Zombiful but productive evening

 I got up at the usual time. I'd been up all night listing things, and was finally so tired I went to bed. 

I actually woke up a bit before 3, due to an ice cream cart going by with the person ringing their little bell so loudly it actually woke me up. I fell back asleep then my alarm clock woke me up. 

I had breakfast and cleaned up a bit and I was out of here at 4. 

I went to the bank and deposited my pay check and my numbers and their numbers agree, so that's good. Then I went to Whole Foods to park the bike, use the loo, and buy a couple of beef sticks. 

If I'd been busking today, I'd have some competition. First there was one of the same zombesses from last week, a gal who has a regulation nearly unreadable sign, and sit her bony ass on the bike racks themselves, and looks down at the ground a lot. I guess it's an act that pays. 

And, although this is on the other side of where I'd be, out by the bus stop, there was another act on. An older, fat, gal sleeping on one of the benches except not really sleeping but squirming around and groaning theatrically. 

Today's mission was to, after depositing my check which I'd done, go to the 99 Ranch market in Mountain View, then on the way back visit Mega Mart and Han Kook, both Korean markets and the last one where I get clear packing tape from. 

While on the bus, I thought a bit and realized I could go one stop more and go to West Valley Music and buy some "Chop Saver" since the tube of it the manager there gave me has utterly disappeared. Now that I've bought another, there's a small chance the first one might re-appear. I've decided I like good old cheap Blistex I can get for a bit more than a dollar a tube at Walmart or Walgreens or a number of places. It's easy to obtain and easy to replace. But maybe "Chop Saver" is really really good for some reason. 

Then I walked back from West Valley Music to 99 Ranch. I walked through the In-N-Out Burger parking lot because that's how you get there, and it was amazing how busy the place was. I used to go there all the time. And they have an armed guard at the door now. I even exclaimed my surprise out loud, and the guy just smiled. A bit further on I saw the reason for the guard: a zombie staggering around, clad in a blanket, headed toward the In-N-Out. 

I hoped this 99 Ranch carried Ibumie brand "Penand White Curry Mee" which I really love, and can't replicate using red curry paste and my own seasonings plus I always get it too salty when I try to make my own seasoning combination for a bowl of soup. And, they had it! I got bags of 4 packages each and some spicy peanuts. 

Now to do something about the bulk, because I sure don't eat the noodles these days. I sat at a convenient table with a chair by the front of 99 Ranch and opened each package, taking out the curry paste, seasoning, and creamer. I put those in a bag I'd taken from the veggie dept. 

Now I had a 99 Ranch paper bag full of 12 packages of noodles without seasoning. I saw a 99 Ranch worker digging through the nearby trash can with more enthusiasm than a worker usually shows, and figured he was digging on his own behalf. So I handed over the paper bag, and instead of taking it, he dumped it all out into the trash, crumpled up the bag, and tossed that on top! 

Well, then. What I should have done, as the worker had then hurried off, would have been to have retrieved the bag, put the noodle packs back in it, and taken it with me to give to someone, but I didn't, As I walked toward the In-N-Out again, there was the zombie again, that had seemed to be headed in a definite direction before, but was actually just meandering around. Maybe getting handed a bag full of noodles to munch on would have had it doing that, and then settling down to whatever sleep zombies get, instead of wandering around. 

I got to the bus stop and saw a rail-thin old guy on a bike meandering through and called out to him. He came over and I described where the noodles are, but in the end he didn't want them, but "I hate to see food wasted!" I agreed, and we talked a bit. He's from Tennessee, and we talked about various places that toss things out and he told me about how, back in Tennessee, he and his "old lady" lived near a small shopping mall and "We ate like kings". I'm guessing the guy probably came out here in the 1960s or 70s for one of the electronics jobs there used to be, then the jobs ended and here he remains. 

The bus I got onto had all kinds of characters on it, and a fair amount of weird shit going on, and I was glad to get off at Lawrence. I didn't even say "Thank you" when I got off, which is the custom here. 

I walked over to Han Kook market and they had 8 rolls of tape so that's what I got. And a can of "Boss" coffee. The lady at the checkout wanted to see what was in the Whole Foods cloth bad I had in the cart, tied closed, so I said, "Sure, sure, no problem!" and got out the Chop Saver, with reciept, and the peanuts, with receipt, and ... and that was enough for her. 

I got back to the Lawrence stop just as the #522 was pulling out, Oh well. There was a guy at the stop hanging out with his bike and a Gatorade bottle in his hand with something in it. He was a laugh-y joke-y guy. So we laughed and joked and I said I was going to be disappointed if he didn't have vodka or tequila in that bottle. The #22 bus came and he stayed behind so maybe he was waiting for someone. 

I had my can of coffee on the bus since I was getting tired, and got off across from Whole Foods and other than using the bathroom, just passed on through to my bike and got going. It was about 8:30 and the Amazon place closes at 9, so I figured I'd go by and see if I can find any bubble mailers. 

I did, obtaining 3. Then I just rode home.