I Can’t Give You Anything (But My Love)

Well Lee Goldberg, ace meteorologist for channel 7 here in the New York City area was just in the cigar shack and told me that the highest temperature today was 104 degrees. I remarked earlier in the day as we watched the temperatures climb that being outside was like walking though hummus wearing a wet fur coat.

When the wind would blow it felt like exhaust fumes from a diesel engine. They said it would be the worst today but tomorrow won’t be much better, probably hitting around 99 degrees. I’m sure it will make a difference but it more than likely won’t be felt by me. Walking to the bus stop this morning in the sun was like feeling like I was being fried.

Not enough shade at 10:00. In the cigar shack it was alright, working with Thomas and Bradley. A good team, a few laughs were had. The only terse words were between Thomas and Bradley who were snippy about a chair. Bradley wanted to eat lunch, Thomas needed to make phone calls. It was settled in a minute but it was tense nonetheless.

Just hanging out for the next 20 minutes. Not much going on in a mall when it’s 99 degrees outside. According to the New York Times website it is now 97 degrees. Last night Hoboken had the first night of the St Ann’s feast. I went once or twice a number of years ago, now you would have to pay to find me there. Not my scene and after dealing with people all day the last thing I would want to do is hang out on the street on a hot summer night with hundreds of thousands of strangers, no matter how hot or sexy they may be.

The mall is practically on life support at this late hour. Just stragglers walking around escaping the heat and walking amidst the air conditioning. I have just gotten home. It’s still hot outside, still like walking through hummus. The subway was not crowded at all, and the bus terminal was not as crowded as it usually is.

I almost waited for the 9:42 Willow Avenue bus but saw an earlier bus pulling up and opted to jump on that. It got me home about 10 minutes earlier, no one was waiting for the 9:42 bus. Bill is home, he turned on the air conditioning which is nice in the bedroom, the rest of the apartment is just warm air being pushed around by ceiling fans.

When you walk into my building, the first floor is so cool due to being so close to the basement. As you climb the four flights of stairs it gets hotter and hotter, ultimately stifling when you reach the fifth floor. Despite the windows being open there is no breeze wafting through. Just 2 more days of work, and it being a weekend, and casual dress is the norm it will feel a little more comfortable.

Tomorrow’s guest stars are Thomas and Jerry Vale. Who knows what Jerry Vale will be like. Bradley suggested keeping him in the humidor mostly, since that is what he was hired for initially. He will probably think it is my machinations that will put him there, but as I just wrote it was Bradley’s idea.

Have to get it all ship shape for when Calvin returns on Monday. I’ll be out on Monday and do not want to hear any complaints when I return on Tuesday. I’m sure I will hear something about it. I do have to remember to tell him about Martini Basher’s return. I’ll write about it on Tuesday, I’m sure.

Hello to Rusty!

Thomas und Bradley


103°


101°


99°


I Can’t Git A Nice Loaf A’ Bread

Well it was sort of a good day, working with Bradley and eventually Jerry Vale. Bradley was humorous and quite hung over after an event he participated in at a nearby cigar bar. He mixed drinks last night and paid the price today. Still he was funny and elicited a few laughs from me.

Jerry Vale is not so funny though and tried my nerves after Bradley went home for the day. Nothing that he did intentionally, just that he has that touch. A credit card transaction somehow became a cash transaction.

I intervened and despite the customer being in a hurry, waited for me to sort it out. That meant including calling his credit card company to make sure he was not charged twice. I think it went through with no problems and asked the customer to check his statement when it comes in.

Then another customer came in with five flasks he bought a week ago as gifts for his bridal party. The party opted for things that weren’t flasks and since he had the proper receipt and brought them in on time, I had no choice but to refund his money.

The initial transaction happened on a day that I was off and I had no idea how to search for the proper sale. So I did a straightforward refund and it wasn’t until after that did Jerry Vale reveal that it was he that sold the original items.

For me, a daily goal is to break at least $1000.00 in sales and prior to the returns I was thisclose to achieving that goal. Since I did the refund under my name, I wound up eating the sales taking me away from being thisclose to $1000.00. I had no idea he was such a numb nuts and now he is avoiding me.

Instead of standing around in the front of the store as he is known to do, he is in the humidor. I am just annoyed basically. Jerry Vale avoids me a lot lately. He will walk in a different direction to get where he is going instead of just saying ‘excuse me’ if I am in his way. It doesn’t matter much to me. It’s odd though, he’s 6 years older than I am and yet in so many ways seems about 20 years older.

It’s been a long day. The heat was unbearable, so much so that I decided not to go out for lunch, I stayed in the cigar shack and smoked a cigar with some of the irregulars. It wasn’t too bad though all the comfortable chairs were taken leaving me to sit on the benches designed by the Marquis de Sade. Of course when a comfortable chair was available I only had about 5 minutes left for my lunch hour.

It’s the little things really, that add up and drives one crazy. Tonight I intend to get a good night’s sleep, having bought a new batch of melatonin since I finally finished the bottle I bought last summer. That’s it for now.

Day started out nice with sunflowers…