Archive for May, 2010

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It

Monday, May 31st, 2010

Well I am better today. Still a little bit nervous about tomorrow and the return to school. Last night was a bit of a low until I took half a Xanax and then things got mellow. The melancholy edge was gone but it still didn’t help me enjoy (500) Days of Summer.

It simply wasn’t as good as I had hoped it would be and I do like both Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon Levitt. I just didn’t care for it, the story or the characters. I watched the news after that then a repeat of the last episode of last season’s True Blood. Now that was good.

After that I was off to bed where I slept quite soundly. I don’t recall any specific dreams from last night but the night before I did have a dream involving the family dog, Bojo, from when I was growing up.

Bojo was quite a neurotic dog and the only person in my family that he actually liked was my mother. That was because she was the one who fed him all the time. In the dream he was quite a friendly dog and living with Bill and I in the apartment and he would slip and slide on the tile floors.

I made a note of it, waking up and writing it down in the notebook I keep next to the bed.

I woke up this morning with Bill walking into the bedroom after returning home from yet another bus driving gig to and from Atlantic City. He was checking in on me since I seemed so morose when we last talked.

I woke up and showered as Bill sat on the couch and watched Wacky Races in the Cartoon Network. I woke up in my usual crabby mood, but still it was better than last night. Bill went to bed and I was out on the street after a couple of cups of coffee to get some milk for my cereal.

On my way down I saw the door to Julio & Stine’s apartment slightly ajar. I knocked and Stine came out and told me Julio and Alexander were at the park. I headed there and talked to Julio and pushed Alexander on a swing which is something I always wanted to do, push Alexander on a swing and talk to Julio. Or vice versa.

Got the milk and the paper and came home and had a nice breakfast. For some, the Memorial Day weekend is the start of summer, for me it’s like the end of summer and I’m going back to school tomorrow. And by school I mean work.

Bill woke up a few hours later when I had Zoolander on. Bill had never seen it before and loved it. Really loved it, so much that he was howling. It is a silly movie and enjoyable. I suggested we take a walk around Hoboken which is something we should do more often.

I gave Roda a call since he mentioned he was having a cookout today and he invited us over. Lot’s of people and family there and we were most welcome. I had two and a half spiked punches and was feeling a nice buzz.

After an hour or so we said our goodbyes to Roda and his family and had a nice dinner at Arthur’s. We would have eaten at the cookout but Bill wasn’t particularly hungry at that time. After walking around Hoboken some more he was hungry.

It rained a bit while we were in the restaurant but had stopped after we ate so we continued our walk around Hoboken, on Pier A. I spotted the dreaded Mister Softee and had to express my feelings somehow. It seemed most apt.

Now we’re home. Lawn Hors d’œuvre Criminal Malcontent is on so Bill is happy. Me? I’m anxious about tomorrow and the new job. Perhaps a cigar will be relaxing.

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Posted in Abstract Absurdist Otherness | 3 Comments »

It Was a Pleasure Then

Sunday, May 30th, 2010

Well I just got back from strumming the guitar by Pier A in Hoboken for what may very well be the last time. In the 6 months I’ve been doing that, I think I have gotten somewhat better playing the guitar. I made about $6.00 the whole time I’ve been doing that.

It’s a good thing I wasn’t in it for the money. It does get discouraging though, being ignored. Each time I would strum by the pier, I would post my intentions on Facebook, holding out the hope that someone that I know would stop by.

Rand and Lisa stopped by and Juan Melli. No one else as far as I can remember. And no one stopped by today. Maybe they’re out of town or doing something fun.

Before I headed out this afternoon, I asked Bill to walk by when he headed back to the train since he’s driving a bus again tonight but not even he stopped by. I wasn’t expecting him to sit down, just a passing by, a hello would have been nice. He was somewhat groggy from napping so it more than likely did not register.

It was a beautiful day for playing and I had a good 20 minutes before that bacteria ridden spawn of Satan, Mister Softee pulled up about 15 feet behind me with it’s diesel engine drowning me out. Moving wasn’t an option since I had settled in, so I stood my ground, or rather sat on a bench.

