Today and tomorrow I have the honor of attending the MN Coalition for the Homeless conference being held here in Minneapolis.

I chose to ride the bus downtown today.

On my walk home, down Bloomington Ave, South of Lake Street, I passed a group of 5 guys. They looked to be in their early 20's with a slight chance of them being late teens.
At the back of the group, one guy had a young girl (she was shorter than I and I am about 5'3"), leading her by the shoulders. I could have swore I heard her wimpering as I passed the group. I turned around after they had passed and watched. I continued to walk and watch. I walked forward for a second then turned again - I saw the girl run ahead then the guy that had been leading her by her shoulders run after her. It ALMOST looked playful but I had a bad feeling in my gut. I turned and walked another step or two then looked back a final time - by this time they were near the end of the block as was I on the opposite side. When I looked, the group had stopped and were looking at me.

I continued to walk home, angry, worried and scared for the girl. I called 911 and reported the situation.

This is the 2nd time I've witnessed something like this in a 5 block radius. Something is going on and I think we can figure out what. Both girls/women were either Latina or Native. Both men or groups of men were very much not or mixed. Both situations displayed a man with both hands on the girl's back, kind of gripping her shoulders in a threatening way but not too obvious for people choosing not to see or people who don't observe what is going on around them.

I will not continue to stand by and let this happen. I contacted a local outreach organization for girls and women involved in trafficking and prostitution earlier this summer to get some ideas of what I should do when I see this stuff. I will contact them again about these 2 incidents as they differed from the first (a woman on the corner, men in a van watching her every move).

I don't care if it's not "cool" to call the cops. If it can save a girl from being raped and trafficked, I will do it. And I plan to work with this agency and get some numbers to add to my phone and call when they might be able to do outreach.

Fuck!

I've had a couple of really inspirational conversations with a couple of our guys recently. It's awesome to talk to someone that acknowledges their past, has come to terms with it and is moving upward and wants to talk to others, to motivate, to relate and to share.

I've never had really good relations with men, it's good to just sit and have someone with so different of life experiences open up to me and just share.

The gentleman I talked for a while with today (we've also talked previously) shared his goals, his desire to reach for more, to talk to the younger kids and give them the straight up about how felonies fuck your life up for longer than your sentance - that it IS a big deal. And it's not worth it.

We also shared our observations, he as a shelter guest and me as a staff member, regarding how differently the guys act upstairs in the Job Room as compared to how they posture when they get downstairs around the whole group of guys staying in shelter (45 men). It kind of bums me out when I connect with someone upstairs then they kind of give me the cold shoulder down in the shelter but I'm learning and assuming that it's a small survival mechanism of some sort. To keep that tough front when there are others around...

PSA:
As someone that drives and rides, I would like to publicly denounce the usage of the basic single tiny LED bulb lights or anything similar to them as a "blinkie" - it's something like the Knog light although maybe these folks are using an off brand or something. They only provide enough blink for a mosquito to see the user, not a vehicle.

I was behind a girl who was riding on Franklin Ave at 8pm tonight. She had one on the front of her bag's strap facing forward and one on the top, supposed to be facing backward (which it was actually facing upright due to her posture on the bike). Point is, they don't project enough light. Her rear reflector is the only light I could see clearly. I only saw the lights because I was on a side street when she originally passed by, I then ended up behind her and saw nothing.

They are giving people a false sense of security and for that, they are dangerous. Just sayin'

A is for:

Assinine things I've said, Notable:

• When the state Quarters came out years ago, I stood there examining one, eventually asking my husband "Who's Ordie?" Turns out, the Quarter said "Live Free Or Die". Who knew?
• Shortly after beginning my VISTA job here at the shelter, a co-worker and I took a stroll through the park on the next block over. There are various sorts of activities and a diverse group that hang out there (read: sleep, congregate, deal or buy, use, play frisbee, read, walk their dogs, etc...). As we passed a visibly drunk man perched over his bike, he asked if we had some denomination of money, we said no. "Why not!, not even a Quarter?", he says. And I blurt out, while patting our pockets - "Nope, just our bodies..." What I meant is that we weren't carrying anything but ourselves - no money, no bags, no nothing. Jeesh.
• Yesterday, a man in the Job Room asked where Wyoming was. Although it seemed odd, I began noting that it was in the Northwest, near Montana. Oops, he was trying to find out where Wyoming, MN was. I forgot there even was one, I don't leave the city enough to keep track of random outlying cities and towns....

