Posts Tagged ‘Padron’

Landslide

Friday, May 22nd, 2009

It’s been a very nice Friday, best day of the week and I don’t mind telling you that. Last night I was extremely tired. Just felt like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. A lot of it was probably from lacking a decent night’s sleep for the past few days.

I am happy to report that I slept peacefully for about 9 hours last night. Much needed.

Last night Bill had his pizza and I sat on the front steps, enjoying a Padron, chatting with various neighbors as well as a phone call with Casey Chasm. I was worried about him since Mrs. Chasm was out of town when I visited the other day and while I was visiting we had quite a heavy conversation.

He’s a good guy and I am happy to call him my friend. I certainly hope he has a rosy future ahead of him and it looks like he does. He had some good advice for me regarding work which was worrying me.

I’m going to hang in there as best as I could. That’s all I can do. I came upstairs and Bill was watching a repeat of the Office, followed by 30 Rock which definitely boosted my spirits. Then we watched the season finale of Southland and yes it was very good.

The ending had Willie Nelson singing What Was It You Wanted. I thought it was a Leonard Cohen song but it turned out it was by Bob Dylan. A little research showed that it was from Oh Mercy. I had some downloads from Oh Mercy but none of them was the song I heard.

I made a note to go to the local record store and see if they had it in stock today. I walked around Hoboken around noon and wandered into Tunes.

Looked in Willie Nelson’s section for On The Borderline which is where the song was from. Of course it wasn’t in stock. Juan’s doppleganger was working but I decided to search on my own, finding it too unnerving to speak with an ersatz Juan.

I walked over to the Bob Dylan section and once again I was let down. Oh Mercy was not to be found. Perhaps they had the Budos Band who I saw at McSwells a few months ago. No Budos Band either.

I thought I would see if they had Who’s Next in stock since that’s been on my mind lately and of course that was a ‘no’. I even checked to see some Fleetwood Mac CD’s since I saw an excellent and beautiful video of the PS 22 chorus do a moving version of Landslide by Stevie Nicks.

I left empty handed and disappointed. Still I had some money in my pocket.

I got a text message from Roda last night. He was working at McSwells and said it was dead. Why don’t I come by for some cocktails? It’s always good to see Roda but I was really fatigued, too much to head out and socialize. Bill was about all the socializing I could deal with last night.

I was on Facebook earlier, I know, what a surprise. I saw a link to check up on my high school classmates and I almost connected with a couple of them. Then I remembered how I felt after my high school reunion 9 years ago and decided against it. Some things are best left in the past in my case.

Tonight I am going to McSwells too see my old pal. Not staying out too late since I have to get up and help Julio in Van Saun Park for Alexander’s first birthday party. I got Alexander a Beatles onesie and a toy duck on a stick with wheels that quacks and flaps it’s wings as you push it.

I just downloaded Willie Nelson’s version of What Was It You Wanted so I’m a happy pirate. A happy and relaxed pirate at that. I hope all of you, the six of you that is, have a happy and safe holiday weekend.

Maybe I’ll see you at the VFW Circle on Monday morning on Saddle River Road in Saddle Brook?

Here is that beautiful video.

Um “oh” e um “ah!”

Thursday, May 21st, 2009

What a day this has been. First off, I broke the rule of going to sleep the same time as Bill and wound up not being able to sleep well. A few interruptions and before I knew it, Bill was kissing me goodbye, telling me that I looked angelic laying there.

A few minutes later the alarm clock went off, no music- just the buzzer. I got it together and looked forward to an easy going day. Vivek in Las Vegas, and Sanjay flew in last night from Florida thanks to my ticket purchases.

Last night after finagling the tickets Abby was in the office. I need this I need that. Fine, whatever. I left around 5:00 and didn’t say goodbye. He was on the phone.

I left and halfway through my walk to the bus terminal, I get a phone call. It’s Abby. He couldn’t believe I left when he needed envelopes and stamps and copies to be made.

Not for work, but his own personal accounts. I told him to go to my cube and instructed him where to find the things he needed. Then he needed copies to be made and I instructed him on how to operate a copier. Hit the green button!

