AAAANDYYYYY!!!!!

Yesterday was my longest day of playing yet over here! Let's do some math: played from about 11:45-1:30, then about 2:45-5:30, then about 7:00-10:00. 1.75 + 2.75 + 3 = 7.5 hours! Phew! Strangely enough, I wasn't really hurtin’. Usually that's a killer on my arms, but they felt fine and feel fine today. I drank a lot of water! There's so much to write about in this post. I'll try to keep it organized.

Prologue: Temperature and Other Factors of Comfort
Yesterday was colder than it has been, but I actually stayed pretty warm. My newest rule is that I have to walk to “work,” because that's key to warming up, and the heat from the walk lasts a while. I'm allowed to take the bus home if I want, although my new flat is in such a good location that it's not really necessary.

I made the mistake of doing laundry on Friday night, and both my pairs of wooly tights were still damp. That left me with just synthetic running-y tights and my new purple tights, purchased for use at band gigs. I did really like the look of purple tights under my piano dress, though, especially since the accordion blocks most of my purple sweater so it's not obvious that Flaca and I match! Might make that a permanent thing. Anyway, my legs were colder than usual, but I was doing okay. When I was in Northampton, Steve, the super nice guitar player who's been there, outside of Faces, for years, advised me to stand on cardboard to keep warm. I guess you lose heat (or gain cold) from the sidewalk through your shoes very rapidly. I used this tip on New Year's Eve, but had forgotten it until my dad mentioned it the other day. When I was walking to my second location I passed an overflowing paper recycle bin with lots of crushed boxes. I grabbed one, and it was a lifesaver! I really did notice my feet staying warmer, and even the tiny bit of padding helped my knees! Thanks again for that, Steve. Oh, and I activated handwarmers right away that ended up not being necessary until it was dark, but they were so warm!! I had the idea to give them to a homeless person when I was done, but I ended up not quitting until late, and they were expired.

There was a little bit of wind, but it didn't seem as bad as Friday, or maybe I was just at a better angle? Flaca fell over a few times, but that was the only consequence. The best part was that there was no rain! My first dry Saturday!

Saturday, 10 March 2012, Part I: Farmer's Market
I had a tentative plan to skip the Castle Terrace Farmer's Market this week and instead go to Balerno for its monthly market. One of my choir mums told me about it, and this was the one monthly Saturday on which it was being held. It would have been fun to get out of the city and see a smaller town, but it was risky! The website said that entertainment is provided by "Willy the Busker," and I didn't know if there was room for two. I can't afford to not have a full Saturday of tips coming in, and I didn't want to go all that way and not play!

I stuck with my usual Saturday routine instead. I planned to get there early, like 10:30, and really get the kids. Of course that didn't happen. Once again, I got my spot. New people were working the venison stand, and the stand next to East Coast Organics was empty, weird! Maybe they saw me coming and quickly bolted. There's a lot coming, better get started with the numbered list:

1. Talked to the Big Issue lady. I've mentioned her, right? The Big Issue is a magazine sold by folks who are a bit down on their luck. Not sure if they're all homeless; the red vest the vendors wear has the tagline, "Giving a hand up, not a handout" or something. This particular woman is always at my end of the market. I have a really hard time with her accent! She always greets me when I come, but it's hard to converse! At one point I understood from her that there were other musicians set up in the middle of the market. Didn't catch the words, but inferred from the gestures that went along that it was a stringed instrument played vertically and one played horizontally--maybe the cello and guitar duo that walked by last week? I couldn't hear them, so I assumed I wasn't too close. That's terrible, I haven't been here nearly long enough to get to claim spots like that.

2. After "Let's Stay Together," a guy tipped and said "Cool Al Green!" Yeahh! It's still a new song, and was a hasty arrangement, so I don't really expect to get compliments on it (and I'm too lazy to improve the arrangement).

