Life on the Streets: Day 3 – Part 2

Day: Thursday
Time: 1902
Location: Circular Quay – Wharf 5




Amazing how much I have to talk about from just under an hour and a half, I’ll chunkify it a bit.


Dafa and Tony

Masar won’t be working for a couple days, Dafa will be though. He had a lot to do in the back, so I didn’t really talk long, but he also commented on my weight loss (and my sun exposure). Hopefully I can see him tomorrow.


Not being a good Boy Scout

Part of the Scout Oath is

“I will keep myself; Physically strong, mentally awake…”

For right now let’s focus on “Physically strong”.

At various times today there have been moments where I have just been drained of ALL energy. None however where as bad as the one in Coles when I went to get a can for coins. I nearly passed out as I was going down the escalator. Then it took me 3 or 4 laps to remember what I was looking for.

“…mentally awake…”

Then when I got the can of fruit salad (that was only $4) I carried it with such care. I must have anyway… I don’t remember… I just remember being happy about finding what I went in for after lapping the store so many times.

A few theories as to why:

A. An old joke
About how much blood God gave to men and the fact that I’m in a very beautiful city of Sydney where the city isn’t the only thing beautiful

B. Calories in vs. out
Being a fat guy who could use a bit more starvation, I am not very willing to accept this one

C. Orange Pee
I normally on average, drink a liter of water an hour (yes Andrew… I know this gives me the bladder of an old man) but I just realized something, in two and a quarter days… I have filled up my 2.4 liter water bottle just under 3 times (Masar did fully twice and I couldn’t fit it all the way under the faucet on the ferry


Canned food = Chunk of Heaven

Next thing I remember an angelically soft female voice says to me,

“You really like that brand sir?” (or something of the sort, I was totally zoned out)

I looked down and I realize that I am holding this can in front of me with both hands clenched, and I think to myself… “Seriously?! Two F^(king days and now this?!”

Another shock filled though occurs…

“It’s only been 2 days?! TWO DAYS!!! I still have another FIVE to go!?”

I simply reply with a partially terrified

“uhhmmmm… ya”

A pause…

“Sir, may I have the can please? So I can scan it”

“ya”

A pause…

“Sir… the can?”

“huh? Wha… OH! Ummm… ya”

Myself thoroughly making myself seem like a fool, I took my can and left.

This made me think of something…

#1 Yes – I really actually DO enjoy a good fruit salad every now and again, especially with vanilla yogurt

#2 A new way of look at an old tradition…

At the church my Madre and Val & Co. go to (First Christian Church – Santa Maria), Pastor Clete has this tradition that on the Sunday before Thanksgiving everyone brings in some non-perishable food. THEN to liven things up, he encourages everyone to whistle as they bring their good or goods up to the front.

Just some non perishibles and some whisling of a tune… no big deal.

BULLSHIT!

HUGE F^(

Two days on the streets and I get excited over the ugliest looking beanie I have ever seen.

Two days on the strees and I am too caught up in the taste of fruit salad to let go of it long enough to pay for it?!

This upcoming Thanksgiving when my Madre, Val, Deanna, Heidi, and the whole lot of you walk up taking that one can you’ve had in the back of the pantry for months that you where never excited about buying in the first place… and you walk up to the front and add it on the pile… you are making somebody’s day! You are making somebody’s holy day! You carry energy, nutrients, and the chance at another day when you do that.

And Clete wants us to do it like it is no big deal? If it SO wasn’t a big deal… Why do each one of us wait for one or two days a year. Why don’t we just do it all the time then?

Life as a Casting Director


This whole seeing all of you from home business has GOT TO STOP!!!

This is just ridiculous, maybe it’s the dehydration?

Danielle J – You where outside Coles

Elizabeth H – You where at the other end of Platform 2 of King’s Cross station (with highlights, it was a great look)

Elisa – Platform 1 at Circular Quay

F M L

I wish that was it. At least if it was just you friends, that would make sense, but two fellow alums from below and above my year who are related who I think are b!t(#es and are to good to talk to me.

AND!

Ok, even if we stay with friends, at least be the same ethnicity!!! Although, I gotta go in detail on this because if I wasn’t so worried about my sanity I’d think it was REALLY funny.

So Nancy, my Celtic classmate, there is an anime version of you with exact facial features of nose, cheek size, chin type, and ears (minus freckles). I’m happy to report, if you were Japanese, you’d still be beautiful. Does make me wonder though what Shaun would think of the anime look.


Paying at the Pump

So, I just witnessed something AWEFUL. Let me back track… the Kigers have a poster in their spare room (that I have probably and will refer to) that says:

“Has paying at the pump made us lonelier people?”

Then it goes on about whenever you have the time, go inside and give the person at the counter a smile.

How does this relate? Well one more piece of information:

Some of the subways have seats that you can actually flip the backing on so the bench faces the other way.

Times when it is helpful:

* You want to face the direction the car is moving in or not

* You and 3 or more friends see two rows and you make them face each other to talk

When looking at the design with these two things in mind, it makes total sense, however… as I was on the way back to Circular Quay, I was at first the only person in that cart, then at the next stop, under a quarter of what the cart can carry came on. Every single person ensured that each bench was facing away. THEN every person took their own row on one side. Basically, each row on one side had one person and all facing the same direction. I was the ONLY person without my back turned to someone else. Here I am craving human contact, and I’m sharing a subway cart with people intent on keeping their bubble as large as possible.

I measure the social strength of a group and group members by the way they sit. General rule, Bible study groups that allow people to sit in blind spots might be great people to invite to a bondfire or BBQ, not the one you turn to for a loss of a loved one. So to the guy at FCC who shares a name with one of my favorite TV personalities, I don’t care what you think you heard Rocky say or not say once… it IS in fact a big deal.

We are trying to kill our society, and we don’t even realize it because we use terms like “Social Network” to describe Facebook and spend more time chatting on MySpace then at an actual shared space! Wheather a home, coffee shop, beach, whatever.

I also see irony in that this synchronization of back turning happened at 1914. The time of day, when converted into years, is the same time we turned our backs to one another on a global scale.