Tag Archives: iPod

I Hear A Symphony

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I slept really well last night despite the fact that Bill was not in bed next to me. I don’t usually sleep that well when he is away but I guess since I did not sleep that well the night before, my body made up for it. My good friend Lois was working retail in Hoboken today and had a quandary as to what to play while she was working.

I asked if she had an iPod but she didn’t. On the way to the bus stop this morning I figured that since I have an extra iPod I would lend her the extra. I was listening to Hot Chip as I waited in the sun across the street from the bus stop. I decided to make a playlist from one of the tracks when all of a sudden my iPod up and died. Or actually went into a coma.

Being in the sun I couldn’t read the message on the device. I tried to reset it a few times to no avail and did not look forward to the music choices that Bradley or Thomas might present. I know they’re good guys and generally have good taste in music but I used to be a DJ and I guess I like to control the music at the cigar shack.

I think my co-workers recognize that if I can pick the music then I am happy and I think they like to make me happy. Or maybe it’s simply a case of ‘letting the baby have it’s bottle’.

No iPod meant I had to listen to people on the bus, in the bus terminal and in the street as I walked to the cigar shack. I was determined though, to find out whether or not I could reset the iPod once I had access to a computer. As luck would have it as soon as I plugged the iPod in the AC outlet it came back to life. Who knows? Maybe when I unplug it it will go back to being Karen Ann Quinlan.

The day at the cigar shack was slow enough for me to write another blog entry for the cigar shack. http://cigarshackasaurus.com It was an easy write as it usually is. Just show me what to write and I will write it Wow 13 minutes left. I just sold a lime green pen case to a woman named Lynn somewhere in Michigan. Poor thing sounded like she had a behemoth of a head cold.

I just want to go home now. Thomas kicked ass all day, definitely getting the lion’s share and then some in sales. I came in second, happy to have put Bradley in third place. Now the Feelies are playing and I can hear the great Stan Demeski on drums loud and clear. Dave Weckerman’s percussion too.

Crazy wiring on the speakers here. I can here the percussion and drum and the bass and guitar sound far away. On the whole, I’d rather be in Haledon. Not really. First we’ll take Hoboken.

The iPod did work on the bus ride home and I listened to Another Day on Earth by Brian Eno. I don’t think I had heard it on the iPod with the ear buds in but it really is a beautiful piece of work. Jeez I love that Eno so much, I even downloaded an app for Oblique Strategies. I’m pretty sure it’s not official but it’s light hearted entertainment, all the same.

Tomorrow is Sunday so that means I won’t be writing. Why don’t you do some writing? Perhaps leave a comment here, or write your own blog.




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Updated 9:32PM
Well today is the day off. Next one is Sunday. Last night was a quiet night. Just spent time chilling out. Watched TV of course. Bill came home close to the end of the finale of Nurse Jackie.

He had major drama at work and proceeded to tell me all about it. I paused the DVR as he explained what happened in great detail. Quite an interesting story, but it’s his story and not mine. He went to bed soon after that and I stayed up and watched the Simpsons.

Then I went to bed and did not have an easy night of sleep. The weather has cooled considerably so the windows were open, allowing me to hear the smashing of bottles that were being picked up for recycling. The dreams I had were strange, and maybe a bit violent. I did sleep for about 8 hours though and that was OK.

Felt a bit unmoored, not knowing what to do. I knew enough to have breakfast after I showered. Caught the Daily Show and the Colbert Report, both of which I hardly ever watch anymore. I did have tickets for the Colbert Report taping last night but had to return them since I wasn’t able to go, being employed and all.

I started a playlist for the shop and headed out with about 50 songs on the list. I went to T-Mobile since I’ve been having problems with my sending of pictures to Facebook, to my email, and even to my cellphone.

I was on the phone with T-Mobile the past two days and followed their instructions, including if all else fails, go to a T-Mobile store. So I went to the one on Washington Street. I dealt with Laura who talked with an Eastern European accent.

She mentioned that I might need a new SIM card and she wouldn’t charge me for it. I was surprised that she would even consider charging me for the SIM card since the phone is relatively new, having only gotten it in December.

I mentioned that the customer service on the phone never mentioned it and as I said that she cut me off. She kept doing that, I guess she was expecting me to shut up. I don’t do that, I keep talking about what I was saying.

She’s been doing this for six years she said so she knew all about these types of things. She also mentioned that she had a smart phone and never had the type of problem, including losing a network immediately after a phone call.

The new SIM card seemed to have done the trick. I thanked her in what I thought was her original language, Russian- спасибо! She smirked and said she was Albanian but knew what I meant. She certainly wasn’t a charming salesperson like I try to be at the cigar shop.

I walked over to the Guitar Bar and saw Mister Wonderful, Jim Mastro. He asked me how the job was going and I told him despite some initial feeling of confusion and a general not knowing what the hell I was doing, it was getting a lot better.

He asked if I was getting psyched for the party next month and for a minute I didn’t know what he was talking about. Then I figured it out. He mentioned that his daughters Lily and Ruby were working on a set list. I headed out of there since Jim was dealing with a customer who was playing a bass quite loudly for my ears.

Walked back up to Washington Street and started taking cellphone pics of various flowers, just to see if the camera was working. Decided to walk up to Eleventh Street and listened to the playlist on the iPod. Sounded fine to me.

Headed to the supermarket to get some groceries and cash in a rain check from April before it expired. When I came home and looked over the receipt which seemed a bit odd and it was off. They over charged me and I called up the store who told me to come back for the refund.

Ran into Julio who was running home on his lunch hour and chatted for a few minutes before it started to rain. Dropped off and picked up some dry cleaning for Bill and myself. Came home and added a lot more songs to the playlist which runs from pop, R&B, some hip hop and even opera and rock and roll.

At last count it’s 12 hours long and has 176 songs in it. I hope it goes over well. And if it doesn’t I will try not to take it personally like I used to at Farfetched.

Back to work tomorrow, early shift, then Friday and Saturday I get the late shift. Off on Sunday, for which I hope will have good weather.

Update: I had a letter to the Editor published in the NY Daily News again on June 2, a reaction to a letter regarding Memorial Day.

They also serve II
Hoboken, N.J.: It’s a shame that what seemed to be Voicer Bill Lynch’s heartfelt sentiment regarding Memorial Day was cheapened by his politicizing and liberal-bashing. Liberals have fought and died for this country. And the ACLU will defend his civil liberties should they become endangered.