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.

Ego Tripping Out

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It’s Thursday though last night I could have sworn it was Thursday which would make today Friday but it isn’t, it’s Thursday and that’s a drag. It happens from time to time, getting a little ahead of myself on occasion. Today was a day of fiasco’s. Bill asked me to drop off a power supply for his laptop at his office on my way to work this morning. That was no problem. The actual problem was I brought the wrong power supply. I thought he needed the one with the Apple logo on it but no. So I have to bring the one Bill actually needs which is no big deal, not even a hassle since it’s on the way.

I watched two documentaries on PBS last night, the first was a new documentary on Marvin Gaye. Great story, deserved more than an hour, though I guess that is where Jesse Martin comes in with his bio-pic of Marvin in the works. Should be an interesting scene of Marvin on the beach in Hawaii trying to kill himself by snorting many grams of cocaine. A troubled life for the trouble man. Great clips throughout the show of Marvin in his uneasy prime. What a sexy guy he was but couldn’t dance for shit.

The other documentary was about Aretha Franklin which had even better clips from the sixties, but it was a documentary from the late eighties it seemed. Keith Richards was in it for a minute or two and he looked still alive. Still there were some clips of Aretha live that sent chills up my spine. A friend of mine and I had a plan a few years ago to drive to Detroit just to hear Aretha sing in her church. Obviously it never came to fruition, never making it to Motown.

Work was ok. Nothing much to report. The bookkeeper was back after a bout with cancer which seems to be in remission and that was good to hear. She’s a buffer of sorts between me and Tom Chin. I was planning on trying to get Juan a summer job in my office, but as usual communication is up to me. A month ago I mentioned that there might not be a need for a receptionist and Vivek said there would be.

Today I mentioned it to Greg Stevens and he said there would be no need. So I figure I have to get a definite answer so in case it doesn’t go well Juan could figure out something else to do. Greg cited the cost, but it wouldn’t be much of a cost since it’s the same as we are paying Lydia presently. I’ll find out more about that tomorrow.

I also dealt with the insurance company and NYU dental school, who didn’t have me in their records. At least the first of several numbers I had dialed. Then the same thing with the insurance company. It turns out they did send a check for the scaling and planing they had done on my left side of my mouth. But they sent it to NYU and not me.

NYU does the work and collects money from me. That’s it. All insurance paperwork has to be done my me, not the dental school. They’ve already gotten my money, and now my check covering a little bit more than 50% of what I paid which is better than nothing.

Serenity now!

Oh forgot this nice little bit. I had a letter published in Mojo Magazine. It was actually the second time they’ve published a letter, or rather email that I’ve sent. This month’s issue, #175 with Slash on the cover. I don’t like Slash. In the UK it was Paul Weller on the cover. My letter was about the previous month’s switch of covers for a US readership. Instead of a great picture of one of my all time favorite bands ever, The Specials, they had Neil Young. Great songs, but let’s face it, he’s a geezer. The Specials, interracial, young and handsome with a great political slant are much more easy on the eyes.

My letter is under the heading “We thought you were inferior” and the letter goes as follows:

“I love you MOJO, I really do. I buy your magazine every month. I was driving the newsagents crazy insisting MOJO 174 had the Specials on the cover. Then I saw Neil Young instead. I like Neil Young, but I got so much more from my beloved Specials. Just disappointed in the switch. I know you have to do it in the US since Neil is more famous that Jerry, Terry and co. And I still love you.”

What do you think about that? I had to admit, I thought it was great as I laughed out loud.
But that headline…
What do you think it means?

Please check out this link from the wonderful Dan Savage. Cut n’ paste:
http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/05/hello_straight_people

This Is What We Find

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Ok, a pretty good day. Teeth still in the head, some money still in the bank. Bill came home to my surprise last night. Unfortunately he called during the big revelation during Lawn hor d’oeuvre SVU so I have to admit I was distracted. He noticed my lack of enthusiasm, but when the killer is about to be revealed and to get a phone call… well, I hung in there and paused the show thanks to the gadgetry of modern cable TV. And was it worth the pause? No. This is the second week where it seemed they were stuck for an ending.

Last week they had Robin Williams jump in the river and never looked for his body. This week, the 98 lb. killer took her unrequited love who weighed lets say, 170 lbs and jumped off the edge of a building ending the show with Stephen Collins screaming “No!” as his son landed on a car several stories below. Next week is the season finale which looks to be extra lame. I went to bed after the news, Bill stayed up watching David Letterman.

I woke up earlier than I had been since clients were coming into the office for a breakfast meeting, meaning I get a free breakfast. I asked Lydia to come in early and offered her a free breakfast, but she ate already. The people that came in were nice, I had met them before. Slowly the office is coming to life. Moe Stooge sat in his soon to be rented office and grunted a few times as I walked by. I guess I am now ‘the enemy’. He’s a dick, and a tiny dick at that.

Spoke with dear Connie. She’s been sick for a while, she got the lupus. She was able to get herself together to make it to a party in Manhattan a few weeks ago and I admit that I was hurt that I didn’t get a chance to see her, but then again I wasn’t invited to the party. She told me she has been off her meds since they didn’t seem to be helping, but after a considerable amount of time, she’s going back on them. There are some days she can’t even get out of bed, and it seems out of most of her friends I am the only who doesn’t give her a hard time when she doesn’t answer the phone. I can be the forgiving type.

It’s hard to believe but I haven’t seen Connie in a few years, and this summer seems unlikely since Annemarie and company aren’t making it to NJ this year, and Julio and Stine now have Alexander to consider, effectively making me the number 2 baby, so no beach days I guess. Wah wah wah.

On one of my errands I saw someone I used to work with 25 years ago. Just a guy from the mail room, Lloyd I think his name was. He didn’t recognize me and for an instant I thought about introducing myself but changed my mind. I figured there would be too much catching up on who was dead, who’s alive what’s what so I kept on walking. Perhaps if I saw him again I’ll say hello. Perhaps.

Had a good ride home, reading Christopher Hitchens, ‘God is not Great’. I love it, I’m chuckling throughout. Hitchens can be a boor, but he is erudite and occasionally funny. And I appreciate his take on religion. As I was climbing the stairs, I heard an infant crying. It was Alexander Frederick Sorensen Lopez! With his mom, dad and Grandma who is going back to Denmark with Grandpa tomorrow. Alexander was hungry and just like his father, incorrigible.

No, Alexander is not incorrigible. He’s a sweet little angel with quite a head of hair coming out. I saw that a package came from Arcata arrived and I handed it to them. But Alexander was hungry and you don’t get between a Lopez and their food so I quickly took a few snaps and made a hasty exit to the fifth floor.

And here are those snaps.

Alexander Frederick Sorensen Lopez for President!