I may not busk this weekend

 All that packing and working with those heavy parts and the 4 bike rides hauling them up to FedEx trying to make good time getting them there, really wore me out. 

Ken came by last night, we talked, he brought me a burger because a good American will always make sure a fellow American never goes without eating beef daily, etc. I got my pay check, dated for Friday. 

I went to bed pretty soon (about 2 hours) after Ken left. I slept a good bit, woke up about noon, then went back to sleep and had a weird dream about setting up another shop in Texas of all places, not some "hip" place like Austin, but some small town that's a part of Houston? Asking someone in the dream, it was part of the Houston complex. There were two big used book stores on the same street, a classical guitar studio, some nondescript businesses on either side of the building I was to make my new "home" etc. 

I think the point of the dream was that just about anywhere else would have more "culture" than San Jose, California.

The dream was quite realistic, I went to pee and could not (thank goodness!) and I thought about the $500 or so I was spending on the hotel I was at while  I was spending all my time at the new place, and I was going to explore the neighborhood for restaurants as I was getting hungry and regardless of it being dark, I was hungry for some breakfast. Then I woke up, haha. 

Wow I'm really sore and have to pack some multi-item packages. 

Oh, and the small-hats are up to their usual tricks, this latest being a faked attempted airplane hijacking or downing, funny how it's timed to theoretically boost support for "Trumpstein". 

The thing is, I woke up really sore and want to stay caught up on shipping, and I have not only not practiced the last couple of days but even I'm getting tired of the stuff I've been playing and want to work on some new pieces. So I dunno if I'll get out busking at all this weekend. 

It's funny, Ken makes a bunch of money (I see the Ebay messages and he just got a bit under 4 grand into his bank account) and I get sore, miss out on a weekend's busking so that's $150-$200 loss. 

And when I told Ken about this big deal that made him so much money and how it might solve some money problems for him, he just said "It will" and really didn't show much enthusiasm, forget about appreciation for my work. 

Lighting out of here on my birthday next year is going to feel SO good!  

I took one large box (a $200 sale) with 4 transformer cores in it to FedEx, and the rest of the stuff to the post office. I didn't need anything at 99 Ranch so I just went back to H Mart. I'm still really tired and was open to something easy to digest for dinner. I checked on the sushi situation since after 7, according to a sign that was up, it's 1/2 price. If there was another "Alaska roll" I was going to get it. There wasn't, and the sign was gone. 

I just got some coffee they have on sale, and was going to get a can of sugar-free Red Bull, one of the large cans, thinking I'll drink half and maybe save half for later. As I passed the milk, the can leapt out of my hand, rolled along the floor ahead of me, and wedged itself under the cooler. I cussed good and loud of course, and went back but that was the last large can of sugar-free Red Bull. They have a dedicated Red Bull cooler with a bunch of different flavors, but that the large cans of sugar-free were down to one, tells me that's the best deal and least obnoxious flavor. So I just got the coffee. 

I found a good load of packing stuff on the way back, and got the 2nd of the large Akro-Bin type bins from the dumpster outside Trackonomy. I'm getting to like them, not least because unlike the other hot rod shops, they apparently keep it on the track, hence their name. There are no screeching tires, revving engines, and such nonsense around their place. 

Oh, and it's funny, Ken called on the phone because he tried to log into Ebay but couldn't because Ebay can't handle the concept that a company might consist of more than one person, and that more than one person might be checking the account. He was wondering where this big amount of money was... 

I said I'd gotten the message that he has about $3800 coming to his bank, and said that when Ebay pitches a fit, I often just go away for a while and then come back and everything's fine. 

So a bit afterward he called back and said he'd been able to get in, and has $3700 coming, but it may take 1-3 days. I said he might have to wait over the weekend. The more you need it, the longer you have to wait for your $3600 dolls but the $3500 is sure to show up on Monday, or certainly by Tuesday the $3400 will land in his bank account .... it's just simple Ebay finances! 

Ebay - you'll never work harder for $3. 

 

 

 

 

Biggest order ever

 I was up all night, into 8AM, packing 8 boxes that were all one order. Ken was making about 5 grand, after shipping, shipping overage refund, taxes, Ebay fees, etc., on it. It's the biggest order I've ever handled and it might be Ken's biggest too. 

So after a very arduous night packing the things, I considered taking them to FedEx - it would take 4 trips - in the morning because once the early commuter rush is over, it's pretty relaxed. But that seemed to me like the thinking of a pilot with "get there itis" and decided I needed some sleep. 

My headache was kicking my ass and I could not sleep, and eventually got up and swallowed some aspirin with some coffee and once that kicked in, was able to sleep. 

I woke up at 4 and got out of here at 5. That was a real workout, as if getting the things out of the warehouse area and cleaning them, testing them, packing them, etc. hadn't been. 

On the last trip I was able to relax a bit as I found myself ahead of schedule by a comfortable amount. I delivered the last two boxes to FedEx, then went to H Mart where I got some "Alaska Roll" sushi for half price since it was after 7, and a cucumber. I had cold coffee with me. 

I sat in front and had my sushi and coffee, then followed my usual route to look for packing stuff and other goodies. I found a bit of each. I'm too tired right now to sort through the goodies, haha. 

I might go right to bed and get more sleep as soon as Ken's gone this evening, assuming he shows up, which he's been pretty good about lately. 

Practice? What's that? This is why I'm looking forward so much to getting the hell out of here. 

I *did* watch some videos last night about "lip trills" which are like lip slurs but ... faster. Like when you want to show off and go from a low note, "breeeet!" up to a high one. For extra points just as fast back down. It turns out those are a good practice tool, so I will have to work on them. 

