johnozed

A day off and despite the prediction of rain, it did not happen. It was a nice October day, a little cool but comfortable in the sun. I woke up at my usual time and puttered about the apartment starting up my day without the pressure of having to get ready for work.

A trip to the supermarket was in order and a stop at the dry cleaners to drop off some of Bill’s shirts as well as my shirts and a suit which needed cleaning. The supermarket was full of the little old ladies doing their shopping and me. I bought my items on got on line where my favorite cashier, the mighty Isis was working.

She was in an accident a few months ago and is constantly in pain. Still she persevered and was looking forward to getting off of work around noon which was only a few hours away. I walked home and had a nice breakfast.

I have to return the Bob Mould autobiography, See A Little Light, tomorrow so I resolved to go through it as much as possible today. More names from my past (and Bob Mould’s past as well) kept appearing. I remember being friends with his boyfriend at the time Kevin O’Neill when they lived down the street from Maxwells.

Specifically I remember going to their apartment with Kevin where he played the then latest CD from Ultra Vivid Scene. That must have been 1989, when Bob and Kevin first started going out. The book is a good read, definitely a good look into the indie scene in the 1980’s, being in a successful band and dealing with the drugs, the booze and the fame.

I liked Husker Du, but overall preferred the Minutemen. Another three piece band from San Pedro, CA. The Minutemen where so much better live, a great band and a bit funky rather than the sheets of noise from the boys Minneapolis. And my favorite Husker Du song happens to be a cover song. I had angst but I was nowhere near as angsty as what Bob Mould and Grant Hart were singing about.

But it was fun to turn the page and read this about John Bruce, or that about Sandra Lee Phipps. The mention of staying in Arcata raised an eyebrow…

I am almost done with the book and I have to confess I skimmed over the years when he was working in professional wrestling. Not very much interested in that part, nor did I want to read about Bob juicing.

Bob is happy now, has a partner and content to DJ every couple of months around the country with Rich Morel, running Blow Off for the bears into club music. It’s funny that there is a picture in the book of Bob DJ’ing at the Highline Ballroom in 2009.

That could have been the night that Juan, Bill and I went for a night of dancing and clubbing and I wound up lasting about 15 minutes before realizing that dancing and clubbing simply was not my thing. It’s Juan’s thing and that’s alright. I don’t begrudge anyone a good time but as I have been saying for years I prefer to DJ and maybe get people dancing rather than dancing myself.

And like I told my old Maxwells friend Ally last night, I don’t have a social life anymore. What with work and the cost of going out, I’m usually too tired to go out and have a good time. I am more than content to spend my time just with Bill and anyone who cares to come over. But going out? No, I’ve done enough of that. If I’m not feeling the music then I would rather not be there at all.

I also bought an artwork from a former boyfriend of Bob Mould’s in the 1980’s. I gave it to my brother and his wife, what I thought was an investment. They still have it, a colored pencil drawing of a rocket ship about to hit the Earth. I think his name was Mike Covington.

Tu sabe?

October 17, 2011

Another day at work. I have a swiss cheese schedule this week. Off tomorrow, on Wednesday and off Thursday. Then two days on and one day off. It’s a job and yes I am happy to have one. Yesterday was also a work day. It was Zack and Jerry Vale.

I struggled to get out of the apartment in time to catch the 9:00 bus since last time, the 9:30 bus didn’t show up until 9:55 making me late for work. I would rather be early than late so I did my best to hustle without enough sleep. I was still groggy as I headed out, Bill telling me he loved me and I grumbled my way down the stairs. I wish I could have been more animated for him but he knows I am not a morning person.

I made it to the bus stop and a few minutes later the 9:00 bus showed up. It was fairly crowded and at the next stop, RoDa and his son Logan got on board. They didn’t see me since I was in the back of the bus and of course, most everyone in Hoboken who is someone knows RoDa. So he situated Logan in the seat and chatted with a few people around him.

I sent a text, ‘Hello from three rows behind you’. He turned around and gave me a great big smile and a wave and we planned on meeting t the bus terminal. It turned out Logan and RoDa were headed in the same direction as I was, plus they were walking. So we walked up the avenue together, me making a pit stop to get my egg sandwich. We parted ways, RoDa and Logan to get tickets for the New York Comic Convention and me off to work.

When I got to the cigar shack it was 10:00, I was a half hour early. I expected to be able to chill out on my own for a little while before Zack and Jerry Vale appeared, but to my surprise they were there already, smoking cigars. I sat and ate my egg sandwich and once I punched in set about starting the store while Zack and Jerry Vale smoked.

Money counted, both drawers counted, petty cash counted. Everything was in order. It was an easy day and I once again grabbed top sales. I walked down to the bus terminal after work, leaving Zack to close the shack. I hadn’t walked down to the bus terminal since earlier in the year, and a few things changed. New restaurants, new buildings were noticed as I strolled down the avenue enjoying a cigar.

A short wait for the bus and a standing room only ride back to Hoboken. There was Bill waiting for me and ordering a pizza from Grimaldi’s. Love and pizza, two of the finer things in life. We watched Boardwalk Empire which is getting better and better each week, more complex, more characters and more depth.

After that was Pan Am which is a decent soap opera and usually fun to watch. Bill went to bed after that and I stayed up for a little while after that. A good nights sleep was had and it was off to do the same thing again. Thomas and Bradley and I working shoulder to shoulder and it was an OK day. Things were slow but still numbers were posted.

I had volunteered to work the Monday Night Football event despite my aversion to most things athletic. Yesterday Zack told me that Bradley would be working the event and not me. In an email sent earlier Zack wrote that Thomas and I would both have to work a Monday Night Football and since I was off tomorrow it seemed OK for me to do it.

But no, it went to Bradley and it was fine with me. Why it went that way, I don’t know. Perhaps Zack took my concept of the West Side Story update, instead of Jets vs. Sharks it would be Jets vs. Dolphins. I made that joke a few times and got a few good laughs, but perhaps Zack thought I would actually do a few songs from West Side Story at halftime. I did rehearse One Hand, One Heart just in case the halftime show wasn’t cutting it.

In any event, I was out of there at 9:05 instead of 12:30AM and that was fine by me. There was also drama happening amongst the staff, drama that I witnessed and was not part of which was odd for once. I happily rode the bus home and chatted with an old Maxwells friend, Ally on the way back, talking about Bob Mould and Steve Fallon.

Now I am home and extremely happy to be here.