Posts Tagged ‘David Sedaris’

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.

Tags:, , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Abstract Absurdist Otherness | 1 Comment »

You Can’t Catch Me

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Well it was back to Southampton today, boarding the White Star Line for the HMS Titanic. Deck chairs all in in disarray. Someone needs to tidy them up, put them in their proper places and it might as well be me.

They have told me that I will have this job until next March, but of course there could always be an iceberg between now and then, between here and there. Today was nothing extraordinary. I was alive, which was a good thing (depending on who you talk to) I guess.

Bill was up before me, and he bellowed that it was 6:45 and his bellowing was more effective than an alarm clock. I shuffled past Bill as he gussied himself up in the mirror, and jumped into the shower. I was out in time to kiss him good bye.

He reminded me he has a sleep apnea test tomorrow night so he won’t be around. It’s a sleep over thing. My brother Frank did it last week and he complained how uncomfortable it was.

I spoke with Frank for an hour this morning which shows how busy I’ve been. There was the usual initial difficulty in connecting but it lasted only about a minute. We talked about a wide range of things. He finds talking to me therapeutic which is fine by me.

We made plans for me to take a train out to Garfield on Friday to play guitars together. I’ll take a train out there, we’ll play and he can drop me off at the train station so I can get back to Hoboken and beat the rush hour. I’m not as intimidated as I used to be.

Playing guitar in front of him was nerve wracking for me at times. A few years ago Bill and I drove out there during the holidays and I brought my guitar. It turned out he wasn’t into playing guitar. I tried showing him a Beatles song that I had taught myself, so proud I was, only to find him saying, that’s not how it goes.

It sounded fine to me. No, I didn’t play the Fmaj7, instead choosing a simple F barre chord. I was discouraged and put the guitar away. Last time this past holiday season I tried it again, with his guitar, played my version of Nick Lowe’s So It Goes, as well as Macca’s Maybe I’m Amazed and he was intrigued enough to suggest getting together and playing sometime.

So I guess that time will be this Friday. Since he had the stroke he hasn’t played that much and I guess he’s itching to play with someone. Even his baby brother. I’m looking forward to it and will bring a few songbooks out.

I reassured him that playing Graham Parker’s Squeezing out Sparks is easy to play since most of the songs are 3 or 4 chords. I’ll even show him some websites that have chords to songs that wouldn’t be in the songbooks.

I took the Path train back to Hoboken this evening, enjoying a Padron on the way. Chuckled out loud on the train as I was reading David Sedaris which probably raised a few eyebrows but I didn’t see them since my nose was buried in the book.

Nice walk back home in the chilly spring air. Saw Stine with Alexander and I was more than glad to help her out by carrying Alexander up to their apartment. Of course I was nervous, ‘don’t drop the baby…careful…now wouldn’t be a good time to fall down’ all running in my head.

Of course I had the camera available and took some shots of Superboy who is now walking, a bit like a drunken sailor, but still- he’s walking. And saying ‘Oooo’ every now and then.

32309-alexander-001

32309-alexander-012

32309-alexander-015

Me and Superboy

Me and Superboy


Jeezy Creezy- I love this kid!

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in So how's band camp? | No Comments »

Atomic Moog 2000

Thursday, March 12th, 2009

Well So Happy It’s Thursday is an apt acronym. It fits. Last night, thanks to Harpy’s heads up, telling me that Lost was a repeat I watched part of Religulous, the Bill Maher documentary about religion. Maher is predictably snarky through out and I have to give him some reluctant credit, going up to people and asking them questions that I would love to ask but never have the opportunity.

Plus I’m too nice a guy to be so snarky. And I don’t have a film crew and or some security behind the camera. It was ok. Bill came home after seeing his mother in the hospital a little before 10:00 and asked to watch Lawn Hors d’oeuvre which was fine by me. I could easily jump back into the Bill Maher DVD whenever I want to.

It was a return to the old days with Bill and I watching TV together. It was an ok episode though. Still haven’t caught on to the current cast like Bill has. He went to bed after that and I watched the Daily Show which was funny as ever with Paul Rudd as his guest. Tonight though he has James Cramer as the guest.

