Quote Originally Posted by Martyr View Post
Whenever some selfish, lazy loser comes and tries to pull the Sympathy card for cash, food and other prizes, I like to imagine what I would do if my life somehow got totally smurfed.

Basically the game is, based on what we know about our environment and how smart we think we are in given hypothetical difficult situations, and given that we have nothing but the clothes on our backs (and they're too grimy looking for us to go in and apply for a legit job) and we don't get to rely on current social connections or special skills (it'd kinda be cheating if I hopped on a library computer and wrote articles for money because not everybody knows how to do that):
How long do you suppose it would take for you to have a proper home (bathroom, place to sleep, place to store clothes/objects), a steady job of some sort, and about 2 grand in the bank?

For me
I've been around town some, so I know where I can get some tomato picking jobs no matter how ugly and stupid I look. I know a place that gives away all it's expired bread when I ask. Usually, for 5 bucks, they let me fill my truck with it to feed my cows, but I'm sure they'd kick me a loaf or two that hasn't molded yet if I asked nice. They just need to get rid of it.
If I worked late night weekends before the farmers markets down south, I could probably pull in at least $200-$300 per week, and way I see it, I'd only be sleeping in the fields for about 2 or 3 weeks before I could get a room somewhere. But that'd be backbreaking hard work, especially since I'm so dang tall. If I got lazy and used to sleeping on the ground, and if I managed to save a hundred bucks and then put stuff into a bank account (instead of burying my cash under a rock somewhere- heaven knows I ain't sleeping with cash in my pockets), I might sleep outside a little longer just to save money, I think. I don't know how I'd respond if people attacked me while I slept though. I might sleep on the train.
I'd give myself 2-5 months before I had a pair of slacks and a job at McDs, only one step away from the American Dream.

So... Does anybody else have this figured out?
How would you lift yourself up out of abject homelessness and poverty if you suddenly lost everything?
I need to move to where you live.

My mom and I are both struggling to find work anywhere. She has better credentials for Pharmacy Tech or Medical Assisting and I have better credentials for... just about everything else because I'm younger and can learn fast. But neither of us has any luck... and that's just what we need... a SHIAOTLOAD of luck! My dad's the only paycheck making $18/h in construction but he has to drive 45 mins out of town to get there. Gas, wear-n-tear, pg&e, insurance, truck payments, rent, food (we try to stay under $80/wk)... my dad's not getting younger...
I'm epileptic with a medical black mark on my profile preventing me from getting a license which makes it even harder to find a job. America is the land of opportunities... to scrape by on the skin of your teeth making less than minimum shoveling crap for the amusement of others...