Today, it was Monday when I woke up.

I looked around me; and found my watch; 6:48.

I felt the swollen gland or whatever it is in my throat and had to think of weather or not Monday is the day to see the free doctors at the Rebuild Center.

It wasn't, so I slept some more.

I am pretty sure that I ingested something which has been causing me to have a lot of mucous (blowing my nose every hour; but not feeling sick at all) and coughing my brains out so that I see stars...

Sunday
Sunday, or yesterday as some might refer to it; was a pretty good day.
I met Tanya and Dorise at their spot at 11 a.m. and Tanya offered to buy me food in Rouses Market. I didn't take her up on it, but I did go inside to try to steer her away from fried chicken on such a hot day, to no avail.
I played on the Bourbon Street spot and found that I was good enough to make money; although the haunting spirit of the guy who requests songs that mean a whole lot to his whole generation (and which I know none of) surfaced out of the pavement, and gave me a pretty good tip, but not as good as if I had known at least one of those songs which defined him and helped make him the man that he is today and which the mere sound of reminds him of who he truly is.
He wanted to hear "Under The Bridge," by The Red Hot Chili Peppers, "A staple," he labelled it.
But, he wanted to hear Alice In Chains, Janes Addiction, and Nervana also. 
I managed to sound out parts of songs by each artist, which I only had dabbled in, back in the 1990's.
Should I create another Busking Axiom: "Learn at least one Nervana song, trust me..."?
The Day Before
I had a good day, Saturday, but I partook of the banquet which is New Orleans, and was enjoying the finest 3 dollar bottles of beers with names like "Fat Tire," and there was the most incredible food sitting atop trash cans, untouched; food like mufflattas which is a sandwich that has like a pastrami or salami and a lot of olives; and olive oil, too.
Somehow that sandwich makes the soul of anyone with Mediteranean blood in them sing.
It did I
But I woke up with a lot less money than I would have had I just done my routine things.

How Wednesday Ended

Last night, I went by Caseys and talked to the nice Dana, who was tending bar; and who asked me a short question.

The question was: "Gin?"

My answer was that; no, I had a cheap beer on one of the tables outside and I was just stopping by to see if Tanya and Dorise were playing that night.

They were not and I was almost relieved; because I had waited all day before having my first beer; the one which was getting warm on the table outside; and, I also felt that one more day of pondering what to play (should I be invited to) would be fortuitous.

And, so, I went and busked a bit and then pondered a lot....

I Play Horrendously
I went to Bourbon Street, after a second beer, and sat across from Barnaby's.
I began to run through the list of songs that I was considering doing at Caseys tonight.
None of them seemed to click. I was struggling to entertain even myself.
I was thinking of Tanya Huangs words.
I had told her a few nights prior that I needed to switch to playing violin.
"Why?" asked she.
"Because I'm not going to give anyone goosebumps with this thing; it's just not a 'goosebump' kind of instrument..."
"I've gotten goosebumps before," said Tanya.
But then added: "...from classical..."
"But, that was a nylon string guitar like Dorises,"
Seeming to see my point, she nodded.
For whatever it is worth; I have been trying to play the most violin-like melodies which I can conjure up, lately...

It had been that same evening, we remember,  that I crossed the river and found Rob, (one of the guys that I camp with) in possession of a violin. The goosebump instrument. One that "someone"  had given to him, he claimed; case and all. Brand new...
He had been very protective of the instrument that night, as we remember.

