An Interesting Day

Well, the day started off a bit slow. I checked the forecast before going to bed last night, and it said that it would be clear through the night and into the morning. I know not to fully trust their predictions, but they are right sometimes.

When I awoke, though, it was cold and overcast, although thankfully not very windy. It was sure looking like rain. I decided to go to McDonald's for coffee as I didn't need to charge any devices. I didn't spend long there and went to my spot where I like to fly a sign, but by the time I got there, it began drizzling hard enough to motivate me not to want to.

I went to the bus stop across from it as it has a shelter and stood there trying to figure out what to do for the day. It really seemed to want to rain all day. I finished off all the doughnuts that really nice, old, Asian lady added to my bag. I need to remember to learn her name next time I go. I'm so bad with that, plus remembering them in general. I am getting better at it, though.

After a while, I decided to go to Fred Meyer to get a few Pepsis. They're buy two get one, plus I've noticed an improvement in my gut health as I do believe the acids are helping my stomach break down fiber. It's interesting, because a while back, I cut way down on drinking soda, and if I'm not mistaken, that's around the time that I started having problems—I just can't remember exactly.

The doughnuts weren't enough, so I went to Jack in the Box for a Breakfast Jack. The girl that served me doesn't know English too awfully well, but the egg came out fine. While I ate, the really pretty girl came in. She usually doesn't give me a smile when I come in, even before when I wasn't homeless, but she smiled and said, "Hi." Not that I'm like blown away or anything, but it was nice for a change. She seems like a really independent Hispanic young woman, and she likes to wear tight jeans instead of slacks.

She even turned up the temperature when she came in, which was nice because I had gotten pretty cold at the bus stop. I tried to stay there for a bit and wait out the rain, but it was not letting up. So, I went back to the bus stop and had a smoke, hoping the rain would stop. It was still just drizzling, but slowly getting heavier. I watched one of the—now, I call the vagabonds I don't like, vagrants—take up the spot, only to abandon it maybe ten minutes later as the rain was almost not a drizzle anymore.

I decided at this point that I would just go to the library, and so I went to a bus stop at a cross street, thinking that it would connect with Greenwood Avenue where I could catch the bus that stops in front of it. I still don't know that area that well, and so the bus wasn't going where I thought. The streets here are so convoluted.

I sighed as I got off and went to the stop to go back. The rain had stopped, and I was glad as there was no shelter at this stop. There was a building that used to be a Rite Aid, and not abandoned that long ago as it still had shopping carts and shelves inside. I watched a woman go to the door expecting it to be open. She ended up walking all the way to the next stop just to avoid me, giving me a haughty look as she got on the bus. She was bleeding normalcy bias arterially.

At this point, I figured that I could fly my sign for a bit, expecting that the rain would come again. However, when I got back, there was a woman at the spot, which I would later learn was the other vagrant's girl. So, I went to the spot across from it, which isn't as good for whatever reason, but just as I was getting my stuff settled, the first car that stopped in the turn lane was a nice lady with $5. Getting money so soon is so rare that I can't even remember the last time it happened.

It was maybe five minutes later when I saw the girl leave the spot. They don't need much to get their fix apparently. I immediately took up the spot, which was colder as the wind was in my face now and had gotten a bit stronger by this point. After about an hour, I was about ready to give up, being too cold, but I made myself stay for at least one more handout. When my toes start getting cold, I will then start shivering. Soon, though, a nice couple in a newer Mercedes Benz gave me $10. I get the sense that they actually read my sign and/or saw the pinky sleeve on my left glove flapping in the wind. I just got a second pair of those really cheap gloves and have doubled them up, and now the sleeve really sticks out.

I also think that's what motivated the really pretty Asian lady that was the first to give me money at that spot. She stopped right next to me, which they don't have to, as they can pull up another car length or so. I could feel her looking at me, and with her right by my side like that, she wouldn't have been able to read the sign.

In any case, I decided to spend a bit longer there after that tenner, but I had to wait a while before a young woman gave me $2, and I finally called it quits.

I decided to go to the library again, and so I hopped on the bus and went further down where I knew I could get over to Greenwood Ave. I stopped by the Safeway I used to go to a lot. I also had a package coming to the Amazon locker there. I had to replace the headband flashlight holder that I don't remember losing. It hadn't arrived yet, but as I waited at the bus stop, I saw the truck, and as the driver got back into her vehicle, I got the email. I was like, "Sweet."

Well, that's pretty much it, as I'm now at the library typing this up. Not sure what motivated me to want to write all of that, but it was interesting to me compared to how most days go. I don't normally spend so much time waiting at bus stops, and some things just felt like they were supposed to happen as opposed to just happening.

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Thank you so much for reading. Please like, comment, and share. I hope you have a wonderful day….[[|:-)