On my second day suddenly without roof access, I went out in the morning to the bench, came back in to go to the bathroom and eat lunch, then changed strategies from before.

First, I ran into my building’s handyman, who mentioned he knew a few superintendents on the block, so he may be able to put me in touch with people who can give me access to nearby roofs. I suspect something will work out in that directions because of the pattern: on the other side of challenges in living more sustainably is community. It keeps happening that whatever the challenge, solving it keeps involving people who enjoy helping.

Tomorrow is forecast for rain all day, so it was safest to go out today. There was a fair amount of sun, but going out twice only charged the battery to thirty-five percent. After January’s 23 out of 25 days overcast, I’ve become conservative in not letting the batteries get too low. That means I’m probably going to eat raw until I resolve some roof access where I can leave the equipment to charge all day without me watching it.

Luckily, I knew a guy who was a raw vegan chef and owned a fancy restaurant frequented by celebrities, so I’ve experienced gourmet raw food.

My second strategy change: whereas yesterday I tried to avoid attention by choosing less-traveled places, after lunch I decided to go to a well-traveled spot. Why not get attention?

I don’t know if you can tell from the picture, but I chose a spot with few shadows, but plenty of people walking past. Several people stopped to say hi, asked what I’m doing, and wished me luck.

Maybe I’ll charge in more public places more. Still, concrete wears out the materials holding the solar panels together faster. I also can’t work well from the noise, exhaust, and so on. And I have to pack all my stuff up more. Traffic is noisy.

Speaking of shadows, you might notice no clear shadows in the above picture, meaning by mid- to late-afternoon, the clouds had come out.

Did I mention that today was a lifting day? Lifting means squats and deadlifts, so my legs are more tired than usual.

The temperature was again in the 30s (single-digits C). When I tried to fold the panel back up and put the cords in the panel’s pocket, I found I couldn’t close my fingers.

I’m writing in an NYU library now, not plugged in, but

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