After playing pretty horribly on Bourbon, but managing to get a couple dollars thrown to me; and "miraculously" finding a full Hurricane drink sitting on the perch just to my left after finishing a song, I went in search of food, and more drink.
I somehow was miraculously handed food; ate it; and then I plopped myself down across from Harrahs Casino, in front of the Pinkberry Yogurt place on Canal. The last ferry was still about an hour away from embarking.
I was working on my song called: Hubert's Trip, not really paying attention to anyone walking past; but trying to put the song into order.
An elderly woman threw me a dollar; as if she knew that I was trying to put a song together and was struggling to do so...
My "Obsession."
Then, I caught that last ferry; feeling very insecure about my music; and even wondering if I was enjoying what I do.
I lay there and stayed awake for a while.
I asked myself what I was really hoping to gain from playing at Caseys the following (to) night...
What would have to happen for me to conclude that the evening was a huge success?
Was I hoping to give Tanya goosebumps?
Was I seeking her approval; or Dorises; just hoping that one or both would say "That sounded good," so that I could notch that acheivement into my guitar strap, and tell myself that I had attained "the next level" in my artistry?
Am I hoping that she will eventually feel that nothing could ever mean more to her than the scenario of her sitting in an auditorium, surrounded by other parents, as little Tanyita walks onto the stage; her violin looking more like a cello in perspective to the size of her 5 year old body; and Tanya feeling nervous and wishing she had made her practice the piece just one more time (to make 51).
And then hearing the first few notes of J.S. Bach emanate from the violin and feeling the air pressure in the auditorium drop with the collective gasp coming from everyone in unison.
And hearing the whispers: "She's the daughter of the great Tanya Huang..."
("...and she has her fathers flair for syle...look at that hat...") LOL
I decided that no, I'm not going to be there trying to woo Tanya.
I had been taken aback by how beautiful she looked in the soft light of the bar, a week ago; and was a bit smitten by her; (I had only seen her in daylight before) but in both of our best interests; I was sure I would be able to focus upon "higher" matters.
I can certainly find an attractive Chinese girl who would have a lot less to lose by "getting with" me...Tanya is just the second one that I have had the chance to meet in my life.
The first one made my blood boil (too); but was married and had 2 kids...
And no, I wouldn't be trying to give her goosebumps.
You could say that I have given up on that (until such a time that I am able to play her favorite classical piece on a nylon stringed guitar; a very expensive nylon stringed guitar...).
As far as seeking her approval, I admitted to myself that, sure, I would like to get a "you sounded good" out of her, at least once....
My Conclusion
I eventually came to the conclusion that I would focus upon entertaining the whole room in general; and Dana, the bartender, in particualar.
She seems like a cool person, I have gathered through our conversations; and I thought she would be a good person to direct my presentation towards. If Dana really likes my song then I am reasonably sure that the majority of the patrons will, too.
When I play on Bourbon Street, I often pretend that there is someone in the upper room of a certain house across the street, who has her window open and is laying back and listening; and is a big fan of The Grateful Dead...
I have spoken to Brian Hudson about this; and he too faces the problem of whom to sing to when there happens to be nobody there.
So, determined that I would do one of my best songs; as well as I could and try to entertain Dana, behind the bar; I drifted off to sleep....

Sing Me The Song "Curtis Lowe"

Saturday night, at the Bourbon Street spot, across from Barnaby's condo, a couple approached, and asked me to play Bob Dylan, while I was in the middle of playing something else...
They started to walk past, but stopped and the man repeated "Bob Dylan!"
I changed to "Like A Rolling Stone," and, after the few seconds that it took them to recognize the piece, they returned and listened to a few verses, while throwing a few dollars in my case.
Then, they told me that the song that they really wanted to hear, was "Curtis Lowe," by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the guy added that "I ALWAYS throw a tip whenever I hear someone playing that song..."

"I ALWAYS throw a tipe whenever I hear someone playing that song..."

I had heard the song before, especially when I lived in Jacksonville, Florida, the birthplace of Lynyrd Skynyr; but never tried to play it.

