Posts Tagged ‘Brian + Karen’

Purple Snowflakes

Friday, December 25th, 2009

Well I hope this finds this in good health and safe wherever you you are. I’m pretty lazy right now, but here am, writing this on the birthday of Jesus of Nazareth. Possibly a good guy, just getting through the people around him would be a chore.

In any event, on this day of Solstice celebration and what have you, I found myself wondering, was Jesus delivered by a midwife? I mean when you look at, where any of the other participants qualified or even able to deliver a baby?

And with living under Hebraic law, would the messy parts of a woman’s vagina, even Mary’s, be an abomination in their god’s eyes?Yes that was one of the thoughts that floated through my over stuffed mind and belly.

No shame in going back for seconds, or eating just about everything on the table. Last night and this afternoon I ate least had seconds of most everything. Not a gavone but the potential was there. Bill and I arrived in Hillsdale where we promptly sat down and had dinner.

Brian and Karen and Cassie with Hillary and her beau Chris were quite hungry and caution was thrown to the wind regarding the Garfield contingent having had dinner. I hadn’t had homemade lasagne in a while and it was quite good. Even though I rarely eat sausage I indulged myself much to my liking.

That’s where the second helpings came in. Gifts exchanged, everyone satisfied and happy. Ride back to Hoboken where Bill and I exchanged gifts. A few ties and cufflinks from me collected over the year and an excellent electric pickup for my Fender acoustic.

All very nice and pleasant. Bedtime for both of us and I woke up first this morning to see if there were any presents under the tree from Santa, but then I realized we don’t have a tree. No room for it anyway. No tree, no gifts, but that was OK.

Went in the kitchen to make some coffee, and turned on the heater. No heater again. It went out last month on the 25th and now it’s out again. I made an online appointment for the PSE&G maintenance for tomorrow morning between 8AM and 12PM.

That’s fine with me, they’re generally show up in that time frame. Like around 11:55AM.I hope they won’t charge. Last month it took about 5 minutes and there was no charge, so I hope it will be the same situation.

Right now, we got a big pot of water on the stove, getting things warm and damp, but it beats being cold.

This afternoon we had the trip to Garfield to Frank and Elaine’s house. Nice and mellow there, Elaine’s dad on the couch watching everyone have a turn playing Wii which they got for a Christmas present. Corinne, Meg & Rob and I tried my hand at boxing and bowling as did everyone else. More food and gifts and then we were back on the road to Hoboken since the Zipcar needed to be returned by 5PM.

We are now watching the Stephen Colbert Christmas Special. It was originally broadcast last year but I remarkably had some foresight to check it out at the library a week or so ago. Hey, you snooze you lose.

We just watched Iron Man which Bill hadn’t seen. After catching bits and pieces of A Christmas Story, it was fun to point Peter Billingsley in his cameo in Iron Man. So that about sums up Christmas 2009. See ya tomorrow. Happy Crimble!

Me, Frank & Brian

Me, Frank & Brian

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Posted in Interesting Things as of Late | 2 Comments »

None of Your Business

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Another day with a battleship gray sky. Makes for a good nap, though I didn’t take a nap today. Lot’s of phone calls though.

Last night on the way to the train station I stopped by City Hall here in Hoboken where there were a few Manson girls outside. The Westboro Baptist Church were in town protesting the fact that Peter Cammarano, the former Mayor of Hoboken was caught in a sting.

Why did they come from Kansas to Hoboken? Because an Orthodox Jewish man was the contact used by the government to ensnare the Mayors of Hoboken and Secaucus as well as a few officials in Jersey City.

You see to the Manson girls, God Hates Jews and God Hates Fags. In fact their website is called GodHatesFags. They’re also known to picket funerals for fallen soldiers because God Hates America and all the nation’s bad news comes from the fact that LGBT are making inroads for equality.

So their god is punishing the whole country. Funny thing is, their god sends a lot of tornados and causes droughts in their neck of the woods and not so much in the liberal bastions that exist on each coast.

To a believer (which I most certainly am not) it would look like their god hates them. I call these people the Manson girls since they resemble that group that used to assemble outside the LA Courthouse where Manson and his girls were on trial for the Tate/La Bianca murders.

All they need to complete the look are shaved heads and a swastika carved into their hollow skulls. Oh the age of reason will never reach Kansas, much like it won’t reach the Middle East. No renaissance, no age of enlightenment.

