Archive for August, 2010

« Older Entries

I’ll Give You Money

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

It’s a Tuesday and once again it is quite hot. Not hummus though, just heat. The sun in beaming. And of course at any moment the computer might think it is getting too hot and shut down unexpectedly. So it would be in my best interest (and yours perhaps) to just write write write before it all goes away.

But what to write about?

Weeds was on last night and it was good. The Big C was also on, and I can’t help it, I really like Laura Linney. Ever since Tales of the City. I’m sure I’m not alone on that. Her kid and her husband both deserve a slap though. And maybe her character does too.

The character, Cathy has stage 4 cancer, inoperable, incurable. And she’s not telling anyone about it. But she is living her life the way she sees fit.

I don’t think I wrote about True Blood yesterday. That was on Sunday night. Pretty good, some story lines should be dropped. I can’t wait to see the season finale on September 12. That should be very interesting.

I arranged to have September 12 & 13 off from work. Not that there is anything planned for either day, at least I don’t think there is. I’m open for surprises though.

I also did not write about seeing Neutron Drivers at Maxwells on Saturday night. Got there in time to see the Electric Mess finish their set, with one song. They were entertaining, if only for 3:50. Neutron Drivers came on.

Before they did I went outside for a smoke. A woman came up to me and asked if I was the drummer for the first group. I told her I wasn’t. We started talking. She used to work at the Cat Club and Don Hill’s in Manhattan around the same time I was working at Maxwells.

I didn’t ask her name but figured she was in the same ballpark as me. We briefly chatted about how horrible bands that eventually made it big were when they played our respective clubs. I mentioned Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins as examples and can’t remember who she mentioned.

I do remember her name being Liz. We both mentioned that we hardly ever go out anymore, I was there to see Mike C in Neutron Drivers and she was with her husband who dragged her out to see some bands.

She couldn’t find her husband I cracked wise, asking if she was sure it wasn’t the drummer for the first band.

Rand and Lisa showed up and we enjoyed Neutron Drivers, though Rand agreed with me they should move the songs around in their set list, not have three songs in a row that slowly unravel, losing whatever momentum they might have had.

I had three Stella Artois and it basically got me buzzed. Buzzed enough that wound up home a little after 11:00PM. Two Saturdays in a row where I had actually gone out and saw some music and home before midnight. Glad I did.

Now it’s been a long hot day. Once again, an uneasy night’s sleep. At one point Bill was yelling. I thought he was asleep, he says he wasn’t. He claimed to have been bitten by something. It was enough to wake me up, him yelling through his sleep apnea mask.

I had a dental appointment this morning. Did not go to Coney Island. No swimming allowed since Hurricane Earl (!) is approaching the east coast.

And I do like to take pictures when I am at Coney Island but without a camera it would have been difficult. Back to work tomorrow. Another hot day is predicted.
Hoboken

Tags:
Posted in Yesterday's News Tomorrow | No Comments »

I Started a Joke

Monday, August 30th, 2010

A stretch, the kind of stretch that you do at home at 6:59PM. Just did that. It felt so good. Just finished Ghost of Hoppers by Jaime Fernandez.

It was inadvertent. I was about to start writing when my computer shut down since it was so hot both inside and outside the apartment. I had started reading the compilation a week or so ago.

Always loved Maggie & Hopey and Izzy et all in Love & Rockets. But Love & Rockets published intermittently and it was easily to miss an issue. It finally wrapped up somewhat in the 1990′s if I recall, but was reactivated a few years later I think.

Personal confession, though I love Love & Rockets written and drawn by Jaime and Beto Hernandez, aka Los Bros Hernandez, I personally. liked Jaime’s work with Maggie & Hopey than I did Bet’s tales of Palomar.

Perhaps ‘liked’ isn’t the right word. Maybe ‘preferred’ is more fitting.

I think it was the final ending of Maggie’s story, but I really hope it isn’t. I also started reading The Education of Hopey Glass which is also another compilation from Jaime Hernandez, dealing mainly with Maggie’s erstwhile girlfriend.

It also explains how the hell Hopey lost her eye. But Ghost of Hoppers really blew me away. Quite an intense finale and once again I can identify with Maggie and company somewhat. They’re older, I’m older. They’ve moved away, moved on, lost friends and family just like me.

I don’t think any comic book or perhaps any novel affected me quite like Love & Rockets. I have to get more of the compilations from the bibliothèque.

Slept later than usual today which was quite nice. Never heard from Pedro and I was content to stay home. There was a tentative plan to meet up.

