Interesting Things as of Late | johnozed

Last night was a bad night of sleeping. I went to bed with the best intentions of getting a good night’s sleep and woke up several times. The overhead light went on, a trip to the bathroom, and the need for some ibuprofen after all that.

There was the plan to go to the Eagle last night in Chelsea for cigar night and to drum up business for the cigar shack. With the tooth extraction and not smoking cigars yesterday it seemed like a better idea to just go home. I did make arrangements to come in late today since I had that plan but I decided to proceed as normal.

So as I groggily wandered around the apartment, having coffee and cereal after a shower I wandered out into the drizzle and waited for the bus. Uneventful ride of course and neighbor Deborah is nowhere to be seen. I just stared out the window and minded my own business. It is leap day, Sadie Hawkins day or whatever it is that you want to call it which could explain why things are a bit weird today.

And Davy Jones died today which is sad. I liked the Monkees and didn’t care that they were the PreFab Four. I enjoyed their music a lot, great hit singles and I also enjoyed their TV show. I didn’t catch the show the first time around but in the 1970’s I caught it in reruns on Channel 9, it seemed to be on everyday after school.

I did see Mickey Dolenz a few years ago when he played the Art & Music Festival in Hoboken and he put on a good job. A friend of mine does PR for Mickey Dolenz and told me that the last reunion tour ended abruptly and bitterly, but wouldn’t name names as to who did what. Lot’s of friends are posting Monkees videos on Facebook as a tribute to Davy Jones.

Overall it’s a bummer for a lot of people, those that grew up with the Monkees the first time around. I guess David Bowie can now go back to his original name, David Jones.

Now, at the cigar shack I am trying to kick someone out of the man cave which has been closed for the past half hour. He’s hemming and hawing and chatting with Angela who barely speaks English in an attempt to not leave. And Thomas has had a tide that once again lifted all boats.

The lucky stiff had a customer who came in a dropped a lot of cash on a sale in just under a minute. It almost repeated itself a minute later when the same customer came in to see what else was on sale. Then I guess reason entered the picture and he changed his mind and walked out the door.

I just got back from telling the customer that he had a half an hour longer than most people to finish his cigar and now he must go. I do not like this guy but apparently he must be tolerated since he does attend several of the big ticket events in the cigar shack world in Manhattan.

Just don’t mistake my kindness for weakness.

Spring is in the ground

15. A Little Bit Me A Little Bit You

I start this at home, 1:08AM. Iam not tired so I figured I would stya up a while and watch TV. I heard a lot of good things about Downton Abbey and see that it on PBS. As the show opened at Christmas in 1919, presents are handed out to the servants as well family of Downton Abbey. Unfortunately, now is the time for the Emergency Broadcast System to make their monthly announcement and test. So perhaps it’s just as well that I should go to bed. It made me laugh though.

Now, hours later- I put up with the noise from the Emergency Broadcast System, while grateful that there was no ‘real’ emergency to worry about. And after a short time, the audio for Downton Abbey was restored and I found myself engrossed slightly. I mean, Maggie Smith is in it, and a blast from the past, Elizabeth McGovern playing an American married to a member of the British aristocracy. But by the time 1:45 rolled around I knew I was in over my head and needed to go to sleep.

Bill had gone to bed an hour or two previous and had gotten out of bed twice by my count. When I eventually got to bed myself he got out of bed one more time before I faded into relative obscurity. He was up and out around 7:30 as I lay sleeping. He was feeling a little bit better, lending him a pair of my boxer briefs might have helped. Still he did not get nearly enough sleep as he needed and I expect him to be asleep when I get home in an hour or two.

It was fairly busy at the cigar shack, Zack and Bradley and Jerry Vale on board today which made for fierce competition for a handful of sales. Lunch was a waste of time though for the second day in a row I was able to get some Shepherd’s Pie which was wonderful and filling. I always think of Hyman Gross when I have Shepherd’s Pie. He was the one who recommended it to me, telling me that the overpriced supermarket nearby has it at a reasonable price.

I stayed close to the cigar shack during lunch, stopping into 2 nearby stores where friends work, only to find when I arrived that neither friend was available when I stopped by. It wasn’t terribly upsetting but did leave me in the lurch as to what to do for the rest of my rapidly decreasing lunch hour.

I just wandered around outdoors and got a shoeshine which wasn’t nearly enough to kill time. I wound up getting back to work earlier which was a bit of a drag. Still it wasn’t the end of the world and I would have had a quick cigar in the man cave if it weren’t for a certain troll that I have nothing but disdain for. Just too much of a lump to ignore so I avoided him.

03 help!