Posts Tagged ‘Brenda’

I Can Help

Tuesday, March 1st, 2011

Today was a day off. I had about 8 hours of sleep, it was so good. Slept until about 8:45 this morning and got out of bed. I had a meeting with Donald the K this morning at 11:00 and did not want to be late or miss it.

All I had was a little bit of milk for coffee and not enough for cereal, so I fortified myself with a few cups before heading out. I donned a grey wool pinstripe suit, a Paul Frederick shirt with a black & white & grey flowered tie.

It was chilly outside so I wore an older overcoat as well as my apple jack or newsboy cap. I was about 15 minutes earlier than I usually am and found a totally different scene. Different commuters, different bus driver and instead of sitting on the left side, I sat on the right and looked at things I normally don’t look at.

And once again the bus filled up with people, some of them not having correct change and asking the people already on the bus if they had change for a five dollar bill. I made it into the city and headed east to 6th Avenue.

I walked past Bill’s office building and merely took a camera phone picture as I passed by. I made it to the building where Donald the K’s company is and after a few minutes with security, I gained access to the 19th floor.

I met with Donald the K and we sat in a conference room. I was impressed with the size of their offices. Donald the K was dressed casual and mentioned that I didn’t need to be wearing a suit & tie. I told him I didn’t mind. We talked for a while and he seemed sincere in trying to get me into the job.

The whole meeting lasted about 20 minutes and while I waited for the elevator, he asked what I was making at my last job. I told him the extravagant figure I was paid and that I would have been happy with 15 thousand less.

During the meeting Donald the K told me about how a former co-worker Andrea comes in once a week to do whatever needs to be done on the secretary side of things. She commutes from down the shore in New Jersey and Donald also told me that she had died for a few minutes while delivering her second child.

That was something I did not know about. I did send Andrea a message on Facebook telling her I was meeting with Donald and how I did not want her to think I was gunning for her job. She responded a few hours later saying that she would love to work with me again, so that was cool to know.

I also got an email from another former co-worker, Brenda who’s last day was today for the now non-existent Putnam Lovell. I responded and tried to be supportive. At least she knows from my experience how hard it is out there. But she’s smart and savvy and should have no problem getting something lined up. Exploit those connections!

Made it back to Hoboken safe and sound. I needed a haircut but my barber Tony was not in today. He only works Monday and Saturday now and I guess I will have to wait until next week and get it done. It’s been an adequate day off, not the best but far from the worst.

Back to work tomorrow and off on Thursday. How I yearn for a Monday to Friday job.


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Gamma Rays

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Here we are on Tuesday. Been a somewhat busy day. Last night wasn’t so bad either. Watched Heroes which was finally entertaining and it was the season finale. It was interesting to see Sylar become a hero. I hope he remains that way.

Yes I know what a pointless thing to write about.

Bill came home from stage managing the one man show Monk last night. Better turn out than the previous week, meaning, people showed up. Not a full house, but last week no one showed up. They decided to make it a tech rehearsal.

We watched Big Love which of course was very good. Even though I knew they were republicans it was odd to see Bill and Barb having a 1980′s Reagan party. Sissy Spacek was great as usual and I could have sworn Annette Bening made a very cameo appearance. She didn’t come up in the credits though.

Bill’s knees were messed up so he iced them for about 40 minutes before heading off to bed. I stayed up watching some Craig Ferguson before heading off to bed myself. Bill was off before I was this morning.

I got up and got myself together, donning a suit and tie before heading into the city for my appointment at the beauty school. Yes, I will have to attend beauty school since there are no barber schools anymore, except for Atlas on Third Avenue. But Atlas does not provide financial aid so that crossed them off the list.

I left the apartment at 10:00, arriving early for my appointment at 11:00. I went up the stairs to the second floor where I found myself in the middle of a very busy lobby. A lot of women signing up for the beauty school and today was also orientation day.

I sat on a bench to the side and waited until a woman named Haley came out and took me in the back. She was very nice, quite outgoing. She set me up in the back so I could fill out a brief questionnaire about why I was there and what I was planning on doing. I wrote down ‘barber/stylist’ since it seemed most appropriate.

