Tag Archives: Roosevelt Island

So Hard

So last night, Bill was at St. Luke’s / Roosevelt Hospital being tested once again for sleep apnea. He had to wear that mask thing, which if you remember the Sopranos, Uncle Junior had to wear one for a few episodes. Not the most comfortable thing to sleep in.

Bill likened it to sticking your head out of the window of a moving car and trying to breathe. He should be coming home tonight so I’ll be getting the whole story.

His mother is not being moved to the nursing home on Roosevelt Island after all. She had a panic attack on Friday when they told her and she then had a panic attack which led her to wind up in the cardiologist unit since her heart started beating irregularly.

She is now going to be staying with Bill’s cousin and her husband Black Hitler. The bright side of that is the fact that Bill knows what he’s getting into this time.

This morning without Bill not being around to kiss me goodbye I over slept. Actually forgot to set the alarm so I woke up at 7:15 when my cellphone alarm went off. The steady rain outside didn’t make it worthwhile to get out of bed but I had to nonetheless.

Walked to the bus stop and got on, rode the bus to 11th Street when the bus crapped out and it was everyone off the bus to wait in the rain for the next bus. I didn’t like the look of the crowd standing in the rain so I walked down to 9th Street where thee was an even more unsavory group.

7th Street was just too crowded and I wound up walking to 5th Street where I originally boarded the bus. Read the New Yorker and was soon walking in the rain across town to the office.

By the time I got in I was wet despite wearing a raincoat and carrying a large umbrella. Tom Chin is still around and he looks at me saying, ‘You look wet’.

Today was very busy. Vivek is due to join his business partner in Acapulco tomorrow, Greg Stevens is in Arizona and Tom Chin is more than likely wanking somewhere.

And of course there were errands to run in the pouring rain. Three indifferent bankers at three different banks. After work, I wasn’t sure whether or not to take the subway across town or enjoy a Padron and walk.

Since it was only drizzling on and off I decided to walk. And the cigar was excellent.

Got a phone call on the bus from Pedro who’s going to be in the city tomorrow and wants to hang out. I’m game for it, especially after seeing his latest picture, all tight with six pack abs.

That’s something to look forward to. He needs to get a haircut and he always get it cut in the Village so that’s the plan. What happens after that I couldn’t say.

He wants to have a drink which is fine with me. I can’t stay out late since it is a school night so I’m sure I’ll get an earful on that. Can’t think of anywhere to go though. I’m sure we’ll think of something.

In the meantime, here’s a video that my sister sent me yesterday which made my day.

Me want to go there.

Down From Dover

It’s a late Friday posting. And what a day it’s been. No word from Harpy all day so I guess I’m on his shit list. I couldn’t tell you if it’s a long list or a short list or even if there is a list at all.

Still he’s back in the good graces of Susan and so I guess I’m out of his good graces, or graces period. A gray cloud of Harpiness hung overhead through most of my day.

I did enjoy sleeping until 9:00 this morning, woke up checked some email and found I had a new T Mobile bill. A bill that is over twice the usual amount. Apparently according to them I went over my 600 anytime minutes.

I suppose that was possible since there was a few long calls with Harpy before 9:00 and I found out today that mobile to mobile calls aren’t free. And a few long calls with my brother Frank during daytime hours too.

Plus a $9.99 text charge which more than likely came from the ‘IQ’ test I took via Facebook and had the answer sent to my phone. Apparently having an ‘IQ’ of ‘145’ isn’t smart enough to outfox a texting scam like that so be forewarned and learn from my mistake.

So a part of my morning was arguing with Tiffany and Chris from T Mobile. Actually there was no arguing, it was me venting as I drank my first cups of coffee and Chris and Tiffany thanking me and apologizing.

It was a drizzly gray morning as I did my laundry which now hangs on racks and in the bathroom drying in the dampness. I had a plan to meet up with Mr. & Mrs. Casey Chasm this afternoon. Casey Chasm asked if I liked lasagna and I said I sure did.

Around 1:30 it was still drizzling out as I headed over to the Chasm residence. It wasn’t so bad when I left my building but as I walked a few doors up the block, the sky opened up and I reached for my umbrella which didn’t do any good besides keeping my upper torso and head relatively dry.

Everything below the waist was wet. I needed to run to CVS and when I left CVS it was still pissing out. I decided the best thing to do would be to head home since the sneakers, socks and blue jeans I was wearing were quite soaked. Up four flights of stairs for a quick change and then I was out on the street again where it had stopped raining.

I hung out with Mr and Mrs Chasm, chatting. They even got me to play Wii which I did for the first time. I did good on bowling, on tennis I won over Mr Chasm though Mrs Chasm wiped the virtual tennis courts with Johnno’s body.

Then came boxing and it wasn’t foxy boxing to my chagrin. Casey Chasm went easy on me but my left uppercut was most ineffectual which was understandable since I didn’t think an uppercut was actually possible.

He set the Wii for training after a practice round, me throwing punches all arms akimbo, Casey Chasm all tight and controlled. I was getting hungry, looking forward to some lasagna when Bill called.

His mother was being moved from Beth Israel hospital to a center on Roosevelt Island. He asked if I could go with him and of course I said yes. I made a hasty exit from the Chasm abode and on my way home had a slice of lackluster pizza which while filling couldn’t compare to homemade lasagna.

I went home again, up four flights again and unloaded some crap and got some new crap. I needed something to read since I was going to be back on the bus on a late afternoon on Friday.

That meant some rush hour traffic which like last time, brought me closer to 34th street rather than 42nd street where the bus terminal is. Two other passengers and myself persuaded the drive to let us off on 35th street and I once again navigated the crowds milling towards either the bus terminal or Penn Station.

I got to Bill’s office building and he came down a minute or so later. We then caught an F train to Roosevelt Island. The plan was to have Bill and I there at the facility when he mother arrived, to have two friendly faces to make her transition a little bit easier.

We got there a little after 6:00 and waited for nearly two hours when we found out that Bill’s mother wasn’t going to be transferred tonight after all. Bill handled that news admirably and we had a pleasant walk to the Tram which we took back to Manhattan.

I had never been to Roosevelt Island so I took a few snapshots.

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from the Tram

from the Tram


We got off the Tram on 59th street and would have walked back to the bus terminal smoking our cigars, but of course that wasn’t going to happen since it was raining once again. We rode the subway to the bus terminal and caught a waiting bus. And now we’re here. The day ended better than it began oddly enough.

Where are you?