3. Two men stopped to talk, whom I took to be Caribbean based on their apparel and accents. One asked if I could play anything from "the island," which I heard in the plural, and took to mean the Caribbean islands. I probably shouldn't admit this, but humans' innate lack of figurative colorblindness sometimes leads us to these quick misunderstandings. He meant the British island. Of course. Good thing I didn't play the theme from "Cool Runnings" or something! I quickly recovered (sort of) and said I only know Irish songs so far. He asked if I know anything from Limerick, which I don't. He told me to learn "Danny Boy" for next week! I'm planning on it!

4. The kids were few and far between! The first action Flaca got was from two sisters wearing matching outfits and their dad. That sounds like they were wearing their dad. I played Beer Barrel Polka for Flaca to dance to, and they passed her around perfectly: little girl took the first part, older girl took the second part, and dad took the chorus! Flaca's skirt has been a little loose, and the dance move that the dad orchestrated was a little much for the yarn, and the skirt began sliding down. When the final chord sounded, her skirt was around her knees, exposing her orange legs! I should make her some polka-dotted underwear. It's now double-knotted very tightly.

5. The other kid Flaca met was Oliver, an adorable and curious little boy. He acknowledged Flaca, but wasn't super interested in playing. It's interesting, the kids all go for Flaca's tip box! I guess a doll-sized little box is intriguing! They're also not interesting in shaking it as a percussive devise. Regardless, Oliver gave Flaca a nice kiss. They seemed interested in me as a babysitter as well! Hope to hear from them.

6. An observation: I actually noticed the following the previous Saturday. It took nearly two years of busking to notice the reflection of my tips on my accordion! One can clearly see pretty gold dots in the shiny plastic of the treble side of the accordion! Actually, not surprising since my tips were paper before now. Beautiful nonetheless!

It was generally pretty slow. Flaca was tipped more than I was, I think. Next week I must get out earlier! I packed up a little early. I'm so sick of my songs, and I find that after two play-throughs I need a break just due to boredom. That's usually upwards of two hours, so it's okay to quit. The Chocolate Tree guy was super nice! For some reason I thought he didn't like me, but I stopped by that stand on my way out and asked him if it was close enough to closing time to get £1 hot chocolate. He said no, but said I could have a dark chocolate shot for £1, usually £1.50. I agreed, and swung my accordion around to access my money. I guess he didn't recognize me by the dress, because when he saw the accordion he said, "Oh, for you it'll be 75p." Excellent. I told him I appreciated it, and he said he appreciates me music! Guess I got that one wrong.

Time for some italics to break things up. Sampled some cheese at a stand, said hi to Robbie the porridge vendor, then went to take a break and eat my lunch. I ended up in the National Museum: free entry, lots of space. I found the "group space," equipped with tables and chairs for school trips to have their lunches. Perfect! I snuck in and set up at a back table. A sign stated that it was only for pre-reserved groups, but no one else was in there so I went for it. There was a camera so I ate fast, but I didn't have to. Guess I'm not a threat! I packed a super delicious lunch: baguette sandwich with avocado and nutritional yeast, apple, carrots. Headed to the Royal Mile after for set #2!

Saturday, 10 March 2012, Part II: Royal Mile
The usual crowd was out: Dieter in silver, Charlie Chaplin, and Todd with his huge crowd. Today he was in chains. The spot I've been using most often, on the corner of High St. and Cockburn across from what might be the Tron Church, was open, but across from it there was a guy holding a guitar in a case. I was relieved when he said he wasn't about to set up. So I did.

1. A guy gave my setup the once-over and asked what part of America I'm from. How did he know?? He had a heavy Southern accent.

2. One guy walked by and just pointed at Flaca. Yep, there she is!

3. Notes say "accent, learn song, sing." I think this refers to an old Scottish man who suggested I learn a song, but whose accent I couldn't understand. I forget which song it was. I'm going to assume Flower of Scotland, since everyone was asking for it yesterday.

