New Year's Eve Eve

 After last night, I went to bed around 6 or 7AM, I could not get motivated to do much, but held out too long against going to bed, but finally did. 

One thing I did differently was I had some crackers with butter on them just before bed, and was generous with the butter. When I got up, I didn't have the headache I've been having. That's interesting.

I slept in until about 4:30 in the afternoon. I decided to just pack what I could, going from the stuff that's been sitting here longest. I amazed myself by being able to get everything out. One of the orders was a complicated one of a bunch of optical stuff, and I had to make up a "worksheet" of how much they'd paid for shipping and how much it actually cost, and refunded the guy $50 for shipping overcharge. It was one of those weird orders where regular FedEx wasn't available, only their economy service which just hands it off to the post office, or their 2-day service and I chose that. 

I sent everything by FedEx because by doing that, I didn't have to leave here until 7, giving me time to pack everything. And their economy service, which just hands the packages off to the postal service, doesn't cost much more than the postal service. It's useful at times like this. 

Once I had things sent, I rode up to 99 Ranch and did some shopping, and then went to Paris Baguette where I got a couple of pastries and a coffee. It was nice to relax and eat yummy pastries and listen to the family at the next table talk in a mix of English and Chinese with an American accent. The Baguette is a bit spendy but it's a great place to relax, hang out, study, be a family, etc. This is what the American places have completely forgotten. 

I rode back down to H Mart and got a few things, and got a few things for shipping, namely a sign that's laminated onto foamcore and a couple of small boxes. 

Interestingly, the train signal was going off, but while there was dinging and the red lights flashing, the gates were up and there was some guy dancing around and motioning cars through. The guy didn't have any safety clothing on, or a flashlight or anything, so I don't know if it was a crazy homeless guy or what, I just got on through there. 

I rode back here, put things away, then took the last of the stuff I put out last night, two tubs stuffed with junk the scavengers didn't want, put them on the bike trailer, and took them over by the bridge and dropped them off. So now the area's nice and clean. 

 

2.0

 After getting everything else done, including listing 20 of the 30 items I'd photographed, (I put the other 10 aside for now) I got a good practice session in, and used one of the 2.0 reeds I'd gotten a box of. It makes a big difference in sound! So yeah I was ready for the step-up. My facial muscles felt more tired, but that's it, and I'm up to page 15 in the band book now. 

Unfortunately, New Year's Day and the day before it will be rained out. So I guess I don't have to worry about working up to page 18 or so in the book when I'll learn the C in the staff note I need to play Auld Lang Syne. I'll just be staying in. 

I got up today and am glad I practiced before going to bed because my headache was bad. I packed 6 or so things, some large some small, and was about to head out when I got a call from Ken, who wanted to come pick me up and we'd go to the new storage place and pick up a load of small stuff to put on Ebay. I said I have to go mail stuff, and we agreed that I'd be back here at 7:30, ready to go. 

So I took the things and mailed them, got two tea eggs at 99 Ranch and a couple of things at H Mart including a coffee that I thought was black coffee but actually it had non-sugar sweeteners in it. Blech. I sat there by my bike at H Mart and ate the eggs, and drank just enough of the coffee to rinse my mouth. 

I picked up 5 boxes of a certain kind that I like to use for circuit boards, and got back here. I had time to get all ready to go, and got another call from Ken. He was running late because he'd gone to Walmart and picked up a bunch of things and then realized he'd left his wallet at his house, so he had to go back and get it. 

He came by a bit later and after moving some things around in his hoarder's dream of a truck so I had room to sit, we were off. Ken started going on about how I haven't seen the new place ... I had to correct him and say I certainly have, was with him when we put the first stuff in there, and was there with him at the side of the freeway as we picked up the plastic rolling rack he'd had fly off of his truck. Geez. 

We got there and Ken had trouble getting the lock to work and I said he ought to check to make sure it's the right unit and it wasn't, his was the one just to the left. 

We started getting tubs of stuff to put in the truck and right away I barked my knuckle so now I had this thing bleeding and kept having to put it in my mouth and feel the flap of skin that was loose - lovely. Plus my headache really hadn't given me a break all day and wasn't now. 

Once we had 6 or 8 tubs loaded I said, "This is enough; this is a good load" and we shut the unit and I'd made sure the tailgate on the truck was fastened (or Ken would happily drive down the street with stuff falling out the back). 

He'd learned his lesson though, and didn't go on the freeway. He took surface streets, and got fairly lost, with my having to give directions like he was here, to the shop, for the first time. All the while he regaled me with stories of how good he is at having a sense of direction. 

We got back here and loaded the stuff into the office here and then he wanted to just rest and have a cup of tea which I fixed for him,  and we talked about stuff for a while. I asked if he felt like going to Denny's and he said he still had Christmas leftovers at home. I had some ice water and the last bit of a can of peanuts while we talked, and eventually Ken was ready to go, and went. 

As for my pay check, I told him he didn't pay me last week so it would be a double one, and he said, "I didn't pay you last week?" and I said he sure didn't, and showed where I keep track on the wall calendar, with little boxes for each week that I check off. 

The thing is, Ken's short on money and his workplace is "out" for all of this week so he can't bug *them* until next week. I said I don't mind waiting until next week, that this is why I save a bit of money etc. As long as he can catch up because then it will be a 3X pay check. 

So far I've always been paid, even if sometimes I've been very glad I'm not paycheck-to-paycheck like Ken is. This is the nature of high tech, and as mentioned Ken has to bug his boss to get paid, so I can bug him to get paid. High tech isn't nearly as smart a thing to go into as something that's government, unionized, and preferably both. I make a bit over $20k a year, Ken's promised in the past that my pay might go up to $30k a year but that dream's long gone, and I bet if I did the lowest job at a hospital or at the post office or the DMV, I'd make $40k a year. 

I just need to keep chugging along until mid-2027 when I'll be turning 65 so I'll have Medicare, and can make the move back home and forget I've ever heard of electronics. 

But for now, this is the time of year when everyone kind of withdraws and you don't see them until March or April or so. It being rainy on both Christmas Day and New Year's Day is just happenstance, but the normal thing to do this time of year is to hide as much as possible, not be out doing happy things like busking. 

One thing I've got to say for the clarinet is, the case it comes in is so small that I'm pretty sure it will fit just fine into my "Chrome" messenger bag that I used to use a lot, and have had sitting in a box for some years now. That makes it a bit easier to carry around than the trumpet was,  and thus easier to just happen to have with me to fit an hour of busking in, here and there. 

