350 Blanks

Ken came by last night and wrote me my check, and I stayed up late doing stuff, and got to sleep early-ish because I wanted to get going early enough to go to Hilti and get some .22 blanks, hopefully the least powerful ones which are color coded grey.

I got over there, and it turns out the only ones they have are the green ones, which I didn't get. I went over to Lowe's and got a gallon of Windex which they're my only source for, and cleaned out their .22 blanks, of which they also only had green. Green ones will propel one of the pellets I'm getting at about 2000 feet per second while what I'm really interested in is something that would replicate the performance of an air gun, so 700-800 feet per second. But the way things are going, I'll take what I can get. So I ended up with 350 of the things.

I stopped at the lunch truck on the way back and got some food, ate it and finished packing the packages I had ready (by the time I've found a thing, matched it with an envelope or box etc., and printed the label, 95% of the work is done) and was soon out the door again with the packages which I took to the post office and FedEx.

I didn't do any of my usual looking for packing materials, just came right back and put the trailer away, and went downtown to deposit my pay check. I rode through San Pedro Square on my way, and there was Rabbit Trumpet Guy. I stopped to talk, and asked him how he liked the new setup where it's blocked to cars and there are restaurant tables set up out in the road etc. "I've only made a dollar today" he said. I told him that about a year ago when they blocked off the street and had games and stuff set up and I'd played, I didn't make a thing.

He'd been playing something, reading off of music and when he'd finished I'd asked him what it was, and he said it was "Mon Cherie Amor" by Stevie Wonder, a well-known song at least until a busker gets a chance to mangle it out of all recognition. I mentioned being able to do high C on demand now, and he said he can "hardly get 3rd C" and blew some partials up to a momentary high C.

I bid him adieu, and rode around the corner to my bank, where the ATM was not accepting more deposits. So I'm not sure if the hopper is filling up, or they're just setting it to not take deposits when the bank's not open. So I'll have to try again on Monday or Tuesday. It's just an example of how money seems like something that could go away at any time.

I couldn't think of anything else to do downtown, especially with everything closing by 6, so I rode home. I took a slightly different route and noticed a really cool caster bean plant on Empire and 2nd that I might want to get some seeds from. The green seed pods are bright magenta and it's a very impressive looking plant.

I stopped by TAK Market and they're still out of rubbing alcohol. I rode back to the shop and went down by Grill-'Em to the veggie dumpster where I picked up a 5-lb bag of shredded cabbage, lots of green beans, and a bag of shallots, unfortunately they're peeled and the root end cut off so I'm not sure how well they'll keep.

My dumpster veggies plan is working out well. I throw away a lot but it's all going to be thrown out anyway. I had a nice onion and tomato, both scrounged, salad when I got home and watched some YouTube while sorting through the green beans and trimming them and putting into bags for later.

400 janky .22's

I woke up at 2:30, which is later than I wanted to. I wanted to get up at about 1. I cleaned up and shaved and all that, and got on the bike. My first two stops were the blessing boxes on 6th and 5th to drop off bags of "longan" which is a fruit kind of like a lychee, which I'd gotten behind H Mart. They were fine, but the flavor is a bit sweet and perfume-y for me. Since longan sells for almost $7 a lb in Nijiya, I think people will know what it is and use it.

Then I steamed on down to Big-5 and locked up the bike and went over to Wal-Mart to pick up zipper bags and got a Starbucks "Double Shot". I went back out to the bike to put the bags away and drink the Double Shot, and as I was finishing that, a scumsucker came up with a bike, trailer with wheelchair wheels, and a pit bull. The guy looked like me missed plenty of showers, but seems as concerned about his stuff as I was about mine, and we both went into Big-5.

A guy was picking up a .22 rifle and "my" guy was training a trainee in this process, and Mr. Scumsucker somehow got served first but that was OK since the rifle guy, he, and I ended up talking about the "good old days" when you could pick up guns at the swap meet  or just about anywhere. The scumsucker bought Coleman fuel, some crossbow bolts, and a set of scope rings, which he ended up leaving there by mistake. As I was being served, I told "my" guy that if I see him I'll tell him he left his scope rings.

I bought what .22 I could, ending up with two 50-round boxes of CCI "Copper 22" which are interesting, light little bullets that are high velocity, over 1800 fps, plus a box os 100 of my usual CCI hollowpoints, plus a 100 box each of Winchester hollow points and solids. That about cleaned them out except for some "555" boxes of really shitty Winchester .22's while will probably be bought up next time I'm by. I also got another, their last, Ruger 10/22 magazine.

This all cost a fair amount of money but right now I value the ammo and the extra mag more than about $80 in money.

When I went out I planned to ride along the back of the complex, hoping to find the guy and tell him about his scope rings, but he came riding up to the front of Big-5 and I told him about his scope rings and he said it's why he came back.

One thing Big-5 didn't have was these Crosman pellets that many experimenters have verified on YouTube work with ramset blanks. So I went onto Amazon just now and ordered some. Prices for everything are skyrocketing, so it's "buy now or cry later". I want to get some grey (lowest power) blanks from HILTI to go with them. 

On my way back, I figured I'd stop at TAK Market and get some rubbing alcohol from them but they were out. I stopped in front of a house on 2nd and Jackson that has a juniper bush heavy with berries, and picked some juniper berries for Ken, because we'd discussed making a non-alcoholic gin and tonic using tonic water and juniper berries.

Then I went to Nijiya and got a bunch of things including treating myself to a nice small bowl because I'd broken the one I had, that I used all the time. This one's about the same size and has

On the way back I got some basil from the 10th street dumpster. I got back in here and buttoned up, had some fried fish I'd picked up at Nijiya, and looked over the .22's I'd bought. 400 rounds, not bad. The little copper ones look interesting - they're a much lighter projectile made of copper powder held together by epoxy or something, "composite" they call it.

In any case I have 400 of the Crosman pellets coming in and will have 400 of the ramset blanks as early as tomorrow if I can get over to Hilti before they close at 3. 

Looks like Thursday

But it's actually what I consider late Wednesday. Ho, hum, I packed stuff except for one big thing, last night and today, got up at 3, fixed up some coffee and rode the bike up to the front of the complex and bought a sausage and egg sandwich for $2 from the lunch truck and ate that and had coffee and vitamins etc., and packed the last, large, thing and was out of here a bit before 6 to do my post office and FedEx run.

That was uneventful, except that the FedEx has moved to a smaller space that looks like they sort of divided the space they had in two, and are now in the half that's at the end. At least they're still here!

I picked up some packing stuff and a few tomatoes and got back here, and took a bunch of cardboard pieces off of the floor here and some other stuff I wanted to get rid of and took it over by the bridge and dumped it. I visited the veggie dumpster on 10th but it wasn't there so I don't know what's up with that.

I got back here and had the place all "buttoned up" before it was dark, as is standard procedure these days. Ken called and he's not coming by tonight, but tomorrow (Thursday) instead.

This makes for a somewhat mixed-up schedule. I have to put my pay check into the ATM on Friday or wait into next week, because it fills up with checks and stuff if I wait until Friday and won't accept it. But I want to go downtown tomorrow and go to Wal-Mart for zipper bags and Big-5 to see if there's any ammo I can buy.

A late start

Due to how much I did yesterday/last night, I slept until 3. Today's the day I "should" be rushing downtown to check Big-5 for ammo, buy stuff at Wal-Mart etc. But I'm staying in to get packing done.

Jugs of rice

Up at 3. I packed a bunch of things I'd staged the night before, made my post office run, found some packing materials but no vegetables, had scrambled eggs with scrounged red pepper and the last of the ground beef I'd bought at Nijiya - tasteless stuff but good enough with lots of hot sauce.

I did a practice, the final straw being that I'd dreamed about playing my trumpet but needing a clarinet reed to play it for some reason, and the one I had was a soggy #1 and some musician I was with was a badass and only had #5's to share which you have to be really advanced to play. It was very frustrating.

I also listed tons and tons of culture tube caps and foam plugs I'd sorted over the weekend. Hundreds and hundreds of the things.

Another thing I got done was put the rice I had into the lab-grade gallon jugs I'd saved up. Sanmina throws them out, and they originally held 99.9% isopropyl alcohol so I know they're good. I sprinkled boric acid in too, so the rice should keep long-term. My three bags of rice translated to 7 gallon jugs of it. 

So I was reading r/preppers...

Up at 2. I'd been up watching the last episode of the BBC Panorama series on George Orwell and sorting a big tub of thingies that I think are caps for culture flasks, and when I was done with that, went to bed as it was close to 5AM.

Up at 2, and fixed up my coffee etc. I like to read Reddit, and in r/preppers there's a thread on what people carry in their cars that they think most people don't carry. Lots of discussion of spare sets of clothes, blankets, etc. And first aid kits. One poster mentioned being rear-ended while stopped at a stop sign on their motorcycle, and having to apply a tourniquet to their own leg. Other posters asked about anyone else helping out and the original poster mentioned this was in Hawaii on the island of Oahu and "one of the nicer areas" and the crowd around didn't do a thing but make comments like "Look at that haole bleeding out". They'd even had to call 911 themselves (and I can say from personal experience that they're damned lucky 911 did anything for a "haole") and that that's how it is in Hawaii. This had been in 2016 and they'd gotten out in 2017.

So the place has not changed; not one bit. There's no fucking way I could ever go back there. Another poster a week or so ago mentioned that when they were there, they got the nasty looks not from Hawaiians, but from the locals of Japanese descent. This is how it is, since that's the group that's in power and they'll never forgive the US for not handing Hawaii over to them after Pearl Harbor.

