being homeless - rant

I am still on a search for a new home. It’s not just a room that I’m after, but a place where I look forward to going to after a long day. A place where I know I can sleep without worrying what’s outside. A place where I can live and chill.

I am currently staying at a friend’s place – it’s a fantastic house and I get the best quality of sleep here. I feel like I’m back in Sydney. Nevertheless, I am exhausted. This could be from stress or even from the accumulated hours in front of my friend’s new 50+ inch flat screen tv watching sci-fi movies.

Typical of any unstable person, I am shuttling between two perspectives:

1. Holy crap, I am homeless. I am looking for a home close to a job which I’m not even enjoying at the moment. I urgently need a new home. I seriously want to move back to Sydney. Don’t talk to me because I’m grumpy.
2. It’s fun and interesting to see and live in other areas of Canberra. My closest friends and family are supporting me and I’m so grateful for this. It’s a lot of fun to stay at my friend’s place. Things could be worse – at least I don’t have kids following me around and have the responsibility of looking after them.

When I was travelling overseas, I lasted weeks and weeks living out of a suitcase. However, this is the first time that my homelessness was indefinite. On the note of homelessness and not having enough money, I found this placard in

Garema Place

interesting. It highlights how a person’s budget and perhaps amount of disposable income prevents him/her from participating in the café culture. Without enough money, you are excluded from many things.

Of course there are many things that don’t cost anything – but when you think about the times you hang out with your friends, on how many occasions do you not spend money? In this society, your income has a large impact on the social circle you are in and what you can/can’t do.