The idiot Bill and I call Schlomo was out today. He’s technically my supervisor and he is probably the worst supervisor I’ve ever had. He plays favorites and I am not one of the favorites. I think he’s a shady character but I did not realize that until I was in close proximity to him.

He has a coat rack in his office. Outside his office, I used to sit with four guys. It was winter of 2023 and I had a winter coat. I spied the coat rack and asked if I could use it as well. He said no. I was taken aback and asked why. He said if he let me use it, he would have to let the other four use it as well and he was dead against it.

I called bullshit but did not say that out loud. I could understand if he said, “no you smoke cigars and your coats smell like cigars and I don’t want that smell in my office”, but the bullshit excuse of letting other people use the coat rack was just so wrong.

Some of the people who had spent time in the room alongside Schlomo and myself noticed that he treated the other guys one way and then treated me quite differently and not favorably either. He comes across as a nice guy but he’s a shit heel. I am fairly indifferent to him and it takes a lot to not show my disdain.

Now I work a few floors away but still we interact. Thankfully I don’t have to see the pictures of his grandchildren on a regular basis, though it was top notch acting on my part, saying all the right things. I used to call him Schlomo and everyone else called him Gold. I was being respectful then, figuring his family called him Schlomo at home, now I just call him Gold.

He would talk about his job before the pandemic, how great it was and all that. If it was all that, then what the hell is he doing here? Like I said, I think he’s shady and I’m a pretty good judge of someone’s lack of character. He was out today for some reason and I went in early to take care of things that he sets up for my work.

I started it last night and figured I would complete it this morning but a certain scum one did the work that I came in early to do. That certain scum one will be written about later on, a story about a thirty-something ‘bro’. You know the type, who wears a baseball cap all the time covering up his thinning hair, and sunglasses on the brim.

You know the type, you’ve seen the type. Probably has a red cap somewhere in the dark recesses of his armoire. But that’s for another time. We were once friends, I bought weed from him. Now he claims to be afraid of me, with my bark worse than my bite.

Monday. Back at it. Was not looking forward to it, especially after talking to my sister about work on the phone yesterday. Had to go in anyhow. Bill was up and out at 1:00 AM I think. Hours later I lay in bed not fully awake telling myself not to open an eye to see what time it was but it turned out the anxiety that did not allow for rest.

I wound up being up earlier than usual. So early that I decided to head to the gallows about a half hour than what I used to leave at. When Bill is around he runs down a list to make sure I have the necessities- wallet, phone, keys, teeth, vape pen, flare gun, life preserver, orange. We have to add water bottle to the list since I remembered that I did not have it halfway to the train.

I was early enough to be able to go to Whole Foods a few blocks away from the office and buy a 79-cent bottle of spring water. Then it was off to the office with a stop at Dunkin Donuts for my coffee and free donut. But the usual Dunkin was closed for renovations and I had to go a nearer one to my office and as usual, it was pandemonium. To my surprise though they remembered me and shouted, asking me what did I want over people in the line in front of me. And I got a free donut.

It being a Monday, a lot of people worked from home with a couple of dozen people out on vacation, or in office-speak, PTO. It was relatively quiet so that was pleasant. Summer days in the office aren’t going to last obviously and a decree came down from on high that working from home will only be permitted on Fridays. Everyone will need to be at their desks from Monday to Thursday.

On one hand that will be OK since a lot of people (millennials) will more than likely take advantage of that dictum and be out of the office on Fridays, that is if they don’t band together and revolt. They’re in their twenties and thirties so getting a new job shouldn’t be that much of a problem should they threaten. But they won’t. They don’t seem to be the type to rock the boat so the WFH (work from home) set will do just that on Fridays more than likely.

I’ll adapt, that is if I’m still around. Still playing the Mega Millions and hoping for the day I can call up and say goodbye. On the periphery, employment search engines are reappearing and nowadays they are catching my eye somewhat. Good to know they’re there, but then again, now I am 61. Feels like 41 if I don’t do anything strenuous, but I didn’t do much strenuous things when I was 41 so go figure.

I guess I’ve been writing again for a week now. Still haven’t told anyone yet, except for Bill.