 

 

Practicing practice, practically speaking

 After doing stuff (packing) last night I got a practice session in. 

I remember years ago when I started a practice session, when I was fresh I could play high notes and then once I got a little tired, they were gone and not coming back. 

Now, yes I can often play mad high notes when I'm fresh but often I'm having trouble with high notes and keep at it and I get better at them as the practice session continues. I think this is a sign of increasing endurance, built up over years, of muscles that are not normally consciously controlled or coordinated in the ways they are in trumpet playing. 

And often I'll have a practice session that kind of goes like shit, but I keep it up and get a good session in, and then the next one I'm playing well. 

It's going to be very different when I'm home and trumpet playing, along with receiving my Social Security check, will be my main job. 

I packed the small things that had sold overnight, because I have 16 big things, all alike, all to send to one buyer, and I wanted all the small stuff out of the way. Tonight will be spent getting 16 of the things together, testing and cleaning them, then determining if I'm going to ship them two or three to a box, and packing them to go to FedEx tomorrow. It will take at least 3 trips to get them all over there to FedEx I think. 

I took off with my small things, and on Zanker Road got passed by a velomobile! It was really cool. There's no way I could have caught up with it to get a closer look, but I hope the guy's having a great time and stays safe because needless to say, it's very low to the ground and while he has a couple of blinking red lights on the back on the tallest part, some of the drivers of those big stupid trucks can't even see normal sedans. The velomobile headed North to what I call "Dilbertville", the part of this town with actual tech companies, manicured lawns, etc. 

Basically, in San Jose, North of Brokaw Road is where the tech companies are, and South of it is where most of the city is, and where "innovation" means having a bar next door to a metal recycling place so the bums can drink up the money they worked hard for all night, right away. 

When I got to FedEx, I saw, in the way of strange vehicles, one of those new Tesla cabs. It looks just as dumb as the photos show, all gold and I'm surprised the tires aren't painted gold too. I didn't see if anyone got out or got in, as I was intent on my FedEx business and also on helping a guy who had a wide load of packages and it took me and another guy to hold both doors open for him. When I came out the thing was gone. 

 

 

"The kind of cars Americans want to buy"

 I woke up at 3 and first mistake: turning on the radio. It turns out Pedonald is dictating that care mileage standards go back a decade or three, to theoretically lower the price of "the kind of cars Americans want to buy". 

Well, Americans want to buy the biggest, ugliest, street tanks they can get their hands on and damn the mileage. On the radio they talked through how the theoretical $1300 cheaper price will be offset by the cost of fuel over the lifetime of the car, but since Americans think short-term only, that won't matter. 

Plus, it's not just the kind of cars Americans want to buy, but the kind of cars the manufacturers want to sell, and that means adding a shit-ton of idiotic features almost no one wants, that are non-negotiable. They'll plump up the price and the actually useful ones will be by subscription anyway. 

It also shifts the balance toward gasoline-powered cars as opposed to electric cars. So the pedo-in-chief's best butt buddy, fElon Muskrat, is getting the same treatment anyone gets who thinks the old pedo is their friend.

The $7500 tax rebate for buying an electric car, almost always a Tesla, goes away. As I'm out riding around, surrounded by Teslas, I've been reasoning to myself that they're a rational decision and that I'd probably drive one too if I were a tech worker for a company that lets me charge up for free, and who got paid $7500 to buy the thing. 

This all makes sense looking through the lens of Conservative idiocy. Global warming, becoming more and more evident, is considered a belief system or myth. Private industry is considered to be the ultimate guardian of truth. 

The real truth is, the free world, the non-American world, is putting in more public transit, electric bikes from China are taking more cars off the road than anything these days, and civilized countries like China are working on getting away from gasoline vehicles altogether.  

I got 10 small things packed so, no need for the trailer. I'll sure need it tomorrow. I got over to the post office, did some shopping in 99 Ranch, then headed over to H Mart where I had some boiled peanuts and iced coffee  I brought from home. 

Then I started on my "finding stuff" route on the way back here. I found a few neat little boxes behind the gym, and at one point a guy pulled up in a Tesla.  I thought maybe it was to hassle me for some busybody reason or another, but it turned out the guy was throwing something into the big dumpsters in the enclosure (that I never mess with). I was curious what he was throwing out, and as conversation, I said, "What're you throwing out? Bodies?. 

The guy came back with "I wish!". 

I laughed it off but wow. You have to be at least a little bit of a psychopath to buy a Tesla and still drive it these days. But really? He wishes he was tossing away bodies? Like, maybe he's always aspired to be a serial killer but just never got up the guts to go through with it? 

 

$70 Sunday

 I got to the Sunnyvale Whole Foods a little bit earlier this time, and it not only felt slow, it was slow. Maybe it's the time of the month vs. when people get paid, or the cooler weather or something. 

I played a bit out on the sidewalk, then moved down into the parking garage for about 1/2 hour, then went back up onto the sidewalk when Whole Foods turned on their outdoor lights. I think people were having trouble seeing me. 

I'm also thinking that I might change to playing on Friday and Saturday instead of Saturday and Sunday. I think it will pay better, plus that will leave Sunday to pack the orders that come in over the weekend and be ready to ship them out on Monday. 

I really tried my best and tried to "mean" each song, and in the end I only made $1 less than yesterday which I'm taking as a victory because it's still above the $40 an hour that seems to be kind of normal. 

 

$71 Saturday

 I'd prepared and listed 30 things, and got 15 of them listed last night, and got some practice in. I really need to practice every day. 

