Tag Archives: Bagels

This Charming Man

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Just woke up from a dream, where I was on the phone with a former co-worker. She’s been out of work too and there wasn’t too good a connection so I had to ask her a few times what she had just said. In the dream I was in the apartment and walking through the kitchen and all of a sudden there was a water leak from somewhere where there isn’t any pipes or anything like that.

Just thought it was odd and it’s what actually woke me up from a fairly deep sleep of about a hour.

The day has been OK. Last night was cool too. Last night was watching Olbermann and then Radio Days with Bill. Funny thing is, when I first saw Radio Days in 1986 I didn’t much care for it. It was good, but I thought it was too treacly.

Too close to Neil Simon territory for me. It wasn’t until a few years later did I realize that it’s probably one of Woody Allen’s best. Seth Green was excellent in in. I wonder whatever happened to him?

We totally bypassed the news and watched instead 30 Rock from the other night. That had to be one of the funniest episodes ever, if only for Alec Baldwin on the subway. He had the panhandler spiel down pat.

It was hilarious, not to demean panhandlers of course. At least the ones who actually need to beg for money, not the scam artists.

It was 11:30 when Bill decided it was the best time to start shredding papers. That was a bit unnerving. I wound up going to be around 1:00, leaving Bill to watch Colin Ferguson with Ewan McGregor alone. I did catch the Pixies on Conan O’Brien and they were actually pretty good. Looked like they all were getting along too.

Never quite got into the Pixies though even after I’d seen them at McSwells. Slept well and woke up to see Bill shredding some more paper. The room was more crowded than it was before I went to sleep. Bill was off for some physical therapy, deep tissue massage for his knees.

I went out and got the paper and some bagels. Nothing for the third floor family though. Bill came home with his own bagels and eventually did what he does all the time with his bagels. He puts them in the oven until their charred and then he eats them.

Drives me crazy and stinks up the apartment with the odor of burnt bread. He’s a strange one that Bill, but I can’t help but love him. Despite that, with each gnaw of a burnt bagel I climbed the wall an inch or two.

I decided to head into the city just to get away. A walk around midtown on a Saturday afternoon. No one around except tourists and they were easy to avoid.

I hadn’t had a cigar in a while so I bought one at Barclay Rex and wandered around. It wasn’t as exciting as it sounded though and soon enough, I was on the Path train heading back home to Hoboken.

Bill was off driving to Atlantic City today and isn’t coming back until tomorrow. So no burnt bagels tonight.

Tell Me What You See

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This has been an odd day. Nothing bad happened, at least not yet. It just started out on the wrong foot, leading to a day of missteps. I woke up, tried to contact Julio to see if he and Stine wanted bagels. No answer. I called Stine instead and she said no, they were going out. That was no problem.

I went to the bagel shop where there is never a line anymore. It used to be there would be a line out of the store onto the sidewalk, but hasn’t been like that in a few months.

I asked Jeff, someone who’s been working there for ages, a week or so ago if it’s been slow and he mentioned that I had just missed a rush. I didn’t believe that since there is hardly anyone in there when I’m there. Denial or just putting forth the company line?

I’m convinced they don’t like me in the Bagel store. One guy in particular doesn’t like me, I can tell. When I moved back to Hoboken almost 7 years ago, I started getting my bagels on Washington Street. A few weeks later I saw this particular guy on the street with his kids and as I passed I said hello. He gave me the stink eye in return. I figured with the hundreds of people he sees each week I was lost in the shuffle.

After that I saw him again and once again said hello and once again I get the stink eye. One time I gave my order at the counter, something like 3 sesame, and 2 poppy bagels. He gave me 3 and 3. I mentioned that it wasn’t what I ordered and he got all uppity. So ever since then it’s quite frosty between us.

I do try to support small businesses, but in Hoboken, the small business owners don’t make it easy and show very little gratitude. Next to the register is a container for tips. Knowing that some of the staff have families to support I sometimes leave my change in the container. Sometimes I get thanked, and other times like today with me and Frosty the bagel counter person I get nothing.

I think next time I go in I will wait for Frosty to be waiting on another customer. And if I hear Jeff say to a new customer, ‘You know those bagels will make you thirsty, you sure you don’t want something to drink with that?’ I’ll go postal.

That basically set the tone for the day. I went out once after that and it just seemed so weird that I decided not to go out again until tomorrow. But I did go out, hoping to run into the Chinese dude who usually sells bootleg DVD’s at the barber shop at 4:00PM on Saturday afternoons.

I didn’t see him and I wasn’t going to go hang out in a barber shop if I wasn’t getting a haircut. I was hoping to get a $5.00 DVD of Slumdog Millionaire. Oh well. The only Academy Awards movies that I’ve seen are Milk and The Visitor, and Wall-E.

Maybe I’ll do a live blog during the awards tomorrow, or rather write about it as it happens and post afterwards. That seems more likely since I don’t think I’m equipped for live blogging.

Last night I caught up on what I had DVR’d. Spectacle with Elvis Costello. 1st up had guests She and Him, Jenny Lewis and Jacob Dylan. All very good and enjoyable and that Jacob Dylan sure is cute, and he sounds like Bruce Springsteen I think. Imagine growing up being Bob Dylan’s kid, how strange that must be.

I have a newfound love for Jenny Lewis, though Juan has been hyping her up to me for a while now. And She and Him, Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward were good enough to make me think about getting their record.

Then I watched what I guess is the season finale for Spectacle, this time hosted by Elton John who interviewed Diana Krall and had her husband, Elvis Costello come out opening with a song and singing with Diana and Elton at the end.

Geez, I swear Diana Krall is like so many women that I know, at least in the way she talks and her mannerisms. I enjoyed her, but sometimes it was like watching my niece Corinne on TV. If only Corinne played piano. She was very entertaining, Diana Krall and I think she’d be worth checking out as well.

After that I watched the 11:30 Simpsons who had Stephen Sondheim on, writing a song for Krusty the clown. And Bart was in therapy and really getting a lot out of it, even though 5 sessions were mandatory as punishment for a school prank.

I almost stayed up to watch Conan O’Brien’s last Late Night show but since I was recording it I figured I would watch it today. Which I did do, watch it today. Unfortunately it ran long and as Conan was summing up his 16 years hosting the show it got cut off.

So I watched that on NBC.com, and posted it on my Facebook page, as well as Conan releasing Abe Vigoda back into the wild, since ‘Pa’ said he wouldn’t be able to take him to Los Angeles where he will host the Tonight Show.

Though I didn’t watch Conan that often since it was on past my bedtime, I will miss him. But I should be able to catch some of the Tonight Show with Conan . I’m 6’2” and wear a size 12, Conan is 6’4” and probably wears a larger shoe, and I can only hope Jimmy Fallon could fill those shoes.