Loss And Grief

How could I have been so stupid?

I have lost my little USB micro sd chip and adapter.
I'm pretty sure that I left it in one of the computers here at the library after working on yesterdays cartoon profile picture and just barely getting that posted as time expired on my session and then logging out of my Google account (so the next person on the machine can't delete my blog or send all my e-mail contacts death threats) with one second left.
The thing is small and the same black plastic (no red as shown) as the front of the computers and camouflages well. 
This has happened before, and I should have wrapped some florescent orange tape around the thing; which would catch my eye before I could walk off.

This sucks because the combination of the chip and the "reader," cost me about 30 bucks; and was my only means of getting pictures that I take with my phone onto this blog. This will cause me grief.
French Connection
Someone in France (it must be one person) was pretty busy last night; reading this blog, but mostly pages that mention Tanya and Dorise. This is the first time in 7 years that I got more page views from a foreign country than from the U.S.

France	40
United States	29
China	4
Ukraine	2
Australia	1
Canada	1
Germany	1
United Kingdom	1
Mexico	1

France

40

United States

29

China

4

Ukraine

2

Australia

1

Canada

1

Germany

1

United Kingdom

1

Mexico

1

IN Skeezers I Must Trust
I can hope that one of the patrons of the library turned my USB thing in to "lost and found"...but the library is Skeezer Central, with its free A/C, its free restrooms, and its free cellphone charging...and its free stuff that people leave behind.
The Beatles
So, while I waited for this computer (and I still wait for the tech guy to come in so I can ask him if anyone turned in a USB card) I read an article about The Beatles making of Magical Mystery Tour.
The section about their encounter with the Maharishi and the 20 minutes of meditation in the morning and evening every day, kind of caught my eye.
I think I will try to get back into morning meditation, to order my thoughts, set my priorities, and maybe help me to stop losing things (...the capo; and now my SD chip...).
It occurred to me that I seem to be losing all the things which I bought with the last tip of 175 bucks; as if maybe the guy regretted giving it to me and the money took on bad karma...
Leslie
I had run into Leslie yesterday afternoon, who had come into a fortune of 40 dollars, and who bought me a couple Hurricane Lagers, to go with the one already in my hand; and was soon drunk enough to prove the axiom, which some of the brass bands expound that "the more you drink, the better you think we sound."  
Brian Hudson

At one point, I stopped to listen to Brian at the corner of St. Louis and Royal.
His guitar, voice and amp all sounded great ("professional," if you will) and he has his songs down to a science, with compelling lyrics and finely worked out accompaniment and he plays songs completely through from intro to the last note; and rarely screws up.

In my stupor, Brian sounded (even) more polished, more professional, more well rehearsed, more sober and on-the-ball, and more worthy of the 20 dollars which people were paying for a couple of his CDs.

I'm hoping that my morning meditation and rearrangement of my schedule to put music first and blogging second (sorry, readers) will produce a song or two of that caliber.
I'm sure that his musical opinion of me is that I get "a little too drunk and sloppy" and that I hardly ever finish a song before jumping to another one.
Morning Practice
The morning practicing has been paying off.
The sign spot has been a blessing in this regard because, at some time around 6:30 a.m., while I am still asleep, the workers from the Saenger Theater across the street start to park their vehicles around me, thus walling me in, so that when the sun comes up, I am still invisible, and can get my full 8 hours of sleep.
Then, I put in at least an hour of playing scales and chord exercises.

I basically am doing chord exercises on the types of chords that Paul (Doreens Jazz Band) has mastered.
I had a booklet given to me in Mobile about how to play "swing style" rhythm guitar (four chords per measure; on on each beat) but had never used it as much as I am now.
These are the chords that are fit for the likes of Doreens Jazz Band...

