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I Got The Feelin’

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

A day back at the cigar shack. Not a bad day. I told Thomas last night that I would work the super bowl with Jerry Vale which frees him up to spend time with his fiancee on Sunday night. He was so grateful he threw a major order in my direction and he and his fiancee made me some corn bread which I will enjoy when I get home.

It’s been an alright day overall. It was Thomas and Bradley and myself and since Zack was off today that put Bradley in a good mood once again. I did hear from Zack via text today. He first asked if I had a passport and I replied that I did.

Then he asked if I would be interested in going to Honduras. Apparently a cigar manufacturer has tours of their fields and factory in Honduras and Zack was supposed to go but he wasn’t really feeling it, having just gotten back from two weeks of being out of town away from his family.

It would be all expenses paid and I would just have to pay for my flight which would be reimbursed by the cigar shack headquarters. I mentioned it to Bill and he looked up flight information. It was supposed to be from March 12th to the 15th, but after Bill’s research he found the best deal would mean my leaving on March 11 and coming back on March 16 and would not involve a layover that is 20 hours overnight.

Eventually we figured out that it would not be affordable. That means that Bradley might have to go. I would like to go but realistically it’s not feasible. And I would rather travel with Bill. He’s great, he loves to plan trips and all I have to do is show up. Cars, flights, hotel rooms all taken care of. I suppose I am spoiled by Bill when it comes to matters like this. It’s OK, I certainly don’t mind and neither does Bill.

The weather today has been outstanding, 60 degrees when I went on break at 3:15 this afternoon, nice enough to spend most of the break time, outdoors in the cool air. There were plenty of other people who had the same idea. So tomorrow is another day on, then another day off. And there is more laundry to do, laundry that didn’t quite make the cut the other day.

The plan is to get up early enough to get a start on that and then figure out the rest of the day. Of course by then it can all go pear shaped. Last night I watched Gosford Park again. It’s such a good movie, great script, great cast. Bill watched some of it before he went into shredding mode, meaning he sat at the kitchen table, shredding some documents and spending way too much time reading other documents.

Bjork was on the Colbert Report last night and she was very good of course. I plan on buying her new CD but as far as I know it’s only available as an app from iTunes. It could be available somewhere, somehow and I intend on finding it one way or another.

Thomas mentioned that I look like that I lost too much weight and that my suits all hang on me.I guess he is right since I can’t tell. And Jimmy Seltzer made an appearance, telling me that I should get it together and write my book. I really should, shouldn’t I?






10 Where Do I Begin
Thanks for the ride, Don Cornelius.

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I Go Wild

Saturday, January 14th, 2012

Another day at the cigar shack, a longish day at that. Not so bad overall, Bradley on his best behavior, Jerry Vale amiable as ever. I am worried about Bill though. Something might be wrong with my man. I dare not write about it, but I can express my concern.

I certainly hope it is not what I think it may be. I will find out more tonight when he calls from Atlantic City, and tomorrow when I get home from work, a heart to heart will be in order. I slept really well last night and that was good.

It was a long lonely night. The heater was working so that is another feather in the handyman’s cap. About 28 minutes left in the day here. and I am back on tomorrow, due in at 10:30 and out at 7:30. It is also the return of Zack tomorrow.

Most of the day at the cigar shack was spent getting everything shipshape. We’re all understandably nervous about his return since he was at the corporate headquarters. The news could be bad, the news will likely not be good. 5 minutes left here and I am still a bit behind. And now I am home a little over an hour later.

The last couple of customers were a handful. An arrogant Israeli who kept mentioning how his is good friends Marcus. he didn’t bat an eye when Jerry Vale and I both told him that Marcus is now working for another cigar depot somewhere in the city. He kept insisting that he deserved better treatment than he was getting though both Jerry Vale and I deferred to everything he stated and wanted.

And what he wanted were cigars named Fuente. Jerry Vale and I told him the only cigars named Fuente were Arturo Fuente. He kept telling us that we were wrong until he looked up what he wanted on his smartphone and it turned out that he wanted Arturo Fuente. He made some overtures about buying a box but of course he only bought one cigar after having Jerry Vale and I jump through many hoops.

