I have been panhandling since July 5, 2011 and it is the most humiliating thing a person has to go through. My wife and I were moving to Austin, TX to look for a better life, but a lot of things happened to us before getting here.
For about four years, from my Honorable Discharge of the U.S. Army in October 2006, we lived in Phoenix. Both of us were working for Apollo Group, University of Phoenix, in the IT (Information Technologies) Department. We were making good money. After a year, we bought a home using my VA benefits, a three bedroom house, two baths, living room, family room, huge dining room, and two car garage. We also had four dogs and a cat. Apollo Group laid off several thousand people which, of course, led to us loosing our house.
I know everyone's heard the story before. It is the same story, loose job, loose house, move into apartment. After we lost the house, we moved to Chicago with my mother in law. Chicago does not have a good employment rating but we did try for eight months looking for a job, even if it meant flipping burgers.
My wife has a Bachelors Degree in Journalism. I have a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering and Masters in Information Technologies. We are both geeks. When I applied at McDonald's and Target, they told me that I was over qualified. Now, what does not mean?
One day, we were searching the Internet looking for a city that had lots of IT work. We found it, AUSTIN TEXAS. So, on April 2011, we started down I-65. We wanted to stop in Nashville TN for a few days, just to check it out. We drove into the lobby of a hotel and got robbed. They stole $1200 in cash that we saved up working minimum wage in Chicago, a garment bag with my work clothes, my laptop (I miss it!), my wife's iPhone 3GS, and my Samsung Focus - Windows Phone 7. $1200 was the only money we had and $0 balance in our bank accounts.
So, we lived in our car in Nashville TN and picked up some work at Labor Ready. We lived by the 2/3's rule. We saved 2/3 and lived off of 1/3. We bought value meals at McDonald's. So if I made $55 at Labor Ready, we saved $35 and spent $20. $5 in gas, $5 in food. $5 in smokes (yeah we smoke), and $5 in misc. We saved $500 by July 2, 2011 and decided to go for it. We left and came to Austin, TX.
In Nashville, we never got a hotel room except that first night of the robbery. Of course, we got a room for three nights at the Red Roof Inn in Round Rock so we can just relax and take long showers. Of course, we had our together time as well.
Before we came to Nashville, we went on Craigslist on my wife's laptop that was not stolen, stealing WIFI from McDonald's in their parking lot, and applied for several jobs. We got several calls about employment. Once we got to Austin, on July 2, we had job interviews everywhere. On July 5, both me and my wife interviewed at Harte-Hanks, which is on Wells Branch Parkway. We were offered the job during the interview. OF COURSE WE ACCEPTED IT!!!
Both me and my wife combined will be making $24 an hour, 40 hours a week.
So why am I still flying signs out here?
On August 5, 2011, my wife will be getting her first paycheck. All of it will go towards a deposit on our apartment at The Arbors also on Wells Branch Parkway which is a 20 minute walk to work.
I am out here because we still need to eat and smoke. We are both drug free and she does have nightcaps. I do not drink. I love coffee and donuts!!!
On August 19, 2011, we will both get our checks and pay our first months rent for our new apartment.
We have been living in the streets on Wells Branch Parkway since July 5, 2011. We lost our car because naturally, after six months of unemployment and Labor Ready wages, the car people want their car back. The car has a GPS and they towed it away.
Our stuff is in storage and we sleep across the street from storage at a church, right on Wells Branch Parkway.
After August 19, 2011, things will be better for us, steady job, nice apartment, a new car coming soon, high speed Internet, and more.
But for now, I fly my sign at I-35 and Wells Branch Parkway so we can eat, smoke, and have toiletries. It sucks now, but the light at the end of the tunnel is getting a lot clearer.
Thank for your scanning my bar-code. Take care. Good bless.
