May | 2011 | johnozed

Well I’m writing early. Usually I don’t start until later but here I am, a little after 6 O’clock and I find myself writing. It’s been a bust day, busier than yesterday. And like yesterday today is a day off. I thought I would go bike riding but never got around to it.

I woke up too late to really get started and actually yesterday would have been a better day for a bike ride than today, less people around today and most everyone seemed relaxed. Today the majority went back to work so everyone was uptight and the roads were more crowded.

I woke up not knowing what day it was, it took Bill to tell me after he kissed me good bye for the day and was walking away. I slept longer than I expected but I was happy to be able to have hot water when I took a shower. A cup of coffee did me some good as I walked out to get some breakfast items and drop off some clothes at the dry cleaners.

My favorite cashier was there again at the supermarket, the mighty Isis, who actually asked if I had enough coffee this morning. She knows, I must have told her some other time. It was already hot out so I stayed inside for a few hours, making iced coffee and enjoying it greatly.

I avoided the news and things like that since I wanted an easy going day. I figured if there was something worth knowing about, someone I know would have told me about it. No news proved to be good news. After a few hours of nothing in particular I decided to head into the city.

A last minute phone call to Harpy only resulted in getting his voice mail which I declined to leave. I wanted to see a Robert Mapplethorpe exhibition in Chelsea and today would have really been my only opportunity to see it. It was called ’50 Americans’ and it was 50 portraits & photographs picked by people from across the USA.

The pictures were picked from the Mapplethorpe Foundation and the majority of the everyday Americans that picked the images never heard of Robert Mapplethorpe. It wasn’t my usual gallery hop since I only went into maybe 3 galleries before I decided to head home and avoid the rush hour rush.

And I just made it too, a not too crowded air conditioned Path train which was nice. I took the elevator to the street since I’ve been avoiding stairs whenever possible. Nearly had a few words with one of those idiot adults who use a razor scooter to get around.

She was waiting for the elevator as well but staring into space as I walked by her. As I entered the elevator, that was when she decided to get in as well, hitting my leg with her razor scooter. She mumbled something which I ignored and held the door for an elderly woman with a cane who actually needed to use the elevator, not so she wouldn’t have to carry a razor scooter up the stairs.

Still quite warm out, I just checked Google latitude where I see Bill is currently in Weehawken, no doubt headed home. He had to get a new iPhone since the one he left at the gym was never turned in. He’s not too happy about that and I certainly can’t blame him.

Hopefully he’ll be happy to be home with me. If he isn’t well there’s nothing I can do about that. But he’s a positive thinker and maybe he will remember not to leave his iPhone behind next time.

Monday May 30, 2011. A day off and quite a nice day off. It’s been very hot though, in the 90 degree range. I slept late, until 10:00AM. Bill was home already and he was getting ready to go to bed just as I was getting ready to start my day.

He was kind enough to pick up the paper as well as some bagels. That meant I didn’t have to leave the apartment until I wanted to. And I didn’t want to, at least not right away. Bill was a sleep and I was awake, having a lukewarm shower and making coffee. Not at the same time.

The reason for the lukewarm water was because I shut off the s for the gas on gas heater built into our stove. It’s old and I had to shut off the pilot which kept things in the kitchen very warm and with temperatures heading to triple digits I had to do something.

The thing is I turned off all the gas for the stove as well as the hot water heater. So the water stayed warm in the heater but once that was gone it was getting cooler and cooler. Manageable showers for the time being but not my preferred method of showering.

I tried relighting the pilot in the hot water heater several times last night, but to no avail. That meant if I couldn’t do it I would have to give Julio a call. He has the magic touch and would have it lit in no time at all. Me, it took a few hours before I gave up laying on the floor, one hand on the pilot thermostat and the other hitting the ignition repeatedly.

I tried again this morning before sending a text to Julio asking if he was home. About an hour later he called to tell me he just left. He asked what the problem was and I explained to me what it was.

He told me to do the same thing that I had done previously and after getting off the phone with him I tried it again and though I didn’t hear the ‘click click click’ of the ignition, I did hear that gas in the tank ignite. I turned on the hot water in the nearby sink and sure enough it was hot. Apparently just mentioning Julio coming over would be enough to get things to work again.

I wasn’t about to take another shower but was happy to have hot water again. I watched some TV, specifically a movie, Three O’Clock High a movie that Pedro turned me onto about 23 years ago. Silly little high school teen movie, still has its charm.

After that a walk around Hoboken, many people walking around on a gorgeous and hot afternoon. I enjoyed a La Flor Dominicana Air Bender Valiente and walked around the waterfront. I thought about bringing my guitar but decided against it.

I sat on a bench and looked at Manhattan glistening in the sun and read the rest of last week’s New Yorker. After a spell I finished my cigar and walked over to Washington Street, stopping by Ben & Jerry’s to treat myself to a Chocolate Therapy ice cream cone. Then I climbed up the 64 steps to my apartment where Bill was getting ready to head out and I was ready for a nap.

A lazy do nothing day, except for getting the hot water heater to work which was something. Perhaps tomorrow will be more of the same, but a gallery visit might be in order.