Well, a drunken incident where I got belligerent with a parking enforcement officer, and accidentally spit on her when I intended to spit on the ground beside in a crude gesture of contempt, just may completely destroy my life. Yeah, it was pretty dumb, but the shitstorm that's falling out of it seems to me to be logarithmically more retarded and exemplifies some of what disgusts me about our diseased and disintegrating society. No, I'm not going to get into it; it was obnoxious and dumb, but nobody got hurt and nothing really happened of any consequence.
I'm charged with harassment, and am due to go to trial over it on March 31 if the district attorney decides to proceed with prosecution on March 17, when the lawyers meet with the judge to make that determination. I suppose I'm lucky; I could have been charged with assault because I did in fact spit on her (on accident, I'll say again — I was so drunk I was having trouble walking my bike down the sidewalk … lol wait, I was walking it down the street?). My attorney hopes to have the charges dismissed if I engage in outpatient drug and alcohol treatment, which I'm going to start sometime this week. I don't really have such hopes, because the plaintiff was understandably outraged by my barbarous behavior, but I'm going to give it a shot anyway ... besides, I suppose it wouldn't hurt for me to dry out and sober up, if only to prolong the lifespan of my pancreas and liver. (I don't see much use in sobriety when your life isn't one that's worth being sober for, but at the same time I realize that I may never attain such a life until I go through the trial-by-fire of recovery.)
The reason I say this may destroy my life is because it's caused me to lose my contract with Über Eats, thanks to a bunch of creepy drivers in California sexually harassing passengers and causing the company to weather scores of lawsuits. So, now the only way I can earn any money is by returning bottles and cans for their deposits, and if I'm lucky maybe work an occasional day labor assignment. I don't even know how this pending court case will affect my ability to get a part-time job, but I'll find out soon enough when I resume looking for work — again, I'm not optimistic. Even worse, however, is that I may lose my housing and return to living on the streets. The subsidized housing building I currently live in is going to be seismically upgraded, and we all have to be out of here by the end of the month. My relocation to other buildings has been hampered by the fact that I'm currently in legal proceedings, and based on what I've read on the Housing Authority of Portland's web site there's a good chance that I'm no longer eligible to receive rent assistance or to live in one of their properties.
Because apparently the charge against me is considered a violent crime, even though in reality nothing violent occurred. Like I said, it was stupid and gross, but no harm was done; I'm not excusing my behavior, but I'm not about to rub shoulders with thugs and serial killers just because of some arbitrary legal definition. This is what happens when Americans get "tough on crime", the result of Americans informing themselves about human nature and how to run a society by watching fear-mongering other-hating propaganda like Fox News and CSI: Miami. As a result, I stand a good chance of being homeless and unemployable — a sure path toward becoming a mentally sound, sober (or at least functionally alcoholic), tax-paying and law-abiding contributor to society!
Of course, it's possible I may end up okay, or at least not living on the streets again. Central City Concern may be able to advocate on my behalf and finagle a way for me not to lose my housing voucher. We'll see. Again, I have to be out of here by the 29th, so I'll need to know soon so I can prepare for the worst. It's still winter, after all, and I suspect it will linger and transition into a colder- and wetter-than-usual spring. And, I figure I'll need about $200 to adequately initially prepare myself; and I'm no longer able to earn the kind of money I was when I was delivering for Über Eats.
