
back and forth next week to my new job. Walking is definitely out of the
question and I've already asked Eric for way too much. Wait a minute, (then it
hits me)...what about ride share?! Ride share on Craigslist! I’ve gone from
homeless to getting a job to getting a place to stay, I’m sure I can work this
out!
So what is ride share? Well, if you're not familiar with Ride
share. It's an idea of two people coming together for one ride. Where the
driver (the owner of the car) might be heading in one direction alone and could
use some company. What they will do is, pick you up (as long as you are
going in the same general direction as they are) and give you a ride in that
direction as long as it’s where they are going or if not close to. In exchange,
they will accept donations in the form of gas money, tolls, food, some will
even take trades (like laptops) (depending on the distance because some will
ride share from LA to NYC) or whatever. There are ride shares here locally in
Las Vegas that just ride around Vegas all day long looking for people to help
split the cost of gas for a ride. Dangerous, yeah I know. Broke too, yeah I
know, but I have 32 miles a day I have to cover to get to and from work, plus
I don’t really have too many options. Time to hit up Craigslist once again! Why
not? It’s been good to me so far. I've found my first job since becoming
homeless on Craigs! I’ve found my new place on Craigs, so why change a thing?
I get up and head over to the desk top again. I open up
Craigslist. I head over to the ride share section and start to look up ads for
local people offering local rides. Now this is where it gets tricky. I have to (not
only) find someone who is offering local rides but also have to find someone
who will be willing give me a ride, everyday, Monday-Friday, without paying
them one penny and I have to convince them, that they will have
to wait three weeks, before I can afford to pay them for driving me around. So
here's the plan, my paycheck for the first two weeks is already gone (it’s my new
roommates, I owe it to him for letting me move in without paying rent or a
deposit) The Third weeks check, that paycheck is open to be spent however
I please. This paycheck (from what I am planning) will have to go to my ride
share to get me to and from work. Not the whole check but I'm thinking $300…which
equates to $20 a day in gas money, from Monday-Friday, everyday, for the
next three weeks. Now if you're doing the math, $8.75 an hour (which is
basically $8.00 an hour after taxes) so $8.00 an hour times 40 hours a week is
just $320. $300 of which is going to whoever decides to take me up on my
offer (leaving me with just $20 after working there for three weeks.) Twenty
bucks? Not a lot of money but, it's a lot more than what I have right now
in my pocket and after everything that I've been through; I can definitely live
on just $20. Lets be honest, $20 in my pocket would be a blessing so, I believe
it's a fair deal.
I find 25 ads on Craigs for ride shares and I start to call them
up, immediately.
Here is what I basically heard on the first 15 calls, "Fuck
off" “Are you fuck’n crazy?” “Are you fuck’n stupid?” I kind of expected
that, but the next 5 calls after those were a lot nicer but more along the
lines of…"Call me back when you get some money in your pocket and I'll be
more than happy to give you a ride anywhere then." The remaining 5 calls, I
decide not to take any more chances trying to explain my way around not having
any money. So I told them the truth. I told them that I was homeless and that I
am just now getting back on my feet and basically pleaded with them (out
of the good graces of their hearts) for them to give me rides to and from work,
I begged basically. Three said ‘no thanks’ but two were slightly
interested! So we decided to meet. We would meet at the 7-11 which was a
place where I spent most all of my rolled up change on bags of Doritos to get
by, but also because it was a well known place and a mere 10 feet from the office
building I was sleeping in.. so it was the perfect place to meet.
Ride Share Driver #1 - He was a younger black
guy. He was a UNLV student looking to make some extra money for beer and books. He
was down to give me rides but wanted some kind of collateral up front
first? To be honest, I became frustrated because it felt like, one I had just
wasted my time but two, because it was like he didn’t believe me. That he didn’t
believe that I was homeless. I wanted to scream at him, "are you kidding
me, we talked for 20 minutes! Did you not listen to anything I said?" "You
know my deal. You know I have nothing and need someone to give me rides to my
new job upfront and need someone to give me those rides upfront in exchange for
$300 bucks later?" But I didn't say anything like that. I understood where
he was coming from. He would have to trust that this smelly old guy, a stranger
who was obviously going through some hard times would be able and willing to
pay him $300 bucks three weeks from now? Please? So, we exchanged numbers again
and he said (something that I am starting to get familiar with)"as
soon as you come up with something of value that I can hold onto until you
pay me my $300, then I'll do it." No hard feelings. He was truly a good
guy. I hope he's does well.
Ride Share Driver #2 (we’ll call her Miss Puerto Rico) - This one is a woman. She’s young as well,
probably in her mid 20's maybe? She’s slightly older than “Brady.” She’s also a
single mother with four kids (I guess I was wrong about her being in her mid
20's.) She’s Puerto Rican from Bed Stuy New York. In this moment, I only wish my Spanish was a
little better than it was right now…after all, I learned it from Puerto Ricans.
We start to talk. About being back on the East Coast and how it’s so different out
here. I tell her about my trips I had taken to Puerto Rico. My trips out to Old
San Juan and out to Mayawest. We had so much in common and hit it off almost immediately.
She was here alone (with her four kids obviously), no family here on the West
Coast and she had moved here for a brand new start (to basically get away from
her abusive ex-husband.) She was amazing. She was an inspiration. She was so
strong to be raising four children by herself in a town where she knew no one
and had no help. She kind of reminded me of my Mom who raised us (almost) under the
same exact circumstances.
She agreed to give me rides to and from work Monday through Friday
starting Tuesday of next week. She agreed to the $300 cash due at the end
of those three weeks! Unlike “Bradly” she was willing to give me rides without
wanting anything for collateral up front! This is amazing. She did make me
make one promise, that I would never try anything or jeopardize her safety in
any way. I obviously have no problem with this and agreed completely and immediately.
We laughed for a little while. I was making ‘Snaps’ (aka Yo Mama) jokes about
her being Puerto Rican, having four kids, and growing up in Bed Stuy. She took
her jabs too! With me being from ‘Dirty Jersey’ it was pretty easy for her too.
It was fun. It reminded me of being back home. With pleasure, we shook hands,
gave a quick hug and she went on her way. I probably double checked with
reminded her like 35 times to not forget about Tuesday. I mean what I can say;
I’m excited! I was so happy and at the same time really nervous and hoping that
she wouldn't change her mind in between now and Tuesday.
This is just amazing! I have no idea how all of this is coming
together or how any of these amazing people are coming into my life right now
all I know is that I'm celebrating inside. After months of being homeless,
I have a room for rent, I’m going to be taking a shower, I’m going to be
shaving again, I have a roof over my head, I have $5 in food, I
have a job and I have transportation to and from it and the winds of
change are now starting to positively blow in my direction! I'm feeling amazing!
I'm feeling..... Human again.
For more read my next blog post
'I’m starving but, I’m used to that by now.'
'Better Than This' the blog
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