In any case, it's no place for a white (or even white-passing) person to live unless they have enough money to insulate themselves from the realities of the place. My older sister is probably OK having married into some wealth. The youngest one is married to a Hawaiian police chief and is probably OK until something happens to him. Hawaii's got the most corrupt police system in the US, and the police put "hits" on each other and each others' families fairly routinely. Maybe she'll get whacked so some young Hawaii can "prove" himself by killing a hated "haole".

I had my coffee etc., and then decided it was too depressing to just stay in, so I took the three packages of 100 each page protectors and got on the bike and rode over to Lee's Sandwiches and got a chicken and pork on sweet rice thing and a couple of egg rolls. The lady put in 4 egg rolls because "it's two for one today" and said she'd have given me two of the pork on rice things but there was only one, so I grabbed a package of potstickers and that was OK. There's been a guy, obviously homeless or nearly so, sitting out front not being noisy or anything, and I gave the extra stuff to him. Thinking back I'd have given him the water I got also, since it turned out I had a bottle of water in the bike bag already.

I rode past the pepper tree over to the college campus which is my new place to sit and eat now. On Santa Clara street there, there was a homeless guy yelling at the driver (?) of a bus there, and beating on the bus windshield and in general making a huge fuss, calling the bus driver a "gook" and so on. There are more and more crazies out there and while the college campus is safe for now, I'm not sure if anywhere will be safe to sit and eat six months from now.

I ate my food and saved most of the rice for the birds here, and then rode up to Paseo de San Antonio and over to Johnny Rockets where Leroy was playing with his new playing partner, a guy who sings and plays guitar. I gave him two of the boxes of page protectors and he was really happy to get them. If you play outdoors you really need 'em. We had a nice little talk and then I rode down to Santa Clara street and over to San Pedro Square where Rabbit Trumpet Guy was playing, and gave him the last package of 100 page protectors which were in a sealed bag.

Rabbit Guy had been playing "Fur Elise" that piece so beloved of beginning piano students. He was missing some notes, but it was recognizable anyway. He said he'd not been practicing since the end of hockey season. I told him I needed more practice but "might get out and play tomorrow".

I went over to Whole Foods and noticed a couple of things. First, that it was a bit before 7 and assuming they close at 8, it was about an hour before closing and there were a good number of people going in and out. And, that the petition-botherers and various sob-story scammers were gone for the night. If I were there with my trumpet, it could be one of those $40 or $50 hours.

I went in and bought nuts and cheese rinds and stuff, and then rode for home. I took a weird little street that goes out onto Market or Almaden I forget, and noticed a scumsucker type on a bike do a circle around - I had to veer around him - and then appear to follow me. So I zigged and zagged around some streets and eventually lost him. Yet another reminder, as it was after 7 now, that it's not healthy to be out that late in the evening these days. I should have gone from Whole Foods by the "front way" along Santa Clara street which is longer around but more "respectable" as the scumsuckers are really out in force in the evenings.

Just before coming in here, I stopped over at the blackberry bushes and picked some, paying the usual price in ant bites and getting stuck by thorns. Those things are good, though.

To BB or not to BB

Up just before 2. I got 20 Ebay items listed last night while watching YouTube stuff, mostly documentaries. I've watched the first three BBC "Panorama" episodes on George Orwell, which are excellent. There are ones about other authors too.

Ken came by and I got my pay check, no extra $50 these last couple of times since our sales are down again. That's fair.

So I was up a bit before 2 today and had my coffee etc and went out to the lunch truck in front and bought one of those half egg and chorizo and veggie burritos for $2, and had a nice breakfast before starting out. Most of the flour tortilla of course was tossed up on the roof for the birds. It's actually a good system; it's not really the top of the roof but the top of the little sub-roof over the door and windows here. I toss my scraps up there because first, any kindness shown to any living creature is badly thought of here and could get me into trouble. Secondly, when the scumsuckers come around with their scumsucker dogs, I don't want the dogs getting any fish bones, etc that could be bad for them plus my animosity toward scumsuckers extends to their pets also.

First I dropped off a package at the neato Art Deco post office downtown, then went over to the bank to deposit my pay check at the ATM. As I explained to Ken, if I waited until Saturday the ATM would probably not be able to accept more checks, which means my next chance to deposit it would be next Tuesday. So I had to do that today.

Then I rode up to Big-5. According to The Internet, they have the Umarex BB pistol that's a fairly accurate replica of the exact Glock I have. I figured I could actually set up a backstop in here and have some fun shooting it. I got there at about 10 minutes to 5, and on the way remembered their rule that they don't sell any ammunition after 5. So first I asked about 9mm and they were all out. Then I asked about .22 and they had 4 boxes of the same CCI stuff I have already, left. So I got those. I had to fill out some paperwork such as whether I'm a citizen and what race I am (I guess I'd be SOL if I were black) and got it OK, then I picked out a cleaning kit that should work for my pistol and my rifle, some ear plugs, and a pair of safety glasses since when The Homeless stole my bike bags they got my nice pair of American Optical lab safety glasses.

So 9mm ammunition isn't obtainable any more, although Ken says he's got "tons" of it so there's that. And .22 will be around for a while, I think.

I rode back, looking for Leroy or Rabbit Trumpet Guy or both, as I'd gotten a few boxes of page protectors which are good for protecting sheet music, and I figured I'd give them both some, but neither of them were out. I guess the city of San Jose is reaching its ultimate form: No buskers or any sign of non-corporate culture.

I had time to stop at Nijiya and waited in line there, and sure enough, a scumsucker wandered up and stared cussing at people, demanding cigarettes and calling them "Chinese piece of shit" and N-word this and N-word that,  and when I went in I told them about it and they just kind of kept an eye on the guy. I hung around over by Minato keeping an eye on the guy but Nijiya was closing by now and I'm sure the scumsucker would wander off, maybe back to the sewer he lives in to smoke his crack and call it a night.

I did the math

Last night I did the math and I'd spent my last paycheck but no more than that. That's pretty good news, considering all the spending I'd been doing including over $30 for those two boxes of 9mm ammo from Big-5. The idea with those is they can always be range ammo if I ever get the chance to shoot at a range again, and also I can experiment with making them hollow points which I think I can with some simple tooling I can come up with.

I mentioned on the Morris Berman blog that in one sense, the Glock is simply a safer place to park my savings than in a little stack of $100 bills. Unlike the bills, it will increase in value, and unlike the bills, if needed can be used to defend myself.

There are a few bits and bobs I still want to get for it, namely, the better factory-made trigger transfer bar thing, which gives a better, 4.5-lb trigger pull instead of the not-so-good 6.5-lb trigger pull it has, stock. A good pair of sights, not sure whether to go with the tritium ones or not. And a better slide stop, while the stock magazine release which lots of people don't like, works fine for me. I'd also not mind having a book on how to take the thing completely apart. I've done the odd bit of gunsmithing in the past, and can not only take a Ruger mk II apart, but I can also put one together again which is no mean feat.

I got a practice in last night, and need to do that every night.

I was up at about 1:30, had my coffee etc., and then at a bit after 3 rode the bike out to the front of the complex and got a sort of meaty breakfast sandwich for $2.50. The lady there charges $2 for the regular sausage and egg ones, at least in the afternoon when most people are not thinking of breakfasty things like that.

Last night I'd vacuumed the office, which looks really nice now. Ken called when I was just done and said he's not coming over since he'd gotten into a different car and forgotten his check book.

Apparently the hopper in the ATM at my bank fills up quickly so if I don't deposit the check tomorrow, Friday, I won't be able to until at least Monday and more probably Tuesday.

A night to play with the green laser

Up at 1:30 or so, and Ken's coming over tonight + it's going to be a bit hazy tonight so it might be a fun time to get out the 15mW green laser I just listed on Ebay and play with it in the parking lot.

Ken had called me late last night to tell me not to worry about a package that's taking its sweet time to get to the (complaining) customer (I wasn't) and I told him about picking up the "glockenspiel" and how I'd noticed there's a .22 conversion kit for it that's $265 so for a bit more I'd effectively have two guns. He's got a .45 auto he's got that kind of kit for, himself.

Checking on the Big-5 sporting goods site, it says they have the Umarex (I was once sponsored by them) Glock-19 pellet pistol for $99, and I'd love one of those because I could set up a little range in here. Long ago, one of the local scumsuckers, Renee, had insisted Ken accept this big piece of thick fiberglass, maybe 4X5 feet and a half-inch thick, that would make a nice backstop.

Glockenspiel

Yesterday, just about the first thing I did when I got up was call Bullseye Bishop and make an appointment to pick up my Glock. They had to be reminded who I was, yes I'd done the paperwork, Yes I'd gotten a fishing license, Yes everything was paid for....

The rest of the day was pretty much boring Ebay shit and watching too many videos on YouTube. I had to take some things to the post office it being a Monday, and since everything was pretty small, I took the things to the post office downtown and picked up my barber's cape from the Amazon Hub. I also did some shopping at Dai Thanh and just the usual stuff, avoiding shirtless crazies and zombies of every variety. I'm disappointed in myself that a scumbag was able to sneak up right behind me as I was riding on 3rd, and said scumbag just said something like "S'cuse me" and was just riding his bike with his scumbag bag aboard, eager to get where he was going on scumbag business.

