On Sunday, I ran into my homeless buddy at the fast food joint in town in the morning. He has extended the duration of his upcoming vacation in Vietnam to six months. He also mentioned that the security staff at the airport has become increasingly hostile to the homeless campers. The large number of inconsiderate homeless migrants from the mainland empire is allegedly the reason. In addition, many homeless services, like free meals, are being curtailed by the various sponsoring charity groups.
Now is not the time to be homeless, however. The latest fad engaged in by the "establishment" is to harass and bully the homeless. Of course, most of the homeless did not make the choice to live on the streets willingly. Thus, my foray into homelessness would be ill-timed. Unfortunately, there will never be an opportune moment to become homeless ever again. The conundrum for the authorities is, of course, how to make homelessness a crime when there are only about 600 spaces, all filled already, available in the homeless shelters on the island.
I have been fairly stressed out about the upcoming homeless decision. I could decide to remain in Waimanalo, but I would still need to commute to Hawai'i Kai by automobile. I reside on a farm in the hills, which is quite away from "downtown" Waimanalo and the nearest bus stop. Being in the "country" also means poor and limited bus service. Sadly, my motor vehicle is ten years old. Even though it has little in the way of mileage, it is still ten years old. The maintenance queue would, by my estimate, be at least $3,000 or so. I don't want to invest that kind of money in an aging vehicle.
I could purchase a new vehicle, an economy model, and still reside in Waimanalo. I would still have to commute to Hawai'i Kai by automobile. Petrol will probably return to $4.30 per gallon, so there will be no savings. And, I will be racking up about 150 miles per week on it. Not exactly viable. None of this was due to bad planning, by the way. I fully anticipated that my current vehicle would be the last one that I would own and drive. My driving tenure would have ended when my current driver's license expires in two years. However, I was not expecting moms to survive to 120 years of age. I failed to grasp the power of the belief in "eternal life."
So, that's where I stand. I can purchase the homeless motorhome (read: luxury minivan), but I am certainly not going to dole out $1,000+ per month rent for a shitty room in shared quarters at the same time. Incidentally, the only room rentals that are available in town in the sub-$700 per month range are dormitory-like settings. The square-footage of the rooms are about the same as the interior of a minivan. Between $700 and $800 per month are room rentals in locations further outside Honolulu proper than Waimanalo. Oh, did I mention that many room rentals do not include utilities? In a footnote somewhere in the listings, the shared utilities are estimated to be about $150 per person on average per month in addition to the rent payment. I am only looking for a place to sleep, for Molech's sake!
On a side note, there have been rumors that the central bank of empire is planning to raise short-term interest rates by Summer. The rate hike will be half-percent every six months (or longer). To reach the paltry goal of a measly five percent per annum would require a minimum of ten years. Let's face it, there will be several more rounds of "quantitative easing" (QE) before that happens. By then, the sun would have already gone red star and engulfed the earth. Sheesh!
No comments:
Post a Comment