Repamarations!

 On the radio today is a piece all about the "reparations" being paid to black people. Race-based, of course. And if you're black and a multi-millionaire, you still get the money I guess. 

The right way to do something like this would be to give the "reparation" sum to everyone whose family was here in the US in the year 1900, or pre-WWII, and have an income below the median. That would automatically pay black Americans but not recent immigrants from Africa who tend to be well-to-do, and it would included non-black people who have been put upon for more than a century also. Even if they're white, Oh, the horror. 

This is more Jewish divide-and-conquer policy of course. 

I packed what things I could before I had to go, went up to the post office to drop them off, then over to 99 Ranch and H Mart. I also wanted to buy paper at FedEx but ... every place was super busy! 99 Ranch was pretty busy, OK par for that course. The post office had been super busy, with lots of people who had lots of small packages like I did. 

Fedex was the busiest I've seen it so after using their bathroom I decided to get paper later. And H Mart was really busy, so much so that they were out of hamburger so that's another thing put off. I'm not sure why places were so busy. The 15th payday would have been last week, and I can't think of any holidays coming up.  

I rode back here, not finding any packing stuff but I did find an (I think) almost-new pillow behind the gym. A bunch of stuff was put out there, women's shoes and a bunch of small-kid clothes and carrying bags and things. I'm about due for a new pillow, and while it seems yucky to pick up a used pillow, people don't mind the used pillows in hotels, do they? 

So I rode back here but first went over to the exotic foods place dumpster. There wasn't anything there except a couple dozen liter bottles of some kind of sugary drink, hibiscus and mango flavors I think. I hate to see things go to waste, so I took them out of the dumpster (they were pretty well hidden) and them outside the dumpster where they were easy to see. 

Then I came back here, offloaded stuff and loaded up my old pillow, and on the way back out, gathered up an office chair that's been in the parking lot for a while, and the big bag of trash someone had put on it. Those went with me, with the office chair placed out by the street where it's easy to see, and my old pillow and the bag 'o' trash going into the exotic foods dumpster. The bottles of juice were already gone. 

 

 

$96 Sunday

 I got back last night and after eating dinner and relaxing a bit, was so tired that while I tried to get enthusiastic about listing the 30 things I had ready, I just could not stay with it and went to bed around 4AM

I set my alarm clock for 3 anyway and good thing, since I woke up around noon and then went back to sleep until it woke me up. Fortunately I had everything ready to go as far as the trumpet, tip box, beef sticks, fleece jacket, etc. 

So all I had to do was have my coffee and nuts and head out. I actually got to the bus stop at 5, which meant I was starting out busking at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at 6. I'd play until 7:30, I decided. 

It was overcast, a bit cold, and a bit windy. But not too bad. I did my "paid practice" and got my compliments and tips. This session's "I want to play trumpet" guy was a guy who was here I think connected with work, because he said he's staying "At Moffett" and is from Wyoming. He played trombone "Don't hold it against me!" and I said trombones are awesome. It sounded like he'd messed around with trumpet and even French horn, and was still in the process of learning what I have, which is to just buy an instrument new and keep it forever. Don't mess with used stuff because you're just buying someone else's problems. 

We talked a bit too long, really, but I was being lazy today haha, and thus I got $86 and a gift card. Still pretty nice! And many, many little kids got to see a live musician, which is a very rare thing these days. 

I considered staying until 8 but by 7:30 I was pretty tired and it had also gotten pretty slow, so I packed up. I got my yogurt drink at Baraka Market and went over the stop and got on the first bus which was a #22. 

This matters because the #22 stops at Maria which the #522 does not, and that's the stop to go to Mega Mart, which is the one Korean market  I didn't go to on Friday. So I got off at Maria and went to Mega Mart to check out their tape situation: Their clear tape is 50c a roll more, and they were out. But, there was a display with odor-free Raid in the red can, the kind that's for roaches. I didn't even know they made an odor-free version. I mean, the perfume is nice, but I don't need to be reminded for 3 days that I'd sprayed a roach, and I don't need that interfering with my meals. So that was an instant sale. 

Other than that, Mega Mart isn't any better than Han Kook, so I'm not missing out on much of anything. And I got the desire to go there out of my system. 

I got on the next #22 bus and at the Santa Clara Transit Station the driver had us get off because there was something wrong with the brakes. So a ton of us got on the next #522 which was there in a couple of minutes. All good! 

I got "home" to "my" Whole Foods a bit after 9, and it was dead, dead, dead there. Good thing I wasn't busking there I guess. I got nuts and stuff and found out that the gift card was for $10 which is a very nice tip. So that brought the earnings up to $96. 