I hurriedly strummed an E major chord to put them into the key that I thought the song was in; and to make sure they wouldn't start singing it in the key of G sharp with myself trying to follow along.
As they sang, I managed to sound out the chords, so that by the third verse (when they chucked ol' Curtis in the clay) I had the harmony worked out, to include the "turnaround" (VI7) chord which is important because it is over this chord that we learn through the vocals that "them people all were fools."
They thanked me and said that they had had fun.
"Well, I learned a new song," I said, which seemed to please the guy (he changed the world, in his small way and will bring "Curtis Lowe" to the ears of new listeners and The People, in general, helping to keep it "alive").
I looked in my case to see the distinctive yellowish hue of a ten dollar bill, nestled next to my plastic piggie bank.
"Oh, thank you," I said; already stuffing the bill in my pocket to keep it from the-guy-who-grabs-money-out-of-your-case-and-runs-away-with-it.
I got about 15 bucks during that one song, making me think ...if I could just play 100 songs per day....
The rest of Saturday night went pretty much the same.
Upspringing And Outpouring
Sunday, as I have already posted, there was a magical upspringing and outpouring of generosity which took the form of free drinks and food and tobacco and money.
I knocked off at the curfew hour of about 8 p.m., thinking that I might return after the 
patrols rode through, and went towards Rouses Market where there was playing one of the "Old-Timey" bands across the street. The best one, in my opinion, called The High Rollers (left).
"People who don't like them call them 'Hillbilly bands," according to Paul, of Doreens Jazz Band.
Then, I spotted the distinctive aqua marine hue of Tanyas jacket out of the corner of my eye, disappearing into the store on the corner that the Old Timey band was playing in front of.
The aqua marine and dandilion-yellow clad figure with the flowing black hair had its back to me, but there could be no mistaking it to be none other than Tanya Huang.
She was sniffing tubes of something.
I went into the little store and stood a few feet away from her and began picking up random things and sniffing them; things with no fragrance, like ashtrays or salt shakers.
She held out two tubes for me to sniff, telling me that she had narrowed the fragrances down to those, out of the dozen or so tubes of whatever it was; which was to be her Mothers Day gift.
"Did you work tonight?" she asked.
"Yes, I did, and people actually gave me money!"
"And then you quit?" she asked, with a smile.
"Yeah, I played my best stuff; and then...well, I get lonely, I guess....It would be easier with a partner, to sit there all day; it would be like having a fishing buddy to sit in the boat with you for hours..."
"Yeah, I would hate to have to sit there all day by myself," agreed Tanya.
She seemed amused that I could earn my daily bread in a couple hours, and be done with it.
I guess we both make our "living" with our music.
Sometimes I play until enough people have told me that I sound good; and then; satisfied that I sound good; I quit playing.....
It's just that "a living" to her extends to having the means to buy tubes of fragrant lotions and potions on Mothers Day, and such.
If her hair wasn't so silky and shiny and her skin so smooth and succulent and redolent with her favorite fragrance with everything manicured and pedicured; she might deem that she wasn't making "a living" with her music, and would probably just play longer hours....
My requirements aren't quite so stringent.
She was going into Rouses Market and she asked me if I wanted anything.
"I actually got everything I need; someone gave me some jambalaya..."
"Do you want some chicken to go on top of it?"
"Sure."
She emerged with some baked chicken, which I put on top of the jambalaya and ate, along with the bottle of red wine which Barnaby had given me.
She seemed in a hurry to perhaps give her mother the gift, so I didn't invite her to sit with me on the sidewalk to eat chicken with our hands and pass the wine bottle back and forth while listening to the hillbilly band...

Fine Tuned RADAR

Tuesday morning.

Sorry, We Have No Pockets...

I woke up broke and with strings ready to break on the guitar; but I HAD managed to pay Rob 15 dollars towards the bike which I may never ride, over the weekend.
The college womens "final 4" is taking place in town and will conclude this evening.
I suppose I will plop myself down somewhere and go through the motions, trying to get a tip out of them; seems a "tall" order, though...

I woke up thinking about Tanya Huang.
Tanya had asked me "So, how are you doing?" when I encountered her Sunday morning; as she was eating what I told her was too heavy a meal for such a hot day; and preparing to play. "It could make you sleepy..."
She looked truly concerned about me, as I had her to myself for a minute; a  little tired; and there was a motherly tone about her, and a vibe which reminded me of when an old ex-girlfriend asked me the same question when I was seeing her for the first time in a few years; and a vibe which I used to get from Sue, (the Colombian lady).
It seemed genuine, at any rate.
Most people clear out and let her eat her food in peace; but she told me (when I was about to do so) that she liked to talk and eat at the same time. That may be a "Chinese" thing....
I wanted to tell her "It depends upon how you measure sucess," (and that just the fact that she was concerned about me had me doing better instantly).

