Cigar Shack | johnozed

Another day, another dollar or in this case another roll of toilet paper. For the past two days I have been ill. I started feeling ill on Friday while at the cigar shack. I told Zack and Frank Burns how I was feeling and they were understandably alarmed for their own safety.

I did not mention how I was freezing in the shack since the last time I complained about how cold I was, Zack told me to stop whining. So I kept my mouth shut and worked while Frank Burns yelled at the television in the man cave with his cousin watching the World Series.

I think the bird team won, ably defeating every other team on the planet, therefore winning the World Series. Take that Zambia! Eat shit Lichtenstein! Drop dead Paraguay! Go to hell Sri Lanka! I made it home and after adding a few touches to the entry, I went to sleep and was able enough to make it to work on Saturday.

Definitely a low key kind of day, and once again when I got home I went right to sleep. Now somewhere between Saturday night and Sunday morning I took a turn for the worse. I did not sleep well at all and dear Bill was understandably concerned. He suggested making a doctor’s appointment and I reluctantly agreed.

Unfortunately, I could not make an appointment for Sunday, so I had to choose Monday, today. I woke up as usual on Monday morning and after spending a considerably amount of time in the bathroom, I called up the cigar shack manager and left a voice mail telling him how sick I was.

I had a feeling he wasn’t going to answer his phone. After that I went back to bed and slept another hour. Sweaty, fever dreams followed. Insane situations, people I hadn’t seen in years popped up in a too real manner. It was like high definition. After escaping the fever dreams (death eaters!) I hopped into the shower and put on some clean clothes and headed to the doctor.

Now I am not too fond of this doctor and his twin brother. It’s all too much like Dead Ringers, only these twins definitely do not look like Jeremy Irons. After waiting in the waiting room with a motley group of other ill and sniffling people I was escorted into the doctor’s office and within a few minutes involving a cold stethoscope the doctor gave me some anti-biotic and showed me the door.

It was quite a nice door. Wood, I think. Then I made my way back home and went back to sleep. A few hours later I woke up and was feeling a little better. A bit hungry and not as dehydrated as I was earlier, I plan on returning to the cigar shack tomorrow.

I dislike being sick but then again I am sure everyone dislikes being sick. Worst Halloween ever! Back in the day I would get sick from eating too much candy. Not this time. No candy, no trick and no treat for me.

Angels and Devils

Well it is snowing out right now. Some places have power out, most mass transit is a mess. Bill was stuck on a D train for over an hour making him late for the penultimate show that his is stage managing. I sure Bill was at wit’s end while on the train. Most trains between 59th street and 125th street have been messed up thanks to the rain and now the snow. I just hope he gets home alright.

It’s been a long wet day. It started out once again with me reluctantly getting out of bed. Bill was still fast asleep as I shuffled around, making coffee, pouring cereal and headed for the shower. A steady rain fell outside but it didn’t seem that bad. As I was getting myself ready, Bill awoke and gave me a good morning kiss.

I headed out, down the stairs and could hear the rain falling hard on the hallway skylight. Bill poked his head out and wished me a good day. I did the same as I took his picture and proceeded down the four flights.

On the street it was pouring out and out came the umbrella. A walk up to Washington Street and a short wait for the bus with other damp people. Despite the rain I still wanted my egg sandwich so I walked up the avenue to my usual spot. After getting the egg sandwich I continued up the avenue listening to Hot Chip.

Juan turned me on to Hot Chip a few years ago and today I found out that he may be in town next week for his birthday. It would be nice to see him again. At the cigar shack it was Thomas and Jerry Vale and it was good. Since it was so slushy out, I opted to stay in at lunch time though I did step out for the usual phone call to my sister. Things are alright on the left coast and I headed into the shack and smoked a cigar in the man cave.

The afternoon was not so busy and though I am not too keen on selling pens, I sold two pens which brought my sales up higher than Thomas and Jerry Vale into four figures. And as the day turned into night, the snow kept falling, sidewalks getting slippery.

Less customers coming in, leaving Thomas and Jerry Vale and myself to chat with a really nice customer who is a favorite among most of the staff. The customer eventually went home as did Thomas about an hour later. Jerry Vale and I spent the rest of the time cleaning up the store and getting things ready for tomorrow’s shift. I won’t be a part of that shift having tomorrow off but still things had to be done as well as set up.

Then it was Jerry vale’s turn to leave, and I was alone in the cigar shack making sure the money was counted and put away. A long wait for the subway downtown made me miss the earlier bus but it was no problem really.

A 20 minute wait and soon we were hurtling through the Lincoln Tunnel. I wasn’t sure if there would be power at home since I checked some Facebook status of friends and family and it seemed that they were in the dark due to downed power lines. As luck would have it, I was OK, the power was on in Hoboken, no downed trees.

Now I am waiting for Bill to walk through the door and into my arms. Happy to be home and happy to be off tomorrow.

05 That’s Love, That It Is