Archive for February, 2008

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Too Much Monkey Business

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Friday has arrived. Took it’s sweet time getting here. It was a relatively productive day, but first, last night’s TV. Yes, Lost was on and yes it was good. All about Desmond. No barrow. No marketplace. Not much in the memory department either. It was good and the scene with Penelope was sweet. A happy ending of sorts. Talked to Annemarie on the phone for a while last night. Just family drama, too personal to write about here. How’s that for a tease?

Things have been very tense in upper Bergen County for a while and they all came to a head. Fucked up teenagers, damaged parents makes for a emotional maelstrom. And then in lower Bergen County, my sister in law Elaine is having an angiogram, and Frank is stressed. With the cutbacks in state employees I wonder if Frank will be affected. He’s a country employee you see, and shit rolls downhill. Annemarie is trying to organize a laughter yoga group and that’s slow going. I hope it works out, though all you need is one person. Or maybe one other person. You can laugh by yourself, but it’s easier to laugh with someone else.

I laughed loudly watching the Daily Show last night with Jason Jones jonesing for Starbucks coffee, going so far as rooting through garbage cans and drinking a used condom filled with coffee. Yes it was gross and it was also hilarious. I slept incredibly well last night, woke up really rested and in a decent mood. I timed myself and I can wake up and be out of the apartment in 45 minutes, including a shower and coffee. I didn’t shave today, since it’s Friday. Also cut my forehead with my thumbnail. Not used to having nails, you see.

For most of my life I bit my nails, and for the past couple of months I haven’t. I haven’t even used the bitter nail enamel that I was using for years. It’s bitter, it’s probably poison and it did deter me from biting my nails for a while, until I washed my hands a few times and the poison would wash off. Now I compulsively file my nails and that seems to be the tact that works. I still want to write something about Nail Biters Anonymous, which involves someone like me, or actually me, going up before the group and saying , ‘Hello I’m John and I’m a compulsive nail biter’ only to get the response of ‘What? We can’t understand you, take you fingers out of your mouth!’. That’s as far as I got. If anyone else has an idea on how to follow that, I’d like to hear it.

Bill is hoping to come over this weekend, if just for the opportunity to sleep in our bed, he’s been couch bound for a few months now, and not sleeping well. I’m looking forward to sleeping next to him again. Hopefully I won’t hit him while I’m sleeping. It’s been known to happen. Got my Guinness for the weekend, I’m set for what comes before Part B.

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Everyday

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Thursday today, all day. Nothing but Thursday. I wonder where Harpy is? No phone call, no comments. I wonder if he’s still alive. I’m sure if he wasn’t someone would have told me. In any event I hope he’s alive. Not going to compliment him, since he doesn’t take compliments well. So, he’s a dumb ass then. Last night, Lawn Hor d’oeuvre, both Criminal Investigation as well as the original. Both very good, though I’d give intensity points to Criminal Investigation. Lesbian psycho blackmailer/killer. Can’t say that they have LGBT killers or crooks all the time, they don’t. Not always victims either, I guess that makes Lawn Hor d’oeuvre, a true New York show. LGBT are everywhere.

Chatted with Juan last night online. He’s alive. Craziness in Trenton but it’s not my story so I ain’t gonna write about it. I’d recommend going to his blog to read it, but he probably isn’t going to write about it as well. Blogging is for losers I believe he said a while ago. I know he’s wrong, but he has youth and impetuousness on his side so I’ll give him that inch.

Bill is back at work, and barely keeping his head above the emotional waters. I sympathize and tried to be supportive, telling him he just has to get through this week. He was crashing from a lack of food, so I recommended getting a couple of bananas. They help stave off depression and they do give you energy and they’re good for you. He wisely took my advice and noticed a difference. It was bitter cold outside today, a bit windy but sunny. I enjoyed it surprisingly. Kept a lot of people off the streets and out of my way as I strolled through midtown at various times today.

Office was busy, most everyone in, including clients. Hard to believe I haven’t worked a full week in two weeks. I guess next week will be the first since then. I hope I can make it. Now I have a nagging feeling I jinxed it. Oh me and these superstitious ways. Looking forward to Lost tonight. Bill has a tentative plan to see Medea up in Harlem this weekend. I think that might be too much for him. It might be bes for him to just chill out and do nothing, and maybe avoid Greek tragedies about a woman who murders her children.