I left here at 4:30 which means I got to the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at 6:30. It felt slow because it was kind of slow. It's getting dark earlier, and the crowd was different. There were gaggles of families coming through periodically, probably going to/from a movie at the theater. And lots of Asians going in and out; last night had been a moon/harvest festival and maybe they were getting regular stuff now that the festival was done. 

I got a ton of $1 bills, 36 of them to be exact. And three $5's and one lone $20. There was a skinny kid who kept sort of circulating around, and when he saw I was watching him, would go away and then a bit later, come back. So at one point I stopped to stack up the money and stash it away. I'll have to watch out for him tomorrow too, I guess. 

And at one point a weird Indian guy came up and kept looking right at me and smiling, while doing this weird stuff with some bills, a $1 a $5 and a $20, like maybe he was trying to get them into a roll with the $1 on the outside or something. I was in the middle of a song and kept playing, and when he left I looked and he hadn't dropped a thing. So I'll have to watch out for him too. If he comes back I'll just stop playing and get out the pepper spray. And I'll have to get into the habit of putting not just $20s but $10s etc. anything larger than a $5, away. 

I also, at one point, had a young Chinese couple with a cute little kid, get into my rendition of "Eentsy Weentsy Spider", so much so that they, as far as I could tell, went inside to shop and left the kid with me. Great. So now I'm a babysitting service. I contemplated packing up real quick and disappearing, but after several minutes the kid's mom re-appeared and collected him.  

Because of the long pause while I stashed my money to protect it from the kid, I stayed and played past 8, until 8:20. That 20 minutes got me an extra $9.  I'd made $71 in total. 

 

Bums will steal anything, part 4534534759572935

 In short, they stole an old B.O. smelling shirt from me. 

I got up at 3 thanks to my alarm clock, had one thing packed that had to go, some stuff to donate like the coffee on sale that turns out to taste like dishwater, and I brought a long-sleeved sort of waffle-weave shirt I've had for something like 10 years now, and in need of a wash, frankly. That was for when it cooled down later in the day. 

I went to the bank and deposited my pay check, all the numbers agreed, all good.

I rode back downtown and picked up 3-4 bubble mailers at the Amazon place, then rode along the Paseo De San Antonio and realized that walking along side me was Leroy, the sax player. So we had a good old hang-out time, catching up on things, while we walked to the long-closed Johnny Rockets and he set up. 

I told him about my two Whole Foods locations, and that honestly, people like the *tone* one is playing with, and generally have no idea what the song is. I've quizzed 'em, after getting a tip and gushing praise, asked, "OK what was I just playing?" and they have no idea.  It's all about the tone. 

 Then I went to Sakura Market and got a package of coffee, a single sugar-free Lipovitan,  and since I'd bought one of their small T-shirts which might be a bit too small after it gets washed, got a Medium one. I'd have a nice new T-shirt to wear over the weekend, out busking. 

I rode down to Walmart and locked the bike up at Big-5 as usual. I had one old Whole Foods bag with the bubble mailers in it, tied to one handlebar, and took one in with me. I had $34 on me and another $8 in change in my change bag, which I forget to take in with me and realized this once I was inside. So, no extras. 

I got T.P. paper towels, some pepitas, some Farmer John sausages, just normal stuff and it came to $30 so that was perfect. I got that all bagged up and walked back to the bike. 

The first thing I noticed was that the Whole Foods bag I'd had tied to the handlebars was now lying on the sidewalk, handles still tied in a knot, though. The bubble mailers were still in it. In the bags, my new T-shirt and my old long-sleeve waffle weave thing, complete with a lil' B.O., were gone. And in the other pannier, there was a goofy little bike cable with combination lock thing. Like a bum had taken the shirts, and left this near-toy thing as a sort of payment. I tossed that on the sidewalk, packed things away, and assessed the damage. 

They hadn't taken the change bag with $8 in change in it, and bums love change! They hadn't taken the really nice flashlight that was in there either. They hadn't taken the package of coffee because using that would mean having hot water, and a regular cup, etc., things a bum, which exists by hand-to-mouth, sort of like a dog but with hands. Maybe the best comparison is a squirrel. They've got little hands but can't cook or prepare things, or open cans, or really do anything in the way of food preparation. 

Well shit, I thought, it could have been worse. I rode back downtown, right back to Sakura and bought another one of the same T-shirt because I had wanted one. 

I checked in with Leroy again who was making tips,  and we talked about the crazy things we've seen bums do. It's good to see he's making tips because downtown is so dead. What's funny is, he never heard about the real reason the Walgreens got closed, about the security guard shooting and killing a guy, or was it the other way around? In any case, there was a death and that was it for Walgreens downtown. 'You can look it up!" I said. 

On my way home I stopped at Nijiya and got a package of shrimp that was $7.50 or so and used the change to pay for that. I had shrimp soup for dinner and it was good. 

 

Sorry no janitor job here

 I spent the night taking some ugly stuff part and as usual, put the scrap metal out front. I did a practice session too, only because I need all the practice I can get for my weekend sessions. 

I really only had a few things to ship, that could go to the post office so I packed those, and headed out. I had $6 in bills and $5.75 in change with me and I told myself maybe I'd just use my card if I saw something good. 99 Ranch had some coffee on sale that looked worth trying; it was 2 boxes for $5 so I got a couple and some other things, spending about $14. 

I folded up the receipt and put it in the other side of my wallet from where I usually put my money, so I could pull it out when I got back and write down what I'd spent out of my bank account, because I used my card. When I went in there to put it away, what's this? There were two $20's in there. 

