Tag Archives: Bill

Plus One

Leave a reply

Bad reputation

3 dimes fell out of my pocket on the floor of the train. I was too embarrassed to pick them up, and I figured somebody else could use them more than me

Generosity, humility, and embarrassment

The train stopped as it pulled into the station, and I picked up those three dimes.

I am at the main fruit stand today, and everything is off balance. I had to be set up for an account once again since the previous setup was forgotten on the computer I was supposed to be working at.

Which made Yancey ornery. I knew that the computer setup could be difficult, and I was right. It added to the apprehension that I had yesterday.

So it’s me & Lex Luthor manning the desk. Since his computer is fine at the fruit stand, he’s been carrying most of the weight as I struggle with my setup.

He was invited to the fruit stand holiday party as someone’s plus one. I haven’t. He’s been entered in the Toys for Tots raffle. I haven’t. He started a month after me and is at the main fruit stand, whereas I am not.

I have to revise my opinion of good old Lex. It’s been a stressful kind of day, though, and communicating with Mike has not been going well. Things were bad earlier they have gotten better since. And more than likely, it was all my fault that things had gone the way they had.

Apparently, he’s afraid to talk to me sometimes because of how I will take things, and I can see his point because sometimes I misunderstand, and things get lopsided.

I was supposed to meet Bill at 2:00 p.m. to hand over two shirts that he was supposed to pack but did not, and he showed up at 1:30 and threw me off my schedule that I had arranged with my co-workers, and they were fine with it, but I was not in the mind that I should have been.

So between dealing with Bill arriving early and Mike being whoever he might be…

The thing with Mike is that he posted these photos and videos online, and they are erotic, and they are what got me interested in the first place. But he is not that guy. He is a nice guy cuz he’s not the rough and tumble guy that he portrays in the video.

I did learn to like the guy that he is, and occasionally I would make jokes about seeing those videos and saying I’d like to meet that guy someday. Apparently, Mike had taken that the wrong way and was greatly hurt by it, which I found out today

So on top of all that, I spent way too much time and energy trying to soothe ruffled feathers, which I did, I suppose. There are some guilty feelings on my end with Mike saying, “I guess I’ll see you around Christmas time or later,” and me being out of sorts; it was just not a good combination.

He was supposed to he was supposed to come over tomorrow, and I suggested that he didn’t, but later on suggested that he did, so he will, I suppose.

Tomorrow I will be back at my miniature fruit stand, and happy to be there where things go according to plan or schedule.

The fruit stand is having its holiday party. I’m a contracted worker, so I’m not invited. I was fine with that. Slightly disgruntled, but holiday parties can be dicey. I’m not much of a drinker these days, and more often than not, after eight hours, I just want to go home.

Anise is helping to run the event. Lex Luthor is also a contracted worker. He was invited as Anise’s plus one. This afternoon, I was offered as her other plus one. I said no thanks. I saw Marcus this afternoon as he was at the main fruit stand, and he suggested I go. Then, Bill suggested that I go. And Mike suggested the same.

I could go, do a walk-through, and an Irish exit. I am uncertain, but I just called Anise and cleared it with her, so I am going.

Tick Tock

Leave a reply

It is Saturday night, the last Saturday in April, for Hoboken this year. It’s been a humid day. I woke up stressed and a bit depressed. The job weighed heavily on my mind. I got through it somehow. Bill is on the road crazy early tomorrow, so he went to bed earlier, around 7:30 PM.

Mike is here and in the loo. I cued up a favorite Harry Potter movie for him and paused it when nature called. In the interim, I am playing 10CC, I’m Not in Love which always brings me to being in the car with my father in the summer of 1975. My father must’ve had a top forty station playing, which is why I heard it with him driving.

I am always drawn back to that summer day with my father. Not a bad memory, and if it’s a good memory, it’s because of the song. It really could have been anyone driving, but my memory points to my father.

Bill, Mike, and I ran some errands in between a few raindrops. I offered to let them off easy since I was the only one with an umbrella, which could fit two, but with three people, that meant someone was going to get wet. But it wasn’t a steady rain, just some sprinkles here and there.

The really big supermarket was a bit empty since our favorite cashier, Arti, had her last day on Tuesday, and she was heading back to India. Bill and I tried to guess why she was leaving, and we both agreed that L’Orange Merde might have had something to do with it.

Or perhaps her visa expired. Or she saw the writing on the wall. Regardless, both Bill and I looked for her at her perch, and though there was someone doing Arti’s job, there was a void in her place.

Mike had hoped to watch the Hunger Games Part 3, but the timing was off with Bill’s early bedtime, so we binge watched Abbott Elementary, which is funny and not depressing. Now I am playing Raphael Saddiq, Instant Vintage, which is an all-time favorite of mine. I first saw Raphael on TV, with Tony Toni Tone on Saturday Night Live.

I knew the songs, so I was prepared. After Tony Toni Tone split up, he formed Lucy Pearl which is where I saw him play with Dawn from En Vogue and Ali Shaheed Mohammed from A Tribe Called Quest. It was a wonderful show that I attended with my friend Gian East. I could have sworn Raphael was looking straight at me and smilin’ that smile of his. Just a wonderful memory.

Mike is off the porcelain throne, and I switched the Harry Potter to Finding Nemo. Something more lighthearted, which is sorely needed in my life. A wonderful talk with Annemarie this afternoon. Another confession on how I do not believe in myself.

The hurdles and roadblocks that I see are not there because of anyone else but me. Easy to write and recognize. All I have to do is keep on keepin’ on. Fake it till I make it.