Today was a beautiful day! The sun stayed out, the daffodils and crocuses in the park were glowing, and buskers' friends didn't let them not busk. I thought this would be a good day to play on the Middle Meadow Walk for the second time. I would be in the sun, and there would be lots of students, kids, and others. It was okay, there wasn't a super steady flow of tips, and I got bored and cold, but it was good to get out there. In fact, who did I see sitting at the tables near my pitch but Sas and Rebs, my former :( flatmates! Then it turned out another friend had just gotten a job at the café right there, so there was plenty of socializing. Here's what happened:
Monday, 5 March 2012:
1. There are always people out vending or soliciting something in this area, and today was no exception. Two people wore sweatshirts that said, "Ask me about paintball" as they vigorously did just that to passersby. I'm not sure exactly what they were advertising, but their table had a military decorum about it. Is paintball a new metaphor for cheerful military recruitment or something?
2. I had a first in toddler reactions. A little girl was being pushed in her stroller, pacifier in her mouth. She saw me and the pacifier fell out. She didn't seem to notice or care, and just followed me with her eyes as her pusher continued on.
3. A lady finally understood the matching tip boxes! She narrated, "One for you...and one for her" as she put a big coin in my box and a small one in Flaca's.
4. A mom biked by, going downhill, with her little toddler perched on her little bike seat in front of her. A couple minutes later, they emerged again coming uphill. The girl's face was tearstained; did she shed tears because her mother biked by me too fast? They lingered for a bit to watch. The kid couldn't reach Flaca, so I operated her with my right hand and played some chords on the left, which doesn't really work. Luckily, two slightly older girls appeared! Perfect! I asked if they wanted to work Flaca so I'd have two hands to play. Without really waiting for consent, I passed her to the older one. Halfway through a song she confessed, "I don't want to do this!" and passed her back. Oops. Sorry! After they left, I asked the biker chicks for their favorite songs, and the kid said "Baa Baa Black Sheep." Excellent. They two of their friends came by, including a little boy wearing trousers with dinosaurs on them. We agreed that there aren't enough dinosaur songs out there.
5. Another little girl had a less than excited reaction. She seemed interested when her dad pushed her stroller by, but when they stopped right in front of me, and I had crouched down and picked up Flaca, she started screaming "Mommy!" with snot just pouring out of her nose. Well, we're not for everybody!
6. Someone commented on Yann Tiersen. Yup.
7. A girl stopped and asked, "Are you Pedro's roommate?" As of last Thursday, I am! She had been over the other night and saw my accordion box, and recognized it! Cool!
This is a spot where I'm bound to see people I recognize, and sure enough I did. Some I had met at parties with my old flatmates, who were students, and others I just recognized from playing there before. Tom from the local band Fablewood who I had met once before came by, and we talked about Kaiho opening for them at an upcoming event! I sent him over to talk to Sas, who was luckily the only purple-haired person in the vicinity! Looking forward to that gig, although it means I can't go to the next Uke Boogie. That's fame for you.
The end!
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