Tag Archives: Padron

Happenstance

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I suppose it’s true, no good deed goes unpunished. Sometimes when I walk down 41st Street, I give a homeless guy some change. He calls me soldier, usually compliments me on what I’m wearing and comments on my smoking a cigar. He seems like a nice guy and I always try to give him some change when I can. This happens after work most nights.

Today work wasn’t busy at all and I tried to leave at 3:00 with Vivek’s permission. He was busy since he’s going to India tomorrow and coming back on Tuesday. But things being what they are, I didn’t leave at 3:00. I tried to but as I was headed out the door I heard my phone ring.

So I run to my desk and my jacket gets caught on the edge of the cubicle, tearing off a button off my suit jacket. No problem, even though I can’t sew to save my life I scooped up the button and put it in my pocket.

The phone call was from this crazy psycho Vietnamese chick who has been calling me most every day since May 2007. I’ll come into work and find my voice mailbox would be filled with messages in Vietnamese of this chick screaming, crying and mumbling.

Today when I answered the phone she was crying in English, which she does speak on occasion, ‘what did you do to my computer?’ I told her that I didn’t know anything about her computer and that she was a stupid bitch.

Then I headed out the door, enjoying a Padron and walking across town. Bought a refrigerator magnet of Barack Obama outside of Grand Central Station and headed to the bus terminal. As I approached the homeless guy I reached into my pocket and gave him almost a dollar in change. Make that almost a dollar, plus a button.

I didn’t realize that I gave him the button until I got into the bus terminal. I figured I’ll take the suit to the dry cleaners and have them sew a new button on. I go to the ‘new’ dry cleaner around the block, they do the cleaning on premises and they do it green, meaning environmentally safe.

I tell the gent behind the counter about the button and he looks at me and asks if I have an extra one. I told him if I had an extra one I would have brought it. I also told him it doesn’t have to be the same button, just the same size. He tells me he couldn’t do it.

I wind up walking to another dry cleaner around the block and give the same spiel. This gent tells me that he could probably match the size but it wouldn’t be the same. I tell him to just take off the other two buttons and sew three new ones which is what I could have told the first guy.

I also could have turned around and went back to the homeless guy and asked him to check his cup for a button but since it was a Friday and I was just about 100 yards from my bus I obviously decided not to. Not the end of the world after all.

Just heard from a mutual friend of mine and Pedro’s, Excer. Excer called Pedro to find out what would be going on for tomorrow, but it turns out Pedro is still sick so no Otisville this weekend. Excer mentioned next weekend but I won’t be able to go then since I’m taking Juan to see Girl Talk next Saturday for his birthday.

I am having dinner with Excer tomorrow night instead and I’ll tell him then, unless he reads this first but I find that doubtful.

Bop Gun (Endangered Species)

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Back to the beat, back to the grind. That means it’s Monday. Yes yes I know, big deal. Last night was pretty quiet, I watched the Simpsons and True Blood and Entourage. The Treehouse of Horror was ok. The opening scene with Homer trying to vote for Obama several times and each time it was a vote for McCain before the machine ate Homer and left his carcass with an ‘I Voted’ sticker on his forehead.

After that I watched True Blood which was once again very good. Steven Root is playing a gay vampire that Suki’s brother and his girlfriend kidnapped so they could always get a fresh supply of V. Very sad scenes.

Also Vampire Bill is on trial for killing a vampire that was about to kill Suki and you know, vampires aren’t supposed to kill other vampires, so Vampire Bill is going on to vampire trial. Before he left he asked the bar owner Sam to keep an eye on Suki. Vampire Bill obviously knew something that some of us only had an idea about.

It turns out Sam can turn himself into a dog. The same dog that has been appearing from time to time. Entourage was pretty good, Jason Patrick was excellent playing an asshole, which is basically a send up of how he’s been portrayed in the press.

Bill came home after dealing with his family and he’s heart broken. He feels like he is at wit’s end, trying to take care of his mother while still maintaining his own life. She definitely cannot be left alone and needs supervision at all times.

Once again she almost burned a kitchen down, this time his cousin’s kitchen. And once again all I could do was listen and give him a hug and let him cry on my shoulder. We both slept quite soundly, Bill kissing me goodbye as he was out the door before the sun came up.

The sun wasn’t up when I left. I made a point to dress extra sharp since I was going to volunteer again at the Obama office after work. Work was quiet. Most everyone attended a luncheon put together by Greg Steven’s wife Lorraine on behalf of her foundation.

Then Greg and Lorraine are flying to Arizona for a few weeks so they both can get some rest and relaxation and also a few rounds of golf. Tom Chin was home, sick with the bug that I had. If it’s the same bug, Tom will be out for the rest of the week. I know he’s going to blame me for catching the bug, not the thousands of people he comes into contact with, riding Metro North to and from Connecticut every day.

I left the office around 4:15, enjoying a Padron and walking to the Path train so I could volunteer again. More phone calls to Kearny again. More messages left on voice mail and only one or two people who told me they were voting for McRage.

After about 90 minutes of calling, I headed home where I just cooked some pasta. Also picked up some coffee for the office, talked to nice guy Jeff. He’s playing bass and has a gig in a week or two in Jersey City. I’d go see him but he never told me where he was playing and lets get real. I’m going to Jersey City to see a band that I might not care for?

Obama’s grandmother passed away, it’s sad she didn’t get a chance to see her grandson on Election Day, perhaps winning the nation’s highest office. But I’m sure she was proud of all that he has accomplished so far. I know I am.

Barack Obama and his grandmother Madelyn Dunham are seen together in this photo from 1979.

Don’t forget to vote tomorrow. In New Jersey the polls are open from 6:00AM to 8:00PM. And do the smart thing, VOTE OBAMA! PLEASE! And NO on Prop h8 as well as similar measures across the country!

♫ and Happy Birthday to Juan!!! ♪