One more winter

 I was up in time to pack 10 things, with one medium-sized one I can send by FedEx tomorrow from downtown. 

I didn't need the bike trailer which was good because it meant I could stop at 99 Ranch for things and then park the bike at H Mart, go over to Ross, then buy a few things at H Mart before leaving. 

The fleece I have is pretty decent but the way it fits ... it's not big enough in the shoulders  I guess, so I wanted to find something a bit roomier plus my sweatshirt seems to be kind of out of shape the way my old t-shirts were, and not very warm because the collar is all stretched out. 

So I was eager to get over to Ross, and spent quite a while looking around. Everyone else has, also, it seems. I was able to find a vest made of puffy material that might work out well around here in the shop because it might be warm enough while still allowing me to move around freely while I do stuff. And I don't care what it looks like since I'll just wear it in here. 

There's only one more winter to deal with and then I'm done. 

At 99 Ranch I'd bought some tea eggs along with the other things  I got, and sat outside at one of the tables by the tea shop to eat. I thought I'd heard, maybe, someone playing a guitar like, maybe some over-achieving Asian kid was making use of those guitar lessons he's had since age 6 and there will actually be live music at the tea shop. But when I was finished eating I walked past the shop and looked in and there was no sign of anyone, they just had a really good sound system and had played some random thing. 

This is something I never could have forecast 10 years ago. The effective elimination of busking and the kind of informal live music that used to be really common. There are concerts, of course, but they're far out of reach of most of the population, who can't afford to go to them or even to take the time off if they had the money for tickets. 

I think there are still some open mics but I can't mention any off the top of my head and there used to be tons of them and I used to know where and when a ton of them were.  Caffe Frascati used to have lots of live music and a weekly open mic, even Opera Night with local opera singers. It was even a place where you might be sitting outdoors, enjoying a bowl of soup from Pho' 69 next door, and people would show up with a guitar or a couple of ukes or anything and just noodle around. 

I can't assume San Jose is becoming uniquely soulless, it must be happening everywhere.