Saturday, October 08, 2005

busking in the south

the rain has stopped and our phone line is up and running. parts of charlottesville lost power for a couple of hours today and our basement flooded. most of our stuff is set up high in the basement, and what is on the floor is in plastic tubs. so everything should be alright.

tonight dan did some busking on the downtown mall. it is a very popular thing to do in charlottesville and one doesn't need a permit. so, wearing a students for a free tibet t-shirt, he took his didgeridoo on down and set up in front of a chinese import shop. he honked and droned the didg for three-and-a-half-hours and made a little gas money.

why did dan need to busk, you may wonder. several reasons. one is that we weren't exactly planning on moving. it happened very suddenly and we didn't really have the resources set aside. dan has been promised reimbursement for the moving expenses, but that has not come through yet. and until i am more gainfully employed, things are a bit tight.

speaking of, i'm 99% sure i've landed a job to supplement the barn swallow. more on that when i know for certain.

it has been mentioned in a couple of papers recently that the median income for charlottesville is close to or lower than the national average, yet the cost of living here is around 9% higher than the national average. apparently it is more expensive to live here than in nearby cities, dc, roanoke, and richmond.

and so, busking is a creative way to earn some spare change. personally, i thought dan looked handsome sitting there with his exotic musical instrument. but i think he felt a little sheepish about it. i've always thought it would be fun to have a family road show. if he ever does it again, i might join him by adding some flourishes with the tibetan singing bowl and the native american rain maker. and tashi can twirl around in her rainbow pixie outfit.

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