I rode around downtown and it was dead all over. It's Sunday night so it makes sense, it's just sad that Sunday night used to be jam night at Cafe Stritch, and I could have stopped in, bought some food, and enjoyed some live jazz. San Jose didn't deserve that place. 

 

$136 Saturday

 I was up all night getting 30 things ready to list, but got a practice session done, too. 

Thanks to my alarm clock I was up at 3, and out the door at 4:30. Because of the 2-hour rule, I found myself at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods exactly 2 hours later and started busking at 6:30. I played until 8. 

It was windy, but I decided unless it go so strong that the money starts flying around in the tip box, I'm going to stick it out. And commenced a session of paid practice. 

I had one guy put a tip in and then ask me how I learned trumpet, and I told him I'd taught myself pretty much, there are books and YouTube etc. He tried piano, maybe as a kid, and it hadn't worked out. I encouraged him to try different instruments and see what he likes, and besides YouTube there's West Valley Music nearby. 

It was cool if not cold, and the wind didn't kick up too much. Whole Foods has a bunch of boxes of pumpkins and squash set up, in those big boxes called "Gaylords" (for the Gaylord company that makes some of them) and wooden boxes etc., and rather than this create a barrier, it's actually kind of helpful because people stop to look at the pumpkins etc., and now that it's been there a week or two people have learned to go smoothly around it. 

As always I was tempted to think it was slow, but it was most certainly not. There were a lot of people around, and the tips were coming in pretty regularly. My plan was to play until 8, and by a quarter to 8 it has gotten really slow. I kept on, until 8 proper which is good because that meant another tip or two, and in the end I'd made $136. 

As I was counting up a bum came up who I thought was asking for money, but really he wanted to know if I had a cigarette I'd sell him. Sorry, I told him, I don't smoke. But, I said, on Murphy Street there's a head shop and they might well sell loosies. And I gave him a couple of bucks anyway. He wasn't sure where Murphy Street was so I gave him directions, and he was insure about there being a smoke shop there. But I said it's weird, in this total "white bread" area, there's a smoke shop right in the middle of it. 

I walked back toward the bus stop, stopping at Baraka Market for my yogurt drink and some celery, waited maybe 15 minutes for the bus, and had a nice uneventful ride back to my "home" Whole Foods. I got some cheese there and a couple of beef sticks for tomorrow. The cashier said something like, "There you go with your beef sticks again" or something like that, not quite so unkind sounding, and I said it's because I can eat them on the bus, going to Sunnyvale. 

This is true. I'd brought some peanuts but didn't eat them because on the bus it means chancing dropping some and making a mess, getting salt and oil on my hands, etc. So it's beef sticks if I'm going to eat anything on the bus. 

I'd gotten back to the "home" Whole Foods at maybe a quarter after 9, and it *was* a Saturday night but it was really dead. Of course a quarter after 9 in San Jose is the equivalent of a quarter after midnight anywhere else. 

I had a nice boring ride home. 

 

 

Zombiful but productive evening

 I got up at the usual time. I'd been up all night listing things, and was finally so tired I went to bed. 

I actually woke up a bit before 3, due to an ice cream cart going by with the person ringing their little bell so loudly it actually woke me up. I fell back asleep then my alarm clock woke me up. 

I had breakfast and cleaned up a bit and I was out of here at 4. 

I went to the bank and deposited my pay check and my numbers and their numbers agree, so that's good. Then I went to Whole Foods to park the bike, use the loo, and buy a couple of beef sticks. 

If I'd been busking today, I'd have some competition. First there was one of the same zombesses from last week, a gal who has a regulation nearly unreadable sign, and sit her bony ass on the bike racks themselves, and looks down at the ground a lot. I guess it's an act that pays. 

And, although this is on the other side of where I'd be, out by the bus stop, there was another act on. An older, fat, gal sleeping on one of the benches except not really sleeping but squirming around and groaning theatrically. 

Today's mission was to, after depositing my check which I'd done, go to the 99 Ranch market in Mountain View, then on the way back visit Mega Mart and Han Kook, both Korean markets and the last one where I get clear packing tape from. 

While on the bus, I thought a bit and realized I could go one stop more and go to West Valley Music and buy some "Chop Saver" since the tube of it the manager there gave me has utterly disappeared. Now that I've bought another, there's a small chance the first one might re-appear. I've decided I like good old cheap Blistex I can get for a bit more than a dollar a tube at Walmart or Walgreens or a number of places. It's easy to obtain and easy to replace. But maybe "Chop Saver" is really really good for some reason. 