So late last night which means early this morning, I did a haircut and it came out pretty good. As I keep noting, I've paid money for worse cuts than I'm able to do myself. The barber's cape turns out to be just the thing. The material it's made of doesn't hang onto hair clippings much and they just slide down it onto the plastic I had spread on the bathroom floor. Some clean-up was needed but I didn't get all itchy. It's not like I'm able to do a skin-fade or anything at least not yet, but it came out pretty well and I finished it off by putting a little shaving cream on my neck and shaving the fuzzies off with this little straight razor trimmer thing I got at Niji-ya and I could probably easily do the same thing with one of my safety razors.

Since I'd had a 2nd coffee last night after my night's broccoli beef, I was pretty awake but knew I needed some sleep to be up at noon. So I hate a few pats of butter "Eat a few pats of butter before bedtime to get some good sleep in" - me. I actually slept pretty well, waking up a couple of times to check the time then back under for a couple of hours. I woke up at a bit after noon so it went perfectly.

I was heading out at 12:30, and went to Nijiya first because I wanted to buy some "breakfast" on my card, and got a nice salmon, salmon eggs, scallop, and crab on rice bowl and a can of cold coffee. I ate that over at the benches, and now had 40 minutes to get to Bullseye Bishop.

The ride over was easy. San Carlos to Bird to Minnesota to Meridian and I was there 5 minutes early. Other people were there ahead in line, and the visit was ... interesting. There was a Hispanic gal who was more mainland-American than I am, who didn't know jack shit about guns and seemed to have a 9mm revolver? Such things do exist, but why was she looking at magazines? She bought a bunch of stuff including ammo and finally buzzed off... on a scooter apparently.

Another gal was even more worrying. An older white woman, with the classic Oh-so-healthy big fat body and skinny arms and legs, who didn't know shit from Shinola. An older guy who seemed to be a real regular who runs a "tab", was trying to help her out, and I just had to put my oar in also, being brought up on gun-range manners that say you've got to be helpful where you can. She did settle on a Ruger revolver as I suggested, but she was really ignorant and when I suggested that Crosman makes a pellet revolver that's modeled after a .357 magnum and that airguns are great for training, she said and I quote, "I don't want to 'train' I want to shoot!".

It seems everyone else was taken care of before me, but I just waited it out. I have a feeling that plenty of other people wanted that Glock. I even asked how long the Glock had been listed on their web page and the guy said, "About 20 seconds".

I've lucked out in this way before. One example was, in Colorado, I was trading in a Browning shotgun I'd been trying to shoot trap with, with mixed results, and wanted an AR-15 instead. The gun shop I was at had been super busy, and apparently someone else was trading in a high-end Browning shotgun, plus it was lunch time so they got mixed up and in the end, I practically got the AR for free.

Another example is at Gryphon Strings in Palo Also, I was buying a base model Kamaka ukulele and had one picked out but when I went to pick it up, wanted to see if they had any others, to pick one with a good flat fretboard and good "action" and I was handed one with not only a better action but the most beautiful flamed koa wood, for the same price. Needless to say I bought it. I'm pretty sure what I got was actually worth 2X what I paid. In the end I didn't get anywhere with it and my older sister in Hawaii has it.

So I got the Glock. The only niggle being that the magazines with it were 15 or 17 round, and at the last moment the guy swapped them out for 10-rounders. Oh, well. The main thing is I've got the thing which will be very nice if I turn out to need it. If things go down the tubes it's a useful tool or something I can sell for a few thou or a plane ticket out of here, and if things go so-so then it will still increase in value.

With the coin and small bill shortage, I'm saving my savings in small bills and have $50 squirreled away already, and at least $10 in coins. I'm actually finding it fairly easy to save money this way. Just get cash back in $20's and then take a few $5's and $1's and put them away at the end of the day.

TAOFLEDERMAUS

Up at a bit after 1.

My attempts to pin my T-shirt neck up with a safety pins were just as much a fail as my attempts with a binder clip, even trying out a large binder clip. I ordered a barber's cape for $10 off of Amazon. I also found and ordered the smaller bike pump, maker name "Lezyne", no wonder I could not think of it... when I get it I'll put the larger one in with my bike stuff as a back-up, and carry the little one. That company makes great pumps. If I'd been able to think of the name, I'd have just ordered one of the small ones at the same time I ordered new bike bags, but I didn't even think about needing a new pump until I was putting things into the top bag on the new bike bags.

I'm going to check the Amazon hub on my way back today to see if the cape's in, but in any case I have another solution: to use one of my woven shirts and button it up to the very top button, which should make it "seal" at the neck and no little pieces of hair go down. 

The blackberries I picked yesterday were delicious, and lots of rinsing took care of the ants and other debris. Dinner was some ground beef from Nijiya and the 2nd bunch of scrounged spinach and garlic, mushrooms, etc. Sad to say, the ground beef just tasted like ... hamburger. I was thinking I could move to a cheaper type of beef but the stuff is really Meh.

I spent too much time watching videos but YouTuber "TAOFLEDERMAUS" who's an experimenter after my own heart. He experiments with bullets and ammo and shooting in general. I've certainly done plenty of the same, trying to come up with exploding pellets using caps etc glued on the front of an airgun pellet and other various schemes. Primer Powered Pellets were probably my most asinine experiment in terms of the expense and hassle for the results. I actually bought a Ruger Single-Six to mess with these, and I found the best .22 ammo to use is the really cheap bulk-pack stuff because the manufacturer knows it's shit so they put in about 2X the normal amount of primer to make sure they'll go bang. Even then they're really lame and stupid. Don't do this.

One experiment I've thought of is to put little ceramic balls into hollow-point pellets and that should make a pellet that will break a tempered glass window even if they're at a fairly low velocity because physics. Maybe I'll suggest that idea to him.

Oh another thing lately: Our Ebay sales are back down in the toilet. I don't know why; we got a neutral from one guy (valid point, I should have wrapped each of the as-is electronic thingies he bought separately) our on-time shipping is good, etc. So I don't think it's a falling down on our part. I thought it might be the shutdown, but places are going back into shutdown yet our sales are awful this week. That leads me to believe the $1200 checks everyone got were some factor. Broke-ass MF's like the majority of the population would have spend them on necessities, but techie types with decent finances may have seen them as permission to buy techie stuff from us. 

But now that I think about it, I think the sudden drop was because this last week was when people had to actually pay their taxes, and they're paying attention to that instead of to our Ebay listings. If that's true, sales will pop right back up.

Two "interesting" things happened when I was riding back here today. First, I was riding along 10th street from Hedding and heard a noise behind me and there was a bum with a bag of cans on a bike behind me so I turned into a parking lot and circled, to get him out ahead of me where I could keep an eye on him. Then I rode along a distance behind him. But the guy kept going slower and slower, until we were both at an actual walking pace. It was kind of funny because he had trouble going that slow with a big bag of cans on his handlebars and kept wobbling. But, he could drop the cans in a flash and jump me so I ducked into this gas station thing where you pay with a card that's used by ambulance drivers and truckers and so on. I figured if I have to make a stand, might as well where there are plenty of cameras and maybe a friendly trucker will pull in. When I came out, the guy was pedaling as normal speed back the way he'd come. Go jump someone else, asshole.

And, closer to here, someone in a small silver or grey car by the freeway off ramp called out something like "Hey, buddy!" at me a couple of times so I turned on the gas  and then ducked through an alley between two buildings, hoping the creep(s) didn't follow me. What did I see coming by Crazy Chrissie in her shitty grey car. Had it been her, and had time to zoom ahead and circle around? I got my pepper spray that shoots further out, and was not subtle about it, and she didn't circle around and I rode back in here and as usual, got in here quick.

I was going to pick some blackberries from the bushes but it's better to be safe than sorry. It may be better to let the bushes "rest" a day anyway.

Actually once I got the bike back in here, I felt safe enough to walk over by the front of the Mr. Softeee and saw that the guy'd put a heavy duty lock on his water spigot, so he indeed had had enough of Crazy Chrissy and her antics. Between that and the regular patrols by the security guard car I don't see a lot of bum activity here lately.

Snap caps

Yesterday was pretty routine. Woke up with a headache for some reason, didn't practice, got stuff to the post office (no FedEx packages) picked up packing stuff but no veggies which was OK because I made a nice cold green bean salad with the green beans I'd picked up the day before.

I got some Ebay stuff listed including a neato green helium-neon laser that I might just have to play with tonight.

Today I was up a bit before noon, which was the ideal time to be up when I was staying over at Ken's house every week. Get up by noon, cook up some breakfast, and be ready when Ken got up in the 1-2 time frame.

I even got in a practice last night which was good since I'd not been practicing enough. I'm finally getting to the point where I understand the different components of trumpet playing. I think for a long time I was constricting my throat because that's almost a reflex especially for someone who did a lot of underwater swimming like I grew up doing. What I'm learning about using my midsection is not something I've found in any of the books I've read,  but it's really fundamental and important and it's not intuitive. Who would think you ought to push "down" for high notes and "up" for lower ones?

I got going at about 3:45, went over to Nijiya and waited in line a bit, got a few things like a can of fish and some instant dashi, a Coke Zero, and a bowl of cold ramen with toppings. I also got some cooked salmon to put on top of that and since "my" spot on the shady bench was taken, I set up camp on the steps of the Issei Memorial building and had my picnic.

I'd been starving since I'd had coffee and some 100% cacao chips but no nuts because I was out of 'em. I'd gotten all set up to do a haircut and thought my idea of using a binder clip to fasten my T-shirt neck tight around my neck so it would act like a barber's cape was brilliant but it turned out not to be. I could not get the clip to go on there. What I need is a safety pin, they must still sell those, I thought, thinking back to my 1960s little-kid-hood and the neat safety pins we had like the one the head of which was a duck.

