Posts Tagged ‘Lois DiLivio’

« Older Entries

I Am Loved

Wednesday, December 1st, 2010

Back at work today. Woke up to a maelstrom outside my window. Definitely a day to sleep in and how I would have loved to have done that. But no, some misguided sense of duty called and I just had to answer that call.

I granted myself about 15 extra minutes of sleep which eventually amounted to about 10 minutes. What I bargained with for those extra minutes I have no idea but something would come up eventually no doubt.

Last night I should have gone to see Lois DiLivio performing in a shop window on Washington Street, one of the few shops I did not apply to. I thought about going, and thought about not going but once I was settled in at home, it was extremely doubtful that I would head out again. My loss, truly.

Just one picture from Lisa Rigoux Hoppe’s camera made me realize that I should have at least made an appearance. Regardless, home is where I stayed, waiting for Bill to come home from the Nuyorican Poet’s Cafe, a celebration for Miguel Algarin.

By the time he came home I fell into the comfortable rabbit hole of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Yes, I own the super deluxe version but this was so comfortable and familiar that I opted to watch it.

Bill walked in, tired and happy to be home. He did some computer stuff on his iPad or Mac Book or possibly both before he went to bed. I stayed up and watched the Simpsons before I went to bed. I should have taken a melatonin like I did the other day and like I did a few months ago.

Things were going well for a while but lately I’ve been stressed and my sleeping has been a bit fitful, so a melatonin tablet is on the menu.

Got a text from my brother Brian this morning as I was getting ready to go to work. He was 2 blocks away. I would have loved to have met up with him, but no, it wasn’t in the cards. He did warn me about the maelstrom and told me to be careful and I told him the same.

I walked up to Washington Street, to the bus stop and called Bill as I waited. He was his usual effervescent self and I was the usual grouchy baby on the other end. After getting off the phone with Bill I decided to call my brother Frank to see how he was.

It ended badly once again with Frank last week and figured I might catch him at a moment when songs from Sweeney Todd weren’t being sung. The songs weren’t being sung, but he had no time as he was heading out the door for an appointment.

He did mention that he was worried about me and I told him I knew that. I didn’t say it was from Annemarie telling me.

Soon I was at the cigar shop working alongside the Bradley. Let’s face it, there is no love lost between us. It was sort of fun working at the cigar shop when Raymond and Don were working there, but they’re no longer around and the only fun comes from Sean who works part time.

It was a long day and there was the Big Smoke event going on a few blocks away this evening. The Big Smoke to-do is a show where cigar makers as well as scotch makers hand out free cigars and samplings of scotch all for the admission of $250.00 in advance, $265.00 at the door. Some cigar makers did stop by the cigar shop and blessed the staff with free cigars which was quite nice.

Marcus hung around the cigar shop most of the afternoon making things a bit uptight. He eventually left, leaving Sean and the Bradley and myself to man the shop. And it’s been not as busy as it’s been the past few weeks.

The Bradley left later than usual hanging out with David Dexterport, a fairly regular customer. I have to admit, I enjoyed chatting with David Dexterport in the past but now I’ve been superseded by the Bradley. That’s the way things turn out I suppose.

As I got my ducks lined up to close the store and make that 10:30 bus the cigar shop door opened and I thought to myself, ‘Wow, that guy looks just like Marcus.’ It was Marcus. He was coming back from the Big Smoke event with yet another cigar maker who blessed Sean and myself with cigars once again.

I flew down to the bus terminal, a few steps removed from my closing the store since Marcus was there to finish what I could not do since he was staying behind. Made it to the bus terminal, next to last passenger before the doors closed.

And now here I am, at home in Hoboken on the mainland.

Dedicated to Jet Watley.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in Shed a tear | No Comments »

I Can See Your Future

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Yesterday was Sunday, today is Monday. Yesterday I had off, today I worked. Tomorrow I have off again. I loathe this retail scheduling. But that is the nature of the beast. I did laundry yesterday, some grocery shopping, cooked food and walked around Hoboken with my friend Lois.

It was a nice time spent with Lois, went to CVS, Rite Aid and Burlington Coat Factory. Lois bought some trousers for her husband Fred. I tried on a belt which left me to think I lost two inches on my waist rather than the one inch I originally thought I had lost.

I suppose it’s from standing around on my feet for nine hours a day and not eating much these days. I noticed the not eating much on Thanksgiving when the first trip to the buffet proved to be enough, but I would be damned if I wasn’t going to get my money’s worth.