On the ride over I'd been thinking, How was I so low on money? I'd made something like $225 on the weekend. I guessed I'd just spent it. I'd also wondered, earlier in the week, what had happened to one $20 bill that had a couple of little tears in it. Spent it, I guessed. 

Well here was the distinctly torn $20 bill, with another one. So that's neat, as I have a trip to Walmart planned for tomorrow. 

I treated myself to boiled peanuts and rode over to H Mart, got my iced coffee, and ate the peanuts sitting in front. No Karen encounters or zombie incidents, just a nice boring day. 

Some time in the morning I'd been awakened by a knock on the door, and it was some Hispanic gal asking about a janitor job? I said no jobs here, try next door. She just got in her car and left so maybe she'd already asked there haha. 

I wonder if people could get used to just using GPS coordinates at their addresses? As I understand it they're just latitude and longitude, but with very high resolution so degrees, minutes, seconds, and whatever they're using for fractions of the angle-seconds. Kind of like how, at Burning Man, everything's set up like a big clock, so you know intuitively where you are or how to get someplace from where you are. I think the city of London uses a system kind of like that too. It might require more numeracy than the average person can handle though. 

 

Psychology Today is still in print?

 I was up packing things, to get caught up. Lots of medium and large-ish things with one large thing to pack today left. 

I went to bed around 6-7AM, OK all well and fine. Then I was awakened by a knock on the door and had to yell for them to wait a minute, while I moved the boxes and stuff I'd packed. It was a guy from the water company saying he has to work on the water and wanted to get an idea of what hours it's in use here. I said I'm generally here until 6 but "Hey, if you have to work on the water, you have to work on the water, don't worry about it". 

I started my coffee routine, when I looked at the clock again and realized it was only 11:30. I thought it was a quarter to 3. So I turned the kettle off and spread my bedding out again and went back to sleep. 

Then I was awakened, this time actually at a quarter to 3, by a phone call. It was some lady who's Doctor so-and-so from Psychology Today asking if I'd called them. "No.........." was my reply. She said something like Oops she'd gotten the digits wrong (that's easy to do with my phone number) and that was that. I wish I'd kept her on the line a bit. Psychology Today is still in print?? I know Boomers read the thing but, like, older Boomers who are Trump-old, like Ken's age. 

Are magazine racks still even a thing in airports?  Fry's Electronics had a glorious magazine rack for a while. It was great; all kinds of niche hobbyist magazines like High Power Rocketry, needless to say magazines about knitting and stuff, the sailing mags, all the computer/tech mags, plus lots of porn, all mixed together. If that was too erudite, there was the same organization in the DVD racks. I picked up a cop of "Restrepo" in the part with the Barney The Dinosaur stuff. 

I'll have to look for magazines in the airport when I get outta here, just to see if they're still a thing. 

Since it was now time to actually get up, thanks Psychology Today! - I re-started the kettle etc. and got going. The big thing I was dreading turned out to be a lot smaller than the photo made it look haha. 

I got going to FedEx to drop off all the big/medium boxes, then the post office for the post office stuff, then went to H Mart for my iced coffee and hang out time on the curb in front with that and some spicy peanuts I'd brought from home. 

I'd parked my bike + trailer how I always do, alongside the "curb" on the side of the building, lined up with the bike rack, which at this time had an adult bike and a kid's bike. I heard a mom say to her kid, something about "Thank our Lord Jesus Christ for yadda yadda...." and pretty soon they came. The kid's bike was blocked in by my bike and the mom's bike but all the mom had to do was move hers, which a normal person would first, then get the kid's bike. Her poor little son had to hear her bitch at me for parking my bike where I did, and I pretty much ignored her. Eventually she just unlocked her bike, then went to get her son's bike but he insisted on doing it himself - I'm sure he's already tired of her. They left, probably with her bitching at the kid all the way home. 

H Mart is on the other side of  Brokaw from some kind of church that has signs out, shows free movies etc. so it's kind of surprising there aren't more psychos from there wandering around, frankly. 

I found some great packing stuff on the way home and got back here, had Korean "Gouda" cheese (which is every bit as awful as that sounds) and olives and a large cucumber for dinner, and got the place cleaned up for Ken. who showed up a bit late but better that than never. 

The property owner's secretary had sent an email saying Ken needs to sign the new lease or we'll just go onto the month-to-month rent which is more, and I'd printed it out for Ken and also told her I'd get on him about it. So that's one of the things we talked about. 

He'll either (a) sign the new, 4-year lease, or (b) won't, and he'll have to pay probably $500-$1000 more in rent than otherwise. In the case of (a) I just need to keep working, keep saving, and get ready to light out of here in one year minus about one week now. Or (b) keep working etc., and try to sit back and enjoy the show as Ken won't be able to pay the new rent probably, we'll fall behind, etc. I don't have to move back to Hawaii right when I reach age 65, I just think it's a neat and orderly time to do so. I can leave earlier... 

 

 

 

This time next year...

 I'll be back home. No more work for Ken. Where will I be, in particular? I'll still be in a hotel room, looking for a room to rent. But I don't plan to hurry, and I'll have probably found something fun to do like visiting the beach I used to surf at all the time (the windward side one) or wandering around "in town" to place I knew growing up, maybe visit the Pacific Trade Center building where my father had an office. 

Repamarations!

 On the radio today is a piece all about the "reparations" being paid to black people. Race-based, of course. And if you're black and a multi-millionaire, you still get the money I guess. 