For me, when I am walking around with my iPod on I usually take the ear buds out when I see a busker playing. If not giving them money, some respect should suffice. But that’s me and in the time I’ve been strumming in public, hardly anyone else does it.

Walk by, stay plugged in and do not look at that guy playing guitar. Not very encouraging. I don’t know what I’m looking for and I suppose playing guitar in public is not it. It’s safe to guess that my public performance career is over.

The anxiety I’ve felt with regards to the new job has waned, replaced by the feeling of ‘at least it’s something to do’.

Of course on the way home I see notices for a Tom Waits evening at a local pub. It’s a benefit and people are encouraged to sing Tom Waits songs. That’s something that would be right up my alley but now I have a job and I don’t know what the hours would be so it’s likely that I wouldn’t be able to attend much less perform.

And the performing thing is iffy since I do require a modicum of physical encouragement, and by physical I mean having a friendly face there for reassurance.

Today wasn’t all bad playing by the pier. I did make fleeting friends with a bloke named Dave who was with his toddler daughter. The toddler was transfixed and also terribly shy with my guitar playing.

If a toddler is fascinated by the guitar I usually hold it out for them to give it a strum while I make a chord formation but she was hiding behind her father as I played So It Goes by Nick Lowe which Dave knew.

We talked for a few minutes about vinyl records and Maxwells before he and his daughter were on their way.

Maybe I’m just grouchy from not eating. I just ate and I do feel a bit better. But I am still discouraged with my guitar playing.

Perhaps it will be best that I stay inside and play from now on, like I’ve been doing for the past 25 years. I think I’d rather be alone at home than alone with people around. I can safely say that I’ve gotten over my fear of playing guitar in front of people.

Bill just called to check in. My suggestion that he walk by on the way to the train did not register as I suspected. I didn’t bring it up and neither did he. He did note the melancholy in my voice and asked what was wrong.

I told him my disappointment with playing today and in general. He tried to be supportive but for me it was too late. I explained (like I did above) that I’ve gotten better with my guitar playing and my fear of playing in front of people has largely subsided.

To Bill that wasn’t enough, not enough of a reason to play in the first place and how I hoped for a friendly face to stop by and say hi did not make sense to him at all. My feeling of loneliness escapes him as he drives down to Atlantic City, leaving me alone once again.

I think the lack of encouragement for playing guitar throughout my life was a major factor in my hesitance to play outside my apartment. The feeling of not being good enough, from showing someone a song I had learned and playing it for them and then hearing, ‘That’s not how it goes’ even though it sounded just fine to me. And my exclusion from some friends projects was also a contribution.

That’s how I feel right now. Maybe in an hour I’ll feel better. Maybe tomorrow. In any event I wouldn’t mind this weekend being over.

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Posted in I Love Music | No Comments »

It Must Be Him

Saturday, May 29th, 2010

Well I just got back a little while ago from a nice bicycle ride with Rand. My original plan was to take part in a demonstration outside of the Malawi consulate in Manhattan, protesting the sentencing of Steven Monjeza, 26, and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, 20, who were given 14-year jail terms of hard labor after being convicted of gross indecency and unnatural acts.

The two gentlemen had an engagement party which is highly illegal in Malawi. It was scheduled from 2:00- 3:30PM today but when I woke up and I checked Facebook, Joe Jervis of JoeMyGod had posted that Monjeza and Chimbalanga were pardoned from the powers that be in Malawi. That freed me up a great deal.

I was looking forward to going though. I had hoped I would see ace blogger Andres Duque of Blabbeando but after I wished him a happy 42nd birthday he replied from Columbia where is he is visiting family. According to JoeMyGod there was a demonstration that was hastily rearranged to protest the lack of rights for LGBT in the Motherland.

I decided not to go to that and figured I would just do some strumming by the river. I can’t really call it busking since buskers usually make some money but that’s rare for me, so I just call it strumming. Bill had just come home from driving to and from Atlantic City and he was headed right to bed.