There was a weariness about her, perhaps because she was coming off of three consecutive 12-hour days.
I came back by their spot; after making some money on Bourbon Street, and stopped to listen.
They had an audience of about 30 people around them.
At one point, Tanya turned her body so that the neck of her violin was pointed at me like a rifle barrel, so that I could see down the strings at her fingerings and what she was doing with the bow; and she was looking me in the eyes.
I didn't know what to make of that, unless she was trying to convey "look how easy this is; you should be able to get it together..." or was trying to cast a musical spell upon me and transfer some of her talent telekinetically...I don't know...
But, after aknowledging her gaze with my best attempt at a little smile (my face is becoming solidified into "the NOLA scowl;" as a reaction to the environment here; and I literally have to "crack" one and can hear sinews straining and bones creaking) I looked to a group of tourists on my left and noticed a girl of about 10 years in age, staring at me and who then looked back at Tanya, and then back at me; and I wondered if anything had gone right over my head, but which was picked up by the fine-tuned RADAR which 10 year old girls come equipped with.
Time To Work
To every thing there is a time and a place and a purpose; and though I don't feel like playing music; I guess I must, like the guy who has to make the doughnuts everymorning..

The Worst Easter Ever

"...Because It's Easter..."
Easter morning, I woke up to the news from  Howard that "Everything is closed, except the restaurants..."

Happy for some...

He asked me if I was going into town and then chuckled.
The implication was that there was nothing to do; with everything being closed...
"Well, maybe it will be good for busking; with the Easter Spirit present, and everything," I replied.
I went into town and ran into Daniel, the trumpet player.
I told him  how miserable my Saturday had been; moneywise.
Daniel said that he had done well ($150) playing his trumpet on Canal Street.
That kind of set the ball in motion for a day when everybody else would be prosperous except myself; for a variety of reasons...
I had a couple dollars and change, and went to the Unique Boutique where a random street person offered to pay for my beer, saying that he had had "a good morning."
The pan-handlers seemed ecstatic; and the ones that I overheard were appending "...'cause it's Easter" to their "Can you help me out"s.
They all seemed to have had "a good morning."
I came upon Tanya and Dorise; who don't always play on Sunday; but who were at their usual spot; filling their baskets and smiling at everyone.
I continued to the Bourbon Street (Barnaby) spot and began to play.
Soon, small groups of people started gathering around me.
I thought that they might have stopped to listen to me; and I played as well as I could for about a half  hour; before realising that street was filling up in anticipation of  some kind of  Easter parade.
"Terrific," I thought.
The Worst Tippers Ever
My experience with parade goers is they all seem  to be there in anticipation of  catching free stuff, thrown from  the floats; and will even jostle each other over it. The person who leaps the highest, or is quickest to bend down and scoop something off the ground is the one who gets the stuffed animal or plastic toy.
They are some of the worst tippers.
Typical New Orleans

Never Came

It was time for me to take a break after playing pretty hard for almost an hour; for nothing.
I half expected any one of  25 or so people, who were then around me to hand me a few bucks, even if  only for the version of  Ziggy Stardust, by David Bowie which I thought was my highlight.
I put all my stuff in my pack; wrapped up the guitar; shouldered everything and walked off, without getting so much as a nod or a smile; or any eye contact at all; and certainly not a dollar; and no "Happy Easter." Typical New Orleans...
Then, I walked back past Tanya and Dorise.
I told them that I hadn't made anything; having to speak up over tourists saying things like "Here's a hundred; I'm  taking all 4 CDs"
"You need your sign," said Tanya, handing me back the "Mariah Carey Tribute" sign, which I had given her the previous night.
"You need to work on the songs and get it together," she added; apparently thinking that I could actually make something of myself  as a Mariah Carey impersonator.
I told her that such an undertaking was a bit ambitious for me, but then added: "Of  course, I could drop all the songs down about 5 keys..."
"There you go," said Tanya.
What I need to "work on and get together" is a sound system - then the Mariah songs will take care of  themselves...

"Get It Together, Daniel..."