4. Met a man named Guy. He asked where I'm from, I said the US, he asked which part, I said MA, and he asked if it's cold or hot. He also asked for Flower of Scotland. I said I couldn’t do it, and asked what kind of song he wanted instead. He said to play what I wanted, so I just did what was next on the set list: Stevie Wonder's "I Believe...." After, Guy asked if he could tell me something, which I permitted. By the way, he was holding an unopened beer can. He told me that he's been an alcoholic for many years, and that on Thursday he goes away to rehab. He made the call and booked the bed. Starting Thursday, he'll be a new man. I offered him my congratulations. He said that he had £5, and that he was going to go buy two more beers, then he'd come back and give me the remaining pound. I suggested that he get a head start and NOT buy two beers, but his mind was made up. He never came back. Best of luck, Guy.

5. I'm even managing to get sick of Ring of Fire, if you can believe that!! I seriously need some new songs. Anyway, I decided to try to polka-ize RoF a bit. It paid off, because a group walked by and sang along and danced!

6. The wind blew and Flaca fell over. Poor thing, the paint on her nose has chipped off from all the faceplants she's been doing. But this time, for the first time ever, a witness walked over and picked her up for me! Usually I'm mid-song when this happens so I wait until I finish, and people wonder why there's a doll lying on her face on the sidewalk. So nice of that guy!

7. I met Andy! This was a big (very short-lived and insignificant) mystery. That morning, I saw "Andy" in my cell phone contacts. I had nooo idea who it was. I'm not really getting wasted and putting rando’s numbers in my phone these days, so I wondered why I couldn’t remember. A guy came over while I was playing and said, "I think we've been emailing, I'm Dylan's friend." ANDY!!!!!!!* Of course! Dylan is the person who moved out of my old flat, thus opening up my room. He knows Andy, who was looking for an accordion player. Mystery solved!

*The exclamation of "Andy!" always has to be said in Pee-Wee's voice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KydCR2ZLx8

8. Strange interaction. A guy slowly walked over, and it seemed that he was unable to talk. He was pointing to Flaca and gesturing puppetry, and got a few words out. At first I thought he had some special needs. He was generally acting sort of strange. I picked up Flaca and handed her over, and he pretty much just suspended her, not making her move much. I said that her shoes do make a sound on the ground, but he didn't use that information. He said more, I forget what, but I started to suspect that he wasn't learning impaired but rather just drunk. Sure enough, I started to smell whiskey on him. Still not 100% sure though. He thought that I would do really well with Flaca, that I would make 15 quid. He moved on eventually, walking with a little swagger but seemed to keep his balance okay. He went over to the Starbucks across the street where some young women were sitting outside, and sat with them. Oh boy.

9. Some men stopped by, French I think, and asked if I could play the theme from the Simpsons. Good idea! It's super jazzy, so I didn't dare try the left hand, but managed to get out some of the melody. I should learn it!!

10. There was definitely a wedding happening nearby, since people were walking by in fancy clothes. No kilts, though. I waited for the bride, but didn't see her! I was surprised by the lack of hen parties though, being a Saturday. Finally saw one, and they recognized the song but didn't tip!

11. There was one stag party, and the groom posed with me for a picture. I congratulated him on his impending nuptials, and one of his friends said something like, "You haven't met the bride." Poor thing!

12. Right as I was deciding to pack up, a man said, "I don't have money, but I have chocolate." Yess. Nice, dark chocolate.