Rand called and asked if I was interested in something ridiculous, like a bike ride to Secaucus. I was game. I hadn’t ridden my bicycle out there since I had a job that lasted for about two days back in the 1990′s. Bad job and difficult to get to. Life was easier then.

We took the 9th Street Elevator by the Light Rail up to Congress and headed to Kennedy Blvd. As we passed Kennedy Blvd, Rand was losing air in his front tire. I remembered James Vincent Bicycles on the boulevard and rode ahead to see where they were.

It’s a good thing I did since they were no longer there. I asked a few people where a bicycle repair shop was, if there was one nearby and heard about one on Central Avenue. I met up with Rand again and then I rode over in that direction.

It was no longer there, having been replaced by a Drapery Shop, which had nice drapes, nice enough to distract one from having a flat tire.

A little more detective work courtesy of Rand’s Smart Phone (Envious me) and we found James Vincent a few more blocks away. $15.00 and 15 minutes later Rand had a new functioning tire and we were pedaling from 315 Palisade Avenue.

We rode our bikes over the highways and soon found ourselves in the industrial parks of Secaucus. We headed for the Crowne Plaza in Secaucus which used to be the Meadowlands Hilton, where I first smoked a joint in the parking lot with Derry Pedovitch after attending the Beatle-Fest.

We went to what seemed to be the entrance and found a sign saying that the event that Rand wanted to check out needed to be accessed through the main entrance. Then we walked our bicycles over there and asked an employee named Vincent if there was a place to lock up our bicycles.

That question seemed to annoy Vincent a lot. One guy, looking like Jeff ‘Skunk’ Baxter offered to let us keep our bikes in his room but we thanked him and said no.

Rand went in and I stayed outside where I found myself talking to a guy from thePhilippines who was telling me about his 4 children who had graduated from MIT (the twins), Georgetown and Princeton. All on scholarships. He was so proud and rightly so.

Still as academically smart as his kids are, they are pretty dumb with regards to finances, or so he said. He went off to find his wife and Rand came out of the computer thing that he checked out.

We rode through the parking lot and found a path way that led to the river. It wasn’t much at all. Took some pictures, and smelled some sweet herbage being burned by a handsome dude watching the river. I commented on how nice it smelled and the dude laughed.

Rand and I rode again, opting to ride through the streets instead of the busy thoroughfares and for Rand it was like riding his bicycle through the Long Island towns where he grew up and for me it was the same thing, only through the Bergen County towns.

We rode through a gateway that led back to the industrial parks and decided to check out Syms. Didn’t buy anything but said hello to the handsome dude who had the herbage. We said hello to him and he laughed. Once we entered the store we agreed that the handsome dude had the right idea, getting a buzz before going into the outlet.

A ride back through empty industrial streets, past Electric Avenue where they distribute both Orangina and Yoo Hoo. It was a great day out, a nice ride back.

And now I’m going to see Julio and Alexander in the park. That’s it. Hope you had a good day as well.
The Mighty Rand


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Posted in Wonderful World Beautiful People | 2 Comments »

Day Tripper

Friday, May 28th, 2010

I can’t go on, I’ll go on. Part 4.5

Yes here we are. Another Memorial Day weekend is upon us. The unofficial start of summer. The exodus from Hoboken begins. The residents with homes down the Jersey shore are en route, if not there already.

I spent some time once again playing and singing by the river. As I played, three little kids came over and the two girls danced while I played. The boy that was with them just sat and watched. They didn’t know any of the songs that I played, except for The Lion Sleeps Tonight and All My Loving.

I also played Good Lovin’ by the Rascals and a trainer from the gym nearby sang along with that as he trained his client. He wasn’t too much interested in training her but she was ‘in the zone’ and didn’t realize his inattention.

Time flies when you’re playing guitar and before I knew it I was strumming for almost 3 hours. I headed back home after attempting Rocket Man by Elton John. Not sure if all the chords are correct and will have to figure that out.

