Category Archives: Interesting Things as of Late

isn’t it all?

Seasons in the Sun

Well I finally had a shitty day. First of the year, not bad for a month and a half into it. And it was mostly my doing. Partial credit or blame goes to Mother Nature and the snow which is now wet cold puddles of slush and whoever designed or approved the new sidewalks in the city. They sure look nice when it’s dry our, all smooth and shiny but as soon as it gets cold and there’s snow or frozen rain you are walking on thin ice literally and figuratively. The day didn’t start out on the best note either.

Got up at 4:00(!) thinking it was 6:30. That royally sucked though I was able to go back to sleep with no real problem. Woke up at 6:30, groggy of course. Bill made some coffee with what he could since the can opener was broken he wasn’t able to open the can of fresh coffee. Of course I thought he was doing it wrong, but no, somehow the can opener was kaput. The coffee Bill made resembled brown water but I drank it. It was very sweet. The gesture, not the coffee. He was soon off and I was in the shower.

I wore my work boots today since I messed up the pair of shoes I was wearing yesterday and will have to bring them to the shoe makers on Saturday. I looked like a well dressed Frankenstein monster as I clomped my way down the stairs. The sidewalks were occasionally shoveled but it was the crosswalks were where the hazards lay in wait. Huge puddles, perfect for playing Titanic with small boats. I gingerly stepped over and made it to the bus stop and hopped on a waiting bus. It soon filled up and I read the New Yorker instead of I, Claudius, trying to keep up with the current issue.

The iPod started acting up again, it would play two or three songs then suddenly stop. It did have the courtesy to wait for the last song to end before it stopped playing. I would have to reset it and start all over again and once again, two or three songs then it would freeze up. I think it was because of the weather, or rather, I hope it’s because of the cold weather. I decided to go to the Apple store on Fifth Avenue after work.

And after work would never seem to arrive. I was stuck rewriting some paperwork and I kept stressing out on how to format it properly as a Word document. I couldn’t figure it out and I was going crazy trying to figure it out. I sent a copy of it to Bill who knows Word programs inside and out and could probably do it in his sleep. But in sending it to his work email it was now in the system of the Really Big Law Firm which Bill didn’t realize until he tried to send it back to me. It was nothing terrible, just a sheet of words taken from a thesaurus.

No confidentiality clauses were broken or anything like that. I got it back and was able to make whatever revisions that were needed. I had a larger document that had to be retyped and was wrestling with that. I left it unfinished. I’ll be able to finish it tomorrow. I did have a date with Brenda from Wanker Banker. I went there after the Apple store visit, where I talked to a floor person named Christopher Duff who told me that more than likely it was because of the weather. I could always restore the iPod to the original settings and lose everything there, 6900 tracks.

I’m betting on the temperature. Rand sent me a link for SharePod which is a program that could take all the tracks on the iPod and put it into my computer, which means everything, not just the songs on the iPod that I had lifted from other sources. Argh. That and laundry seem to be the agenda for the weekend. Juan will be here though. He’d better be entertaining and hopefully jazzy. Or else. No foolin’.

Valentine’s Day

Snow Haiku
tumble on 42nd street
43rd st, salt falls into shoe
cellphone left at home

It snowed last night. About 3 or 4 inches, and when having a size queen for a partner, you realize that 3 or 4 inches isn’t much really. Zoom zoom zoom! Bill was up and active as I plodded around the apartment. Once again I thanked him for the cereal and the coffee and was able to get the words out properly. I stepped into the shower and got myself all clean for the day ahead. After that, breakfast and checking email while getting dressed and watching the telly for weather reports. It was a mess they said.

And it certainly was a mess. There were no emails from jaundiced psychopaths in Clifton today but that was only because I blocked his yellow ass. The sidewalk wasn’t shoveled and I couldn’t find the recycling can to throw out my recyclables. Turns out it was across the street on a neighbor’s shoveled sidewalk. I walked over and brought it back to the building throwing my plastics in there. It wasn’t so bad walking to Washington Street though when I got closer to the street I realized I left my cellphone at home.

I thought about turning around to go get it from the apartment but decided to go ahead to work instead. I was a bit worried that the office would be closed and I wouldn’t get the call not to come in. With every step I took and with every block the bus went past I felt like the office was not going to be open. I got off the bus and walked through the bus terminal and stepped into the slushy streets. As I walked down 42nd Street I decided to cross since it seemed more shoveled than the side I was on.

As I approach the curb I lift one foot over a puddle of ice and find myself falling down onto the sidewalk one hand clutching the umbrella, the other trying to cushion my fall. I landed on my left knee which hurt a little but I was able to limp and walk it off. A block later I felt ok. As I walked down 43rd Street I pass a maintenance employee for some building with a salt spreader spreading salt. He just kept spreading the salt as people walked by and of course some of that salt made it into my shoe.

I got to the office and only Larry was in. The office was officially open though President Naomi had opted to stay home in Essex County and Wally wasn’t expected in since he had that ear operation the other day. Everyone else trailed in. Not many applicants today. I surfed around and did some data entry, careful not to do too much since I’m basically all caught up to everyone’s amazement and gratitude. Sent some emails to former coworkers wishing them all a Happy Valentine’s Day, much like the wish I am giving to you right now.