[Elster]

(07-27-2016 07:27 AM)Lagavulin Wrote:  

Interesting thread, but why would you choose to put yourself in the position where you need to rake through trash cans to feed your dog?

While I'm not an advocate of freeganism once you become practical about stuff it is amazing to realize how much you can save from time to money by checking trash.

From what I understand dogs evolved from a scavenging type of wolf/canide and actually tend to prefer meat that is *slightly* off,they also apparently have the proper bacteria to process it.
In my case it also helps to keep him engaged and not too poshy (it happens after a while that they get used to fancy shit and you actually have to starve em for almost 20 hours until they give in and take what is available).
And I know it sounds ridicolous,but seeing his expecting face and stance when checking a bin is really funny.



Yeah,it can get kind of icky but in our "civilized" life we greatly underestimate our capacity to develop inmunity and process shit,it helped me to remember that until more or less 80 years ago electricity,plumbing/warm water and otherc ommodities werent so immediately or easily available (arguably a lot of people died younger too,but it also served as a form of genetic culling)

These days I genuinely cannot tolerate Kebab but back in my worse periods,at one point I found it silly to actually have to pay for a fast food meal when good/tasty/sometimes quality stuff was just scattered around. It is both painful and delightful to see how people just take a bite or a sip and then throw out the rest of the food and/or drink.
I'm still wondering about what motivates such behaviour,does it give some sort of power rush in the mindset of a person that has to work two hours to be able to pay for that meal?

(07-27-2016 07:27 AM)Lagavulin Wrote:  

How would you assess your quality of life?

All in all? I have to say its not really bad!
I do enjoy a lot of it actually!

This doesnt mean that I have no problems,I do,and they are very real unfortunately.
But on the flip side,I am not unburdened by so many secondary or unreal problems like many other people in a "normal" life.

*I do not intend to use the term "normal" in a derogatory manner,btw. Just stating more or less the standard.*

(07-27-2016 07:27 AM)Lagavulin Wrote:  

I should also point out that it seems the OP has chosen this way of life, which is rather intriguing.

Im not sure how much it was personal conscious deliberate choice,how much were circumstances or a balance of the two there of...


But to be more concise:
I think I was dealt a couple bad cards,and found a way to play with them and make that hand into my strategy.

(07-27-2016 10:20 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

You got it. Looks like you have a fascinating thread started, and I will always read about this stuff.

Thanks! And to the other posters as well! Im actually suprised at the interest taken in this thread actually.

(07-27-2016 10:20 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

Question: Have you ever run into Oogles? For those who don't know, this is slang for a local kid who pretends to be homeless and hangs out with the travelers to feel edgy.

Well,I did live for 8 months in New Orleans so yeah!
And as such I too,was amongst the legions of crusty newbie zombies fresh for a night of slaughter in the gutters of Bourbon Street.
Thankfully,it taught me pretty fast that I should change company and move a bit further away from said gutters.

Back in the day,the oogles would call out or be called out others for being oogles.
Calling one of the "anarchist" kids an oogle was like telling a feminist she is fat

I'm not sure if it warrants one or another label such as "crustie","oogle" or "traveler" but one thing I did find a bit funny amongs the US vagrant types was to use "traveler names" (I guess they aere trying to emulate the pirates or something?) which were quite endearingly self damnating:
"Trainwreck"
"Shitface 92"
"Shame" (who actually had SHAME tattooed in his neck in horror movie drippy ink fonts,doubt he is still alive given what he looked like but it d be fun to see what such a tattoo looks like 25 years later)

And amongst the oogles and/or newbies:
"Quest"
"Planet"
"Sauce cat"

(07-27-2016 10:20 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

There is a pretty funny blog called "Look at This Fucking Oogle," which started out as a picture blog of oogles, and over time transformed into a menagerie of oogles, vagabonds and assorted anti-social types in all sorts of compromising positions:

http://lookatthisfuckingoogle.tumblr.com/

Oh damn,I had totally forgotten about even the existence of this blog!:amuse
Ha! I wouldnt be surprised to find a picture of me somewhere around there,coincidentally a lot of those face look familiar to me as the traveling world isnt that big...
Then again,with that much dirt and shit on,anyone could be under that crust!

All in all ,I think just looking at the pictures in this blog perfectly illustrates what I said about bad company. Reading the entries confirms my opinion even more...

(07-27-2016 10:20 AM)debeguiled Wrote:  

Because we are on this forum, these two blogs have to be included:

Hot Oogle Women

And:

Sexy Oogle Ladies



It would be a mistake to take the adjectives in the last two links literally.

