a different life?

 I have lived in a Public Housing building since I got out of the Adult Foster Home I was staying in after the car wreck in 1998 (no known family, single, poor, disabled).  I’ve never really recovered from that wreck.  Physically, I have made great progress from the coma that crash put me in, but economically, I never have recovered from being flat broke POOR.

Not that I had much at all, but I lost it all after the wreck.

I held on to a job distributing the Oregonian newspaper for almost seven years, mostly on the weekends, and lately during the week too, but the paper has declined to such a point that it was no longer a worthwhile job.  I held on to it soo long because it was a job – I could say "I have a job" and not feel too badly.  Maybe I held on to it for so long because I’m afraid and clinging to the "life ring" that job gave me.  That’s what my former wife thinks, and she’s know me longer and better than anyone else.

Not having a life preserver (Unemployment?  Three weeks of none and wtf?), I have to swim.

Or drown trying?

(see last entry re: drowning)

***

I saw on the Announcements board downstairs that there was a seminar on Green Jobs – how to get training for one and GET it, put on by The Urban League of Portland.  The flyer didn’t say anything about who was qualified, and since it was up in my Public Housing building, I figured I might get in on the program.

Long story short, I’m not the wrong color for the training. (only 2 or 3 white guys in the room though) I am POOR, so that’s qualification enough, but it turns out that I don’t live in a Federally designated "Depressed Economically" section of the city.

(Turns out that my neighborhood is Well Off.  It’s the best part of Portland I’ve ever lived in, yeah, but hello – Housing Authority of Portland resident here!)

***

Bummer, dude.

I came home and talked to the manager of the building to let her know that none of us living here qualify for the Green Jobs program the flyer in our building is talking about.

***

I drove home once and realized that I was indeed still without coffee – I had to wake up to Constant Comment tea (which is good… but it ain’t COFFEE) and drove over to my local Trader Joe’s to get some coffeee.  They have a great selection of coffee there, for good prices.

(K* this summer bought me a can of 20 dollar a pound Hawaiian coffee – something I’d probably never buy for myself.  I usually get "Joe", TJ’s own kind of basic coffee, and less than 4 bucks a can)

Trader Joe’s looks like a fun place to work, and I’ve been thinking about it long enough – I got a job ap from them with my coffee.  The guy I got it from said they’re not hiring, but they’ll take the application, so I brought one home.  What the hell.

(got a chickipot pie from them too – I should get that out of the microwave and eat it)

***

Yet another week without Unemployment or Food Stamps.  See previous entry.

It could be worse.

 

*****