I’d rather chill out in Hoboken, though it is St Patrick’s Day in Hoboken, making it a major destination for newly legal drinkers. At 3:00 in the afternoon the bars should be packed after the parade, and on Sunday morning there will be a mess throughout town. At least it’s no surprise. More than likely they’ll have green bagels too, or maybe they’ll wait until March 17 which is the actual St. Patrick’s Day. They just celebrate it the first Saturday in March so there wouldn’t be any competition with New York. I’ve had a few experiences in Manhattan on St. Patrick’s Day and I’ll write about them some other time. Maybe March 17. I do know if I want Guinness on Saturday, I had better get it tomorrow.

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A Day In The Life

Wednesday, February 27th, 2008

Well it’s Wednesday and I think I’m finally getting into the swing of things at least at work. Last night I actually watched the Presidential debates. Not much was on otherwise. It was on but the volume was on low since I was on the phone a bit last night. Drama going on everywhere it seems. Gas prices expected to go up to 4.00 a gallon, perhaps by summer. That’s been showing up in the supermarkets and bagel stores, the price of gas reflected in the cost of delivery, more money for products. Yes, I think we can safely say we’re in a recession. I know I’m watching my pennies.

Today was an odd day, saw Julio as I was leaving which I hardly ever do. He was surprised I didn’t stop to chat, only offering a ‘Hey Dude’ before continuing down the stairs. I had to explain that I don’t work around the block like him, I need to catch a bus and cross state lines.

And that’s what I did, immersing myself in a really good article about Joel and Ethan Coen which went unfinished since we arrived at the bus terminal on time. Nice walk across town, not too chilly though the temperature would drop considerably a few hours later.

Tom Chin was out of the office, and Vivek was scheduled to return from India today. I was busier than I was yesterday. A few errands to run which was fine, just keep moving outside, not letting the cold get the best of me. One of the errands brought me in the vicinity of Wanker Banker. The IT guys have been after me to stop by and today I did. Groucho and Harpo were out so I hung out with Chico for a while. It was a nice visit, catching up.

It was a bit weird though since where once sat 100 employees, now there were only 4. Someone is paying a lot of money to maintain an empty office but not me. After that quick visit I bade Chico a farewell and came back to my office where I saw Tom Chin. He was frantic as ever, but only passing through. I didn’t care since it was time for me to go home.

Bill went to work today and I met up with him outside a sandwich shop on my way to the bus terminal. It was nice, and he needed to unload. A nice short walk back to his office building. He’s having some difficulty getting through this but that’s why I’m here.

On the bus home I was able to continue reading The Diving Bell and The Butterfly which I finished standing in the cold outside the library and I got more choked up finishing the book than I did at the end of the movie. Such an inspiring book. I think it would make a great gift for various people so don’t be surprised if at some point you get a copy in the future. Oh go ahead, be surprised.

Lawrence King report on CNN. He was the 15 year old boy shot by a classmate a few days ago.

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I’m Housin’

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

Back to work today. Woke up with a headache from dehydration somehow. Despite hydrating and an aspirin, it went away slowly in about two hours. I wasn’t looking forward to going to work, nor was I dreading it. Still in the netherworld you see. The whole situation taxed me more than I realized. Physically I’m fine, emotionally I was spent. I’m getting better though, so thanks for asking. Though I was only out two days it certainly felt a lot longer.

I wore the suit I always seem to wear when it’s going to rain and rain it did. It was fine going into work, but coming home it was coming down in sheets. Between the morning and the evening, there was a lot of answering questions about how the funeral went. I explained as best as I could, the scramble for money to the playing of Taps. They were sympathetic to it all. The office ran fine without me, thanks to my taking care of most everything before I left on Thursday afternoon. Something resembling foresight.

