Monthly Archives: June 2011

I Can- Nas

Leave a reply

Oh it’s been a long day but I’m pretty mellow. No toilets overflowing with excrement today, and I made sure the store got a decent plunger. I slept really well last night, had an interesting dream before I woke up. I was following Juan in a supermarket where New Order was putting on a secret show. I was surprised to see Juan at the show and neither one of us could find the aisle where New Order had set up. We heard the music alright but neither hide nor hair could be found of Barney, Hooky, Steven & Gillian.

After my usual bargaining with the snooze button I got out of bed and shuffled along. I was going to be working with Bradley, Thomas and Calvin. Calvin was spending a lot of time in the office which he made his own. He tossed off Marcus’ stuff which when Marcus made an appearance had a shit fit about how somethings were missing. Then the unforeseen happened. Marcus in a hurry to get out dropped a box cutter which fell somewhat opened and nicked his ankle which caused a lot of blood to spill. It was gross and luckily there were enough bandages to stem the bleeding.

Calvin had a chuckle about that after Marcus split, leaving Thomas and Bradley and myself to wonder what the hell was going on. Calvin & Marcus had gotten along like a house on fire previously now it seemed like there was nothing but bad blood, not counting the blood on the floor. Too appease our minds Calvin bought lunch for everyone. It was going to be pizza but it was decided on hamburgers from a pricey restaurant nearby. That satisfied most everyone, chewing our food with one eye on the plate and the other on Calvin to see what was going to happen next.

A few regulars overheard what had happened and were very much interested in what was going on but Calvin had sworn us all to secrecy and so we kept our mouths closed with regards to Marcus. It was an uneasy afternoon but things went along on quite an interesting keel. A security guard who regularly buys some cigars came in and though he walks through the door most every day, today he walked right into the door. It was hard to stifle the laughter but Thomas, Bradley and I kept relatively straight faces until the security guard, usually full of bravado, walked away with his tail between his legs.

Bradley left and his appointed time and Calvin was soon out of the store about 30 minutes later. Thomas and I had a wide ranging discussion with regards to Marcus and Calvin and their butting heads. He also asked about my relationship with Bill. He gently ribbed me about how when I talk to Bill on the phone, seemingly in private, the lovey dovey way we finish our phone calls. Thomas mentioned that a lot of couples do that, mainly straight but never with the emotional investment that Bill and I have for each other.

I certainly appreciate Thomas’ admiration for us and it’s good that he and his fiancée are supportive of same sex marriage which may or may not be going forward in the New York State Senate. Who knows, perhaps Bill and I will tie the knot in New York City if it passes. It will definitely be a much lower key affair than last summer. It would be nice though, a political act mixed with love and romance. Two more days to get through and it shouldn’t be that difficult.


I Can- Blue

2 Replies

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.