I was up at about 2, didn't dare put anything in my stomach but a little diet 7-Up left over from last night, and was on the bike and out of here at about 4, after having cleaned up, washed hair, shaved, etc.
It's a good thing I did too, to prepare myself for a simply awful day. As I rode toward Japantown all I could think of was how hungry I was, then realized that's a good sign. I went to Nijiya and got a couple fried fish and a can of coffee and sat and ate at a nearby bench, then went back in and got a few other things and $40 cash back. That turned out to be a good move.
I rode over to my bank where there was a bum hanging out by the ATM talking to himself, and I tried to deposit my check and keep an eye on the bum also. The ATM was not working, and I took off, realizing once I was around the block that I may have left my card in the ATM. I rode back around at bike-messenger speed and it was not in the ATM either but the bum was still hanging around. I asked the bum if he'd seen a card, "I'll buy it off you" and would have handed him my $40 for it but he said he'd seen nothing and walked off.
I rode to Whole Foods and parked my bike there and called Ken on the phone, telling him I'm walking up to the drug store to buy a receipt book and he'll just have to pay me cash and I'll write receipts which will keep his accountant happy. The receipt book cost me almost $10 but it's a couple years' worth.
I went into the Ace Hardware and got a little box of 100 green ramset blanks; their last one. "We usually have yellows, too" the guy said, and I said I was actually hoping to find browns or greys, since they're the weakest. But I volunteered my theory that the .22 blanks are pretty old-school by now and being phased out. At least I now have enough to match the pellets I have, to the tune of almost $10.
Back at Whole Foods, I picked up a bag of walnuts and a canned latte. Outside I poured the latte into what was left of my canned black coffee and put that in the bike bag after taking a swig or two and bantering with the kids manning the charity scam being run out front.
On my way out of there, under the bridge, I noticed that my rear tire was rapidly going flat and hopped off the bike and walked it up to the corner, and pumped the tire up. I couldn't find any new leak, and it seemed to be holding fairly well. I love my little Lezyne bike pump!
I went to the Amazon hub, locking my bike out front, and picked up my jar of bay leaves I ordered to preserve my jugs of rice. Then I walked caddy-corner to the 7-11 for more Diet 7-Up, and coming back to my bike, there were some yuppie kids taking pictures of each other and of my bike for some fucking reason. I kicked over a fruity orange drink one of the snowflakes had left right next to my bike, and said, "What a sticky mess!" to which one of the female snowflakes said in an accusatory tone, "What did you just say?" and I repeated: "What a sticky mess!" then added for their education, "No wonder diabetes is becoming so common!"
I managed to get my bike out of there mess-free, and rode over to Smile Market. I went in and searched the shelves before remembering that rubbing alcohol has to be requested, after which the lady rummages around a bit and produced two bottles, for which I handed over $8 cash and that's it, straight $8 cash.
The dumpster on 10th had tons of basil and something I think is called "kaffir lime" leaves or some other edible leaf, so it's greens with my beef tonight.
At least my stomach was fine and I was able to put in the required miles I need to put in almost every day.
Compared to the Chinese liquor I'd been drinking in the past, the Stolichnaya vodka I drank last night felt like water, and I didn't have much of a headache or anything today. No cravings or shakiness either. So I can get a snootful occasionally without dropping into dependence. That Friday night shot of Manischewitz wine or a real rollicking drunk on Purim won't hurt me then. Even the 4 cups of wine at a Shabbat dinner won't necessarily have to be tiny ones. I have no desire to drink, really, and only cracked the bottle of vodka because my stomach hurt so much.
Now I have to figure out my bank situation. Maybe having Ken pay me in cash is a bit much, and I simply need to start an account at a different bank that's easier to deal with. There's the Tech CU up the street, another credit union downtown, plus another bank or two. Even Wells Fargo could work for me, for however awful they are, my banking is about as simple as banking gets. I could also stick with what I've got, and just deposit my checks every 2 weeks instead of every week, making an appointment and going in the lobby. I'll just have to see.
I went through my 6 gallon jugs of rice, sifting out the boric acid and putting it back into the jugs, and putting 8-10 bay leaves on top. I tried making labels using my computer and of course that was a big waste of time and paper so I made them using a marking pen and taped them on "RICE JULY 2020". One thing the boric acid had done, besides sink right to the bottoms of the jugs, was to dry the rice out so static electricity made grains of rice get scattered around but my little brush and dustpan came in handy when I was done. In fact, that little brush and dust pan set work so well that they should be a good stand-in for the vacuum cleaner when the electricity goes out.
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