Whats for lunch? | johnozed

It’s a Sunday. It’s May 2nd. It was 90 degrees this afternoon. It was the day of the Hoboken Art & Music Festival or as some snarky types are fond of calling it, the Fart & Mucous Festival. I usually attend with Rand but this time Rand is in Lucerne doing things in the name of Jack Kirby.

Last night was quite warm. I sat around and sweated in my underwear. Too damn hot for me, too damn hot for May 1st. But what can I do?

Bill was driving to Atlantic City and when I tracked him on Google Latitude, it had him in East Orange, then headed to San Antonio, and then finally over the border into Mexico. Somehow he wound back on the Garden State Parkway, headed to Atlantic City again.

At least he wasn’t in Times Square where a park car, loaded with propane tanks, fireworks and gasoline started to go up in flames but thanks to the attentions of a T-Shirt vendor it did not blow up. I found out about in around 11:00PM, a few hours after the whole thing started.

I was watching the Philadelphia Story on PBS, Funny that I wrote about High Society a week or so ago and how much I prefer The Philadelphia Story to the Cole Porter musical. I still feel that way.

Opted not to watch a repeat of Saturday Night Live instead watched a repeat of Lost which in retrospect is quite interesting since there’s only 3 or 4 more weeks left in that series.

The Death of Charlie was one of the stories and the other episode filled me in somewhat on how it will end. Jack will assume Jacob’s role and Locke will remain the Smoke Monster. That’s what I think.

Thanks to melatonin I slept really well. Woke up later than expected, but still had enough time to go out and participate in something the New York Times was promoting, basically a snapshot at 11:00AM.

All over the world at 1500 hours Greenwich Time they asked people to take a picture of something and send it in. I walked over to 5th and Washington and took 20 photos, 5 each for North, East, West and South.

Then I came home and uploaded them, deciding to send one pic of a northern view to the website. Or maybe it was the southern view. Eastern? Western? I don’t remember. It was good that today was the street festival, enabling me to stand in the middle of the boulevard and take pictures in all directions.

Bill came home and immediately went to bed and I made myself a nice breakfast. An hour or so later Roger Johansen posted onto Facebook that Jack Skuller was playing and worth checking out. So I headed out with my camera again, walking on the sidewalks since walking on the street had gotten way too crowded and let’s face it, some people cannot walk.

Not the ones in wheelchairs and other mobile things, but simply walking one foot in front of another was a near impossible chore. And the temperature was going up (now it’s 83°) and I was getting sweaty.

Jack Skuller is a ~~16 year old rock and roller~~ 14 year old rock and roller and it’s good that he’s up there doing things like that, playing guitar and singing. My sister called which got me away from the stage area and found a not so quiet spot to converse with her.

When I was through talking to Annemarie, Jack Skuller was off the stage. I did run into Mike Carlucci who I actually wrote about yesterday. I even told him I wrote about him giving me guitar lessons. Roger sauntered up with his friend Tim.

Mike had just done some recording and I introduced Mike to Roger who now runs a mastering studio. Hopefully they will connect. Hopefully the DNA Cup will be out of the picture. It was good to see Mike again. He’s a nice guy and an excellent guitarist.

I headed over to the river which was even more crowded than usual, people like me trying to avoid the throngs on Washington Street. I enjoyed a cigar and read the New Yorker. Way too crowded to bring out the guitar even though I probably could have made some money. At least some pocket change.

Came home, Bill slowly stirring. I just sat around and listened to Carole King, Tapestry. Don’t know why, seemed most apt for a day like today. Bill was soon up and out the door headed to a rehearsal.

I tried to cool myself off and eventually headed out to see Fountains of Wayne who were headlining the festival. I stayed for a few songs, ultimately realizing that I don’t know any Fountains of Wayne songs and the ones I was hearing weren’t exactly enticing me to stay.

Walked back through the crowds which had thinned somewhat. Perhaps it was the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero I was smoking. I passed by the Hoboken Smoke Shop stand which is the worst cigar shop in Hudson County. Even pricier cigars than in Manhattan with less of a tax rate.

So I walked back through the crowds and came home yet again.
5.2.10 Fartin Music Fest 009
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Jack Skuller live

Possibly the photo I sent to the New York Times

It’s Fat Tuesday! It’s Mardi Gras! It just stopped snowing an hour ago. It wasn’t a fun snow either. It was wet and windy. I ventured out into the wet and windy wilderness.

I had an appointment to visit a beauty school on Bergenline Avenue in West New York. I originally thought it was at 2:00 but it’s a good thing I checked and saw it was actually at 1:00. I bundled up and headed over to the train station to catch the light rail.

I could have easily walked over to the Ninth Street station but didn’t. The thing about the light rail is that you have to buy a ticket and then have it validated next to the ticket vending machine. I saw the Tonnelle Avenue train waiting to go but the machine wasn’t giving me any tickets.

When I moved over to another machine and had the ticket stamped and validated the train was gone and I was standing out there in the cold. I thought I was going to be late, and called Bill who got the phone number for me, and called the school who didn’t seem to mind and appreciated my calling.

A few minutes later another light rail came in and I hopped on it. No one checks the tickets. No conductor walking through the cars. I have only seen a ticket check once, and that involved police asking to see tickets once people disembark.

I’ve often thought about just hopping on the train and taking my chances, but it would be a $300.00 fine and I’m a chicken.

The school was only a few blocks away from the Bergenline station and it was an easy walk with some side steps to avoid the ponds and lakes on the street corners. I hadn’t been up in this Bergenline area in years.

I used to come up here occasionally when I lived in Weehawken. Some good shopping deals and plenty of eye candy for me.

I made it into the school and filled out a form and sat. Definitely not as hectic as the other school last week. Where they had over 200 people running around, this place had maybe 50 at best.

I met with Carlos who seemed nice. Definitely looked like someone who’s been cutting hair for 23 years. Nice guy though. He had some things to say about the school I visited last week.

He said the city school gets money from the government to get mainly women from the homeless shelters to train as beauticians and sometimes the police would be called 3 times a day due to fights breaking out. Not my type of place at all.

Carlos said that because I was unemployed I would instantly qualify for financial aid, as well as a Pell grant and they would help me with all of that, including student loans if need be. It was a brief meeting but it went well I think.

I was definitely more comfortable there than I was at the other place which just seemed like a mill. And I didn’t have a cumbersome book to lug around afterward. The commute isn’t so bad and the smaller classes is a plus.

1600 hours versus 1200, an 8 month course against a 6 month course.

I haven’t made my mind up yet, but I am leaning in staying local. Walked back to the apartment, caked with snow. Not going out again, staying in. Lost is on tonight after all.

There is something for the unemployed of Hoboken going on at McSwells tonight. It seemed like a good thing, but it’s $10.00 cover was a bit off putting. I could see $5.00 as a reasonable cover, but not $10.00.