05-02

surviving. good thing my church has 24/7 wifi. i've managed to find a couple of semi-open outlets so i can recharge my laptop. if those become non-accessible there are also outlets to be found around any metro station - check the bottoms of the light poles. some of them still have accessible outlets that can be plugged into.

haven't been noticed by the powers that be yet. it helps that our apartment was/is on the far side of the complex with our own carport structure.

there are 8-10 places in the carport, with one spot assigned to each apartment in this wing. ours is the farthest on the right, closest to the building.

our apartment is the only one with a patio that one can access from outside. there's an outlet on the patio and the power was not shut off.

i should also mention that we didn't bother to lock the patio door - i elected to use the restroom last night. i carry a small roll of TP in my pants pocket at all times.

the patio has a small cubbyhole at one end, and with the bamboo curtain blocking the closest open space, i am virtually invisible from anyone passing by, including the patrol that comes through the parking lot around midnight. that patrol is used to seeing my car, so they take no notice of it parked in the carport.

we left a lot of things behind for scavengers, but a desk chair was left behind, so i grabbed it and put it in the cubbyhole.

so i have a place to sit before it gets dark while i read an ebook on my laptop, as i plug an extension cord into the socket and run it over to the cubbyhole.

after dark, i move out and prop my laptop on the rail and continue to read/type/watch a video i downloaded to the laptop. if i had wifi here (and i'm tempted to ask my next door neighbor if i can tap theirs) the only inconvenice would be sleeping in the car, which i'd gladly do to save $800+ a month at this point.


according to the manager, the plan is to shampoo the carpet eventually. i expect that that will result in the patio door getting locked. but i'll still have the pool access until they change the code. and with the quarantine in place, i don't think anyone is going to use the pool for quite a while.

i splurged on store made sushi yesterday for lunch at von's. i was hoping to be able to their seating space next to the starbucks inside the store, but that area was partitioned off. %#*@

no tables outside either, so i couldn't sit down and tap their wifi. i don't even know if it's running. the pasadena public library wifi is down. didn't expect that.

but my church wifi has been reliable. it's about a 2.5 mile drive from my old apt. call it $.50 in gas for free wifi until my laptop battery gives out. or i get too hot sitting in the car with no shade. 

drat. i was hoping to use the outlet at the pool, but it seems to be out. i can still eat lunch here.

figured it was better to be away from the apartment during the day since there's no power from the pool outlet (crap). i certainly don't expect the carpet cleaning to occur before monday so i've got at least two more nights tapping my out let.

i stopped by ralph's picked up a bottle of ginger ale. i forgot to mention that breakfas/lunch consisted of a can of sardines left over from my roommates along with 4 slices of bread. i expect that this will be my main meal of the day. last night's snack was an apple sprinkled with powdered cinnamon.

i expecting that the more sensible eating combined with the fedex job will result in lost wieght which in turn will reduce the diabetic symptoms.

i find it ironic that my sister is lamenting not living it up because i suspect that with the physical condition that comes with old age, she can't enjoy it fully anyway.

i mean, i'm younger and my metabolism is so much slower i couldn't possibly eat as much as i did when i visited france 20 years ago. i expect i'll overeat one meal a week if/when we start going out for lunch again.

i'm back at the park on del mar near karl's house. the folks i saw yesterday aren't here. i suppose that they rotate.

i wonder if i should try and figure out where my tuesday regulars are and try and learn about them. i went by the park and there's a foursome of people on bikes who seem to have made those tables their headquarters. they've been to dinner a couple of times, but they seem to be the kind of people who've chosen their lives, if you know what i mean.

i contrast that to the regulars who are grateful that i'm there with a humble meal, where passers by will ask things like: "is there more meat?" to which i typically respond: "maybe if you bring some."

oddly enough a former regular told me that she'd supply if if i'd cook it. i was hesitant in large part that would require regular communication and a means of contacting me that might get passed around.

my mentor cautioned me about maintaining a healthy boundary between me and the people i'm trying to help. i see the wisdom in that.

i'm grateful that it's still only may - the weather is comfortable, and i need only a hoodie at night to stay warm; the hood limits the heat loss.

i wonder the people living in cars have weekday and weekend routines. i know it's saturday but after weeks of quarantine, it's just a means of tracking the week.

as i said before. not having regular access to wifi hurts a lot, but losing access to electricity is what is really going to hurt. i wonder if i'll have a chance to recharge at work. better yet, shower facilities like they did at the electric company.

with battery saver mode on, i've been off an on with this laptop since 9:30am and it's almost 12:30 at this point.

i tried going to bed at 11pm last night and i napped briefly but i powered the laptop back on and finished reading an ebook until about 1am, slept until about 9 this morning. headed over to CA (church) to get wifi for about an hour, went to the pool and starting typing only to discover that the pool outlet was apparently dead. should have tried the other outlet.

decided it was best not to be too greedy and so i'm on the road. i have another battary and another two laptops, but i figure i've got a half hour left - 2.5 hours is better than i expected.

so here i am. i know i should try and be productive by writing with no internet. perhaps i should sleep now so i can recharge and be writing at night to help prepare my for my new schedule. not that sleepy right now, though i did find a primo parking spot in the shade at the park. i could crash until 6-7 and head back to the apartment carport around 7:30..

i forgot to mention that i make cinnamon tea by filling a tea maker with water, a cinnamon stick, and leaving it in the back window, letting the sun heat the water. i try to drink it at night to make sure i'm hydrating properly, and refilling it from the apt. kitchen tap as long as that's available. if i have to use a fountain, i can do that, or i can refill it from a bottle.

i try to drink a bottle of water every morning, with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, using it to wash down a couple of acai pills. the acai, vinegar and cinnamon are my homeopathic attempts to deal with the diabetic symptoms.