But first I wanted to get over to the bike shop to replace my small bike pump. Of course they were out of those, and I got a slightly larger one for $10 more. That done, I went to CVS and found a little package of so-so safety pins for $4 and got those.

Then I went to Whole Foods and got some fizzy water and a little $2 package of pepperoni slices, and stashed those away in the bike bag and rode over to Big-5. The guy there remembered me and as I write I have two boxes of 9mm ammo with my name on them I'm to pick up tomorrow. But they didn't have snap caps, which are dummy rounds used for practicing dry-firing, clearing jams, etc with. I'd looked at them on Amazon and thought good old Big-5 might beat their prices, but they only had shotgun ones.

After that I went into Wal-Mart. Rubbing alcohol was wiped out of course, but they had a lot of other things and I ended up buying tape, bug spray, and things like that.

I rode back lazily, and stopped at San Jose State and drank fizzy water and ate the pepperoni by the Studen Union. There are signs all over warning not to be on campus because of covid, but there were a few people here and there and it was nice. A couple, she Asian and looking decent, he looking like a bit like a bum who I'd write off if he were by himself, and they had a funny looking little dog. The dog wanted some pepperoni and I said she could have one if it's OK but it was not. I'd gotten a couple of really thin slices that were hardly anything but I didn't have any like that left.

After eating I rode home. Before turning into Rogers Avenue, I turned right to check out some blackberries that I'd seen red berries on. I learned a couple of things: Firstly, that plenty of nice black ripe fruits were there, hiding under the leaves, and that these fruit are protected by ants. But the ants are small and not bitey so I got out a plastic bag and picked some berries ants and all. A good rinse in the colander will take care of things like that. 

Now I live in a lab

Up at 2 today. Last night was pretty wild. I'd gotten my evening going early enough that I was just ready to get in an hour of practice before Ken came by, and the next thing I knew, I heard Ken's truck outside.

He had a load of light bulbs and projector lamps, and to help find room for them, I told him of my plan to move a big laboratory refrigerator/freezer into the office and have it under my little college student type fridge/freezer, and take the rolling cart I had under my fridge before this and get rid of it - it was mine to get rid of as I'd found it and taken it home.

So along with unloading boxes and boxes of lamps, we did this. Ken decided to take the rolling cart thing to his home because it's really nice as such things go.

The lab freezer is neat, but kind of noisy when running. Programming it is a bit complicated, and I had to look around a bit to find a manual for it online. It being a lab freezer, you don't just dial in a temperature; you have to set the high and low points. Because of the noise, I finally decided that since I'm not keeping anything in it right now, to just unplug it for now.

But when Ken and I were sitting and talking, I pointed to the big "VWR" logo on the front of the thing and said, "Now I really live in a lab!"

Ken had also brought by two Amazon packages for me: a new light set and a new bag/pannier set. Those came sooner than expected. So I can take the Sky Flakes box off of the back of my bike that I was carrying my chain or bungees in. And I'll be sure to put the nut/bolt back in there to keep anyone from just sliding the bag/panniers off. Now I wonder how many bums tried and didn't get it in the past. In fact I'm tempted to put a machine screw in the push-down part as well just to frustrate bums just that much more.

One thing though: In the old one, the chain etc. had started to eat holes in the bottoms of the panniers. So I'd bought a couple of heavy duty place mats at Daiso and had planned to sew them into the bottoms but never got around to it. But I finally came up with a neat solution: Just take one or two of those cloth re-usable grocery bags and fold 'em up and stick 'em down there. They protect the pannier bottoms and in a pinch it means I've got an extra bag or two for carrying things home. It's brilliant!

Likewise, I was thinking I ought to buy a "barber's cape" for my home haircuts and was looking at them on Amazon, then realized I could just take a clip and clip the neck on my T-shirt so no hair slips down there, cut away, then take off the T-shirt, give it a good shaking out in the wind and then it goes into the laundry.

Early dinner(?) yesterday was egg salad made with scrounged onion, and late dinner was beef with scrounged fresh spinach. I really think I've been saving a lot of money by "gathering" my vegetables. Another thing is that I've run out of cream for coffee and had it black with ice yesterday when I got up, as I'm having it now. If I give up cream, that's easily $10 a week I'm saving and I don't really think I need the calories. That money's better allocated to the vegetables I *do* buy, like broccoli.

I put the new bags on my bike and used a cap screw and nut and washer and blue Loc-Tite to secure it, and dashed over to San Jose Beauty Supply to pick up some 70% isopropyl alcohol as I'm finally running out of that "mix" I'd made a couple of gallons of when the shutdown began, of 52% alcohol white liquor and HEET methanol, to about a 70% concentration with water. Frankly it doesn't clean as well and cost me about $40 a gallon. San Jose Beauty Supply had come down in price a bit, and I asked about 99% and they had two gallons left so I got a gallon of each, using my debit card. So I'm set for 70% stuff for about 2 months and for the 99% stuff for years.

On the way back the lunch truck was here so I got one of those half burrito things and ate the scrambled eggs and sausage part and some of the flour tortilla, and tossed the potato pieces and most of the tortilla for the birds.

Then I headed downtown. I dropped off trash in J-town, and picked up a book from the 6th street blessing box, "The Hobbit". Then I dashed over to my bank, and knocked on the door. I told them "I can't get the software to work" to get an appointment, but I just needed a sheet of checks, which they print off for me for free when I ask every other year or so. They took my bank card with the number and ID and came back with those and a sheet of 3 checks in an envelope. I hid the checks under the cloth bag that's under my bike chain in my bike bag.

Next I went over to Whole Foods and locked the bike, and walked over to ACE Hardware and got some Nylock nuts that fit the cap screw I used to secure the bike bags. I was amazed, the gal knew exactly what I meant when I said I was looking for Nylock nuts. And they were only 16c each. I got a gallon of Simple Green too, and walked back to ACE and put those in the bike bags then walked back up to the drug store and got some witch hazel using the $4 coupon from last time - I think I got their last bottle.

Next I headed for the Amazon hub then remembered that most of the reason for going downtown was to put my paycheck into the ATM so I doubled back and did that, then went to the Amazon hub and picked up my copy of Why America Failed by Morris Berman.

I had time to get to Nijiya before they closed so I dashed over there and got a bunch of things and $40 cash so I'd have "walking around money".

I picked up green beans on the way back from the dumpster on 10th, so while I did buy some broccoli from Nijiya and ginger too, my veggie spending is way down. I also didn't buy cream, since at least in this hot weather, iced black coffee is working fine for me.

The Patient IRS

I was supposed to take care of my taxes yesterday. Hell, I was supposed to dedicate the weekend to doing 'em. And I hate paperwork with such a passion that I did .... nothing. Well, not nothing-nothing, as I watched a ton of "Active Self Protection" videos on YouTube.

I also listed 15 things on Ebay so yay me.

So, I have paperwork to do, taxes and also a driver's license renewal, and the two bills from the hospital that only make sense in light of the fact that they got bought by a different set of rapacious capitalists than the ones before, and when that happens they always send out bills to everyone who's ever been in the place to see who they can intimidate into paying.

Maybe they can smell that I have a little over 3 grand in the bank. Well, I plan for almost all of that to go to the IRS, and then I may start keeping my savings in cash, here. And not no little stack of $100's, either. Word is, coins and small bills are becoming rarer (the "velocity of money is becoming glacial, as happens in Depressions) and it would be better to keep my savings in small stuff. And in a coffee can where someone in a suit can't take it.

This is one of the many reasons I bought the Glock. The $100's I had saved, I sort of thought of as this wad of money I'd hand over for a plane ticket out of the US or some such thing, but in reality the Glock can easily double or triple its value within a year and handing *it* over for a plane ticket out is a viable plan.

But the Evil Empire here is being walled off by the world at large, as it should be. Just like Nazi Germany, the possibility for one of its subjects to take an impromptu vacation overseas is very small now, and shrinking.

If I wanted to become fluent in Spanish and Cuban history, I could possibly make my way to Florida, steal a boat, and sail to Cuba. But this plan does not excite me, however much I admire the Cubans and their brave stand against capitalism.

The other way out is to get back onto to Hebrew study and once I can carry a conversation in Hebrew, start seeing about conversion and then get my ass to Israel somehow, but at last in that case I'd have help.

The US just keeps ratcheting worse and worse.... The 1918 flu being my model, we're in for at least two years of covid and over those two years we're going to experience what would be the next  10 years of collapse, just compressed, accordion-style.

Frankly I'm surprised how much Hebrew has stuck with me, from the little I've learned. Lo and Ken for No and Yes, toda for thank you and toda raba for thank you very much, bvakasha for thank you also, as your parents love to hear when you're a kid. Lots of little stuff like that. Cory Gil-Shuster's videos on YouTube are excellent, plus there are tons of Hebrew cartoons and kids' books and TV series and things.

So if things are going to be in shutdown for the next 2 years, and during that time I can get functional in Hebrew, then a conversion takes a year (you have to go through the yearly cycle of holidays and customs) and then I'll be pretty close to the youngest age I can get Social Security. I'm sure there are plenty of olim (immigrants) in Israel from the US who have chosen to retire there and get Social Security. Plus my plan had been that the Social Security payments would pay my rent, and busking would take care of the rest. Rent is half what it is here, and food is really cheap there except things like beef, which is expensive here anyway. But imagine being able to ride a bus or bicycle to the beach! Imagine being able to see a doctor or a dentist when I need to!

Also, it is my impression that people give a shit about each other there. I keep meeting really neat people here in San Jose and then I never see them again.