So to finish up the working for today, I went through all of those 7 or 8 tubs of stuff that were piled in the office and kept only the things that can be sold, and as  I went  I pushed tubs of the stuff I'm not keeping out the door, so by the time I was done there was a nice group of tubs and junk out there and the first of the scavengers already picking over it. That tired me out so I'll list the remaining 10 things I have photographed, later. 

 

What a weekend

 For starters, I realized today that the last time I'd gone out to mail things and it had been wet, I'd come back here and rinsed the plastic tub and its lid, that I used to carry the packages in to keep them safe and dry. They'd gotten all kinds of junk on them from the bike tires. 

So I'd rinsed them, and leaned them up against the front of the shop here, and then was just thinking about getting warmed up, and well, out of sight, out of mind. So naturally at least after a day or so someone had decided they weren't wanted by me, and took them. It makes sense because I put stuff out for the scroungers all the time, and I'd gotten the tub and its lid by scrounging, myself. I liked that tub, though. 

Since it was wet and cold, and then dry and colder, I stayed in on Saturday and Sunday.  

Boxing Day

 What a funny name for "the day after Christmas" but that's what they call it in Commonwealth countries and it does roll off the tongue rather nicely. 

And it was wet, of course. Still, I go out and delivered packages to the post office and FedEx. I got wet but it wasn't too bad.  

I got some good practice in last night (early this morning) and need to, because to play the version of "Auld Lang Syne" I downloaded, I need to play the C in the staff, which it about 8 pages ahead of where I am now, I guess because you have to press down a bunch of stuff to play it, and there are low notes the writers of the band book felt are more important. 

I was wrong about Marvin Naylor stopping blogging. He'd just changed the format of his Wordpress page so that it looked like he had. When you go there you get pictures of his first and second book and only the most persistent will scroll down 2 screens' worth to find the blog entries. But they are there. It's kind of amazing how with the advent of the internet, everyone's forgotten the most simple things that kids used to learn, running a school newspaper, before they were adults. 

He certainly know his street characters well. There's an actual "street culture" in the UK that's completely missing in the US. Marvin can get to know various characters because they walk around like the street is their immediate neighborhood and they have the right to walk on it, instead of being a place where they're prey for cars and talking to anyone is dangerous/insane, like it is for proper Americans. 

But now it's time I wrote down some other things that have been weighing on me.  Between finding out that the one guy who's head and shoulders above all the others in the English-speaking shakuhachi world is an ardent Nazi, Ranban Sakamoto leaving in a matter of months and thus the core of the shakuhachi club going away, and the general unsuitability of the shakuhachi for anything but shakuhachi music. my interest in the thing is just gone. I just can't see myself spending time on it when the clarinet alone is a huge "world" and adding in the soprano sax like Sidney Bechet did, is an even huger "world". 

And speaking of whom, I found an excellent documentary on him and the music in it was amazing. It "goes right through me" the same way really good shakuhachi music does. 

As a trumpet player, of course my hero was Louis Armstrong. But he and Bechet both had that same bluesy sound, but of the two I prefer Bechet, in the pieces that are not so "commercial". He was not so "commercial", himself. He was smart enough to get out of the US, too. 

But this all presents a problem in that, I had a very good reason to retire back in Hawaii because there's one good shakuhachi player who lives there and others who visit all the time, and it's that much closer to Japan, the home of the shakuhachi. But if my interest in that is zero now and I'm playing the clarinet, now I don't have any more reason to live in Hawaii as I would anywhere else.  

This isn't to say I shouldn't go back there, it's just down to the kind of pros and cons that have to be considered about any place. Such as, 

Pros: It's about 30% cheaper than here, the weather's pretty nice, I grew up there so I am at least to some extent a "local" and I can speak the local patois. I know where everything is and a million little details of how things work and little customs and ways of doing things. I can literally re-live my childhood fishing and surfing and finding seashells at the same places. Music-wise, no one tends to think "clarinet" when they think of Hawaii but everyone the world over loves jazz, and clarinet's a good busking instrument for there, loud enough without being too loud. Japanese tourists would get a kick out of seeing an American playing jazz, as opposed to the probably much more technically competent jazz whiz who's Japanese back home.

Cons: As a white/white-appearing person I'll always be a 2nd class citizen to some, and some of those in positions of power. The couple of friends I still know back there (who are still alive and have not left the place years ago) are useless, likewise the two sisters I have there who hate me in the one case because I'm not a Jesus-freakie, and to the other because I'm not wealthy and didn't go to Punahou School like she did. I could only hope that those two, at best, leave me utterly alone. Oahu is a small island in the middle of thousands of miles of ocean, and not the least "con" is, it's still part of the US. Which is at present putting people into concentration camps and is not even letting people leave who want to (stopping cars at border exits and if your papers aren't in order or you're less than paper-white, you might get disappeared). You'd think Hawaii would be far away enough from most of the US that one could lay low there but it doesn't work that way, and Gestapo raids happen there, too. 

Now, I *had* a plan to get out of here. It involved converting to a certain religion and emigrating to a certain small nation in the Middle-East, which has very good P.R. In fact, very-very good P.R. People wonder why this small, well-funded (by the US) nation pumps out so much P.R. when for those who look, there's plenty of info out there to thoroughly debunk their P.R. And the answer is that for enough of the time, at least on some people, it works. 

I was one of those people. I actually believed the bit about it being a liberal paradise, and certainly free health care and language lessons and nice beaches and walkable bazaars and all that looked good. Hell I even thought the letters of their language looked cool and this last was good because I was studying that language. 

Well, a lot of history happens in a short time these days, and simply by existing through a few years' time, I was able to see that the P.R. debunkers are pretty much 100% right. This small nation gets the US tangled up in all kinds of trouble, probably got our idiot-in-chief elected, certainly re-elected,  and this tiny troublemaking nation isn't even a good place for its own people. All that nice liberal stuff, the free health care and women's rights and the big gay festival, will probably be gone in 10 years. Their "Iron Dome" is more like "Tin Dome" and it's only a fire hose of US money that's keeping the place somewhat functional and defended. 

In other words, I was every bit as deluded as no doubt a few were who saw "Socialist" in the National Socialists' name and heard about a few of their social programs and thought they were nice people. The branch of that small nation's religion, to which I was in the process toward converting, is the most liberal one, and person to person they are indeed very nice people. It took me a while to figure out that for instance, when ordering food for an event, they'd order from the most right-wing genocide-funding companies possible. 