Haley came back a few minutes later and I sat with her in her cubicle and she gave me the whole she bang about why this school would be the best. She also mentioned a few times that while being a barber was all nice, it would cut off half of the potential revenue, meaning cutting and styling women’s hair.

That means coloring and dyeing, rinses and perms and sets. Things like that. I can see the point even though it was something I wasn’t looking to get into.

A tour of the school was next and I was escorted past long lines of mainly women most of them checking me out, wondering who the hell was this guy in a suit and tie. Out of a couple of hundred women I saw about 4 or 5 guys.

Guys seemed more apt to use rather than men. They checked me out too.

There was a lot going on and soon Haley and I wound up back at her cube, where I made crazy love to her. It was odd to see a cube without a computer in it.

Haley told me that if I took the class in New York I would get a New York State license for hair. I wasn’t looking to work in New York though, thinking more of New Jersey. Luckily they have a NJ school in Jersey City, accessible via the Path train.

So that is something I would consider. All together the training would cost about $12,000 which could hopefully be covered by financial aid and/or a student loan. It was a good meeting and I left with a big rather large book about 2 feet by 1.5 feet.

A bit cumbersome but luckily I keep a bag in my shoulder bag for when I buy groceries. I made my way uptown through Grand Central where I saw a partial exhibit advertising the Prado in Madrid.

I had plans to meet up with Brenda for coffee. I called Greg Stevens and hoped to meet up with him as well, but he would only be available until 1:00 which was the time I was going to see Brenda. Couldn’t do both so I went with Brenda.

It was good to see her and we went to a nearby public atrium where Brenda treated me to a Starbucks coffee and splitting a brownie. I explained the story of the past month, the phone calls the interviews, moving Greg Stevens’ office and the job that was the wrong job.

She sort of understood but got very excited when I told her of my plans to become a barber. It turns out her spouse has 2 brothers who are barber stylists and Brenda thinks that I would be very good at it. It was a fun lunch and I soon made my way back down to the Path train and eventually back home.

I was planning to stop by Mr. L’s and talk to Tony and his son about the visit to the beauty school, but they were both busy with customers and I didn’t feel like waiting.

2.9.10 nyc gcs 001

2.9.10 nyc gcs 003

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Posted in Whats for lunch? | 8 Comments »

Add It Up

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010

It’s now a Wednesday. Last night was quiet. Just watched TV. Bill came home from seeing his mother. He’s making a point to do that at least once a week. He’s also seeing his cousin and her family at that time so it works out well for everyone.

I was home, a bit tired, after getting ready with Greg Stevens on his move. Not hard work but the trucking back and forth wore me down. I watched TV, O & RM. Bill came home in time for Rachel. I had enough news at that point but Bill wanted to watch it so we did.

Then at 10:00 I put on the Heroes episode from Monday night. Still lacking in luster. And of course, the last minute or two was cut off. Sort of like, ‘And the murderer is…’ Stay tuned for the Jay Leno Show! It’s happened so often that it’s become a joke around here.

Bill was busy getting some things ready for his friend Rome Neal’s one man show about Thelonious Monk called Monk. I’ve seen it a few times. Bill has been Rome’s trusted stage manager for the show for a long time, but the next show is in Rochester and Bill can’t make it so he’s been transferring things to CD’s so Rome can take them on the road.

After the 11:00 news I put on a recording of Scrubs: Med School. It takes place after the original show with Turk and Dr. Cox as well as Bob Kelso and the Todd reprising their roles. JD & Eliot have made appearances before. It’s OK. Not totally in love with it, but then I haven’t been following it much. Bill didn’t know anything about it so it was a kick for him.

He went to bed after that, wearing the sleep apnea mask which was great. A nice night of sleep. Of course there was the weird dream involving an old friend of my Simon Paterson. He was a special friend. Had many late nights with him.

A strange relationship though. Haven’t seen him in years and I don’t think he’s seen me in years either. At one point in the dream he produces some powdery packets and offers them to me like back in the old days, but in the dream I was saying that I don’t do that sort of thing and that the glasses he was wearing made him look like Bobby Womack.