So I was up in plenty of time to pack a load of stuff and took it to the post office where there was a long line for people buying stamps, I guess, to get their taxes sent in, and to FedEx. In my case I think the IRS won't sweat another day or two since the way the economy is they're probably happy to get anything at all.

I picked up my usual packing materials and two bunches of spinach from behind H Mart, but nothing from the dumpster by Grill-'Em. Now that I think about it, that gal that shrieked at me the other day, sounded an awful lot like the "Gimmeee dollar BITCH!" female zombie I rode past on Brokaw. Maybe she was begging from the Indians or hassling them somehow, and since she's got dark hair and a darkish complexion, she'd kind of blend in. That would answer why she yelled at me but the rest of the Indians didn't take off after me. She's been around for years, yelling and screaming, along Brokaw and often asking people the way to Elmwood, which is a prison of some sort nearby.

Cleared the decks

Last night I did what I'm falling into the habit of; I find the Ebay items that had sold, and pair them up with whatever packaging they need, print the shipping labels, but don't actually finish packing them just stack them up by the front door.

Then I watched too many documentaries, cooked up a broccoli beef, and finally listed 20 things I had lined up to list and hadn't on Friday.

Today I got up at 2, and found that even though I had several large items, it only took me an hour or maybe a bit over an hour to put the finishing touches on each thing and put the labels on. And I'd gotten everything that had sold up to last night, done. It's harder to "clear the decks" this way with all the sales we're doing.

I was out the door at 5, did my drop-offs at the post office and FedEx, and found a couple of packing things on the way back along with some Napa cabbage leaves and a head of lettuce. So I had hard-boiled eggs and a salad when I got back.

Then I got all involved taking this big laser thing apart that had three different lasers in it and a bunch of other parts.

Getting mean out there

Up at 2. Last night I got a good practice in, got stuff together to list on Ebay, and mainly goofed off watching too many documentaries. One was about "furries" and was quite good. I knew a couple of furries back when I had my own little business in Sunnyvale, and they were nice people. The documentary is called "The Fandom".

I also took the 3/8" piece of brass tubing I'd bought at Ace Hardware and cut it in half, then sharpened one end of one half, and used it like a cutter to cut holes in my Crocs, 3 on each side where there are indentations where there'd be holes on non-Bistro Crocs, and it seems they're a bit less sweaty to wear now. There are either regular Crocs with holes all over 'em, or Bistro Crocs which have no holes, and this is my in-between solution.

Last night I saw something interesting: Some scumsuckers showed up with their scumsucker van and went to the back corner of the parking lot and seemed to get getting a lot of stuff they'd stashed just on the other side of the fence, tossing it over and putting it into the van as fast as they could. Then they drove over near-ish to the front of the place where another scumsucker vehicle was parked, got more stuff, then took off. Good riddance. It seems the security company is making regular rounds now, and as I've told Ken, it must be because the scumsuckers have done something to piss off other people around here too.

So I was up at 2, made my coffee and had it and vitamins etc., and finally got going about 4:30, my main cargo being some trash that needed to go out. Where Rogers Avenue meets Queen's Lane, there was a cop SUV and a bum on a bike with a bag of bum-belongings etc. but I didn't see where the cop was. As it was, I rode by giving it all a wide berth by using the little loop created by the CalTrans driveway there.

I rode to J-town and dumped the trash and got two "Aji fry" (breaded fried horse mackerel) and a Doutor canned coffee and went to eat at the benches on 5th. There was a Mexican guy there by the monument on the other side of the sidewalk who said "This is a nice peaceful place!" or something to that effect. We talked a little, he lived a street up and I told him my friend Leroy lives around the area, and he said he sees Leroy all the time.

I finished eating and swung by the blessing box on 5th and picked up an interesting book on inter-cultural misunderstandings that looks really useful. Then I rode up 4th to look for stuff the college students might be tossing out but didn't find anything. As I rode back around Santa Clara street, I thought this was a pretty good trip except I'd like to get some free stuff. Lo and behold, I came upon a series of dumpsters with some interesting stuff. I picked out a woven basket that's perfect for laundry, and a 12-inch cast iron frying pan that just needs a good cleaning and seasoning. So that's my $30 worth of free stuff for the day.

It was a long ride back as the woven basket kept bumping into my knee if I wasn't careful and even when I was. But I got home only losing a little skin, no blood. I put things away and decided to take a quick look around the complex Grill-'Em is in, and this got interesting.

I went through the complex the way I usually do, looking for lettering vinyl at the one place (none) first, and as I got around the corner I noticed some noisy Indian people having a party or something. One of the gals shrieked out, "HEY YOU! HEY YOU!!" and then "HEY BITCH!!" etc., I quickly went around the corner and then circled around and hid the bike behind a large white van parked by the veggie dumpster. I took a look and - no veggies. Also no followers. The thing is, if some of them had jumped into a car they might have gotten me. But hiding there, if I saw them race by, then I could dash out and go the opposite way and lose myself in the maze of little streets around, and gradually make my way back to the shop by a long and circuitous route.

My theory is this: The clothes, purses, etc. being thrown out were thrown out due to some family spat, and now they're pissed off that the stuff is gone. I was probably seen on a camera, and since I was the first to notice the stuff and to open the bags up etc so others could have a go, it's considered to be my fault. It was a lot of expensive stuff, so they're pissed off.

The joke's on them though, because I never go out without some sort of weapon (I had my "explainer" with me) and I never seem to find anything worthwhile from that side of that complex anyway. I'll just check the veggie dumpster and not be seen on that side of the complex at all. And I may not even check that veggie dumpster for a while. There's the dumpsters behind H Mart, and the ones at Sprouts too. And I may just buy more of my veggies after all; for instance I bought some broccoli today.

Beef'n'dandies

Up at 2. I'd gotten a good practice in last night, and had beef with the dandelion leaves I'd picked in the park last night. They were bitter, even after boiling first then sauteeing, but they're a very dark green vegetable and probably good health-wise.

I remember when I was more involved in ham radio, being up on the mountain overlooking Stanford University, some radio stuff with some guys, and one guy was a survivor of the Yugoslav war, and he had this antenna that was just a piece of pale blue wire, that he'd used over there to make all kinds of contacts, it was his "old faithful". And he pointed to a dandelion growing in the grass there and said, "If we found this plant, we felt we were so lucky".

I'd gotten more stuff together to make 20 items to list on Ebay, but kind of ran out of gas around 4AM so I put the things aside.

Regarding the practice, I'd been skipping a lot of days and yet, it seems once the "knack" I've learned is learned, it doesn't get forgotten. There is just no problem playing high C's even while just warming up.

Probably stopping blogging

I know, I should not read "Street Musician Daniel's" blog,  but it's like watching a train wreck, it's hard to tear your eyes away.

His latest post is SMD distilled to his essential essence. Calling everyone the N-word, expressing hatred for everyone who's not white and right-wing like him.

Why do I keep running across these types in the busking world? Ohhh yeah... the buskers I've encountered have been of two types, generally. White working-class and black working/middle-class. Leroy was some sort of "engineer" for San Jose State U. I think, and the guy with the guitar I don't know much about except that he served in the military for a while and seems to have his head screwed on right.

Red, the flute player is/was probably a crack head. Recorder Guy was more into begging and drugs than playing the recorder or his idiotic little drum. Rabbit Trumpet guy (these last three guys all white) has probably the shittiest attitude of all the buskers in San Jose.

Leroy is no Charlie Parker but he's out there trying his honest best, and he always dresses his best, and never says a bad word about anyone. Guitar Guy likewise really is out there trying his best to put his best music out there on the street. I also met another black guitar guy, playing by the Starbucks at San Pedro Square, who was really good. I watched his stuff while he found a bathroom and frankly I'm impressed that he trusted me with his very expensive guitar and amp. I also met another black guy playing tenor sax, who told me he was practicing for many hours a day and sounded like he was going to get very good, very soon.

It's a pretty simple dichotomy really, black or white, good person trying their best or shithead. It may have been much easier back in their days for Benny Goodman or Elvis to find white musicians to hang out with and learn from, but maybe all they ran into were shitheads too.

So Street Musician Daniel, because he's a goddamn shithead who thinks the world owes him a living, and already has a free apartment and enough food stamps to eat like a king, is feeling just slightly threatened and the inner white snowflake supremacist comes out.

A normal person would look at the resources they have: free apartment with free utilities, free phone, free medical care, free... free... free... then think, OK, what do they not have? Maybe a music studio which the shithead is too lazy to turn a room in his place into. Maybe some of the more "gourmet" foods, etc. The answer is probably to go out busking, set up lessons-for-donations in the park, something. But not your typical white shithead. Nope they're gonna get on their sheltered snowflake high horse and go on about Arabs and Blacks and everyone who's not just like themselves, disregarding that if you got rid of all the non-white people hardly any work would get done and there'd be cannibalism within weeks.

Anyway, from reading SMD's trainwreck blog (I mean, I used to read a blog on a site called FAEM years ago, so I guess I like reading weird stuff)  I've learned that Blogger is going to bring in their new format, which is just about unusable. So I need to think about changing over to Wordpress if I keep blogging at all.

When I change over to Wordpress, I should probably center the blog more on my development as a trumpet player, and also on a line of products I want to produce, namely, brass cleaning instruments that aren't shit. Whether you're playing a cheapo Jean-Paul or a several thousand dollar Monette, it seems there's one choice in cleaning materials like pull-throughs and snakes: The same cheapo stuff you got handed in 7th grade Band. There are some good pull-throughs out there, but they cost close to $30 shipped, and I don't like the design that well (plus you have to be an active member of Trumpet Herald to even know they exist). 

