Posts Tagged ‘Cigar’

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I Have The Touch

Wednesday, March 7th, 2012

Finally back at home after a long day. I suppose the long day started last night when I was going to bed. As I was getting into the bed, a small voice in the back of my head said ‘you should check to see if you are opening the cigar shack tomorrow’. I didn’t pay any attention to it and soon was fast asleep.

Bill was above me a few hours later giving me a kiss goodbye and I went back to sleep. The alarm was set for 8:00 and I figured that it was a normal day with me headed in to the cigar shack at the usual time of 11:30. But the small voice was a bit larger this morning and I was compelled to listen to it, so I got out of bed, walked over to computer and pulled up the schedule.

It turned out that I was opening the cigar shack this morning after all, meaning I had to be there by 9:30 to open at 10:00. I got myself together, quick shower and shave, fast bowl of cereal, one cup of really good coffee that Bill made and after putting on a suit & tie with shoes & socks I was out the door, headed down the stairs.

Much to my surprise there was a line of people waiting for the bus. The 9:15 bus. I knew I wasn’t going to make it at 9:30 and hoped I would be there by 10:00. The bus filled up and we flew through the tunnel, a slight delay underground, someone tapped someone else’s bumper. Nothing major but slowed things down enough for me to send a text to Zack that I was stuck in the tunnel.

The schedule said he was going to be in as well so I wasn’t worried as I hustled through the bus terminal and out on the street. I wisely decided to hoof it up to the cigar shack since the subway is so undependable and I did not need that stress. I made it to the cigar shack at 9:55 which wasn’t that bad. A regular customer was waiting outside and I let him in, glad to have some company.

Zack phoned a bit frantic. Apparently he was not coming in at his usual time, he was at the doctor’s office and worried that I was going to be very late. I reassured him that it was all good, no worries and set about starting and opening the cigar shack and counting the registers.

Bradley soon made it in about an hour later and like I’d written before, he’s been alright now that he is the assistant manager and he was pretty funny once again. Thomas came in a little while after that and he wasn’t too happy. He had gone out the night before with a customer, had a few drinks and was feeling angry since his commission check wasn’t all that he had hoped it would be.

I was satisfied with mine but then again I did have top sales in February. He didn’t do so bad either and I did remind him that the numbers he adds up in his head aren’t necessarily the numbers they crunch at the headquarters. The day was busy enough, Zack eventually made it in and was hidden away in his office.

The man cave was bustling as usual. It was a nice day, warm enough to sit on a bench near the park and enjoy life going by as I enjoyed a small cigar. I was back at the shack and made it through the day unscathed. Glad to be home and happy to know that my hours will be back to normal tomorrow.





bus queue


02 Wax And Wane

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I May Hate You Sometimes

Tuesday, November 16th, 2010

Last night was a good night on TV. Weeds had it’s season finale and it was the best episode of the season. It was followed by the season finale of The Big C and that was very very good. Perhaps The Big C is the most moving show on TV.

Laura Linney can do no wrong in my book and her oncologist is mad cute. A scene involving Laura Linney’s character Cathy’s son was just perfect. Got me all misty. He was such a douche bag throughout the season, perhaps playing your typical teenager, but last night he was on point.

As good as Weeds was, The Big C gets the top honor. It should win some awards down the line. I highly recommend viewing it when it comes out on DVD.

And Gregg Gillis broke the Internets with his Girl Talk release. I was able to download the entire mp3, mixed as one track, but I cannot get the breakdown of individual tracks. I have to say that I am not digging All Day as much as I dug Feed the Animals.

That might be because I don’t know the samples as I did the samples on previous Girl Talk releases, and maybe it is because there’s a lot more metal and gangster rap on it. I’m not writing it off totally. There’s still a chance it could grow on me. It’s just not as clever as Feed the Animals.

I went to bed while Bill was on his way home from the awards ceremony in Harlem. He was part of a group award for his stage managing for Pekong, a play I saw up in Harlem earlier this year. I didn’t get a chance to see Bill in his tuxedo much to his dismay.

I woke up the morning around 6:00 to relieve myself and saw Bill getting dressed. I wasn’t sure if he just got home, but he told me he was home and slept for a few hours and now it was time for him to go to work.

