The wrath of kan

 I got 10 things listed last night which is good, and dug out a lot of things that need to be packed, then decided to call it an early-ish night, for me at least. 

I got about 45 minutes' practice in and here's where the shakuhachi club is already helping me. In the book, on my own, I was pretty happy just messing around in otsu, the first octave. But in the class we were doing scales going from otsu, to kan, the 2nd octave, and then back down. So already we have to be good at both. So I practice the exercises in both, and I'm gaining strength in kan, getting some pure notes at times. 

I also need to work on the songs, picking them apart, doing one measure over and over and then the next. It's the only way I've been able to learn to play things, on whatever instrument. 

I woke up at 2:30, with my headache fairly strong. I had a couple of aspirin and some diet 7-Up and went back to bed to read the 2nd half of "Such Were The Joys" by Orwell. It's some of his best writing and I'm glad I did, but my headache didn't subside a bit. Now coffee and the rest of the 7-Up. I need to pack a lot of things. 

I felt like shit yesterday and didn't do a post office run, but now I feel like staying in today also. If I'd packed at least some things last night it'd be easy to grab the packages and go, but I don't know here. I don't know if I've got long covid or what the hell's going on. 

 I've changed my mind on sending stuff to Ukraine though. The best thing to send would be money, and to one of the really well vetted organizations linked on r/ukraine and even then, I'm pretty damn poor so there's no requirement on my part to send anything. The "work" I do shooting down America-Firsters on places like YouTube is probably enough. 

Instead, when the ham radio swapmeet gets going again, I figure I can load my bike and trailer up with a good load and I can sell at it once a year without needing a resale number, so I figure I can probably make some pretty good money to put toward my retirement fund. When I leave for home I'll have a bag in each hand, one to check and one - with flutes and important stuff in it - to carry on. That will be it. A lot of stuff will be left "for the shop" but I've got years and years saved up of tools and all kinds of odds and ends I can blow out and come home with at least a few hundred dollars. 

Or I can just package the stuff up into "sets" to sell on Craig's List. That's another way... 

5:30 in the afternoon found me with the bike loaded up with 17 small packages that I didn't need the trailer for, headed to the post office. 

There was a *lot* of traffic out there, and I was amused by being passed by a guy on a bike with more blinking lights and high visibility stuff then I run. He steamed on past, then due to the light I mostly caught up, then I came upon the guy blocking the traffic that was driving in the bike lane. He was in an argument with a couple of guys in an SUV, and I said something about it not being worth it as I made my way past. 

Then I slowed down to think and circled around, riding on the sidewalk back to where the guy was. Maybe my being there could keep the guy from getting his ass beat. I called out another time or two that it's not worth it, circled around again and offered that observation yet again in passing, and rode on up to the post office. 

The drops-offs went OK as I got my packages in before the chute jammed up solid, and I got out of there. I looked for the guy and he'd not moved, and had set himself up in the bike lane, directing the cars around him. Idiot. Yes, it's stupid that drivers drive in the bike lane there, but it's a stupid traffic layout and people who drive cars are at their stupidest when they're behind the wheel. 

I made my way to H Mart and dropped off a box at FedEx, then checked Starbucks for coffee filters. I seemed to remember those places having various coffee gadgets and filters and things for sale, but this Starbucks is pretty stripped down, with only some plastic cups and a sturdy French press for sale. And I could see why: There was an awful looking bum inhabiting one of the tables, and as I went out, a female bum was coming in; she also looked awful. I'm sure they're only stocking what Corporate insists they have out for sale, as anything there is likely to be stolen or shit or pissed on. 

I went to Panda Express and got two orders of crab Rangoon, which came to $4.38 or, well, $5 because apparently they keep the change. That's their tip, then, and the crab Rangoon was pretty good - two servings is 6 of the things, and sometimes you just want something cheap and fried and easy to eat. 

I went into H Mart and got things, and the weird purchase this time was a bottle of "Tiffany Rose" yogurt-flavored "vodka" as it says on the bottle, actually soju, 12% alcohol. It wasn't cloudy or anything, it was clear. Yet, yogurt flavored. At $1.99, I just had to try it. Interestingly, for some reason H Mart had a lot of young, really good-looking people in it this night. That was interesting to see, along with the old grannies, absent-minded old guys (I guess I'm one) and even a white guy, an unusual sight there, ahead of me in the checkout.

I checked for boxes and packing material all over the place and only found two small boxes. I got back here and put things away and got the trailer and step stool out for my raid on the medical place's dumpster and got a few gadgets so the trip was worth it. 

 I got back in here and all buttoned up for the night, and tried the yogurt flavored stuff. It's interesting, a little bit astringent which I guess is the "yogurt" flavoring.