Some people prefer the Middle Ages and want to drag all of us back there with them. The Manson girls headed next to Secaucus, to come back to Hoboken to protest outside the local Synagogue.

I couldn’t stick around for that, I was heading to Hillsdale with Bill to see my niece sing in her high school talent show. Bill and I were both looking forward to it. Hillary was singing Day by Day from Godspell.

An uneventful train ride though the roly poly old man sitting opposite us on the train couldn’t help but give Bill and I dirty looks as he drank his 2 cans of Coors Light, (the beer of fascists) and gobbled salted peanuts by the handful.

He also grumbled when Bill had to talk on his cellphone, albeit quietly. Bill and I should have started making out just to make him pop a blood vessel in his head.

My brother Brian picked us up at the train station and drove us to the high school where Karen was waiting. My other niece Cassie was running around selling tickets for the 50/50. Bill bought a few, I looked askance.

After eating some very good brownies we sat in the auditorium and were entertained by a wholesome group of young people. Most of them played acoustic guitars and most were quite talented.

Hillary and her friend sounded quite good and got a deserved round of applause. Bill and I also met Chris, Hillary’s boyfriend who seemed like a nice young man.

After the show we all piled into Brian’s car, dropping off Karen and the girls at home and continuing to Hohokus where we missed the train so then it was onto Ridgewood where we caught it.

Nice ride back, no roly poly busy bodies giving us the hairy eyeball. We were home earlier than expected, Bill went to bed soon after, I stayed up watching a documentary on Annie Leibowitz.

It was a pretty good night, overall. Good to see the Hillsdale O’Tooles, but then again it always is.

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Posted in Wonderful World Beautiful People | 1 Comment »

Stardust

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Ugh it is so humid out. All I want to do is sleep, which is what I did when I came home this afternoon. Just napped for an hour. It was good. A nice nap can do so much.

I was drenched when I made it into the office this morning and I was drenched when I waited for the bus ride back home. I think it’s a peculiar thing, that while I’m moving everything is fine.

I’m not over doing it and I’m taking my time, walking on the shady side of the street. Everything is cool. It’s when I stop walking, that is when the sweat comes pouring out. Literally dripping on myself on the floor around me.

Still I prefer it to taking the subway. Too hot, too crowded and too smelly for my sensitive nature (I’m a delicate flower- With thorns) and with the budget cutbacks it’s going to get worse, with less trains running and less subway clean up than there is now.

I prefer to walk thank you very much.

I don’t have the same problem with the Path train, but then again I tend to ride the Path on the off hours, not during the rush hour.

That was an eye opener, back in the day when I would ride the Path train in the morning while working for Wolff Olins, aka McMann & Tate, that advertising agency in Soho. The train was insanely crowded and was a factor in my decision to not work there anymore.

The main factor of course was the wanker factor, and also the fact that they knew that having one person at the front desk was too much and that one person (me) would get burned out.

Maybe one or two people from that error I consider friends and I communicate with them through Facebook.

I just had a nice dinner, penne, pesto and chicken again. And once again I followed some of Annemarie’s advice and cooked the chicken and stored it for future use. So now I’m sated.

Spoke with Julio earlier. We talked about taking a walk which will be good to walk off the penne, pesto and chicken. But it looks like it might rain again, which should make everything more humid.

My niece Hillary turned 17 today and she is going to see Green Day at Madison Square Garden. Brian and Karen are going with her and a friend. Thanks to some finagling, they were able to score VIP passes and Brian posted some pics of Hillary with the drummer (Tré Cool) from Green Day on stage before the sound check.

Though Green Day is a band that I don’t follow, it is one of the coolest presents that a teenager could probably ever get. Those pics are on my brother’s Facebook page.

And since they were in Manhattan this afternoon, they weren’t around to get the mail today and since I didn’t put Hillary’s birthday card in the mail until last night, she should get it tomorrow which works out just fine for all concerned I think.

So that’s that for me.

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Bridge

Sunday, May 17th, 2009

Sunday night, the big whoop di doo. Just got back an hour or so from Garfield. My niece’s graduation party. Corinne has graduated from Kean University so kudos and congratulations to her.

It was nice to see my brothers and their families. Of course Annemarie and her family were missing being in California and all, but they will be here in July so we will all have to wait.