There's only so much I could take. As part of the process I went to religious services and their book is read through yearly, a weekly portion at a time. So one gets a pretty good familiarity with it, and there's really not anything peaceful in it. You'd be hard-pressed to find the few things in there that are not  sociopathic and murderous. 

So some months ago I told them I'm "taking a hiatus" and "I can tell I'm not going to retire in country X"  and that's that. 

And that *is* that. In the meantime I'm watching history happen. Major media outlets bought by ... those highly supportive or actual agents of, this small country. The US being told to jump and how high at every turn. The "little guy" finding out, realizing far too late but at least realizing, that they're being utterly screwed over by a president who's our most supportive, ever, of this little troublemaking country. And this little troublemaking country doesn't give a damn if their game is evident, because Hey, they've got the presidency, they've got the media outlets, they've got massive financial power, what's the little guy gonna do?  

So yeah, my retirement plan turned out to be utterly horrible and the ABORT button's been hit on that one. But it leaves me in need of a better plan. My old plan was going to have me out of here mid-2027 I figure, and right now the plan I'm telling people is that I'll go back to Hawaii in mid-2027 because I'll be able to go right from Medi-Cal to Medicare and won't have any period where I'm uninsured and any little thing could clean me out financially. 

 

Wet, rainy Xmas

 I guess I made good use of the day, by sleeping through it. It's very wet and stormy out there so needless to say I've stayed in. 

I have to post a correction; Marvin Naylor is posting to his busking blog again and his has actual busking in it. 

 

And some more rain

 And wind, making sure it was not practical to go out at all today, much less any kind of busking. 

I got my practice in last night, and the little tunes in the band book are coming out better and more easily. 

I've been thinking about some things a lot lately, and I might as well write them down. Firstly, there are only three other blogs I follow at all. One is "Ran Prieur" whose life has followed the trajectory that's ideal if you've got parents who will kick off and leave you stuff like money and a house. He's just fucked around being a "rebel" by writing a silly "zine" for some years, digging in dumpsters, and hustling donations online so he'd never have to work. His honesty was so refreshing that people ponied up and it was a pretty good racket. Finally he ran out of parents and got the money and house, and has settled into navel-gazing and the occasional vacation. He's not nearly so interesting any more. 

One of the others is "Rabb1t" who lived in a Toyota Rav4 in and around the De Anza College campus. Now, my memory of a Rav4 is something only slightly larger than the old 1980s Suzuki Samurai, but apparently they're sizeable SUVs now. His blog is so depressing I can't look away, basically. I have to admire that he's avoided most of the troubles of homelessness (drugs, other homeless) and has kept puttering along all these years. Maybe I should look into the price of a good used Rav4... 

Lastly there's "Street Musician Daniel" who I actually sent guitar strings and stuff to, and who used to keep a pretty interesting blog of his day-to-day busking in New Orleans. He's since gotten a free house and free everything else, is far-right Trumpist/Zionist/racist politically, and has given up busking for the recreational joys of crack. His blog is hard as hell to find; you have to do a Google search of it, which brings up a post from well over a year ago. Then click on the "masthead" to get his latest. Which he posts at the rate of less than once a month. He thinks The Illuminati or some shit are plotting against him to make people not read his blog, but really it's just that he's made it nearly impossible to find. I need to stop even trying to read that one, frankly. 

I'd include Marvin Naylor, who had a neat blog of his busking over in the UK, but he's gone over to just posting YouTube videos now. Lots of crankiness and dry humour in that one, so it was always a bit of fun to read. 

 

 

Finally a little rain

 We're finally getting a little rain. And wind. And there's even a warning of possible tornadoes?? 

Between the rain and the wind and my inexperience, I can be pretty confident in saying I won't be out tomorrow, Chrismas Eve, busking. 

I had one thing, only one, to ship out today so I waited around for a while and then another order came in, so then I had two things to ship. I took the things and a bag of change (all my change except pennies)  and headed out around 4. It looked dark and stormy but no rain. 

After dropping off the things, I rode over to 99 Ranch and first went to this Chinese herbs and medicines type place and got a bottle of this Chinese cough syrup that's supposed to work well, because I had a scratchy throat.  I paid the $10.80 for that in dimes. 

I spent more change on a couple small things in 99 Ranch, then headed for home. On the corner by H Mart, an old Asian lady came up and made motions, the universal motions of begging for something to eat. I had nothing in my pockets, and told her I had nothing. Then I realized I could take the change in my change bag, put it in a plastic veggie bag I had, and hand that off to her. So I did that, and that took care of the change problem. 

It was just barely starting to sprinkle as I rode home, and I got in here, did stuff, cooked dinner, etc. 

 

New mouthpiece is a win

 After doing a ton of things last night, found an interesting but not too interesting movie to watch on YouTube and got the clarinet stuff out and tried out the new Fobes Debut mouthpiece. It's harder to squeak on than the Yamaha one, and I think it's easier to go down to low notes too. I'd say it's a win. 

I did well over an hour's practice, not continually but taking little breaks, while watching "Searching For Bobby Fischer". That movie's a neat look into how people lived in the late 80s or early 90s, with no computers, smart phones, or who's saying what on social media. 

I went over the band book from the beginning up to page 10, plus some noodling around like picking out simple tunes. I'd say it's going well. 

The main thing is to keep up with reading music and not just be one of those lazy people who just plays by ear. And to practice every day no Ifs Ands or Buts. 

I got 20 things together to list last night before practice, and went to bed. When I got up I was ready to pack the 6 or so things that had sold that I had ready, and I got out of here around 3:30. I dropped off a couple of books at a new little free library I found, dropped off trash, and picked up a bottle of tea at Nijiya. 

Then I went over to Walmart for my "weekly Wal" and got a bunch of things. I'm going to hold myself to staying within my "allowance" again, so what money I took out of this last pay check is it. With Christmas right in the middle of the week I may get my pay check this week like I usually do, but probably won't deposit it until next week. But I can let myself take more money out. So I brought a bunch of quarters and they came in useful at Walmart. 

I visited Nijiya again on the way back, got a bento and some sashimi, and got back here. There have been all these promises of rain and so far it's been dry so I don't know what's going on. It's supposed to be a very wet Christmas week though. 

That makes for a pretty dismal forecast for busking. Even tonight, I rode a little loop around downtown, to see who I'd run across, but no Leroy and no Wendell. Yeah it's Monday night but it's Christmas week which to me means Be out there even if it's Monday because there are tons of people out walking around in a holiday mood. 