After him came another customer who was pleasant enough that Jerry Vale took care of him and I dealt with a regular customer named Cleon. Cleon usually comes in at 8:58 as the cigar shack is about to close but tonight he was in at around 8:40. He usually gets the same thing each time while fondling each cigar, but tonight he was looking for something different, or rather a throw back to what he used to smoke.

So it was a different cigar that he was fondling. he’s generally a nice guy and I thought he was gay, he’s such a dandy but no, he is straight. Perhaps he is one of those guys who identify as straight but likes to suck dick every now and then.

There are a lot of guys like that. But I will take Cleon at his word and keep my cock in my trousers.

Ooh, dirty! Not writing tomorrow! Have a good Sunday!

over





1-10 Dead End Street

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I Get Lonely Too Jeremih

Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012

Day two or perhaps a day too many. It was not as bad as yesterday, Bradley absent, Zack, Thomas and me running the show. Interesting international crowd in the cigar shack today, Zack scoring big time with some guy from Mongolia with his daughters or wives and their interpreter. Zack would point at something and they guy from Mongolia would say yes.

Meanwhile I had a Korean woman who wanted something modern in lighters and whatever I showed her was not modern enough or too much money. Then she asked if she could get a discount and I almost lost it. A discount? For what? All I needed was a reason which was not forthcoming, though even if she did have a reason there would be no discount.

I did sell her a lighter and she asked if she could get a free can of butane. I checked with Zack and he was still buzzing from his four figured sale so he was more than alright with that. It took most of the day for me to catch up with Thomas (who peaked early) and Zack (who had climax after climax) but eventually I hit my goal which was nice.

Now it’s sort of after hours, the cigar shack zone has quieted down considerably, not much going on otherwise. Jimmy Seltzer just came in and just put me in second place, barely ahead of Thomas. Like I said, it was a better day than yesterday, some friction at first, Thomas and Zack had a little chat and according to Thomas it was about how Zack doesn’t seem to trust Thomas and myself, putting all of his stock in his second in command, which is fitting and a bit awkward, especially with me knowing all the shit that Zack has said about number two over the past year.

But that is all water under the bridge I suppose. It is bitterly cold out today, the temperature never reached above 30 degrees and when the wind would blow it cut like Dorothy Parker’s tongue. Just about an hour to go tonight, Thomas is closing which will allow me to wait for the train about 15 minutes earlier. Still it should not be so bad, at least I won’t be walking.

I also saw Deborah my downstairs neighbor who offers hope for the future. I only sampled a bit of the hope, not wanting to be overwhelmed only to be sent dashed upon the rocks. It would be nice but then again, a lot of things would be nice. I just want to get home and get warm. Been sleeping nicely lately, though the other night I sort of hit Bill in the face, or rather the sleep apnea mask.

I was sort of hovering about his body in the dream and when the dream changed, down came my hand. He said something and I apologized profusely, as is my wont. I’ve been careful not to levitate around Bill while we are both sleeping. Takes some work, but it is worth it.

Code of the streets- Instrumental

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I Get It In Omarion

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

It is back to the cigar shack after a week of not much of anything. I did some things around the apartment, cleaning, laundry but not much else. New Years Eve was even mellower, Bill & I going to Arthur’s Tavern for steaks, followed by cigars and then winding up at Rand & Lisa’s for midnight cocktails.

Good crowd there, John Fig and his wife Arianna and their daughter Luna, Lois & Fred, Mike C and his gorgeous girlfriend Sarah. We apparently missed Chaz who stopped by en route to West Paterson to spend midnight with his Aunt Rena.We’ll be seeing him this weekend when he has his holiday party.

Bill and I watched a few movies over the weekend, Love Actually, some Harry Potter and yesterday watched mindlessly an Absolutely Fabulous marathon. For the longest time, the humor Absolutely Fabulous escaped me. I felt I was going to have my ‘gay card’ revoked, but being hungover from the night before must have helped since I did chuckle a few times as did Bill.

He went to bed pretty early last night since he was driving a bus to Washington DC today. I tracked him on my smartphone. Since I can’t be with him, it was good to at least know where he was even though the GPS was dodgy. One minute he is on the Cross Bronx Expressway and next he is crossing the border into Maryland.

