Today was a day off. I had about 8 hours of sleep, it was so good. Slept until about 8:45 this morning and got out of bed. I had a meeting with Donald the K this morning at 11:00 and did not want to be late or miss it.
All I had was a little bit of milk for coffee and not enough for cereal, so I fortified myself with a few cups before heading out. I donned a grey wool pinstripe suit, a Paul Frederick shirt with a black & white & grey flowered tie.
It was chilly outside so I wore an older overcoat as well as my apple jack or newsboy cap. I was about 15 minutes earlier than I usually am and found a totally different scene. Different commuters, different bus driver and instead of sitting on the left side, I sat on the right and looked at things I normally don’t look at.
And once again the bus filled up with people, some of them not having correct change and asking the people already on the bus if they had change for a five dollar bill. I made it into the city and headed east to 6th Avenue.
I walked past Bill’s office building and merely took a camera phone picture as I passed by. I made it to the building where Donald the K’s company is and after a few minutes with security, I gained access to the 19th floor.
I met with Donald the K and we sat in a conference room. I was impressed with the size of their offices. Donald the K was dressed casual and mentioned that I didn’t need to be wearing a suit & tie. I told him I didn’t mind. We talked for a while and he seemed sincere in trying to get me into the job.
The whole meeting lasted about 20 minutes and while I waited for the elevator, he asked what I was making at my last job. I told him the extravagant figure I was paid and that I would have been happy with 15 thousand less.
During the meeting Donald the K told me about how a former co-worker Andrea comes in once a week to do whatever needs to be done on the secretary side of things. She commutes from down the shore in New Jersey and Donald also told me that she had died for a few minutes while delivering her second child.
That was something I did not know about. I did send Andrea a message on Facebook telling her I was meeting with Donald and how I did not want her to think I was gunning for her job. She responded a few hours later saying that she would love to work with me again, so that was cool to know.
I also got an email from another former co-worker, Brenda who’s last day was today for the now non-existent Putnam Lovell. I responded and tried to be supportive. At least she knows from my experience how hard it is out there. But she’s smart and savvy and should have no problem getting something lined up. Exploit those connections!
Made it back to Hoboken safe and sound. I needed a haircut but my barber Tony was not in today. He only works Monday and Saturday now and I guess I will have to wait until next week and get it done. It’s been an adequate day off, not the best but far from the worst.
Back to work tomorrow and off on Thursday. How I yearn for a Monday to Friday job.