It was especially hot today, but it wasn’t too humid. Still I spent a good part of the day staying indoors with the curtain covering the window. That didn’t last too long since I did laundry and with it, the window curtain.

A trip to the supermarket, a trip to the dry cleaners and a stop by the Guitar Bar to say hello to Mr. Wonderful, Jim Mastro. He just got back from North Carolina with Meghan and the girls, meeting Ann Boyles and her husband Pat Patterson.

Everyone was fine he said and also thanked me for the cigar I left at the store, as a way of saying thanks for accepting a delivery of cigars sent to me from work, saving a ton on money.

Sat by the river, enjoying one of those cigars and also reading the New Yorker from August 9 and also a bit of the Andy Warhol book, when the Velvet Underground just met Nico.

Now it’s 7:30, sun’s going down. Glad to be home, busy doing nothing. And enjoying it. Not much else to do tonight. Finally got the Fantastic Mr. Fox from Netflix so I might watch that before Weeds and The Big C.

Posted in the day after yesterday | No Comments »

I Just Came To Tell You That I’m Going

Saturday, August 28th, 2010

Well I did go bicycle riding today. It was good to do. I find that Jersey City will marginally better than Hoboken with regards to bicycling, getting to Liberty State Park can be incredibly frustrating. There is no signs directing you to the park and there are several dead ends.

At one point I rode my bicycle about 200 yards through a deserted parking lot only to find the exit or perhaps the entrance gated shut. Had to turn around and pedal back 200 yards. It wasn’t that bad, just frustrating, because I could see the path to the park on the other side of the gate.

It was a beautiful day for a bike ride. I went solo after posting what I was about to endeavor on my Facebook page.

After the headache last week, not just from you know who, but from someone else about not being invited to see Adele Bertei with the Raybeats, I once again decided to do something alone. If someone wanted to join me, that would be fine. If no one did I’d still be going by myself anyhow.

On the way to Liberty State Park I stopped by and checked out the Jersey City LGBT Pride festival at Exchange Place. It was as it was last time I went there. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgendered folk wandering around.

The only good time I’ve ever had was with Juan a few years ago. Going by myself I found myself apart of community that I generally support and fight for. It’s always been this way ever since I can remember.

With the Gay Activist Alliance of North New Jersey back the early 1980′s in Teaneck, most of the other people don’t have anything to do with me. Maybe it’s too much pride on their part or maybe it’s simply not enough pride on my part.

I stood around this afternoon, not scowling but with a bemused look on my face.

Some guys worth checking out and as usual I am oblivious when someone is checking me out. If I’m walking with Bill, Bill usually points out that such and such a guy was just checking me out. He jokes that he ought to do something about it and I usually no idea what it is he’s talking about.

I didn’t stay too long at the festival. I checked out the stalls where various people and groups had things to sell or sign up for. I bought nothing and signed nothing. I did watch an evangelist with a megaphone condemn all attendees while standing next to a bloke holding up a sign that said ‘Fuck This Guy’ with an arrow pointed to the evangelist.

The ride to Liberty State Park was next and after winding my way through side streets I found my way there and treated myself to a Mister Softee ice cream. Not much place for shade in the park though I did eventually found a spot.

Hard to believe it was a year ago that I was there for the All Points West concert. Couldn’t figure out exactly where it was.

I did stop by the Pride festival on the way back and realized once again, that if I would identify with a subgroup, instead of being with the bears, I would identify with being a wolf more. A lone wolf, though on the bicycle I consider myself a bike rat.

No silly shirts and bike shorts advertising some company for me. I’m not practicing for the Tour de France, just out for a leisurely bicycle ride.

I do think people are really oblivious to what is going on around them, or where they are. I almost hit a few people despite honking my horn loud enough to let them know that I was approaching. People are stupid.

Now I’m home, just had some chicken, with penne past and pesto. Heading out in an hour or so to see the Neutron Drivers at Maxwells.

Not writing tomorrow. So you can have the day off from my life’s minutiae.

Me? I’ll be working at the cigar shop.
Jersey City Pride 2010

Fuck this guy



Tags:, ,
Posted in WTF | 2 Comments »

I’ll Be Good To You

Friday, August 27th, 2010

Well I thought my friend Mike C was playing Maxwells with his band the Neutron Drivers, but it’s actually tomorrow night. So here I am. Engulf and devour me. Actually, no. Don’t. It’s a Friday today and that’s nice.

