I forgot to relate this story of about a week ago. File this as another update about my neighborhood. I was reading in the car at night, probably about 11 PM, when two guys (early 20s?) stopped at the end of my driveway after noticing me in my car. They had been walking along the street. After several seconds one of them walked a few feet towards me in my car, then stopped. He spent about half a minute then making motions like he was going to come closer but then holding himself back. As the window was down, I finally asked him what he wanted. This was the 'permission' he needed to come up to my window. Right away I could tell he was a bit toasted. He said that he and his friend needed a ride to Redlands, at which point I stopped him and said that my car didn't work. He offered me money then, and I explained again that my car wouldn't make the trip and that I was reading in it because it wasn't good for much else. At this point he called to his friend and asked him if he had any more money. I said that it didn't matter how much money they came up with, the car wouldn't make the trip. He still didn't believe me, but he figured I wasn't going to give him a ride regardless so he walked off. As the two of them continued up the street I heard him go on about the car not working and me reading. The 'F' word was dropped in there a few times as well. That's the only time I've been approached at night while reading in the car.
Yesterday I spent the day with Pat, getting home late. For some reason I had been secure in the knowledge for several days that I'd recently purchased a multipack of toilet paper for the bathroom. That night, well after the local market closed, I discovered that I had none in the house. So, I had to make a trip to 7-Eleven about 1:30 AM, hoping that toilet paper was something they stocked. (They did. *phew*!) Upon entering the store a few young white men were arguing with a few young black men. The argument was loud and almost immediately in front of the store doors. I spent a couple minutes inside making my purchase, and even inside I could hear the argument growing in volume. When I emerged, the voices were on the cusp of shouting. I stared at the ground and walked quickly to my car. My next goal was to get out of the parking lot as quickly as possible before the cops arrived. When I was making my purchase, one of the store attendants was closely watching the argument. I had little doubt that he was going to be on the phone soon. Fortunately, I made it home without incident.
This is one of the things that bothers me. I am a night person by biology. I recognize that, in a world biased towards daylight, it is easier to live one's life during daylight hours, but as I have been without a schedule for so long, I am hopelessly nocturnal now. Yet night is still a time of less control, and in my neighborhood— my extended neighborhood if you measure all the way out to the 7-Eleven— it is decidedly less safe to be about at night. I really resent this. I want completely freedom at night to do as I like. It's bad enough being limited by not living in a 24-hour society. being further limited by a less than ideal neighborhood is just adding insult as well.
Now, as to the tease at the beginning of this post (and, in fact, a tease I dropped last week as well), certain events have been placed in motion with the ultimate outcome being that I will soon discontinue writing in this blog. If you'll recall, on the day that I went to the Getty museum with my friend Laura, I had about 40 minutes to kill between the train leaving me in Orange and Laura picking me up. During that time I called back to Raleigh, NC, and spoke with my cousin, Ted, at Greenwich Bay. My brother had previously asked Ted if he would be at all open to the idea of me filling the graphic designer opening at the plant, and Ted was more than just open to the idea. When I spoke on the phone with him, he detailed a lot of what he thought the job was about, and he basically asked me when I wanted to start. At the time a lot of details were up in the air so I promised to call him back soon. I did so last Wednesday, accepting his offer. We pencilled a starting date of October 5th in our calendars.
So, I say that I'll be dropping this blog because soon I will no longer be Jobless John. Have no fear, however, I fully intend to continue on in a new blog. I anticipate that blog to be about me adapting to life in Raleigh.
There is so much to do now. I haven't the vaguest notion where to begin. No doubt the upcoming six weeks will be full of stress and sadness, conditions which will be reflected here.
Back soon!
"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."— Oliver Wendell Holmes
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