i set simple goals today: find the ywca, find out how much a monthly member ship is, find a newspaper to use for shelving protectors. I ended up walking in the city. It's probably a 20 min walk and most of that is due to the hills. I saw some tourists and hoped I didnt looked as lost even though I didn't really have any destination set. I thought about trying to walk up to the university but the initial map i saw happened to send me in another direction. I wasn't dissapointed though. There was a massive shoe store that was advertising a penny sale for the second pair you buy. Only issue is the first pair of shoes probably would cost more than 100 bucks. I looked around for a bit, tried to people watch. There was a dad with his wife and two kids looking for shoes. He was trying to help his daughters pick which shoes they want for a formal. And he knew a lot. The shoe store had heat, room to roam about, and chairs to sit in. I saw one pair that i liked but they were at least $90.

I decided to head back, grabbed some free shopping guides, and walked back the way i came. I went into a market to look around and they had super cheap dairy alternatives such as soy, almond, and rice milk. I thought about getting some but I also like the idea that i should try and spend as little money as possible. I just took pictures and headed back out. I looked up to see the Thirsty Monk, which is a bar my friend's older brother used to tend. I kept walking and very close to the YWCA- which was my frist stop, a middle school with basketball courts and a track and a field if i really needed it. I found a perfectly good thermal. A brand new expo marker (no white board to use it on), and a neon green headband (which ill use to hold things together, its staying out of my hair)

here's some pics of 40 house:

front of 40

left side of house, my room is one above the deck landing

front porch, lights are on to help vent out paint, garden beds are not currently being used

back yard. Upper right is the garden, currently not in use. Clothing line is upper left. Mish-mash of crap in the middle.

steps that lead down the baement. Crusty(the cat)'s main stomping grounds. Saw table out for flooring rennovations

right side of the house, deck is enterance to the kitchen.

sink (greywater buckets beneath) Wire shelving as massive dish rack and containers.

Clover, eating his dinner

Avocado as part of dinner. White bin is for compost. If you dont finish your dinner, either you can leave it out and someone else will probably eat it- or its composted

other side of kitchen. Fridge, oven and range, cabinets: spices, oils, extras. The pots contain mashed sweet potato, chicken soup(with the bones), fruit salad. Behind the pots to the left of the oven is the toaster over- which I managed to set fire to the tortillas within 30min of being here.

Aubrey made me dinner when I got back from Downtow. Eggs in red cabbage, carrots, chicken sausage, peanuts, cheese chunks, lettuce, tomato, tortilla chips with green salsa and avocado.

Im in my sleeping bag now, typing this out. Winter jacket, sweatshirt, and my icehockey sweatpants are on over my black jeans. feet are still cold and im breaking a cold sweat. The scarf is pretty thin. I got access to more blankets. And i used the newspapertoday to put my organized fancy clothes on. Im sharing other shelves with Aubrey, but we're both pretty slack about sharing stuff.
When i was exploring downtown I realized just how much was based upon this material facade of a hearty, resourceful person. The stores reflect this. They sell this attitude. Im leaving with the people at the heart of it. The ones who pay low rent for the communal housing. They sell weathered boots with zippers and partially torn shoe laces- Eli's boots are paint splattered, tattrered and worn through the heel. He's wearing them to sand the floors but probably not for much longer. I live with the people who work to survive- they find what they need and install it. There is no middle man. Oppurtunivores.

More thoughts soon.
~ R