This is the 1,655th entry that I’ve written. That’s an accomplishment of sorts. I’m sure that for some of you, it’s small change. Since I’ve written about my day and I have nothing else to write about, let’s have a look back.

May 28, 2006- The night before I elbowed Bill twice in the head. By accident. It was a Sunday and I went out and bought bagels for Julio and Stine. Alexander hadn’t arrived on the scene yet. Juan started working and seemed to be enjoying it. A bike ride to Liberty State Park was accomplished with Julio and Stine with some Frisbee tossed back and forth.

A ride back home, burgers at O’Neill’s and then drinking Stella Artois on the front steps and then a look at the backyard, overrun with weeds and smelling of cat shit, courtesy of Chris G next door. Juan came over and we watched Bjork videos, Juan saying ‘Homegirl is crazy’.

May 28, 2007- Bill and I not talking for some reason. Julio & Stine inviting me for a ride and I didn’t go since I didn’t want to be a third wheel. A crappy Memorial Day weekend. Laundry and me feeling melancholy, sitting by the river, bashing my dirty laundry against a rock and listening to Rufus Wainwright and Scritti Politti.

Also watched Pan’s Labyrinth which was not as good as I had heard. I think I was still in shock after my brother Frank had a brain attack.

May 28, 2008- It was a Wednesday and I was working for Vivek and company. A receptionist was needed and my request fell on deaf ears. They decided not to hire a receptionist after all. I was hoping to get Juan in there for a summer job.

I watched Lars & The Real Girl and a documentary called American Hardcore which was actually pretty good. I knew some of the people in it though I wasn’t involved with the Hardcore scene.

May 28, 2009, A phone call with my friend Rita. I noticed that Rita seems to have a problem saying goodbye on the phone. Always a bit awkward. My brother Frank had retired from his job and was having a difficult adjustment.

A humid and drizzly day and 2 movies about Quentin Crisp from Netflix were available, The Naked Civil Servant and Illegal Alien, both starring Mississippi John Hurt as Quentin Crisp.

Not much has changed for this May 28. I have 500 Days of Summer, An Education and 2 versions of An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge from the bibliothèque to watch over the weekend. Bill is driving to Atlantic City again.

Mississippi John Hurt


Quentin Crisp

Me, May 28

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Posted in Interesting Things as of Late | 3 Comments »

Day Dreaming

Thursday, May 27th, 2010

Well first off, it’s a lot cooler today than it was yesterday. Somewhere in the 70 degree range. Nice. Not too hot, pretty cool. The weather people kept talking about rain, but it hasn’t happened yet.

I can see ominous clouds approaching from the west. It’s now supposed to rain tonight. I’m not going anywhere. I never do anyhow.

Yesterday was an accomplishment, going out and seeing the Hoboken Memorial Day parade. Once I’m in, I’m in.

I did go out and play guitar for a while this afternoon by the river. Tariq showed up so I sang. Why can’t I sing when I’m alone? I sang Hercules by Elton and also Make the World Go Away by Eddy Arnold.

It was a good day and I enjoyed playing. Made some pocket change thanks to two generous teenagers. I only played guitar for about an hour and a half.

Walked back with Tariq, he was off to his studio. I needed a haircut. Hair was getting thick and the heat yesterday made it feel like I was wearing a hat. Tony was in at Mr. L’s despite usually having Thursday and Friday off.

The other barber, Louie (Mr. L himself) was on vacation in Italy. I walked in, and Tony was free having just had a nap. He did a good job as usual.

We talked about cigars and the new job with my new role in a male version of The Mystery of Marie Rogêt. Oddly enough, Marie Rogêt’s body was found floating in the Hudson River just off the Hoboken coast.

It was way before my time in Hoboken so don’t look at me.

Now it is thundering and raining with the occasional flash of lightning.

Had a good phone call from an old friend and ex-roommate Kevin. He actually called after Lost on Sunday night and after talking then I told him I would call him during the week. So I called today.

He’s out in Pennsylvania living his life to the best of his ability. It was good to talk to him. He’s a good guy. I don’t think I would live with him again and I’m sure he feels the same way about me.

