I am stuck. I've made some mistakes in my life, and I'm trying to build myself back up. But unfortunately, I'm trapped in this small town, in which I've already applied at the few places I can walk to, to no avail.
I've been convicted of home invasion and counterfeiting money, so there are a lot of places that won't touch me. Please leave the criticisms to yourself, I've paid my dues.
I don't have any real friends anymore, nor family (except for my sister who is also poor), so asking for any kind of help is out.
I spent about two years in college as a computer engineering major, but didn't complete. Still pretty good with computers & electronics, and can even write some Java code. I did well in school, just didn't finish. Lost my job, withdrew from school, ran out of money and started printing my own to avoid homelessness, until the law caught up with me.
I've worked front desk at hotels before all this mess, a couple factory type jobs, a couple food service jobs, a few general labor jobs, painting, and some other carpentry type stuff. I'm a good worker, although I do get discouraged if I'm doing back-breaking labor for minimum wage (like when I worked at this rental company for a few weeks, setting up huge tents and other things). But at this point, I'm open to pretty much anything.
I can go anywhere in the state of Michigan, so long as I report my new address to my PO. I would take an on-the-road job if I knew somebody, or if it was a fixed-site job and the employer had a place for me to crash, best believe I'd be ready for work everyday and give it my all.
These are the things I'm starting out my new life with, and are the only things to my name:
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clothes, including dirty-work clothes (and summer work boots), dress clothes (pretty much full suit outfit with lots of ties and 2-3 nice shirts), and some regular clothes. Also winter stuff. About three baskets in all.
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a smartphone, which can only get WiFi right now that I'm borrowing off the neighbor. Cell service is off, but I do have a WiFi phone app/number. It's spotty, but I can get away with the basics.
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a government phone that gets 400-something minutes a month, but I'm in BFE, so it doesn't get any service, only in more populated areas.
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most hygienic stuff; enough to smell good, keep my face trimmed, gel my hair and brush my teeth. I can resort to prison basics if I start running out of stuff.
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all of my legal basics, including birth certificate, SS card, and a valid driver's license with no bad marks for the last seven years or so.
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financial basics (no money), including a bank account & debit card (through a free banking app), a Square card reader to accept CC payments if I need to (thought it would be a useful tool to have), but my PayPal is in the negative.
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$192 in food stamps, once a month.
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Medicaid
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a decent resume
...And I think that's about it. I'd be willing to leave the state if my PO let me, not sure. I know I can transfer around the state without issue, not sure about transferring out of state, though.
It's important to stress that I don't have a vehicle, or a bike, zero dollars, and literally no way to make any money. The other day, I was stopped by the police for going door to door, dressed up in my work clothes, asking folks if they had any work available. Notice my pride was not listed above.
So whatever my next move is from here, it has to be limited to the resources I do have, because there's no way for me to produce other resources unless I use the ones I have to obtain them, and so on.
I'm an intellectual guy, not shy at all, never had a problem getting girlfriends, and I play guitar pretty well (when I actually own one). I like meeting new people, going new places, talking about pop trivia and music, and winning verbal debates. But I also know when to shut the fuck up. Equally important, I've found.
Growing up in Flint for the first 23 years of my life, I picked up a lot of urban survival tactics, from where to find food giveaways and soups kitchens, to staying in abandoned houses or apartments (during summer). I know the type of people to avoid, and how to defend myself, several times over (I've taken some pretty brutal beatings but managed to preserve my teeth and avoid facial scars). Between that and my time under incarceration, I've learned how to live with the bare minimum and less. I guess that's what I'm trying to say.
So here I am. I'm ready to do whatever I need to in order to get my life back. My goal is to find stability again, including an apartment, a job that covers the bills plus a little to save, and a vehicle. That's all I want. But I'm starting from the bottom. I mean, I would go to great lengths for an opportunity right now, so long as it's gainful in some way. For instance I wouldn't shovel shit just for a couch to sleep on, I need a way to actually get back on my feet, ya know?
But I'm lost, and without a clue as to where to go from here. Finding work in this town is not an option, so I hardly have a platform to jump from.
So, I'm all ears, folks. Thank you for your time.
Submitted January 08, 2017 at 06:16PM by flint_mi http://ift.tt/2js6QR1