My niece Meghan’s husband Rob was an able grillmeister. Brian and Karen were underneath the patio umbrella which was set upon the new patio. Since my last visit Elaine and Frank had some bricks laid down so that was nice.

My other nieces Hillary and Cassie were being teenage girls since they are teenage girls, Hillary is a voracious reader, always a book nearby. Cassie had boys on her mind. My nephew Brian alternated between the barbecue and inside watching TV.

The original plan was to take a train out to Garfield from Hoboken but Bill decided to rent a Zip Car. That made things a lot simpler. No need to pick Bill and I up at the train station.

Bill’s mother was invited but she wasn’t up for it and since it was a bit nippy outside by the barbecue it was for the best that she didn’t join us.

A few of Corinne’s friends were there, they seemed like a nice bunch. Before they arrived they attempted a game of beer pong which didn’t go that well due to the wind.

We all went inside for cake which Brian and Karen and family had to forgo since my nephew had a matter that he needed to attend. That was too bad since they missed a good cake.

Bill and I had a nice ride home, by passing the usual drive up Riverview Avenue where I grew up. That always leaves me with bittersweet feelings. Most of the people that I grew up with have either died or moved on.

Last night I watched most of a 2 disc DVD from the BBC about Glastonbury. Glastonbury is a major rock and roll festival, quite big. It’s been going on for decades, from the beginning with maybe 20,00 people over 3 or 4 days to 300,000 punters.

All the top name UK & US music acts usually perform, R.E.M., Macca, Moz,Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (guess the roster includes Australians), Radiohead and Coldplay. Quite a distance from the Incredible String Band.

It’s pure escapism usually accompanied by tons of mud. It does look like fun though and a pair of Wellies would definitely be recommended. But I fear my days of major rock festivals are over.

The last festival I attended was the first Lollpalooza which didn’t end well. It started off fine, I went with Chaz and Steve Saporito and a few other friends, mainly to see Siouxsie & the Banshees who cancelled that date.

We saw Nine Inch Nails, Living Colour, Butthole Surfers, Ice-T’s Body Count and Rollins Band. It was mediocre at best, still I was entertained.

Things were partially trippy, then the other half was ingested which was a slippery slope.

It was a few months after my mother suddenly died and things were getting dodgy in my conscious mind.

Luckily Steve Saporito talked me down as Jane’s Addiction hit the stage at sundown which in my mind turned the crowd into outtakes from Apocalypse Now. Not a good position to be in, in my state of mind.

On the ride back I kept asking to pull over so I could get a drink to counter the lysergic in my head, which didn’t seem to leave until a day or so later.

All I got was ‘Oh John, you’re such an alcoholic.’

SNL was good last night, Will Farrell hosted and there were a few surprises like Norm McDonald, Maya Rudolph and Amy Poeler as well as Tom Hanks. Green Day was Green Day which was boring. Buzzcocks did it better, but I guess Green Day’s hearts are in the right place.

In the chest under the rib cage.

Corinne, the Graduate

Corinne, the Graduate

Meghan, 2009 Garfield Hall of Fame inductee

Meghan, 2009 Garfield Hall of Fame inductee

Elaine & Frank

Elaine & Frank

Cake Stabbing Corinne

Cake Stabbing Corinne

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Posted in moldies but moodies | No Comments »

Sobabambau

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Well let’s see, at 9:02 I walked through the door. I am home having left the office at 8:00. Not happy at all about that. This shit is fucked up.

I was in the office at 9:30 this morning and 10.5 hours later I was walking out. More of this bullshit. Movie Beam my ass.

I blame Vivek. He has an idea and expects it to become fully formed as soon as the words leave his mouth. His idea that I will be working for his new venture and not the company that hired me, to do a job that I wasn’t hired for is immensely frustrating.

Gone are the days where a friend would call and ask if I knew of anyone looking for a job. I wish that call would come through. But the phone doesn’t ring.

My Korean stalker still calls and leaves messages. She calls and perhaps she’s offering me a job, in Korean.

Not that I would take it.

Luckily I had a sandwich left over from lunch. I had to order for a few visiting lawyers in the office (we’re being sued) and was told to get something for myself.

I had hoped to eat it at home but I wound up wolfing it down while Abby waited in a conference room with no ventilation (they shut off the building ventilation at 5:00PM) and talking either very fast in English or Hindi.

I really couldn’t tell.

