Author Archives: johnozed

About johnozed

I'm 50+ years old, 210-ish#, 6'2", reddish blonde, blue eyes with glasses (and without) masculine, funny, relatively intelligent, enjoy the company of assorted friends and family especially sordid friends and family. I love music, reading, writing, conversing, laughing, going to films, shows, concerts and smoking cigars. And I also enjoy looking nice in a suit and tie. Looking more like Lewis Lapham than Tom Wolfe. I'm sure there is more, but we'll just have to find out when I write about it. In a lifetime relationship with partner Bill Vila.

I’ll Go Crazy

2 Replies

Well it’s Friday and I’m not at 100%, still have this cold which seems to be subsiding at 3:18PM. I listened to Bill’s advice and stayed home. I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be going into work and set things up to take care of themselves today in the office.

So I’m legitimately out today yet still I feel some guilt about not going in. True, I probably wouldn’t be of much use today, things on Fridays have been generally running at half speed lately, but I feel like I should have made an appearance.

And on the news today was all bad news, unemployment at it’s highest in 37 years. That didn’t help my mindset at all. Harpy and I talked last week about how odd it is that I’m the only one working out of several people we know.

It’s not easy working knowing the rug could be pulled out from under you at any time. The sword of Damocles hangs overhead while precariously perched on a shaky rug. It seems more intense not being in the office than it is when I am in the office.

Had a strange dream last night. I was on a motor boat in the Hudson River with Paul McCartney and one of his grand kids. I was steering it towards where the Air Bus was docked in the World Financial Center/Battery Park area before being moved on shore in NJ.

Lot’s of watercraft and despite the feeling of near collisions I was able to get the motor boat back to Jersey City where Macca and I walked around looking for his grand kid. That’s it, that’s all that happened and it was certainly a sign of a fever dream.

I can’t say that I’ve dreamed of Paul or any other Beatles lately though I used to when I was growing up in Lodi. I used to dream that John, Paul, George and Ringo lived in a neighbor’s house, the Janowsky’s much like the Beatles lived in one big flat in Help.

I would go over to see if they were around but almost always they were away. I would see them going in or out of the house in various dreams. Here it is quite a few years later and I’m dreaming of Paul in Jersey City. I guess I still am a strange kid.

It’s cold outside and I’ve been cooped up all day in the apartment. No need to go out though stretching my legs seems like a good enough excuse. Tomorrow is supposed to be a nice day and I am thinking about heading into the office to take care of some dirty stuff.

That means cleaning out the bamboo stalks from the algae covered rocks in a few vases in the office. It’s a messy job and I’m thinking that tomorrow would be perfect since no one will be in and I can do it at my own pace. It’s basically a pain in the ass.

Well I just got back from a short walk to the store. It’s certainly cold out, but I enjoyed just being outside. Broke up the day somewhat. Nothing else planned for today or rather, tonight. More sitting around the apartment seems likely. But tomorrow, tomorrow I will go out. This much I know.

Tenth Avenue Freeze Out

1 Reply

Well it was back to work for me and I made it until 3:00PM. I had an errand that was close to the Path train which allowed me to leave early. I wasn’t feeling 100% and Tom Chin mentioned quite a few times that I don’t look so well and I sounded congested.

I thought I looked ok but it’s true I was still congested. It seems like the cold or bug or whatever has moved from my sinuses to my chest. Some coughing, in a Flemish style.

I spoke with my brother Frank and texted with my brother Brian as well as emails with my sister Annemarie. I seem to be the conduit for all three. Brian asked me to forward an email to Bill which I did, and later speaking with Frank about an email I offered to write it for him, saying ‘Duh’ a lot as well as ‘I forgot what I was trying to say’. He laughed at that which was good.

Annemarie, 3000 miles away was expressing concern for me and my ailment, suggesting various things to make me feel better, which I did but still never got the zinc lozenges. Think it would be best for all concerned, meaning co-workers, that I stay home tomorrow.

Fridays are generally slow and quiet and I usually leave early anyhow and who knows how many people I’ve infected just by going to work. That’s probably how I got whatever it is that I’ve got. I just made some pasta which took care of some hunger.

On the way home I ran into William Charas my former roommate from my Weehawken years. It was good to see him but I didn’t stick around much since he was heading into the Hoboken Farmboy and I was heading home and it was 25 degrees out with a whipping wind.

Going to be 7 years since I moved from Weehawken and 6 years since he was forced out of a lovely living situation at 127 Jane Street. We definitely get along better now that we don’t live together. We had gone through a few ups and downs, the loss of our fathers but through it all we occasionally did get on each others nerves.

The last part of our living together was silently wishing the other one would move out. Since both of us were friends with Julio, Julio got to hear both sides of the problem, eventually telling me of the apartment on the top floor of his building.

It turned out to be the right choice since within a year William, his brother Chaz and his wife Kathe in 129 Jane Street were all forced to move due to the hideous landlords. The landlords were such a pain in the ass to deal with that in order for Bill and myself to have a fun time, we rented a hotel room in Manhattan for the weekend. Things were cheaper then and the hotel had a really good deal.

But it was great seeing William, we parted ways telling each other, I love you. I came home feeling good and lucky to know that I had so many good friends that love me, and I of course love them right back.