This morning after Bill left I did my thing and made it to the bus. As I sat down on the bus I realized that I left my cellphone at home. I almost got off the bus but decided to proceed with the day.

A nice walk across town and I soon found myself in the office by 9:15. At 9:16 I get a phone call from Sanjay. Tomorrow is a conference call at noon and I’m expected. I mentioned that I thought I was off on Fridays.

Sanjay says, no problem, we’ll just do the conference call on Monday. I explain to him that Monday is a federal holiday. No problem for him, they’ll just conference me in from home. Oh what a thrill.

Sanjay eventually made it in the office right around the same time as Abby. That made things busy and not as easygoing as I had hoped. A quick demonstration on how the Movie Box works in hotel rooms.

If you want to watch a crappy movie that went straight to DVD then this Movie Box is for you. And the adult fare is strictly hetero and boring.

The day went on and on. At one point I had to go to the post office for Abby and get some mail certified. I warned him that the lines in the post office can be long and I wasn’t sure when I would be back.

The line wasn’t that long and afterwards I used the opportunity to take a leisurely stroll around midtown and enjoyed a Padron.

I figured out that I knew what I had to do and as I finished my cigar I went back to the office with a new, fresh outlook. It was 3:00.

At 3:01 the phone rings, It’s Nash who works in Kent, Washington. He’s frantic, telling me the conference call is going on and I should be in on it.

Sanjay was in a meeting and Abby was somewhere. So I followed Nash’s instructions and jumped in on the conference call. I didn’t know what was going on and all these instructions were being thrown at me.

There was no one I could turn to or ask anything of so all I could do was take notes and I wound up transcribing most of the call.

I was in over my head. It seemed that anytime I get a grip on the situation the rug gets pulled out from under me. I am really at the end of my rope and I am considering telling Vivek when he returns that I don’t think it’s going to work out.

It’s not what I was hired for and I don’t like the hours. I’m sure they would be better off with someone else who could do the job. And the hours, the dirty looks that I get when I try to leave at 5:30 or 6:00. They seem to be nice people but I don’t think I can work with them.

And it’s soon enough that they wouldn’t have invested that much in me.

I’d be willing to continue supporting the office, booking conference rooms, ordering supplies, being the liaison between the office and the building personnel who like me a lot.

I’m well liked by the office personnel and even the conservatives seem to like me enough to make unofficial overtures that they’d take me on if it doesn’t work out.

But this dealing with hotel and motel owners and the insane hours and tardiness of these guys is really wearing me down. Perhaps that is what is causing me to lose sleep at night.

Right now I’m so tired that when Harpy called I could only respond in monosyllabic words.

I come home, not wanting to cook so I pick up two slices of pizza. Bill comes home and a few minutes later the buzzer rings. It’s a pizza that Bill’s ordered. He doesn’t care. He hasn’t had lunch and will eat the whole pie himself.

This day, will it ever end?

Bill before pizza
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Shake Shake Mama

Saturday, May 2nd, 2009

OK, I have a half hour to write. Julio just called inviting me down to his and Stine’s apartment. The baby’s asleep in bed and he’s offering a glass of wine.

How could I resist?

Julio called earlier today asking if I could write a letter on Stine’s behalf so she can get citizenship and not be deported. That should be no problem. So I have 30 minutes to write this entry tonight.

Last night wasn’t as bad as I anticipated, regarding Pap Smear. It was a reading and not an actual play. It started as soon as I sat down. It seems they were waiting for me.

It was supposed to start at 7:30 and I got there at 7:15 after braving the crowds in Times Square as I puffed on a Padron.

Since it was just a reading the performances weren’t as over the top as last time and you needed to use your imagination so that helped. It was painless and over before I knew it.

Came home and watched some TV while having a good talk with Bill. He went to sleep as Bill Maher was starting and I stayed up until 1:30 watching whatever it was that I was watching.