Since Maryland turned up more than the Grand Concourse I went with Maryland. It was justified since he did cross into Washington DC eventually. And now, thanks to a paper screw up, he is on his way home, deadheading from Washington DC. He expects to be home by midnight or thereabouts so I will more than likely be awake.

Oh yeah, I just got home a few minutes ago. It was a long day at the cigar shack, I came in and saw Zack talking to Bradley at the counter, Thomas floating around somewhere. As I was taking my coat off, Thomas materialized and asked if I heard about Bradley. I did not so Bradley told me the news.

Bradley is now the assistant manager, which is what I basically told Bradley a few months ago. I harbor no hard feelings, Bradley is good at the job and is born to work in the world of retail. I think Zack was expecting me to be upset since I had been working there longer, but no I was not upset at all. In fact I congratulated Bradley on his promotion, and asked him if he got a raise, which he did.

And since it was a federal holiday today a lot of people had off from work today, making the cigar shack area quite deserted. It was a long day and it seems that Zack does not like the fact that things are slow. He’s been through many January’s before so it really shouldn’t be a surprise. I feel bad for Zack though. It seems like he is being set up for a fall.

The cigar shack probably pays a lot of money in rent and with the slow sales and the sluggish economy it promises to be a brutal year. And on top of that Zack and his wife are expecting a baby so there is that added stress. An interesting thing happened today, 2 customers came into the cigar shack, a couple.

Thomas asked them if they needed help and they said they were just browsing. I came out and asked the same thing as Thomas and I got the same answer. So Thomas and I backed off, letting them browse while keeping our eyes on them. A minute or so later, Zack comes out of the office and asks the couple if there is anything they would like to see and of course they say yes to Zack. So Zack tool care of the couple and made a sale while Thomas and I busied ourselves doing other things.

The couple left with their purchase and Zack then turned to Thomas and myself, about to berate us for not helping the couple. I had to explain to Zack that just because he watches the cameras in the store, it’s not reality necessarily. I explained that both Thomas and myself offered our assistance which they did not want, then he comes out and they do want assistance.

We did not do anything wrong, we weren’t goofing off. I don’t think Zack appreciated my explanation but it was the truth and he went back to the office ostensibly to check the cameras to see if we really did interact with the customers. Apparently, asking a customer if they need help is not the way to go. Asking them if there is anything they would like to see is the proper way to bait the hook.

It’s going to be a long year.



2-02 Take The Cash (K.A.S.H)

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I Get It

Thursday, December 29th, 2011

There are times when you just have to put down the smartphone and this is that time. I have been trying to get my smartphone to work properly, chatting with Vanessa at Samsung. We used the last resort. Resetting my phone to factory defaults.

That meant I lost everything, photos, phone numbers, apps and whatnot. And Scrabble. And Netflix. I had two Scrabble games going for the past couple of weeks, won one by forfeit and lost another. It had been years since I last played Scrabble and I wasn’t as ferocious as I used to be. My ass, it was kicked. And I had taken to watching A Hard Day’s Night on Netflix occasionally on my bus ride into the city.

Still by linking my Facebook with my smartphone I was able to get something resembling my contact list again. Some names and numbers are lost, so if you do not hear from me anytime soon, you might want to give me a call. I am drawn to the little handheld device. It occupies my mind and demands my attention. Perhaps it is a waste of time.

Today I was up and about and headed into Manhattan to see the Vivian Maier exhibition at the Howard Greenberg Gallery on east 57th Street. I trooped on in in the 20 something degree weather, sat on a crowded bus, next to the wheel well. I decided not to sit directly on top on the wheel well, sitting on the aisle. Still, I held my bag in my lap should anyone want to sit next to me. No one did so I rode into the city in relative comfort while people stood all around me.

I marched up Eighth Avenue and walked over to the Smoke Scene where I could pick up a pack of roll ups as well as some papers. As I was leaving I was telling the guys behind the counter that I work for the cigar shack and we frequently send them customers since we don’t sell cigarettes.

They were just about to thank me when I heard the sound of a certain security guard with snot running down his face. This guy is a cantankerous old fool who thinks he is funny but really is just overwhelmingly bitter. And here he was covered in mucous trying to be funny once again.

