I am about to hop on my bike and try to make it to the library before it closes 33 minutes from now, to grab some kind of books on either the laptop that is on its way in the mail, or on the Linux operating system that I want to put on the thing....
3 Hours Later
Ok, I didn't make it to the library; by the time I set foot to pedal, it was 4:35, and that would give me 25 minutes to get there, run to the computer shelf, grab books with titles like, "How To Use A Cheap Phone, But With A Decent Camera, To Shoot Videos Of Yourself While Your USB Microphone Captures The Sound Into Your Audio Editor So That You Can Later Edit The Video, And How To Hack Your Next Door Neighbors Wi-Fi Signal Also" real quick; pay my 3 dollar fine off so I can check them out; and then come back and drop them at the apartment, maybe after giving them a brief flipping through, before going out to busk on this Saturday night, when my food stamps come at the stroke of midnight, and my head is spinning with thoughts of dates in my oatmeal and pumpkin, plenty of pumpkin; what more does God have to do besides making them huge and orange, to alert us to the fact that they have protein, fiber, carotids, vitamin C, more potassium than bananas, free radical neutralizing powers, and one will fill you up!?!
The seeds are mood elevating, helping us with serotonin production. I know I just felt pumpkin-y as can be when I was eating them a couple weeks ago.
$37 Friday
On being shot by 3 young African Americans with paint ball rifles:
I told myself, on my way out Friday night that I was going to use it (the whole night) as an indication of just how the busking business at the Lilly Pad is "going" -an objective measuring stick for just how lucrative it is to go out and do exactly what I do.
It was, on the surface, a most average of Friday nights, falling half way between the dead season and the carnival season, with the weather falling right at its average point for this time of year, with an average amount of tourists in town for various reasons and with myself playing a decent set of strings and harmonicas..
I made $37 in a little over 2 hours, which was right around my "old" average of 18 bucks an hour....
Now, I wait for the arrival of the laptop, any day next week, but probably Thursday or Friday.
I really look forward to not being tethered to the computers in the Sacred Heart Apartments computer room. For several reasons.
In no particular order:
-having the computer run extremely slowly because someone before you took advantage of all the free offers that popped up and loaded software onto the machine which would allow them to do things for free; which they did, after having clicked on "yes" to that annoying question box that pops up asking them if it's OK if the program alters a few files, just "system" files; a box that they have learned to see as a minor hurdle on the way to getting things for free, which can be overcome by just clicking "yes." The computer savvy Sacred Heart Apartments resident can then have at it.
One of the symptoms is the text that I type into this blog editor not appearing for a second or so after I type it. Very annoying, as then I might have to backspace several characters to fix a mistake.
-having to hear the conversations around me, struggle to not be judgemental or become exasperated and want to yell "Get a life, skeezer!," while having derailed whatever train of thought that I might have sallied forth out of my apartment with. Having drama in the lobby as a byplay to what I'm trying to write, is not exactly the orchard on a cliff overlooking the ocean on an almost windless day when you can hear the waves crashing below creative environment that I like to work in. I think I'll write better in my room.
-being able to take the laptop to Starbucks and use their wireless while drinking strong coffee will be priceless. (I'm thinking of making an appointment to see the eye doctor/laser surgeon whose office sits directly across Canal Street from my apartment, that's wireless signal appeared as one of the available networks when I had Howard's tablet. I could, at some point, casually ask if there is a password for it, as I wait for the doctor. Then for the $65? cost of an eye exam, I would have wi-fi in my room. A bit spotty, I would imagine, as the building is a good 125 yards away; not good for up and down loading but OK for sending a blog page or two...
A Blast From The Past (above)
The above photo (circa 2006) sure does bring back some good memories.
First of all, it was of the homeless camp in Jacksonville, Florida which never got invaded by anyone in the 2+ years that I lived in those woods off and on.
When I got back each afternoon, after having cashed my $49.63 check and then bought food and wine and anything else I might have needed "around the house," everything was just as I left it, and the cat may even have been in the same place of repose.
Notice how it uses the color of the guitar to camouflage that side of its head, and the white canvas the other...that's part of what this photo, taken with a disposable camera that needed to be brought to CVS for development, was about.
I wish I knew then what I know now and could have finagled a way to have made recordings using the battery powered electric guitar and keyboards. I could sing at full volume out there. It was a good 300 yards from the nearest ear, and that ear would be next to the sounds of traffic. Anyone would think that "it" was just someone in one of the apartments that abutted the woods, cranking their stereo.
Of course my memories are fonder because of the fact that I was 10 years younger then, and in very good physical shape due to being a laborer. I made some excellent meals over a red oak wood fire out there. The cat got to love grilled fish, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey out there.
It is Saturday.
Last night's 37 dollar take makes me feel that if I drag myself out there, there will be a reasonable chance of making a like amount.
The money has, lately, come in inverse proportion to how much I have been in the mood to go out and play. There have been nights when I rode the bike path telling myself: "This is your job. This is the same as if you had to hop on your bike and ride to the labor pool, and they were going to send you out on a guitar work ticket. You're going to make something between zero and 213 dollars for 3 or 4 hours of work..."
I do seem to acquire the mood to play once I'm set up and begin to do so, more often than not.