I had envisioned my usual stroll around Hoboken with Lois, walking just north of the Lipton Tea building, along the water’s edge down to Pier A or so. I think Lois had other ideas because after the Burlington Coat Factory, she had wanted to go home.

I enjoy Lois and have been friends with her for almost 30 years, but yesterday it was hard to connect with her. That could be because I hardly ever go out and socialize. I am generally so tired after working that the last thing I want to do is have contact with people.

On Saturday night, while Bill was in Atlantic City he asked if I wanted to have breakfast with him at Stacks on Sunday morning. I would have loved to normally, but I said that it was my day off and I really would rather just stay at home and not deal with crowds of loud and noisy people.

Rand invited me over for a cocktail a few weeks ago and I begged off. It was an open ended invitation, I could come over anytime or so that is what I believed. But I haven’t called or gone over for a drink. After a ten hour shift, I’d really rather just go home.

And just like now, I am home. I get home around 11:00. I hustle on down the street after closing the cigar shop, tonight’s soundtrack was courtesy of Hot Chip, in 13 minutes 28 seconds.

Just 26 days left of this nonsense, 26 days until Jesus’ birthday. 26 days of holiday hours. Granted I won’t be working all of those 26 days, probably 19 of those days I have to work. I am off tomorrow, then it’s 5 days of work, then another day off.

I am looking forward to the day off though. Already I have plans to make, like seeing another recruiter. Right now I am filling out an online application, which is totally pointless since they already have my resume.

But it’s what they want, and who am I to deny them that?

Tags:,
Posted in What's for Dinner? | No Comments »

I’m Gonna Be A Teenage Idol

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

And it was back to work for me today. Thanks to Annemarie, I remember to live in the present. I’m trying to stop looking back at the past, thinking that ‘things were so much better then’. They may have been but they don’t exist anymore and there’s no going back.

At the beach yesterday, I found myself thinking about the future, specifically today. Today meaning work. Thanks to Annemarie I snapped out of it. She’s good like that. And it was thinking like that, that had me prepared to face today. And it wasn’t so bad after all.

Lately my mantra has been, ‘At least you have a job’. True, the pay could be better, the hours could be better, but this is the situation I am in and I have to make the most of it.

My computer has been acting up. Right now it says there is no internet connection, but I know there is one. It’s been difficult to upload pictures and videos, mainly of the party on Sunday.

I have Jon & Deena of the Cucumbers singing My Boyfriend, I have Tim & Lily of the Street Corner Mourners singing an old Irish Folk song “I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day” and “Thirteen” by Big Star.

I don’t know if I have Bob Pierson singing Roy Orbison’s Sweet Dreams Baby and I don’t think I have my performance of the Fabs’ All My Loving or Bill singing Picture in a Frame by Tom Waits, accompanied by Lois DiLivio.

Maybe I do. It’s just that the computer is so slow. It’s been slow since the heat wave last week.

I did see Rand this morning at the bus stop. He was actually there to see me, but as I met him, my bus pulled up and I got on it and Rand walked. I’m sure if he ran alongside we could have had a quick little chat, but it didn’t matter since I couldn’t open the windows enough.

The day went by as it generally does. At first it was waiting for Marcus to leave, then waiting for Calvin to go home. There was a difference of 7 hours between the former leaving and the latter going home.

I had a cigar at lunch, a $25.00 cigar and since it was raining, I actually ate in the backroom with some customers, and had a nice chat with Mona about the far right and their wish to turn this country into a theocracy.

We talked about our spouses as well, she being hitched to a woman from Holland and me with what’s his name, Bill.

I made a deal with Don Birch and I counted the safe while he closed the register. That made me out of the store at 9:05. According to iTunes I made it from the shop to the bus terminal in 13.5 minutes.

But that is an error since I didn’t start playing the Talking Heads ‘Naked’ album until I got a block away and the third song, Totally Nude ended when I set foot on the corner of 42nd Street and Eight Avenue.

So it wasn’t really leaving the shop and entering the terminal, but it was close though. And 13.5 minutes to walk down 15 blocks isn’t so bad either.

Good ol' what's his name....Bill.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in What are you looking at? | No Comments »

For Emma

Wednesday, May 19th, 2010

Once again it’s been a day unlike any other. I’ve written that before, but not today. The day has been a bit odd. But of course there’s a back history which could be related to the oddness.