The right way to do something like this would be to give the "reparation" sum to everyone whose family was here in the US in the year 1900, or pre-WWII, and have an income below the median. That would automatically pay black Americans but not recent immigrants from Africa who tend to be well-to-do, and it would included non-black people who have been put upon for more than a century also. Even if they're white, Oh, the horror. 

This is more Jewish divide-and-conquer policy of course. 

I packed what things I could before I had to go, went up to the post office to drop them off, then over to 99 Ranch and H Mart. I also wanted to buy paper at FedEx but ... every place was super busy! 99 Ranch was pretty busy, OK par for that course. The post office had been super busy, with lots of people who had lots of small packages like I did. 

Fedex was the busiest I've seen it so after using their bathroom I decided to get paper later. And H Mart was really busy, so much so that they were out of hamburger so that's another thing put off. I'm not sure why places were so busy. The 15th payday would have been last week, and I can't think of any holidays coming up.  

I rode back here, not finding any packing stuff but I did find an (I think) almost-new pillow behind the gym. A bunch of stuff was put out there, women's shoes and a bunch of small-kid clothes and carrying bags and things. I'm about due for a new pillow, and while it seems yucky to pick up a used pillow, people don't mind the used pillows in hotels, do they? 

So I rode back here but first went over to the exotic foods place dumpster. There wasn't anything there except a couple dozen liter bottles of some kind of sugary drink, hibiscus and mango flavors I think. I hate to see things go to waste, so I took them out of the dumpster (they were pretty well hidden) and them outside the dumpster where they were easy to see. 

Then I came back here, offloaded stuff and loaded up my old pillow, and on the way back out, gathered up an office chair that's been in the parking lot for a while, and the big bag of trash someone had put on it. Those went with me, with the office chair placed out by the street where it's easy to see, and my old pillow and the bag 'o' trash going into the exotic foods dumpster. The bottles of juice were already gone. 

 

 

$96 Sunday

 I got back last night and after eating dinner and relaxing a bit, was so tired that while I tried to get enthusiastic about listing the 30 things I had ready, I just could not stay with it and went to bed around 4AM

I set my alarm clock for 3 anyway and good thing, since I woke up around noon and then went back to sleep until it woke me up. Fortunately I had everything ready to go as far as the trumpet, tip box, beef sticks, fleece jacket, etc. 

So all I had to do was have my coffee and nuts and head out. I actually got to the bus stop at 5, which meant I was starting out busking at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at 6. I'd play until 7:30, I decided. 

It was overcast, a bit cold, and a bit windy. But not too bad. I did my "paid practice" and got my compliments and tips. This session's "I want to play trumpet" guy was a guy who was here I think connected with work, because he said he's staying "At Moffett" and is from Wyoming. He played trombone "Don't hold it against me!" and I said trombones are awesome. It sounded like he'd messed around with trumpet and even French horn, and was still in the process of learning what I have, which is to just buy an instrument new and keep it forever. Don't mess with used stuff because you're just buying someone else's problems. 

We talked a bit too long, really, but I was being lazy today haha, and thus I got $86 and a gift card. Still pretty nice! And many, many little kids got to see a live musician, which is a very rare thing these days. 

I considered staying until 8 but by 7:30 I was pretty tired and it had also gotten pretty slow, so I packed up. I got my yogurt drink at Baraka Market and went over the stop and got on the first bus which was a #22. 

This matters because the #22 stops at Maria which the #522 does not, and that's the stop to go to Mega Mart, which is the one Korean market  I didn't go to on Friday. So I got off at Maria and went to Mega Mart to check out their tape situation: Their clear tape is 50c a roll more, and they were out. But, there was a display with odor-free Raid in the red can, the kind that's for roaches. I didn't even know they made an odor-free version. I mean, the perfume is nice, but I don't need to be reminded for 3 days that I'd sprayed a roach, and I don't need that interfering with my meals. So that was an instant sale. 

Other than that, Mega Mart isn't any better than Han Kook, so I'm not missing out on much of anything. And I got the desire to go there out of my system. 

I got on the next #22 bus and at the Santa Clara Transit Station the driver had us get off because there was something wrong with the brakes. So a ton of us got on the next #522 which was there in a couple of minutes. All good! 

I got "home" to "my" Whole Foods a bit after 9, and it was dead, dead, dead there. Good thing I wasn't busking there I guess. I got nuts and stuff and found out that the gift card was for $10 which is a very nice tip. So that brought the earnings up to $96. 

I rode around downtown and it was dead all over. It's Sunday night so it makes sense, it's just sad that Sunday night used to be jam night at Cafe Stritch, and I could have stopped in, bought some food, and enjoyed some live jazz. San Jose didn't deserve that place. 

 

$136 Saturday

 I was up all night getting 30 things ready to list, but got a practice session done, too. 

Thanks to my alarm clock I was up at 3, and out the door at 4:30. Because of the 2-hour rule, I found myself at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods exactly 2 hours later and started busking at 6:30. I played until 8. 

It was windy, but I decided unless it go so strong that the money starts flying around in the tip box, I'm going to stick it out. And commenced a session of paid practice. 

I had one guy put a tip in and then ask me how I learned trumpet, and I told him I'd taught myself pretty much, there are books and YouTube etc. He tried piano, maybe as a kid, and it hadn't worked out. I encouraged him to try different instruments and see what he likes, and besides YouTube there's West Valley Music nearby. 

