Let's hope Putin becomes Put-Out.

 303rd day sober. I listed 20 things on Ebay last night after getting back from hanging out with Tom, made myself a beef curry first. 

The last couple of morning including this morning, the headache has only been barely detectable. I've decided to go back to "keto" eating, which means a maximum of 50g of carbs a day. I need to lose weight, simply to look better, breathe better for flute playing, and be healthier. 

But there's also the chance I'm pre-diabetic. With no access to testing it's hard to tell, but the headaches may be related to that. 

I just practiced on the shakuhachi last night, about an hour. Being able to play longer seems to come down to being able to play with a very small aperture in the lips. I tried intentionally playing with a small aperture and was not able to make it work. But I *am* gaining in endurance, really, as a pretty fast rate. As for the silver flute, I watched a video on how to assemble one - easier than a clarinet which has one more part, has corks that have to be greased just right, and has one part you have to line up just so - and am waiting until I've got  the Trevor Wye beginner book in before I get it out to play it. 

I packed up 6 or 7 things, large ones to go to FedEx plus I put the Sony speaker radio bluetooth thing and its power supply in a bag and got out of here. My first stop was Tom's place and he and his homeless buddy were both there. I handed him the Sony thing and he was surprised at first. I'd told him I was going to give it to him, that I'd found it and it works, but had decided I really didn't need another radio, having four if I count them all. So I'd give it to, not sell it to, him. 

I guess he'd forgotten? I'm beginning to wonder if Tom's the kind of guy who can be shitfaced and not show it. There's a stage in alcoholism where you only look "off" if you're not drinking. If your blood alcohol level goes too low you end up twitchy and sweating and all that, even shaky. You have to drink to get back to normal. I remember at the old shop when I was drinking heavily, Ken being over and my keeping myself "normal" by taking sneaky nips whenever he wasn't looking. Maybe Tom keeps a bottle out there in the porta-john, since he always visits it once or twice when I'm over. 

So anyway I gave him his Sony bluetooth speaker thingie, and went up to FedEx and dropped the packages off, then got two thighs from Krispy Chicken and ate those at a table around the corner. The tables are really for the fish place, but no one uses them at night and especially not all the way down closest to the road and the trash cans. Fortunately Krispy's batter is really thin on their chicken, not like KFC where you're really eating a big fried piece of batter with some chicken inside. And I was able to flake off most of it to avoid eating it anyway. So it's not too bad, keto-wise.  

On the way back I found some packing stuff, and someone on the other side of the complex had put out some big moving boxes, most of which were full of bubble wrap. So I made a couple trips to get the ones I wanted. 

Of course there's tons more war talk on the radio. The thing is, if Putin wants Ukraine to become part of Russia again, why is he bombing civilians? Why is he doing all this really shitty stuff? Even if he wins, it's going to be like Ireland or Chechnya, where there will be rebellion simmering just below the surface. Does he think he can just take over, and keep the population beaten down and intimidated? I suppose the other countries like Poland and Hungary etc. letting refugees in helps, because those most likely to keep rebelling are leaving. 

Two flute books have come in and are ready for me to pick up from the Amazon place: The Trevor Wye beginner book pt. 1, and the Sands book that's based on popular music. Wye has "called out" the popular music approach, saying it doesn't drill students enough on note reading because they just end up playing from memory. But the Sands series looks like fun, and you gotta have some fun. 

There's rain coming in so I'll have to time when I go to the bank and go pick up these books which means maybe not picking them up until Friday or Saturday.