Then I walked back from West Valley Music to 99 Ranch. I walked through the In-N-Out Burger parking lot because that's how you get there, and it was amazing how busy the place was. I used to go there all the time. And they have an armed guard at the door now. I even exclaimed my surprise out loud, and the guy just smiled. A bit further on I saw the reason for the guard: a zombie staggering around, clad in a blanket, headed toward the In-N-Out. 

I hoped this 99 Ranch carried Ibumie brand "Penand White Curry Mee" which I really love, and can't replicate using red curry paste and my own seasonings plus I always get it too salty when I try to make my own seasoning combination for a bowl of soup. And, they had it! I got bags of 4 packages each and some spicy peanuts. 

Now to do something about the bulk, because I sure don't eat the noodles these days. I sat at a convenient table with a chair by the front of 99 Ranch and opened each package, taking out the curry paste, seasoning, and creamer. I put those in a bag I'd taken from the veggie dept. 

Now I had a 99 Ranch paper bag full of 12 packages of noodles without seasoning. I saw a 99 Ranch worker digging through the nearby trash can with more enthusiasm than a worker usually shows, and figured he was digging on his own behalf. So I handed over the paper bag, and instead of taking it, he dumped it all out into the trash, crumpled up the bag, and tossed that on top! 

Well, then. What I should have done, as the worker had then hurried off, would have been to have retrieved the bag, put the noodle packs back in it, and taken it with me to give to someone, but I didn't, As I walked toward the In-N-Out again, there was the zombie again, that had seemed to be headed in a definite direction before, but was actually just meandering around. Maybe getting handed a bag full of noodles to munch on would have had it doing that, and then settling down to whatever sleep zombies get, instead of wandering around. 

I got to the bus stop and saw a rail-thin old guy on a bike meandering through and called out to him. He came over and I described where the noodles are, but in the end he didn't want them, but "I hate to see food wasted!" I agreed, and we talked a bit. He's from Tennessee, and we talked about various places that toss things out and he told me about how, back in Tennessee, he and his "old lady" lived near a small shopping mall and "We ate like kings". I'm guessing the guy probably came out here in the 1960s or 70s for one of the electronics jobs there used to be, then the jobs ended and here he remains. 

The bus I got onto had all kinds of characters on it, and a fair amount of weird shit going on, and I was glad to get off at Lawrence. I didn't even say "Thank you" when I got off, which is the custom here. 

I walked over to Han Kook market and they had 8 rolls of tape so that's what I got. And a can of "Boss" coffee. The lady at the checkout wanted to see what was in the Whole Foods cloth bad I had in the cart, tied closed, so I said, "Sure, sure, no problem!" and got out the Chop Saver, with reciept, and the peanuts, with receipt, and ... and that was enough for her. 

I got back to the Lawrence stop just as the #522 was pulling out, Oh well. There was a guy at the stop hanging out with his bike and a Gatorade bottle in his hand with something in it. He was a laugh-y joke-y guy. So we laughed and joked and I said I was going to be disappointed if he didn't have vodka or tequila in that bottle. The #22 bus came and he stayed behind so maybe he was waiting for someone. 

I had my can of coffee on the bus since I was getting tired, and got off across from Whole Foods and other than using the bathroom, just passed on through to my bike and got going. It was about 8:30 and the Amazon place closes at 9, so I figured I'd go by and see if I can find any bubble mailers. 

I did, obtaining 3. Then I just rode home.  

Forgetting things

 Ken came by last night an hour earlier than usual  That's OK though, I had the place in pretty good shape and didn't have things piled all over. We talked about things and he'd brought pizza (a small one that he said had cost him about $20, ouch) and I had a few slices, ate the toppings only of course. 

I got my check so that's good, and could have taken it to the bank today but didn't. Instead when I got up I packed things and got them to the post office and FedEx. 

I also had taken the bunch of Payday candy bars I had, put 'em in a bag, and left them by the door of the small office sort of space that the local lunch truck operators have set up as an eating area. Those guys, and their clientele, always have scads of kids and kids like candy bars so ... 

Except I mentioned this to Ken and he said, "I like payday bars" and I said I could go get them and he said not all of them, but "some" so I said "give me a minute" and hopped on the bike and went over and got 24 of the candy bars and brought them back. 

Although he'd come by at 9:30 instead of his usual 10:30, he managed to stay here until midnight. Highlights include his getting involved doing updates on his phone, and for a good long while not really being "here" since he was so intent on his phone. Finally I started to wonder, and he showed me the games he'd been playing on X (X as in Twitter? X.com?) so that was weird. 

