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One Month Homeless: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
The truth is more surprising than fiction… That’s what my friend Joe Johnson said after introducing me to a friend of his who had just heard me say...
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How Going Homeless Made Me Healthier
I should clarify… When I was preparing to go homeless, there were a number of factors I had to consider. Shelter Clothing Hygiene Nutrition Gear & Equipment...
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From Home(full) to Home(less): A Story in Pictures
That’s what my bedroom looked like. I remember it quite clearly as it’s only been a little over a week since I saw it last (though it’s felt...
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In 30 Days, I’ll Be Homeless
It’s the tail end of the 1st of August, and as of today, I have exactly 30 days to prepare for my newest experiment: leaving my apartment behind,...
Where is Charles now?
If you’re reading this, then you may have noticed that I haven’t updated the site in awhile. Why? Because I live in a real home again! I probably should have posted awhile ago explaining the situation, but you know how life is, things happen faster than expected and suddenly a year has past. So here’s what happened in a nutshell: June 2014 – I realize I have a problem. I have over $25,000 of debt across my 4 credit cards. July – I look for ways to drastically…
Into the wilderness… of my shower.
22 ounces of durable, stormproof shelter. Hell yes.
For over a week now I’ve been focused on lead gen at work: email campaigns, calling, networking, reaching out to strategic contacts, re-engaging existing customers… the works. But today I made a tangible step forward in planning for next month’s adventure. I received a 22 oz sack of waterproof goodness.
A hooped bivy sack. This will be my shield against the elements. It’s super lightweight, made of breathable fabric, and has a built-in hooped rod that gives the head area some breathing room.
Now to see if this thing really works…
I pulled the bivy out of it’s packaging and laid it out on the floor. It’s green and small and awesomely stealthy. I climbed inside it and took a few minutes to adjust to my immediate reduction in space. Turning from side to side is a bit of a challenge, but it’s manageable.
Now for the real test.
While staying in the bivy, I rolled and twisted my way to a standing position and hopped my way into the shower. Cranking the water up to full blast, I quickly pulled my arm back in and zipped the bivy up tight. As the water cascaded down the front of the bivy, I took comfort in seeing it essentially bounce right off the ToddTex layer. The back side seemed to hold up just as well.
But what about getting truly soaked?
Still good! I laid down in the tub, turned around in a pool of water and still, no problems. This thing is great! As long as I take care to protect it from tears and mildew I should be in good shape.
Today I made the decision to post my plans on Facebook. When it came time to press “Post” I hesitated… do I really want all of my friends to know about this? Do I really want to invite judgment and criticism? Am I truly committed to doing this?
Yes. (to all of the above)
I pressed “Post” and awaited what I assumed would be a deluge of angry comments about using the word “homeless” and “me” in the same sentence.
Silence.
Maybe it was OK. Maybe people understood where I was coming from. Maybe this wasn’t such a big deal after all. For an uncomfortable 30 minutes I held my breath and waited.
And then it began…
Comments ranged from “insensitive” and “offensive” all the way to “interesting” and “crazy!”
My favorites include:
“You are absolutely insane and it’s awesome. Well done, sir. Excited to follow along!”
and
“In case an emergency cookie situation arises:
You can walk up to the front desk of any DoubleTree hotel (24/7/365) and ask for a cookie.
They will give you (any number) of WARM, delicious chocolate chip cookies from a special warming oven under the desk.
You’re on your own for the milk, though.”
There were also a number of legitimate questions about the implementation of this plan. Hygiene, safety, showering, meals, winter… all very valid items to consider and address thoughtfully. I’ll go into more detail on those points in later posts, though I’m still working on the whole “winter” situation.
For now, my primary concern is not giving my mom a heart attack.
On a lighter note, a friend sent me the following (along with a great deal of similarly themed memes.)
It’s true.
The email reads…
Subject Line: Soo….. I’m in need of a roommate!
Hey work friends!
Our place is on the blah blah blah, about a 15 minute walk from blah blah.
We live on the 2nd floor of a 3 floor/family house that is in between blah and blah.
Rent is $600 plus utilities. No pets. Lease starts 9/1
This is why it’s crazy not to accept the offer:
- The rent is literally less than 1/3 of what I’m paying now
- I’d be able to keep all my stuff
- It’s located close to my work
- I’d be able to buy groceries/perishables and store them
- I’d have private space, my bed, and a place to have people over to
Seriously, those are 5 pretty compelling reasons to take the offer.
…..
This is why I’m not taking it:
- Being homeless is $600 + utilities / month cheaper
- I have room for the things I need to live and be happy (turns out… it’s not much)
- Being homeless means I can sleep close to my work
- I can buy perishables in small quantities and consume shortly thereafter
- I’ll adjust to a reduction in private space and can go over to other peoples places
And a myriad of other reasons which I won’t get into detail on now (e.g., going homeless makes you consider your lifestyle choices, what you spend your time doing, etc.).
So… tempting offer oh ye siren of hospitality… but nay, I decline!