I wake up at the King County Administration Building. And then I go get coffee and come to Real Change. Then I start selling papers. That’s my routine.
The shelter is OK, it’s warm. There are 47 other people in the shelter. As long as you don’t miss a night, you’re assured a spot. You leave at 5 a.m., I think it’s the earliest one. Then I go to Starbucks a block down the street. I stay there until 6, and then I go to the Millionair Club and eat there at 6:15. Then I come to Real Change.
They [the Millionair Club] serve breakfast. Monday, Wednesday, Friday it’s oatmeal and Tuesday, Thursday it’s a pretty good steak and rice, like chopped up steak and rice. I watch the morning news there and then I come over here.
I sell next to the post office on Third and Union. It’s my spot from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., so that’s pretty good. I’ve been there two months. I moved here from Tennessee. Job opportunities. I have two brothers up here. I used to live here in 2004, so I just came back. Construction down there dried up, so I came out here.
I had seen someone selling Real Change last winter, but I put it off. Then in the summer I should have did it, because it was warmer, but I said, “Naw, no one’s going to buy the paper.” So one day I seen this lady give a guy a $20 bill, and I asked him, “Do you make a lot of money?” He said, “Yeah, people buy the papers,” and he gave me a card to go to orientation so I went.
The first time I was nervous, I felt stupid, I’m not going to lie, embarrassed a little bit. Then I got used to it. It helped though, because I can be shy sometimes.
In orientation they show you how to sell the papers, but I just put my hands up like this. I put the paper in one hand. I don’t say nothing. I don’t ask them to buy, because I guess they can see. A lot of folks say they like that, because I’m not trying to pressure them.
I want to get into retail, that’s my goal. Like Men’s Warehouse, something like that, like a small retail place not like Ross or nothing like that. Like a boutique. Helping people pick out clothes, that’s what I like about it. I like fashion, that’s something I want to get into.
I like to feed the ducks and the birds. When I go to the Seattle Center I get some bread and give it to them. That’s what I like to do. I like art, I like to play basketball, but it’s too cold. I am trying to get a gym membership so I can shoot ball. I play forward.