Ok, I just got home, surprising myself to be home by 10:00. I expected to be home later since closing turned out to be a nightmare. Too much money here, not enough money there. How to make it even, how to reconcile? I figured it out at the last minute and I wound up leaving the cigar shack at 9:30. I didn’t expect to be able to catch the bus but I guess I had a karmic payoff and caught an express train downtown which got me to the bus terminal where I sat on the bus at the gate for another 5 minutes.

I want to work, I actually like to work despite what that yeast infection control & it’s ilk seems to think. I just want a Monday through Friday job. That’s all I ask.

Today at the cigar shack was a day unlike any other. It started off awkwardly, just trying to get back in the swing of things after having 2 days off in a row. It didn’t help matters that Thomas was a bit hung over despite his complaining about how he was feeling after having mixed drinks followed by half a bottle of wine for dinner. What that boy won’t do to get that sale, I don’t want to know.

Jerry Vale came in and did his thing. Since Jerry Vale is still in training, his job is to stand around and watch how things get done. And he’s quite good at standing around. Thomas and I butted heads briefly for a few minutes, his hangover mixed with my slow starting. He went to lunch and I followed an hour later.

Much to my surprise the president of the cigar shack showed up unannounced. I called the flagship cigar shack across town to let them know the president was in town, thinking that he might be headed over there. No, he was there already, they said, mentioning that they should have called us to get a heads up. Yes they should have. Nothing was out of line, everything was running smoothly.

I went to lunch and enjoyed a cigar near the park, finishing up Uncut Magazine. I was somewhat stressed during lunch and though the cigar I smoked was quite good, it did not do much of anything to alleviate my tension. I came back to the shack and Thomas mentioned that there was something wrong in the bathroom.

I went to check and yes there was something wrong in the bathroom. The toilet was blocked up and nearly overflowing with shit. No one knew how to use a plunger so it was up to me to fix it. It smelled horrible of course, shit usually does. And the cheap plunger the cigar shack has kept inverting, causing me to carefully try to revert it back to how it should be without getting shit on me or my clothes and shoes.

After about 20 minutes I was able to get things flowing properly again. But for a few hours afterwards all I could see and smell was shit. I felt dirty and though I scrubbed my hands with Purell a number of times, the feeling never completely went away. Everyone eventually has to literally deal with shit at some point in their lives, other peoples shit and today it was my turn.

Thomas was understanding and probably could see by the look on my face that I was disgusted. He suggested going outside for 15 minutes and get some fresh air. Normally I’d shrug it off and say it’s OK, but there was the shit I had to deal with so I went outside for about 5 minutes.

It literally was a shitty day.

Is heroin a problem for you?

This idiot (& a few others) kept looking at their devices, and did not signal the 10:15 bus to stop and then got upset when the bus did not stop. I sat and smoked my cigar waiting for the 10:30 bus.