Monthly Archives: July 2008

No Xmas for John Quays

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Last night, I didn’t get to sleep at all. No, no. Well the hole in the street got bigger and at 11:00 there were two jackhammers going off. Bill, slept right through it, with the windows open five floors above.

I was towards the back, in front of the computer, TV on and I needed to close the windows to hear the TV. We slept with the windows open a little bit. They must have finished working around 11:30. We haven’t put the air conditioner in the window yet, just getting by with fans which is nice. I haven’t had the fear of the window unit falling out and killing someone. It’s something I obsess about.

Before that we watched Nova Science Now, hosted by Neil de Grasse Tyson who you might recognize from his appearances on the Daily Show and The Colbert Report. He’s an amiable chap and reminds me of Bill. He reminds Bill of Bill. Bill mentioned that he could have hosted the show, but I had to remind him that he’s not an Astrophysicist. Something he had forgotten.

I watched the final disc of Michael Palin’s New Europe. He was in Prague and East Germany, winding up in the former East Berlin. One of the people he visited was a holocaust survivor who was in a propaganda film from the early 1930’s about how well the Nazi’s were treating the Jews.

Fooled most of the world as well as the Red Cross. Footage of inmates tending gardens, harvesting food that they couldn’t eat. If someone stole a tomato they would be punished and sent to the camps for extinction.

Then Michael Palin took part in a Laughter Yoga session which was quite the opposite of the Nazi footage. My sister has been involved with Laughter Yoga in Arcata and she’s been enjoying the benefits.

It was interesting to see how a Laughter Yoga session proceeds. It’s laughing and clapping and maybe a little sing song in German. Or if in Arcata, more than likely English.

Then it was the news in a stuffy apartment with jackhammers muted through closed windows on a summer night. The uneasy sleep I had certainly was a contrast from the night before of spooning with Bill. And it set the tone for the day today.

I was just a little bit out of it. Did my job but really could have used an hour or two more of sleep. But it was too late for that. It was Thursday so I saw West Indian Tony and got my egg sandwich, surprisingly Tony didn’t ask about Bill. Just as well I was out the door and headed to work.

It wasn’t humid as it was the past few days and while I still had to change my t shirt when I got to the office, I wasn’t sweating as much. The day didn’t fly by and it didn’t crawl either. Thursday not only means an egg sandwich from West Indian Tony, it also means penne, pesto and chicken for lunch.

I have such a boring appetite. It’s a healthy appetite mainly. Salads everyday except for Thursday. I also try to keep it cheap.

The day finally ended, and I left work, walking across town, taking various snapshots as I enjoyed a Padron 5000. Saw the homeless guy I see almost everyday who calls me ‘soldier’. He started calling me that months ago while I was in a suit and tie, and now it’s every time. He salutes me and I give him some change.

Got on the bus crowded yet air conditioned, cracked open ‘Tweak’ by Nic Sheff and of course, he fell off the wagon and started shooting up meth again as well as just about anything he could get his hands on. Most everyone around him is telling him he’s making a big mistake, but he’s fallen in love with a fellow junkie and that leads to yet another relapse.

Stupid kid. Junkies ruin everything.

and how about that Jesse Jackson? Asshole or what?

Snaps!

A scary looking storm that passed overhead

11:00 PM

Tony Plana (the guy who plays Ugly Betty’s father)

Regurgitating

Mr. Softee (Elaine!!!)

How can these guys wear suits in 80 degree weather?

Now that’s more like it

An arm

A belly

I’m Waiting for the Man

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Bill is laughing. He’s on the couch, we’re watching Scrubs, from the first season. Turk just used a defibrillator on a patient who was actually sleeping and woke up screaming from the electric current. Bill loves it when someone screams in a comedy. He screams in kind. A happy scream.

Last night I watched Rachel Maddow on the Keith Olbermann show. She’s great, we love her. After that I watched Dan Abrams. Just got caught in the political maelstrom I guess.

Then came Weeds which was the best episode of the season so far. Really funny and a cliff hanger at the end and good bye Albert Brooks. I can’t wait for Juan to see it.

Soon after that it was bedtime. Bill ably portrayed the lump on the left side of the bed. It was a good night’s sleep. I wound up hugging Bill at various moments in the night which was very nice. He was off to work bright and early, leaving me with a pot of coffee just waiting for me.

I was up and showered, shaved and out on the street before 7:00. Rode the bus, started the New Yorker and walked across town in the morning heat. Didn’t sweat as much as yesterday but still needed to change my t-shirt when I got to the office.

Set things up, machines running, me drying off in front of a fan. No autographs this time. The office is now occupied by 5 different companies. I am supposed to only support my company but being the office manager, everyone comes to me.

Most of the time it’s fine, they’re generally nice people. 5 companies with a total of 20 people. Not too demanding. I don’t mind helping them when asked, but I find it annoying when certain companies just expect me to be there for them, when I don’t work for them.

That was laid out last year by my boss Greg Stevens who told me, that I only work for one company. I try to help out when I can. Niva, who was let go at the end of May, called and asked if I could print out some reports that we subscribe to. It was all very hush hush.

But I printed them on a color printer and left them on my desk when the managing director saw the copies and told me to print them out in black and white, that the color copies cost a dollor a sheet. They don’t really, but he was making a point.

I told Niva when I saw her, that next time they’ll be in black and white. She didn’t care, just needed to be on top of things in the bio-technology world while she goes job hunting. She looked good with a new hair do though.

After work, a Padron 5000 and a visit to see Jesse, my Rasta buddy. Of course Jesse was late. I waited and finished my cigar and headed to the Path train where I sat in an air conditioned car and read Tweak.

Almost done with it, still harrowing, waiting for Nic Sheff to fall off the wagon. Not wanting him to, but sort of expecting it. About 100 pages left so there is plenty of time.

As we were about to enter the Hoboken station, they announced that there was a problem with a train in the station and that we were being diverted to Journal Square. That sucked.

I got off at Pavonia/Newport and waited with a crowd for the light rail back to Hoboken. Could have used another cigar but didn’t.

Walked to my building where there was another hole in the street where they were working on the water line. My building was fine, still have strong pressure.

Now I’m chillin with Bill laughing on the couch. Life is good. Time to get jazzy.

Here are some snaps from today.

Picture of tourists

Public art on Park Avenue

(your title here)

Outside my building

Big hole in the ground

This just in:
JESSE JACKSON. WHAT THE FUCK??????

Sorry about the source material. But WTF?