It was cool if not cold, and the wind didn't kick up too much. Whole Foods has a bunch of boxes of pumpkins and squash set up, in those big boxes called "Gaylords" (for the Gaylord company that makes some of them) and wooden boxes etc., and rather than this create a barrier, it's actually kind of helpful because people stop to look at the pumpkins etc., and now that it's been there a week or two people have learned to go smoothly around it. 

As always I was tempted to think it was slow, but it was most certainly not. There were a lot of people around, and the tips were coming in pretty regularly. My plan was to play until 8, and by a quarter to 8 it has gotten really slow. I kept on, until 8 proper which is good because that meant another tip or two, and in the end I'd made $136. 

As I was counting up a bum came up who I thought was asking for money, but really he wanted to know if I had a cigarette I'd sell him. Sorry, I told him, I don't smoke. But, I said, on Murphy Street there's a head shop and they might well sell loosies. And I gave him a couple of bucks anyway. He wasn't sure where Murphy Street was so I gave him directions, and he was insure about there being a smoke shop there. But I said it's weird, in this total "white bread" area, there's a smoke shop right in the middle of it. 

I walked back toward the bus stop, stopping at Baraka Market for my yogurt drink and some celery, waited maybe 15 minutes for the bus, and had a nice uneventful ride back to my "home" Whole Foods. I got some cheese there and a couple of beef sticks for tomorrow. The cashier said something like, "There you go with your beef sticks again" or something like that, not quite so unkind sounding, and I said it's because I can eat them on the bus, going to Sunnyvale. 

This is true. I'd brought some peanuts but didn't eat them because on the bus it means chancing dropping some and making a mess, getting salt and oil on my hands, etc. So it's beef sticks if I'm going to eat anything on the bus. 

I'd gotten back to the "home" Whole Foods at maybe a quarter after 9, and it *was* a Saturday night but it was really dead. Of course a quarter after 9 in San Jose is the equivalent of a quarter after midnight anywhere else. 

I had a nice boring ride home. 

 

 

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.  

Forgetting things

 Ken came by last night an hour earlier than usual  That's OK though, I had the place in pretty good shape and didn't have things piled all over. We talked about things and he'd brought pizza (a small one that he said had cost him about $20, ouch) and I had a few slices, ate the toppings only of course. 

I got my check so that's good, and could have taken it to the bank today but didn't. Instead when I got up I packed things and got them to the post office and FedEx. 

I also had taken the bunch of Payday candy bars I had, put 'em in a bag, and left them by the door of the small office sort of space that the local lunch truck operators have set up as an eating area. Those guys, and their clientele, always have scads of kids and kids like candy bars so ... 

Except I mentioned this to Ken and he said, "I like payday bars" and I said I could go get them and he said not all of them, but "some" so I said "give me a minute" and hopped on the bike and went over and got 24 of the candy bars and brought them back. 

Although he'd come by at 9:30 instead of his usual 10:30, he managed to stay here until midnight. Highlights include his getting involved doing updates on his phone, and for a good long while not really being "here" since he was so intent on his phone. Finally I started to wonder, and he showed me the games he'd been playing on X (X as in Twitter? X.com?) so that was weird. 

After a bit more talking etc left, and I was  picking up his used cup from the soda I'd given him etc., and there was his phone. He wasn't gone for long, and soon I heard his truck pulling in. I took it out to him and said, "I didn't thing you'd take long". 

Once Ken had left the 2nd time I spent the rest of the night taking things apart that I wanted to get out of here. I left a lot of scrap metal and parts and stuff out front, and Lo and behold, when I left for the post office everything was gone. 

So when I came back, I noted that the box of circuit boards and aluminum pieces I'd left out by the main road was still there, so I actually took that back to put out in front here since it's the same kind of stuff they just took. Plus I put about 12 boxes of heavy-ass drawer slides that are not worth that much and a pain to ship, out and those went quick. 

 

 

San Jose or Basel? Decisions, decisions...

 u/michaelmoby on Reddit (too bad I can't post links on this) put up a pretty good post, having experience in both places, for Basel, Switzerland, being easier and cheaper to live than San Jose. Yes, including supermarket prices for food. 

This does not surprise me. The cheapest place I've lived has been Hawaii, followed by Colorado, Arizona, and then finally Southern California and taking the top, most expensive slot, here where I am in the Bay Area. 

I was up all night packing things to get caught up and then getting 20 things ready to list. There's a hell of a lot of stuff here that just won't sell, or will sell after a few years for a super low price. But open the things up and take them apart and there will be IC's, other components, gold-plated parts, etc. 

It means more work for me, taking things apart, but that's actually kind of fun and it's easier to ship small things than large ones, and it especially stings packing a medium or large thing knowing it's only for $5 or $10 profit if that. 

I got the stuff to FedEx and the post office, got stuff at 99 Ranch and H Mart, relaxed with a can of coffee and some nuts brought from home, and looked for my homeless pal. He wasn't there. Oh well I'll have another chance to find him tomorrow as I'll be on the same route, delivering packages. 

 

Working the system

 I was up doing stuff, then went to bed, then woke up and ... did more stuff. Ho, hum. I was up around 3, packed some things, and got going at my usual time around 6. I just had post office things so I went there, dropped the packages off, then headed to 99 Ranch. 

I got a big package of boiled peanuts (having those available is almost like being back in Hawaii although of course the ones in Hawaii are better) and some cilantro. 

I went to H Mart next for a can of coffee, and settled down to eat my peanuts and drink my coffee. And people-watch of course haha. 

When I was done I started to leave, and then as  I was riding past, realized my homeless Asian guy acquaintance kind of "lives" in front of the bagel shop now. I had 5 Payday candy bars with me because with so many on hand, I'd decided I'd try to give away 5 a day. 