I took a ‘There was cool music before Nirvana’ quiz on Facebook. My friend Betti Cola took the test and scored in the low 90′s. Andy, former sound man at McSwells got in the upper 90′s.

I scored a perfect 100% which another friend, Thaler commented on saying she and her husband Tom were waiting for my results and not surprised by my score.

There was some guesswork involved and despite what some people might say, I did not cheat.

I was too tired to cheat actually.

I went to bed feeling good as Bill wore his sleep apnea mask which was louder than usual. It was white noise, like a very loud waterfall, but still I slept until 8:00.

I had a phone call from Abby who had some boxes in his car for work that he could keep in his car since his car was leased and had to be returned today. I told him to call me at 8:00 and I would go to the office with him and get the boxes stored.

He called at 8:15. He picked me up around 10:00 and we rode into the city. Cleared a few things up between us. He’s always late as most Asian Indians are. He said they operate on IST, Indian Standard Time. His words not mine.

Still I proved that I was a team player and sent him off on his way once we got the boxes to my office.

I walked across town were I ran into Lois and Fred who were online outside of Midtown Comics where it was comic book day and they were getting some free comic books. Perhaps they will sell them at their Gate Sale, weather permitting.

I came home, Bill was still here. We watched King Kong by Peter Jackson on TNT and it was fun. I loved the original and thought I loved the Dino Di Laurentis version, but I didn’t.

Peter Jackson was really faithful to the original and it was fun to watch, even with my sweaty hands towards the end scenes on top of the Empire State Building.

Still a very sad story, yes it wasn’t the plane that got Kong. Twas beauty that killed the beast. But I’m sure you knew that already.

After that I walked Bill to the bus stop and I wandered over to Tunes where I bought the latest Bob Dylan cd which I already like more than the last one, Modern Times.

David Hildago from Los Lobos and his accordion are one it throughout, giving it a Springsteen feel as well as a New Orleans Zydeco sound. I recommend it.

That’s it for me. Time for some wine with the Alexander’s parents downstairs.

Cheers!

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The Whole World

Sunday, April 26th, 2009

Let’s see. At 12:30 this afternoon it was 89 degrees out. On April 26. I can see it being like that in July or August but this makes it seem like we’ve bypassed Spring and jumped right into Summer.

Well you know, that global warming myth. It’s all a scam you see. They say it’s a man made problem, but of course this has happened a few times already. Unfortunately there are no records of the polar ice caps melts, ice shelves collapsing in Antarctica.

Greenland must have been green at some point, why else would it be named Greenland? Too bad Leif Erickson isn’t around to explain that one.

I believe global warming is a fact, and I believe it’s a man made problem. Not so much from car emissions, though that is a factor. It’s from the destruction of the rain forests and what I think no one wants to talk about.

It’s because there are a lot of people exhaling carbon dioxide. A lot more people now than ever before and without major rain forests converting the CO2 to oxygen, we are in the mess and on the slippery slope where we find ourselves today.

I was surprised that one of the people in my office say that she believed global warming was a falsehood. I usually hear that from the conservative blow hards, but that was a surprise and her standing in my view was diminished somewhat.

After having napped and written yesterday, I sat on the stoop in front of my building, enjoying a Padron and sipping on a Guinness. My landlord walked by, apparently he was inside the building.

He said he was planning on calling me since he got the note I sent in February, saying that it was posted on the wall by his phone at home. Now that he had me, he asked if I was still willing to vacuum the hallway in my building.

I told I was and we worked out a deal. He said he couldn’t reduce my rent, but would write me a check each month. I agreed to the deal. Julio says it would be a pain in the ass at first and maybe I could hire someone to do a deep cleaning to start off with, and then my cleaning on top of that would be a lot easier.

It does sound like a good idea. I already started today, sweeping up the front of the building and cleaning out leaves and garbage on the stairs outside that lead to the basement.

Last night was an adventure of sorts. Definitely out of the ordinary. Bill and I headed into the city, I still didn’t have a definite idea on where we were going but I did get an inadvertent clue.

