Spotlight

Daily Lobo: So what you brought you to UNM today?

Arturo Soltero: Actually, just to kill time. I only have a part-time job, so until I get a better financial situation, I don’t have a place to hang out. I like to be out of the way where it’s peaceful. That’s mostly the reason. I have been doing this now for quite a while. I’ve been getting better. I didn’t have a job for a while. Now, I finally got a part-time job, so you know maybe I foresee this turning into a full-time job in the next couple of months or maybe more. I’ll probably disappear one of these days, hopefully. This is more or less the way I spend my time.

DL: What’s your job?

AS: I work at KFC. They don’t have a cooking position, which is what I applied for because I had worked in another KFC before. I am like their maintenance guy. I clean up the outside, the lobby. I scrub the inside, clean windows for a total of 12 hours a week, so it’s not much. That’s all they have right now.

DL: But it’s better than doing nothing, right?

AS: Sure. I can at least see the possibility that it could develop into. He said it could open. It could develop according to how they liked my job. Also, you know, I’ll be looking in other places for another part-time job or a full-time job.

DL: Is the hope to get a place soon, then?

AS: For me, it’s not that important getting a place. I had a full-time job for maybe as long as three months, and I could have gotten into an apartment, but I continued to live on the outside. That’s not that important. When I started camping out — I’ve been doing it for three and half years now — I thought it would be a lot different, a lot harder, but it’s not. What’s hard about is not having a job is not having money. Otherwise, it’s not a big problem.

DL: So what are you reading right now?

AS: It’s a little biology, biochemistry. I actually have a biology degree from Western in Silver City. So I am interested in biology. I read novels also, plays. I read quite a bit. That’s how I pass my time. I also play a lot of Solitaire by myself with cards. That’s how I keep myself entertained and busy. I go the Frontier and watch TV a bit. I follow the sports. DL: Have you been watching the World Cup?
AS: Yeah, that’s what I did this morning. Mexico. I didn’t watch the whole thing once it got to 3-0. And I watched the USA, too, when they lost. I am not feeling too bad about my situation now.