We talked about things... he's tried applying for work at H Mart and McDonald's as well as other places I'd guess. I said the economy is terrible right now and he might consider going into business for himself. I went through what it would take to get started on Ebay and as I was telling the guy about that, I realized that even for people with homes, it's too hard for most. 

Then I started to think of other things, like being a handyman. I said all these little shops have people working there who will pay a few bucks for someone to do a job they hate, like taking out the trash cans and cleaning them, picking up trash in the parking lot, cleaning the windows and the fingerprints off of the door, etc. 

He doesn't have a smart phone right now (writing this, what happened to the one he had, that I gave him a charger for?) and I said I have some old tablets in the shop that aren't selling, so I'll try to dig them out and see if they're any good and if so, take them off of Ebay and give them to him. And I said I'll see what kind of resources there are around here and print the information out. 

So here I am back here, and I've already got a very strong impression that if you've got the skills and gumption to get out of homelessness, you're probably not going to be homeless in the first place. The place I've chosen to tell this guy about has a neat web page but it can't really be printed out. I wrote out some information about it on an index card, and fortunately it's got an easy to find address, just xxx N. First St. just north of the college. 

I mean, it's hard to just be a regular person. Being at work on time, budgeting, handling all the bills, in most cases owning and operating a car because in the US you're not a person without a car, keeping your place maintained and clothing and appearance in general, and having a "good personality" so your neighbors don't hate you, etc. 

Well, being homeless is harder than this. Unless you're willing to shift 100% to a "vagabond" or "hobo" lifestyle, you'll be in a hole you can't get out of. 

Going vagabond or "hobo" means being in a different hole, but at least it's generally considered a more fun hole. Panhandling shamelessly, giving much less of a damn about looks and perhaps hygiene, getting by on an iffy diet, perhaps being a drunk, etc. It's not a game for the old or even middle-aged. You're going back to the "dead by 40" life humans lived a couple thousand years ago. 

Anyway, I'll give the guy the index card and probably some more candy bars, tomorrow. 

 

Windy to less-windy Sunday

 I got out of here a bit after 4. I started in busking at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at 6:20 so I figured I'd just call it 6:30 and play until 8. 

The wind was still strong so I resigned myself to playing in the parking structure. It was slow, what what else to do? I was playing this song that's from some anime or another that we learned in the shakuhachi class, and some Asian people going by started to sing along. I asked them if they knew what it was, and to them it's "A Japanese song; we're from Taiwan" so I really need to dig through my shakuhachi stuff and see if it have the sheet music because that will have the name or what anime it's from written on it. 

Later, a group of 6 boomers were charmed as hell with my "Autumn Leaves" and hung around to listen, and clapped when I was done. They tipped a whole $3 which is a lot for boomers since in their day that was the down payment for a new Ford Fairlane, or a house. 

It was finally 7:30 and the wind seemed to have died down. I decided to play the last half-hour up on the sidewalk and see how that goes. It went pretty well in that I got the odd tip, then a guy came up and I think put in a $10 after I'd played "Morning Has Broken" by Cat Stevens, and I'd said it's by Cat Stevens who was huge until he adopted Islam and the US music industry disowned him.

We got talking about busking and things, and I described how I'd played at the Christmas Marker in Mountain View, the only time I'd seen other buskers, with myself playing on the South end of Castro Street from the main market, and all the other buskers turning out to be at the North end, all with guitars and amps. 

Finally the guy got out another $20 and said I should treat myself (I'd mentioned "treating myself" by taking the train instead of the bus) and we said, "See you later" and I packed up. And while I was packed up and counting the money so I'd have a number in my head to record when I got home, a guy came up and handed me a $10, "Here you go buddy" and I thanked him. 

So I'd made $77 and that was $40 of it at least, in the last half hour up at street level.  

I walked over to Baraka Market and got olives and my yogurt drink. walked to the bus stop and got on a #22 back to my "home" Whole Foods. I put $20 on my clipper card which will take care of bus fares for the next week or two, got some nuts, etc. I also gave a dollar to a bum who asked, while I was putting things away in my bike bags. He said, cheerfully, "Someone already bought me a beer!", holding up a tall can. "Steel Reserve, that'll get the job done!" I said. 

I rode home and, crossing Santa Clara to get to the entry to San Pedro Square I had to stop abruptly to let someone walk past, and while I was stopped I noticed that a dark lump in a corner by a planter was emitting music. 

It turned out to be a guy playing some pretty cool guitar grooves, left-handed no less. I got out a dollar and gave it to him, and said he needs some lights so people can see him, and that I'd only noticed him because I'd had to stop to let someone past. Also that he really should try playing at the Whole Foods on the Alameda. 

Then maybe 10 yards further on, I was riding along and a group of people called out to me, asking if I had a match or a lighter. "I think I have a lighter," I said, "People are always dropping 'em and I pick 'em up". I dug around in the bike bag and found one and handed it over. That solved their emergency, the lighting of a spliff it seemed. They gave it back and I tried to get them to keep it but they were insistent. At least I know it works now. 

The rest of the ride home was nice and boring.  

Haha I take a look at Reddit and people are bitching about the high gas/diesel prices they voted for, due to the failing war with Iran they voted for. Why, the last time I paid $7 or more for gas was back in Arizona in 2008, when hmmm ... yes, that's right, a Republican was in charge. Funny how that works. 

 

Celebrating the fall of the Twin Towers

 ... is what the small-hats were doing yesterday. Their New Year's day, "Rosh Hashana" which is why 9/11 was done on ... 9/11. 