A whole goddamn month

I woke up at 2. I'd been so tired last night, I got some stuff together to list, and then just crashed at maybe 4 (I'd tried a 2nd cup of coffee) and woke up at 8:30, then went back to sleep until 2. No kava pills either; I'd forgotten I had them.

I had my coffee etc (I hadn't even made a cup last night to put in the fridge, and making a cup of coffee and icing it is no fun when I'm trying to wake up) and was out the door around 4. I went to Nijiya first and got a small bento and a Coke Zero.

I dropped off a bag of brown rice and a packet of ginseng tea at the 6th street blessing box, then went by the one on 5th and put in a packet of ginseng tea and picked up a copy of Wuthering Heights.

I rode over to the pepper tree to eat, and gave my fish bones to the ants, which really had them partying. I ended up taking some with me, and brushed off ants, many of them biting me, as I rode over to the Amazon Hub to pick up a book I'd ordered, something like "How To Cook A Wolf" about life during the Great Depression.

Next I went over to the bank and put my pay check in. Then I went over to Whole Foods and got some cream for coffee. Then, I went over to Target with a list of things I'd written out, and I even found most of them. I went out to my bike and ... my bag and pannier set was gone. A bum was sitting there and said he'd seen someone "lingering" around the bikes and had gone back out to keep an eye on his own bike.

The bag and pannier set I'd bought on June 9, had lasted me until July 9. Exactly one goddamn month. I told the bum how, when I'd first gotten that model of bag and pannier set, I'd stopped in at Workingman's Emporium for something, and some guy out front had said, "Oh yeah, those are ones you can slide right off the rack!" and I'd decided right away to drill a hole in the rack and put a nut and bolt in there so it wold be difficult for someone to slide it right off. But, over time, I'd gotten lazy and not put it back in when I changed a tire etc., and when I got the new bag set I didn't bother.

I listed the things the thief had gotten: The bags of course, 2/3 of a Coke Zero, some exam gloves and zip ties and a P51 can opener probably, some hand wipes, a flashlight, a set of bike lights... the book I'd just picked up from Amazon and the copy of Wuthering Heights.

My problem with homeless people is, of course there are good ones, but it's the 95% of 'em that are bad that ruin things for the rest. I said this to the bum and will say it to any homeless scumsucker to their face. He seemed like a good bum but for all I know is the lookout for the thieves - they'll use little radios or their phones to coordinate thefts. I also think the Arabs have the right idea regarding thieves. I suspect if we become actually WROL or Without Rule Of Law thief is going to become a very risky occupation and thieves are going to become very thin upon the ground (under it may be a different matter).

As I thought about what was lost and I'd have to replace, I realized one of the things was the cream I'd just bought at Whole Foods. So I went back over there and got more. On the way back, I cut through San Pedro Square and who were there but Rabbit Trumpet Guy. He had a new horn, a silver Jean-Baptiste (you can buy those new for not much over $100) and he said he'd had to get another as his had been stolen. "I've been getting so much stuff stolen, I'm considering getting a gun!" he said. I told him about Bullseye Bishop and then we talked about general things. He'd made about $20 the day before, and $12 or so today "But spent $2 on a Popsicle." He started packing up as we talked, and a lady came out and gave him a few dollars and thanked him for "The Addams Family" theme, and he and did did the theme again with our voices and I snapped my fingers.

He says he's "providing night time security" at a place where he gets to park the van he lives in for free. Thieves have broken into it and even stole his rabbit's leashes, though. He was filthy, and his various belongings filthy also. I told him a few tricks, like get a dark colored hose and let it sit in the sun, and put a spray nozzle on it, and you can have a hot shower whenever the sun's bright. Or, the old Windex trick - just scrub yourself with Windex, and you won't smell like it, it will just get you really clean.

I managed to get home with what I'd bought at Target and my heavy bike chain and lock, in the Target bag - at least they provide really sturdy bags.

If someone telle me to "go fish", now I can

Today was the day. I was up at 1:30, had a quick coffee vitamins and nuts, and was out the door a little after 11.

For some reason I could not find Bird Avenue from Park Avenue, and ended up at Meridian. The plan had been to ride from Park to Bird to Minnesota which is a lovely street, to Meridian. Instead I went through the big scary freeway interchange but it wasn't bad since there wasn't much traffic. I got to Bullseye Bishop a half-hour early and I had to use the bathroom. Joke's on me, no one in that strip mall had a bathroom I could use so I just held it.

I took my little handgun safety test and filled out other papers besides, got to look at the gun I'm buying, which is very nice, it's new, comes with two magazines and is in a nice box, and is made in Austria - I was not sure if Glock was cheaping out and making some of their guns in the US.

There was one hitch: The papers I had were not enough. They weren't the acceptable kind, and not owning a motor vehicle and thus having a motor vehicle registration, I was told the best thing to do is go get a fishing license. I paid out my $875 and left, then thought of something and went back in. "What if I brought in my DD-214?" "Nope, just get a fishing license", I was told. OK then.

The ride back was nice enough, and I worked out why I'd missed Bird Avenue. I needed to go down to San Carlos to find it for sure, and it's the street that runs along the front of the old OSH. So now I can find it.

I rode back and right to the SoFa food court downtown here because they've got a nice bathroom, which I used. Then I ordered a dragon roll from the sushi place and ate that at one of the tables out front.

I decided to wander down to the Big-5 that's by the Wal-Mart on Monterey, because at the gun shop they'd told me Wal-Mart sells fishing licenses. On the Google map, that Big-5 shows up as closed, but if they were, I could always try Wal-Mart.

But they were open. The fishing license involves a background check of some type, for which  I was charged a dollar, and the license itself was about $48 so it was just about $50. And I got a box of 9mm ammunition; they had cheapo PMC stuff and some fancy Norma (European brand) defense type stuff, which I got. All together it was about $83.

Having to get a fishing license to buy a gun is weird, but on the bright side, the gun comes with two magazines as was customary for a long time but I was under the impression they were only coming with one these days and I'd want to buy another for $40 or so And they made no attempt to sell me a $40-odd cheesy trigger lock. And who knows, maybe I'll find a way to get out to the coast and collect some sort of sea life before the year's out. 

I got back to the shop, relaxed with a couple of glasses of ice water, then packed up a big oscilloscope and took that up to FedEx and a few small packages to the post office, and on the way back got the shrimp appetizer from "Ono Hawaiian Barbecue" and ate and drank some cold water I'd brought with me over in Lumentum's parking lot. This time they put 8 shrimp in so it was quite a meal.

I did some reading around about this fancy-schmancy ammo I got and from the sound of it I made a fairly good pick. I'm going to get a few different kinds. Also, much to the dismay of my finances, I see that Umarex, the parent company of Walther, makes a BB pistol that's a replica of the Glock 19, and according to reviews, the same weight and action etc. I can see myself setting up a backstop here in the office and having fun BB'ing pill bottles and things like that. It's about $100 list but I think it's more like $80 from Big-5. It runs on CO2 and I'm pretty sure I know what kind of action it has, it's used in a lot of CO2 repeaters - it works like a double action revolver inside and I and a few others call it a "shootemupski". 

Dry Run

I was up around 1 or 2, I think closer to 2. I had my iced chicory coffee and nuts and vitamins, and started off for downtown around 3. The lunch truck was out front, and I had $2 on me so I stopped to give the lady the $1 I owed her from the other day. "Oh, I made as mistake, that thing you got was only $2" she said, I think to help me out. She'd not take my $1, but she did sell me a sausage and egg and cheese muffin thing for the $2 I had and that was good.

I had some packages with me, and took those to the downtown post office first. Then I rode down to Park Avenue, to  Meridian Avenue, to take that directly over to Bullseye Bishop to make sure I can find the place.

It went OK; there's a big freeway interchange that goes down in a little valley or depression, that makes things interesting. Other than that Meridian is a straight street and Bullseye's well marked. I stopped by, looked in the window where a kid was neatening up displays or something, and went back to my bike and rode away.

Coming back was different. I rode to a rather nice street called Minnesota, and took that along to Bird. Partway along Bird I saw a Walgreen's, and stopped in and got this new "King C. Gillette" safety razor I'd been hearing about online. It and a bottle of water were $34.

It was a really nice day to be out riding, if a bit sunny. I realized I'd forgotten to deposit my pay check, so I made my way to the bank and did that. Then I stopped by Nijiya in Japantown for a bento, some eggs, and a little salmon that turned out to be smoked salmon.

I then rode straight back here and put things away.

Kava Pills

The kava pills I got don't look bad, they're full of what looks like kava powder or something and an oil. But ... while my sleep was not as crappy as the night before, it was not great. This will resolve eventually anyway, I just thought some kava would ease things.

I did manage, last night, to do a practice, cook up a nice broccoli beef, wash my hair and do a trim and shave, and list 12 eBay items I'd been trying to list since Friday night. First my computer didn't "see" the files on the SD card, then it was Saturday, my day off, then last night the internet kept going out. But eventually I got it done.

So I was up a bit after 2 today. Had my iced chicory coffee and nuts and vitamins, and packed some things to take to the post office. I didn't even take the bike trailer because I had it in my mind that today might be a day off for the post office. I got as far as the front of the complex where, amazingly, the lunch truck lady was still there. I got one of those half eggs and sausage burrito things for $3 but only had two $1's and a ten and a twenty, so I owe her $1.

It was not at day off for the post office, and I was able to drop off my packages, although the chute was jammed so I had to leave them on the counter. I bet the workers there hate that chute.

