Sunday

 Well, Friday night was fun. I got things packed and was out of here about an hour earlier than usual. I listed 20 things on Ebay before leaving and because it was going to be cool, maybe rain a bit, I wore long pants instead of shorts. 

I dropped off trash, dropped off the packages, had something to eat at Whole Foods, and started on my ride down to Beth David in Campbell because that's where the service was this week. I stopped at Slav Shop and really looked around but all I could find that I had any interest in was a different kind of hamburger seasoning and a bar of Polish halvah, vanilla flavor. Not "the" halvah but not bad. 

This was a sort of combination service of my temple, Beth David, and anyone else who felt like showing up. It was a lot of singing and at one point a bunch of people, mainly kids, joined arms and dances around the whole sanctuary which was neat. I ended up sitting 2 seats from my own rabbi, and he's a life of the party kind of guy. 

So it was great fun singing along although I like the music at my own temple better. And the Hebrew, they go through it fast like auctioneers. Would you say the prayers that fast if they were in English? No, that would be kind of disrespectful. 

It was all great fun and they had free books so I took one, about a guy who was a kid in Auschwitz. A lady told me about the books and I said I'd already taken one and she said, "Take another" but I said I'm OK for now. I might take one each time I visit there. 

Some other people had seen me riding my bike there and I told them about the first time, ending up wayy down the road too far before turning around and finding the place. 

On the ride home it didn't rain which was nice, and as always I seemed to be on a gentle downhill so I didn't have to pedal very hard at all. 

Then it was just getting back here, having some nice food and watching YouTube. 

I got up Saturday close to noon I think, watched more YouTube, read a book "The Long Walk" or some shit, about a guy who's an advertising guy who loses everything and decides to walk across the US from Washington to Florida. First he's treated unrealistically nicely, then a "gang" (no mention of what color they are but given the book is from a white guy perspective I think I can guess) damn near kills him and he winds up in the hospital. The only phone number found on him was of a local lady he'd helped with a flat tire and the story ends with him not even out of Washington State, and this lady's going to take him in. Kind of blah. 

I didn't have this week's handout because we went to a different temple but it's not hard to figure out the next Torah portion and I read that. So far over the last three the zingers have been: When you take over a people's land, make sure to really wipe 'em out or they're going to cause you nothing but trouble. And don't marry non-Jews. Mixed marriages are a big no-no. And lastly, in this last one, don't have any idols or such things in your house even ironically. (I think of my Grand-Aunt Mary who had this ghastly crucifix right. over. her. bed.) 

And I made the mistake of watching some of the "Piece Of Hebrew" I think the channel's called, videos on "how to conjugate the Hebrew for 'to come'" It's got all the complications of English plus there are male and female forms. The only thing I can say for those at my level is, I might not be following what the F they're talking about but the Hebrew is put up on the screen with niqqud and it's good reading practice. 

I got out of here at noon, with the usual plan of riding to Whole Foods to use the loo and almost certainly there will be someone already there hustling the public so I'll lock the bike there and take the light rail down to Hamilton and busk at the Whole Foods there. 

There was one problem - the Pride Festival. The thing with that is, being openly gay is predominantly a white middle-class male thing, and when those guys want something, they get it. Even if it means shutting down most of downtown. I had to ride down to San Carlos street, shortcut up Barack Obama, to Diridon Station and through the station to get to Whole Foods. 

There were no booths etc., and I decided to set up there today. The tips came very slowly. At one point I noticed a large Black lady, at least very easy to pick out in a crowd, "crack spanging" in the parking lot. She'd go up to families mostly and not leave them alone until they coughed up something. 

So I put my stuff away, went in, and came out with the security guard and pointed her out. He ran her off, and I didn't see her come back. She'd have better luck crack spanging in the Pride crowd anyway. The tips picked up a bit. 

After 2 hours, 1-3PM, I'd made $26.75. I packed up and checked out a couple of things. Logically, Hedding Road should go right to San Carlos but when I checked Google Maps it got all weird where that's supposed to happen and I could not tell if it did or not. It looked like Taylor might. 

So I rode on Hedding past Park, into serious Stepford Wives everyone drives everywhere territory. Creepy! I finally came to Bascom which makes no sense. It's like space contorts and shifts and doubles back on itself. Too creepy for me so I went back to Park, got onto Taylor, and rode in the same direction, to check out a market called Zanotto's I'd heard of for years. 

I was not impressed, Prices are all 1.5X Whole Foods prices. It's full of Karen types. And what really seals the deal is the "prison chic" external decor. It's got this big cage around it. It was hard to figure out how to even get into the place. So that's taken care of; now I don't have to go to Zanotto's market because I've done it and felt the disappointment. 

I decided I was kind of in the mood to play another hour, but I'd kill a bit of time first. I went back to Whole Foods and got some chicken and asparagus spears and a fizzy water, ate and tried my best to rinse my mouth well. Then I went back in and meandered around a bit, which was worth it because I now know the one place perhaps within 100 miles where I can obtain "phyllo" dough. 

I set up again at 5 and it was slow going. I didn't make anything the first half-hour, then got a few dollars from a couple who'd pulled up on nice (expensive) electric bikes and come out with big loads of groceries. We'd talked about bikes and this and that, and it was only after heavy hinting on my part that I got the $3 or so. Then a bit later a guy in a big truck put some money in "Starbucks money" he said and I said I never go to Starbucks, it's too expensive and I make coffee at home. A Taiwanese guy (I think) with a son who really liked the music I was playing tipped me a $10 so that was nice. Pretty soon the hour was done and I'd made a further $17 making it a total of $43.75 for the day. 

I got odds and ends like cream for coffee and a little block of cheese and some cheap wine, and in doing so spent the last of the money I'd had with me not counting the busking money, so if it weren't for busking I wouldn't be making my savings goals. 

The reason I'd gone back to play a 3rd hour was not only to see if I could make a bit more money, but to work on some songs. One song, "Those were the days my friend I thought they'd never end" is a good one. Nice and weepy. Also "Celluloid Heroes" by The Kinks, and "Vincent" by that American Pie dude. People really liked the "Those were the days" song. 

The warm but not-too-warm weather brought the zombies out in force. They were everywhere. I dodged two of them just getting from the parking lot to the other side of Old Bayshore, one of them not too far gone yet and one barely maintaining the ability to wear clothes, and looking like it had been sleeping under a truck. That one made a sound and moved toward me so I gave it an extra wide berth. Even on the way home, I found a few books but didn't check the Japantown little free library as there was a zombie leaning up against it, staring at me dully (no doubt dreaming of tasty brains) and I went on by.