2016-04-29-0334Z


back in Petaluma. arrived mid-afternoon, took a well-needed dump at the Walnut Park restroom, and found a sunny spot to crash for a bit. when I woke up, walked to check out the Grocery Outlet dumpster: still available, but nothing edible was visible. walked around to the front, and found a packet of 4 bagels for $1.19, good enough for dinner and breakfast, along with the cheese someone had refrigerated for me over the winter. but then as I left and headed for La Cresta, a lady offered me a choice of a pulled pork sandwich or macaroni and cheese, I guess leftovers from a meal at Dempsey's. I took the pulled pork with gratitude, and sat down and ate it right after I solved a little problem I'd noticed earlier in the afternoon: a caffeine-withdrawal headache. couldn't figure out a way to boil water, and didn't have enough cash from the day's budget to buy a cup. then it hit me: eat the beans, stupid! so I dug out a half tablespoon or so of roasted coffee beans from my tuckerbag, and munched them. problem solved! another way to take care of business without cooking.

so, while I had gotten from Tijuana to San Francisco spending only $3.25 on transportation ($2.50 Megabus plus $0.75 senior rate on NCTD 395), I blew $11.25 just getting from the city to Petaluma. clearly, I need to rethink my strategy. first priority is something to keep me warm at night so I can sleep, or at least stay warm without having to walk and carry my stuff the whole night through. that's what made Anaheim, and always makes San Francisco, so unbearable.

and I won't qualify for discount transit prices in the Bay area for 5 more years.

an interesting little observation I'd neglected to mention from last night: when I got back to Katella from BevMo!, freshly buzzed from that 22-or-so-ounce bottle of Hofbrau lager, I heard an A/C condenser running in the back of a shopping center. I went and hovered over it to get the heat, and there was a PayDay bar, still wrappered, that by the grime on it looked to have been there for months. no matter, those things don't go bad; I ripped it open and ate it. I thought about all the little gifts I'd found along the way, especially the comfortable chairs sitting out all night at various restaurants and coffeeshops, often with wifi available. even in the cities like Anaheim and SF that seem most hostile to the homeless, there are amenities to be found, and private charity is still freely given. even after realizing I'd only escaped getting robbed at least half a dozen times during my short visit to Anaheim by keeping alert, it could have been a lot worse. there were places where more aggressive crooks could have easily bumped me off the trail down the 45-degree slope to the hard concrete below. overall the world is still amazingly forgiving of bad decisions, and my continued existence is testimony to that.

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last updated 2016-04-28 23:58:23. served from tektonic.jcomeau.com