 

 

Time I got caught up

 Well let's see ... I watched two movies yesterday and overnight ... the movie "White Masai" after finishing the book. Then "The Andromeda Strain" which is actually better than the book. 

I did a shipping run on Friday and deposited my pay check, and Petition Guy was in front of Whole Foods there but packed up early because he was worried about rain. It turns out he needn't have worried, as the rain just went by to the North. 

There was a young guy there with a guitar he said he'd just got, and I told him about good places to play it. According to Petition Guy, the guy had had his car stolen in New Mexico and the police there had said something like, "It's a cartel and we can't help you". Or maybe it was, "It's *not* a cartel, so we can't help you". 

I'd have hung out longer and encouraged the guy more but I was worried about rain, and needn't have... 

I took a little ride around downtown and Leroy's still alive! I talked with him a bit, and he said Wendall, who plays the flute and comes out here this time of year from New Orleans, is around. So I left Leroy to get back to mangling the oldies with absolutely no sense of rhythm or "swing" and rode by the usual Wendall haunts but I didn't see him. 

Yesterday, Saturday, was just sleeping most of the day because rainy weather can make me sleep like that, then getting up and when the guys next door got some loud music playing I decided to get out of here for a couple of hours. I got things at Ross and Sprouts, then listed a bunch of things and did my movie-watching thing. 

I slept most of today, too. It keeps threatening to rain but it's all sliding by to the North. 

 

 

I ducked out

 Last night I sent an email to Rinban Sakamoto saying I won't be making the shakuhachi club meeting tonight or the performance at the temple service on Sunday. "Family stuff", I said and left it at that. 

I guess I am just plain done with the shakuhachi.  I doubt I could convince many people to play it regardless of how good an "ambassador" I could be, since it's just plain hard to play. 

An end-blown flute that tuned and has the same fingering as the pennywhistle would be neat, because  it would piggyback onto the huge amount of material for the pennywhistle, with the sound of a flute vs. a "fipple flute" AKA a whistle. But truth be known anyone who's interested in that fingering system and tuning and playing position is going to get into the pennywhistle and there are some really good-sounding whistles and whistle players out there. 

Plus all the people having fun with recorders so there's no crying need in any of these areas. 

I don't plan now to join the temple, since I'm never up early enough to go to the services on Sundays and I've been missing most of the things going on anyway. It makes the most sense if you're Japanese or married into a Japanese family, and want/need to do family stuff. 

I guess you can be in the SS....

 https://slippedisc.com/2023/03/vienna-phils-ss-man-is-still-honoured-back-home/ And still be loved as a trumpet player. Streets named after him, Leonard Bernstein worked with him, yadda yadda. 

So Chris Broad, being a Christian Nationalist, essentially the modern equivalent of the SS, is fine and dandy too. 

A big difference being, though, that trumpet is an instrument that's popular enough that tons of people play it and surely come from a wide political spectrum.  

The shakuhachi is a real "niche" instrument, even in Japan. Enough so that especially in the English-speaking world, one person can become the "face" or representative of the instrument. And loathsome politics aside,  Mr. Broad is head and shoulders above the rest to be that one person. 

Shakuhachi is probably the most gate-kept instrument on the planet, and I think it would be impossible to be really serious about it without in effect, working hand-in-hand with Chris Broad. His recordings of the lovely little "minyo" or children's/folk songs are both exhaustive and as far as I can tell, the only source for them to the student. 

With unlimited financial resources I could simply move to Japan, spend half my time learning the language and half my time the shakuhachi, dealing strictly in Japanese from a Japanese master (avoiding the two that gave Chris Broad his rankings) and in that way avoid working in any way with a Christian Nationalist. But I don't have those resources. 

So the only real answer is: Avoid! Avoid! I don't want anyone assuming that because I play Instrument X, I'm a devotee of far-right politics. There's probably a lot of overlap between younger, say below 40 years of age, shakuhachi players and "weaboos" who pine to live in Japan because they think it's a paradise due to being racially homogeneous. They never seem to ponder that Japan being racially homogeneous means the Japanese probably don't want *them* in their country either. 

 

Dry, and another week

 The deal is that from what they were saying on the radio, it was going to rain today starting around 4 in the afternoon. And I had a bunch of things to ship out, including a big order of a lot of things. 

So the plan was to get everything packed so when I woke up, I could just load up and go, get things sent whether it was 2 or 3 or even 4 in the afternoon when I got up. And I did it, too. Found all the hard-to-find stuff and packed the large order as a sort of "candy box" with the more delicate things in their own boxes inside the larger box. 

Then I just wanted to sleep so I did. I had a bunch of weird dreams haha and at one point, kind of halfway woke up because for some reason, the middle toes on my right foot were painful like I'd kicked something and could barely be moved. 

I woke up around 1:30 this afternoon, and my right foot's fine. That was really weird. 

Now the weather report is that it will be sunny and the only slight chance of rain, in the wee hours of the morning. It's a nice feeling to have everything all packed, though. 

So I'm having coffee and thinking about my plans for the day and I realized that I had my weeks wrong, and Xmas is not this Thursday, it's next Thursday. This Thursday is shakuhachi club and there's a new song we're supposed to learn but mainly I think we're going to emphasize practicing the two songs we're supposed to play at the end of the service on the 21st. 

After that, for me, I dunno. Some things have been weighing on me. Not the least is that Rinban Sakamoto is retiring soon and we've already talked about how the shakuhachi club is going to keep going. I think it will, in some form, because one of the ladies is pretty organized and bosses us but in a useful way, and she'll keep some sort of group going. 

But without him, my interest goes 'way down. He and I have gotten along like old friends from the start. maybe due to our both having lived in Mo'ili'ili but probably just a personality thing. 

Another thing that came up last club meeting was, Rinban Sakamoto mentioned that he's never, even after 40 years, been able to play the traditional music and has settled for playing popular music, as much as it can be done on a shakuhachi. 40 years! And the guy's been able to take lessons from very good teachers, like Masayuki Koga. 

Another thing that's really knocked my interest down is that Chris Broad, who's all over YouTube and who I was a real follower of, turns out to be a Christian Nationalist which means he wants everyone who's not straight, white, and a member of the same cult, to die - preferably painfully. That's what Christianity is about, but the average Christian is lazy and un-motivated and will do un-Christian things like be friends with a Black neighbor or actually help someone who's poor. Nationalists are serious about their plan for national racial/political cleansing and will comes down hard on less-than-ardent Christians also. For more on this see Germany 1933-45. 

