I pay for it every time I do anything "personal" even if the thing's only an hour or two long ... I got in last night and found some things to list and did the usual things around here but didn't practice because I was too tired. I was literally up all night. How dare I actually do anything "personal" at all. I actually talked with people - what a sin.
I woke up at 4, time to have coffee etc., and pack 10 things, one of them big, and go out on my usual round. The chute at the post office was jammed of course, which is why although in theory you can drop packages there, using the chute, until 9 or 10, I'm always there before 7 because it only works in real life if there are workers there.
On my way back I picked up shipping stuff which is good, and found tons of packets of "Loramed", an anti-congestion medicine Ken's wife uses, and is expensive to buy because hell, every medicine is expensive now. So that's today's freebee and a nice one.
On my way back along Bayshore there was a zombie, a fast walker, cracking or snapping something that sounded like those things kids throw on the ground except it wasn't those; it was some kind of whip or something it had. And it was indeed a fast walker, so I sped 'way up to get past it and its angry gibberings and whatever the hell kind of weapon it had improvised.
I rode along the area where the sidewalk is being rebuilt, which is a bit of a maze and, even worse, there were a couple of zombies tangled up in it too. One, on a bike, got free and went across Bayshore, then the 2nd one seemed not to notice me and was intent on joining and gibbering at, or fighting with, the first zombie. Maybe the first one had just got some brains and didn't want to share. I got untangled, myself, and got back here.
I took some large pieces of junk out of the parking lot and put them into the salt place's dumpster which is out every other week these days I guess. Every place is slowing down, and some more businesses have just disappeared.
Finally I put things away, had some cheese and olives and cucumber slices, and cleaned up the bathroom and office. Ken used to reliably come by at 10:30 but now he can come by any time from 9 to 11PM so I have to pretty much do nothing, just browse Reddit or something, waiting.
At least I came up with something interesting on the bike ride. I *had* a plan to do breathing exercises while at stop lights, but the truth is that at a stop light there's too much to keep an eye on so I always forgot. But, doing breathing exercises on the long stretches of straight road, that works well. And there are plenty of those there I'm just riding along, not having to be super watchful for zombies, etc. It's a good plan and I did a fair amount of breathing exercises this way today.
With the breathing exercises I am hoping to "backdoor" myself into developing my voice. For some reason singing is discouraged in our modern culture (but paradoxically, a good singer is appreciated) but I'm old enough to have gone through the kind of childhood where you sang. There were tons of songs you learned from your parents, more from school, then there were the off-color songs you'd learn from, say, your older brother, especially after he got back from Boy Scout camp...
So I'm just foolish enough to think I could make a fair singer if I can develop my voice. And, as I'm finding, since this culture is about everyone working all the time and there being just barely sufficient time to maintain your physical existence, there's hardly any time to actually do the kind of practice it takes to get really good at something.
So, one must draw on skills that were acquired during that "time is cheap" time of childhood. As an example, in the sport I did, the sport itself was almost just the icing on the cake. I'd practiced the things required as a matter of routine in my childhood. It was relatively easy to put them together in the form of the sport.
Likewise, I think I have a lot of the basics for a good voice, minus just one thing - strength. Fortunately I can do one of the really fundamental things, breathing exercises, while riding my bike. I'll have to do those voice exercises on YouTube even if they do sound silly, and start in practicing some songs.
Any old basic strumming on the uke will work, at least to start. There are tons of people who can strum a uke out there, but I've seen the effect a decent singer has on the public and it's magic. They tip really well too. I can even practice singing while out on my bike too. People hear stranger things in this town.
Ken came by and I got my pay check, with an extra $50 on it "Because we've been doing better". I replied that I hope so, because I've run out of backlogged offers, and now it's back to what we can list. Ken and I hung out and talked about stuff as usual, and then I spent all night sorting out microscope parts. At least a lot of those are good sellers, or at least were in the past.
I only practiced a little, mainly that bit at the end of Nori No Miyama that's been hard for me and I was able to nail it 3X in a row, then went to bed because I was tired.
I woke up not sure what I had planned for the day, then realized with a start that it was my day to go to the bank. And I had 40 minutes to get ready and get out of here. I went to the bank and did my deposit, only a few dollars off and now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I have a service charge for my paper statements from the bank but that charge goes away as long as I have X amount in my account, I want to say 3 grand.
I locked the bike up at Whole Foods where one of the annoying guys, a big, grey-haired Black guy who goes on and on about magic mushrooms, was occupying the center bike rack, the best way to, for a lot of people, take over the whole thing. He was going on and on about magic mushrooms. I joked around with him a bit and locked my bike up at the end rack.
I bought some olives to get cash back, and walked over to Target. I actually walked all the way down to Petsmart just to see what's still in that strip mall, then doubled back and looked around in Cost Plus World Market where I got a Cadbury Flake just to see what they taste like (like every other kind of Cadbury chocolate) then went into Michael's to get some tan hemp cord and a little tube of watercolor paint to prettify my "enhanced" Shakuhachi Yuu with.
Michael's has "Gildan" brand T-shirts which I've seen recommended as a cheap source of decent T-shirts but they didn't have my size in black and they were not all that cheap. I went to Marshall's next and didn't find anything there.
Target at least had tape dispenser refills (I'd used a whole roll just messing around with those microscope parts) and index cards and I found a package of "unders" that, by wearing the white/light ones, I can see if they fit OK and are comfy, and if so I have the other colors to take with me to Hawaii, brand new. But no T-shirts.
By this time it was dark and it had been cold all along. I have a new route to walk there and back from Whole Foods, it goes by SAP Center but goes right over to the bike path. It's a tiny bit longer but a lot more pleasant.
I got a little package of salami slices and some more cash back, to make my total withdrawals just under $200, so I'm spending $200 and keeping $200 in the bank. I went upstairs for a near-beer from the bar (they had no singles downstairs) and was charged $4.50 for it. Busy night or something. I got a glass to pour it into and left a $1 tip but wow, I remember actual beer being only $2 Back In The Day(tm).
It was too noisy upstairs to relax and eat and drink so I went downstairs and did that. Then I was off, headed over to the Amazon place where I actually got a ton of bubble mailers, a big Target bag to carry them in, and two pairs of brand new safety glasses someone had discarded. Good to wear on those days when the wind is really throwing stuff around.
After that I rode home, stopping in Japantown to sit and relax and drink the coffee I'd brought with me. It's really peaceful there.
I got back here, put things away, checked the closing times, and was off again. I rode up to H Mart, locked the bike and used their loo, and walked over to Ross where I found two black T-shirts with a little logo on them about Calvin Klein Jeans but not too bad, for $8 each. They were originally $24 and I can't imagine spending that for a T-shirt but that's how it is now, the ol' K-shaped recovery. I'm on the downward-slanted leg of the K. For someone on the upward-tilted leg, I'm sure $24 for an undershirt is a pittance.
I got my macadamia nuts and a steak to cut up and freeze from Sprouts and hustled back over to H Mart. There I got a couple cans of coffee and some little cucumbers (price is back up again) and, hilariously, a nice piece of fish for 7 cents. Someone had put 0.001 for the weight and at 7.99 a pound, that seems to amount to 7 cents. I went to the one cashier who kind of knows me and she let it on through.
I got back here for good, put things away, and went out and did some parking lot pick-up, and that's it. Part of my hurrying out and doing shopping I'd normally do on the weekend is that I just felt like it. And part of it is, I plan to get my covid booster on Saturday and if I'm going to be ill the next day, I'll have the weekend shopping all done.
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