Today was a rainy Tuesday. But not steady enough to warrant an umbrella. I had one just in case. I headed into the city and saw Bill again. I stopped by his office to pick up some fresh copies of the resume, tailor made for this evening receptionist position.

I am so fortunate to have a good man like Bill at my side. He’s so supportive in so many ways and I am so grateful. I made it to the interview early once again and filled out whatever forms they asked me to fill out.

I had to take a typing and grammar test again and today I typed about 30 words per minute, 15 words less that the last time and I was in bad shape last time. No shower in the morning left me quite groggy. Today with a hot shower and some coffee I did less than I expected. Grammar was OK though, I scored 95%.

After the testing, I met with Amy who was very nice and answered all of her questions. It went well and I left there after about an hour. I decided to drop in on Greg Stevens unannounced. I made my way up his floor and ran into Deborah who works with Greg’s wife.

She told me that Mr. & Mrs. Stevens were in Arizona where they maintain a second house. And have their photograph taken with John McCain. I chatted with Deborah and Jennifer for a few minutes before I headed back to the Path train.

I got a message that the people I interviewed with want to see me again tomorrow so that’s been scheduled for tomorrow morning at 9:30. Then it’s back to the cigar shop.

When I got back home I got a phone call from a recruiter that I used to email every Monday morning. I didn’t this week and here he was calling me up for another position.

When it rains it pours.

♫ Meet Cathy who's lived most everywhere...♪

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I’ll Cry Alone

Monday, November 15th, 2010

It’s now Monday. It’s been a good 24 hours mostly. There was some difficulty getting back to Hoboken last night. One bus is late and that creates a backlog. I hustled to get from the cigar shop to the bus terminal and made it in good time, but I was surprised to find a line snaking around the corner on the second floor.

It wasn’t that bad, actually. The line moved rather fast and when I got onto the bus, I was annoyed by the fact that some choice seating was taken up by a young woman with one of those suitcases that you drag around.

The suitcase was a little bit larger than the young woman. And across from the young woman with the suitcase was a larger woman, larger than the suitcase. It made for an interesting scene, with the Inmates cover of Dirty Water playing in my head.

Came home where Bill greeted me at the door like he has for the past few days. We watched Boardwalk Empire and Bored to Death. Boardwalk Empire was good as usual, gets better with each episode and Bored to Death was charmingly funny as it usually is.

Bill went to bed after that and I stayed up not watching anything in particular. I went to bed a little after midnight. Slept alright and woke up a little later than usual. Went to the cleaners, the supermarket and the bagel shop all before noon.

Spoke with Bill who was working today. I sent Connie a birthday card and walked around Hoboken this afternoon, stopping by the Guitar Bar and chatting with Mr. Wonderful Jim Mastro. He just played a few dates with Ian Hunter.

He asked if I saw Richard Barone at Maxwells this weekend and I told him I hadn’t. I’m simply not interested in seeing Richard Barone anymore. I would have rather seen Ian Hunter in any event, but I had to work.

I walked around the waterfront, nobody I knew there except for the usual panhandlers who don’t get anything from me these days. They seem resentful. I walked onto the latest pier in Hoboken, one that was supposed to be open during the summer. Better late than never I guess.

I enjoyed a cigar as I walked around. Bill mentioned that he had some shirts that needed to go to the cleaners so it was a return trip back there. He’s off to an awards show in the New York State Office Building on 125th Street tonight.

While I was on the pier, I received the number 212-123-4567. I recognized the number as the number that comes up when the last staffing agency that I signed up with calls. I decided not to take the call and a few minutes later I was notified on a voice mail.

Apparently the last position I interviewed for was back in play and the company wanted to meet with me. I called back the agency and now I have an interview tomorrow at 10:00. I was told by the recruiter that the interview might last 2 hours, and I might meet more than one person.

I got off the phone with the recruiter and called Bill and told him. I had forgotten the fact that the position was for the 5:30PM until 1:00AM shift. That’s doable, it will take an adjustment, but it can be done. More importantly it’s for a little more money and it is a Monday through Friday job.

I told Bill that it was funny, I become settled in the job that I have at the cigar shop and decide to stop looking for a new position until next year and I get a call with regards to a new job. I also told Bill that I was feeling a bit guilty, thinking of leaving the cigar shop right before the holidays, and also thinking of Don who is leaving this weekend.

