It’s Wednesday, hump day. Yes back to that. HUMP day. Juan made it over and he and Bill and I watched two versions of Law and Order. Juan mentioned that he watched an episode alone and we agreed it’s weird to watch it alone, or without Bill in the room. We watched the Daily Show afterwards, then I kicked Juan sweet butt to the curb. Soon after I was asleep dreaming dreams of what I can never remember. Not the apocalyptic dreams thanks to the occasional Jazz cigarette.

It was extraordinarily cold today, 17 degrees. Freezing. Below freezing actually. Bill was finally up and about and headed to work. He was gone before I knew it, though for some odd reason, didn’t leave the TV on which usually draws me out of bed like a groggy moth to a radioactive flame. He did make the coffee and for that I was grateful. I showered, shaved, got dressed, had cereal and a couple of cups of java. Then it was out into the tundra. I spent a few minutes picking up recyclables that were strewn about the sidewalk. I recognized my bottles of diet 7-Up and Bill’s bottles of orange essential vitamin water and couldn’t just leave them like that.

I walked up to Washington and 5th Street and waited a few minutes for the next 126 bus headed into the city. I took my usual seat in the back, next to the hub of the right rear tire. No one wants to sit on that so I sit next to it, offering whoever wants a seat, that spot if they don’t want to stand. Being 6’2”, I can’t sit there since my knees would be in my nostrils. It’s usually then I feel bad, or merely disdainful of those that live in uptown Hoboken since when they finally get on the bus they have to stand. There are some chivalrous men on the bus that occasionally give up their seat for a woman, but that’s not me.

I make sure I get a seat by going to an earlier stop that’s not as close as the one nearest my house, but it’s about a five minute walk in the opposite direction. I got off the bus and walked to the office. I was the second one in, Naomi was there. I took the time to tell her that working in such a nice environment had shown me how bad things were at McMann and Tate. She told me that it’s a nice office and everyone works really well with each other and that I was a welcome addition to the company.

That was certainly a nice way to start the day. Of course it didn’t last. Today, being payday was the main thing that had gotten me out of bed. I hadn’t gotten paid since December 15 and funds were perilously low. I sent an email to the bookkeeper asking her about the check and when she finally answered me hours later she told me that I wouldn’t be able to cash the check until tomorrow.

I think the look on my face showed how upset I was, yet I kept my cool. I explained that I needed to pay bills and I hadn’t gotten paid since last month. They got it together and I didn’t need to make a scene. That’s a change for the better, except that by waiting for the check to clear, I had to forego my usual salad for lunch and had two extremely crappy slices of greasy cheese and bread. All the good salads are gone by 3:00 in the afternoon, leaving nothing but wilted lettuce and oddly colored broccoli.

Bah!