Quid's in

 By bed time last night, the laundry I'd hung up was dry and I'd not even had a fan blowing on it. That's how ideal a drying space the loft can be. 

I took a thing apart which gave me lots of neat parts to list but they'll all, circuit boards included, need to be washed with Windex then sprayed down with alcohol and allowed to dry. So I didn't list anything last night. 

I did my becoming-usual practice on the shinobue last night, trying to be aware of the little stream of air coming out of my mouth and what I'm doing with it. I'm trying to solve an essential problem early on, that of a good embouchure that will give a "mature" sound. I'm convinced that's what made the difference on trumpet and got me from making about $15 an hour to $30 or better; that I'd spent time practicing shakuhachi and practicing trumpet regularly, giving me a more resonant, mature, sound. People mostly don't give a shit what you're playing, it's *how* you're playing it. 

I was up in time to do a head to toe scrub down, and while I'd been using Windex in the past because if I splash it around it just evaporates, I don't think it was really doing the trick so I used Simple Green. That got me really clean. And I had clean clothes all ready to change into so I felt great as I headed out at my usual payday time. 

First thing, I took the canned goods and other foods I had to donate, and stuffed 'em all into the little free library in Japantown. That took care of that! Then I went to the post office and dropped off 7 packages, then I went over to the bank and did my deposit. I was only a nickel off in what I calculated I should have, and what the bank thinks I have. 

I went over to Whole Foods and got too much food again, carnitas and broccoli and since they didn't have any near-beer out, a soda water. I sat at a bench downstairs to eat, where a gal studying some books with a couple beers in front of her was already. I got talking, she's studying law, and gave me the 2nd beer. They'd been given to her by someone. I said my boss will like it since I don't drink any more. 

I went back in and spent a lot, because I re-upped most of my vitamins. That gets spendy. I also got things like chocolate and butter and walnuts, so it over $100. 

I went out to my bike with my haul and loaded it up. There was a BMX bike there with a jacket? tangled up tarp? wadded up on it and mud on the wheels so the rider had been riding along the river. A bum bike, in other words. And here came Mr. Bum, so I said, "Neat bike, looks good for exploring the trails" and offered him "a beer" but he said he was fine. 

Next was Dai Thanh and on the way over there was a shirtless, skinny, zombie on a corner, ranting about ... I dunno, UFOs or the Attorney General or some mixed-up crazy shit. I got the beer out and offered it, thinking this ought to be interesting or at least calm him down. "I don't drink", he said, and I left the beer on top of the traffic control box - some other bum will pick it up. 

I went over to Dai Thanh and got a bunch of things, like more coffee and 6 little cans of coconut milk. I'd used the kind that comes in little waxy cartons before, which are easy to open. These take a can opener but the flavor is really good. A little cheaper, too, I think. The place was super dead, though. There was one lady buying a week's worth of groceries, it seemed, and the guy ahead of me was buying a sprig of mint. Other than her, though, it seemed really un-busy and they only had one checker working. 

I went over to the Amazon place and got bubble mailers, and picked up my coffee filters and battery shipping warning stickers. Then of course to Nijiya for eggs, Black-Black gum, some scallops for scallop curry, and maybe another thing or two. 

I got back here and put stuff away. I totted up my buying and wow, I've reached my self-imposed limit so other than the $20 bill in my pocket, I want to try to not spend anything at all until next payday. 

I went out to check the bountiful dumpster and there was nothing, but I got a few tomatoes and a couple packages of Romaine lettuce from the veggie dumpster. I'd also, first, checked where I'd seen what looked like it might be a neat table set out by Galli Produce, but it was gone. Maybe I should have checked when I first saw it, because it might have actually been a rather nice one. But someone else got it. On my way back with the lettuce etc. I checked this other dumpster on the other side of the complex and this thing leaning up against it, that I thought might be the "core" of a car bumper (they're made of super firm black foam these days) turned out to be a snow board in, well, a snow board bag. And Sunday, my List Something On Craig's List Day, is coming up. 

I checked on Craig's List and people are selling their snow boards for $5. Yeah there's a helmet and gloves and goggles etc. in the kit too, but it looks like all that stuff is being nearly given away these days. So I put it out for the bums, along with a box of various chemicals and sprays and stuff, for the bums. I'll list something else on Sunday. Maybe even my fancy-schmancy trumpet. 

I keep practicing on the plastic shinobue because it's easy to just pick up and play with no fussing around. There's one sold by Mejiro for $140 or so that I'd really like to get (it's actual bamboo made by a "craftsman") but I want to hold off until I'm better on the plastic one and have also put the rest of the bindings on. I also want to remove the cap even if I have to drill it out, and put a wooden cap with a cork in there. I want a plastic shinobue I can show off. I've got a pretty bamboo-like texture on the outside and the one binding looks nice except I used white tape underneath so I need to remove it and put black tape underneath then a new binding. 

I noticed something today, that I just started my day on a cup of black coffee and that was better than eating. Yeah, I picked out too much food at Whole Foods but by that time, after dropping off things and doing my banking, I was ready to eat something. So instead of 3-4 oz. of nuts with my coffee, I'll just have coffee, and have my vitamins with food later. 

I did get a bag of raw walnuts but those will be for the occasional snack. I did get three different flavors of "keto cups" which are like peanut butter cups but supposedly 1g net carbs and flavors like almond, coconut, etc. Those were $3-something per package but I figure, might as well try 'em once.  I was thinking at one time of buying cocoa butter and using an ice cube tray to make uniform little cubes of it, to eat one with coffee each morning but I didn't see any cocoa butter or nibs at Whole Foods at all. But I don't think I need anything like that. 

This is hilarious: That dumpster that's full of stuff from the schlocky make-up and hair "products" place is a continual object of fascination for every bum in the neighborhood and they keep coming around and digging through it for hours, all night. I can't imagine what they could be finding other than really shitty office stuff and even shittier make-up like, I remember years ago a scandal where cheap lipstick was found to have lead in it. It's a real bumfest and if no one takes the snow board and chemicals overnight I'm gonna throw those things in the dumpster to give them something interesting to dig for.