Jon Stewart has been riffing on CNBC and especially James Cramer, deservedly so. Tonight Bill is staying in Stuyvesant Town after visiting his mother again. He has a stress test at 7:15 in the morning and doesn’t want to be late. He didn’t ask for me to go with him, though my sister Annemarie thinks that I should.

Bill is ok with the fact that I’m not going. He knows it’s way too early for me, that it would involve me getting up around 5:30 to hop on a bus and get to 59th street for the appointment. He’d rather go by himself. I didn’t put up any argument.

Work was the quietest it’s been lately. The right wing subtenants were all out at meetings, Vivek still out. I had to send info regarding flights back from Florida yesterday for him and his business partner and I hope he got the info. I haven’t heard otherwise, not that that eases my mind.

No email, no voice mail. And since I won’t be back in the office until Monday, if there is anything to be said I should hear it then.

31209-jot-nyc-011

I did my best to look natty today. I wore my sharkskin suit and the Ben Sherman skinny tie I bought yesterday Sort of my Mad Men look. I think I looked nice. Bill said so this afternoon when I stopped by his office building and he came down for a few minutes.

I puffed on a Padron, Siouxsie & the Banshees with Monitor all queued up as Bill and I talked about the stress test. No big deal for him though he did appreciate Annemarie’s concern. He told me not to worry about it.

Pleasant enough bus ride home, reading David Sedaris “When You Are Engulfed in Flames” which is always a macabre chuckle. Tonight promises to be quiet, just TV. Bill in Stuyvesant Town, me in Hoboken.

31209-jot-nyc-012

Tags:, , , , , , ,
Posted in So how's band camp? | 6 Comments »

Rise and Shine

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

Well today was a weird day for sure. I was fine, Tom Chin was out after having words with Vivek (who has the flu). A 2 day work week for Tom Chin, sitting at home in a form of protest. Vivek is a screamer. He never screamed at me, but he is a bit of a spoiled brat.

Rich family you see. Never really had to struggle for anything. He phoned this afternoon, telling me he wasn’t coming in until after 4:00 since the market was tanking and he feels like he should see all of his stocks. And also I could go whenever I saw fit.

In the office today, it was Greg Stevens and myself for my team. The right wing nuts were in again though. They love to listen to the psychotic voice mails my stalker leaves me. This morning it was about how she hates my father and my brother and how I should fire that evil French guy.

So Frank, Brian and Henri (or Pierre or Alain or Jacques), be on guard. Crazy Korean chick is on the loose and she’s gunning for you!

I was finished with whatever it is I had to do around 1:30, then I just surfed the next 2 hours. Believe me, I would rather have had something to do. I did finish Sarah Vowell’s The Wordy Shipmates.

It was ok. Couldn’t get into it as easily as I did her other books. She seems like someone I’d like to have a pint with though. And it was a day late, so I was out $0.10. It was a good book, not her best.

I think I’ll take out David Sedaris’ last book, What to do When Engulfed in Flames next. I enjoy his essays more than his non-fiction. I hated most of Holidays on Ice. Just felt so forced. His life story is more entertaining.

Myself, I can’t tell a joke to save my life, but I could tell you about something that happened to me and more than likely you would be laughing.

Oh that damned liberal media, tearing apart President Obama’s mortgage plans. Let the people lose their homes! Let empty houses stand in neighborhoods! Why should there be a safety net? Who are we? Our brother’s keeper?

That was the lead on NBC News with Brian Williams announced by Michael Douglas, a financial reporter in the Chicago Mercantile exchange spurting angrily about the economic plan.

Damned liberal media! Nothing should be done! Let things correct themselves! After all Wall Street did such an excellent job of policing themselves thanks to Reagan and his deregulation initiatives. And no one complained then!

Sure someone would have to pick up the tab, isn’t that why there are children’s children’s children? I know it’s convoluted and perhaps a bit Swiftian.

Something has to be done immediately and what I believe Obama is doing is what is best at this moment. I work alongside some of these Wall Streeters who are vehemently anti-Obama, but they offer no solutions, just towing the republican line, tax cuts.

Tomorrow’s Friday which is something to look forward to, I hope.

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in Mood Mambo | 2 Comments »