meanings of homelessness

"You are a member of the counter culture now. Welcome. Truth is a value of the culture your life is running counter to. You're going to have to get comfortable modifying that value a bit. Your private life must be kept private. Lying defends it.

"Lying is a survival skill."

I have to express appreciation to my high-powered new blogfriend Lioness for introducing her readers to Survival Guide to Homelessness, a fascinating view into the requirements of living with no fixed address. (Did you know, for example, that there are two classes of homelessness? Owning a car makes all the difference in the world.) The quote above comes from the new blog's author, Mobile Homemaker, and it kind of gives me chills. Though I've spent my life paying the price for being scrupulously honest, there is another side of me that fiercely defends the right to protect one's precious private life with bald-faced lies. I only regret that the world had to witness Clinton doing it on tv, over and over and over again. [Curse you, Ken Starr!]

The concept of the counter-culture is what makes me stop and ponder. True, I have a roof over my head and can thus pretend to being a "normal" member of society, but in so many ways this is where "normalcy" ends and faking takes over. In downtown Toronto where it's easy to do one's own thing, I didn't stick out so much, but in Israel the ways I am not normal seem infinite. It tires me just thinking about it.

One of the most obvious ways that I'm "way out of the mainstream" is in not working, and when I do, never staying at it very long -- okay, rarely staying at it very long. The longest job I've held in memory was just under three years, and that ended 7 years ago. In the past 7 years, the job I held the longest lasted 10 months. I could have stayed at that one, but I didn't like the direction it was heading, so I cut out before it could completely deteriorate. Almost all the others were hi-tech layoffs from dot.coms going bust or needing to drastically downsize. But the fact is, I get bored as soon as routine sets in and office politics start to penetrate, so I often don't mind moving on. Since the spring of 2001, it seems I've been in an interminable jobhunt. When it comes to the world of employment, I am homeless -- even when employed.

So, in the spirit of looking on the bright side, I've decided to create a top 10 list of why it's great not to be working:

10. There's all that thinking and dreaming I like to do.
9. I can go to bed late because I can go back to sleep, if I need to, after the kid leaves.
8. I don't have to get dressed in the morning.
7. I can stay abreast of the news and read on the Internet to my heart's content.
6. There's time to mangae my email inbox so it doesn't get out of control with all the stuff I'm subscribed to.
5. I have the time and energy to cook properly or make a salad, if I so desire.
4. I have the patience to help my daughter with her homework.
3. If I had a regular salary coming in, I'd be wasting a whole lot more money on unhealthy fast food.
2. I can go to the gym whenever I choose (oops, really should do that today!)

and the number one reason it's great not to be working:

1. If I were working I wouldn't have time to blog!