Fortunately more people are waking up to this. 

I photo'd up 20 things but was just too tired to list them, got some practice in which went surprisingly well considered I hadn't practiced all week, and went to bed. 

I woke up a bit before noon, halfway fell back to sleep and woke up again around 2. Sounds like but it's very early on my old schedule. 

I got out of here around 4:15 and was at the Sunnyvale Whole Foods at a quarter after 6. It was really windy. I started out playing out where the wind was, but it took a while to get even a first dollar. I went into the parking garage and it was stuffy, but I made a few more dollars. I tried out in the wind a couple more times but tips were super slow and it was the first time I actually worried about the money being blown out of the tip box so I just went back down into the parking structure and stayed there. 

It turned out kinda OK though. The funniest part was the old guy smiling and praising my playing. I'd been playing "Frank Sinatra" by Cake. When 8:00 rolled around I was ready to quit as it had been kind of wearing. High notes were working well for me though and now I'm a bit better at playing "Frank Sinatra" by Cake. 

I was mostly packed up and was counting the money so I'd have a figure in my head I could write down the the little book I use to keep track of such things, when a fat gal with a couple of other people with her came up with some money in her hand. "You're not playing ...." she said. "Nope! I'm packing up for the day!" was my chipper reply. She pulled the money back and walked away to catch up with her friends, who were likely headed to In-N-Out Burger or maybe Jamba Juice for one of these 1500-calorie health drinks. 

"That's an interesting take on things" I said to her broad back as she retreated. It's certainly a first. Having someone see that I'm done for the day, hand m the tip they've have put in the tip box, isn't unusual. They'd already made the decision to tip me, and it's a matter of, "here's the money I'd have given you earlier except I didn't have change/was in a hurry/wanted to get my shopping done first/etc." I've had people hand me money after I've packed up and was inside the store doing some shopping, myself. So this was kind of comical. 

I had a nice boring bus ride back to my "home" Whole Foods, bought a couple of things, had a nice boring ride back here, and did a count up. I'd made $59, had $1 in my wallet to start out, and amazingly still had $49. The cheese and can of tuna I'd bought at Whole Foods had been $8, and my yogurt drink from Baraka Market had been $3, and sure enough I came home with $49. 

And 72 "Payday" candy bars. I'm not sure what I'll do with at least $100 worth of candy bars, certainly not eat them. I guess I'll donate them here and there. 

 

Now I know

 When 9/11 happened, honestly, my first thought was, Who did we wrong badly enough to impel them to do this thing, and How can be make up for it? That was my initial feeling, before all the rationalizing. 

Of course now I know. I know how much "netanyahu" raves about how great it was for "israel", about the dancing Jews celebrating etc. 

Jews were and are, overwhelmingly in favor of the US laying waste to innocent people in the Middle East. They love war, as long as we goyim are doing the work. 

I stayed up all night last night in an attempt to correct my night-own schedule. I packed things and finished the load of laundry I had soaking, and as the night became morning,  I decided to go downtown first, taking the small things with me, and deposit my latest pay check into my bank. 

So I took off around 9AM, and first off stopped at Nijiya and got a can of coffee and a bento that had a huge piece of salmon in it. I didn't touch the mound of brown rice, of course. 

Then I went to the post office, crossing St. James Park which was covered with Canada geese. I should have saved my brown rice for them. They're such cook birds. I noticed that the ones nearer the post office were eating these huge acorns, apparently. I've seen round acorns and long pointy acorns that were quite bit, but these are amazing - round and huge. That's the kind of thing I'd like to plant around town. 

I dropped off the packages and went to the Amazon place where I got one bubble mailer. Better than none. 

Then over to the bank to deposit the pay check and the numbers all agreed, theirs and mine, and there's no hold on any of the money so nothing's bounced. Cool. 

I went over to Whole Foods too but now I can't recall what for. On the way back from there I stopped in at Good Karma Bikes which wasn't open since they don't open until 11AM. I was 5 minutes early. When they did open, I went in and found a nice Sugoi jacket, a light summer/mild weather type, all yellow of course. That was $11 out the door. 

Next I went to Sakura Market and got two bottles of Lipovitan because it's actually cheaper there, it's nice and cold, and I can buy singles. I drank those out front and then went back over to the Amazon place where I got about 5 more mailers. 

Then I just rode back here. One thing about being out in the middle of the day is, there's a ton of road work going on, plus the police had various streets closed off. 

I got back in here and I had one box that's quite large, but to be sent by the USPS "ground saver" or whatever they call it, since it's going to an Ebay international mailing hub and then to mainland China. The shipping on that thing had been something like $200 and I'd refunded the buyer about $50. I really wanted to get that sent off. Plus I found a few small things the pack that had just sold, might as well get 'em off and away too. 

So I dropped those off and rode back here. I stopped at H Mart for some cold black coffee and spicy peanuts. There was a gaggle of Hispanic workers all clustered around by the bike racks so I'd carefully parked my bike there, and then came out with my coffee and peanuts and sat there and enjoyed my stuff while they gabbled away in Spanish. If there's one language that would be easy to learn around here... 

I found some bubble wrap on the way back, actually really high quality stuff that just had to have clear tape peeled off of it so that was a nice win. 

I got back in here and coffee and Lipovitan regardless, I really, really, wanted to sleep. So I set up my bed and slept from 4-6, woke up to pee, then 6-8. (Not 6-7, kids!) 

It's nice that Ken's checks aren't bouncing. My savings are actually at an all time high right now. And ideally I'll have twice as much in the bank when I bail out of here in a year.