A former co-worker on Facebook, Janelle, wrote that she was taking her mother to dinner for her birthday and after that, taking her to see John Leguizamo. I know Bill loves John Leguizamo so that was the clue.

I did a search for John Leguizamo NYC but all that came up was his IMDB entry. A put that in the back of my mind walking down the gentrified Christopher Street scene. Lot’s of bridge and tunnel LGBT teens hanging out but mostly the gay scene in now in Chelsea.

We walked over to Seventh Avenue South towards the Actor’s Playhouse where I saw a poster for John Leguizamo. I told Bill I guessed it, but not really since we were right on front of the box office.

The show was good, it was a work in progress titled, A Work in Progress- Don’t Hate. Bill loved it of course, laughing uproariously throughout.

One or two times I was the only one who laughed at Leguizamo’s jokes, making him mention that he would wait for everyone else to catch up.

I did see Janelle and her mom and hoped to see them after the show, but it was such a warm night and all the bodies in the Actor’s Playhouse made it like wearing a wool sweater inside, plus the seats were a bit on the small side, not really geared for a 6’2” frame like myself or Bill.

After the show we made a beeline for the street afterwards, hanging out in the fresh air for a few minutes before giving up and heading towards the Path train on Ninth Street where we rode the train up to 33rd Street and then back towards Hoboken so we could get a seat.

By the time the train made it back to Ninth Street most of the people were standing up against one another. Young couples heading home early after getting their drink on.

Bill and I made it back to Hoboken were young patrons were either lined up to get into crowded bars or standing outside of those establishments smoking.

Back home Bill went right to sleep and I stayed up and watched a repeat of Lost that they show on Saturday nights.

Woke up, Bill was on his way to clean out his mother’s apartment, I was off to get breakfast. After that, with the temperature rising, I decided to clean up the front of the building.

Then I fixed up my bike and called Rand and we went cycling up to Guttenberg, as far as the Galaxy Towers. A fun ride, haven’t hung out with Rand in a while.

Lisa stayed home, she doesn’t ride a bicycle lately I guess.

An entertaining couple of hours with an entertaining friend from years gone by. And he’s right.

Lost is better than Heroes.

Pics? Pics!

My buddy Rand

My buddy Rand

Galaxy Towers

Galaxy Towers

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34th Street heading east

34th Street heading east

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Garbage Peeps

Garbage Peeps

Kids

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Well today turned out to be quite alright. Greg Stevens returned, no longer working for my company. That would make it 3 employees and there’s only 2 left and I’m the one who’s getting paid.

The day started out threatening to rain but it turned out not to happen despite people walking with open umbrellas, not wanting to be caught, no way, no how.

Very good New Yorker last week. Reading about exotic animals who were brought into this country, mainly Florida, then when they got to be too much to deal with, were released into the wild.

So there is a population explosion of Burmese pythons slithering about down there. Yet another reason, not to go to Florida. Never liked snakes and I’ve never touched one. Same thing with guns. Never liked them and never touched one.

Guns and snakes, two things not to give me for a present. Hope you kept the receipt just in case.

I was a bit busy dealing with Vivek’s business partner on the phone, getting things done for Greg Stevens, and the usual maintenance of the office, which included booking conference rooms and all three were reserved.

That made the conservatives a bit upset since they usually just take any room that’s available and leave it messy. But like Annemarie said, it’s job security to clean up after these do nothings.

One of the conservatives was mouthing off about how President Obama is going to release so ‘terrorists’ in this country. Of course he was stoking the fire, making it sound like Khalid Sheik Mohammad would be selling fresh Kalkalash from a food truck outside the office.

It actually means that they will be tried and held in US prisons and they will stay there if guilty and likely deported if not guilty. This one guy looks like Senator Boehner and seems to get all of his information from Fuck Snooze.

Last night Bill was off doing his reading series and I was home while a maelstrom raged outside. I watched Heroes which was ok. It was mainly about Sylar and it was a bit of a let down. I knew he wouldn’t do anything to Rebel Micah, and his scenes involving Ellen Greene as his mother were good.