I got a few things at H Mart, using up the $30 I had on me, but it was all worthy things like toilet paper and some diet non-caffeinated lemon-lime soda for Ken. Other than picking up a couple of onions from one of the dumpsters, I didn't work my usual route for packing supplies and veggies, and got back here and put things away.

I got a call from "Bullseye Bishop" and they gave me an appointment to go there on Wednesday at 12:30. I said I'd chosen the pistol I did because it was the only one under $1000 (I didn't mention their sucko Browning Buckmark that was $600...) and the guy said they'd just gotten a couple of Glocks in including a Glock 19 at $700, and said if I wanted, he could cancel my present order and I could get the Glock instead, and I'd keep my same appointment time. I said Sure, and after the phone call was done, got right onto the web site and ordered the Glock. This is going to use up my cash-stash, and I don't know if the thing comes with 1 mag or two, hell I'm even trusting that it's a new one and not some tired old rental range gun. I guess they'll let me look it over before I fork over the cash.

So, my idea to make a "dry run" down to the place tomorrow to make sure I can find it. It's South of 280 somewhere along Meridian Avenue, and I'll have to cross a big freeway interchange. It's easy to eat up hours of time trying to find a place, so a dry run is a very good idea. And I want to try again to deposit my pay check downtown too. And I'll deposit another check, hopefully, on Thursday. Imagine that! At least $650 in one week; it's fun to pretend I'm making as much as I did, in absolute dollars, as I did 30 years ago.

The reasoning is this: If things go OK, the Glock will only increase in value over the years, but if things go all to shit it's going to be more useful than a stack of $100's.

0 nothing

Up just before 3. I slept really badly, so as bad as that kava was, maybe it really did help me sleep. I'm just not used to feeling like crap after taking kava. But at least the sleep was good before waking up feeling like crap. I didn't practice last night either.

On the principle that some kava is better than no kava at all, I looked for kava at Whole Foods online and they sell some tincture and some pills. So after my coffee etc., I rode over to WF and paid about $32 for the pills and took 5 of 'em right away. Then I walked down to the drug store to look at their shaving stuff and they've got zip-nada for safety razor stuff.

There's a Gillette that apparently only is sold through Walgreen's, that's Gillette in name, but the head is a German one that costs more than the whole razor, the handle I think is made in Russia? And is supposed to be a pretty good razor and it's a Gillette so I've wanted one. While I was looking around online, though, I noticed Feather sells one that's butterfly open and seems to be adjustable too. Feather, a Japanese company, makes what are generally agreed are the best blades, and a Feather safety razor has to be good so I ordered one for just a hair (lol) less than $18. 

DE (for double edge) or safety-razor or "wet" shaving is sort of a hobby these days, like the guys who grow luxurious beards and put all kinds of "beard balms" on them. It's a fairly harmless hobby, and sooner or later I'll use up the blades I have and having 3 different razors isn't so bad.

They also had rubbing alcohol but it's priced as high as it is at TAK Market, $4 a pint. The beauty supply has them beat by a little and I'm getting close to running out of the awful ethanol-methanol mix I've been using since the shutdown. Their 70% stuff is $30 a gallon, and 99% is $50 a gallon. I should really just grab a $100 bill and run over there and get both.

I think the kava kicked in when I was looking around in the hardware store, where I bought a piece of brass tubing, that I can sharpen one end to make a hole cutter to put a few ventilation holes in my Crocs to make them breathe a little better. Regular Crocs have tons of holes, and "Bistro" Crocs have none, and I want to put a few in the sides on mine to make them breathe a little better.  So I felt calm and steady as I paid for my little piece of brass tube.

The test of these kava pills will be how I sleep tonight. I had no idea my sleep was going to be so shitty last night and in fact I expected to sleep well.

I went over to La Victoria's and got a super taco, and as usual got lost trying to find Discovery Park. Maybe it's well named because you have to be a bit of a discoverer to find it. The secret is to go to Original Joe's then just go from there, then it's easy.

I had my taco and some water, and then did some plant picking. I picked dandelion leaves and the young flower buds of plaintains. I kind of picked along the trail, and when I came upon a shirtless guy rinsing out his clothes in a fountain decided not to double back and pass him again, but went down the trail and to the street there and back downtown.

I went to the "SoFa" food court which was open and ordered a couple of shrimp egg rolls from there and some water, and those turned out to be a shrimp wrapped in a wrapper with a few strands of long rice and that's it. Pretty good though. Great after-drinking food no doubt when you don't want something filling, but you need something greasy.

I rode up 1st and Leroy was there, playing his sax in front of Johnny Rockets. I came up and said Hi and he said, "Let me play this next song and then we can talk" and he played an interesting variation on La Vie En Rose. Interesting because his rhythm was off, and also because in this version that he was reading off of sheet music as he always does, has a different part in it that I've not heard in the recordings of it I've heard.

"That's an interesting version of 'La Vie En Rose'" I said. "Ohh, yeah, there are a lot of different version!" he said. We talked about music stores and places to find used horns, and I told him I'd been out playing a couple of weeks ago, and said it was inspiring to see him out here. I said now there are only three buskers downtown; him, the guy with the guitar, and me, and we have to keep it up.

I rode up 1st further to see is this one place is open, that's run by a guy who used to be in electronics then wised up and started a restaurant instead, and has sort of Hong Kong, or is it Taiwanese, street food. Shrimp on a stick, lamb on a stick, etc. But it was closed.

I stayed on 1st and visited the blessing box behind Bad Boyz Bail Bonds and it had no books I was interested in, but I left some brown rice and ginseng tea.

Then I went up to what is now Bel Air Pho and got the egg rolls and came back here and ate them - they're full of meat and made quite a good meal. 

0 ml

Up a bit after 3. My computer had decided it didn't see the files of the photos I'd just taken of 12 Ebay things, and by the time I got things working it was close to 6AM so I stacked the things by the door where they'd be out of the way and set up for bed, but not before doing a load of laundry.

I made a serving of the kava I'd bought, and was immediately skeptical. No mouth-numbing, and it tasted too sweet. I didn't really feel an affect, and went to bed. I just felt kind of crappy and woke up with a headache. No dreams other than one where I was doing some sick drumming with eating utensils.

I'm so ticked off at the low quality of this kava that I've just applied to return it. I had to print up a QR code since I don't have a smart phone, and I'll take it over to the Amazon Hub and get credited my $21 or so back.

Maybe you can only get good kava from a place like Melo Melo in Santa Cruz, but I don't know if they're open these days, it's a huge hassle to get over there, and as nice as good kava is, once I was fairly detoxed from alcohol the last time, I didn't desire kava enough to go through the bother of preparing it. In other words, it's not a good drug, commercially speaking. One doesn't go from an alcohol habit to a kava habit.

Next time I'm in Santa Cruz (will take my trumpet with me and play a bit, tips or not) at least I can go to Melo Melo and have kava there.

So I got going after coffee etc., at almost 4, stopped in J-town to drop off trash and put two bags of brown rice and two packets of ginseng tea in the 6th street blessing box, then skipped over to 5th and did the same there. No books I was interested in this time. Actually I think I'm the only one putting things in the 6th street one right now. The 4th street one is gone.

Next I went to the Amazon hub and returned the kava. Interestingly, they didn't want me to package it up, but to show them a QR code on my smart phone which I don't have so I'd printed it out. The guy took the kava and the scanned the QR code and that was that. Easy!

Next stop was Lee's where I got my usual chicken on rice and a bottle of water, and went and ate under the pepper tree. I was sure to spill some fish sauce and rice for the ants.

After this I went over to my bank and .... the ATM could not take any more checks; the little hopper or whatever it is must be full. No problem; I can come back on Tuesday when my schedule allows me to go downtown and they'll have had a chance to empty it.

So, I went over to Whole Foods and got a few things and $100 back so that's my spending money for the week.

I thought about what other sorts of trouble I could get into, and decided it's a perfect time to go to Target. Even if some bum goes through my bike bag all he's gonna find is toothpaste and floss and 3 avocados. So I went over there and wow, the 4th of July is a perfect time to go to Target. There were very few people and it was really nice. I wanted to check out their shaving stuff and they had one expensive type of shaving brush and no safety razors at all. I kind of want to get the new Gillette that's come out. But I got other things from Ziploc bags to tape to some "ecological" hand wipes (seems the "ecological" kind is the only kind of many things available any more) and even some underwear and it all came to a bit under $40.

Everything fit into the bike bags and I decided to wander around downtown some more so I rode back through Little Italy (all one street of it, eh) and rode up 4th because often a lot of neat stuff gets tossed out by the college students there but I didn't find anything. I wandered back down to San Pedro Square and decided I'd see if O'Flaherty's had any alcohol-free beer. They don't, but the guy got me a diet Pepsi which they did have, and refused to take any money for it. I hung out with the Japanese guy out front and we just shot the shit about a number of things. It was very congenial.

Next I rode on Santa Clara over to the capitol where the demonstration had built up somewhat large, and hung near the back and watched and listened. I might take my trumpet there tomorrow.

I wandered back along 6th street, looking for free stuff. One place had a play stove, and a rather nice oven mitt that looks barely used. So I took that - it means I'll only need one folded-up paper towel to handle the big pot of boiling water when I do laundry. Another place had a bunch of Avon bottles - meh - and some nice dishes. I took a large soup bowl and a matching bowl and cup.