I walked around the Quarter finding drinks which people had set atop the trash cans; drinking them; and then becoming moody and agitated, watching all the Easter bums being handed large bills, because it was Easter and then went to Canal Street, where I played some more and didn't make anything.
People seemed to have "given away enough money to the street people"  and were scooting past me,  as if  glad that I was busy playing music and not in their face; begging them  in the name of  the risen Savior for money.
Brian Hudson and Christina Friis
Then, I scrounged some more, until I was pretty drunk and then came upon Brian and Christina.
Brian and Christina were on Royal Street with a microphone and amplifier each.
Brian was able to play his subtle "Travis picking" style with a feathery touch and his amp was booming the sound out for a couple of  blocks.
Christina was singing in a lilting; almost Celtic sounding voice; and they were turning such gems as "Amazing Grace," and "Wonderful Tonight," by Eric Clapton into quick cash.
They seemed to be well on the way to (another) 300? dollar night.
I suppose it is street musician etiquette to never give another busker even a dollar for a beer; even if  he comes by and answers the "how did you do?" question by saying "I didn't make crap..."
Tanya and Dorise have never given me anything; even the times that I watched their stuff while they ran for lunch; but, I have never asked them for anything, either.
I wasn't expecting them  to  at the time,  but rather felt kind of  flattered that they would entrust their stuff to me,  and was thinking more about that aspect...
Still,  here I was on a day when I hadn't made anything; and an Easter Sunday at that; and I couldn't help walking away thinking "Enjoy your holiday and the thousand bucks in your baskets" kind of  facetiously.
Then,  Brian and Christina, whom  I just recently met; were very friendly.

"But, How Was Your Performance, Daniel?"

They remembered my name,  at least.
But, then I mentioned that Christinas speaker was a bit muffled, unless you were standing right in front of it,  and could use a boost in the 3.5 kilohertz range. But, they made no move to adjust it and gave no answer such as "If  we boost the high end, the microphone will feed back."
It made me feel like they were thinking "We're making a lot of  money here; where does he get off  criticising our sound..."
I walked off,  while they were busy answering the "So where are you from?" question to a tourist who was also telling Brian that he had a finger-picking style like the tourist had never heard before.....It's Travis picking....
I got about 50 feet away when Brian said "Bye, Daniel!" which reminded me that some of my manners had worn off in the French Quarter over the past 2 years.
I had been rude to just walk off  without saying goodbye and wishing them  luck.
"I'll be back around; I'm  just......" ..going to get hammered on a bunch of  free Daqueris...
I wasn't in the mood to play; and figured getting drunk would either help put me in the mood; or not.
I eventually came back by Brian and Christina.
They did a very good version of  What A Wonderful World (I had never heard it Travis picked before, myself) during which a lot of  money went into their tip jar.
At the end of  the song, which Christina sang, she let out a sigh, and with a big smile added "It CERTAINLY is!!"
Of  course it's a "wonderful world" for Christina and for Tanya and for Dorise.
I was thinking that it pretty much was a shitty world, at that point.
But, before I sound like I am whining; this isn't the end of  the (wonderful) world.
What I am  doing is learning very well what works and what the formula for sucess is.
When I told Brian that I hadn't made anything, he asked: "How do you think your performace was?"
"I thought I was playing well," I said; but then added: "Do you want to try playing this guitar unplugged and see if  you can make a dollar?
Brian agreed that, "Yeah, you really need an amp."
A Tip For Luck, And We're On Our Way...
Before catching the ferry; I sat by the casino and was able to make 2 dollars; and I really appreaciated that.
It felt like the old days when, after looking up after playing a song that I thought came out well; there was actually money in the case...amazing...
I still caught the ferry, rather than stay out; becuase it was a Sunday; and the "Easter" thing just wasn't panning out....
It was my worst day since Christmas and just as bad as Thanksgiving.
Some religious types say that Satan runs rampant and rules the French Quarter.

"There's a reason they call it Sin City; think about it" -Porsha, the paramedic from Mobile, Al

And it is strange how many people turn into jerks on Christian holidays.....myself included...
Laptop Busted
Then, this morning, I plugged in the Samsung laptop to discover that the top quarter of the screen was greyed out.
This means that I can do almost nothing with it (I'm  on  library computer now) because all the menus and options and buttons to control programs are at the tup of  the screen, under the greyed out area.
It is now a 4 pound mp3 player and not much else.
I looked up screens on E-Bay and found a few in about the 60 to 70 dollar range
The irony of the fact that a lttile battery powered amp is in this same price range was not lost upon me; and once again I must make a choice.
The amp will pay for itself and a laptop screen in due time....
Paul (Doreens Jazz Band) has one that he is selling but told me that I didn't want it because it sounded "tinny."