Perhaps I did too good a job of covering myself since there was very little for me to do. It takes a lot out of you to be busy. Tom Chin had asked how things went and as I started to explain, he of course interrupted. I let him go on with whatever it was that he had to say, even though it didn’t have anything to do with what I was telling him. Yes, Tom Chin is still an idiot. That hadn’t changed. I am almost finished with the book, The Diving Bell and The Butterfly. It’s a little over 130 pages, but trying to find the time to read it has been a chore. I’m almost through with it. I could finish it in traffic tomorrow should the opportunity present itself.

The day finished quite slowly. 4:30 couldn’t come soon enough. It’s still raining, but I’m home drying off. Bill is with his mother. He took the day off. He was afraid to go to sleep last night, though he wouldn’t say why. I could guess a few reasons, but they’re only guesses and unless Bill tells me what the problem was, it doesn’t make sense to try to figure out those reasons.

SPOILER: Last night I watched The Wire which I missed since I watched the Academy Awards. We have HBO on Demand so I went to the last episode listed, thinking it was for this past Sunday. And just when they showed what happened in the previous week’s episode I realized that I had gone too far. Apparently HBO is showing next week’s episode as well for some odd reason. So I saw Omar Little, the homo-thug in a corner shop buying a soft pack of Newports and getting shot in the head by a nine year old boy who was just seen pouring lighter fluid on a cat. A violent end to a violent man, totally nonsensical. No showdown with Marlo on the street, no guns a blazing. What a way to go out, out like a sucka.

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My Father’s Gun

Monday, February 25th, 2008

It’s Monday, not dreary. Weather nice. Just got back about an hour ago from Manhattan. It was an interesting couple of days these past few. Last night, sitting with Julio and Stine in a midtown Bistro, I was feeling so guilty about leaving Bill and his family. They were fine, nothing that being there would do for anyone, but I just felt so bad. It was ok on their end, but on my end I just felt terrible. Speaking with Annemarie later on, she correctly identified that the cause of guilt (which was more like depression) was due to the fact that I was at a wake most of the day.

Identifying the source of the problem made a difference and I was able to wonder why Josh Brolin looks like he has a dwarf’s head. Annemarie disagreed but I thought he looks freakish. Funny that he didn’t look that freakish in No Country for Old Men, he looked great in that, but last night during the Academy Awards, in that tuxedo he looked weird. Yes I did watch the Academy Awards last night. I enjoyed it. I thought that since Joel and Ethan Coen won the award for Best Adapted Screenplay the Best Director award would be up for grabs. I was pulling for Paul Thomas Anderson or Julian Schnabel but the award went to the Coen brothers.

There Will Be Blood won Best Cinematography, and Best Actor justifiably went to Daniel Day Lewis. He was great in that movie. Sweeney Todd won for Best Art Direction. This year I saw two of the five nominations for Best Picture, No Country and …Blood. Another happy note so to speak was the fact that the song from that charming little Irish film, Once won Best Original Song and the girl half of the duo was able to come back after being cut off by the orchestra and give an inspiring acceptance speech about following your dreams. I’m fairly certain that Alicia Keys made a similar speech years ago on some other awards program, but I guess it’s all in the delivery, or in this case, accent.

Both Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová have accents, but Glen Hansard has a brogue, Markéta Irglová has a winsome Czech accent and Alicia Keys sounds straight out of Hell’s Kitchen. Which is fine, but doesn’t inspire me to do much of anything except look up diction classes online. And their song, Falling Slowly is really a sweet song. I was surprised my sister hadn’t seen it, considering it’s right up her alley. Jon Stewart was mainly funny and there were lot’s of montages which could be hold overs from the plans to broadcast from the writer’s strike.

The funeral for Bill’s dad was today. It was a nice service. Once again, Bill showed to me that he communicates his emotions when playing the piano. He played a little piece midway through a eulogy he was doing and his playing got his point across perfectly. It was a good day for a funeral, beautiful day, sunshine, not windy. An honor guard played Taps and the flag was presented to Bill’s mom. Bill’s friend, and mine, Margaret flew up from Atlanta and also had a few words at the church. Margaret is a Reverend Doctor in Theology and her words were touching. She had been speaking to Bill over the weekend, and she told Bill and myself, separately that we’re family, meaning that I am part of Bill’s family and he’s part of mine. It’s true and I never realized it before.