You've made it two thirds of the way!! Go make some tea, since the last part is the craziest of all. Around 5:30 I was thinking that I could use a warm drink and bathroom break, and considered just getting someone watch my stuff and running to Starbucks across the street. But, a. it's hard to find a trustworthy person to watch your stuff here, vs. in Northampton or Ptown; b. I don't want to support starbucks; and c. I fancied a proper break. It was busy enough out that it was worth taking a real break and setting up for a third set, something I don't usually do! I fancied a coffee, seat, and bathroom, so I did a loop around Southbridge and stuff. Thought I'd go to Captain Taylor's, where my new friend Tom works, but alas it was closed, as were most non-chain coffeeshops, I realized. I headed back towards the Royal Mile to settle for a chain, when I came across Caffe Lucano on George IVth. What a nice place! I sat down and got a [decaf] latte, that came with a little chocolate (also snuck the tip chocolate). This place rapidly won me over. After 3:00 pm all the pastries and cakes are half price! The staff was super nice, and the general ambiance was pleasant. Felt very Italian, which was the point. A family came in and sat at what I took to be their regular table, where the nice waitress greeted them like old friends. Anyway, this post is long enough that I won't go into any more detail. You can get pasta and wine for £10! They were putting candles out and dimming the lights, transforming the place for the dinner crowd. I definitely want to go back for dinner if I find a suitable date! Around 7:00 I went back out to work, but deemed the Royal Mile exhausted for the day. There was less foot traffic, and I had already done a set there. Headed instead to Grassmarket, which would surely be good on a Saturday night! Read on.


Saturday, 10 March 2012, Part III: Grassmarket

Sure enough, there had been a rugby game that afternoon (Wales vs. Italy), so folks were in a festive mood. The standard stag and hen parties were out, and women were walking around in strapless dresses with bare arms and legs. Definitely a night to make money! I realized that the cobblestone road through Grassmarket was closed to traffic, something I hadn't previously observed about it. This gave me more options! I decided to be nice and check in with the bouncers at the two bars on either side of the place I wanted to set up: The Last Drop and Maggie Dickson's. The woman at The Last Drop said I was fine as long as I didn't block the fire exit, but the man at Maggie Dickson's thought I would be too close to customers and people in their flats, so I set up on the other side of the closed road, facing them. This was even better, since I had a lot of space. I set up everything, but later removed Flaca's setup since it wasn't doing anything and drunk people kept stepping on it. And when my student loan sign fell, I didn't bother putting it up again. There's a lot to say about my three hours here!

1. I was halfway through my first song when I got my first customers. One man said he didn't have money, but his friend did. Sure enough, the friend reached into his sporran (was in full kilt and everything) to get coins! I guess they're functional in addition to stylish!

2. On their heels were two men from Barcelona. They wanted to take pictures, and each had a camera. The arrangement they chose was to have one man pose with me, and the other man hold out both cameras and simultaneously press both shutters. I impressed them with my Spanish (not), and we talked about how I need to go to Barcelona. I asked if I'd get by speaking only "Castillo," and not Catalan. Oh man, Castellano. Not sure what language castles speak. Already feeling the long day!

3. I've already forgotten what "Drunk guy, irish" means, in my notes. I'm going to assume that's all to the story.

4. Interaction with Richard and his friends. Richard came first, and was later joined by his friend Eddie, then one more guy. I already forget how the conversation started! The gist is that he was really touchy feely. He had lots of compliments for my playing and general loveliness, but I had to guide his hand away from my ass a few times (sorry Mom, I know that's not what you want to hear! Lots of witnesses and authorities nearby!). He would ask me to play songs, then try to hold my hand which obviously disrupted the playing. His friend Eddie declared me the prettiest accordion player in the world! I'll assume he has a reputable source for that fact. When they asked why I don't have a boyfriend, I told them I'm a gypsy. They both interrupted, and non-jokingly said "Don't say that!" Right, I must remember that in Europe, gypsies aren't the exotic, mysterious women we romanticize them to be back home.

Oh yes, it's all coming back. Richard wanted to sing. He started singing "Hey There Delilah." Nice and easy! As luck would have it, he began it in C. I wung it well enough, and we went through it a few times. Then we moved on to "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol, which I recognized when he sang it despite knowing 2% of popular songs. It was during this that his other friends came over.

I finally asked them to take a step back, that they could watch and listen but other people had to be able to see me too if I was going to make any money that night. They were respectful of that (Richard took some persuading). The pedi-cab guys were out, of course, and one came by and conversed with these three about taking them somewhere. Please!! They declined, however, but luckily they went on their way soon after. I made sure to thank that pedi-cab guy next time he came by for almost rescuing me! A couple hours later, Eddie came back. It seemed that Richard had rubbed off on him, since he was too far in my personal space. He encouraged me to pack up and go have a drink with him. He offered to pay me my hourly rate to do so, when I said I needed to work. He offered to pay me £90. Damn, maybe I should have. I had to be really forceful and insist that he take "no" for an answer, and loudly start playing a song to get him to go.

