$5 Swing-A-Way

 I did a bit of practice last night and well, was so "wired up" that as usual it was hard for me to get to go to bed, but then once I was in bed, I fell asleep pretty easily. 

Unfortunately, the method I used to go to sleep was to think of one time, in Colorado, that I really felt despair. I was a promising athlete in a sport and had won a Nationals, but when I went to Colorado with the idea of living and training at the Olympic Training Center there, I had a dip in my performance. I lived in a room I rented for less than $200 a month, and it was before the season really started up so it was this weird time when there was not much going on. Of course I owned next to nothing and had barely any savings, maybe a couple hundred dollars at most at any given time. 

I had a friend sending me money each month to cover rent, and somehow I got by OK but it was a time I remember lying on the bed in my little half-basement room and feeling a fine sort of despair. Like this might be all there is. 

So I went to sleep thinking about this, and had an awful dream about being in some place but about to lose it and become homeless, so I was looking for any hidey-hole I could find and appealing to some old neighbors of mine, the Butlers, that maybe they might let me sleep in their living room. 

It was silly, I thought when I woke up, as the Butlers are in no way still alive. Mr Butler died long ago and Mrs. Butler would have to be 100. 

Bleh. It was about 3, maybe 3:30, and I put my bedding away and put a couple of aspirin in a little bag and into my pocket and bagged up my trash and was on my way at 4. 

I rode up to H Mart and first thing, dropped the two packages I had with me off at FedEx. Then I went in and got a one of those cans of coffee that has a screw top like a bottle. Out front, I got the aspirin out and chewed them up well, and swallowed them down with some of the coffee. 

The bum was there, and I asked them if they still had the phone. Yes, was the reply, which may or may not be true. 

Next I rode up to 99 Ranch and got two tea eggs. I sat at a table in front of the boba place and waited for the things to cool down and as there were a couple of large-ish gals talking, loudly, about everything, I talked too. We talked about all sorts of things and I told them about the new Dai Thanh market just up the road at Capitol and they were overjoyed to hear about it. I explained how the one market, downtown, had done so sell that the owner closed it and opened this new one and one South of downtown. We talked about other things to wit: food. Always a popular subject with such types. I finished off my eggs and washed them down with more coffee.

Then I headed up to Dai Thanh myself. First thing, I looked behind the counter where they kept the can openers at the old place and didn't see them. Darn. Then I looked in the utensils aisle and along with the same one I already had that had worn out, they had the Swing-A-Way one right there. So I got that and a bunch of other stuff. 

I was very happy to see they have Tahitian prawns frozen in boxes just like my hero Kimagure Cook prepares in his latest video. Yay! The ones at H Mart are no doubt ones that come in boxes and they thaw out and charge 1-1/2 times as much for. 

I went up and down the aisles and got all kinds of things, even some Da Heo brand pork rinds which are the best ones. And I looked at the meat prices - the very same cut of beef, flanken ribs, are close to half as much as I just paid so I think it's worth it to ride the extra distance and buy beef here. 

In fact the only thing that would make it perfect would be boiled peanuts. I'd be in heaven if they sold those. Maybe in the summer when it warms up... 

Yes it was very cold, although clear with beautiful dramatic clouds and when the sun shone it was really nice. We had a fair amount of snow/hail earlier today while I was asleep, and it had poured all night. 

It was a nice, brisk, day to be out riding. I rode back here and when I got here Ken was not here yet. So I took a little look around and found two really nice little boxes to ship things in, then got back in, put things away, and put some ice in what was left of the can/bottle of coffee. 

I'd gotten back here at 6, and Ken came by at about 6:20 so it was perfect. He brought in things to list, set up a rack-mount oscilloscope in the rack that's in the office here so I can test plug-ins, and dug out a lot of stuff for me to sell as well as what he brought in from the car. 

Then we had tea and talked, this time getting onto the ever-popular subject of weapons and ballistics and interesting ideas for ... weapons and ballistics. So it was even more enthusiastic than usual. 

We talked while the office here got colder and colder, so when Ken adjourned to use the loo I turned the heater on, but then he was done and had to go so it was Bye until Wednesday. 

I settled down with some more hot tea and snack foods and got warmed up again, and looked at the receipt from Dai Thanh. I'd only paid $5 for the can opener. It was written as the right one, too, so it hadn't been a mistake. Those things are at least $10 online, and the reason I hadn't just walked over from H Mart to check in Ross and Home Goods is I figured any they might have would probably be $15 marked down from $25.... 

I actually got a can of nice name-brand olives today but it's got a pop top. I need to get some of those cheap Walmart olives to really try out my new can opener. The cans they come in are really tough as cans go.

What a silly dream about becoming homeless I had, though. If I became homeless here, I've got a storage I've used on and off for 10 years now to throw my stuff into, and Tom's place is right across the street and I'd always be able to bunk up there. It would not be ideal but it's far from being on the street. 

And in Hawaii, the weather's too nice to kill a person like it can here, and frankly I just know too many people. Worst case I put my things in a storage unit and sleep in unconventional places. But it's not something a person's going to die over like here. As a nonsmoker and nondrinker with a lifeline of Social Security money, I'm actually a prime tenant. 

I took 4 Metrocart shelves that have been in the way and which I can't put with the other 4 I found because there's no more room, and put them upstairs to act as "fencing" to keep my bags of packing foam etc from falling out between the railings. I had all kinds of raggedy junk serving that purpose, and it was nice to get rid of it. One of the pieces, a sort of sliced piece of "network" steel, repaid me by part of it sticking right into my hand. Lovely. I guess that's a reminder that I've been planning to go to the Walmart pharmacy and get my DPT shot which is diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. I last had one 1-1/2 years ago so it's time to renew. So far, being on Medi-Cal, shots have been free but I don't mind paying as the last time it was $60 and I can't see it being much more than $100 now. 

That Walmart pharmacy is great. You go there, get shots, no questions asked, they use a neat little round thing on your arm, and while you wait for them to prepare the shot, you get to look around in Walmart and that section of the store is actually pretty interesting.