Hopelessly banal with a slathering of ennui | johnozed

A lovely Saturday today. I’ve been busy and right now I am boiling a pot of water so I can have some ravioli for dinner. Then after that I plan on checking out another music festival on Pier A. The headliners are Tokyo Police Club, a band I heard of but never actually heard. I am also getting some discs together for my sister’s birthday. Just a few things, no mix tapes, just straight up discs. Right now I am listening to Me’Shell Ndegeocello’s latest, Weather and it’s better than I anticipated. She was getting more and more esoteric and this is a return to form.

Last night it was raining and I didn’t go out. Of course even if it weren’t raining I would have likely stayed in. I watched Bill Maher while my Bill was at the Yankee game. Yankees vs. Red Socks I believe. Who won I couldn’t say, but I guess it was the Yankees since Bill was in a very good mood when he walked through the door. Bill Maher was alright, smarmy as usual and when no one laughs at his jokes he thinks he’s crossed a line, not thinking that the joke was not funny to begin with. It’s ‘them’ not ‘him’.

I hoped Bill would be interested in watching The Artist but it was late and he had a full day and I did not think he would have the energy required to pay attention to a silent film. So instead we watched Bringing Up Baby which I have seen dozens of times and Bill had never seen before except for the clip where Cary Grant in Hepburn’s bathrobe jumps up and shouts that he’s gone gay. But it was late and Bill made it to the halfway point. I stayed up a little while after that.

I heard from a former favorite customer of mine from the cigar shack. Nice guy, great family. He was surprised that I was no longer there when he asked for me, and apparently the line being told is that I have been looking for something more ‘officey’, meaning a job in an office. Which is true somewhat. The former favorite customer was concerned enough to give me a lead on a position and so I sent out two emails when I had the chance. I was filled with that familiar feeling of hope once again.

I did not expect a rejection email so quickly though, a rejection via iPhone. I sent out two emails and got one ‘we are not hiring right now but will keep it on file’ response. I have so many resumes on file throughout Manhattan and I am sure there are thousands of other people who also have their resumes on file. I have been in that position and I know, there is no file except for the circular file underneath most desks in the human resources department. Oh how I dislike that feeling of hope. It just brings on despair. At least it does for me.

No worries, I’ve moved on. I’ve only brought it up since it did happen today. And the water is on the boil and I am so easily called away…

11 Wasted Time

Ugh what a day. Really a crap shoot with the rain taking the house to the cleaners. It rained a lot today and I have to admit my disappointment in the fact that I was not able to do any busking today. New guitar strings, they really ring out when strummed and I was looking forward to hearing how it sounded outdoors. Plus there a few songs that I had been practicing since yesterday afternoon and I was eager to try them out. But no, it rained on my parade. So I was unhappily housebound most of the day today.

I was able to run out and get some errands done and that’s about it. When it had stopped raining, it was too wet to go busking. Where I play is under some trees which would have been laden with rain water and water is no good for a guitar. There really isn’t anything to write about today. The play Bill is stage managing opens tonight and Bill can’t wait until the run is over with. He was quite stressed when he came home last night, and got some things off of his chest.

He usually works with theater companies and productions that appreciate the work that he does. Not this company. Road blocks and hassles seem to be going method of putting it together. I am telling tales out of school and it’s not my place to tell them. I tried to make Bill feel better somehow by telling him now he has the whole experience. He’s worked with people that like and appreciate him and now he is working with people that simply do not. Whether or not it helped I don’t know but he was able to relax after that, and I strummed my guitar and sang for him.

I’ve been catching up on my reading, The New Yorker, Mojo magazine, James Wolcott’s last book- Lucking Out. I was saddened to read that David Rakoff passed away after a battle with cancer. He was a very funny writer and I have one of his books somewhere around here. A friend gave me one of his books, ‘Fraud’ I think early in this century. He was blurbed by David Sedaris so if you like David Sedaris you probably would have liked David Rakoff as well. In fact, all the Davids seemed to like David Rakoff which makes sense.

I may go out for a walk but looking west out the kitchen window the clouds look ominous. It’s just as well, I’ll just stay inside like I’ve done most of the day. Impressive clouds they may be, I find them to be a hindrance to my happiness. Now it’s sunny again. No consistency to this day it seems. And I know inconsistency! Still, I have my sneakers on, ready to go out should the desire arise. I’ve eaten dinner, and I am almost at my daily quota so anything is possible really. Well not really anything, perhaps almost anything.