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’m Not In Love

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Another day off. Having two in a row is pleasant. It’s my Saturday and Sunday I suppose. It would have been nice if it were actually on Saturday or Sunday but who am I to complain?

I slept really well last night, so much so that Bill had difficulty rousing me to kiss me goodbye this morning. I vaguely remember it. I slept until about 9:00 this morning.

Woke up, showered, had coffee and cereal. Tentative plans to see Radiant Child, a documentary about Jean Michel Basquiat with Roda.

Whenever there is something Basquiat related going on, I always try to involve Roda. It was a good documentary, ultimately sad. Forgot that Jean Michel died at the way too young age of 27. That dreaded number. I’m 20 years past it so I’m not especially worried.

I was in the end stages of laundry when Roda ambled on by, sitting on the stoop and waiting for me. I almost made us late, but pushed enough to make the 1:15 show.

Saw coming attractions for two other documentaries, one about Nazi propaganda made in the Warsaw Ghetto and the other one about a French contest for the best pastry chef. I would wait until both are shown on cable.

Next week a movie excursion to see Inception is in the works with Bill and his friend Fred. That should be interesting. Also looking forward to dinner at the Rocking Horse Cafe beforehand.

It was fun walking around the Village if only for a little while. I was right around the corner from Wolff Olins, where I worked 4 years ago. I don’t know if I would recognize anyone still there, in fact the people I really liked have moved on.

I did run into the newsstand in the building and picked up the latest Mojo & Uncut magazines. A walk back down Carmine Street to the Path train meant a stop at the Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Bookstore.

I enjoy going in there, lot’s of good, cheap remaindered books on sale. Saw a few things that would make for good books for various people.

Path train home was comfortable, new car, air conditioned and the fact that it wasn’t rush hour meant we had seats. Back in Hoboken, Roda opted for the light rail since he had a birthday party to attend.

I opted to walk along the river for a while before heading to the supermarket and then home. Laundry done, hanging on racks and in the bathroom.

My Netflix account was activated again and I have Terry Gilliam’s Jabberwocky here. I saw that in the 1970’s with my sister at the Bergen Mall. I recall both of us being disappointed that it wasn’t as good as Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Maybe 30 years or so will allow me to look at it with fresh eyes, or at least an informed outlook. Then again, the DVD looks like it’s in bad condition.

I also have The Wonder Boys from the bibliothèque. I never saw it, Julio recommended it when it came out and I just read a review in the New Yorker that mentioned it as Michael Douglas’ best film. It’s always available at the bibliothèque so I thought now would be the time to check it out.

Also after reading a review in the New Yorker, I have a copy of Duke Ellington’s America by Harvey G. Cohen. That’s a tome with a small font.

I am looking forward to Leo and His Circle, a biography of Leo Castelli. That looks like a more entertaining read, I think.

Jean Michel Basquiat


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Michel_Basquiat:_The_Radiant_Child

I’m Wild About That Thing

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And we’re back on Monday. Worked yesterday, a Sunday and I certainly did not want to. But I had no choice. It’s the job I have. I dress like the job I want. Isn’t that the adage? Dress for the job you want, not the job you have?

If I were a farmer who wanted to be, let’s say, an office manager or a cigar salesman, does that mean I should be working in the fields in a suit & tie? Or would that be over reaching?

Saturday was a good day. Didn’t write about it. It was a good team, me, Raymond and Don Birch. Both Raymond and Don Birch want to leave the cigar shop after working there for 2 years. I can’t blame them.

There’s no future unless you’re management and neither are in the running for such a position since no position exists. Yesterday, Sunday was a different scene. It was me, Raymond and Calvin. Calvin’s the boss, assistant manager of the shop.

Whereas Saturday was laid back and everything still got done, Sunday was slow, narcoleptic. And Calvin being around didn’t help much. I do like Calvin though. Seems like a nice guy. According to Raymond, he’s a drinker and two faced and likes to pit people against each other.

Plus before my arrival, he used to use the word ‘homo’ in a derogatory way quite often. Not while I’ve been there though.

There was a cantankerous customer yesterday, fitting most every stereotype of a cantankerous man. An older gent wanted to step behind the counter while I was the only one in the front of the store and working with another customer while I was supposed to be going out to lunch.

He enjoyed pissing me off while he himself was annoyed with the fact that I wouldn’t allow him back there without someone else there. Behind the counter is where we sell the cigarillos, not cigarettes.

We can’t sell cigarettes thanks to Bloomberg and we also have to post an image of an x-ray showing a stroke victim with the bold words, smoking causes strokes. Several times a day we have people coming in to buy cigarettes.

Most customers ignore it and the European tourists are certainly put off. The American tourists think it’s disgusting and usually ask about the image. We tell them it was either put the images by the computer or have a poster in the window of the same x-ray image, thanks to Mayor Bloomberg.

On his agenda now is a plan to outlaw smoking cigars and cigarettes in New York City parks. Of course those rules don’t apply when Bloomberg is hobnobbing with his college buddies at the St. Regis where the fellow alumni all smoke cigars and drink freely.

Today I was off and I’m off tomorrow. I had an interview courtesy of an agency I signed up with years ago. The position was for the mail room, the money was quite close to what I used to make, nearly $20,000 more than what I make for standing around on my feet for 9 hours a day in a 10 hour shift.

I seem to be perfectly suited for the position and headed into the city nearly 90 minutes before the interview so I could take my time and not arrive sweating like a horse. Thanks to half a Xanax last night and the other half this morning I was pretty much cool, calm and collected.

The interview went well I thought and lasted about 20 minutes. Of course, as usual I spaced when the interviewer asked if I had any questions for them. I didn’t but merely stated that I was reliable and dependable.

At least I hope the interview went well. I think it did. I was told they were seeing other people which could be the truth, or it could be a lie. In any event, I just have to wait and see. At least I still have a job, standing on my feet for 9 hours during a 10 hour shift. With 1 free cigar a day.

Whether or not that resonated with her is another story. I did like the interviewer though, she seemed nice. I walked back to the bus terminal, trying not to sweat. Still calm and collected, though not as cool, I met up with Bill and his friend Tom.

Tom soon headed inside to give Bill & myself some quality time together and we stood outside and chatted. Bill has been super supportive while I maintained my neuroses.