It’s a summer night in Hoboken, first Friday in May. Work was fine, I got through it with no trouble. A good majority of the office was out, working from home. The Path train into the city was relatively quiet as well. A few times this past week, I was left alone on the bridge. There are usually two of us, but things being what they were, I was solo.

And apparently I did a good enough job that was noticed. I felt appreciated by Anise and Kimberly and even Yance chimed in with encouraging words. I had an appointment with Yance’s supervisor, a nice young woman named Merry. I had two previous appointments, the first one I had totally forgotten about, the second appointment was cancelled by Merry.

Today was the make-up date and it went well. A few laughs and a chat about how much we both enjoyed watching Ted Lasso. Merry had a ‘Believe’ banner hanging in her office. The whole thing last about 30 minutes and soon it was time for me to have lunch.

Yesterday on the way home I bought a cigar so I could smoke it on my lunch hour. I enjoyed it as I smoked and walked around midtown talking to Mike on the phone. I told Kimberly and Anise I was going to smoke a cigar at lunch, and that I might smell like a cigar when I returned. They did not seem to care and if I smelled like a cigar, they did not say anything.

It was quiet this afternoon and when it’s quiet, there’s not much work, and when there’s not much work, the afternoon slows to a crawl. Fair enough. Towards the end of the work day, plans were made to meet up with Mike. There’s a job fair in town and Mike is looking for a new gig. The plan was for him to come over, hang out and then head over to the job fair in the morning.

Alas, the plans fell by the wayside. Things out of his control came into being and thwarted any ideas on hanging out. Things might improve tomorrow, perhaps in time for Mike to attend this job fair. We won’t know until tomorrow.

Last night while soundly sleeping, I had a leg cramp. For a while, I was drinking Coconut water once a week. I stopped over a month ago and things were going well. Until 4:00 AM. Bill was asleep and my right leg felt like it would snap in half if I made any sudden moves. I laid on my right side, I laid on my left side and neither side had any relief.

Sleeping on my back did the trick and in my troubled sleep, made a note to get some Coconut water on my way home tonight. I walked down Washington Street and stopped into what used to be called Aspen Market. Maybe it is still Aspen Market.

They had the large 33 ounce container of Coconut water and I thought I could do better than $5.99 and walked over to Acme after picking up a shawarma sandwich for dinner and bought a 33 ounce container of Coconut water, for $5.99. So much for doing better.

Thursday in Hoboken. Bill is on the road, actually on the Great White Way. Mike is in his Chilltown crib. So the vitamins seemed to have helped, and I have resolved to take them daily. Maybe even on the weekend, too. But more for the work week.

Today was an OK day. Bill was gone hours before I roused myself from sleep. I sent a good morning text to Mike, which prompted him to call, which was unnerving since I had not had enough coffee for a proper conversation.

Mike doesn’t realize this and proceeded to talk. It wasn’t a bad thing that he called, but I could not deal with it. I was soon off the phone. Mike loves to talk on the phone, and he does not drink coffee. How did I find myself surrounded by people who do not drink coffee? I’ve been sleeping well thanks to an edible I take before going to bed. It does the job, and a deep slumber is usually within my grasp.

I had to visit the local dispensary to get some more gummies. There are 3 dispensaries in Hoboken these days, each of them good places with their own qualities. I try to support them when I can and was happy to do so again.

I wish Bill were around, he is such a good man. He is the Dwayne Johnson that I cling to. Now that I have started a new job, and I don’t have any time off after 5 months of having time off, we won’t be going to Ocean Grove this summer. There is a plan to rent a Zipcar and travel to Sandy Hook for a day. That might require a day to play hooky from work, but remains to be seen.

Work today was interesting. It was busy, and Yance, Kimberly & Anise were in a meeting, leaving me to man the bridge. And as luck would have it, things had gotten busy. Apps that I use were not working, leaving me to think that I had done something wrong. I managed to work it out, albeit not using the preferred methods.

When Yance, Kimberly, and Anise returned, they reassured me that it was nothing that I did; other people did not do what they were supposed to do. I was told once again that I did very good with the task at hand.

I was chuffed and was soon on my lunch break and talking to Bill on the phone, who suggested that the whole experience I had gone through might have been a test. That would be something. Next week I will be at a different office, smaller, and not as frantic. I look forward to it, with a modicum of apprehension.

There is always some apprehension, generally. Where would I be without it? Confident? Self-Assured? Who knows? Perhaps some day, but not today. And I am fine with it. I am home, relaxed, missing Bill. He said he’ll be home later, when I am asleep. And only then, when he is in bed close to me, will I be able to sleep restfully.