68th day sober. I got 10 things listed on Ebay last night and got a practice session in, and am all ready to start my new schedule of busking Thursday-Friday-Saturday.
It was a cool 78 degrees in here when I woke up at 2:30, and I can hardly wait until it's around 90 in here and that's cooler than outside when it's over 100.
People will say Hawaii's warm and humid also, but every time I've stepped off the plane back home I've felt instantly at home in terms of the temperature and quality of the air. Maybe it is a constant 75-85 day and night but here on the mainland, you have to adapt to temperatures in the 40s up to the 90s year in and year out, while back home at least you get used to (as in grow up with) a fairly narrow temperature range and that's it.
I left here at about 4 with my first stop being the post office downtown where I dropped off two packages, then went over to the bank and did my deposit. Next I wanted to get something to eat and sent to Da Kao and got some curry and rice and ate over at the college - it was a big meal for $6.75.
It was a big enough meal, in fact, that I wanted to give myself some time to digest it. I went over to the Amazon place and picked up a small order I had and got exactly one bubble mailer - the one the order came in.
I then rode over to the used book store to see if I could find a copy of Pnin by Vladimir Nabokov which was recommended to me by Morris Berman. They didn't have it, but I got "The Portable Nabokov" for $3 (leaving me about $21 in store credit) and rode over to Cahill Park. I checked out the book and it's got Pnin in it, in full. I sat in the shade and read a bit of that and one of the short stories.
Eventually it cooled down a bit and I got out the trumpet and sheet music and worked on playing Beautiful Dreamer correctly. Once I thought I had a handle on it I rode over to Whole Foods and locked up the bike.
I felt like I really should drink something because being really dehydrated seems to hurt my tone, so I picked up a bottle of cold black coffee (all of this paid for with cash I had on hand) and went upstairs and sat at a table - after asking the guy - that had just one guy sitting at the other end of it.
"Is that a violin case?" he asked, and I said that it was a trumpet and we were off to a good long time of talking. About halfway through I went to the bar for an ice water and thought to ask if they have any non-alcoholic beer and they did, for $3 a bottle. So I got a bottle of that and it was really good, being icy cold and fizzy and it went well with the black coffee.
When we were all talked out and had finished our drinks, it was just about 8 and the sun had gone down enough that it would not be in my eyes.
I got to work playing at about 5 after 8, and played until 15 after 9, although in those last 15 minutes I didn't get a single tip. Maybe the 7-8 hour is better but I'm going to need some way to keep the sun out of my eyes. My earnings were $48.55. Not bad.
I couldn't think of anything more I needed to buy from Whole Foods so I took off, and rode through San Pedro Square to see what was up. Leroy was there, just packing up. He was surprised to hear what time it was since he usually is done by 9. We talked a bit then both decided it was time to go.
I noticed a certain beggar there, a guy who'd hassled me no end a couple of years ago when I played trumpet there. I finally called the cops because the guy kept getting in my face, and once I did he packed up and took off in record time, his dog having to run after him with her leash dragging. Now he has the same bike it seems, and a puppy. Leroy seems to have taken over at the Old Spaghetti Factory from the now-disappeared Trumpetman, and the beggar probably knows what time to show up, after Leroy's normally gone, to beg his drink/drug money from the crowd.
I rode home without stopping anywhere and buying anything, so that's how I got through this payday with spending only $3.25 for the near-beer (my last cash dollar was the tip) and now have $48 in my wallet.
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