Off tomorrow. Back Sunday and off Monday and Tuesday. Don’t know what I’m going to do. Possibly avoid people. It’s supposed to be a nice weekend. Maybe a bike ride tomorrow. Heard from Pedro today and he’s off Monday and Tuesday I think.

He had an idea to do something on those days. Don’t know what day, or what he has planned. I mentioned I was thinking about going to Coney Island. It’s a beach and it’s accessible. I don’t think Pedro would be into such a think since he has mentioned in the past that it’s full of malcontents, malcontents that he watches at his job.

Today was a boring day. Made it through five days of work. No big deal for some, or for most, but for me, it was 45 hours on my feet. It was tiresome and I certainly did not match the sales I did yesterday. I worked with Raymond and Don Birch with Sean coming in after school.

It being a Friday meant the day went slowly. A lot of people get their cigars on Thursday and flee the city on Friday. At least that’s how it goes during the summer. I suppose that after Labor Day that might all change. It remains to be seen.

I did send in my resume to the guy I met in the humidor on Wednesday. No response. He’s probably out of town as well. Perhaps I’ll hear from someone on Monday.

I certainly didn’t want to be there but was glad that I was able to go outside for lunch. Yesterday I had to stay inside since it was just Calvin and myself and he might have needed me. Today was beautiful. Had a cigar on Central Park West.

I decided to take my camera out and take some snapshots. To my dismay, the camera wouldn’t turn on. I thought it might be the batteries so I changed them, but no. It seems dead. I bought it in June 2007 for my niece’s wedding, so it has certainly got some use.

But it’s disappointing to find that it may be dead. Still I have the cellphone camera which isn’t the same but will do the job if I need it to.

It’s a rare Friday evening tonight, both Bill and I are home. The Kids in the Hall are on right now. It’s a beautiful night tonight. Nothing much else to do, or write about. Looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow. Bill’s going to a wedding.

I might go for a bike ride. Nothing overwhelming. I’m thinking of Liberty State Park. It will be the rare event, me not having my camera while bicycling. I’m sure I will adjust. One less thing to carry I suppose.

Already started looking at new cameras and Bill hinted that I might get a new one for my birthday. That would be nice.

RIP

Tags:, ,
Posted in Shed a tear | 2 Comments »

I’ll Be Gone

Thursday, August 26th, 2010

Oh I was too tired to post last night and I got in late, a little after midnight. I don’t even want to write tonight. But here I am, writing. In fact I’ve been willing distracted from writing tonight.

Oh, a status update on Facebook from a friend of a friend of a friend? I’m there, not here. But I’m back.

Last night was a staff gathering at the Carnegie Club after work. I was hesitant since it would involve drinking and I don’t like to drink without having eaten something.

I had hoped that I would get a chance to wolf down a burger but Marcus and Calvin were around and they frown on that sort of thing.

I did have a strange encounter with a customer in the humidor. I’d never seen this gent before, he was new to the area. He just opened an office in the neighborhood and was surprised to find it was difficult to get staffing.

I mentioned that I had been an office manager in my previous job and that I missed working a nine to five, Monday to Friday job. He asked if I had a resume and would I mail it to him. He’s the CEO of a college intramural athletics thing.

It was a surprise and I told him I would email the resume, to which he replied he wouldn’t be interviewing me, but someone else would, probably after Labor Day. I plan on emailing the resume tomorrow morning.

Marcus, Calvin, Don Birch, Raymond and myself walked the handful of blocks to the Carnegie Club and were seated in the back. Very nice cigars were handed out and I had a Woodford Reserve.

Some finger foods, mainly cheese and crackers were ordered which turned out to be dinner. The cigars were excellent, as was the bourbon. The conversation was drowned out by some Russians sitting at the next table, but still, Marcus loves the sound of his voice and he dominated the conversation.

Calvin seemed to be nodding out. The word in the shop is that Calvin likes to have a nip throughout the day, his back water bottle hidden from the sight of the customers. I never notice but Raymond and Don Birch have both said that he reeks of booze after lunch.

After about an hour and a half Raymond, Don Birch and myself had our fill. They had off today and live in Manhattan. I had to make my way back to the mainland. We left Marcus and Calvin in the cigar lounge and headed west, Raymond distracted by McDonald’s.

Don Birch hopped on a train and I made my way down to the bus terminal. I had to wait in the upper level since it was past 10:00 and the buses were running on a different schedule. Different, stranger people on the bus and I buried my nose in a book about Andy Warhol.