Sometimes things are so obvious, so right in front of your face and you can’t see it.

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Somedays

Sunday, February 24th, 2008

Well obviously I didn’t write last night, nothing to write about really. Today there are somethings to write about, but first last night. What did I do? I watched TV. Watched Law and Hor d’oeuvres more than likely. Watched a documentary about Funk, James Brown, Temptations, Stevie Wonder and George Clinton. That was fun, a wonderful distraction from the boredom of day to day life. Also watched Saturday Night Live which was a lot of fun, having been off the air for the past three months. Tina Fay was the very funny guest host and Carrie Underwood was ok, not my cuppa, but she wasn’t terrible.

Julio stopped by earlier in the evening, with a new used TV for me. Big 24 inch screen, not HD but big screen, good sound and I’m happy with it. It also gave me a chance to hang out with Julio who lately I only see maybe once a month. I was also able to give him the onesie I got for the baby due on April. It’s a nice blue one piece that says ‘I’m Super’ and has a cape for the 0 to 3 month old set. We discussed the Viewing and the Wake this afternoon. Mainly, what’s the difference between a viewing and a wake? I had no clear idea, just that I figured the Viewing would be religious themed and the Wake a more social thing, which in fact it turned out to be.

I went to bed after SNL and woke up around 8:00 this morning. Did my thing, which for the first time in days, included shaving and my legs were silky smooth afterwards. I picked out what I was going to wear today, my charcoal gray double breasted pinstriped Givenchy suit with a French cuff shirt and a somber black tie. I did run out this morning to get the Sunday morning sundries, including bagels and the newspaper for the denizens of 3R, Julio and Stine. A nice breakfast, good coffee and the newspapers filled my morning and at around 12:00 I knew I had to get moving, not wanting to be late for the wake.

I hopped on a bus and surprisingly people stepped aside and let me on the bus first, with an ‘After you, Sir’. I guess I projected a look of authority, either that, or I was that bangin’. In any event, I sat towards the back of the bus, and started reading The Diving Bell and The Butterfly which I probably could have finished with another hour on the bus. But it wasn’t to be. The book, by the way has a few chuckles in it. My sister Annemarie and her husband Rex saw the film yesterday and they liked it. I wonder if Annemarie is like me, once I get home, I log on and try to get as much info as possible. I told her that some of the music is on a loop which sounds a bit ambient and you can play it for hours without tiring of it, which is what I’ve been doing on and off lately.

I lucked out when I got tot he city, sidestepping all the tourist as I made a beeline down 42nd street from the bus terminal to Grand Central. An express train arrived soon after and I found myself on the upper east side a half hour early. I walked over to 1010 Park Ave, the Park Avenue Christian Church and hung outside having a smoke. Bill came out and had to move his Zip car. His mother was inside with his cousin Elsie. Bill’s friend Margaret was there as well, giving me a big hug and telling em she loves me very much, for what I’ve been doing for Bill as well as for being myself. As if there was someone else I could be. There isn’t. I tried.

The Viewing was religious as I thought it would be and I rebuffed all opportunities to sing hymns in English and Spanish, avoiding a chance to mangle a tune in two languages. Various people from Bill’s past showed up, hugs and well wishes abounding. Bill and his friend Kirk and Tom accompanied Bill as he played a song on the piano, Kirk on flute, Tom on drums. I think that was when it hit Bill. He became quite emotional. Perhaps music speaks best for Bill rather than words. It was beautiful and I wasn’t sure if I should have applauded.

Julio and Stine showed up and I introduced them to everyone I knew during the Wake. It all ended after that, Bill needed to get the Zip car to drive his mother back home, and I decided to head back with Julio and Stine. Stine had some friends coming in from Denmark and we all walked over to the Paramount Hotel to see if they checked in. They hadn’t so we went to a French bistro around the block where we all had something to eat. Stine’s friend, Stine showed up with here husband and they sat and talked with us, Stine and Stine speaking that crazy Danish talk. I felt like a fifth wheel so I made my exit, bidding all a good night. Lucked out, there was a bus waiting and I was home in 20 minutes, where I am right now.

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