Yesterday my roommates and I showed up to our eviction court date. There was not nearly as much drama as I was fearing there would be- we simply confirmed to the judge that we had moved out by the deadline given to us, and that was it. The only hitch was that the former landlord attempted to claim there was someone else living on her property and bring it down on us. Fortunately, aside from her not even being there, there was no way to prove that and blame us for it.
We “won” the case, but it doesn’t feel like much of a victory. All it means is that we don’t have to pay the legal fee. That’s a pretty huge relief as it would have put us thousands of dollars in the hole, but it also doesn’t sit right with me: she still evicted us, we’re still living in a van. Our lives are worse off because of the actions of this abusive, petty person, and for now, she’s just getting away with it. The unfairness of it just staggers me.
Other than that, life has been mostly uneventful for me. Although there was a scare at one point when a cop used the parking lot to turn around during the night, so far we’re safe enough. The hardest thing for me to deal with in all this is the lack of reliable access to a bathroom. On most days, I’ve been holding it for a few hours when I need to pee, well past my threshold for discomfort and sometimes pain. Most of the public bathrooms here are for paying customers only, requiring you to go into an open business, buy something, and then request a key to access the bathroom. To my knowledge, there aren’t really any public bathrooms in this city that can just be freely accessed and don’t close whenever the business they’re in does.
I think that’s an injustice, and I can’t even believe I have to say this, but I think that every human being who pisses and shits deserves a safe and clean place to piss and shit. Even if for some reason I didn’t believe someone deserved that, I would at least concede that it would be a public health disaster not to provide it to everyone.
On the bright side, I was able to get a shower tonight! My vanmate’s coworker heard about our situation and invited us over to get showers and do our laundry. It was a really kind offer and we took her up on it. I can’t describe just how much of a relief it was to wash myself after however many days, and to not have to do so at the gym or a truck stop prevented a lot of anxiety and dysphoria–as a trans person living in an increasingly hostile political climate, I’d prefer to stay far, far away from gendered facilities of I have the choice to!
Anyway, despite that kvetch over bathroom access, I’m still feeling in a good mood after that shower. If you’re reading this, I hope you’ve also got something nice to lift your spirits–maybe some incense or a favorite dessert. Goodnight!
Fern is Homeless 