Nose to the grindstone 2025

[Greg]

Entering the world of government student loans to pay off the niece's debt. Current wait time to talk to a human is 95 minutes.

[thatguy]

Entering the world of government student loans to pay off the niece's debt. Current wait time to talk to a human is 95 minutes.

People still work there?

--tg

[Greg]

Just the one guy.

[King Bob]

Good luck with that.

[Greg]

The hoops have been leapt. My niece no longer has any college loan debt

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

The hoops have been leapt. My niece no longer has any college loan debt

Can you adopt Harriett?

[Greg]

If she was single, sure.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Dammit.

[Greg]

Time for a little good trouble. Heading to Oakhurst for a Hands Off demonstration. I wonder how that will go over in my little red district

[King Bob]

We're heading to downtown SJ for one.

[Drunk Monk]

Good on you guys. 

I’m going to Kung Fu like I do on Saturday mornings, then we must go to Monterey to meet with Stacy’s mom’s widower to pick up her car which she willed to Tara (hope it runs ok), some clothes, and 2 urns of ashes. We are dreading it because he is an unpleasant person but hopefully this will be our final contact with him ever.

For any D00M Trekkies, Happy First Contact Day!

[King Bob]

DM is the king of receiving cars as gifts.

[thatguy]

Good on you guys. 

I’m going to Kung Fu like I do on Saturday mornings, then we must go to Monterey to meet with Stacy’s mom’s widower to pick up her car which she willed to Tara (hope it runs ok), some clothes, and 2 urns of ashes. We are dreading it because he is an unpleasant person but hopefully this will be our final contact with him ever.

For any D00M Trekkies, Happy First Contact Day!

What? No Surf City Comic Con? I've been pestered with ads on FB for weeks...

--tg

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Yesterday, after work, I decided to check out the First Friday in downtown Los Altos as there was going to be some live  music and I wanted to get some walking in. It was a lovely evening and I have to say that I really haven't poked around downtown Los Altos much. When I was a kid and we used to take the bus to San Antonio Shopping Center, we'd drive by it. I think there used to be a polish restaurant on the edge of it on San Antonio that my dad took us to once. I've been to a Thai place there after picking up Terra at SFO because we were starving and that was the closest area with food off 280 when we decided to satiate the hunger. IIRC, on that jaunt, most of the restaurants and shops were closed. It seems like a sleepy, affluent, white neighborhood. 

But last night, it was bustling. I had to park a few blocks away next to an upscale grocery store (that's been there for decades). There was a choir (maybe from a highschool?) singing next to the doors, adjacent to the person in the parking lot grilling meat for hot sandwiches. When I got to the corner of the main downtown area where one band was set up on the sidewalk. I listened to them for a song and then walked down the street, passing 2 or 3 other musicians playing on the street. Many of the restaurants had sidewalk seating and those were all full. I passed one and noticed one of the Apple VPs having a meal with someone. He used to be my boss's boss's boss. I could have tapped him on the shoulder, but his outie and my outie don't know each other (Our innies don't know each other either). Down the street, on the corner, in front of a bank, a blues-ish band. Harmonica, good guitar player...people dancing. Lots of grey-haired white folk (some glaring and covering their ears as they walked by musicians), but also lots of younger families with children. So many bands...quite a variety of skill level and genres. There was even a barbershop group. Walking around was like twiddling the dial on the car stereo.

I saw there was a band doing a sound check in a bar, so I peeked in and recognized the sound guy from the Apple Music Club. I said hi, and chatted. He said this thing happens every First Friday. I heard another band say that they were happy about the weather because they'd been performing at First Fridays all winter and often got wet.

More walking, more music. I think two different bands did a cover of "Final Countdown". Some band names were funny/telling: "Fully Funded" "Vested Capital"

There was even a fencing club nestled between to foo-foo shops: "Maximum Fencing"

I left around 9p and it was still going. Popped into the grocery store by the car before they closed to pick up some gourmet night cheese.

Pretty fun night. I would do that again.
-----------------------
This morning, I decided to get more walking done, so I walked to De Anza for the flea market. 12,480 steps! Didn't buy anything...didn't want to carry anything and really don't need to be acquiring junk while simultaneously trying to purge the house of junk.

Will probably spend the rest of the day to chores around the house.

--tg

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Here's a link to the First Fridays info: https://losaltosfirstfriday.fun/

First Friday is a free community event featuring 10-15 bands playing simultaneously throughout Downtown Los Altos starting at 6:00pm, every month, year-round.

[Drunk Monk]

Ya know, I was thinking about SCCC but I had an errand to Tola mall dropping off an Amazon return at Kohl’s and walking the mall, which has devolved into a quirky flea market, it gave me a sense of what SCCC would be and the $10 entrance didn’t feel worth it.

Might go to the dancehall at Woodbouse tonight. No cover.

Picked up the car. It’s in good shape. We’ll store it at my mom’s until Tara moves in this summer, then she’ll take it as a second ride.

[King Bob]

We did First Friday in San Jose because my friend had an art opening at Kaleid. It was a shitshow. There was a flea market kind of thing next door to the gallery so we had to park at SJSU and hoof over. Los Altos sounds like it was better.

Tonight is the Works Gallery benefit auction. I've got a piece in it, but didn't see anything I really wanted to buy, so I'm going to skip it. If my piece doesn't sell I wouldn't mind; it was one I really liked.