Toward the end of the day, someone in the office takes a phone call. The person on the other end identifies themselves as one of a group of “construction workers” who are going to ‘fuck us up’ at 10 o’clock when we leave at the end of our shift. (more…)
The city continues to reach new levels of absurdity while screwing with the roads around the shelter. A backhoe dug a hole in the middle of the street in front of the shelter and they closed every road in every direction. No staff could get in or out. Inside, supervisors scrambled to ensure the shelter was properly staffed. (more…)
Ross has a monkey that wears a pink tutu. The city animal control lady is running around their apartment building trying to catch it. Some old man is also trying to steal the monkey, but only for the tutu. Thankfully Rachel blackmails the animal control lady into letting the monkey stay.
One of my coworkers points out one of the long-time homeless residents at the shelter. He’s a pretty recognizable person in the city. Long black beard, black trech coat, eye patch, ball cap – he looks like a pirate stuck in the wrong time. Well, apparently, this pirate wanted to ask my coworker a ‘hypothetical question.’ He asked, “How could a person get a job if they haven’t worked for 18 years?” My coworker thought about it for a moment and advised, “You lie.”
After ‘lights out’ an orange glow from the street effuses through the steel grates on the windows. A couple fluorescent lights remain on at the back of the room, which buzz in harmony with the persistent hum of the Coke machine. Approximately 150 intoxicated people are passed out on mats on the floor. Others chat quietly with each other. The women’s section is closed off with a barricade of plastic chairs and tables around the women’s washroom. The men take up the rest of the floor. A couple people are already passed out in their own urine. Before long, one man, considerably drunk and high, tries to fight another man over a sheet. He is ejected from the building.
Latecomers straggle in. Of course, most of them look like ‘homeless people.’ Dirty, unshaven, missing teeth etc. So you do a double take over the two or three guys who show up in clean semi-formal work attire. (more…)
The sky was overcast, which is good because rainy whether helps me sleep. I slept as much as possible in preparation for my first day on the night shift. It’s the first of two ‘trial shifts’ to see if I would be a good fit working at the homeless shelter. I was in a sour mood though. I guess I get like that when I’m nervous.