3 Hours Later
Ok, I didn't make it to the library; by the time I set foot to pedal, it was 4:35, and that would give me 25 minutes to get there, run to the computer shelf, grab books with titles like, "How To Use A Cheap Phone, But With A Decent Camera, To Shoot Videos Of Yourself While Your USB Microphone Captures The Sound Into Your Audio Editor So That You Can Later Edit The Video, And How To Hack Your Next Door Neighbors Wi-Fi Signal Also" real quick; pay my 3 dollar fine off so I can check them out; and then come back and drop them at the apartment, maybe after giving them a brief flipping through, before going out to busk on this Saturday night, when my food stamps come at the stroke of midnight, and my head is spinning with thoughts of dates in my oatmeal and pumpkin, plenty of pumpkin; what more does God have to do besides making them huge and orange, to alert us to the fact that they have protein, fiber, carotids, vitamin C, more potassium than bananas, free radical neutralizing powers, and one will fill you up!?!The seeds are mood elevating, helping us with serotonin production. I know I just felt pumpkin-y as can be when I was eating them a couple weeks ago.
 |
| 5 days after being shot; scab ready to fall off.... |
On being shot by 3 young African Americans with paint ball rifles:
"It's good to see them into sports, actually...running around in the fresh air, firing their paint balls, getting some exercise, and the camaraderie that it builds will last the fellows a lifetime . Athletics may help steer them away from drugs. -Street Musician Daniel
I told myself, on my way out Friday night that I was going to use it (the whole night) as an indication of just how the busking business at the Lilly Pad is "going" -an objective measuring stick for just how lucrative it is to go out and do exactly what I do.
It was, on the surface, a most average of Friday nights, falling half way between the dead season and the carnival season, with the weather falling right at its average point for this time of year, with an average amount of tourists in town for various reasons and with myself playing a decent set of strings and harmonicas..
I made $37 in a little over 2 hours, which was right around my "old" average of 18 bucks an hour....
Now, I wait for the arrival of the laptop, any day next week, but probably Thursday or Friday.
I really look forward to not being tethered to the computers in the Sacred Heart Apartments computer room. For several reasons.
In no particular order:
-having the computer run extremely slowly because someone before you took advantage of all the free offers that popped up and loaded software onto the machine which would allow them to do things for free; which they did, after having clicked on "yes" to that annoying question box that pops up asking them if it's OK if the program alters a few files, just "system" files; a box that they have learned to see as a minor hurdle on the way to getting things for free, which can be overcome by just clicking "yes." The computer savvy Sacred Heart Apartments resident can then have at it.
One of the symptoms is the text that I type into this blog editor not appearing for a second or so after I type it. Very annoying, as then I might have to backspace several characters to fix a mistake.
-having to hear the conversations around me, struggle to not be judgemental or become exasperated and want to yell "Get a life, skeezer!," while having derailed whatever train of thought that I might have sallied forth out of my apartment with. Having drama in the lobby as a byplay to what I'm trying to write, is not exactly the orchard on a cliff overlooking the ocean on an almost windless day when you can hear the waves crashing below creative environment that I like to work in. I think I'll write better in my room.
-being able to take the laptop to Starbucks and use their wireless while drinking strong coffee will be priceless. (I'm thinking of making an appointment to see the eye doctor/laser surgeon whose office sits directly across Canal Street from my apartment, that's wireless signal appeared as one of the available networks when I had Howard's tablet. I could, at some point, casually ask if there is a password for it, as I wait for the doctor. Then for the $65? cost of an eye exam, I would have wi-fi in my room. A bit spotty, I would imagine, as the building is a good 125 yards away; not good for up and down loading but OK for sending a blog page or two...
A Blast From The Past (above)
The above photo (circa 2006) sure does bring back some good memories.
First of all, it was of the homeless camp in Jacksonville, Florida which never got invaded by anyone in the 2+ years that I lived in those woods off and on.
When I got back each afternoon, after having cashed my $49.63 check and then bought food and wine and anything else I might have needed "around the house," everything was just as I left it, and the cat may even have been in the same place of repose.
Notice how it uses the color of the guitar to camouflage that side of its head, and the white canvas the other...that's part of what this photo, taken with a disposable camera that needed to be brought to CVS for development, was about.
I wish I knew then what I know now and could have finagled a way to have made recordings using the battery powered electric guitar and keyboards. I could sing at full volume out there. It was a good 300 yards from the nearest ear, and that ear would be next to the sounds of traffic. Anyone would think that "it" was just someone in one of the apartments that abutted the woods, cranking their stereo.
Of course my memories are fonder because of the fact that I was 10 years younger then, and in very good physical shape due to being a laborer. I made some excellent meals over a red oak wood fire out there. The cat got to love grilled fish, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey out there.
It is Saturday.
Last night's 37 dollar take makes me feel that if I drag myself out there, there will be a reasonable chance of making a like amount.
The money has, lately, come in inverse proportion to how much I have been in the mood to go out and play. There have been nights when I rode the bike path telling myself: "This is your job. This is the same as if you had to hop on your bike and ride to the labor pool, and they were going to send you out on a guitar work ticket. You're going to make something between zero and 213 dollars for 3 or 4 hours of work..."
I do seem to acquire the mood to play once I'm set up and begin to do so, more often than not.
Having that laptop will be a huge advantage. That being said, you might want to keep your eyes out for any cast-off desktops, because you don't have to worry about an electric bill, it's always good to have a back-up computer, and even if your laptop can't hit an open wifi you can get a "wifi range extender" that should work with a laptop or desktop and may enable you to hit one.
ReplyDeleteLastly, if your library is like mine out here, don't expect it to have anything that's up to date. Your might order Linux For Dummies because the For Dummies books are really good, and it'll be worth the $25 or so.