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I Belong to Glasgow

Got to do what you can to stay alive. Though I would rather work in an office environment, I am working retail, doing what I can to make ends meet. It’s a Saturday night, I just got home from the cigar shack. The weather outside is wet and breezy.

Umbrellas are of no use since it’s a drizzly mist going on and the wind blows it whichever way it wants to go. It was relatively dry when I left the apartment this morning. I saw Bill for a few minutes before I left. He came home and went right to bed as I was getting ready to leave.

I made it to the bus stop and while enjoying a cigar I texted Julio to ask him if I could borrow some items on Monday, specifically a ladder and a drill. He called me back, asking why did I need the drill and would I need bits.

I explained what it was for and he’s such a handyman, he started talking me through the process on using anchors and specific bits. Always helpful, that Julio. We chatted a bit more and I got off the phone since I was getting on the bus, telling him that I would call him back in a minute.

I called Julio back once I got on the bus, and he had some pretty big news to tell me. He & Stine have closed on a property in Hoboken. They needed more space since Alexander is a growing boy and who knows, they might need even more in case they decide on having another kid.

They are debating whether to keep the apartment in my building. Julio doesn’t see the point, and Stine sees a place for friends and relatives from Denmark and elsewhere to stay when they visit.

It was interesting news indeed and while happy for them I am also sad to see them go, even though they aren’t going very far and I rarely see them much these days anyhow. The bus ride into the city was uneventful and I made it in early enough to walk to work.

It seems my knee has gotten a bit better and I did not wear the knee brace when walking up to the cigar shack. I did get an egg sandwich on my way which was quite nice. It was a nice enough morning as I listened to New Order.

I got to the cigar shack early enough and punched in about 20 minutes before I was scheduled to start. I immediately hit the ground running and after the first customers, Thomas came in and joined Bradley and myself.

Then we waited for customers most of the day. It was raining out so that meant I was staying indoors for lunch. I sat in the man cave and read Uncut magazine, all about the life of Steve Marriott of the Small Faces and then Humble Pie. Sad story.

After lunch things had slowed again with flurries of customers and tire kickers. Bradley left for the day leaving Thomas and myself to stand around and clean things up. It was that kind of day. There was some hubbub at the bus terminal when I was heading home. One of the ramps was closed so buses were queued up going in and going out.

A trip to the grocery store to get distilled water for Bill and then all of a sudden I was home again. And quite happy to be here. Tomorrow is Sunday and I am working but once again, I will not be writing unless there is something extraordinary to write about. Like driving a truck for US Beef or something.

Pinstripes and plaid! Deliberate!

Something going on

I Believe Blessid Union of Souls

Well I slept well last night and with Bill not going to the day job I couldn’t depend on his good bye kiss to gently wake me up. He lay in bed with his apnea mask on and I tossed and turned and did my usual bargaining with the snooze button, eventually getting out of bed and shuffling into the kitchen to make coffee, poured the cereal and then stepped into the shower.

Bill did not get out of bed until about 15 minutes before I left, a nice hug and a kiss occurred and soon I was trampling down the stairs to the street. It was breezier than it’s been the temperatures were in the low 60 degree range.

The bus wasn’t that crowded and once again there was no sign of Deborah from the fourth floor in my building. I didn’t mind, I just stared out the window as we drove up Washington Street. Into the city in no time, and after the subway ride uptown I got an iced coffee and started my day with Bradley and Thomas.

Both were in a good mood and it turned out that yesterday was a good day sales wise for the cigar shack. It was a slow start for me though, and then one of the registers crashed. We restarted it and the usual password was no longer effective.

A call to Calvin was made, but since he was off performing his familial duties he wasn’t getting back to us right away. A call to Marcus who is now persona non grata offered no help with the password. SO a call had to be made with the IT department of the cigar shack headquarters, and they weren’t exactly available. A message was left for them to get in touch with us since it was a relatively urgent matter. No register, no sales, no money coming in. Not a good thing.

I eventually went to lunch, leaving Thomas to deal with the IT guy when he finally called back an hour later. It was a slow day at the shop. Most everyone now buys their cigars on Thursday before the weekend so they could make an early getaway from the city, so the one register would have to do.

Thomas had also planned Friday afternoon movies, just a little entertainment, free of cost, just buy a cigar sit back and relax. Unfortunately some of his choices are movies that I generally avoid. I was given the go ahead to pick the next line up.

Today’s movie was Hear No Evil, See No Evil. The last team up of Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor. I remember going to the movies with Julio when this movie came out, both of us quite red eyed.

We went to Secaucus and everyone was going to see the Harrison Ford/Sean Connery movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark 3 and since we were both contrarians, we opted for Hear No Evil, See No Evil. Despite being in a mellow altered state, it was quite a lousy movie.

Thomas has also picked up both the Godfather 1 and Godfather 2 as well as Godfather 3 which he picked since it is a series. Just that part 3 is not very good at all. He also picked up Scarface, not the classic starring Paul Muni, but rather that atrocious piece of shit starring Al Pacino and directed by that awful hack, Brian De Palma.

I’ve only seen it on VHS and it was a 2 tape set. I never made it beyond the first tape. I always chuckle at the young idiots today wearing t-shirts with Tony Montana’s visage on the front, thinking that this generation does not know good films at all. Then again that generation (as well as older generations) have no problem with branding.

I forgot to mention I met NJ Senator Frank Lautenberg yesterday. He was near the cigar shack as I was coming back from lunch. I called out ‘Senator’ and he stopped and shook my hand and introduced myself as being from Hoboken to which he mentioned that he loves Hoboken. It was a nice and brief meeting and he went his way and I went back to work.