2008.11 WTA bus pass, collection compulsion

2008.11 WTA bus pass

My neighbour, Nate, let me scan his November bus pass. This is turning into quite a little collection of bus passes!

Gaaah! I think I have too much time on my hands.

Seriously, though, I've compulsively collected sets of things ever since I was a little kid. I started my first comic book collection at age 6 (Richie Rich), and remember putting issues into little cubbyholes in my room that I had labeled with each series name (Richie Rich, Richie Rich Millions, Richie Rich and Dollar, etc...).

Later, I took turns collecting Bobbsey Twins books, coins, stamps, soda cans, LPs, CDs, souvenir pennants, even "Peanuts" memorabilia. By the time I got to High School, I had started collecting Superman memorabilia (which I later sold on eBay -- amazing what people will pay for a decade-old unopened jar of peanut butter!)

That led me back into collecting comic books again, a collection which I eventually gave away, and I started collecting comic books a third time when I had money in the late 90s, which I eventually sold on eBay.

Of course, this "archivist" tendency of mine is hampered by several counter-compulsions: The desire to get up and move periodically (it's hard to accumulate stuff when you have to lug it all along), as well as a disdain of dusting, a constant desire to simplify and de-clutter my life, and a tendency to sell off things when broke.

I guess that's why the dawn of the digital age has been such a blessing: Instead of having to make physical space for all this stuff I collect, and lug it along with me when I move, I just make a scan of the thing that has captivated me, reducing it to its digital image, and then letting it go again. I can still look at it any time I like, but it's not gathering dust in my home.

I'm just weird that way.

Job Hunt 2008: So, what do I do if I don't find a job soon?

I'm still not getting any traction in the job hunt. No matter where I apply, there doesn't seem to be anything available for me that I am able to do (my physical disabilities limit the kinds of jobs I can take). I am not eligible for unemployment, I can't get state assistance or disability to pay my rent -- which I'm 2 months behind on -- my family can't help me, and my friends are going to get really tired of lending me money really fast. My landlord has given me until the end of the month to ride, but he has to pay his mortgage. I really don't have any prospects for working the grey market economy, and selling junk on eBay barely keeps me in cigarettes.

So, what happens when I hit the end of the month, if I still haven't found work?

The homeless shelter is certainly there, but being a resident of the shelter will probably not help either my job hunt or my mental state. And what will I do with all my stuff?

I'm not catastrophizing here. This is a VERY real possibility, and the clock is running out. I need to make plans for what to do if I do end up homeless.

I don't want to leave Bellingham, but I may be forced to. Unfortunately, I don't have the money to finance a move. I don't want to head back south. I really, really don't feel safe there.

My closest relatives are in Kentucky, and I *really* don't think I should head back there. That would mean re-establishing myself in a new state -- and a state without Washington's social safety net or public transportation system, to boot.

So, what can I do? What should I do?