I'm pretty sure the reason I'm kicked off of YouTube is that I called Chris out on this. The shakuhachi has such a tiny, niche, following that it's kind of weird that this guy who's probably its greatest ambassador on YouTube is SS-level doctrinaire, but there you have it. 

Assuming his playing is real and not enhanced somehow, he's a hell of a good player and quite likely to become "the shakuhachi guy" in the US at least if not in the entire English-speaking world. He's got a tremendous body of work out there, for instance recording a ton of the minyo, or children's/folk songs, many on a smaller, 1.6, shakuhachi on which they sound even sweeter. Due to him it was my aspiration to someday own not only a good 1.8 but a good 1.6 as well.  

As it is, if the instrument's to be political, I don't really want to be a part of that. 

Markus Guhe, a genuine good guy who lives in the Netherlands or somewhere like that, has also been playing for years and calls himself a professional shakuhachi player, has improved over the years but still does not, in my estimation, play well enough to be a competent busker. That's how hard the instrument can be. 

There are actual *reasons* the instrument almost died out, and it was only the wave of nationalism in Japan in the 1930s and 40s that brought it back to some degree. The work in : reward out ratio is very low compared to modern instruments. 

I guess what I'm arriving at is that while I'll always have my eyes open to finding a good shakuhachi and playing it a bit on the side, I think I should work on clarinet more and on getting my busking skills together on that. 

 

More parts!

 I woke up around 1PM. I figured I'd call up Park Avenue Music first, because they're a pretty easy bike ride away, then if they didn't have what I wanted, West Valley Music which is an hour by bus each way. 

Park Avenue had the goods. I had breakfast and coffee and went over there. For about $110 I got a Fobes Debut mouthpiece, a Rovner ligature (thing that holds reed on), a box of the light blue Rico reeds #2 strength, and a copy of the Rubank beginner book. 

For some reason, the people on r/clarinet rave about the Rubank book. I mean, in trumpet or flute, they'll mention that book among a number of others for beginners, but in the clarinet world, they really rave over the Rubank book and recommend little else for the beginner. 

I could have ordered the mouthpiece and ligature from Mr. Fobes himself, but he's apparently out of the ligatures, and I'd not get the things for a week at least. At least in theory I'm now a bit better set up to do some busking on Xmas eve or Xmas itself, but in reality it's forecast to rain those days. 

I paid for my goodies and somehow I got into the most fun conversation with one of the employees there, about all the fun to be had with those first-generation home computers, and various things that could be done with phones and computers. We had a great time talking about this stuff. But we both had to get back to work. 

I then went to Whole Foods and got some good ol' meatloaf and potatoes and got a near-beer upstairs which I was surprised to see open.  Then I went by the Amazon place for bubble mailers, then stopped by Nijiya Market because I don't know why it's just customary for me to stop there, and I guess I got something but I can't think what it is right now. 

I got back and unloaded things then hooked up the bike trailer and went back to a dumpster across from the big Goodwill facility, that was full of some really nice cardboard boxes, which I flattened and loaded up, and took back to the shop, unloaded again, then had time to pack seven small things which I took to the post office. I got a thing or two at 99 Ranch, then rode back here. 

 

$110

 That's the "melt value" of the 3 silver half-dollars and 4 silver quarters I bought today for ... $109 and change. The guy at the antique shop just had the ones he had in his display case, so they were in a computer inventory or something and I said what the heck, I'll buy 'em. And that's enough old silver coins to "have a dog in the fight" and thus make watching the silver price interesting.

The idea being, of course, the sell the coins (as well as a ton of other things) before leaving for home in mid-2027. 

I'd been up until quite late getting a batch of things ready to list on Ebay, and decided to call it an "early" night, going to bed around 4AM. Interestingly, the police had decided to park outside the illegal night club, 4 cars at one point, so they didn't even try to set up. Pretty hilarious. 

I woke up at 1 in the afternoon, had breakfast and got over to the antique store to buy those coins. The trip started out as always with a stop in at Whole Foods, and interestingly although it was a very busy day, there were no scam booth hustlers and the petition guy with his table was also gone. I was able to ask about their Christmas hours and they're open until 7 on Christmas eve, and not open at all on the day. 

So a bit of busking is possible there on the day before The Day, and on The Day I'm not sure where I'd go but downtown Mountain View and the area around Santana Row come to mind. 

 

 

More practice

 More practice last night (very early this morning!) and I'm a few more pages in, in the book and learned two more notes, a higher A and a lower B. I put in well over an hour. This is the thing, and it's a thing in flute also, that one can play for hours more easily than on trumpet.

Am I hitting the Christmas carols this year? I think .... not. I just have too much else to do. It doesn't matter as much, though. Not drinking any more has done wonders for my finances. 

In a year's time it would be neat to be where I'm putting all of each paycheck into the bank and living off of $200 or so a week from busking.  

My new clarinet is a Yamaha "Advantage" 200AD which apparently, and I sure researched, is the same as the YCL255, in a bit nicer case. I guess the '255 comes in a soft case? The 2000AD's are sold to music stores for their "rental fleets" and come with these nice, small, durable, stacking, cases. I could easily carry my "horn" in a bike bag or by putting the case into my messenger bag and carrying that on my back. 

So it's a good choice not only for learning but for busking. 

Since I was up past 6AM I didn't wake up until 2 this afternoon. I caught up with Ebay stuff and thought about what I could accomplish today. I decided to follow up on a hint of something from my prowl though the antique stores, and went back to the biggest one where one of the booths near the back has some silver US coins. The upshot of that is I got nine silver quarters for $70, and the "melt value" of those is something like $11.50 right now. 

Silver's going crazy in price right now and I want to get into it, a little bit. I've just found this one guy who has coins he inherited or something and is willing to make deals. So the plan is to buy some here and there until his little stash is gone, then sell the coins for, hopefully,  a profit before I leave for back home. 

So that's what I did today. I dashed over there and the antique store was very busy, but the guy was there and I was able to do my little deal and get out of there. He's got half-dollars too but I don't know how many and I figure it's a fun little thing to do until his stash runs out then just sit on these coins and have a "dog in the fight" watching the price of silver. 

"Do you want a bag for those?" I was asked. "Nope, they've done fine in other people's pockets and they'll do fine in mine!" I said, putting them in my pocket where they could float around with my other change. Silver coins *jingle* more, though, which sort of brought back a memory of my father's change jingling in his pockets when he'd come home from work and it was a happy sound because we were always happy when Dad came home. This would be maybe 1966, so there were still a lot of silver in people's pockets. 

