Monthly Archives: September 2011

I Don’t Dance

Man it certainly has been a weird day. For me to notice the weirdness it has to be really weird. It started off ‘normally’ enough with Bill kissing me good bye for the day. I told him ‘good night’ and went back to sleep for another hour.

Then I puttered about, making breakfast, showering, shaving and checking emails. Off to the bus for me, calling Bill on my smartphone. No hands free available, so it was a bit of a juggle but I managed to convey my thoughts and feelings and love to Bill’s voicemail.

Of course when leaving the message, Bill calls and I basically said what I said on the voicemail. My regular bus driver should be back from vacation next week so the commute into the city should be back to how it usually is. Plus I like being called ‘Chief’ when I board. He’s a nice guy and it makes a difference when commuting.

Got near the cigar shack and I got myself an iced coffee. I talked to Bill again before heading in. I thought I would be working with Jerry Vale and Calvin but Thomas was in today as well. A schedule change since he had jury duty earlier in the week. It was a pleasant surprise but things were a bit off kilter and I should have noticed that right from the start.

According to Thomas, it was nearly unbearable working with Bradley yesterday. I was out and so was Jerry Vale so it was personable Thomas and unsocial Bradley. Bradley could suck the life out of most any situation and he’s been more off than on lately.

It was difficult trying to start up a conversation with Thomas most of the day, he apparently was still upset with something that happened yesterday. Things got better after I went to lunch and when Thomas got back from his lunch break.

There was a bit of a palaver in the man cave today. A young student at a nearby campus hangs out for an hour or so each day, dressed like he just raided Mitt Romney’s wardrobe and he loves the sound of his own voice, weighing in on so many topics.

He just turned 21 but in many ways he’s a conservative 71. Today the topic was about the young women who were pepper sprayed by Inspector Thomas Bologna. There was a police officer in the room, off duty and in civvies who’s generally a nice guy.

The young old man stated that the women who were barricaded off should have left when the police told them to leave. I had to point out to the slicked hair young old man that they couldn’t leave since they were BARRICADED in, then pepper sprayed.

I mentioned later to Thomas that I so wanted to punch the young old man in the face and Thomas mentioned that most everyone does after a few minutes spent in the man cave with the young old man. Oh how I would love to see him get his comeuppance.

The day finally ended and it was an uneventful ride home, or at least I think it was uneventful, so enraptured with my smartphone, tracking my every move on Google Latitude. And also talking to my nephew as he watched Robert Plant and the Band of Joy at the Not Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco and wishing him a very happy birthday.

Also I am sending birthday wishes to Christina Miro, my dear friend Lovely Rita and the super smart Thaler.


I Don’t Care Apocalyptica

Well it’s been an alright day off, so far at least. First off, I slept really well, later than I expected to. But I was alright with that. Everything I planned was tentative anyhow. I did have to go get some groceries and that is what got me out of bed.

After a shower and some coffee as well as trying to figure out what it is that the smartphone does I headed out. On the way I decided to use the camera and took a couple of shots. I think they came out just as good as they would be if I used the Coolpix Nikon.

Still a bit shaky with it, though it will become more comfortable to use as time goes on. I came home and had a decent breakfast and then headed out again. It was threatening to rain most of the day and I was fortunate to be able to avoid most of the downpours by mere minutes.

I also made it to the library to pick up a book I ordered, The Sibling Effect by Jeffrey Kluger. I saw him on the Colbert Report and the book sounded interesting, so now it was time to pick it up before it goes back to the original bibliothèque.

Tomorrow is my nephew’s birthday, Earl is turning 21 and I bought a Greetings from Hoboken NJ t-shirt. I also had a Bob Marley book and a John Lennon book that I bought second hand earlier in the year and hoped to give them to him when he visited this year. But that did not work out since Earl’s flight was cancelled.

The books were too bulky to have Annemarie bring back with her so I hung onto them. I stopped at the local card shop and bought a birthday card that I thought was cool and walked over to the Post Office. It wasn’t crowded at all and after packing a box and paying for the shipment I headed out for a brief walk around Hoboken. The box will hopefully be there for Earl when Anne, Rex and Earl get back from the Not Strictly Bluegrass Festival this weekend.

I saw Bill Ryan outside the Post Office and said hello. It was good to see him, he’s looking healthy. I always liked Bill and he seemed to like me. I always enjoyed working for him at Pier Platters, either sitting behind the counter if he had to run an errand or manning the register at Pier Platters 2. And of course I always got a good deal on my purchases.

I played with the Google Latitude on my smartphone and watched myself as I wandered around town. I also talked with Bill for a few minutes. I’m trying to be conservative with my phone calls since I do not have the unlimited calls that I used to have with T-Mobile.

I found out later when I got home that I arranged to have my calls to Bill to be free and available whenever I want. I am enjoying the smartphone nonetheless. I found myself at one point in the day accessing some websites on my phone while sitting right in front of the computer. That was very dumb. Why waste time and access when I have everything right in front of me? I was glad I caught myself.

It’s a nice quiet evening, Bill is up in Harlem stage managing a play and here I am, in Hoboken, writing this very line.