Category Archives: the day after yesterday

I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan

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Back to work for me today. I think I have more problems with work when I’m not there. More likely when I am going to work, or getting ready to go to work. And as usual as I slept I did not want to get out of bed, I kept hitting the snooze button as often as possible.

Bill left for work later than usual which threw off my game. I can’t blame him. He didn’t want to get out of bed either. I did eventually get out of bed and had a shower, made some coffee and had a bowl of cereal. I still did not want to go to work.

I checked my emails and didn’t see anything worth checking out job wise. I did notice the job I came thisclose to getting in November/December was still open. That saddened me somewhat and I thought about sending my resume directly to the woman I initially met.

Bill figures I have nothing to lose and that I should include a note of apology in a cover letter. I have revamped my resume and not it’s totally honest. I guess that if they wanted me so much and if Greg Stevens letter was ‘all that’ maybe they would reconsider and give me a second chance. I’ve got nothing to lose (except hopefully a job in retail).

Bill is currently on the phone with Hyman Gross who has resurfaced after a two week stint in a hospital in Springfield MA. I think he’s going to have a short stay in a home in Manhattan. That’s somewhat good news. I guess I will be seeing him and riding the bus with him soon enough.

Work was slow once again. We’re officially in the doldrums. Big sales are over, and neck bones like Car Door Wet Nap did not come in today thankfully. I did sit in the back and enjoyed a cigar during my lunch hour. It wasn’t too crowded so I was able to relax and read about Neil Young in the latest Mojo magazine.

I also played a playlist titled Breaking In My Heart, 80 songs, and 6 hours of music. My competition for playing music is the Bradley who has been taken off life support and is breathing on his own. He plays things that he likes whereas I act like a DJ and play things that I think the customers might enjoy without beating them over the head.

Something new and something old all mixed together with few complaints. A few customers can tell when the music that is playing has been programmed by me.

It was yet another long day at the cigar shop, not too many customers. Two more days of work, then off on Thursday. Another snow storm is heading our way, from the south where Atlanta and Athens GA were hit by 10 to 12 inches of snow.

Who knows what will happen? It’s supposed to start tomorrow night and continue into Wednesday morning. I of course am hoping for another snow day but being realistic that I will have to go into work anyway.

I Could Have Danced All Night

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Wow I am super tired. Been a long day. Not as successful a sales day as I would have liked, or as management would have liked. A few tire kickers who asked if they could get a deal. I suppose it doesn’t hurt to ask, but no, there are no deals to be had.

If you can honestly look at a $2900.00 pen or $760.00 cufflinks, then you can probably afford to pay the actual price. We don’t haggle at the cigar shop.

Last night I went to the cigar bar with the Bradley and his cousin. The Bradley and I have been getting along just fine lately and last night we had a few laughs. Neither one of us wanted to go to the cigar bar, too damn cold out and each of us wanted to go to our homes.

But the pressure was on and we felt obligated to at least make an appearance. The three of us headed to the cigar bar 15 minutes away. We were directed to a special area where Marcus and Calvin were as well as some monied customers. The kind of customers who don’t haggle.

Immediately Marcus had a bottle of old Cuban rum as well as snifters. He poured some run for the three of us, and Calvin appeared giving us cigars. Calvin was a bit wobbly and slurred his words as did Marcus, but not as bad as Calvin.

Both of them expressed gratitude with the fact that the Bradley and I showed up after working all day, saying that it was so very important that we were there. The Bradley, his cousin and I mainly stayed to ourselves and watched most of the guests talking and getting ready to head out into the cold.

Once some people left we were able sit in their now vacant chairs and chatted about how the music that was playing sounded a lot like my iPod. The Clash, The Rolling Stones were heard among others. If I would have heard the Slits or the Fall or even Pylon I would have thought that someone stole my iPod.

We discussed the merits of Tom Petty and soon Marcus reappeared and poured some more rum. I tried to beg off, asking for water instead, but was sort of browbeaten by Marcus who insisted that you couldn’t have a proper toast with water, so I gave in.

After an hour and three snifters of rum for me, I finished my cigar and announced my exit. It was now 11:30 and I did want to get home. Calvin, slurring and a bit unsteady saw my plan and decided to join me. I doffed my hat and coat and Calvin did his own.

The frigid air sobered Calvin up as we walked towards the subway. I walked him to the subway stairs just to make sure he got there alright and then headed towards the bus terminal. A different crowd, and less people waiting for that midnight bus. Mainly men traveling at that hour.

I got home by 12:30, Bill fast asleep in bed. I was glad I wrote before I left the store, and now I am dismayed to find that I was able to write over 500 words in about 25 minutes, but here I am struggling now.

Well I wasn’t as tired as I am now when I wrote last night, and despite being in the store I had less distractions than I do at home. Hardly anyone comes into the store during the last hour and a half, certainly no customers that haggle.

Now I am over 600 words. I could write about how Marcus drunkenly told the Bradley his rule of life. Don’t buy anything new. No new cars, no new houses and no new watches. Most of my co-workers have a fascination for fancy schmancy watches.

I’m not one of them.