Abby’s a good guy, or seems to be and says he runs 2 other businesses. I told him I don’t like this late hour nonsense and he says he understands, he doesn’t like it much either.

I’m busy enough during the day or at least trying to be busy which also takes a lot of energy and by the time I used to go home is when these Movie Beamers start to become active. They wonder why I’m cranky and dragging my ass, muttering under my breath.

And a lot of it involved once again calling up various hotel/motel people telling them I am faxing over a form for them to sign and fax right back.

And of course, they never fax it back, leaving me to call them an hour later, 2 hours later, then finding out that so & so who was supposed to sign it left for the day. Oh the steam comes out of my ears rendering my phone useless.

And I’m s till dealing with my bank card fiasco. Trying to get refunds for shipping the cursed items back to the origin. I might as well eat the shipping charges. Less frustration and it would only cost $7.95.

But this frustration at work, this coming home at 9:00 is bullshit.

It is interesting that once the sun goes down and the trash from delis and restaurants goes to the curbs the rats come out. Saw several this evening on the way home.

Big rats too.

It’s something to watch as they squeeze their way through a closed garage door.

That’s all I have to write about tonight, I’m pretty tired of being frustrated and writing about it is reliving it. I yelled at a coat hanger tonight when I came home.

Oh and my computer died at work today.

Happy 25th Anniversary to Brian & Karen!

Cinco de Mayo!

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Posted in WTF | 2 Comments »

I Believe in You and Me

Friday, October 17th, 2008

Well it’s Friday and I had hoped that I would be fully functional, but no, still in the 90% range. But no, that’s not how it works out. Still I am better than I have been most of the week. I am glad I made the decision to do nothing at all this weekend as opposed to the unconscious decision of not doing anything at all.

Last night I broke my ‘fast’ and watched O & RM. Both were entertaining, mainly with Olbermann in the wings at the Letterman show, looking like he was ready to jump in after Biff Henderson measured the size of his ample skull.

And Rachel Maddow had live clips from the Alfred E. Smith dinner at the Waldorf Astoria featuring John McCain and Barack Obama making fun of each other. It was actually very funny, Bill and I were laughing out loud. Whoever wrote their lines did a great job.

Went to sleep and didn’t beat Bill up again which was nice, I know he appreciated it. He was up and out once again leaving me to sleep for a few minutes before I stirred and got out of bed. Had some coffee, showered and was soon at the bus stop.

Missed my usual bus which Casey might have been on if he didn’t catch the bug I may have accidentally given him.

On my way across town this morning I was prepared in case Obama was still around. He wasn’t staying at the Marriott like I thought, he was staying at the W Hotel. Sure enough he spent the night at the hotel.

I had my camera out and loitered on the sidewalk making small talk with a security guard at a smaller hotel next door. She was ready with her cellphone camera. I wound up standing around for 45 minutes then told to stand behind a barricade far away enough to totally miss Barack Obama getting into his car. So once again I got pictures of secret service agents and detectives who were a lot more interesting to look at yesterday.

Work was quiet yet again. I was able to get a birthday card out to my brother Frank for his birthday on Sunday. After lunch and finishing whatever tasks I had I was out on the street at 3:00.

Walked across town, got on the bus and was soon back in Hoboken, where I am now- doing laundry. Had a phone call from Vivek who was trying to figure out how to use the scanner. I tried talking him through it finally telling him that it was pretty much intuitive and he could figure it out.

Just found out that Levi Stubbs of the Four Tops passed away in his sleep at 72. He had a great voice and I always had a soft spot for the Tops, more so than the Temptations. When Bill and I started going out, one Sunday when I knew Bill would be rehearsing at his church, I decided to surprise him.

I got dressed up in a suit and tie and rode into the city from Weehawken. He was surprised to see me and after talking he went to the piano and started playing a song, I Believe in You & Me. My first thought was, ‘oh god, what a corny song’ since I was more familiar with the Whitney Houston version and not the Four Tops even though it was the wedding song for my brother Brain and his wife Karen years before.

Bill really put his heart and soul into it, he’s such a joy to watch when he’s playing the piano and singing. By the end of the song I had tears running down my face. It’s sort of ‘our song’ now with Bill sometimes sending me text messages saying ‘I believe n u & me’ which is still sweet years later.

Here’s a clip that I found on YouTube after finding out about Levi’s passing. Very touching, have the tissues ready.

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Posted in Wonderful World Beautiful People | 3 Comments »