The big lift

 I actually got in some practice, and then tucked into a bottle of cheap wine I'd gone and and bought from TAK Market (not that cheap!) and thus when my alarm clock went off at 8:30 I was able to get up and stay up etc. 

I had my usual cup of Elite coffee with cream, and got out of here a bit after 9. I went over to Nijiya where I found an onigiri and a can of Dutour coffee is $5.05. I ate quickly and then rode over to the temple. I was right on time, and there were a lot of people who'd showed up. A lot of us didn't show up on the signup sheet so we wrote our names in, and essentially what position we'd play. I signed on as a "lifter" and after some sitting around and schmoozing the boss-est lady told us all what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. 

My job as a lifter was to go up a narrow staircase and get banker's boxes of papers from a dusty little attic room and take them down the stairs, around the front, and into the banquet room. One of the guys was trying to set up something like a bucket brigade but this was not working and the reason was, the system he had in mind would only work if the weakest person could handle the heaviest package. This was not at all the case. Instead it made sense to have each person go up, pick out a box they could handle, and move it. One guy had a hand truck and that helped a lot as the boxes that stacked well could be transported on the ground level leg of the trip by him, and I single-carried a lot of boxes that didn't stack well. 

The trouble was, though, that not only my sciatica was a factor but my left knee started complaining. So I told one of the ladies to put me on something else, and no one officially did but what happened is I became a short haul lifter, moving boxes in the banquet hall that the ladies could not handle. This worked out great because I got a break between boxes almost always, and I made myself very useful. 

Past noon we'd done quite a bit, and we kept going because no one had signed up for the 2nd shift of noon to 2. Some people took off, most stayed, and I kept making myself useful where I could. The promised pizza eventually showed up, cheese and veggie pizza from Pizza My Heart, bought personally by one of the guys. I had 2-1/2 slices (one person wanted just half a slice) and I made myself useful by finding a knife in the kitchen and cutting the pieces apart because they weren't cut apart that well. That also made it easy to get one guy his 1/2 slice. 

It was almost 2 when I finally left, getting as far as where Tap Plastics and Upshift Cycles is, before realizing I'd left my trumpet in the temple. Oops! So I rode back and got it. 

I decided I'd play at the Old Spaghetti because the sun was really brutal. I went over there and played for an hour from 2 to 3. That made me $32. I was tired at the end of it, though. I'd made a handful of change too, handed to me by one of these weird international journalist soccer guys who were around. I think there's a big time team playing at Levi's Stadium, I want to say Brazil, and they're training somewhere. Some on Reddit say Stanford but I'd not be surprised if they trained at Bellermine. 

I decided to go to Whole Foods and play and that was awful. The wind was very strong, the sun was strong, and I didn't get a tip in half an hour. I eventually went back to the Old Spaghetti and made another $7 in maybe 45 minutes. I suppose I could have hopped on a "green" train and gone to the Whole Foods on Hamilton, but I was not in the mood. 

I had a few dollars in my wallet so I was able to round the $39 I made up to $40. The plan is this: I want to give $60 to the Biden campaign. But I want to stay within my budget. So, with the $20 I have in a jar, I now have $60 in the jar. When I get my next pay check, I'll take out $140, donate $60 to the Biden campaign, and the $60 I have here will go into my wallet so I'll still be starting the week with $200. 

I stopped by Nijiya for a package of "GreeNoodles" miso flavor and a small cabbage. Just like last week, the plan is to not spend money until my next paycheck. "My next paycheck" is going to be an interesting concept because Thursday's a federal holiday so I won't be able to deposit it until Friday. But I have another load of books and I can trade those for cash, and I could do some busking on Thursday. 

Thursday is the 4th of July and I plan to march with other temple members in the "red white and blue" parade. I believe I'm developing a reputation of someone who does things, who participates whenever possible. That's the idea because conversion isn't just taking a couple of classes, it's also being a part of the community, or as it's often put, non-ironically, the tribe. 

I'm playing a serious long game here, the desired end being to retire in Israel, as a Jew. It will take at least a couple more years because it's not just converting but also continuing to be part of the community for a year past that. At least that gives me more time to learn Hebrew. I just hope things here in the US aren't so much worse in a couple of years that it becomes hard to leave. I really don't care if the hillbillies here all shoot each other, I just don't want to get tangled up in it.