Ugh. Wednesday. What a day. Not a very good one. It started out ok. A bit nippy as I woke up and shuffled around, shower, coffee, cereal and out the door just as the Today show started. Once again, a problem at the tunnel affecting traffic on the helix, but not the road into the city, especially when riding on a big old coach bus. I had skipped a week ahead and found myself engrossed in the New Yorker, reading a selection from Gunter Grass’ Memoir about being in the German army in World War Two. That was announced a few years ago. Him, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, being a former Nazi. Tsk Tsk. He does regret it, unlike a certain guy in a dress in Rome. It was a good story nonetheless.

Work was work was work to paraphrase Gertrude Stein. It turned out Greg Steven’s mother in law passed away last night. She was 88. Bill was upset and carried through for part of the day before leaving until Tuesday to help his wife deal with the situation. Greg’s a good guy and I of course offered whatever help I could give him. He asked about how Frank was doing and after I told him, he rolled his eyes and asked what it was all about. I had nothing to tell him, just to get through it as best as we could. Also to enjoy every sandwich. That was from the late Warren Zevon.

I left work early and walked over to the bus terminal where I stood in line with all the other people heading out to Bergen County. I was early since and since Frank is in the intensive care unit, hours are restricted to half hour visits, no more than two visitors at a time. Like I said I was early, so I sat in the lobby and waited for Elaine. She showed up soon enough and we waited in the lounge outside of the ICU and shared a banana. We agreed that when Frank gets out, he will have to be more active, perhaps even joining Elaine on her walks rather than sitting on the couch and doing not much at all.

We went in and saw Frank, groggy of course. It seemed like he didn’t even know that he had an operation the day before. He was anxious to get out of the hospital and that’s understood, but when he doesn’t have his teeth in, then there’s confusion about what he is actually saying which makes him testy and working on Elaine’s last nerves. She mentioned that he was acting like our father and he sure was. Surly and impatient. We understood that, but it gets hard when you’re trying to help someone and they’re getting snippy.

Frank had food coming and three nurses helped him move 1.5 feet from the bed to a chair which threw him for a loop. Didn’t remember he had a catheter in, and was worried about having to take a piss despite us telling him to go ahead. It was nothing we all hadn’t seen before. Poor Frank, so lost and confused. Elaine had to run out to her car to get some denture glue for Frank and then it was a while before we were able to figure out what Frank was saying about how to put the glue on here, place it in there, not too complicated for most, but for us it was. He also called me Cory a few times.

We wound up being in ICU for an hour which meant I missed my bus and could mean an hour wait for the next one. Elaine and I left, asking Frank to relax and get some rest. They might be moving him from ICU tomorrow so some sleep would do him good. Elaine was going to drive me to the bus stop but we saw a bus ahead heading to another stop down the line. Thank goodness for the Hasbrouck Heights Homos headed into the city, about six of them, each of them paying with twenty dollar bills. That meant the driver had to make change for each one which took some time and enable me to get on the bus after kissing Elaine good night and thanking her for the ride. It’s a good thing the Hasbrouck Heights Homos didn’t buy tickets for each other and sort out the money later or else I’d probably be getting off the bus now.

Elaine really deserves a medal for all that she’s been going through. I walked down to Hoboken after getting off in Union City, down the viaduct. Good to be home.

Some time later…unrelated in every sense of the word.
http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=51740&in_page_id=34

This logo/brand I believe was created by Wolff Olins…er…McMann and Tate. Isn’t it ugly. I remember Wolff Tate ‘got’ the branding contract for the London 2012 Olympics, This ugly thing makes me even happier I am no longer there. That’s all. Good night.

Last night I watched possibly the funniest show ever. Funnier than the Office, My Name is Earl, 30 Rock and even my beloved Scrubs. I knew Nick Park had a TV scheduled since I glimpsed a bit of it on a commercial on CBS and surprisingly I remembered it was on. Within the first 30 seconds I knew I needed to record it, it was that good. I also knew that brother Frank could probably use a larf so I called him. He was roaming the halls so I spoke with Elaine. She told me they were watching House. I said, who wants to watch a hospital drama, when you’re in a friggin’ hospital? She agreed and changed the channel.

I also called up Rand and Annemarie and told them to catch the show, Rand was recording it already, Annemarie knew about it it years ago since I sent my nephew Earl Wallace and Gromit, another one of Nick Park’s creations. They also had a tape of Creature Comforts, but I think that may have been from the BBC. But what was the best was a phone call I got from my brother Frank, thanking me for telling about the show. He and Elaine were laughing hysterically for the 30 minutes it was broadcast. I knew he needed a larf. I told Frank to be strong and that I loved him. I know he was probably scared since he had an operation scheduled for this morning, so I was glad I was able to take his mind off that, if only for a little while.

It helped me a great deal. After that I watched the New Adventures of Old Christine, which was good, but paled after Creature Comforts. I think Creature Comforts is so good, it probably won’t last long. Then I watched a documentary on Sundance called, Gay Sex in the 70’s. How nice. Not funny at all. Quite sleazy. All about NYC in the seventies and all the gay sex that seemed to be going on everywhere. It was most un-erotic. Various talking heads would tell of their experiences, ultimately saying that they were lucky to be alive, since so many died soon after the seventies from Aids. It’s a good thing I was unaware of what was going on then, being so young and all, so I can sit here and write all about what I missed.

Today I woke up, with one eye on the clock. Frank was scheduled for his operation at 7:30 and I sat on the bus chanting silently to the universe to do the right thing. On the way to work I played Brian Wilson’s SMiLE which starts off with Our Prayer. I saw Brian Wilson perform the album with Frank in 2005 which was a good memory, and I know we’ll have plenty of other good memories to come. Annemarie was on standby with her cellphone always within reach. Brian too was reachable but for what seemed like forever, no news was forthcoming. I assured myself that no news is good news. Bill had enlisted the deacons in his church to pray for Frank’s well being

Every time my phone rang I was fearful but the news eventually came, Frank was out of surgery and that was done. They found more of the infection than expected and I trust they took care of it somehow.
I called Annemarie and Brian and Bill and told them the information. Frank is in ICU, probably playing the part of mumbly Joe, so I’ll see him tomorrow, if the hours permit.

I did have work to attend to and that was interesting and frustrating. Greg Steven’s mother in law has been gravely ill lately and she too had gone under the knife last week. Over the weekend she had a heart attack. So Greg has been sympathetic to what’s been going on with Frank, and I in turn have been sympathetic to his plight as well. I also had a visit from a Chinese woman who had sent me an email, blank, no subject, no message. I just sent it back to her the same way. Surprisingly she showed up in the office asking for me. I introduced myself to her and she was confused, expecting the other John Ozed. Apparently she had done the same thing a few months ago, only looking for someone else, not me.

One of the tasks that I’ve been working on since I started was getting rid of certain phone lines that no one uses anymore. It took a few weeks to track the lines down and figure out what was what. Yesterday, I called up Verizon to take care of the mess. Out of 16 lines, we kept four, saving the company hundred of dollars. Today, someone who has phantom ties to my company came up to me and asked why his phone wasn’t working. His main line worked, but the line he hadn’t used in months, wasn’t. Ridiculous. This guy is hardly in the office, maybe four days a month. He’s trying to extricate himself form our company, lot’s of financial dealings interweave between his company and mine. I sent him an email explaining what was done, then I left for the day.

I walked to the bus terminal, enjoying a Padron and trying to maintain a positive attitude, if only for Frank’s sake. It’s not easy, but he’s worth it. Good thoughts, vibrations and prayers are still needed in his direction so please keep it up. Thanks.