It was a dream that probably had references to another friend, no not that type of friend, just another party person from the McSwells days. I ran into him, known as Midday since that’s when he usually got out of bed.

We were both waiting for the bus and comparing our lives. He’s been married for 10 years, me and Bill will have been together for 10 years in September. He used to party in much the same way I did and just like me, he doesn’t anymore. That conversation probably popped into the dream.

This morning I was up and started making the coffee when the phone rang. It was Brenda from back in the Wanker Banker days. She saw via one of the social networks that I’m on that I have a job and asked how it was going. Surprisingly I was able to answer her questions coherently without any coffee.

She was at her job and couldn’t talk much so we ended the call with me promising to call her back, which I haven’t yet. Had some breakfast when the phone rang again, this time it was a follow up call after the phone interview from the other day.

Tomorrow I have a face to face interview. This time with some guy named Tom. It’s at 10:30 so after that in a suit & tie I will supervise Greg Stevens move. I of course got worked up about the interview. I always think that I have the job.

Then I realized that I do have a job lined up and if the interview doesn’t go well, well I still have that job on Monday. Saw Stine and Alexander on the way to the park. Walked them over and played with Alexander for a few minutes.

Stine looked great and Alexander was the boy wonder, climbing over everything and ignoring me. I did get a high five and when I left I said Bye Bye. Stine couldn’t get him to do the same but when I was 20 feet away I heard a Bye Bye. Then at 30 feet, then at 50 feet. Each time I turned around and saw Stine laughing as I waved back.

Spoke to Bill about the interview tomorrow, me making a big deal out of it. Spoke to my brother Brian which was really good. His eldest daughter is looking at college. Yikes! By the time I made it to Greg Stevens office he was off at the Racquetball Club.

I don’t think he plays racquetball though, just the gym and sauna. I packed some boxed and got other things ready for the move.

Spoke to Bill again and told him I realized I was making too big a deal out of the interview. Now I’m home, watching the Simpsons ‘Mr Scorpio!’ and that’s about it.

Rest in peace, Howard Zinn.

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Daddy’s Home

Tuesday, September 16th, 2008

Late start tonight. Drinks with a former co-worker, Brenda. She’s a sweetheart and we’ve been trying to meet up for drinks after work for quite a while, but things being what they are and life being what it is I usually had to back out. Tonight it all came together and we had some appetizers and some drinks and reminisced about who’s who, what’s what and things like that.

All very pleasant, she’s a luv she is. She’s still working with people I used to work with, now it’s a different company having been bought out a year or so ago. Two Stella Artois for me and I was set. We had drinks quite near Grand Central and so I walked her to the entrance and kissed her good night wishing her a safe ride home.

I decided to take the Path train home since waiting for a bus at the bus terminal can be quite tiring especially after the rush hour. Bright lights and a bunch of people I don’t want to see, or be seen by made the idea of the Path train that much more appealing.

As luck would have it a train pulled into the station and I was able to find a seat in a nearly empty car where I sat and continued reading Alan Bennett’s memoir, Untold Stories. Got off the train in no time and made a bee line so I could do a pee line in the loo in the Hoboken station.

Beautiful late summer night, I walked along the river. Couples, tourists and joggers all out and some taking pictures of the beautiful New York skyline which you can’t see if you’re in Manhattan. It’s a nice trap, how it looks so much better when you’re not in the city, then when you’re there it looks like something totally different.

Right now I’m home, Bill waited up for me to come home so he could go to bed where he is now. Rachel Maddow- we love her, is being so right on. Everything she says makes so much sense even if I did read it online a few hours ago. It just sounds so much better hearing it from her.

Last week on the bus, as I talked with Casey, he had a personal question that required the ‘I hope you don’t mind if I ask you a personal question’ line. I gave the go ahead and he asked if Bill and I ever considered having kids. I can’t speak for Bill since the subject never came up but I answered, no. I don’t want kids and overall I don’t like kids.

