A few years later, Aleia attended preschool, and I would volunteer my time there. During the last year of the preschool year, I would be able to help the teacher lead the children in various kids' songs. Some I would play from a CD, and some I would play on my guitar.


There were a few times when I would go with the kids to their field trips, so I would record them on video. I also recorded them in their class as well, including their graduation.


Eventually Aleia would start elementary school, and I would pick her up after school. I would go to her filed trips and visit her class on Fridays when they allow parents to visit the school.


For a few months I worked at Hewlett Packard as IT support, where I would change data tapes in their servers. That job lasted for only six months as I was let go before they decided to hire in-house.


Meanwhile, Gary and his wife Rowena would get a new house, with dad putting up 80% equity. Unfortunately, they couldn't afford to keep the house and, just like my marriage, theirs ended in divorce.


Dad and his new wife moved to an apartment, and I eventually ended up in a homeless shelter, Father Joe's St. Vincent DePaul village.


The only good news is that I would find work at Carefusion, working as an assembler and tester of their infusion pumps. For a while I would have to depend on a ride with my friend Alan, until he couldn't do it anymore, which meant I had to depend on mass transit. The same thing has for Church during Sundays.


Around December, I would also die because I lost a lot of blood in my colon. I would be taken to the hospital where I stayed for three days before I got a colonoscopy. They found some polypus which they would remove. I was released Monday night and Gary took me out to dinner before returning me to the shelter.