Space

Two days ago I moved into a room at the YMCA of Glendale, CA. I’m going to use this space to chronicle my time spent here. It may be two weeks, it may be two years. We’ll see. Surely it won’t be two years. If I’m still here in two years... we can’t even think about that.

A lot of people (my friends and family) have been confused upon hearing that I live at the YMCA. So let’s get the ball rolling by tackling some myths about living at the Y.



1. Yes, you can live at the Y.

I feel like this should be perfectly obvious when I say “I’m living at the Y,” but I guess it needs to be reiterated. Yes, you can live at the Y. Not at every Y, and it’s only available to men.

2. No, it’s not a homeless shelter.

I pay money to live here. It’s inexpensive and you pay nightly or weekly, in cash. There’s no lease or anything, so it’s nice and easy to leave when you’re ready.

3. No, I don’t sleep on a cot in a gym.

Variations:
No, I don’t sleep on a cot by the pool.
No, I don’t sleep in a crowded room of bunk beds.
No, it’s not like the New Orleans Superdome post-Katrina.

I have my own room. It’s actually nice. I do share a bathroom with the rest of my floor, so it’s kind of like having a single in your college dorm.

4. No, I’m not sad here.

I’m actually very happy here. I have a space, which is not trivial. It’s a terribly important thing, having one’s own space. It’s not my dream home, but it suits me just fine right now.

So far the biggest problem is that I have the Village People stuck in my head all day, every day. I remain hopeful that this will diminish in time.