Monthly Archives: February 2008

A Day In The Life

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.

I’m Housin’

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.