Christmas 2009
Today is Christmas, and for many years my family has done very little for Christmas. There are many reasons for this happening, but it is sad none the less. This year I am alone, I wanted to get the apartment cleaned up before I fly to Atlanta tomorrow because I am bringing back a lot of stuff. I had offers to eat dinner with my team lead, but as I said I just wanted to relax before a very long week.
I felt like getting a Slurpee so I headed out around 2pm and noticed that one of the homeless guys around here was in the park so while I was at 7-11 I picked up a hotdog and a bottle of water. On my way home I stopped at the park and brought it to him, as I was leaving, and he was thanking me I turned around and gave him $7 I had in my pocket. He was very happy to be getting both food and some money. I think that was the happiest I have seen anyone in a very long time. He said, “this is HUGE, how did you know I was in need?”, and I explained that I had been in a similar situation years ago and knew what it was like.
I don’t think I’ve ever blogged about this, but something very few people know about me is that back in 2005/2006 ago I lived out of my car for 3 months. The initial reaction from most is that it would be a horrible experience, and while parts of it were upsetting and difficult lessons were learned and I now know more about myself than ever. I was sleeping in a 95 3 Series BMW, which might sound nice, but it really isn’t, it is very uncomfortable, and you can’t sell it because you need transportation, and in this case a place to sleep. Access to a shower was limited, but I had a friend who was very kind to me and let me come over to her parents place. The difficulty with limited shower access is you have to be super careful about what you do so you don’t *need* a shower before you can have access to one. I ate Sabritones, a lime puffed wheat snack, when I didn’t have much money (they were $0.99 a bag and filling). The sad thing about that situation is I had a very very close friend who could have helped, and he did not. He was not obligated in anyway, it was my problem, but as close as we were and having a 3000 sqft house, he should have. Eventually his brother moved out and when he got his own house he let me stay there for 3 months or so, which saved my life, and I will be forever grateful to him for it.
So the situation is different, but I can relate, I know how hard it can be sometimes to keep it together. I know that giving him that small amount of money and lunch made a big difference for him, and he is enjoying it. With the upcoming load of stuff I will be bringing to CA, I am pretty sure there are things in there that I can give to him to use, but I wish I could do more for him today. He was a very nice man, and I feel bad for him because with apartment costs as high as they are getting back on his feet will be hard. I know that if I had not had family to go back to, I would have been in serious trouble.
Now that I have revealed more than I think I ever planned to on my blog, I will close with Merry Christmas, and have a Happy New Year!