Next I went to the big Goodwill on San Carlos, but didn't find anything I wanted, other than a book, "Nothing To Envy" about North Korea, which I've wanted to read for a while. That was $2.50 except I might want to subtract about 70c, the value of the crispy and really neat-looking 5 Yuan note that was tucked in it. I now have the coolest bookmark ever.  

I stopped at Nijiya for some things, and the guys there were still talking about my telling them that the little portrait of the guy with a pipe in his mouth on BOSS coffee products is actually William Faulkner. "You know, 'As I Lay Dying'" one guy said. It's a kind of cool thing to know. 

 

 

 

Pure Win

 After all the things I did yesterday, including spending a fair amount of time getting a batch of things photo-ready, including some high voltage capacitors, I actually got around to getting the new clarinet out and starting in on the band book. 

I learned C below the staff, the D above it that dangles just below the staff, the E that's a pinch (left hand first finger and thumb) F that's thumb only, and G that's nothing. 

I also learned how to make some insanely cool very high-pitched notes, easy to get if I put too much of the mouthpiece into my mouth. That stuff is fun!! 

I'm using a 1-1/2 reed which according to the folks on r/clarinet is all kinds of bad, not stiff enough to teach a good embouchure, yadda yadda. Well, I got a few 1-1/2's to start on and will soon get some 2's and work up from there. 

I also intend to get the Fobes Debut mouthpiece and Rovner ligature I've mentioned, the mouthpiece because those are universally recommended for beginners, and the Rovner if nothing else because the Fobes site sells them, and they're easier to fiddle with than the standard 2-screw type. 

If I can get the practice in, I can actually see myself getting out there busking at least for some Christmas carols.  

Even just starting out, with my "toy" 1-1/2 reed, I can see that some good tone is possible. I can tell I'm going to get a lot of music out of this thing. 

Now, how is the dang clarinet going to fit in, in Hawaii? Well, a guy I took the odd lesson from, Mark Sowlakis, told me when he went there (playing clarinet and sax) he always came back with more money than he'd left with. Hawaii's always had a jazz scene, and probably more of one than San Jose here. This boring town does not set a high bar. 

I went to Menlo Park to do some business, it's an easy 1/2-hour train ride there/back, and the only thing was that I'd chosen a Friday, and a Friday that's the last one before Christmas so the place was a bit of a madhouse. People buying presents I guess. I got what I came for and got outta there, then tried to find a place not inundated with high school students as it was late afternoon. Starbucks was out, for instance. 

I found a deli that's large, the old-style place with plenty of coffee drinks and pastries, but also sandwiches and wine if that's your thing. And it was bustling enough that there's no code for the loo, just go in. That was a relief, and then I felt obligated to them, and got this big tri-tip sandwich which was nice and juicy like Carl's Jr. hamburgers used to be. So that was my big meal for the day. 

I got back on the train and rode my bike from Whole Foods where I'd left it, over to the Amazon place for some bubble mailers and then to Nijiya for a couple things. They're not giving out their trademark white plastic bags any more. Booooo! It's paper ones now. Walmart is doing that too, these days. 

Traffic is nuts out there and it was good to get back here in one piece. It's cold out there and just as importantly, very damp which makes it feel colder. I really don't feel like being out doing things once it gets dark, which is pretty early this time of year. 

 

 

Western Bacon Cheeseburger

Yesterday I packed things to ship, took them to the post office and FedEx, then stopped in at The Baguette for a pastry and a coffee, and read more of "White Masai". The author's caught malaria, so I'm eager to see how that goes. 

But because of computers now, I'm reduced to being the kind of kid who hated reading in class and. would. halt. each. word. as. he. figured. it. out. reading in a husky voice. Good old times at Koko Head Elementary School. I might as well have been done of the dummies who lived for "shambattle" and serving as a JPO (Junior Police Officer) when school got out, just so I could yell at people. 

So I have to spend $10 on coffee and a donut to get any reading done. 

Done with that, I collected some boxes and decided to skip the storage unit. I've retrieved just about everything good out of there now. 

I got back here and listed the 20 things I had cued up, and waited for Ken to show up. He eventually called me and said he was running late, and did I want anything from Carl's Jr.? I said I wanted a Western Bacon Cheeseburger if they still have those, and if not, "something really stacked". 

He got here and we ate our burgers and I fixed him a tea. I put some Kewpie mayo on mine and just about inhaled it. This cold weather has me craving a lot more calories. 

I got my check (dated for Friday) and we talked about stuff; the usual. Ken had brought a couple of microwave ovens and some computer towers for me to take apart, and we talked about the storage situation. We'll be all moved out of the remaining storage unit at the old, nearby, place this weekend. As for the new place, Ken says he might get an auction company to sell off what he's got in there. I told him to bring any tubs of stuff here, because I'm finding a lot of neat treasures in the tubs of small things, and those won't bring much at auction. There are BIG oscilloscopes and racks and two huge lab ovens etc., that will do better. 

By the time he left, at almost 1 in the morning, I was still burping from the burger and by the time I'd recovered from that and might practice with the new clarinet, I was just about falling asleep at my desk and went to bed, around 3AM. 

In a day or two I intend to order a Fobes Debut mouthpiece and a Rovner ligature from the Fobes site, and for some reason the people on r/clarinet are really in love with the Rubank book. I've already got the first, red, book in the Standard Of Excellence series though. As I said to the gal at the music store, I actually worked through all three books (red, blue, green) in the series on trumpet. I still sounded like crap, but I worked through 'em! 

 

Life in the hermit kingdom

 I know it doesn't have to do with busking, but apparently now, tourists (anyone coming to the US who's not a US citizen so vacationers, business travelers, yadda yadda) coming to the US have to supply something like 5 years of social media history, undergo extensive biometric scanning, supply all family members' birthday dates, etc. Hell I sure don't know my siblings' birthdays, there being 5 of us, except for one and that's only because it kind of rhymes when you say it out loud. 

Having no social media history may be considered worse. 

And God help you if you're brown. Ken, my boss, and his wife have had fairly frequent vacations outside the US, and Suzy, being Mexican, has already gotten very different treatment than Ken or I. Years ago, pre-covid, I was at Ken's house and he and I were relating our funny anecdotes regarding neglecting registering our cars because who can be bothered to take a look at their own registration sticker? It was all lighthearted and fun, when Suzy jumped up and said she was a day or two late, got stopped, had to get out of the car and put her hands on the hood, and they just about got the cuffs out. 

