They must be freezing
2002-01-15 8:11 a.m.

We finally had a good freeze last night which will probably confuse all my bulbs which were starting to grow. I shivered at the bus stop even though I was wrapped in my big coat and had on fuzzy black gloves. I don't like to be cold. It takes me hours to warm up once I have been chilled. When we got off the bus the door let us out right at a wooden bench that had a woman sleeping on it, wrapped in a single green blanket. Her bag of cans was above her head where her hand clutched it protectively.

I don't know how the homeless survive being in Portland during the winter. There aren't that many shelters or hand outs yet I've been told that people actually travel to Portland to be homeless. Why? It's cold, wet and expensive. Even Camp Dignity only houses a small percentage of the homeless population and it's not the safe haven people try to make it out to be. I know I joke about being approached by homeless people. I average 3 requests for money per day. When I first worked downtown I used to give my spare change away all the time but then you sort of get numb to it. There are so many needy people that if you give one person some change you get mobbed by a few others wanting their fair share. I made a conscious decision to make larger donations to the food bank a couple of times a year in an effort to help and I keep my change to myself.

Argh. So many needy causes and only so much money and effort to go around.

I went back to the gym yesterday for the first time in quite a few months. Interestingly enough the only thing really sore is the front of my shoulders. Some other things I noted: my arms, legs and abs are stronger. My chest, back and calves need some serious work. I guess that shows what muscles kung fu mostly works. I also got to play on one of those elliptical machines. I couldn't figure out if I was suppose to keep my upper body completely still or if I should bounce a bit like on a stairmaster. I tried to do something in between and hope that I didn't look too much like a dork.

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