Once again I am getting ahead of myself, not knowing what tomorrow will hold, as usual.

There is a new Girl Talk release, available for free at http://illegal-art.net/allday/ . It might take a while since it’s quite popular.

Tonight I am going to put a cover on Hyman Gross’ air conditioner. He’s been after me for a while. I told him that 8:30 would be the cut off for me to come over. Quite an arbitrary time, but I do have to do some research for the interview tomorrow morning.


Girl Talk



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I’m All Over It

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

What a beautiful day it has been. Simply splendid. Nice weather, not humid, an occasional breeze.

I slept soundly last night. Bill didn’t. When we left East LA last night it was cool and breezy and the comment was made about having the windows open while we slept. I was hesitant, figuring it that it still might be too hot.

But when I finally went to bed, Bill had the air conditioner on. I decided to turn it off and open the window. I don’t know if the open window prevented Bill from a good night’s sleep, but I think it helped me. I suppose we’ll continue the experiment tonight and see how that goes.

I was up hours after Bill left, and after breakfast and showering I dropped off a suit at the Cary’s Dry Cleaners and went to the bibliothèque. On the way I spoke to Pedro who got back from South Beach the other day.

He had a blast and recommended that I visit there some day. Unlikely, but I did not say no.

In the bibliothèque, Diane the librarian, remembered a DVD she recommended the other day, Role Models starring Paul Rudd. So I picked that up.

But my main thing was the fact that a book about the Beatles, You Never Give Me Your Money by Peter Doggett finally came in. It was released earlier this month and for once BCCLS did not say it was too new, like the message I got when I requested Iggy & the Stooges Raw Power remaster. And I requested it from the Hoboken bibliothèque.

So far so good with regards to the Beatle book. The prologue was all about 8 December 1980, how Paul was shocked, George wouldn’t answer the phone and Ringo was drunk. Cynthia Lennon was staying with Maureen Cox, Ringo’s ex when she got the call.

John’s Aunt Mimi was in bed drifting in and out of sleep, listening to the BBC World Service and not know if she was dreaming or not when she heard about John’s brutal murder. That was the prologue, not I’m in chapter one, where Brian Epstein has died and the Fabs are starting up Apple Corps. The book promises to be full of Apple juice and so far I’ve been entertained.

I sat by the river and read, smoking a cigar. The sweet Karen Kuhl stopped by for a minute. She’s playing the Pier 13 show tomorrow night, but I won’t be able to make it since it ends at 10:00 and I won’t be getting to Hoboken after work until 10:00.

She’s also unsure if she could make the party in 12 days (!), and that’s too bad since I had hoped she’d sing a song or two from the Gutbank days. She’s unsure like I said so who knows? She just might. Then Karen split and Rand pulled up on his bike, and we had a nice chat as well.

It was almost like a talk show, I’m on a bench and a few friends stop by for a chat. Simple premise. It could be done I suppose. I’d be willing to do it on Public Access, even in the winter and in the rain.

It would be a surreal affair and with me being me, I don’t see how it could be any other way.

I always wanted to have a talk show. I remember way back, growing up and sitting in mounds of snow with Donna Foglio and playing talk show. I wanted to be Mike Douglas and she was a reluctant Totie Fields.

A Beautiful Day in Hoboken

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This Wheel’s on Fire

Saturday, October 24th, 2009

Today is all about the damp and the rain. I knew it was going to be this way and was prepared. Ah foresight! Why hadn’t I used that before? I went out a few times before it started to rain so human contact was completed early on.

Bill’s been home all day as well, so while he’s watching the TV and shredding documents and papers, I’ve been on his Mac. Hopefully not too much longer since my computer is now at Rand’s apartment.

Brought it over on Thursday night before heading to McSwells in an Ikea bag they were handing out at the Art & Music Festival last month.

So while keeping out of Bill’s way I watched a movie that Roda recommended a while back. It’s called The Fall and it has nothing to do with Mark E. Smith. It was directed by Tarsem who is most known for directing the R.E.M. video, Losing My Religion.

It’s definitely a beautiful film with lush locations and fantastic images. The story doesn’t hold up to the images. It’s not bad though and worth seeing. I also watched the ‘making of ‘ documentary, which showed the difficulty in directing child actors.