We talked about various friends of ours, mainly people we hadn’t seen in a while. He’s someone who should definitely have a blog. He’s still quite opinionated and also very funny. I would read it daily.

He sometimes reads this here blog so maybe he should get to it. He knows a lot about my online life. Maybe too much. Then again, it’s all out there for the world to see.

I ran some errands for Bill, dropping off his laundry and dry cleaning and then picking it all up later in the day. I also did my own laundry which of course is hanging in the kitchen and bathroom and now with the rain, should be dry by Saturday or Sunday.

That’s about it on this end. Playing guitar, laundry and errands. Another day closer to being employed. And that’s a very good thing.
seen on Eighth Avenue

seen on Eighth Avenue




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Posted in Yesterday's News Tomorrow | 2 Comments »

Day After Tomorrow

Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

Heat rises. As I climb the four flights of steps it’s readily noticeable. Top floor, my floor is like an oven. Nowhere for the heat to go. There is no Now/Here. It’s been in the 90 degree range today. Quite oppressive.

I would prefer 20 degrees less but what can I do? It’s supposed to be like that tomorrow but with that temperature drop there will be rain. Or blood. Or a reign of blood.

I’ve noticed that my mind is more prepared for the new job on top of the Empire State Building that I am somehow. Last night as the 11:00 news was on I found myself getting ready for bed, which is about 2 hours earlier than it’s been the past 9 months.

I know I’ve been out of work 10 months and change but the first month of being out of work I still had that routine. Then somewhere in the past 10 months I was up watching Craig Ferguson until the end. The other night he had Ben Stein on so I didn’t watch, so maybe it started then.

Going to bed earlier meant waking up earlier and that meant around 8:00. I was refreshed, not groggy. I had to head into the new job and pick up some paperwork to fill out so I could properly start next week.

Don’t you ever stop, long enough to start/get your car outta that gear!

Showered and did my thing and was soon on a crowded bus. I gave up my seat so a woman and her kids could sit and sat next to guy who very much did not want to sit next to me. So much so that I had to ask him to move so I could sit.

Oh how I miss that commute. I had better get my machete cleaned up.

Walked up to the 86th floor, regretfully no giant apes around. Got my paperwork and talked shop. Asked if it would be alright if I brought my suit in a bag and changed it there since I tend to sweat like a horse when the summer arrives. They had no problem with it.

They did mention that I could wear a Guyabera like I was wearing today when I work on weekends. No shorts though. That’s fine with me. The unknown is before me and though I anticipate it, I’m not terribly worried. It’s nothing I haven’t done before.

Saw Bill after that. I love him. He loves me. He drives me crazy. I probably drive him crazy. Last night Bill was feeling like he was ill, had a cold he said. Today he seemed fine. But last night not so good.

He bought me some Godiva truffles once again. He’s spoiled me. The past 3 weeks, each time I’ve seen him he’s bought me Godiva truffles, so I’ve come to expect it. I walked him back to his office and I know he is thrilled that I have a job once again.

The Path train was fairly empty and the air conditioning was kicking. Walked along the waterfront when I got back to Hoboken. Some function going on, on Pier A. No Tariq in sight and it was too hot to go back and get the guitar and head back out again so I came home and had lunch.

Ran into Stine. Today is her birthday, AND IT’S HARPY’S BIRTHDAY AS WELL. I left a note on the apartment door wishing a happy birthday to Stine and I thought I wrote it in Danish using Google translate, but actually it was in Dutch. The price you pay when you use Google translate without having had a cuppa.

Just got back from spending some time with Rand. He suggested meeting up so I went out. We talked about a lot of things, including what was bothering me. It cleared the air and I’m glad we met up.

I have just returned from a walk around Hoboken and checked out the Memorial Day parade.

What?

It’s Hoboken and they do things their own way. More marchers than spectators and there are fewer veterans with each passing year.
5.26.10 Today 002
5.26.10 Today 003
5.26.10 Today 004
5.26.10 Today 009

Rand

Rand


the few remaining members...

the few remaining veterans from back then...

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