kiss me so i remember how
so that concert wasn't all that lame. the opening act, in fact, was lovely and haunting. of course, it's hard not to be haunted in a dark church with a sweet light show. i really think they should use that lighting scheme during church services. [why do churches use such glaring, sterile lights? a dark room with some coloured lights is a lot closer to the experience medieval types would have gotten chilling in cathedrals]. anyhow, it was lovely to meet laura and her sister for a dinner before the show. it was totally like having friends again!
no, i totally have friends. there were a few nights this week when i considered going to the cafe to read. then i realized i could just come home and kick it with holly. i often think of that sort of thing as a sad defeat, but i realized it's actually something i look forward to. she made me a white russian while we watched girlfriends; it was a delight! what else has been going on? did i tell you that on valentine's day i had to talk a jumper down from a sign over the highway? not really "talk down," that implies some sort of skill. more i just demanded "i think you should come down here right now!" the cold and dark has gotten to the homeless...they're increasingly agitated and paranoid. i had to wrest a broom out of one guy's hand as he tried to hit someone with it. and more and more homeless keep appearing. every time i squeeze an extra cot into the women's dorm, three more women appear. last night was rough--it was one of those nights where a shelter newbie walked in and was suddenly overwhelmed with horror. she held it together til the kitchen; upon receiving her bowl of soup she doubled over sobbing. again, due to my general detachment from the universe, i don't feel like i'm doing much. but hey, soothing an upset lady or getting a guy off a highway, i guess that's decent work for a day.
the winter has broken a little...not really temperature-wise, but at least you can walk again. i'm eternally thankful that snow can melt and water evaporate even when the temperatures are well below freezing. it seems like a bit of a miracle to have entire sidewalks back. surrounded by piles of snow, walking a 6-inch wide path has been the norm since Christmas, and it's hard to explain believably how claustrophobic that becomes.
what else has been going on? i went to bingo with kimberly? i watched a million movies last saturday?
colleague michele and i were having a lengthy discussion over who was more pathetic. describing my weekend, i explained "I watched a million movies cos I had nothing else to do. Then I got into some vloggers because i thought watching a particular vlog regularly may make me feel like i have a friend." michele countered that she spent all her weekend avoiding her friends and playing a video game. the subject turned to our work. michele lamented her frequent absences, so i explained "hey, you're barely ever here, but when you are here you work way harder than everyone." she explained "true. but you're always here, and work all these extra hours...so what if you don't do much when you're here?" this level of burnout among the city's most elite homeless squad probably indicates why the 10 year plan to end homelessness didn't really pan out.
incidentally, the vlogs to feel less lonely totally works. as does this automated text service to make me reduce smoking. well... until yesterday when it started nagging me to cut off my smoking friends. then it passed a red line and became too controlling. like that movie Her, only it turns into a really domineering relationship. i stood outside with a cup of coffee as the guests smoked this morning. the guests jeered me for cutting back on smoking just because a german told me too. when i explained that the government's stop smoking text generator was also involved, they jeered louder. "would you stop drinking coffee if the government texted you?" and the like.
no, i totally have friends. there were a few nights this week when i considered going to the cafe to read. then i realized i could just come home and kick it with holly. i often think of that sort of thing as a sad defeat, but i realized it's actually something i look forward to. she made me a white russian while we watched girlfriends; it was a delight! what else has been going on? did i tell you that on valentine's day i had to talk a jumper down from a sign over the highway? not really "talk down," that implies some sort of skill. more i just demanded "i think you should come down here right now!" the cold and dark has gotten to the homeless...they're increasingly agitated and paranoid. i had to wrest a broom out of one guy's hand as he tried to hit someone with it. and more and more homeless keep appearing. every time i squeeze an extra cot into the women's dorm, three more women appear. last night was rough--it was one of those nights where a shelter newbie walked in and was suddenly overwhelmed with horror. she held it together til the kitchen; upon receiving her bowl of soup she doubled over sobbing. again, due to my general detachment from the universe, i don't feel like i'm doing much. but hey, soothing an upset lady or getting a guy off a highway, i guess that's decent work for a day.
the winter has broken a little...not really temperature-wise, but at least you can walk again. i'm eternally thankful that snow can melt and water evaporate even when the temperatures are well below freezing. it seems like a bit of a miracle to have entire sidewalks back. surrounded by piles of snow, walking a 6-inch wide path has been the norm since Christmas, and it's hard to explain believably how claustrophobic that becomes.
what else has been going on? i went to bingo with kimberly? i watched a million movies last saturday?
colleague michele and i were having a lengthy discussion over who was more pathetic. describing my weekend, i explained "I watched a million movies cos I had nothing else to do. Then I got into some vloggers because i thought watching a particular vlog regularly may make me feel like i have a friend." michele countered that she spent all her weekend avoiding her friends and playing a video game. the subject turned to our work. michele lamented her frequent absences, so i explained "hey, you're barely ever here, but when you are here you work way harder than everyone." she explained "true. but you're always here, and work all these extra hours...so what if you don't do much when you're here?" this level of burnout among the city's most elite homeless squad probably indicates why the 10 year plan to end homelessness didn't really pan out.
incidentally, the vlogs to feel less lonely totally works. as does this automated text service to make me reduce smoking. well... until yesterday when it started nagging me to cut off my smoking friends. then it passed a red line and became too controlling. like that movie Her, only it turns into a really domineering relationship. i stood outside with a cup of coffee as the guests smoked this morning. the guests jeered me for cutting back on smoking just because a german told me too. when i explained that the government's stop smoking text generator was also involved, they jeered louder. "would you stop drinking coffee if the government texted you?" and the like.