I'm sure there are more but that's all my tired brain can dig up right now.

Walked into the Job Room about an hour ago and burst out jokingly "Alright guys, partys over!" only to notice the man in the corner scrambling to close out of a pop-up ad with nekkid ladies all over it. I was just trying to wake these guys up, jeesh! Apparently I had good timing though.

A is for:

Annoying, Some things I find:

• When you are approaching a red light, assess the scene in front of you and note that the fellow at the head of the pack in the left lane appears to be going straight. Upon seeing that, you decide to stay put rather than zoom into the right, a.k.a. passing lane. But wait! The light turns green and what do I see? The blinker suddenly becomes engaged and now we wait. I call this phenomena "last minute blinker". If you are ever riding with me and I suddenly yell this out, that's what I'm referring to.
• When you hold the door open for someone, say coming into a store, and that person doesn't say thank you or any semblance of it. Some would say that I shouldn't care, that I should be doing it out of the kindness of my heart. I disagree, it's only polite to say thank you.
• Low and low-low rise pants - Hello?! Not everyone that wears pants is 14. Or a size 6 anymore. Our options have become limited - low rise jeans that show your butt crack every time you move or Mom Jeans. It's a no win situation.
• People who spell spayed (as in "My cat is spayed" like this: spad or spaded. And that goes for you too people who spell brakes (as in "My bike needs breaks!") like this: breaks. I'm sorry, I know that I've offended some with my need to see these very simple words used correctly, I don't mean to get all self-righteous. I'm just being honest...

I've only gone 178 commuting miles since June 1st.

I think I missed recording a few days in there but that's just small change anyway.

Things is wack today:

The date is 9/9/09

On my ride in I passed a group of cops and other emergency personnel (including the fire truck/EMS) hovered around a dumpster with their hands on their hips - I'm assuming there was someone found in it or around it either passed out or passed away. I could be assuming too much though - maybe some kids set it on fire this morning and they were just wrapping up.

A few minutes later I pass a school bus/truck accident - the kids appeared to be okay as they were just sitting around in the bus but the front end had damage.

My van brakes are still giving me grief - the disentigrated pads were replaced but in their place, we now have calipers that begin to grind on the rotors once they get hot then it produces a lovely sound and smell. Stupid vehicles = money pits.

The girlchild and I went to the mall Sunday. By the time we took off to go, I was tired (we were out late* at a birthday party the evening before), but she still wanted to go so off we went. It was busy, the annoying kind of busy where people stand mindlessly in the middle of isles rather than, say, move to the side and space out. We went to the bookstore, grabbed a bite to eat and cut out of there.
On the way to the parking ramp, we motioned to the 2 cars that had been waiting patiently for many minutes while streams of shoppers went across in the pedestrian area only to have a young generic blonde college/high school type try to race in after we motioned the cars on - she stopped only after noting that not only would she be running me down but also my cute 9 year old.
While in the mall, I noticed the trend of little girls trying to look like women and women trying to look like little girls. Sometimes I enjoy the people watching there and sometimes it makes me feel sad. This time, I just felt weird and wanted to get out of there. We saw many goths and mall punks. There was also a notable number of minority kids dressed in the ever popular urban looks: much like M.I.A. and the Japanese FRUITS styles. We approved.