Hope after midnight and in bed at 12:30. Didn’t sleep that well. Only had 2 glasses of bourbon which amounted to a finger. $15.00 a glass. A bottle is about $40.00 in Hoboken. I certainly wasn’t drunk, but still tossing and turning made for a strange day It was a slow day, few regulars turning up.

Still Calvin and I did well on the cash registers. Earning that 1/3 of 1% commission.

I was disappointed with the fact that Richie, the Colombian cleaner that comes in weekdays was being replaced. Calvin had a run in with him and with Marcus’ blessing the die was cast. It’s too bad, Richie’s a nice guy but he’ll be alright.

He works for a firm and will likely be shuffled over to another spot. I over heard Calvin making the call this morning but didn’t say anything except to ask hours later, ‘Where’s Richie?’

It was a long day and I’m glad to be home. Work tomorrow, off Saturday, back in on Sunday and off Monday and Tuesday. I miss having a nine to five, Monday through Friday job.

Open mouthed Bass?

Tags:,
Posted in Interesting Things as of Late | No Comments »

I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

Just got home. Checked Facebook. My brother Brian posted a YouTube clip of Elvis, Suspicious Minds. I don’t need to hear the song or watch the video to have the song become an ear worm and burrow it’s way into my brain.

And perhaps I’ve infected you with the mere writing of Suspicious Minds. For that I apologize.

Woke up this morning around 6:00AM, the usual for some but not for me. Bill was kissing me goodbye and also telling me about a bus hijacking in the Philippines, 8 passengers killed, the bus driver lived. Horrible news to wake up to.

I didn’t understand what Bill was saying but despite not knowing what he was saying was enough to cause the next 2 hours to be fraught with tension, with me not being able to go back for a proper sleep.

I just talked with Bill about it and he said he didn’t tell me anything about the bus hijacking, just wished me a good day and that he would see me tonight. I suppose that is what caused the tension.

“I love you baby, have a good day and I will see you tonight” “Leave me the fuck alone!”
Ah, we still have the romance in our relationship.

The work day was the usual drudgery. We had a big shipment of cigars in yesterday and it took four of us to put them all in stock. Today it was learned the order was not for our cigar shop. They found out before I came in and all 7 boxes we were packed and sealed to be shipped out again.

That all happened before I came in and it accounted for the harried looks on Marcus and Don Birch. The day was mediocre at best. I held up my end though. Raymond came in an hour or so later, after attending to family matters.

One of my first customers was a rather rotund gent Bobby Zimetti. I did my best to help him in the humidor and duly wrote down the cigar numbers for inventory.

I rang up his purchase and asked him if he wanted any of his cigars cut. “Yes, but not by you.” WTF? Marcus overheard that and came running out to make sure I didn’t slug the guy or comment on his ever widening girth.

Bobby Zimmeti waddled out and Marcus did a quick search for him online. To my surprise it turns our Bobby Zimmeti works at the rather large law firm that Bill works at. In fact, Bobbo is a senior partner or something like that.

Bill confirmed that the guy was a real asshole, and that’s really not Bill’s style to use language like that. It’s my style actually.

I found out that I was hired to replace Harold, not just fill in for him while he was attending the natural bodybuilding/rent boy conference in Miami Beach.

That’s what I was told when I started, but now it turns out they wanted Harold out of there and were looking for any excuse which they found when they looked at his attendance records.

Tomorrow night I have to attend a gathering of the cigar shop employees. It may be at the Carnegie Club, or it may be at the shop. Drinks and cigars are in order. I’d prefer the Carnegie Club, but for Don Birch it would be a hassle. I’m the one who lives out of state, on the mainland. He lives in Washington Heights.

In any event, I’d rather not, but I must so that’s where I will be. I don’t know if I’ll be writing or when I will be writing if I do. So that remains to be seen I guess.

Tonight’s walk from the shop was courtesy of Talking Heads, More Songs About Buildings & Food. From Thank You for Sending Me an Angel to The Girls Want to Be with the Girls. 15 minutes and 19 seconds.

Last night’s walk was from a Led Zeppelin playlist, from Good Times Bad Times to Misty Mountain Hop, 4 songs in 15 minutes, 58 seconds. And a thanks is in order to Gary Nelson for reading and commenting on this misbegotten blog.

The Doppleganger of Bobby Zimmeti


The woman was talking loudly behind me in French.

Tags:, ,
Posted in STFU | 4 Comments »

« Older Entries