First off, when I wrote what I wrote on Monday I was hurt and bitter and on top of all that, resentful. My only recourse it seemed to me was to write about.

Let’s face it, my day is so dull that I will write about anything that seems worthwhile. Or not worthwhile actually.

Mike Neutron told me about some recording studio that 2 friends of mine had been in, and hearing it from Mike and not the friends, to not be asked to participate hurt me somewhat.

I didn’t do anything harsh except for writing and for once I didn’t name names or use pseudonyms. I waited for the other shoe to drop, thinking that one of the two would have read what I wrote and tell the other.

Some feedback perhaps, but nothing was forthcoming. Texts that were sent over the past few days have gone without any replies. Still, it stings a bit. I spoke with Bill about it and he was understanding and suggested letting some time pass.

So what if the plan to be used as a radio announcer for a CD has fallen by the wayside? It wouldn’t be the first time they’d made plans and asked me to participate. Next time I shouldn’t be so eager to join in, I should just remain aloof and noncommittal.

It’s just that I have this free time which might not last for long.

It’s been yet another cloudy and gray day and I sat by the river, enjoying a cigar and reading the newspaper. That’s where I spoke with Bill on the phone.

I walked along the waterfront and saw Tariq was back. I hadn’t seen him in about a month, and I have to admit I was a bit worried.

He knows some unsavory types and I hoped nothing happened to him. It turned out he’s been busy and playing in the city and dealing with the situation at the Monroe Center in Hoboken where he and his girlfriend have studio space. The center is bankrupt and has been on thin ice for a number of years.

It was good to see him and once again he handed me his guitar and asked me to play. So I played Shame Shame Shame by Shirley and Company which brought him way back to the 1970′s.

He loved it and sang back up. I sang since I don’t sing when I am by myself. Then I played Love Shack by the B-52′s and he was really happy. He went off for a spell and I sat and strummed his guitar.

When he came back, he had a fifth of vodka tucked in his jacket and when I said I was going home to eat lunch he begged me to do another song. This time I sang Instant Karma and a little bit of Hi Hi Hi.

Tariq asked me to play (Love is Like a) Heatwave but I didn’t know all the chords. I almost brought my songbooks with me when I was leaving my apartment earlier but opted not to since I wasn’t bringing my guitar and in one of those notebooks were the chords to Heatwave.

Someone he knows, very high strung, tie dyed shirt, leather vest and dungarees rolled up to his shins and perhaps a bit wired stopped by and asked Tariq something. Tariq didn’t have the answer the guy wanted to hear and the guy wouldn’t give Tariq a cigarette and spun on his heel and jumped into his pick up truck and drove off fast.

I started some guitar improv again and Tariq loved it, so much so he would stomp his feet and laugh in tears. Apparently I have a skill. Just singing about people heading home from work, or after shopping or just pushing baby strollers around.

The people like it, Tariq loves it and I can’t seem to do it unless someone I know is sitting nearby. I must have done that for about 20 minutes or so. I even sang about people smoking cigarettes and in the song I’d ask them to give Tariq a cigarette since no one else would.

Tariq insists that I have a gift and I should exploit it. After that I gave the guitar back to Tariq and we talked a bit when I see the tie dyed wired guy come riding up to Tariq on a skateboard eyeballing me and angrily asking Tariq if I was a cop.

Twice he asked and twice he was told no I wasn’t a cop.

Tie dyed wired guy was very upset since his friend or his father was beaten up by a female police officer the other night and this guy wants to go beat up some cops. Whatever good feeling that existed around me and Tariq was gone when this guy tore off on his skateboard looking for information on his friend/father. Mood killer he was.

Ominous clouds rolled in, Tariq was now pretty much drunk and I was still hungry.

A friend who watches us play some times stopped by asking what we were doing on a Wednesday afternoon. Seems that he had been looking for us on Sundays. I wasn’t out there on Sunday and Tariq has been busy elsewhere.

The friend did remember that he owed me 50¢ for a bet we made when we last saw each other. I forgot but he didn’t. The bet was over the fact that Albert Hammond wrote It Never Rains in Southern California, and he is the father of one of the Strokes.

Nice of him to remember and I walked home, once step ahead of the drizzle with 50¢ more than I had when I left.