Hats Off To The Weekend

• Hat Lost
• Weekend Spent Listening
• i-find i-phone

I lost my hat about a week ago.
Opinion has been divided about my new hatless apsect.
Tanya Huang (left) has said "We need to get you a new hat," after looking at me with a frown.
Dorise (right) has said "Your natural hair looks good; you don't need to cover it with a hat." and that Tanyas opinion was just "the opinion of one person." ...well, so is yours, Dorise...
Paul (of Doreens Jazz Band) has said that the hatless look is good for when I am just walking around, but that a hat helps tips when performing.
And I would like to post pictures of my new hatless look and probably would be able to if I hadn't sold the i-phone last night...
i-am an idiot?
I found an i-phone laying on Royal Street last (Tuesday) night.
I picked it up and stood in the area for a minute to see if someone came and asked "Did anyone find an i-phone laying in the street?"
Nobody did, and an investigation of the phone revealed it to be brand new without even pictures or music or messages on it.
I approched one of the street sweepers, a Spanish lady whom I have spoken with a few times in the past, to ask her opinion of what I should do with the phone -how much could I sell it for, etc. -
Her eyes lit up when she saw it and she just about grabbed it from me and seemed to think that I was turning it in to her -her being a street sweeper, and maybe myself thinking that it is part of their job to put things that they find while sweeping into a "lost and found" box or something -
"You give to me?" she asked.
I told her that I had found it; but that I was going to try to find the owner and contact him/her. Maybe they would give me a reward; or maybe I would negotiate a reward before even agreeing to meet them somewhere and return the thing.
I went to show her that the phone was alive and well and I turned it on; only to have the battery die at that exact moment and the screen go blank.
"No, is broken, this is trash; I give you 5 dollars," said the Spanish street sweeper whom I had been friendly with a few times.
...if it is "trash and no good;" why are you offering 5 dollars?...I thought.
Then I thought that she was playing me for a fool and thought that I was the class of person to jump at 5 dollars; seeing not the forest for the 5 beers.
I told her that the phone had just been working, and I had seen it with my own eyes, but that the battery was down to one bar and it had just quit.
I suggested that I would charge the thing up and show it to her again the next day.
"I'll buy it from you!" said a guy with a crew cut; who offered 10 dollars.
I hesitated and he upped his offer to 20 bucks; which is what I sold the thing for; thinking that he was going to have to pay to have it unlocked and then pay for activation etc; and that the actual phone itself was pretty worthless otherwise.
I was also trying to show the Spanish lady that if she had given me any "reasonable" offer on the $350 phone, rather than take me for a fool, then she could have gotten it for pennies on the dollar.
Well, word soon spread that I (had) had an i-phone for sale and I was approached by at least a couple other Spanish guys who work at Hotel Montleone, and who it seems are in communication with every other Spanish person in the Quarter.
"You have i-phone for sale?"
"No, I sold it."
"To the lady?"
"No, she didn't believe me when I told her that it worked fine; she offered me 5 bucks." I said.
They walked off; clearly disappointed.
I guess those phones are prized by people; perhaps the same way that certain brands of sneakers are.
I got back to the camp and was informed by Rob that he would have given me 60 dollars for it.
I was kicking myself all morning over it. I could have kept it myself and used it for loading pictures to this blog, even.
But then I heard that there is a store on Broad Street which pays only 25 dollars for i-phones and that many people chose sell the ones that they find on the street for that; because if the phone is reported stolen then the person holding it faces a considerable jail sentence; due to the price ($350) of the new phone constituting more than a civil charge.
Thunderstorm Today
There is supposed to be a thunderstorm today and I can hear it rumbling outside already.
.

The Coldest Night Of The Year In New Orleans

Lower the temperature about 30 degrees and make it
night, and this might be the parade that we saw...

Friday Into Saturday
By the time
1 a.m. had arrived and I had amassed Friday night's 55 dollars in tips, the wind had started to pick up from the west. It was blowing cold.
Forecasts were for the temperatures to drop Saturday into Sunday, as a cold front was to blow in.
Saturday Into Sunday

First priority: Just staying warm, as Howard
continues to read in his sleeping bag (third from left).

Saturday morning, the dreaded cold front was blowing in.
I came to this library and blogged, deciding that there would be no busking that night, only trying to stay warm and hopefully getting some sleep (despite having a Colombian woman in the same sleeping bag as I).
The library closed early (2 p.m.) because of the Mardi Gras parades scheduled to run into the evening.
I went to the "sign" spot, to find Howard braving the elements and reading a book.
Adding the last of the clothing hanging in the trees to my wardrobe, I left to go into the quarter, thinking that I probably wouldn't busk, but curious to see how many tourists were about.
I ran into none other than Sue, the Colombian lady at the first intersection.
She was laden with her customary 3 bags, and also holding a white Styrofoam, which she gave to me after I told her that I indeed was hungry. "I'm full, I was going to give it to someone else," she said. I don't know how full she may have been, but I know how suspicious she is of food of mysterious origins.
Not prone to look a gift horse in the mouth, I chowed down on what turned out to be rice and beans -"gumbo" to the natives.
Sue then produced two Monster energy drinks, which she gave me. "They were giving them away off of one of the floats," she said.
"I wish I had brought my hot sauce," I said, which produced a couple packets of Tabasco Sauce from one of her bags.

I invited her to walk with me, towards The Unique Boutique, to check out the sights and, would she like a beer. That was the least I thought I could do in return for all that she had given me.
I was able to find two cans of NOLA Blonde ale in the 99 cent bin, which I grabbed and which Sue deemed "delicious," as I had done upon first trying it.
A parade was "about" to start, if an hour and a half away qualifies for "about." There were people gathering along the barricades, giving the impression that the wait would be shorter than what it turned out to be.
In the meantime, I ran to the store for another beer for each of us. Then, twenty minutes later, a third.
"I'll get this round," said Sue, handing me two dollars.
I found a fancy pair of Mardi Gras sunglasses, which were molded into a gold crown, sitting in the bin with the 99 cent beer.
I grabbed them and returned to where Sue was *still* waiting for the parade to start.
We were having a good time by then. When I had returned wearing the sunglasses and crown it took her a few seconds to recognize me, whereupon she burst into laughter. We took pictures of each other wearing the thing on my newly resurrected Sprint LG phone. (I will post them here, as soon as I get a new USB cable, which turned out to be the phones only problem).



