Finally a day when I don't regret turning on the radio.
I drank probably 1/2 what I'd been, yesterday. Went to sleep on 500ml of wine instead of, well, 2X that, and woke up at 9 feeling better. I got a phone call from some yokel who sounded like he'd already had his moonshine for breakfast, saying he was calling from Publisher's Clearinghouse. Yeah, right. I hung up.
President Biden is proposing changes to the Supreme Court that sound really great. The problems we've been having now are the same ones Germany had in 1932. What do you do when you have a system that depends on gentleman's agreements when you have a player who's not a gentleman?
We're coming very close to the Federal government being run by our supreme court which is selected not elected, serve for life, and are given the power to make sweeping changes to things like this presidential immunity nonsense.
And I wake up, turn the radio on, and now I'm hearing about these changes to make the supreme court the kind of institution you'd have in a democracy and not some Council Of Elders in the mafia.
I practiced a bit last night and the free buzzing is helping out and is an exercise worth doing. At least I'm making progress which is more than I could say about the shakuhachi.
Since I was up at 9, I was actually out the door before noon. 10 to noon is still before noon. I got rid of trash and got a salmon onigiri and some unsweetened green tea at Nijiya, then went back to get some S&B "seasoned pepper", each time taking out $40 cash. I really wanted to get some covid tests and the ones at Walmart in the $10-$20 range.
I was headed to the post office with the packages I'd packed when I came upon a little stand with something about health covid something. The lady there didn't speak English but she encouraged me to take all the little boxed test kits I wanted. I took 7. She was also doing something with little plastic test tubes with clear pinkish liquid on them and people's names.
Wow! Here I was expecting to spend in the $40-$60 range for some tests, and I've got some. I rode over to where the Circle-A skateboard place used to be and sat in the shade and opened a test. I'd test myself so I'd know what I'm after in Walmart. Well, it's pretty fiddly, and not something I wanted to do out there in the wind under the trees.
I packed the things back into the little box and was struck that I still had my green cloth bag, full of small packages, to be taken to the post office. I'd been distracted by the lady giving out kits. As I rode back to the post office to drop them off, I thought, these kits aren't supposed to be in too much heat (you're not supposed to let them get too cold either) so maybe I'll just go right back to Nijiya and get some things there including some treats.
I dropped off the packages, found some books, and as I rode past the Mexican market there were two booths with free testing. They also had stacks of the little kits to give out. I believe the liquid in the plastic test tube things was a system where someone spits in there or something, and it's tested at a lab and then they're called back or notified by mail or something. And the little boxed kits are plentiful and free for the asking because they *are* fiddly and the instructions are only in English.
So once again, trying to do things the "white" way like going to CVS - where when I went in there was an old white boomer lady with the nastiest look on her face going in, and out, at the same time I was - is pure fail and going to things that are "outreach" sorts of things for non-English speakers are pure win.
I went back to Nijiya and got a roast beef bento, some smokes salmon, a Coke Zero for later, some really nice salmon belly cuts that are cheap, and an Echigo "Lucky Cat" beer which is 5%. I got back here and ate the food and put tons of ice in a cup with the beer, watering it down to at least 3% if that. And I've been sipping on it for a couple of hours now and I still have some to go.
The guys next door were throwing out this big hospital bed lift thing, and I went out to look at it. One of the guys, heavyset, came out with a Popsicle in his hand, dripping red juice. He said he'd broken his hips and needed the thing, paid $1000 for it, and do I want the controller? I said Sure and he went in and got it while I put together a bucket of tools. He handed me the bag with the controller in it, which was sticky all over. I get the impression this guy just trails sugary syrup, cookie crumbs, etc wherever he goes. He was getting rid of the thing because they needed more room for their trucks.
So I fought with the thing for a bit and besides the controller I now have two interesting motors. Then decided life's too short. The problem with withdrawing from alcohol is all the sweating. I cooled off and dried off a bit sitting by my fan, then went out and got a few more things off of it, and that's enough exercise in the heat for me. Now the scrappers can have it.
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