Lost was very good last night. Final episode, this Sunday at 7PM. I guess it will be a four hour broadcast with recaps and whatnot.
5.19.10
tariq 5.19.10
10.19.10 002
10.19.10 003

Tags:, , , , ,
Posted in So how's band camp? | 2 Comments »

My Generation

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Just got back a little while ago from McSwells with Bill. Lois DiLivio had organized an open reading of Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice. I was a bit apprehensive about it and suggested a few weeks ago that Lois choose a comedy rather than a drama.

But it was her doing and since she already posted what play we would be reading from she was averse to changing the selection. Perhaps next month. I don’t know who makes the decision on whether or not there would be a next month, but I would gladly participate if invited.

I portrayed 2 characters, Solanio, a friend to Antonio and Bassiano & also Old Gobbo, father to Lancelot. I surprised Bill and perhaps a few others when I read each character in a different voice. I surprised myself actually.

I’ve never participated in a reading like this though I have attended a few that Bill had either organized or participated in. All the roles were pulled out of a hat or rather a bag and some people found themselves playing characters that had dialogs between them.

That was weird and some tried different voices. Afterward, I suggested to Lois that perhaps if there is a conversation between 2 characters played by the same reader, perhaps the second lines should go to the person sitting to the left or the right of the initial character.

And perhaps for a fun twist, if the second reader says their lines in a different voice, then the person who originally had the lines, make them say it close to the way the secondary reader says. Does that make sense? It would also be a laugh.

And if that doesn’t work, helium should be introduced.

Lois did a commendable job organizing the whole thing, and Rand and Lisa with Rand’s sister Glenda as well as Jim and Diane and a guy named Steve with me & Bill all enjoyed ourselves. I wisely ate breakfast at home, skipping brunch which some had beforehand and others had to eat during the read.

There was some difficulty with ye olde English leading me to think but not suggest perhaps a more recent play, maybe George S. Kaufman? Even Oscar Wilde might be good. Obviously I am leaning towards comedy.

Considering that I spent a good part of the past 24 hours dealing with a most uncooperative toilet, I think leaning towards comedy isn’t such a bad thing. Beats shit, that’s for sure.

Finally after building up muscles in my arms via plunger usage a passage was created and things are flowing nicely in the porcelain world.

It was a pain and on the way up to McSwells I suggested that if he had to go, McSwells might be the best place to do it. I’m just glad it’s over with.

I also just found out that I’ll be attending a wake this week. My uncle, Joseph Powers passed away this morning. He was the last of my parents generation so now it’s down to the kids.

12.27.09 Merchant of Venice at Maxwells 005

Photo courtesy of Rand Hoppe

Photo courtesy of Rand Hoppe

Tags:, , , , , , , ,
Posted in Shed a tear, Yesterday's News Tomorrow | No Comments »

Things Can Only Get Better

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Well it’s Monday again and I’m back to posting at the usual time. Yesterday was an early posting, before noon. Before 11:00 even. I was fired up and was able to write over 600 words in about 20 minutes. Relatively lucid writing I think.

After I wrote I spoke to my sisters, Annemarie, the white one and Billie in DC, the black one. Both were very supportive and listened to my side of the story. If you want Bill’s side of the story, you would have to ask him.

The day progressed and I went out for a bit, in the rain. Not as weird a day as Saturday turned out to be. Though things on Saturday night were better than during the day. My friend Lois has a show coming up called ‘Is That Supposed to Be Funny?’ and she needed a photograph for the poster.

Lois DiLivio in 'Is That Supposed to Be Funny?'

Lois DiLivio in 'Is That Supposed to Be Funny?'

She came over and we talked listened to music, and even played some music a little bit. She told me of a project that she has with Rand and I immediately suggested doing ‘How Many More Times’ (or a rip off of that). I picked up the bass and did my best John Paul Jones/Duck Dunn impersonation, playing the initial notes.

Of course they weren’t the proper notes as Lois pointed out, but she got the feeling I was putting into it and she listened when I said, ‘So what if it’s not the right notes? If that’s the case, then I have written a new song!’

So maybe, and a really big maybe at that, who knows? I might play along with Rand and Lois at an open mike somewhere down the line. Rand on trombone, Lois on ukulele and Lisa doing some vocals as well as blowing bubbles.

That would be for the cover version of Don Ho’s Tiny Bubbles. Which I just figured out went ‘Tiny bubbles, in the wine’ rather than what I thought it was for maybe 40 years, ‘Tiny bubbles, tenderloin’.

