Nativity House is primarily a place for homeless people in the community to hang out. About 95% of the NH population are men, so that always makes things fun and interesting. The guys have warmed up to me really well due to my "aggressive" personality. Aggressive is the word our boss Dominique used to describe me, but in a way that means engaging and willing to throw myself into any conversation. Let me tell you, being shy or feeling awkward about joining a table of strangers has no place at Nativity House. I literally talk to people all day long and I love it.
Cribbage, chess, or card games in general are other daily staples at Nativity House. Me being the competitive spirit that I am, quickly established myself as a card player. My first day I beat 2 of the top cribbage players in the place. I also beat another top player (and trash talker) on my 3rd day which has gained me a pretty good reputation. All the cribbage playing guys agree that they thought that I was going to be an easy target and someone that they could beat easily, but they were sadly mistaken. When they complain that they thought I was a rookie, my response is always "What can I say, my daddy raised me right."
Finally, let me tell you about the types of folks that are regulars around the shelter. Drug addicts, Schizophrenics, people that are chronically homeless, alcoholics, transitional homeless, mental illnesses, and everything in between are my new community. I'll be honest, some can be a little intimidating or strange at times, but at the end of the day, they are just people. I think a lot of people forget that the homeless population are just like everyone else, but they made some different choices or had other circumstantial situations than I did. However, it's fun and certainly a new kind of reality to be hanging out with them everyday.
Mike (my housemate who also works at Nativity House) likes to joke and call me the "Queen of the Homeless" because of my newfound popularity. I usually laugh then punch him when he starts making up lyrics to the corresponding song that he wrote for my title. I will say though, it's hard to go anywhere in Tacoma without seeing at least one of the Nativity House "guests" at some point along the journey. In some weird way it gives me a sense of security to see a familiar face and know that even though my new friends aren't exactly "normal," I can quickly find them anywhere at any time of day.
Alright, I'm now going to go and make good use of the soapbox that I have been standing on for this post. Adios!
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