"Every time I have a good night, something happens to screw it up" -Sue the Colombian lady

Find Out What Happened Next!!!

 And, as it would turn out; we weren't out of the cold yet....

4 Day Haitus (appended)

This library closed
for 4 days, over the holiday, reminding me that holidays are not really for the homeless.
It closed, and it will close again, over the New Year's holiday, Saturday through Monday. I won't be back until January 3rd.
I played over the weekend with mixed results.
I'm Probably Perfect The Way I Am
It seemed like Friday night's activities died down early.

Relax, Daniel

I stopped by where Tonya and Dorise were playing , in front of Rouse's Market. Tonya asked me why I had a deeply thoughtful look on my face, and asked me if I was even capable of relaxing the tension in my lower forehead, which gave me that look. "I don't know, I'll have to think really hard over that," I said.
She assured me that there was nothing wrong with it, in her opinion, and that she wasn't judging me, and that I am probably perfect just the way I am.
As she was packing up her stuff, she asked excitedly, if I was going to play. I figured "why not," because in front of Rouse's Market is one of the "best" spots in the French Quarter. It is a great spot for a band, or someone with a big production, involving amplifiers, chairs, microphones, and preferably, an 8 year old girl playing the drums. It is a mediocre spot for a lone unamplified guy with an acoustic guitar.
I took my guitar out and played, thinking more of trying to impress Tonya, than any other thing.
She has an acoustic guitar player (Dorise) as an accompanist, already. I was impressed with the repertoir of Christmas songs that they were able to churn out, especially their instrumental version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas," and Tonya's ability to count the days, so as not to make it "The Eleven (or Thirteen) Days of Christmas."

You've got some funk in that box...

It would have been nice for Tonya to tell me that I sounded good, before she hopped in their van and took off, but, I had to spend a bit of time tuning, and then played a song that I thought that Tonya would like, and which I had to stop in the middle of, because I hadn't been doing my homework and memorising songs that I think Tonya would like...
The next night, Saturday, I had better luck after I stopped where Doreen was playing the clarinet with her husband on Suzaphone (partially shown; bottom left), and her little girl, Dorien, on drums. They were packing up to leave also, asked me if I was going to take the spot also, and this time I played a song that I thought the little girl would like, playing funky chords and making up lyrics about the green bread of my sandwich (It was "spinach bread," and was supposed to be green, but I made a joke about it). Doreen's husband put a dollar in my case and said "You've got some funk in that box!"
It being Christmas eve, there were people everywhere, and I had the feeling that I could have made a lot of money, just because of the occasion, but I couldn't bring myself to just sit somewhere for that purpose alone. I might have to adjust my attitude in that reguard, in the future.
I just about broke even the whole 4 days of the extended holiday, to include last night's Monday Night Football event at the Superdome, when it rained just about the whole time. I sat under a stairwell and played. Most people just walked past me, and I didn't think that I was making hardly anything at all. I counted about 16 bucks this morning. Some of the people that threw me something must have thrown a few bucks, because I'm pretty sure that less than 16 people tipped me.
Then, I stood up and banged my head on the concrete of the stairwell which was a couple feet above it as I sat. I left the game because of a mild concussion. (The league is paying extra attention to those kind of injuries this year, and, even though I didn't have any blurred vision, I decided to err on the side of caution and went to the library's patio to sleep).
This morning, Howard asked what has become his "morning question" lately: "How'd you do last night?"
I don't suspect any hidden motives in his asking me that, though, because he gets check every month from Social Security, I sometimes wonder if he sees the potential to be of help to me, somewhere down the road, especially at times when "I didn't do so well last night."
It is still up in the air, the decision to cut myself free of Howard, or to take him along wherever I go. The pros and cons are about equal in the matter. He might get a little extra money for being hard of hearing, though...I said "HE MIGHT GET A LITTLE EXTRA MONEY FOR BEING HARD OF HEARING!!!!"
It would be easy to write him off as a bumbling idiot who trods along behind me and asks painfully obvious questions like "Are you gonna go inside?" after we had walked all the way to the Unique Store and are standing out front. "No, Howard, I just wanted to see if I remembered how to get here after bumping my head last night." Or "Are you gonna hide it in there?," as we near a lone stand of palmettos and I am walking towards it carrying my sleeping bag, after having said "First, I'm going to stash my sleeping bag somewhere," before we walked there. And then: "Is that a good hiding place?" "No, Howard; my bag gets stolen out of here every time and I have to buy a new one each day, but I just don't know of any better hiding places..."
But, I had recently rededicated myself to living a more spiritual life, and had asked Jesus into my heart for about the 38th time. This time was different, though, because I was really comfortable with the people that prayed over me, none of them reminded me of a used car salesman, dealing over my soul, and I think the prayer had an effect; things changed wholesale for the positive, and a lot of blessings came my way.
And, Howard came my way.
Because of his deafness, it is easy for people to dismiss him as being mentally retarded, and that kind of treatment has apparently molded his personality. I think he is intelligent, but just misunderstood, and lonely.
If I give my body to be burned, but don't have charity, then...I don't remember the rest of that scripture, but the end result isn't good...