I think it's lovely they got to visit Italy, their being Catholic, and that they visited the Caribbean, Ken being a SCUBA diver, but it may not go well at all if they leave the US and (try to) come back in these times. If it didn't matter that Suzy and her parents are/were US citizens then, it sure might not matter now. 

And here I am too old and unskilled and un-wealthy to go much of anywhere else, other than trying to optimize where I am in the US. And here I am wondering if the same restrictions will come into effect for domestic travel.  I've made up my mind that it's best to stay here in California until mid-2027, when I'll be 65, so that I'll go directly from Medi-Cal to Medicare, and will get a fairly decent Social Security payment, having waited three years past the earliest day I could apply. 

If these restrictions come in domestically, it's going to absolutely kill tourism in Hawaii. Imagine all those Japanese tourists having to do all of this. I don't think it will go over well at all. 

There's quite a bit of talk about this on a certain internet site, and of course anyone who might be a reporter or "influencer" is being kept out if they're less than adoring of the present regime. The consensus is that the regime wants to make the US a sort of "hermit kingdom" North Korea style. 

I  got things shipped and came back here and listed the 20 things I had cued up. Ken's coming over but midnight is like noon to him. No wonder I fight having a night owl schedule. 

 

 

The clarinet??

It's 8PM (which in San Jose California is equivalent to 11PM anywhere else) and I just got in. 

So, to wind down, I'll write a bit about myself and the clarinet. 

In high school I was chosen for trumpet, probably because Mr. Payton had one slot open, and probably just as much because he could give me an old trumpet with no lacquer left on it, that my mom's boyfriend would not be able to pawn or otherwise profit off of. The cool kids played the clarinet. They never tired of reminding us, too, as they were required to keep their mouthpieces in a little pouch they wore around their neck. At random one of them would take theirs out and blow, "WEEEEET!!" 

Other than showing I could blow a longer note than anyone else, I didn't go anywhere with the trumpet because I felt so embarrassed that we didn't have the $20 for the mouthpiece. 

Later, much later as I'd left Hawaii and moved to the mainland, to Southern California. Everyone told me I had to check out Venice Beach so one weekend day I did. There were drummers and artists and the sort of hucksters I knew from swapmeets back in Hawaii. Nothing that new. 

But then I encountered the moth. Regardless of a popular NPR radio show, that's my name for the guy as he looked like a moth. He had on a grey suit with a grey vest, and even a grey hat, inverted on the sidewalk in front of him, and a musical instrument. I stood there, in wonder, and asked, "Is ... is that a clarinet?" I was unsure. He said something like "Yep!" and put it into his mouth with a click. This was an old guy, and his teeth were worn down where the mouthpiece fit in. He started to play and I don't know what he played (probably old Big Band music from the 30s or 40s) but it didn't matter, as the TONE was fantastic.  

I stood there astonished, as passers-by dropped money in the hat. This is probably some guy who played for old movies, and knew movie stars, I thought. And: This guy has got life solved. Play wonderful music and people put money in the hat. 

I hated the job I had but was scared to death to lose it (jobs were just as hard to get in the mid-80s as they are now) and I *wanted* to busk very much, but didn't have the guts to try it, afraid word would get back to work and they'd fire me. I tried learning "a musical instrument" and for people of my age that meant the guitar, but ... guitars hate me. The feeling is mutual. 

Maybe 10 years later I was considering learning the clarinet, as a pal had bought two old metal ones at a flea market. I had no idea how useless those really were but had an idea that the keys probably needed actual pads under them, and such details. 

A few more years and I was living on my own again and rented a clarinet but was afraid to practice much, as I was concerned the neighbors in my apartment building would complain. 

Much later, and I had a clarinet, and could play some simple things. I was busking in Mountain View, and across the street a very drunk guy was being held up by two pals, the three of them staggering along. I played "How Dry I Am" and they gave no indication that they heard me (now I'm certain they did). I need something louder, I thought, and hence my change over to trumpet. 

But I know I can play clarinet because I was doing so, and found I'd get squeaks when I got tired after more than an hour, but that beats sounding like a duck after a similar amount of time on trumpet. (Actually on trumpet I can go on indefinitely as long as I give myself enough breaks but it *is* tiring.) 

"Louder" is always the #1 criterion for a musical instrument here on the mainland. That's what the culture here esteems. 

I liked the idea of busking with the Hall glass flute because they *can* get somewhat loud, but the transverse flute playing position is just not working out all that well for me. That plus I'm deathly afraid I'll drop the thing, and while it's a win for Irish music, having the same fingering system as the pennywhistle, it's not great for the kind of popular music I'd like to play. 

A week or two ago a really nice pro Yamaha trumpet showed up on Craig's List and I'm glad someone apparently bought the thing, because I was sorely tempted. 

The trouble I run into on trumpet is I feel like I'm carving the music out of stone.  I can play high-ish in practice but once I get out there, I can barely venture above the staff. Given that the trumpet doesn't go down as far as the clarinet does (and doesn't sound great at the bottom of its range) it makes for a pretty restricted range, and thus a restricted list of songs I can play. 

I may become competent on the shakuhachi in 10 years' time, and I may not. It's got such a wonderful sound, but may be an instrument I love more in theory than in practice. 

So it comes down to: I want a wind instrument (no need for an amplifier, plus they're fairly durable) that's held straight-ahead (which narrows it down to trumpet, pennywhistle, shakuhachi, clarinet, sax) that plays chromatically (trumpet, clarinet, sax) and I don't want to go back to trumpet ( now we're down to clarinet, sax) and the instrument should be pretty easy to carry around (clarinet).  

I did a lot of reading about clarinets last night, woke up at 2PM today and packed a couple of things to mail out,  and left here at about a quarter to 4. I got a can of coffee at Nijiya, dropped the things off at the post office, and was headed to Mountain View on a #22 bus around 5. 

I got to West Valley Music at 6, which is good because they close at 7. When the guy asked me how he could help, I said I wanted a student Yamaha clarinet, new or very-very close to new. "Yeah, we've got those" was pretty much his response. 

I was hoping it's the same as with flutes, where a given instrument might be north of $1000 online, but only about 2/3rds that in-person and I was right. I was hoping for a YCL-250, got a YCL-200 which is the same horn with a more durable case. With a cleaning kit and some reeds and a reed holder, it was just a bit over $800. 