This last night (I just got out at 7am and now am working my office job here also - I can't figure out if it's yesterday, today or tomorrow!?), I did my first overnight shift at the shelter. It was pretty uneventful although my staff partner and I were informed of a late night verbal scuffle revolving around a man's very loud snoring. Looking through the past log notes, it seems to be a pretty common but hard to remedy issue. After this month, I will be on my own for these shifts - I'm a little nervous but it will be good experience in being more assertive and independent in situations that intimidate me.... Working overnights will allow me my valuable "alone time" that I so need to maintain my sanity.

Off to do some number crunching, or at least some data entry of numbers, the computer will do the crunching part.
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* late = 9:30pm on a Saturday night

The Different Kinds of People...

I recently watched a documentary about the youth sex trade in NYC called Very Young Girls. It follows the stories of girls that were lucky enough to be engaged with an organization called GEMS whose mission is to "empower young women 12 to 21, who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking to exit the commercial sex industry and develop their full potential.".

It's digusting to watch the pimps drive up to these girls and smooth talk them, act like they are going to be the girl's boyfriend then turn around and ask for a "favor" - thus is born an underage prostitute.

Sadly, some of the girls become hooked to the chaos of the lifestyle and aren't ready to leave for good, their stories are shared as well. Just like anything, it's not going to work until they are ready, until they hit their bottom and want to find something different for their lives.

As a parent of a pre-teen, being reminded (which I do to myself purposely) of these types of men that prowl for vulnerable girls makes me hyper-vigilant to raise my daughter to be street smart and to question and to be aware that this is a reality for some people - in doing these things, I hope that she can avoid becoming prey herself.

I highly recommend that every one, especially parents of young girls watch this movie. It can happen anywhere, whether rural, suburban or urban.

ASHES

For whatever illogical reason, ashes of cigarettes make me recoil in horror. I have a hard time brushing them off of tables and gag when I empty ashtrays.

At the same time, I could play in a bonfire's ash pit all day and not feel any symtoms of illness, anxiety or disgust.

Surely it's all in my head.

Apparently, I've missed putting this one out there:

Film showing at Intermedia Arts Theatre hosted by Cinema Revolution:
Tues. September 22, 7:30 PM: "Will Work For Food" a documentary by Tom Maertz.

I talked with a man this afternoon about the terrible feeling of it being Monday. Not because of the reason most people hate Monday (although this gentleman does work) but because Monday means dealing with the waiting. Waiting all day to find out if you will have a bed for the next 28 days. And if so, at which shelter. It's hoping that your name will be picked early so you have your choice of the 3 smaller shelters but knowing that if not, you have to find another option before the night is over. And that option might mean walking an hour up to the north end of downtown to the more sketchy shelters, the ones that pack over a hundred guys in a room mat to mat each night. Where people steal your belongings and deal drugs in the open air in front of the Minneapolis City Police officer posted to keep order where the 2 large shelters share the same block.

It's a feeling that I've luckly never had to experience but one that I can somewhat imagine. It must fill one's chest with pressure and anxiety. The waiting game must be a slow torture if you let it be, especially as the nights grow colder and the options become more limited.

I'm putting together a fun (at least I think it is) series inspired by a book called "An Encyclopdeia of an Ordinary Life" by Amy Krouse Rosenthal that I adore.

More to come...

Things going on in the upcoming month:

At the Bedlam Theatre:
September 4th - Full Moon Cabaret
September 9th - Prison Doula Benefit

At the West Bank Social Center:
September 10th - "Presentation & Discussions on Creatively Unbundling the Housing Crisis
Presentations and discussions on creatively unbundling the housing crisis.

In the exhibit “Unbundling the Housing Crisis,” at the Form + Content Gallery now through September 5th, 8 interdisciplinary groups of artists, designers, writers, scientists, and thinkers were asked to collaborate, research, create and present projects examining all aspects of the housing crisis.

At 7pm on September 10th at the West Bank Social Center, these 8 groups come together to present their projects, discuss their process, and share their creative approaches to understanding and unbundling the housing crisis.

