A decent practice, considering

 Ken came by an hour early last night, but I had some things packed and had the office vacuumed so it was OK cleanliness-wise. 

I got a double check to compensate for the one that had bounced, and interestingly, in the mail he brought me was a notice that the check from the week before last had bounced. 

I also got my cornet gig bag which is pretty neat. 

After Ken left I packed the other things, being a few more small ones and three large ones, two of them quite large. 

I also called the landlord's secretary about her blaming me for the tables left outside and it turns out the guy next door is also called Alex, and the email was meant for him. I explained how, when the guys next door leave out a bunch of tables or chairs or something, I do them a favor by putting a "free" ad on Craig's List and people come and pick the things up. I'm not to do that any more. I guess the secretary would rather hassle them and fine them etc. But I'm still inclined to help, sneakily. 

I got a practice in that went surprisingly well considering it was like 6 in the morning. I went to bed a bit past 7, and was awakened at 1:30 or so by a call from the music store, my new mouthpiece is in. 

I had things packed, and stacked the three big things onto the bike trailer and took them to FedEx. Then I got back here, put the small things in a bag and took off for downtown. I dropped off trash at my Super Secret Trashcan(tm) and stopped in at Nijiya for boiled eggs and coffee. I ate the eggs at the table there because it beats eating them and being extra careful to be neat on the bus. 

I dropped the packages off at the downtown post office then stopped in at my bank and deposited my check. Then over to Whole Foods to lock the bike, and went right to the bus stop in front and got on the #22 for Mountain View. 

The ride was OK as such things go, until I was a mile or a bit more from the music store. There were a few stop lights out and they were blinking red lights. Those are treated the same way as stop signs. The only trouble is, we're talking 3-4 lanes of traffic each way. And everyone wants to get ahead of the bus because it's just the bus. 

So the progress was a bit slower than walking speed. But I preferred to sit and ride rather than walk it across the freeway "hump" so I sat, and eventually got to the music store. The time was a bit more than the usual 2 hours door to door, more like 2-1/2 hours. 

I got there and Craig was there and he had my mouthpiece, and I tried to buy a flute case but they had a soft one with an extra compartment on top that I didn't want, and a very sleek Yamaha one that apparently is for a certain model of Yamaha and nothing else, as a standard student flute won't fit. So besides picking up my mouthpiece, I got a mouthpiece pouch and that was it. 

I mentioned to Craig that I'd gotten my Gard cornet bag and he said something like, "Oh, same as mine" and got out his horn, an Adams A4 in a bag marked Adams but he said made by Gard for Adams. The A4 is the best trumpet he's ever played and I believe him. It's beautiful.  

I didn't want to be on the bus another 2-1/2 hours so I walked to Castro Street and stopped in at the Paris Baguette there for a croissant with a hot dog in it. Interestingly it was about $2 cheaper than it would be at my local Paris Baguette. 

The pedestrianization of Castro Street is neat, and there were no street musicians, beggars, or anything except up at the North end where there was a small band set up. They were between numbers (I didn't recognize what they were playing before they stopped) and I yelled out, "PLAY FREEBIRD!" which got a laugh or two from people. Then I yelled/sang "And this bird will neverrr chainge-y-yange-y-yange!" in the hokey way that song is sung. Good fun! The singer then launched into "The Donnie Darko Song" which is a good one, so here's to him for being a trouper. 

I got to the train station as the train did, so I ran and amazingly had time to click my card and get onto the last car. So that was nice. A tricky thing; that train was going to Tamien station so I had to be sure to get off at Diridon. 

I got off at Diridon along with a couple gals who seemed kind of lost so I asked them what they were looking for/ A bathroom, first and foremost. I said there's one in the station but it may or may not be clean, or even open. But if they follow me, I'm going to Whole Foods which will have one that's clean and open. So they walked along with me, and it seems one of their, or their, brother I think, got sick in the Philippines, and was going to meet them here in San Jose but is now in Singapore, being sick. So they're here in a house, an AirBnB I suppose. Oh, and they're from Ohio so this is all kind of new. 

I told them this Whole Foods, which they'd never been in one of, is a good "home base" and go them to the loo, and we said our cheerful farewells, and that was it. Gotta take care of our visitors from Ohio. 

I picked out some olives and feta cheese in oil, and a pint bottle of Guinness, and went upstairs to eat and drink. Long day. Eventually I went by the Amazon place on my way home to find one bubble mailer but it's better than none, and got back here.