Monthly Archives: November 2008

I See Red

Jesus Christ what a crazy day this has been. First off, since May 2007 I have been receiving harassing calls from an Asian woman who claims I have lied to her and betrayed her.

She usually fills my voice mailbox with messages preventing any legitimate messages from being recording. All the messages are in another language and they starting out in broken English- whispering weeping and usually increase in volume winding up with her screaming and sobbing.

Usually I’ve just erased them. The phone service we use claim they couldn’t help me unless I changed my number (which can’t be done since my number is the main number) or go to the police.

I figured the NYPD has better things to do, but I found out later this afternoon that if I get a police report from the NYPD I can submit that to the phone service who will send it to Verizon (who control most of the land lines in Manhattan) and they could block these calls. No one told me that earlier.

In the meantime, I asked that my phone be forwarded to the fax machine until Monday. I tried it myself but couldn’t so I schedule it to be done at 2PM this afternoon after I had left for the holiday weekend.

At 3PM I checked and expected to hear a fax machine, instead I heard my own voicemail. The psycho didn’t call. Other methods I have used in the past to discourage this woman calling was to digitally record her messages, load them into my iTunes and then play them back as an outgoing messages.

Some Asian woman screaming and crying about how she’s not a celebrity and everyone stares at her when she goes shopping. I can honestly say I don’t know anything about what the hell she is ranting about.

I should also add that I did meet her last year. She showed up in my office, asking to see John Ozed. The receptionist tells me and I go out and introduce myself and she says I am not John Ozed, that someone as put me up to being John Ozed.

Apparently somehow she got my name and work address and has called me almost every day since then. I know it’s odd but that is how it happened.

I live such an interesting life.

Then Bill asks me to pick up some shoes from the shoemaker and some dry cleaning. I go to the shoemaker and hand in the ticket to some Hoboken born and raised inbred. Old geezer paisan. He can’t find it.

Younger Latino worker asks when the shoes were dropped off, I tell him I’m doing someone a favor, and to look at the ticket. Turns out Bill dropped off the shoes October 30. Today is November 26.

They look and look. They ask me what size shoe, what type of shoe and the shoe’s color. I call Bill, he says size 12, penny loafer and they’re black. They can’t read the ticket. I suggest sending it to a pharmacist so they could read it. They didn’t get the joke.

Geezer paisan says some remark about me going to a pharmacist. I ignore him. 20 minutes they find the shoes and start putting on the toe and heel savers. Almost a month to do the job and here they are putting the savers on.

The kid behind the counter takes some money off the bill and wishes me a Happy Thanksgiving but I just take the shoes and I leave.

I call Bill, telling him that I couldn’t believe it took them almost a month to do the job. The Geezer is outside and hears me and says, ‘Yeah so what? It took a month.’ I tell him to mind his own business. He doesn’t like the sound of that, and warns me to watch it.

I tell him to shut the fuck up. He again warns me and I tell him to drop dead.

I get the dry cleaning and come home and feel bad about the kid who wished me a Happy Thanksgiving. I call the store and ask for the Latino kid behind the counter. It turns out he answered the phone.

He asks who’s calling and I tell him I was in the store and they couldn’t find the shoes at first, and anyway ‘you wished me a Happy Thanksgiving and I ignored you and that was wrong’.

I wish him a Happy Thanksgiving and tell him that I like the work that they do there, but if the geezer is there next time I won’t be coming in. He says he understands and says, Happy Thanksgiving my friend.

I just saw Rand and Lisa outside and then Julio and Stine with Alexander. Rand and Lisa headed home and I went upstairs with the family unit. Had a few glasses of wine, told them the story I just wrote and watched Alexander teethe.

Alexander restored my faith in humanity so all is well. A few glasses of wine helped also.

Tomorrow, the trip to Beacon NY with Bill and his mother via MetroNorth to have Thanksgiving dinner with Bill’s cousin and his family.

This was written once again on Bill’s Mac since my computer is at Rand’s with a new hard drive I bought this afternoon being repaired and installed.

It’s Alright With Me

Well it’s Tuesday and it’s been a rainy Tuesday. The iPod keeps shedding tracks, it seems like the end is near. My computer was off all day and I made arrangements to drop it off at Rand’s tonight, but now it’s working.

As slow as ever but still it’s working somewhat. I’m not taking any chances though and I am writing this on Bill’s Mac once again. More dependable plus he’s not here. He doesn’t mind that I’m using it either.

There’s just a slight adjustment in using the Mac. Certain commands are different and instead of using the control button you need to use the ‘cloverleaf’ button to do the things you want to do.

I neglected to mention yesterday that I gave someone the wrong directions on the street yesterday. I was on 52nd street walking east and a woman asked me while she was walking west if she was walking in the right direction to get to 53rd street.

I didn’t hear her correctly and asked her to repeat herself and she did. Still I didn’t understand exactly and just agreed with her, telling her she was indeed going in the right direction. A few feet later I felt bad about not putting her on the right path, but not bad enough to set her straight.

Work was busy today and I was able to get a few things done and also find out what Vivek and his partner had in mind. 10 hours a week, paid to do administrative things like expense reports, travel arrangements and other things like that.

Extra money is extra money and I showed interest and enthusiasm. Don’t know when it’s going to start though.

Bill and I talked today, a few times actually. The call that stands out is the call I got on the bus ride home. I don’t like talking on the bus, since I don’t want to be one of those people who while chatting the people sitting around them can hear every word of the conversation. I had 2 seats to myself, probably because of the Padron I smoked on the way over to the bus terminal.

Bill was excited though, ‘fishing’ to see what I was doing on Friday afternoon. I told him I had no plans, and he wanted to meet up around 2:30 for something to do at 3:30. I told him sure, just to remind me on Friday morning.

I was a bit short though since I wanted to get off the phone as soon as I could, telling Bill that I would call him when I got home. That was the first thing I did when I got home, even before changing clothes.

He was still excited, he’s a rambunctious character. He asked if I was home and I said, yes I told him I would call when I got home and I am calling him now that I’m home.

He was going on and on about his bus driver friend and how her sister wrote a script and should the driver invest in the play.

Actually it all started when I mentioned Casey. Bill mentioned meeting Casey on the bus while his was talking to the bus driver which turned into the driver’s sister’s script. Then he said he had to get off the phone. I asked, ‘what about me?’

He asked what did I have to say and I said I didn’t have a chance to say anything since he completely dominated the conversation and how he loves the sound of his own voice. It’s true, homeboy can talk and talk without letting anyone get a word in edgewise.

Unfortunately I didn’t have anything to say except that I need to carry my computer over to Rand’s apartment and I wasn’t looking forward to it. Then he asked if I was just going to chill out in the apartment tonight and I said, No I was going to bring my computer over to Rand’s apartment. Which went in one ear and out the other.

Bill is unapologetic for the fact that he loves the sound of his own voice. But it’s alright, since I love him so. Drives me crazy like no other and that’s fine by me. After 8 years it had better be.

I think Bill and I are going to see Milk on Friday. That may be what he was fishing about. I really want to see it since Harvey Milk was a personal hero of mine. I own the documentary The Times of Harvey Milk which always leaves me sobbing at the end.

In 2004 Bill and I visited the Castro in San Francisco. Harvey Milk’s photo shop was a card store, but embedded in the sidewalk out front was a plaque in Harvey’s honor. Got choked up there too. I’ve seen the trailer and I have to say Sean Penn looks incredible. Not so much looking like Harvey, but having the mannerisms and speeech patterns down pat.

If you have a chance, rent the Academy Award winning documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk. You won’t regret it.