You can see Tarsem climbing the walls trying to get the 6 year old girl to cry or say her lines just the way the director wants them to be said.

Tonight Bill and I are going to watch ‘Go Tell it on the Mountain’ adapted from James Baldwin’s classic novel and starring Paul Winfield and Olivia Cole. I’d only seen a short clip of it on a James Baldwin documentary and I’m looking forward to seeing the rest of it.

It all depends on whether the Yankees game will go on. It’s raining out right now with flashes of lightning. I personally don’t care either way.

I can easily watch the DVD on Bill’s Mac like I had done earlier today. I’ve been in front of the computer screen most of the day anyway.

I do not like the new Facebook layout. It updates by itself, but I preferred doing the updating. And when you hit home the page from a few hours comes up. Then if you hit it again it’s more current. Me no like. Me wish they asked whether or not I wanted it done.

Of course being online most of the day, yesterday and today, I noticed the initial change yesterday. I don’t see anyone else complaining about, nor do I hear the scratching of heads.

Just heard from Annemarie in Ashland, OR where she is having high tea on the porch of a Bed & Breakfast. Just Annemarie and a friend getting out of Arcata to look at Mount Shasta and the surrounding area.

She deserves a break from Rex and Earl I suppose. She did sound a bit disappointed in the fact that I hadn’t done much of anything today, due to the weather.

Now lightning flashes again. No word on whether the Yankees will be playing. I’m sure their fans are out in the rain waiting at the stadium. Even if I was a fan, being nice and cozy and dry here in Hoboken is much more preferable.

I just asked Bill if he would go to the Bronx if he had tickets. The short answer is, yes. He would be in the Bronx wearing a rain poncho.

Of course his initial answer involved a bus. I had to put the brakes on that, fast. I apparently needed to rephrase the question without any bus involvement even though there wasn’t any reference to begin with.

If you had a ticket, would you have taken the subway to the Bronx, in the rain to see the Yankees tonight?

The wheels keep turning.

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August Day

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Well today is Saturday, I figured that out by myself. Bill is here and we’ve been cooped up all day. It’s been raining on and off but I was able to get out for an hour or so.

So I walked by the river and sat, reading the New Yorker and enjoying a cigar. Deep sea diving without scuba apparatus is not on my list of things to do. That was one of the articles I read.

The other was a pretty funny piece by David Sedaris about going to Australia as well as about living with his father when he was growing up and singing a song about the Kookaburra bird with his sister Amy.

It was funny until he was smacked with a fraternity paddle by his father after being told to go to bed 3 times. Ah memories.

Not much of anything going on today, just waiting for the next rainstorm I guess. The cicadas are still doing their thing and it’s quite humid out.

I have some DVD’s from Netflix that Bill and I are planning on watching tonight. One is the Luis Bunuel directed version of Robinson Crusoe.

The other is John Huston’s production of Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood, but I think Bill would be more interested in the third DVD, The Panic in Needle Park.

My Uncle Joseph lived in the Bronx for a time and called basically any NYC playground Needle Park. When visiting we would sometimes go play in Needle Park, or what he said was Needle Park.

It didn’t sound charming but it was somewhere to go while the adults kibbutzed. I’ve never seen the movie before but it should be an interesting period piece of Manhattan starring a young Al Pacino.

Right now we’re watching the end of The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. I pointed out former Chicago politician, now US Senator Roland Burris in the St. Patrick’s Day parade.

I’m just waiting for the Janitor from Scrubs to make his appearance as the cop on the train. They even mentioned it in an episode of Scrubs a few years ago.

Today is also my sister’s birthday! Happy birthday to Annemarie! Tried calling at my usual weekend time but there was now answer so Bill & I left a nice happy birthday greeting accompanied by Altered Images singing Happy Birthday.

I’ll be giving a call later so hopefully Bill and I can sing live rather than committing to tape. That’s what I think would be preferable, don’t you?

No other plans for the evening and what I do tomorrow would depend on the weather as well. I’m hoping for a nice day. I guess a trip to Central Park would be nice.

Now Harpy is on the phone, bemoaning the fact that it’s so humid. As if it wasn’t humid here in the swamplands of Hoboken. But it’s an outlet for him and I’m glad to oblige. It gives him a cooler head somewhat which is good for him and the rest of Washington Heights I suppose.

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