Thursday, September 10th7:00pmWest Bank Social Center501 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis (above the Nomad World Pub)$3-$5 Suggested Donation
With short presentations on:

• Mapping neighborhood financial flows in the Hawthorn neighborhood.
• The flora of of a condemned property at 3001 James Ave. N.
• A machine to interactively decipher the housing crisis.
• PPoD: A flexible housing system.
• Houses that work with their climate.
• From a pool of slime to a McMansion in only 3,700,000,000 years!
• Complexities of the urban fabric.
• A physical examination of 26 square blocks of North MinneapolisAnd a panel discussion led by “Unbundling the Housing Crisis” curator Jay H. Isenberg, AIA"
  

September 12th - TASK Party
"The artist also came prepared with an event idea: a Twin Cities installation of Oliver Herring’s TASK party project. TASK partygoers create tasks for one another to complete, ranging from directives like “build a cardboard racecar track” to “confess a secret to someone you don’t know” to “saran wrap yourself into a cocoon.”
Mark your calendars for the West Bank TASK party, Saturday, September 12. Expect a night of mischief and makin’ stuff. "

September 22nd - MNKINO Screening with a theme of "Tranparency"

General:

September 20th - Minneapolis Bike Tour

Spreading the word:

zAmya Theatre - A artistic collaboration between homeless and housed individuals to create theatrical productions.
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At Stevens Square Center for the Arts:
August 29th - 7pm to 10pm
"Featuring:CHAD AUGUSTIN SHAWN DALSEN BRYCE JACOBSON ERIC MATTHEIS MATT WELLS
ONE NIGHT ONLY Live music by:Samwell Rowan and The Vignettes

Short films and advocacy from St Stephens Human Rights Program
FREE

“You’re in the right place...” - Metro Transit
Metro Transit fare during rush hour in the Twin Cities is $2.25 for local trips. The paper transfer you receive as receipt of this transaction is valid for two-and-a-half hours after purchase, enabling you to ride any number of bus routes, as well as the Hiawatha Line’s light-rail service, meeting deadlines and new people along the way. Several years of commuting on the routes and rails can result in a lot of new acquaintances, and a lot of spent transfers. Five local artists have capitalized on all the rides that they have taken, and all of the refuse that was generated, in order to make something new, that will work for anyone's budget and imagination.
In keeping with the theme, the work in RUSH HOUR is priced at rush hour fare: $2.25 per transfer."

Within the past 2 weeks, I've been replying to rental ads on craigslist, about 4 out of 7 were scammers. These bastards are using other peoples ads and/or random photos then creating fake ads. One was really slick, had I been a kid out on my own for the first time, I probably would have fallen for it. Their property managment name was "homeyestates" and they wanted you to follow a link to fill out your credit information then bring it to them... They required no security or pet deposit and the rent was reasonable. If it weren't for the now obvious ID theft scam they were trying to pull, the rest looked legit.

Jerks.

Testing, testing...

I'm taking the plunge. Creeping slowly from livejournal to Blogger.

I feel like this a way to move from my past into my future. I will keep my lj archives but only as a documentation of history.

This year I have been very humbled by job hunting, helping homeless men attempt to find jobs in a cutthroat market and challenges working with other humans. I have less fight in me than I've had in the past, still stubborn but more willing to back down and shut up.

My family is back to our old routine of evening walks - smelling backyard fires, scaring neighborhood cats, spouting envy over cool houses that we can't afford and just shuffling along. It's what we do. Walk and talk and hope to find notable things or see something interesting. If only we could lose the TV, we would do this more often. And when I say my family, I mean myself, Ariana, her father and the big slobbery beast, Pepper.

Looking forward to fall. The mornings have been crisp and have given me an excuse to pull my sweaters out. Being ever the shy one, I like when I can huddle under my sweater and pull my sleeves down and hide.

We watched The Soloist last night. It was done well, I was impressed that they acknowledged the struggle of wanting to help and not forcing someone to accept help. And wanting to help but being afraid of becoming too enmeshed.