Now I can play the thing and if in a year decide I want to upgrade or quit, I can sell it back to them for half what I paid, which is still no more expensive than renting. 

I told them that "I don't want to buy someone else's problems, and I'm a huge Yamaha loyalist" so I paid and rode the bus back to Whole Foods where I had the bike locked, with my new clarinet. 

The petition guy was there with his table set up, and we talked about the weather (he was OK since he was wearing 7 layers, while I was feeling the cold, wearing a mere 3) and I told him about my new "horn" but that I don't know if I'll be out playing any Christmas carols at all. Maybe. 

But what brought this all on? Partially, although I "should" be excited about the glass flute, having the same fingering as the pennywhistle, and being cheap and hygienic, etc., I've not been practicing on it at all because I just don't feel like it. That's a good indication that for me, it's just not a hit. 

But what really brought things to a head is, two nights ago I had a weird dream about trying to buy a clarinet, and the lady at West Valley Music had one but it was some weird new brand she was pushing with garish stickers on it, and meanwhile I found that somehow I had a "Benny Goodman Model" clarinet already. Just a weird dream. 

Well, I mentioned this to Tom and that, over at the big Goodwill on San Carlos that gets musical instruments in all the time, mostly what I'm seeing is junk and it varies so widely that you've got to just check it all the time. 

Tom said some disparaging stuff and I made my mind up right then and there to not discuss musical instruments or busking or anything of that type with him again. Thinking about it, I think he's mad at himself for not being the kind of person who will go out and do it. He was going to play trumpet, and he was going to play clarinet, and when I moved into what's his building now I found sax reeds in a drawer so he was probably going to play the sax, too. Meanwhile for all my switching around at least I've gone out and done it. 

But it really got me thinking and I decided to go ahead and get a clarinet and not talk with people who always have an opinion about a thing and never go out themselves and get any experience with the thing. 

 

Like it's 1997

 Hm, well, last Monday I woke up with a headache, and when I checked my email, a scary email. It looked like we were late with our December rent, and I figured Ken had just forgotten to mail the check, again. It was from our old landlord, which I thought was our current landlord. I looked them up online, and saw it's just a bus ride to Palo Alto to get there, so I called them up to say I'm on it, will get Ken to write a check and can hand-deliver it tomorrow. The bimbo who answered the phone checked and said, "We've not owned that building for years and what you got was mailed out by mistake". So the mystery deepened. 

I called Ken a ton but he never answered so I finally decided, "Tough, I'll see him Wednesday night". And I did, as he came over at his usual time. I'd printed out the invoice that was an attachment to the email, which appeared to be a bill for all rents plus late fees since 2023 or so. 

He said they've not been our landlord for years, this other one was, and I recognized the name. It's just that we'd had so many interactions with the previous one that I thought they still owned the building. We concluded that the old one had probably tried using AI, and AI did what AI does, which is fuck things up. 

Ken had *not* brought his checkbook, so he had to come over Thursday night to bring me my pay check, which deposited on Friday. 

Through all of this I've been taking a load of stuff from the old storage place, on the bike trailer, back here. I've been taking stuff I can list on Ebay easily as the first priority. 

It's been really cold and windy outside and I've not been even close to doing any busking. Since  I don't drink any more the financial pressure is off, and it's more about gaining skill and experience. 

I got two loads from the old place last night, and Ken was there, loading things up too. I told he he ought to prioritize things that require the trailer he rent, then the rest can be done with his truck without the trailer, and with my bike trailer. I said I'll continue to take a load a day out of there myself, and we'll be out of the final unit in a week. 

Then Ken will just have to $300 to pay for the new place, instead of the almost $700 for the old place. 

I didn't do much over the weekend. Whole Foods is being monopolized by the skinny white guy with his table, hassling people to sign petitions. But there's another sort of area I could play the Hall flute and perhaps add a nice Christmas touch and get tips ... if I'd only get out there. There are also other places like Mountain View and San Pedro Market. 

Plus I still have zero data points regarding whether the flute is more accepted by the public than the trumpet. I have a sneaking suspicion  that I could play the flute a lot of places where I'd get chased out if I played a trumpet. 

The highlight of the weekend was that I went through all the antique shops on San Carlos, looking for those little "10 years' service" type pins, as the tiny things are often solid gold or at least gold-filled, which means at least 10% of their weight is gold. But I found none.

I realized that it's not like it's 1997 any more. Everything in there has been checked and valued - often over-valued - by looking at prices online. A few things I made a mental note to check, turned out to be criminally overpriced. At least I got this idiotic pursuit out of my system. 

 

At least I'm not drinking any more

 Good God did that habit eat up some money! 

I've been very busy trying to get one load a day into here from the old storage place which is barely a mile away. The new place is far away enough that outside of an emergency I'm not going there and it will be up to Ken to get things from there to bring here, for me to list on Ebay. 

I started the day at noon, having been up until 4AM the night before, doing things (none of those things practicing) and I did watch a rather nice documentary on George Orwell. 

The day started with a headache, and an email from the landlord saying we're behind on rent. I printed out the statement and it appeared to be a record of all rents paid for the last few years. I called up the company and the lady on the phone said they don't own this building any more. 

So now I wanted to know (a) if Ken's sent in the rent for December, and (b) where he's sending it to. But he's not answering the phone. 

I packed a bunch of things including a large, long, delicate piece of lab glass that took special packing, then realized it was 4:30 and although I was fairly certain someone was at the office of the old place until 6, I'd better get over there. 

So I dropped everything and got over there. They close at 5, so I was right. I said we're out of the smaller of the two units we have there and the gal went with me to make sure there's no lock on the unit and we swept it out, so it will be ready to rent out to someone else. 

Then I got back here, finished packing that last thing, and took the things to the post office and FedEx. Then I took some time off to have pastries and a coffee at Paris Baguette, and read another chapter of "In Dubious Battle". Now, thanks to computers, I know what it's like to be someone who never reads unless they make a concerted effort to do so, and only reads a very little at a time. 

I rode back to the storage place and made up a load and took it back here, of the most hoarder-riffic assortment of stuff, gems mixed very thoroughly with utter junk that will be thrown away immediately when I sort through the stuff. 

I really hope to get some busking done this month, I really do. At least I don't drink any more. That little hobby ate up tons of money. $10 a day on that habit would amount to $3650 a year, but I think I was burning through far more money than that, since I was really not saving money so ... double that at least. 

I have a good savings rate now, at least.