Eventually I got back here and put things away. But interestingly, there was a rock a bit smaller than my fist sitting at the doorstep here. I asked the Mr. Softee guy, thinking maybe he'd left me a note and the note had blown away. But he hadn't left one or seen anything. I took off with the bike trailer and picked up a box of junk I'd left out for the bums, well, the bums had gone through it and left most of it and I didn't want to leave a mess, so I dumped it in a dumpster across the street, then went over where I'd frankly left a big mess of clothing and purses etc., thinking whatever people haven't taken, I'll bag back up in the bags and leave it pretty much how I'd found it. But people had picked over everything and there was hardly anything left. Just a pair of shoes I'd almost taken yesterday, and I decided to take now. And a set of earrings that likewise, I'd almost taken. I put all the scraps etc into a large box that was there and left the area neat.

I got back here and looked around a bit more for any note. The wind is strong enough here that I've given up having a heavy rubber door mat in front, the wind just blows it away. So, I'm thinking, someone left a note but the note is long gone. Or one of the crazies around here just left a rock.

At least in talking with the Mr. Softee guy I'd confirmed what I suspected: that he's put some sort of lock on his faucet so Crazy Chrissie isn't there at all hours, washing her car, filling up 5-gallon jugs, etc. It also means she's not hanging out in front of here, too. 

25ml

I went to sleep on my last 25ml of alcohol last night. I was wiped out, the way this fucking site wiped out the long post I'd written a few hours ago and consigned it to the bit bucket. Ken had come over, dropped off a lot of stuff including a big laser thing I'm supposed to take apart, and I managed to cook broccoli beef for dinner, do a practice, and get a lot of things "half packed" by which I mean, hunting them down in the warehouse and then setting them up with what box etc they'll need and printing the labels. I stack those by the door to take care of the next day (today)

I was up at 2, had my coffee etc., and was out the door with packages packed at around 5. Did my drop-offs, picked up fruit and veg on the way back (skipped packing materials because of all the stuff Ken brought last night) and got back here, put things away, and had a couple of hard-boiled eggs. I headed out at 7 to go to H Mart for a just a few things: Yakult, broccoli to last the next few days, and this kind of Korean cold noodles I'd seen on YouTube and wanted to try.

On the way back, I stopped where I'd seen some clothing etc being thrown out by "Grill-'Em" and basically emptied all the bags out so others will see the "free sale" because there's a lot of really good stuff there. Mostly girlie stuff, but I picked up a North Face "Joker" or "Riddler" or some fucking name backpack, a nice puffy jacket, couple of hats, and some other cool shit. It might have pushed $100 even at Goodwill although in all fairness it was a pretty classy Goodwill I used to go to. I saved out a neato bag and a wallet sort of thing for Suzy, Ken's wife.

I fucking hate this site and I understand they've decided it's not fucking user-hostile enough so they're going to put in place some new fucking interface that may make it unusable.

I would be better off printing my thoughts on parchment paper and binding them by hand, because all of this will ultimately end up in the bit bucket anyway whereas 100 years from now a hand-bound set of books however trivial their subject, will be valued.

I tried the cold Korean noodles and they were OK, except the kind I'd gotten have thin noodles and I overcooked them so they were a mushy mess. Fortunately each package has two (large) servings so I get to try again before spending any more money. And I can always try the other kind with the thicker noodles. Noodles are not really on my diet but I have a real weakness for soba.

Dinner was a salad of scrounged lettuce with a scrounged tomato, my recipe dressing, and some sauteed beef. It came out really good.

Before I knew it, it was past midnight though and Crazy Crissie is up at the end front of the complex doing crackhead things. She's got friends, a Black couple, he sturdy, she really stout. They've got a shitty car too. Since Chrissie's got lawn chairs and no doubt enough crack pipes to go around, it's an all-night party. But, a funny thing; last night she drove up here to get water and all I heard was a little bump sound then she left. So I think the Mr. Softee guy's blocked the faucet off somehow. So she's staying quite a distance off but I know how sound travels when it's dead quiet so no 2AM practice here. 

50ml

I was up at 2, after waking up at 10, using the bathroom, and using meditation techniques to go back to sleep. The thing is, I didn't have a straining cloth for the kava, and felt too lazy to prepare it, and pouring out 50ml of alcohol was easy.

Last night I managed to list 20 things on Ebay, and that was after getting a practice done and cooking up a dish of broccoli beef. Broccoli really helps me, so maybe I should look into other members of that family like kale. I do see kale in the dumpsters fairly often.

When I got up I had my coffee etc. and took off at about 3. First stop was to drop off trash in a J-town trash can, then I went into Nijiya thinking I'd get a bento and some cash back, but the bentos were wiped out. I went out without buying anything.

Then I put two, 1-lb bags of rice and two packets of ginseng tea in the 6th street blessing box, and then headed over to Workingman's Emporium. They're closed for the week. I wanted to buy a bandana, because I didn't have a cloth to strain/squeeze kava with, and I didn't have a shirt I wanted to sacrifice. Well, I thought, I'll go to Ace, they'll have them,

I rode over to the 5th street blessing box, put in two bags of rice and two packets of ginseng tea, and took out two Robert Conrad books, "Lord Jim" and one with three shorter stories.

Then I went over to Lee's and got my usual, a chicken on rice plate lunch, bottle of water, and one of their masks. I went over and ate under the pepper tree, and noticed a new kind of ants there. They're black at the ends and red in the middle. And really like fish sauce. Then I went to the Amazon hub to pick up some boric acid I'd ordered, to keep bugs out of stored rice as well as tons of other uses.

I went over to Ace and ... they don't have bandanas. I noticed they had American flags by the counter that looked like the cloth is about the right weave, and they were only $3 so I got one of those, and looked at their fans. The fan I try to spend most of my time in front of at the shop seemed to be dying. I didn't have much hope of finding one, but they had several types. There was a real fan shortage a few years ago and I'd felt lucky to get the one I had for about $40 during that time. They had a nice little fan for $20 that's just slightly smaller than one one I have, which I use at its lowest setting.

I rode away with the fan in a large cloth bag I use for big things, hanging from the handlebars, and the flag sticking up out of one of the panniers, like I'm flying the flag proudly. Really it's about the easiest way to carry a flag.

I tootled towards home and stopped at Nijiya. "You're back," the guy said. "Like a bad penny," I joked. I got two kinds of sashimi and some mackeral to put in the freezer, and a Coke Zero.

Then I just rode home, flag flying. I put things away and had a nice sashimi snack and drank the Coke Zero. Then I got to work on my fan problems. The fan I have has this plastic shroud around it and it makes it impossible to get in there to clean it (it was filthy inside) or access its parts to clean them, repair, etc.

First I got out my nippers and cut the front of the shroud away so it's open at the front. Now I could get to the insides. I heated up some water and used Windex, a paint brush, and hot water to wash it thoroughly. Then I set it in front of the new fan to dry out, helped with some contact cleaner around the motor and switch. And I found out where the bearing actually is, and put some Break-Free in there.

When it was dried out enough to try, it worked but still "complained" so something else was going on. I noticed a lot of play in and out and noticed the nut holding the fan blades on wasn't really tight. So I found a lock spring to fit underneath it, and tightened it down "some". The fan seems to be running OK now. That was my idea; to at least learn something fixing this one, and have the new one in reserve, packed away in its box and stored away up in the loft.

I'm feeling fine

I went to bed I'm not sure when, but after I'd found all but one of the Ebay things to ship, and gotten them paired up with what box, padded envelope, etc. they needed and printed the labels, I just didn't want to do any more, so I stacked them up out of the way and went to bed, after drinking 50ml of alcohol.

Before that I'd done a practice, the Irons exercises anyway, and cooked up a nice broccoli beef and eaten that.

The practice was pretty late, but for some reason Crazy Chrissie isn't getting water from the place right  next door 3X a night and hanging out in front of here messing around with her crackheadmobile. She's set up shop up near the front of the complex and has her two crappy cars there, lawn chairs, other shit, and can be seen staggering around looking like the hag she is. Maybe she's found another faucet to get water from up there, or maybe she's finally burned her bridges with the Mr. Softee people. If she even showed the slightest threat to the guy's wife and child/children, that would do it.

She may have also noticed I don't go around here without some weapon in my hand, either the long stick with a deck screw sticking out of the end of it, or my "explainer"- the 22" bolt with a handle made of bike tube, a wrist strap, and all of it wrapped in yellow tape. I ride with that in my hand, with the strap on my wrist, ready to go.

So she's up near the front, and has some caveman-looking bum helping her mess with her cars. I'm glad she's away from here. For one thing, it means I don't have to worry about what time I practice so much.

So, up at 2, had coffee and nuts etc., then packed the packages and was out the door at a few minutes before 5. The post office and FedEx dropoffs went fine, and behind H Mart there was tons of Napa cabbage, great if I want to make my own kim chee. But I don't right now. 

I had a hankering to get some small snack, and stopped at a place in the same complex with a gym and 5 Guys and a bunch of stuff, called VN Cafe. I parked my bike and trailer in front and ordered the spring rolls, and watched the bike like a hawk. If anyone started messing with it, I'd go out and beat their ass. No one did, though. There was bum with some bags and stuff sitting against the front of the Subway, planted there like a (begging) mushroom. What a place to hope for a free meal, though. A while back it was revealed that at Subway, all the meats are made of turkey, except for the turkey, which is made of old  yoga mats.

I ate the spring rolls over at my nice shady spot in Lumentum's parking lot, and they were pretty good.

I picked up plenty of packing supplies along my route, and got in here and am staying in. Since I'm not drinking any more, and "gathering" a lot of my vegetables, I don't need to go to the market so often.