Note: I choose to get myself into this! When you busk around drunk European men on rugby day, this goes with the territory. You also make a buttload of money so it's worth it! I'm a pretty good judge of who is and isn't harmless, and I make sure to be in contact with the bouncers and bikers to come in as backup if necessary. Don't worry!! And I didn't stay past 10:00!

5. A general note: I was a lot more aggressive soliciting tips! By "a lot" I mean "very slightly," but it was still good practice. Some buskers yell things to passersby, cleverly getting them to tip. I don't feel comfortable doing that, and prefer to just smile and do the best I can do to earn my tips. Since lowered inhibitions were in the air, even though mine were intact, I was talking to people first tonight, roping them in! It works pretty well with drunk men! Here's an example:

6. A guy stopped and asked if I could play any "Something." I said no. He started to walk away, and this is when I took action! I asked him, "What's your second choice?" "Something Something." "Okay...third choice?" "Beatles?" "Okay, what song?" "What can you do?" "I can wing the famous ones!" Liberal use of the word "can" there. "Hard Day's Night." Managed to do okay! Messed up the chromatic bits ("when I get home to you, you'll find the things that I do"), but it mattered not since he was drunk and already talking to someone else. Easy tip!

7. A man came and stood right in front of me and talked and talked. Heavy accent, hard to understand. I figured he was after something. Finally, I gathered that he's paranoid schizophrenic and won't get something he needs till next week, so he needed to borrow money? He also told me that the beggar at the other end of Grassmarket spends it all on "junk," and sometimes makes £70 a day, so I shouldn't give him any money. He went on and on, and I was really surprised that my first attempt to say "I'm sorry I can't help, good luck" worked, and he started on his way! But then he came back and talked more, but I was rescued by my Spanish friends! Yay!

8. Great to see my hostel friends Enric, Bibi and Mikel. All except Nacho and Marcos. Those guys are great, I really need to keep in touch with them!

9. An older man on a bike stopped. Great gear--ankle band with lights, headlamp, etc. He reminisced that the last time he had seen me play there I was playing French songs. Good memory, I played in Grassmarket once before, and it was a while ago! He specifically remembered "La Mar." He lives upstairs, I guess! Good luck sleeping ever.

10. Speaking of which, tenants of the flat right about the costume shop paid me frequent visits in their window! There were three of them that showed up in different combinations, waving and blowing kisses. At one point they opened the window to talk, but it didn't work. I yelled up, "I hope I'm not keeping you up!" then realized that it was like 8:22 pm.

11. A guy dropped a tip, then said, "That was good, I gave you a whole pound!" I thought he meant that his tipping was generous, and therefore good, but upon writing this I realized that he probably meant my music was good. Not quite as noteworthy.

12. A girl brought her friend my way via piggyback, and requested anything Eastern European. I said I could do the Tetris theme song, which is originally a Russian folk song, and she was okay with that. I played it, and they actually managed to dance in piggyback formation.

13. A bunch of guys came over in green Irish rugby jerseys. After a quick conversation, I started playing "Whiskey in the Jar." They sang along at the important parts, in a perfectly loud and Irish way! Love it. MUSHA RING DUMMA DUM DAMMA DA (they didn't clap four times...boo) WHACK FOR THE DADDY O, WHACK FOR THE DADDY O THERE'S WHISKEY IN THE JAR!

14. A guy with a heavy Scottish accent asked if I could play "That's Amore." Took him three times for me to understand!

15. A young couple stopped by. I really liked them. Although the girl asked right away if I have children. That's new! Like so many before them tonight, they asked me to play "Flower of Scotland." I had to let them down that I don't know it, but asked how it went. The girl started singing it, and the guy interrupted and took over, then she did the same. They're from Glasgow. No, Hamilton, the girl interrupted. They kept interrupting each other, but it was so cute! Loving banter. The girl gave me a nice pep talk, telling me to be what I want to be, to never be anything else, etc. etc.

