Well here it is Saturday. I got 25 things ready to list but then was fading fast as it was 11PM. I went to bed around 1 I think, and having told myself I can sleep all I like, finally got up at 10. Made up for yesterday's too-early wake up I think. At least my throat's not scratchy, doubtless helped by the elderberry lozenges I got at Whole Foods which I had a couple of yesterday.
It was 59 degrees when I got up, my little heater is working as hard as my little fan does in the hot months. It's a balmy 56 outside as I write, at half to noon.
I photo'd up the 25 things, and then headed out the door at about 3;30. I went to Whole Foods and had some chicken and broccoli, then decided I needed a coffee so I got a can of coffee and drank that, cleaned my teeth with a toothpick and then chewed sugarless gum.
I had to wait a while for the next #22 bus, and the ride was not that fun because there was some crazy guy sitting a couple of seats ahead of us who was intent on letting us all know about his irresistability to women and his exploits with them. He cooled it a bit when the driver threatened to call the cops, but he was still a pain in the ass. And the nose, too, as I suspect he was also the source of a rotten smell.
I got off at Castro street and walked up. The once-a-year German Christmas market was on today and although it starts at 11AM I suspected it would really get rolling once it got dark, because that's when you see all the lights. I walked around just enough to get the lay of things, and realized if I stayed south of the center of it, I could not hear the amplified band/singer/MC so anyone who could hear them could probably not hear me.
It seemed like a good plan and I played for may be 15 minutes, making $2. This ... could be better. So I walked up until I was past the center of the thing, and set up in front of "K-Pot & Grill", a Korean restaurant. The front of it is windowless, there's a nice shelf there to put things, there was a bit of light; a very gentle spotlight effect, and plenty of people walking around.
I started up again and the tips started coming with regularity. I played a lot of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and a few others, and at one point to calm down or at least entertain a kid who was a textbook case of ADHD, played my jazzed-up version of Saints. I'd started at 6:20 and at 7:20 I played the Lawrence Welk "Goodnight" song (someday someone's going to recognize it....) and packed up. I took a while neatening up all the money and a guy stepped in last minute and handed me a $20 so that turned Good into Outstanding for the hour I'd spent an hour an a half or more to get to and from. The total was $65.67.
Now things get interesting. I walked further, up past the northern fringe of the Christmas Market, and now I was into plain ol' Castro Street. It's nice that they've got it blocked off to cars on weekends now, at least in the evening. There were two buskers, each with guitar, voice, and an amp. Both sounding ... well ... I'd not tip 'em. I saw a third guy packing up, talking with some guys.
These other buskers were not doing things wrong, necessarily, because everyone just knows the busking's terrible down by the courthouse. Except when there's a Christmas market going on. And with people in a Christmas mood, it being December and all, they were playing, it seemed, Their Usual Shit(tm).
Aside from stopping in Ava's Market for a cucumber, I walked up to the train station to find a sign saying CalTrain's not stopping on weekends due to the electrification project. Light rail it was, then. That took a good long while with the usual weirdos. I talked a bit with a lady from Morgan Hill and caught up on things in Gilroy as well as Morgan Hill. According to her, Gilroy's even more depressing and run-down these days.
The ride all the way around to Diridon Station was long, and when I got off the train it was really cold. Like 41 degrees. I popped into Whole Foods for some olives and to report to Kenny who works there how I'd done, and rode home. It was really cold for my hands so I need to get my gloves out and keep them in the bike bag. I got back at a bit after 10, like getting in a bit after 1AM in the old days.
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