The Homeless Man at the Microwave

I used to give money to homeless people all the time. But then once, I gave a homeless man a $20 (by far the most I had EVER given anyone) on my way to the grocery store. We were having enchiladas and margaritas so I also had to swing by the liquor store to pick up some more tequila. The same homeless man was in the liquor store buying a fifth of vodka. :( So since then, I have kind of given up on that that. Bad I know, but it's the truth.

Me and my friend at work were talking about this homeless guy that sits by Taco Bell with a sign that says, "It's really hard to get a job..."

We were laughing at how that was all it said, and how true that is. Not that we were agreeing with his way of making some dough, but we just appreciated the honesty and the simplicity.

I always kinda smiled to myself when I passed him and his little sign on my way to work. He had hot pink hair too. (Not really important, but for some reason I feel like I can't leave that out :)

So on Wednesday at lunch I was jetting over to the outlet mall at lunch when I saw this other guy. The reason I looked at him was because he was signing "I'm too sexy for my shirt" at the top of his lungs. Of course the light turned red, so I was stuck next to weirdo-singer. I rolled up the window and read his homeless sign. "It's really hard to get a job...

ummm had he STOLEN that sign from the other homeless guy at Taco Bell????

I didn't really care but thennn.. I got back to work and was microwaving my lean cuisine (PS. the Asian spring roll lean cuisine are apparently two servings. That completely defeats the purpose of a Lean Cuisine? Does it not???)

I was telling my coworker about how the sign we loved was being used by another bum and we were laughing.

Of course, this OTHER guy in the lunch room happened to join in our conversation. He told me how he used to work for a homeless shelter and the cardboard signs are like a homeless person's PRIZED POSSESSION, their "identity." He said that taking someone else's sign (especially if it was creative) was like stealing their wallet! It is their identification and lifeline. I thought about how awful it would be to have lost your sign (creative sign at that) and then see someone else using it! Would you confront them? I feel like it would be like losing your purse and then seeing someone else using it in the mall for shopping.

I felt so bad for the Taco Bell homeless guy. He probably didn't even know where his sign went and would have to think up something totally new and witty :(

Ya know that feeling when you realize you can't find your wallet or your purse? Liikkkeee. instant panic sets in. And why wouldn't it? It's only a little bag with ALL OF YOUR MONEY, YOUR CREDIT CARDS, your birthday coupon for a free drink at Starbucks and your lipgloss that you spent $17 on. Your gum, your car keys, the pictures of your babies, the address of your job interview. All the important stuff. Not even to mention if your CELL PHONE was in that missing purse. Umm... Your line of communication to EVERYONE and how the heck will you know your boyfriends phone number to call and tell him to come pick you up because your keys are lost in your purse. I get antsy just thinking about not knowing exactly where my purse is.

Just like the homeless man's identity was in his missing sign, I realized just how MUCH my identity is rooted in my purse. How much is in my checking account. How "cool" my cell phone is and how many texts I have in my inbox. Just how big the number of pounds is listed for my weight on my driver's license. What I would have to do if I didn't have my sunglasses to hide my time-to-plucked eyebrows.

My identity is so in my purse. And my purse is just a piece of cloth. (well... expensive cloth, I shall say :) I mean yeah, if you happen to carry hundreds of dollars cash in your purse, then that is a bummer. But... debit cards can be cancelled, make-up can be bought again (even if it is REALLY hard to remember what shade you finally found that looks good on you) and stamp cards from the coffee shop can be re-punched. (actually, probably not but you get the point. Those people are stingy with their punches :)

I just want to be more aware of where my "identity" comes from. Is it from how many Facebook friends I have or how many "likes" I get on my status updates? Is my identity from Jesus? Is it from my job? What material things do I realize I put soooo much time and effort in? My computer? Ugh. I wanna get to the point where I would not have a heart attack if I lost my purse or my laptop.

Where does your "identity" come from? :) It's a crazy thing to think about :)