Monthly Archives: June 2011

I Belong to Glasgow

Got to do what you can to stay alive. Though I would rather work in an office environment, I am working retail, doing what I can to make ends meet. It’s a Saturday night, I just got home from the cigar shack. The weather outside is wet and breezy.

Umbrellas are of no use since it’s a drizzly mist going on and the wind blows it whichever way it wants to go. It was relatively dry when I left the apartment this morning. I saw Bill for a few minutes before I left. He came home and went right to bed as I was getting ready to leave.

I made it to the bus stop and while enjoying a cigar I texted Julio to ask him if I could borrow some items on Monday, specifically a ladder and a drill. He called me back, asking why did I need the drill and would I need bits.

I explained what it was for and he’s such a handyman, he started talking me through the process on using anchors and specific bits. Always helpful, that Julio. We chatted a bit more and I got off the phone since I was getting on the bus, telling him that I would call him back in a minute.

I called Julio back once I got on the bus, and he had some pretty big news to tell me. He & Stine have closed on a property in Hoboken. They needed more space since Alexander is a growing boy and who knows, they might need even more in case they decide on having another kid.

They are debating whether to keep the apartment in my building. Julio doesn’t see the point, and Stine sees a place for friends and relatives from Denmark and elsewhere to stay when they visit.

It was interesting news indeed and while happy for them I am also sad to see them go, even though they aren’t going very far and I rarely see them much these days anyhow. The bus ride into the city was uneventful and I made it in early enough to walk to work.

It seems my knee has gotten a bit better and I did not wear the knee brace when walking up to the cigar shack. I did get an egg sandwich on my way which was quite nice. It was a nice enough morning as I listened to New Order.

I got to the cigar shack early enough and punched in about 20 minutes before I was scheduled to start. I immediately hit the ground running and after the first customers, Thomas came in and joined Bradley and myself.

Then we waited for customers most of the day. It was raining out so that meant I was staying indoors for lunch. I sat in the man cave and read Uncut magazine, all about the life of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces and then Humble Pie. Sad story.

After lunch things had slowed again with flurries of customers and tire kickers. Bradley left for the day leaving Thomas and myself to stand around and clean things up. It was that kind of day. There was some hubbub at the bus terminal when I was heading home. One of the ramps was closed so buses were queued up going in and going out.

A trip to the grocery store to get distilled water for Bill and then all of a sudden I was home again. And quite happy to be here. Tomorrow is Sunday and I am working but once again, I will not be writing unless there is something extraordinary to write about. Like driving a truck for US Beef or something.

Pinstripes and plaid! Deliberate!

Something going on

I Believe In Love Kenny Loggins

What a day. A really strange day at that. I thought I slept fairly well last night, thanks to a melatonin, but man was I dragging ass today or what? It started out fine, Bill kissing me good bye for the day.

I won’t see him until tomorrow and he mentioned that I looked so cute, so groggy with dragon breath this morning. Nice to hear and it was probably true, I did have dragon breath.

I made my way to the bus stop, enjoyed a nice cigar as I waited in the shade. The bus came and I got on, said hello to the bus driver who calls me ‘champ’. No, not chimp, or chump but champ thank you very much.

Deborah from the fourth floor got on at the next stop. She and her boyfriend are taking a two week vacation, from Washington State down to Los Angeles. For some reason we started talking about parents and siblings and that was like an open faucet for me. < Some wounds were reopened somewhat, but me being me, I put a somewhat twisted and humorous slant on things. I think that might have been what set me back throughout the day. We parted ways and I got on the subway. More crowded than usual and I wound up being a few minutes late for work which for me is most unusual. It was Calvin and Thomas working alongside me. But I couldn’t catch up. It was like I was a few steps behind everyone else despite having the best sales of the day. Thomas and I got along fine, though with every misstep I took that Thomas saw I would turn to him and say ‘oh shut up you.’ He just ran out of the store, looking for his phone. He may have left it in a nearby store. I hope he finds it, he’s a nice guy. Thomas picked out another Friday afternoon movie, Scarface. Not the Paul Muni classic but the horror show directed by Brian DePalma, starring Al Pacino. That movie gets so much play from so many people who wouldn’t know a good movie if it bit them on the ass. Still it did get a nice crowd to Thomas’ credit. Bill is driving to Atlantic City again and I am working both Saturday and Sunday. I more than likely won’t see Bill until Sunday night which sucks for me. We’ve been having a good time together in the apartment. Many laughs and a mutual appreciation which is always nice to have. Tomorrow I am working with Thomas and Bradley and it shouldn’t be so bad. We all get along quite nicely lately. Sunday it’s Bradley and Jerry Vale and them I’m off. That shouldn’t be so bad either. I do expect a lot of staring at each other waiting for a customer to come into the cigar shack. Now I am alone in the cigar shack, listening to Beck, Black Tambourine. Thomas still hasn’t found his phone, or at least he is not back with his phone. Thomas is closing the cigar shack tonight which means I get to leave in about one hour. Looking forward to it and having written over 500 words so far it’s so far so good. And now I am home. The usual nonsense at the subway, and the usual invisible barrier that prevents people from forming an orderly line at the gate for the bus. It’s been a long day and I’m attributing my oddness today to the solar plasma waves that have been unleashed by the sun. From what I heard it’s going to be rough going until the beginning of July. I’ll do my best to hold on tight and I advise most of you to do the same. a href="https://johnozed.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/6.11.2011-001.jpg">

a Warhol being shipped out near the cigar shack

Invisible barrier in place