After a bit more talking etc left, and I was  picking up his used cup from the soda I'd given him etc., and there was his phone. He wasn't gone for long, and soon I heard his truck pulling in. I took it out to him and said, "I didn't thing you'd take long". 

Once Ken had left the 2nd time I spent the rest of the night taking things apart that I wanted to get out of here. I left a lot of scrap metal and parts and stuff out front, and Lo and behold, when I left for the post office everything was gone. 

So when I came back, I noted that the box of circuit boards and aluminum pieces I'd left out by the main road was still there, so I actually took that back to put out in front here since it's the same kind of stuff they just took. Plus I put about 12 boxes of heavy-ass drawer slides that are not worth that much and a pain to ship, out and those went quick. 

 

 

San Jose or Basel? Decisions, decisions...

 u/michaelmoby on Reddit (too bad I can't post links on this) put up a pretty good post, having experience in both places, for Basel, Switzerland, being easier and cheaper to live than San Jose. Yes, including supermarket prices for food. 

This does not surprise me. The cheapest place I've lived has been Hawaii, followed by Colorado, Arizona, and then finally Southern California and taking the top, most expensive slot, here where I am in the Bay Area. 

I was up all night packing things to get caught up and then getting 20 things ready to list. There's a hell of a lot of stuff here that just won't sell, or will sell after a few years for a super low price. But open the things up and take them apart and there will be IC's, other components, gold-plated parts, etc. 

It means more work for me, taking things apart, but that's actually kind of fun and it's easier to ship small things than large ones, and it especially stings packing a medium or large thing knowing it's only for $5 or $10 profit if that. 

I got the stuff to FedEx and the post office, got stuff at 99 Ranch and H Mart, relaxed with a can of coffee and some nuts brought from home, and looked for my homeless pal. He wasn't there. Oh well I'll have another chance to find him tomorrow as I'll be on the same route, delivering packages. 

 

Working the system

 I was up doing stuff, then went to bed, then woke up and ... did more stuff. Ho, hum. I was up around 3, packed some things, and got going at my usual time around 6. I just had post office things so I went there, dropped the packages off, then headed to 99 Ranch. 

I got a big package of boiled peanuts (having those available is almost like being back in Hawaii although of course the ones in Hawaii are better) and some cilantro. 

I went to H Mart next for a can of coffee, and settled down to eat my peanuts and drink my coffee. And people-watch of course haha. 

When I was done I started to leave, and then as  I was riding past, realized my homeless Asian guy acquaintance kind of "lives" in front of the bagel shop now. I had 5 Payday candy bars with me because with so many on hand, I'd decided I'd try to give away 5 a day. 

We talked about things... he's tried applying for work at H Mart and McDonald's as well as other places I'd guess. I said the economy is terrible right now and he might consider going into business for himself. I went through what it would take to get started on Ebay and as I was telling the guy about that, I realized that even for people with homes, it's too hard for most. 

Then I started to think of other things, like being a handyman. I said all these little shops have people working there who will pay a few bucks for someone to do a job they hate, like taking out the trash cans and cleaning them, picking up trash in the parking lot, cleaning the windows and the fingerprints off of the door, etc. 

He doesn't have a smart phone right now (writing this, what happened to the one he had, that I gave him a charger for?) and I said I have some old tablets in the shop that aren't selling, so I'll try to dig them out and see if they're any good and if so, take them off of Ebay and give them to him. And I said I'll see what kind of resources there are around here and print the information out. 

So here I am back here, and I've already got a very strong impression that if you've got the skills and gumption to get out of homelessness, you're probably not going to be homeless in the first place. The place I've chosen to tell this guy about has a neat web page but it can't really be printed out. I wrote out some information about it on an index card, and fortunately it's got an easy to find address, just xxx N. First St. just north of the college. 

I mean, it's hard to just be a regular person. Being at work on time, budgeting, handling all the bills, in most cases owning and operating a car because in the US you're not a person without a car, keeping your place maintained and clothing and appearance in general, and having a "good personality" so your neighbors don't hate you, etc. 

Well, being homeless is harder than this. Unless you're willing to shift 100% to a "vagabond" or "hobo" lifestyle, you'll be in a hole you can't get out of. 

Going vagabond or "hobo" means being in a different hole, but at least it's generally considered a more fun hole. Panhandling shamelessly, giving much less of a damn about looks and perhaps hygiene, getting by on an iffy diet, perhaps being a drunk, etc. It's not a game for the old or even middle-aged. You're going back to the "dead by 40" life humans lived a couple thousand years ago. 

Anyway, I'll give the guy the index card and probably some more candy bars, tomorrow.