We took about 17 pictures with various props that I had around the apartment. It was great having Lois over for a visit. Since Juan is down in South Jersey, no one comes to visit me in my messy apartment. That brings me to Sunday’s problem which weighed heavily on my mind.

Around 4:20, yes-4:20, I gave Bill a call and we wound up talking for nearly 2 hours. Cleared a lot of things up and decided to try to make time for each other and yes, I will go see Slumdog Millionaire with him.

We wound up talking during commercial breaks on the Oscar program. Hugh Jackman was better than I expected. He was great actually. I always enjoy the Academy Awards, no matter who is hosting. Hugh Jackman mentioned rehearsing for the show the day before in his garage and jumped into the opening number which looked like it was rehearsed in someone’s garage. And Anne Hathaway was pretty funny.
Who knew she was the daughter of Mrs. Hathaway (from the Beverly Hillbillies)? Not me.

I liked the 5 previous winners of each acting award coming out and praising each nominee. Harpy hated it. I know… I called. I think it would have been better if they all talked at the same time. That would have been great.

Penelope Cruz won and she sure was pretty. Still have to see Vicky Christina Barcelona. Annemarie saw it liked it. Of course, Javier Bardem is in it. Penelope Cruz thanked Woody Allen and specifically thanked Pedro Almodovar which was a nice touch.

Tina Fey and Steve Martin came out for the writing awards and they were funny, especially with their new made up religion joke which could just as easily been Scientology.

The winner for original screenplay was Dustin Lance Black for Milk and he gave the best speech of the night, echoing Harvey Milk’s words to young gay people, telling them that they are not alone, they are not cursed. They are loved and valued.

Next came Jennifer Aniston and Jack Black who made a presentation about something standing on stage mere feet away from her ex, Brad Pitt and the woman he left Jennifer Aniston for, Angelina Jolie. Awkward! But Pitt/Jolie laughed at all the right places. I usually don’t care about those things, but I was reminded of their tabloid drama last night.

Then came a clip show of romantic scenes from 2008 which included a shot of James Franco kissing Sean Penn in Milk. Natalie Portman and Ben Stiller came out. He was made up to resemble Joaquin Phoenix and stayed in character for an awfully long 5 minutes which was 4 minutes too many. It got tired fast.

Then a Judd Apatow short with James Franco and Seth Rogan as well as cinematographer Janusz Kaminski. Very funny especially with James Franco getting turned on by another clip of his Milk character kissing Sean Penn’s Harvey Milk, then putting his arm around Seth Rogan and inching closer.

The Hugh Jackman/Beyonce musical tribute was spectacular to look at, but musically it was daft. A lyric from 20 songs intertwined by various singers was a mess. But it looked great. Then Heath Ledger won the supporting actor nod and his mom, dad and sister made a speech. Cuba Gooding’s non praise of Robert Downey Jr was ok, not that funny.

Documentaries came up and Man on a Wire, about Philippe Petit walking a high wire between Tower A and Tower B of the World Trade Center won which made me feel good since it was the only documentary I had seen. Luckily there were no shots from the documentary which had my palms sweating.

Every time Slumdog Millionaire was up for an award it won. Music, director, movie, cinematography, adapted screenplay, best ushers, ticket takers, popcorn. It won all handily. It probably would have beaten Heath Ledger if they were nominated in the same category.

Jerry Lewis came out and got the lifetime achievement award from Eddie Murphy. I think it was the first time a DC Comics character received an award. Foreign film went to Japan for Departures, which I haven’t seen.

Danny Boyle, Slumdog director followed by Kate Winslet who had a great speech, but what made her speech for me was when she tried finding her parents in the audience and got her father to whistle to show where he was. My father used to whistle like that. Brought back memories, memories of thinking that I was being treated like a dog.

Sean Penn won for Milk and he too had a great speech. It was good to see Milk getting some recognition, 2 awards. Then Slumdog Millionaire won best picture and it was all over.

It was basically the Slumdog Millionaire show with special guests, Penelope Cruz, Kate Winslet and Sean Penn. I wonder how long it will take for a TV show based on Slumdog Millionaire? Or the Broadway musical…

Me, I’m just glad that Bill and I are back on track.

Lois again

Lois again

Tags:, , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in the day after yesterday | 1 Comment »

« Older Entries