Tag Archives: Francois

I Smile

Just as I thought it would only be a temp job, it was just a temp job. I did have a sit down with Francois when I got in. The storm last night caused some leakage in the bathroom ceiling and that needed to be dealt with, so a call to the landlord was in order. Our next door neighbor on the fifth floor had a leak too. We figured it was some damage left over from Sandy, something was fixed and then the high winds and rain last night slightly undid what was fixed last year. It’s better now, but I guess we will wait until the next storm to find out.

So I got to the office an hour later than expected. I was able to get Francois’ attention and we did talk, mainly about what I wrote last night, about how I interviewed for a position and was offered an entirely different position. We both agreed that leaving now would be best before things get too involved. And I should not be so quick to say yes to anything that is offered to me. One doesn’t buy a pair of shoes if they don’t fit, at least I don’t.

It ended well enough I suppose, Francois and I hope to maintain our friendship and since I didn’t really meet anyone in the office, leaving was not a problem at all. I guess there was some static on Francois’ side, why hire someone who is more of an office support guy (jack of all trades) and train someone for sales when there are more qualified people to do the sales thing? With the storm last night and the leakage and the temp job finishing up the way it did I will be happy when this day, week, month is over.

The position I originally interviewed for and aced remains unfilled. Ultimately the decision fell to the owner of the company. Francois who was great mentioned off hand that his position is tenuous since who knows, the owner could decide that she’s tired of seeing Francois and could terminate his position at any time. That would be too bad since Francois had proven himself to be a stand up gent and quite a professional. But that is the nature of the beast and I left today knowing that Francois would still be friends despite the past 48 hours.

Meanwhile the ceiling seems to be mended which is very good. The temperature has dropped considerably in the past few hours and it’s still quite windy. I just got in after picking up Bill’s laundry and a stop at the really getting on my nerves supermarket. I guess they realized that their competition will be opening within a fortnight and decided to ramp up the attitude as well as the prices. Friday is a sale day and already they have taken the tags off this past week’s on sale items which can cause confusion, or at least it usually confuses me.

And Bill has been stellar the past few days. Good things coming up ahead.
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Strange dream last night. It took place back in Lodi or parts of Lodi that I was not familiar with since it was the other side of town from where I grew up. I ran into Declan an old friend from Maxwells. We had a good talk, joined by Bill and my former roommate William. I mentioned I had to walk to the supermarket and they joined me, walking past places I had never been before.

We lost Bill on the way and William and Declan sidestepped a freshly made spider web. I got entangled and freaked out, pouring butane over my jeans. Then I lost them both and walked down some streets to the supermarket which was just closed due to some incident inside.

I walked around and found my shoes were gone. William rode up on his bicycle with some native artifacts he just purchased. I walked around some more, looking at a house that might also be a bar and I kept walking not paying attention to where I was going and came thisclose to walking into a column on a porch.

I made it back to Bill and still could not find my shoes. I had no idea how I lost them since I never took them off. William showed up again with shoes that weren’t mine. I saw Bill’s Doc Martins and was stepping into them which were quite big, too big.

Then Bill got a phone call and he was very upset since Digberto died. I asked who Digberto was but did not find out if he was a relative since the dream ended.

It seemed the dream was riddled with symbolism.
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I watched The Kids Are Alright the other night. Every time I saw it listed in the guide I think it’s the movie about the Who from the late 1970’s. So I finally sat and watched it and it was pretty good. Julianne Moore, Annette Bening and Mark Ruffalo were very good. It had songs by Bowie and MGMT and some talk about Joni Mitchell, but nothing at all by the Who. Annette Bening should have gotten the Academy Award that year.

Last night I watched Grace of My Heart which is good but slight. I remember meeting the director Allison Anders when she visited Right Track Recording when Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello recorded God Give Me Strength for the soundtrack. She was nice and I think I might have met Ileana Douglas at the time as well. Having read Carole King’s memoir I could see certain resemblances.

Reading about it on Wikipedia afterwards I read Joni Mitchell wrote a song for it, sung by someone else and produced by Joni’s ex-husband Larry Klein. And some songs were written by Gerry Goffin and his daughter with Carole King, Louise. I definitely remember meeting Carole King when James Taylor was recording and she was super nice. I had seen Louise perform a few nights before and mentioned it to Carole who was beaming and so proud of her daughter.
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And I did ask Bill if he knew anyone named Digberto and he didn’t.

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07 Shaktar Donetsk

I Sing the Body Electric

Well I just got home from the first day of a temp to perm assignment. I duly bought some Lilt and permed my hair over the weekend. It’s not bad but there is that Chia resemblance I was really hoping to avoid. The first day of the assignment was of course preceded by a day full of anxiety. Things got better after an Alprazolam. I don’t take them often, just when I am freaking out which you might be surprised to read, does not happen that often. And the hug from Bill last night certainly helped, and I am glad I asked for it.

I went to bed earlier than usual and I slept soundly thanks to the Alprazolam. I woke up with Bill kissing me good bye, so happy to see that I had something real to go to. The cigar shop antics were really pissing him off, so much so that he swore he would never set foot in there again. I slept some more after Bill headed off in the early morning light before the voice in the back of my mind and the alarm clock did another duet of ‘Get the Fuck out of Bed Now!’

I shuffled along, made some coffee and stepped into the shower. A shave after that, some coffee and cereal and there was also a sandwich to be made for lunch. Then I got my clothes together, a suit and tie combo and headed out. It had been a while since I waited for the bus in the morning and to my surprise found an orderly line. And it being so early, there were plenty of buses to ride. But the driver named Chief was nowhere to be around. I found a seat on the bus and hoped to sleep but that wasn’t going to happen.

I was due to be in the office at 8:30 and of course I was there at 8:28. Not many people were in and I was set up in a cubicle and I waited. Francois was the one I was waiting for. I was still fuzzy with the Alprazolam which turned out to be a good thing since the anxiety was nonexistent. Francois made it in, and handed me some paperwork to fill out. I do like Francois, he’s a nice guy and a friend of a friend which made it that much more special.

Basically I spent the day looking at a computer learning package all day, and taking notes on various aspects of it. I worked alongside two nice guys David and Graham. They mainly kept to themselves but were handy to have around if and when I had some questions. I also drank a lot of water today. For lunch I ate my sandwich and went for a walk around what used to be my area from the Wanker Banker days. Most of the spots where I could get a cheap meal have been replaced by rug sellers and housewares stores. I walked along looking into windows.

After work, I walked the same route that I used to take to the Path train. I enjoyed a cigar as I walked and listened to a David Bowie playlist. As I crossed Vanderbilt and 42nd Street a woman tapped me on the shoulder. I took out the ear buds to hear her say how much she enjoyed the smell of my cigar and that it reminded her of her father. I said I was glad to provide a good memory and wished her a good night. She wished me the same and was on her way.
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It Don’t Come Easy