At the cigar shack, Thomas wouldn’t have anything to do with this guard since he overheard him screaming into his phone about how he was going to do his woman in. I walked out of the store, wishing the guys a happy new year and telling the security guard to buy some tissues and wipe his face which would be crusty when he headed out into the cold air. Not that I cared.

I walked on over to 57th and Madison and took the elevator to the fourteenth floor. It was a revelation to see the photographs of Vivian Maier. So many similarities between her photos and the photos I’ve been taking the past few years. Of course I have the ability to post them here on this blog as well as Facebook, whereas Vivian Maier did not have that option.

I wandered around, looking at the 50 or so photographs on the wall and wondered if it was possible to be influenced by someone whose work I had never heard of or seen before. It was a brief visit and I headed out into the cold. I lit a La Flor Dominicana Air Bender and walked down Park Avenue, taking pictures as I was doing on my way to the exhibition.

An homage or perhaps a continuation of the photographs of Vivian Maier. I stopped by Bill’s building and he came down for a quick chat and kiss before heading to the bus terminal where I waited on a very long line.

I didn’t mind, I stood and read Will Hermes ‘Love Goes To Buildings on Fire’ which is a fun book about NYC music in the 1970’s from the Bronx to the Bowery with all stops in between. Recommended!









03 Photograph

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I Fought In A War

Saturday, December 17th, 2011

Darlene Love is singing White Christmas from the Phil Spector Christmas Album. It’s a bit brisk outside. It is day two, eleven hour shift. It has been quite busy. The plan for Thomas to close the store tonight so that I might get a twenty minute head start and get to the bus so I could be home sooner has fallen by the wayside due to the inept schedule for the week.

Who knew it would be so busy, a fucking week before Christmas Eve? Zack had Thomas come in an hour earlier to help out since it was so fucking busy. So I will be closing tonight and opening tomorrow. It can be done but it will not be easy. I have to be up at 7:00 in the morning to catch the 8:00 bus since there is no 8:30 bus. And since I have to open the cigar shack I should be there by 9:00. At least I will have my egg sandwich before yet another eleven hour shift.

Word is out that Madonna is making a surprise appearance playing with the dreaded Wynton Marsalis Salad Bar Band tonight. Not my cuppa tea. It’s been very busy tonight and sales expectations were met and exceeded making Zack a very happy and giggly man. Forty minutes to go then the hustle.

Thomas is just about to head out and hopefully it won’t get too busy. Left alone to man the shack it won’t be easy, so people will just have to wait. And I just had two gentlemen in the store and they had me running back and forth like a chicken sans head. Twenty three minutes and Thomas is long gone.

Tomorrow will have a full staff minus Thomas and for myself I just have to make it through Monday before I get two days off in a row which is quite rare. This morning I was fortunate to see Bill for a few minutes before he passed out after driving to Atlantic City. He is doing that again tonight and I won’t be seeing my beloved until tomorrow night.

I just checked the numbers and they match up so that should be one less thing I have to worry about tonight. I will still worry about Bill though.

It’s funny, at least once a day someone will ask if we have Cuban cigars at the cigar shack and they are incredulous when I tell them they are illegal. Most people don’t know their history. Listening to Section 25 right now, no more holiday music. I’ve had my fill. Actually had my fill before Thanksgiving.

The rest is just a violation of the Geneva convention and that is another thing people don’t know about, what is the Geneva convention. Was John Kennedy Toole right? Is this really the way it is? Sixteen minutes to go and they won’t go fast enough, that’s for sure.

Killing time on the killing floor, that is what I am about.

Endless texting from Julio, trying to entice me into having a pint. I just got home and since I have to get up early, it ain’t happening but he will not take no for an answer. I still have to eat dinner and it’s 11:20. I suggested Tuesday or Wednesday, saying Tuesday would be better for me. After an hour of telling him that he finally tells me Tuesday is his job’s holiday party. His job, which wouldn’t hire me since I am not a woman. They’ve had such bad luck with women in the position, why not continue that direction?

He is also worried that I will be like his father, hooked on Xanax. Me, taking 0.05 once a week maybe, yeah I’m a regular William S. Burroughs. I love Julio and I appreciate his trying to get me out tonight as well as out of my own way, but not tonight. And now I feel guilty but I guess I am being responsible.

14 Ich Bin Von Kopf Bis Fuss Auf Lie

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