Friday, August 5, 2016

Reads Like A Shopping List

$26.50 Thursday

had just made it to the Family Dollar before they closed at 10 PM last (Thursday) night, where I bought new alkaline batteries for my spotlight. I really should buy the 20 pack for $5.50, but I don't have a lot of confidence in the spotlight lasting long enough to realize the savings, it is a dollar store type light and I've had to whack it on a couple of occasions; and the batteries seat more loosely as time goes on.

A few of the pedicab drivers have serious, car headlight intensity, LED lights on the front of their pedicabs. One of them told me to just look online for them. It stands to reason that bike lights would come in higher ratings of lumens than flashlights, as it doesn't require a halogen headlamp to find a house key on a ring, or to look behind the refrigerator for the key ring.

I think, the more light the better at the Lilly Pad. I could be brighter than the bar down the street, which, in keeping with its 18th century feel, is illuminated by candles. That has also caused me to hesitate in purchasing the 20 pack; the thought that I might acquire a bright bike light, before I've used them all up.

Leaving the dollar store as it was closing at 10 PM, I was at the Lilly Pad less than 20 minutes later, as that is the length of time that it takes me to commute on the bike, now that I have found a more direct route to the spot, which circumnavigates David the water jug player, the Unique Boutique, and a string of buskers on Royal Street, who might draw me into a conversation.

I started playing at 10:30 PM, sober.

Soon, a guy came along who has sat and listened to me before, and once bought one of my plastic sharks off of me. I had 6 of them at the time, and left 3 at home when I came out.

The night was good musically, I had made up my mind that I was going to have an enjoyable night, whatever that took. Not obsessing over the amount of money I was making was a part of that.

Someone came along and passed me a bowl of some medicinal grade weed. Then a young lady stood by me throughout one of my originals, and then came over and sat by me and tipped me a few bucks and, shortly thereafter a couple young black guys came along and one of them passed me a blunt, instructing me to pass it to the young lady.

"No, I'm fine," she said. I got the sense that they were trying to use the weed as an inroad to the young, strawberry blond haired lady, and had only passed it to me in accordance to the protocol that orders that, when a guy approaches a guy and a lady, he first addresses the guy.

I follow that protocol myself.

The male is, by default, in the position of protector of the female, and it would be uncouth for a guy to just walk up and start talking to her.

So, that's why I got a hit off the blunt.

I wound up making 26 bucks, a lot of which was in a clump of bills that I snatched off the top of my tip jar because a 5 dollar bill was showing, and which turned out to be three 5's and a couple singles. A 17 dollar tip from one person on an otherwise 9 dollar night.

But, it was a Thursday, and my food stamp money arrived when the clock struck midnight.
Tonight begins The Satchimo Jazz Festival, which will bring people in to town.

After knocking off at around 1:30 AM, having played about 3 hours for the 26 bucks, I rode to The Banks Meat Market, on Banks Street and Broad Ave, where I purchased 3 mangoes and 2 cans of coconut milk, taking the first $6.05 off of my card for the month.

Then, still full of vim and vigor, I bypassed the apartment to ride up to the Walgreen's on Canal at Carollton, where I bought raisins, olive oil, prunes, a Monster Energy drink (non corn syrup variety) and some sweetener (sucralose variety).

I went home and ate 2 mangoes, washing them down with coconut milk, as if it were wine.

About an hour later I was ready for a thick Louise style cup of oat milk.

After reading for a while and sipping coffee and noticing that the sun was coming up, I decided to go for a morning bike ride.

This took me to the Dollar Tree on Carollton at Tulane in time for its 8 o' clock opening.

There, I found a bag of ground coffee, some Gardinia (cauliflower, carrots and stuff floating in vinegar) a can of clams, a Rock Star Energy drink, a 650 piece jigsaw puzzle, a can of coconut milk, a box of sea salt, and something that I was pretty excited about -these little novelty "candles" with LED "flames" that come in a pair, for one dollar, and have the batteries included. The batteries are CR2032 "watch" style ones, of the same type that run my guitar tuner and for which I pay $3 a piece at the other dollar store. Here were 2 for a dollar!

Alas, I got the little plastic candles home and removed the batteries which had "Aug 2013" etched in their backs and which only produced a feeble glow from my guitar tuner.

But, the ground coffee is excellent and worth the whole dollar that I paid for 8 ounces of it, and the 650 piece jigsaw puzzle is all the diversion that I crave right now.

Then, I wasn't finished.

I hit Rouses Market, where I bought another mango, a bunch of kale, some pitted dates, a 32 oz. jar of honey, 2 organic (no corn syrup) energy drinks, a bunch of asparagus, a can of frozen orange juice, a jar of salsa (that I usually ate with corn chips, but I'll find another way to use it), a half pound of millet and a bag of raw Lima beans.

Then, I explored a bit around that particular Rouses Market on Carollton Street and discovered that the bike trail, which runs all the way to the Quarter in the other direction, passes within a couple blocks of that store.

I took the bike trail all the way to where I exited it within 3 blocks of my apartment, then, after dropping off the load of all of the above, went back to the Banks Meat Market, where I tapped into the 30 dollars cash that I had, with the purchase of a pack of cigarettes and a 5 dollar bud of weed, and then it was back to the apartment where I am now.

It is getting late in the afternoon and I haven't slept yet, and I want to hit the French Market before it closes around 6 PM.

It would really be nice to have a good money night tonight. I was spending money on the good faith that I will make a good chunk of it back.

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