Tag Archives: Cigar Shop

I’m Gonna Lock My Heart (And Throw Away the Key)

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It’s Friday! I made it through! And now I have three days off! And Annemarie’s flying in tomorrow! And I am going overboard with exclamation points! But I don’t care!

It was an decent day. My stress last night from work still haunted me enough, that when Bill was kissing me goodbye as I slept he mentioned that I would have a good day at work.

Work. The mere mention of it freaked me out. I didn’t have that good a night’s sleep last night and the last hour after Bill left was anxiety ridden. I rallied and got out of bed. Suit hanging up, more ready for the day that I was.

Shower, breakfast, coffee. Soon I was at the Washington Street bus stop. Not too hot out, it was in the 80 degree range. I had a smoke while I waited for the bus, away from a dad and his baby strapped to his chest.

He was hoping to catch the 89 bus but he didn’t wave his hand so the bus just went right on by. I figured he was waiting for a bus to take him up Washington Street and told him that another bus would soon be approaching. But it wasn’t the 89 bus so he walked away.

I was in the bus terminal in no time, and soon on the subway hurtling uptown. I had enough time to hang out but decided to be proactive and head into the shop to clear up the things I thought I neglected to do last night.

But apparently what I neglected to do was remedied easily enough, just a simple point and click. All that wasted anxiety! After that it was all easy and I bought some red grapes and shared them with Don
Some of the good customers came in today, meaning the customers I like. I also sold a pricey box of cigars and shipped them off to Connecticut. The day went well and I also picked up the latest Mojo and Uncut magazines.

Another favorite customer laid a Cuban cigar on me since I recommended he pick up You Never Give Me Your Money. He’s a Beatles fanatic as well. He too couldn’t put the book down and when he finally did he felt like taking a shower afterward.

It was awfully nice of him to give me a Cuban cigar and he asked when the last time I had a Cuban and I answered in the 1990’s. I’m sure someone, somewhere down the line gave me a Cuban stick. Probably at Right Track.

I enjoyed a strong, full bodied cigar at lunch time. My daily freebie. Raymond recommended it after I told him I wanted a cigar that would fuck me up. It didn’t really, but it was strong enough and a good smoke.

The afternoon went by rather quickly. I played a few Beatles albums, the Dark Was The Night compilation, Bob Marley & the Wailers- Kaya and Bob Dylan’s Bootleg series Vol. 8.

I turned a customer into Nick Drake enough that he ran out and bought a collection after hearing River Man.

I had no problems with closing tonight, Raymond was around to answer any questions that I might have had. It got me out of the store soon enough.

I couldn’t tell you the time it took to get from the cigar shop to the bus terminal since I played Feed the Animals by Girl Talk, the one continuous track. But I would say it was the average 16-17 minutes, me marching down the avenue like Harrison Ford chasing Joanna Cassidy in Blade Runner.

This gent was making a mandala at 3:55 at Columbus Circle.

I’m Getting Sentimental Over You

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It’s been another hot day today. Oddly enough I’m not so tired. I certainly wish I was making more money, but who doesn’t wish for that? The day started off fine. Bill kissing me goodbye as I had another hour to sleep.

Actually it’s an hour interrupted by the alarm clock every 10 minutes thanks to the snooze alarm. I got up around 8:00 and did my shower, shave, coffee and cereal routine. Actually didn’t shave. I’ll shave tomorrow.

Sat in front of a fan and checked emails and whatnot while the Today show showed how easy it is to lose weight while breathing. Who knew?

Ah, a nice breeze just wafted in. Nice and cool. What I aspire to be.

I’ve taken to wearing the suit and shirt to work, carrying a tie in my shoulder bag. I carry the suit jacket and usually by the time I get to the cigar shop, my shirt is see through in spots. Once I’m in the shop, I put on a t-shirt.

I held a lot of people in contempt this morning. Back to some of my old traits. They were held in contempt for not having change when they got on the bus. There are plenty of shops where they can get change and most everyone knows that the fare into Manhattan is $3.20.

But there’s always someone who only has a fiver. And that holds up the bus until the driver allows them on the bus so they could plead for change of a five. I always had my money ready when I got on the bus and now that I am back to have a bus pass it’s one less thing to worry about.

People are dumb. People are rude. People don’t hold the door for other people. Oh how I disliked people this morning. By the afternoon, all that had changed and I merely saw them as semi-conscious animals.

Work itself was OK. It was me and Don Birch for most of the day with Sean coming in the afternoon. We all got along fine. I undercharged someone for some cigars and rather than deal with an irate customer, I paid the tax that I neglected to charge myself.

Then when it came time for closing the bank was short $3.00 which I amended with petty cash which I hope is there for moments like this. Of course things still went awry since there were some forms that I neglected to include and only remembered until it was too late.

Tomorrow I will have to ask Calvin to walk me through the closing process since all I know is piecemeal work. It’s taking the initiative I suppose.

The party lurches forward. Anxiety appears at the edges of my mind. More regretful cancellations. Billie is coming up from DC via Bolt Bus and is expected in Manhattan around 10:30. He will be returning around 6:00. I’m excited to see him again and also excited that my family and friends will finally meet my chocolate sister.

Thanks to the first 5 songs from Gang of Four’s Entertainment album, I made it from work to the bus terminal in 16.5 minutes.

a quiet moment