Victory Gin

 339th day sober. Since I was up until 7AM (oops, I should not do that) I woke up a lot later than I intended. I'd taken that stupid big test instrument apart and listed 10 of the "best" parts, then done some practice, an hour or so. I also tried out the first version of my push-through swab and it works.

I'm really bugged about the spit valve cork situation around here. That one time I was at Park Avenue Music and the tech was there, I was able to obtain genuine Yamaha corks that came in neat little bags and I'd used them up replacing the corks on my Yamaha trumpet and cornet that I'd just sold. They were a joy to use, as they just clicked right in and fit perfectly. 

Unfortunately I can't seem to find any online that I'm sure are the right thing. I put a couple of of the black neoprene ones they sold me at Park on the Bergeron trumpet and they work OK but I had to kind of jam them in since they're a tiny bit big - probably 10mm as opposed to 9.5mm which I believe the actual Yamaha ones are. 

I've ended up ordering some corks off of Amazon which are at least pretty cheap so I can replace them pretty often. 

Since I'd gone to bed at 7AM, I woke up around noon then wanted to rest just a little more and next thing I knew I was waking up at 2:30. I had coffee and aspirin for breakfast and shaved and got out of here a bit after 3. 

I dropped off cookies and pastries at the little free libraries, and got a little vintage French lesson book and a book by Buzz Aldrin the astronaut, which at least has photos and a clear cover over the dust jacket. "Lessons From Being An Astronaut" or something. 

The books turned out to be handy to weigh down my tip box when I got to Whole Foods. I had the place all to myself, and started playing at 4:30. The tips were a lot lower than I thought they might be, but it went OK. Like the last time, I played the first hour on the Bach 3C mouthpiece and the second hour on the Schilke 14A4A. I'm actually thinking I might get two Yamaha pieces, the Bobby Shew Jazz and Lead. I've played the Jazz and it's like a 3C with just a bit more "edge". 

There's one employee at Whole Foods, a black guy with "big" hair who's told me he likes hearing my playing, that it reminds him of being in NYC. Today I got to ask him if he's from there or been there, and he's not but he "likes the music there". 

All in all the 2 hours went by pretty smoothly, and pretty soon it was time to quit; I played the Goodnight" song and packed up. I'd made $29. 

Whole Foods was jammed with hockey fans so I didn't want to eat there. I bought $50 worth of groceries including a bottle of coffee and packed up and left. The next stop was the Amazon place where I picked up my Tune-A-Day/Tuna Day Book 1, and some bubble mailers. 

Then I took a little ride around to see what's going on downtown and I didn't feel like rushing back to the shop. I parked my bike by the tables in front of Caffe Frascati (it has a different name now) and sat and people-watched while I drank my coffee. It was nice to just relax. 

Cafe Stritch is no more, and as I rode for home I passed by where "Skewers and Brew" used to be and it also appears to be gone. I guess everyone just stays in now. The only places with crowds were those where alcohol flows like water and the central theme is to get blitzed and forget about the economy, the war, one's job or lack thereof, etc. Just wash it all away with Victory Gin. 

I rode home and put things away, and my dinner was salami and cucumber slices. I hadn't eaten all day and had become somewhat hungry. I'd gotten home at almost 9, which due to the "wartime 3-hour shift" is the equivalent of getting home at midnight. 

At about 11PM I got a call from a lady who wants to buy the clarinet. I'd actually forgotten to renew the ad on Craig's List. She'd texted me first and I'd managed to text back, "Call me" and she did right away. So she's supposed to show up at 10:30 or 11 in the morning tomorrow. 

I looked in my "Music" banker's box upstairs and it turns out I still had some cheapo corks I'd ordered a while back, so I took the neoprene corks off of the trumpet and put a couple of these on. I only had to sand them down a little to get a nice "click in" fit and after installing them, I put some camellia oil on them because they're short-lived compared to the good Yamaha ones. I'm thinking the Yamaha ones are saturated with something to make them last longer. In any case, these are cheap and I have plenty of them so I can just replace as needed. And I have more coming via Amazon...

I also ordered a Blessing 5C mouthpiece with the idea that if I play on a 3C, a 5C might be a good compliment. I used to practice on a 3C and busk on a 7C. But I could busk the first hour on the old faithful 3C and then when I get tired, switch to a 5C and I don't think I'd lose as much tone as I do when I switch to the 14A4A from a 3C.