16. As I said, lots of people asked for Flower of Scotland. I offered "Scotland the Brave" instead, which I know only because the bagpipers rarely play anything else! It went over pretty well!

17. Another Irish guy, I asked if he wanted a reel, a drinking song, or a sad slow song. He wanted the third, and chose "The Leaving of Liverpool." Didn't sing along that much, like he promised! Maybe I chose a bad key.

18. Met Danny, a drunk guy. He was so worried about me here, and invited me to move in. Nothaaaanks! I forget the rest of this conversation. His friend showed up soon after and rescued me.

19. A note about songs: I was getting creative tonight. This crowd was pretty particular, and a lot of my songs wouldn't have done well. I ended up improvising quite a lot, and playing songs I haven't played for well over a year. This was not so fun to the bikers or bouncers, but it was really fun for me! I was so sick of my songs, being my third set of the day. I pulled out old favorites "Like a Prayer," "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "My Heart Will Go On," and improvised both Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone Like You," "500 Miles," "Daydream Believer," "Billie Jean," "The Cave" (Mumford and Sons), and whatever else I think of tomorrow and add. Good "workshop" time! Must learn more pop and more themes for nights like these.

20. Some men asked for a Scottish song that has "Highlands" in the title. I offered Scotland the Brave, but another friend of theirs asked for Star Wars instead. Yeahh!! I really have to learn it officially, but my rendition was recognizable. Another asked for "When the Saints go Marching In."

21. A man asked if I would play "Happy Birthday." Not then, later! Sure. But he didn't come back before 10:00. Oh well. There was another birthday group out, and I played the song as they retreated, and one finally noticed and waved. The Hen parties were equally unresponsive. I never know what to play for the stag parties, but I spotted one group of men that included a man wearing a veil and "bride to be" sash, so "here comes the bride" would have gone over very well. But they never came close enough! People spend so much money on these events; many of them have customized shirts or jackets with their names, and all sorts of matching accessories. I hope I never have to be part of one of those.

22. Towards the end of the night, a man named Jim stopped to talk. We got to the part of the conversation where I say I'm from Massachusetts, and he said he's been there, to Hyannisport. He told me an anecdote of when he boarded a Greyhound bus, that would eventually take him cross-country, and a man sat next to him. That man was from Hyannisport, and was owed $50 by JFK! He used to work as a security guard at the Kennedy estate, and despite having so much money, Jack didn't carry any on him. He was headed into town to get something, and asked this guard to lend him $50. "Then he was assassinated before he could pay him back!"

23. At one point I turned around and saw three men doing push-ups behind me. One was wearing a pig head. Better not to ask.

24. Got some good singing on Don't Stop Me Now!

25. Of course, a pitch this good on a Saturday night all to myself is too good to be true. There's this guy who plays guitar and chain smokes who I've seen there, as well as other places. He showed up and walked past me several times. Didn't say a word. Obviously he wanted me to beat it, but I wasn't going to just infer that, he had to talk about it! The last time he walked by, he muttered something that ended with "...my patch." Seriously? You've been busking this long and you can't talk to other buskers? I kept thinking about what to say to him. The simple versions were just "If you wanted a turn with this spot, you just had to ask!" and ranged to a complex psychological lecture on how one can't assume others are doing what they do to be malicious, but rather that innocent mistakes are made and the only way to cope is to have a mature discussion. Plus, there's no claiming pitches, hot shot. Obviously this guy's just generally unfriendly. I'd like to play here again, but would rather not face his wrath! Serves him right for heading out so late, when there was ample time for other buskers to claim the spot!

That's all! You made it! Could write lots more analysis, but I ran out of Sunday and I'm at band practice so I have to quit! Thanks for reading! If you made it this far, that's ten whole pages when copy/pasted to Word!