San Francisco

I'm living in a pretty decent shelter in the Tenderloin section of town. I'll need to ask for an extension on the sixth day of a seven day stay. Then, 14 days. Then, 90 days. I think that's more than enough time to find some kind of job.

Yesterday, I applied for food stamps and GA (General Assistance). Identification within the GA system makes me eligible for job placement assistance, something that I badly need at this point.

Today, I got a "temporary ID" from one of the many "main offices" of the homeless shelter system located at 150 Otis. But I cannot get a state ID card until I have resided in the city for at least 15 days. I also got a TB test (tuberculosis). I received documentation from the clinic that I did, in fact, get the test as this is a previously agreed-upon requirement of anyone residing in any of the shelters in the system.

I also visited a senior citizen center for Vietnamese residents of the city. I asked them if there were any resources they knew of that could help me to learn the Vietnamese language. The lady at the center said she didn't know of any off-hand, but said that I should see her again some time next week. Hopefully, by then, she'll be able to recommend something.

There are so many people here of Vietnamese-descent. But they keep to themselves very much. One gets the impression that an "outsider" like myself needs to somehow find ways to work his way into the social networks before they'll "let me in." The Vietnamese in Viet Nam are so much more friendlier than the ones here in the states. This is sad. Perhaps that might be because the Vietnamese in Viet Nam are much more subject to economic hardship than the ones here and once they become settled and comfortable here in the states, they don't need anyone anymore. Just a guess. I haven't really given the Vietnamese here too much of a chance to prove otherwise, but it does seem like the Vietnamese in Viet Nam were much more pleasant to me than here.

What a terrible amount of bitterness they must feel watching, along with all of the other minorities in America, the American standard of living dissolve right before their very eyes. As the forces calling for more equity clash with the forces calling for more opportunity, everyone is beginning to realize how difficult it is to provide for both without taking one from the other. This is a bitter pill for a lot of people to take, I know, but it's the truth. Not everyone can have $500,000 homes. Not everyone can be a doctor, a lawyer or even a CPA. It's just not logistically possible. Someone has to do the cleaning. Someone has to pick the tomatoes. Someone has to tend to the cashier. Someone has to do the dishes.