Monthly Archives: January 2006

Day Dreaming

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Back to work today. Not so bad though. Juan headed back to Trenton, Julio came back to the States and Bill has flu like symptoms if not the actual flu. I didn’t have that bad a morning, and I made sure Bill would have what he might need throughout the day. He’s been run down, working and the drastic change of temperature over the weekend hit him with a whammy.

Coughing up colors, which is actually a good thing since his body is expelling whatever viral things have taken up residence in his chest. I missed yet another bus but really didn’t care, another one appeared soon after. Decided on taking the train with Juan mentioning earlier that he hoped my subway wouldn’t be blown up. Nice sentiment, especially since it didn’t blow up.

It felt like a Monday but it was actually a Tuesday. So I expect to lag behind a day until Saturday. Four day work week’s rock. Caught up on the drama that coworkers went through over the weekend. Some inconsequential, some sad. Called Bill to let him know I had made it to work safe and sound. He sounded weak and tired. His fever has been fluctuating between 99 and 102.

I planned on a visit to the Post Office but it didn’t look like it was going to happen. A bit cold out through most of the day. Talked to a coworker about the shingles he is suffering from. Had them bad enough that he went to the emergency room. I told him how I solved my shingles problem a while ago with urine. It worked, the shingles were gone within days and they never came back.

He didn’t seem shocked by my solution. He did seem shocked when I offered to pee on him.

No, I didn’t really offer to pee on him. I’m not that kinky.

Had the chicken, pesto and penne lunch. Heavy and a bit pricey but keeps me sated throughout the afternoon. Spoke to my brother Frank on the phone. He’s pushing the counseling. I haven’t given up on it, not at all. It’s just that Bill and I would be more comfortable with a gay person rather than Carol Howell, who we had to explain a lot of things to.

It’s funny, when I had discussed my previous therapy with Frank, he mentioned that I should’ve simply gotten a different therapist. Now that Bill and I are doing that, Frank is making me feel like it’s the wrong move. Hey for me it’s either this or nothing. The woman simply made me feel that uncomfortable. And Barbara the woman who seems to run the Washington Square Institute tried laying a guilt trip on me when I discussed this over the phone.

She felt I should tell Carol Howell myself. I told her that I didn’t want to, that she should do it. So presently we are on hold until they could find a gay person to be our counselor. It could take some time according to Barbara. If it takes too long we’ll simply take our neuroses somewhere else. Somewhere gay. Maybe San Francisco. That would be cool.

Or Amsterdam. Julio and Stine had gone to Amsterdam on their honeymoon and I saw the pictures with Julio the other night. He also sent me an email with a photo of a flyer showing they have psilocybin on sale. That could be an excellent couples therapy medication. Maybe Terrance McKenna can write a prescription.

Also a shout out to my lawyer pal, who gave me some really good advice this weekend…

Watch Your Step

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Louise walked down the street artfully avoiding piles of dog shit. From a distance it looked like she was doing an intricate ballet. There seemed to be a lot of dogs with irritable bowel syndrome. This was disgusting. From what Louise gathered, since it was raining so hard last night, a lot of people decided to not pick up after their dogs.

Louise hated that. She didn’t mind the dogs but hated the people that couldn’t handle the responsibility of owning them. It seemed wrong to have a big dog in the small apartments of this town. The owners seemed to get them because they were chic. The “in” item to have this season.

Moving along, sidestepping shit, she scanned the sidewalk ahead looking for errant feces. All seemed clear. It was like walking though a minefield. She increased her stride and headed around the corner. There she was, Louise’s dreaded ex roommate, former friend, Alex.

With a dog.

Louise just smiled and hurried along, nodding a hello as Alex’s dog began to squat. Louise noticed that Alex didn’t seem to have anything in her hands to pick up after the dog. Oh she hated Alex. And she hated Alex’s dog. A small foo foo dog. A dog that would not protect you should you need it. These types of dogs are the kind that gets you into trouble.

Louise always thought of these dogs as being either ‘kickers or steppers’, meaning they are the kind of dog that you either kick or step on. Not that Louise would do anything like that, but those dogs are so irritating sometimes.

As Louise was walking away she turned to see what stage Alex’s dog was going through. No stage at all actually. The dog was done. Alex was about 20 feet from the steaming pile on the sidewalk as Louise made note of another mine to avoid should she come back this way later.

She was trying so hard to have a good day but with all this shit around her, both literally and figuratively, it seemed like a losing battle. She was trying to put her financial situation behind her. Her lousy dates that she had been on, she was desperately keen to forget. Work was a drag, no challenges, just the same boring routine.

Louise wondered if this was what it was all about. Life. Avoiding the piles of shit on the road of life ahead of you. She laughed silently to herself as she thought of a saying that she had heard in her neighborhood a few times over the years, ‘Oh He really stepped in shit’.

Apparently it meant that someone had some good luck happen to them. Usually involved winning the lottery or some sum of money and sometimes said with a tinge of jealousy. Louise started to laugh to herself. It really was a funny saying. When she thought about it, that if it were true, there’d be a lot of people stepping in the piles she so artfully avoided.

Above her, a few floors up, a tenant was trying to adjust an air conditioner in the window. One hand was on a window, the other on the far end of the unit. Louise was walking directly below when it slipped.

Louise was hit and landed face first into a pile of never before seen dog shit. So much for good luck.