But he seems to be going off the deep end in a mostly boring way. And Hiro is really quite annoying, mostly through his Japanese accent. I don’t mind the subtitles but he sounds like a moron most of the time when he’s speaking. Peke pani?

Tonight promises to be quite mellow which is always welcomed. Board of Education election was today and I usually don’t vote in those since I don’t have any kids. But Sheilah Scully asked that I vote, well asked me and her other Facebook friends, so I did.

The polling place is only a hundred yards from my apartment so it was no big deal. I voted for the Kids First slate.

Also moved Casey Chasm closer to my former co-worker, Austin. Perhaps they’ll work something out. I know Casey and the Missus read this here blog, so I hope they realize that the people I work with do not know anything about this here blog. Ya heard?

Really diggin’ that one song from MGMT, which happens to be the title of today’s entry. t

Your Sister Can’t Twist (But She Can Rock & Roll)

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Well today was an even more gorgeous day than it was yesterday. No Juan today though he did stop by last night. We watched Vicky Christina Barcelona which was good. Not his best and the movie does brighten once Penelope Cruz comes on screen.

Funny how she basically eclipsed Scarlett Johansson. And I had never heard of Bridget Hall before. Don’t know where she’s from. Juan pointed out that Rebecca Hall’s fiancé in the movie was Ted who was Claire Fisher’s boyfriend in Six Feet Under.

The great Patricia Clarkson was in Vicky Christina Barcelona as well as Six Feet Under and I think there were one or two other actors in the movie who also had small parts on Six Feet Under. It was good, but not one of Woody Allen’s best. Bill came in on the second half of the movie, but it didn’t really matter and there was no need for him to be caught up.

After that ended Bill was off to bed and Juan was heading back to Union City. I was soon fast asleep I woke up early, around 8:15 and did my Saturday morning thing, bagels and newspapers. Got Bill some bagels as well. He likes to toast them in the oven until they are almost charred.

Whatever works I guess.

I decided to head into my office and clean the bamboo shoots. They’re contained in vases by the windows in one of the conference rooms and after a month and a half they start to get covered in algae. I like to come in on a Saturday since it’s a messy thing, cleaning the vases, scrubbing the rocks and cleaning the shoots.

An added bonus is the fact that no one is in the office on Saturdays. As I was scrubbing who should appear but Vivek. He and his business partner were in for a conference call at 1:30. Vivek phoned the other day when I was in my blue mood and wanted to know what was wrong.

I didn’t want to talk about it with him, not then at least. He saw the opportunity to talk to me today after their conference call which should have been over at 2:00. At 2:45 I left a note saying that I had to get back to Hoboken.

Nice walk across town, enjoying a cigar and taking surreptitious photographs of various people. I had a nice call with Annemarie while I rode the bus. I never have phone conversations on the bus but this time I simply didn’t care.

Anne recommended seeing the Love Guru which I was surprised to hear her recommend. She liked it enough, telling me how it was really funny in some scenes. I told her if it was on cable I would watch it, but I wouldn’t rent it.

It looked terrible and even the giant poster that advertised the movie in Times Square was another deterrent to seeing it.

Bill and I met up in Hoboken and we checked out my friend, Hiro Takeshita’s art exhibit at the Hoboken Historical Museum. I’ve known Hiro for about 25 years. He lives on the second floor of my first apartment building at 2nd and Madison.

His latest medium is/are cut outs which are quite intricate and beautiful. Nice turn out at the museum, lot’s of familiar Hoboken faces that I’ve seen for a long time but never knew their names. Still don’t mainly though I did get the name of one familiar busy body, Marion who used to be the court clerk.

I sort of remembered her from when she rented videos from a video store I worked at. That’s how I remember a few faces, from the video store. ‘Oh that’s the guy who rented Butt Bongo Fiesta’, ‘She’s the woman who rented Ghost every weekend for six months.’

Can’t put a name to the face but I do remember their viewing habits and fetishes.

Here’s some pics of Hiro Takeshita’s art exhibition

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Me, Hiro Takeshita, & Bill

Me, Hiro Takeshita, & Bill