Forced Downtime

Well, I took Townes in to the shop today and headed off to day jobs in Amarillo. Aside from a previously scheduled job in Garden City on Wednesday, it looks like this will be the extent of my work, as I am waiting for tickets to process.

The brakes were a "better case" scenario: a hole in the brake line. It will still cost me, but less than a master cylinder or a larger repair. I'm going to have to wait until Monday, though, to launch out again, which is a bit of a pity, though, because it means watching a few tickets go by.

So the game plan is to work on set lists. I am still trying to get something going in that regard, and will keep trying. I'm trying to pick up some setlist ideas, and keep it fresh and lively. Also working on signage for the spots where I busk and trying to piece together some new routes. And not ignoring the ever present reality that it will only be a few months before I will need to start finding something more appropriate for winter weather.

I had a buyer mention I was well below some of the other bidders. The good thing about that is, I'm not undercutting them on my hourly, where I am beating them is on travel expenses. In this area, any competent tech is going to have to travel, and the expenses are pretty similar. Because I'm only bidding one way travel on most of these jobs, I can honestly underbid without compromising a fair hourly rate.

Today's jobs were a "gimme". I needed to fill some time and make a few bucks, with the uncertainty of the van, so I bid a bit lower than I normally would. Still making money, just not as much as I would have normally. But now I go home to rest work on my game plan.