Agreed,I object to using the "sexy" label on many of those entries.
And again,banging many of those may get you Kinder suprise

Man,it makes me wish I hadnt sold away all my cartoons and jokes about crusties that I was doing back in NOLA

(07-27-2016 02:46 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  

Twenty years ago I moved to an East Coastal American city and had to leave a lot behind. I took a room at a boarding house and spent as little an amount of time there as I could. My housemates were derelicts and one step from the gutter. I ended up living at the local YMCA and spending much of my free time at the library. I learned who were the real homeless in town pretty quick just from seeing them all the time. It was an open secret the big municipal area dumped their bums on the local trains and sent them out to the suburbs. You didn't want to linger at the train stations back then because the bums would hit you up for money.

Painful reality is still real today everywhere

Train stations are still a major zombie bum breeding ground today,some are worse than others.
And as much as I often get the bad end of the stick ,it makes it understandable why police can be rather dismissive and/or blunt in these areas.

Boarding houses: Often the host him/herself is stark raving mad (then again you have to in order to set up such an arrangement). Another reason why I prefer sticking to my tent and own equipment.

Libraries: The universal Hobo HQ by excellence!
Entertainment in the form of newspaper,magazines and computers/wifi for almost free and access to bathrooms? LUXURY!!!!!
What is funny that you also find a lot of people who arent even homeless but just have nothing better or more interesting to do in their houses (which is understandable).

Hell,Im typing this reply from a local library right now!

(07-27-2016 02:46 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  

I came out of weighing a lot less and with an appreciation for survival skills. Nothing makes you appreciate normal living better than walking through a snow storm in January in hopes your one local friend will be home and you'll have someone to hang with.

(07-27-2016 02:46 PM)ColSpanker Wrote:  

I'm still filled with an inner rage against people who hit me up for money on the street. I'll buy them food, but they get a lecture on how a man should never sink so low he'll have to beg. I think the Sikh's have it right. They are forced to wear a band around one wrist to drive home the notion you should never beg for your food (with cupped hands, everyone will see the metal band).
I've thought about doing the Indian wandering Sadhu thing if I ever get to the point I just don't care any more. With my age and lack of responsibilities, there are days when I'm ready to grab a staff and just go out on the road. So this thread is most instructive.

I have only passingly heard about the sikh's,the one I actually met was a cannabis addicted fellow who had his own plantation in a small valley in the pyreness.

And the wandering Sadhus I had not known of until your post!
Its very interesting to see how in indoeuropean cultures the figure of the wandering sage is so imprinted,I will have to research more about this!
Thanks for the heads up!


------

Here are some more notes I can think out of my head right now in relation to my previous replies.

°My own personal Problems
Amongst my very real problems are the fact that being a pariah cuts me out from having access to a lot of useful commodities such as medical aid besides emergency treatment and social assistance that goes beyond a meal,shower and occassional bunk.

On one side it fosters my creativity and ingenuity as I literally have to improvise ways to get around obstacles,and the constant exercise combined with my understanding of nutrition keeps me relatively fit and functional.

On the other,it can get infuriating and /or fatigating at times to be literally required to pull a rabbit out of your ass every time you want to get something done.

°Weather

-Strong wind drains a lot of energy when you are awake and moving,and when you are sleeping if you do not take proper measures it can range from giving you a cold to an ear/throat infection
-Thunderstorms CAN kill you,even if you're in a urban setting a lot of factors can add to the risk of getting KFCed by lightning. Im starting to suspect this is one way many hobos and homebums actually bite it.
-Humidity is also very bothersome,fortunately for me I don t have bone aches but I ve seen other guys go crazy from it.

Sleeping in the wilderness vs civilized areas

Sleeping is a very important factor to take into account.
In the wilderness some animals that used to be under control or even near-extinct are making a come back,and are not exactly easy to fend off,I understand the urbanized one are actually becoming a problem for even settled communities.

In a city,town or suburb you will be probably safer from the beasties and less affected by the weather but you will be at the threat of:
-Freaks,loonies and other mentally/socially affected people.
-Other homeless people who may want to loot your stuff and/or butt fuck you
-Aggressive jocks or ganged up douches who think you're an easy target
-Cops
-And most importantly: people who are afraid or offended or seeing you sleeping somewhere and will call the authorities.

Cities also have the drawback of being noisy and making it hard to find a dark unlit and safe spot.
This can really screw you over when you are not sleeping in a sound isolating environment of if you are used to the sounds of nature as opposed to the massive data overload that is a urban environment.