Bill | johnozed | Page 103

Back at the cigar shack once again. Today’s contestants are Zack and Jerry Vale, Bradley and Thomas will be participating in tomorrow’s episode whereas I will not since I am off in most every way of the word.

It’s another gorgeous day weather wise, for March 8 the temperature hit 70 degrees, quite nice with cool breezes every now and then. The cigar shack has been somewhat busy today. I think the routine of getting cigars on Thursday for the weekend is coming around again. It usually happens during the warmer seasons with guys leaving town or having Fridays off.

I am off tomorrow and I am quite happy about that. I would hope the weather be what it was today but I’m not so sure about that. Still a day off is a day off. The other day on Facebook Harpy and I had a comment throw off (what else could it be called) and Harpy wrote something that I read as ‘everyone knows’.

That made me look onto YouTube where I found a clip of Leonard Cohen singing in London, 2008 ‘Everybody Knows’. Whomever posted it had the lyrics which were quite good and I found myself haunted by Leonard Cohen’s words, so much so that I was able to find his songs online which I loaded into my iPod.

So this morning while waiting for the bus I listed to Leonard Cohen on the bus. I didn’t get too far since neighbor Deborah joined me on the commute but I did leave it playing so when we parted ways I did hear Leonard Cohen once again, but I was in the midtown mindset and needed to put my game face on, meaning something snappy & peppy, which unfortunately can’t describe Leonard Cohen’s work.

It is now almost 8:00 right now, me and Jerry Vale manning the boards. A neighbor customer sits in the man cave enjoying a cigar. I will be sitting back there counting money as he smokes since Jerry Vale is leaving at 8:30 and it needs to be done before he leaves for the day. Now the counting of the money is finished.

The neighbor was done smoking his cigar and my friend my friend Bruce stopped by for a quick chat. He offered me a dollar if I turned off the Leonard Cohen stuff that I was playing. I said no and anyway I couldn’t chat too long since Jerry Vale is heading out in about 12 minutes and I needed to get my end of things straightened out, relatively speaking.

Bill said he will be staying up, waiting for me to come home before he goes to bed. I told him there was no need. It is always nice when he is up and waiting for me but I would totally understand if he is fast asleep when I walk through the door. No garden of Gethsemane references needed.

Jerry Vale is stressing since he is about to move to a new apartment and as everyone knows, moving is nothing but stress. I checked the weather forecast at Jerry Vale’s request and the weather is supposed to be 50 degrees tomorrow which is nice, hopefully. Unfortunately Leonard Cohen proved to be way too heavy so I switched to Chuck Berry which you have to admit is more fun. Unless you’re a woman trying to use the loo.

This is actually the second blog I have written today. I wrote another entry for the cigar shack, photos included. Whether or not it gets read is another story. I’m not sure if even Zack knows about the latest entries. I think they’re funny and somewhat informative which to some people are complete opposites.

One can be funny or informative but very rarely do the two co-exist.

Jeez, I just had this fat sweaty closet case with a waxed moustache that pointed up to his eyes. He really looked like an idiot who spent way too much time waxing his moustache. I don’t think women would be into it, perhaps some men would be but not this man. He kept bugging me for a free cigar since he was buying three. He got nothing from me despite his attempts to intimidate me with his tales of selling spices. Sorry Spice Gurl- No freebies for you.

And there was Bill waiting for me as I walked through the door. So nice.

Moonlight Lover

Finally back at home after a long day. I suppose the long day started last night when I was going to bed. As I was getting into the bed, a small voice in the back of my head said ‘you should check to see if you are opening the cigar shack tomorrow’. I didn’t pay any attention to it and soon was fast asleep.

Bill was above me a few hours later giving me a kiss goodbye and I went back to sleep. The alarm was set for 8:00 and I figured that it was a normal day with me headed in to the cigar shack at the usual time of 11:30. But the small voice was a bit larger this morning and I was compelled to listen to it, so I got out of bed, walked over to computer and pulled up the schedule.

It turned out that I was opening the cigar shack this morning after all, meaning I had to be there by 9:30 to open at 10:00. I got myself together, quick shower and shave, fast bowl of cereal, one cup of really good coffee that Bill made and after putting on a suit & tie with shoes & socks I was out the door, headed down the stairs.

Much to my surprise there was a line of people waiting for the bus. The 9:15 bus. I knew I wasn’t going to make it at 9:30 and hoped I would be there by 10:00. The bus filled up and we flew through the tunnel, a slight delay underground, someone tapped someone else’s bumper. Nothing major but slowed things down enough for me to send a text to Zack that I was stuck in the tunnel.

The schedule said he was going to be in as well so I wasn’t worried as I hustled through the bus terminal and out on the street. I wisely decided to hoof it up to the cigar shack since the subway is so undependable and I did not need that stress. I made it to the cigar shack at 9:55 which wasn’t that bad. A regular customer was waiting outside and I let him in, glad to have some company.

Zack phoned a bit frantic. Apparently he was not coming in at his usual time, he was at the doctor’s office and worried that I was going to be very late. I reassured him that it was all good, no worries and set about starting and opening the cigar shack and counting the registers.

Bradley soon made it in about an hour later and like I’d written before, he’s been alright now that he is the assistant manager and he was pretty funny once again. Thomas came in a little while after that and he wasn’t too happy. He had gone out the night before with a customer, had a few drinks and was feeling angry since his commission check wasn’t all that he had hoped it would be.

I was satisfied with mine but then again I did have top sales in February. He didn’t do so bad either and I did remind him that the numbers he adds up in his head aren’t necessarily the numbers they crunch at the headquarters. The day was busy enough, Zack eventually made it in and was hidden away in his office.

The man cave was bustling as usual. It was a nice day, warm enough to sit on a bench near the park and enjoy life going by as I enjoyed a small cigar. I was back at the shack and made it through the day unscathed. Glad to be home and happy to know that my hours will be back to normal tomorrow.