I love my nieces and nephews and I like my friends kids (love Alexander and Lily and Ruby etc) but no thanks, none for me. I don’t think I would be a good parent. I had parents that did their best, at least one of them did. The other saw his kids as his duty and his competition.

When Zed was alive, when he did something wrong it was difficult not to lose my temper and I wouldn’t want to inflict that on a child. Plus it’s so much responsibility, responsibility that lasts maybe for 18 years, maybe longer.

I’ve told Bill that I would love to get a cat (but he’s allergic) or a dog, but they tend to die on you and the heartbreak I felt after Zed died was near unbearable. If I could get a pet that died the day after I died, then I’d have no problem.

Now that would be an argument in favor of children. They’re supposed to outlive their parents so that would be cool with me. But no, no kids. Too much trouble and I’m selfish. I’d be a lousy parent and to my credit, I know that fact which is a lot better than some parents who are worse than I would ever be.

Thanks anyway.

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Posted in Wonderful World Beautiful People | 1 Comment »

Ask Me Why

Friday, September 12th, 2008

It’s a dreary gray Friday afternoon. I got out of work around 2:30 this afternoon and rather than walk across midtown enjoying a birthday cigar I took a subway which I rarely do. It was raining but not hard enough to warrant an umbrella since I only had to walk a block or so.

Now I have that ‘I might have napped too long’ feeling despite the fact I didn’t really have a restful nap. Phone calls and phone buzzing kept interrupting. Missed a birthday greeting from Chaz, but earlier I did speak with my sister Annemarie, as well as a voice mail from her and my nephew Earl.

Also heard from Queen Jane Approximately, Constant Connie, Sweet Sarah and Brenda Bubbles, Adorable Adrienne and Lovely Rita and Harpy and Julio and Stine with a picture of that adorable little man, Alexander.

Text messages from assorted nieces and maybe my brother Brian or his son Brian. I just can’t tell. Actually I can tell. I just checked and it was from my brother. My other brother Frank hasn’t called and that means if he doesn’t call later, he will call on the weekend and feel bad about not calling on my birthday.

It’s not a big deal. It would have been years ago. It might have been last year. But this year? Eh, no biggie. Last year Bill gave me a saucepan for a birthday present. I found it an odd present since I’m not much of a cook or a foodie.

I don’t watch the Food Network, or Armenia’s Next Top Chef or Gordon Ramsey or whatever. But since the spot where I get my penne, pesto and chicken in Manhattan, Cafe Fonduta went under I have been lacking pesto in my life.

So having watched the guys prepare the pesto, I think I can do it myself and finally have a reason to break out that sauce pan. It’s still in the box. I figure I can take a teaspoon of pesto, some heavy cream, some olive oil and imitate the guys. Or I can try to look it up online somewhere.

Perhaps there’s a video on YouTube that shows the How To.
Or perhaps you dear reader, would have a recipe to make a nice pesto sauce.

Bill just came home and we’re going to go out for some steaks at Arthur’s steakhouse on Washington Street. Hopefully it will be better than last year, when we went for my birthday after a few other things going wrong earlier in the day.

My churlishness towards the saucepan (embarrassing 365 days later) and the fact that some disgruntled mail room worker wished that I would die since I had decided to smoke a Padron and walk along Park Avenue during my lunch hour.

Birthday wishes also came from some new Facebook friends (Andres et al.) as well as a dear friend, Betti Cola. It’s still raining and my bones are tired after tossing and turning in the late gray afternoon but in a few minutes Bill and I will head over to Arthur’s where hopefully they will have their credit card machines up and running, unlike last year.

Just got back, excellent dinner with Bill. Arthur’s wasn’t too crowded, credit card machine in order and I was caught by surprise with a few waitresses singing Happy Birthday to me with a wonderful slice of chocolate mousse cake with a candle on top. I turned a thousand shades blushing.

A walk around Washington Street followed, me finally enjoying my birthday cigar in the misty evening.

That seems to be it for the day. Loveliness abounds.

Here’s some quite recent snaps as well as something else. Thank you for your good wishes

and here I thought I wasn’t going to write tonight!

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Posted in the day after yesterday, Wonderful World Beautiful People | 5 Comments »