The current temperature in Hoboken is 30°. It’s a Thursday. I am still bothered by the phone call with Billie yesterday. All I can think is that he was a bit drunk. Not 100% sure about it though. The call was about my expulsion from Burton & McGrotty.

He was of the mind that the universe put itself in the direction of my time to find a new job. I explained that I did not want to find a new job and was more than willing to put up with whatever nonsense was coming my way. I still feel that way.

Yes, things had gotten a bit awful towards the end but it was a thousand times better than the way I have been feeling since November 6. I don’t think Billie was able to wrap his head around that. I think he is of the thinking that god only gives us what we can handle.

And if you’ve been reading this here blog, you know how I feel about that theological philosophy. I’m not sure about that and I am not sure there is a god. I know he means well, but for me it was unnerving.

I just had a phone call with Mike. He is at work and while on the phone he is also interacting with other people at his job. Mike wears headphones while calling and I could hear all things going on around him. I wear headphones as well lately when I am on the phone.

Today Mike had mentioned that my voice sounded robotic, like that scientist who was in a wheelchair, Stephen Hawking. So I disconnected the Bluetooth for my headphones and went to the speaker. I don’t care for holding the phone to my ear, I prefer to be hands-free. Then Mike said that I still sounded robotic.

So I surrendered my hands-free method which might have made Mike comfortable while I was not. Conversations went on around Mike and I stated that we should talk later. He started complaining ‘There I go again, trying to get out of a phone call.’

I explained the reason I was trying to get off the phone, bad connection, his work conversations that were going on around him, conversations that he should pay more attention to rather than a robotic voice on the other end. I admit I was annoyed by the fact that despite my explanation, he did not hear a word of that explanation, neither normal sounding nor robotic.

Then he had a call that he could not ignore on his phone and I stated my hasta luego on my end which was received by silence. I do have to see him later this afternoon and I expect it to be awkward. I do have the upper hand though and not that I am planning to use that upper hand, since I do try to be the better man.

Not saying Mike is not a good man but in this instance and his annoyance it should prove to be something out of the ordinary since we’ve never butted heads before. He has a crappy phone. Mine isn’t the greatest but even Mike has stated that I do have a better phone. I do think his phone was the reason for the robotic sounds he was hearing.

Marianne Faithfull has shed her mortal coil today. I saw her with a few friends from Maxwell’s in 1987 at the Bottom Line. An amazing show, with Mac Rebbenack, Bill Frisell, Garth Hudson, Fernando Saunders, and others from the Strange Weather album playing behind Marianne live.

Marianne was wearing a beautiful red dress, chatting and smoking through the show, and was quite a chanteuse that evening. It was a pleasure to see and experience, if only for one evening in 1987. Her songs played in my head all afternoon. Bill asked who she was and as I explained I started to cry.

42° Wednesday evening. Not much has happened with me today. No word from the job interviewer. I’d be surprised actually. I wasn’t the only one being interviewed and I’m certain other people were more deferential than I.

Bill had a rough time today after a night of not sleeping well. It involved Bill going to the Journal Square area. He returned in a much better mood than he had when he left. The rest of the day was lazy. I did gather my steps though not hitting my daily goal.

That’s about it. Right now, Scott Pilgrim vs The World is on and it’s always a laugh. I don’t watch it enough. It’s directed by Edgar Wright and as far as I know, always makes an entertaining flick. And the music aspect of the movie is so much fun, at least to a geezer like myself.

Bill is doing a Zoom rehearsal right now. It’s for the reading at the 503 Social Club on March 24. I haven’t heard it but it does sound like it gets heated. Not a feel-good play from what I’ve overheard through 2 rooms.

It’s a Wednesday like I wrote earlier. A hump day and I ain’t gettin’ humped.

I’ve been smoking pot since March 1, 1981. I had previously sworn to my Mother that I would never do such a thing but I was hanging around with Perry Dedovitch who my mother liked and we both worked with.

Perry and I were both very much into the Beatles and so we went to the Beatlefest on February 29 and March 1, 1981. I thought Perry was the coolest and I had a crush on him. He was handsome but I never thought of him sexually, since he was definitely not my type.

But he was cool enough for me to want to hang out with. Looking back on all the cool guys I hung out with and I’m guessing that they were all straight as six o’clock. Except for one of them, I was never interested in them sexually.

And that one was because he did tease me with pictures of his cock as well as his post-workout shots. And he knew what he was doing and I knew I would never have an opportunity.

Perry had weed. So after the last night of Beatlefest 1981, Perry produced a joint that he lit up. He passed it to me, and the joint went back and forth until finished and I felt nothing. It wasn’t until a few more attempts over the course of a few weeks did I finally achieved enlightenment and a ravenous appetite.

Later in September 1981 Perry and I set out for California with a dream of starting over out there. It took about a month to realize it was a mistake. However I didn’t think that that was what a lot of people did, move to Los Angeles and start anew when it was.

We stayed with Perry’s relatives in Canoga Park for about a month. It seems so much longer over 40 years ago but was a mere couple of weeks. We even went to Las Vegas which was a big mistake and not in our plans but Perry’s relatives weren’t about to let us stay in their house without them being there which made sense.

I lost all my money in Vegas. Back in Canoga Park Perry took me aside and told him I did not have to impress his relatives. I asked him what did that mean, and he said the way I talk, all high falutin’ and intelligent like I was putting on airs.