A Seed Planted

Sunday would prove to be marginally better financially, though at the end of the day I would just miss the cost of the table. Not exactly an ideal way to learn what you need to know, but failing to learn from your mistakes is the biggest mistake of all.

Besides, as bad as it was to not cover costs, the simple fact is that by taking this step, I now have a selection of prints to sell…I simply need to work out how…and do so.

Rebuilding the website is an obvious option, however that is reliant on a pc with internet accessess. So my options are limited to using Facebook and the blog which is readable via mobile access.

I will sort something out shortly.

In the meantime, I would begin planning for the next Supanova with a very simple move. I spoke with the guys on either side of us and we have formed a tentative agreement to work together on an idea for next year, while still doing our own thing.

More on that at a later date.

By the end of the day, with numerous people in fantastic costumes filing past, I had pulled out some of the free prints to distribute to the occassional person who stopped, with a focus on the kids.

Both Catbirds and myself enjoyed being a part of Sydney Supanova 2011 and look forward to greater things next time we attend. We went in expecting this experience would be a bit of a learning curve, and that it was.

We will be back.

Dojo Master

Now, one night while busking, the homeless guy would pay a visit, weaving a tale of wonder. He had achieved a rank at the Dojo he attended and his master had presented him with a katana.

Sounds reasonable…

Then he informs me that he told his teacher about me and how I supported him as I did. He was handed a “lesser” katana to give to me.

I wasn’t sure what to make of this particular story as he left the swords with me while he went to deal with his brother who was in the tunnel. 30 minutes later the police wandered by and because the brother (and girlfriend) were laying down in the tunnel (sleeping in the tunnel is prohibited) stopped to question them. Some back talk resulted in a search.

Afterwards, he came back down to help me pack up, having informed the police (after he received a move on order) that he was going to assist me. Something they dropped by to double check, which I confirmed he on occasion would assist in packing up.

He collected his sword and then told me he would post the other sword to me as I would need a permit (which he had to show police previously himself) to carry it on public transport. Asking me for my home address (at this point I was in the midst of packing up due to the eviction which he was aware of), instead I provided a friends secure work address.

By this point something felt fishy … for starters, having sold swords previously I knew I was allowed to transport a sword from point of acquisition to my home (having previously spoken to the NSW firearms registry regarding such weapons to ensure that I followed all legal requirements), the earlier chain of events was bugging me.

A couple of days later, police dropping past would ask me in an off handed way about how I earned a living, going so far as to insist I state how much I made per day (asking if I did $50, $100, $1000/day? for instance). It felt more like random questioning with no real goal behind it, but with the timing and my feelings that something wasn’t right…

Then a week or so later with no sign of a sword in the post, the guy would show again and inform me that he no longer had the swords as he had been arrested and the swords confiscated (so much for his permit … this pretty much confirmed the potential dodgyness of whatever the real story was). In addition to that, he wouldn’t be around for a bit as he was required to report to a police station some distance away.

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I may at heart be a trusting soul (my only excuse in this case was that his initial comments matched up with previous interactions with him (everyone has a life before they hit rock bottom and who am I to find fault) so I had no real reason to question outside of my own reluctance to accept such a gift … which hindered my own b.s. meter), but occasionally even I can add 2 and 2 together. No matter how you cut it, the whole situation just did not add up as anything but suspicious.

Simple moral of the story…

When working at street level, be wary of any story people tell you. Especially if they try to leave stuff with you.

I don’t know the truth behind the swords, but a couple of ideas spring to mind … the possibility they were stolen, housed drugs or god only knows what … perhaps simply used to try and find out my home address while I was busy busking.

I simply do not know…

But the experience sealed my decision as regards to assisting others in the future … simply put, offering a helping hand is one thing, but don’t risk it getting chopped off in the process.

And for those who may be as unaware as I was at this point, a common tactic among some people is to leave incriminating items with third parties in the event police might be in the area.Translation … if caught, you cop the blame when your only crime was to be an idiot.

Even assuming everything was legitimate …it’s just not worth the risk.