Smartphone | johnozed

Well it’s been an alright day off, so far at least. First off, I slept really well, later than I expected to. But I was alright with that. Everything I planned was tentative anyhow. I did have to go get some groceries and that is what got me out of bed.

After a shower and some coffee as well as trying to figure out what it is that the smartphone does I headed out. On the way I decided to use the camera and took a couple of shots. I think they came out just as good as they would be if I used the Coolpix Nikon.

Still a bit shaky with it, though it will become more comfortable to use as time goes on. I came home and had a decent breakfast and then headed out again. It was threatening to rain most of the day and I was fortunate to be able to avoid most of the downpours by mere minutes.

I also made it to the library to pick up a book I ordered, The Sibling Effect by Jeffrey Kluger. I saw him on the Colbert Report and the book sounded interesting, so now it was time to pick it up before it goes back to the original bibliothèque.

Tomorrow is my nephew’s birthday, Earl is turning 21 and I bought a Greetings from Hoboken NJ t-shirt. I also had a Bob Marley book and a John Lennon book that I bought second hand earlier in the year and hoped to give them to him when he visited this year. But that did not work out since Earl’s flight was cancelled.

The books were too bulky to have Annemarie bring back with her so I hung onto them. I stopped at the local card shop and bought a birthday card that I thought was cool and walked over to the Post Office. It wasn’t crowded at all and after packing a box and paying for the shipment I headed out for a brief walk around Hoboken. The box will hopefully be there for Earl when Anne, Rex and Earl get back from the Not Strictly Bluegrass Festival this weekend.

I saw Bill Ryan outside the Post Office and said hello. It was good to see him, he’s looking healthy. I always liked Bill and he seemed to like me. I always enjoyed working for him at Pier Platters, either sitting behind the counter if he had to run an errand or manning the register at Pier Platters 2. And of course I always got a good deal on my purchases.

I played with the Google Latitude on my smartphone and watched myself as I wandered around town. I also talked with Bill for a few minutes. I’m trying to be conservative with my phone calls since I do not have the unlimited calls that I used to have with T-Mobile.

I found out later when I got home that I arranged to have my calls to Bill to be free and available whenever I want. I am enjoying the smartphone nonetheless. I found myself at one point in the day accessing some websites on my phone while sitting right in front of the computer. That was very dumb. Why waste time and access when I have everything right in front of me? I was glad I caught myself.

It’s a nice quiet evening, Bill is up in Harlem stage managing a play and here I am, in Hoboken, writing this very line.

Well I just got home and I also just got a smartphone. I don’t necessarily feel any smarter and in fact I found myself being one of ‘those people’, walking around with the device in my hand and nearly oblivious to everything.

And even writing this I am distracted by the smartphone. Too much information and not enough skill at accessing the information. Now the smartphone is connected to the computer, trying to figure out some way to connect.

In other news, it was a strange day at the cigar shack. Calvin was out, Thomas and Bradley were in. Thomas was great as usual, Bradley was a fucking bitch, as usual. Such a moody guy and he seems to thrive on being moody.

I was that way when I was a twenty something, nihilistic most of the time, but I grew out of it, with some assistance from loving friends and family. Apparently Bradley does not having loving friends or family and so we have the bitch that was in today.

It’s strange he can be really funny when he is on, and when he is off he is absolutely a horrible person to work with. I seem to recall him saying that former co-workers down south had similar difficulty working with him and here he is today, proving them right.

Thomas on the other hand is a pleasure to work with and I know I’ve said it before but he really is a good salesman. Puts just about everyone else in the shade, except for Calvin of course, who’s been doing this cigar shack retail gig for a long time.

There’s a commercial on TV lately, some guy talking to the camera saying that ‘You’re not the type of guy to work in an office. Maybe you should look into mechanics or HVAC’ or words to that effect. I usually run into the room saying ‘No, wait! I am an office guy and have no place in automotive mechanics or working in the world of HVAC!’

Unfortunately I am not the target audience for that ad, Lincoln Technical Schools or APEX or some other technical school.

Today Jimmy Seltzer came into the cigar shack, good to see him and his purchase raised my quota to second place, a couple of hundred behind Thomas and a few hundred ahead of Bradley. Jimmy is such a good guy, says I could use his house in the Hamptons anytime I’d like, even when he and his wife are not there.

Alas I don’t think I have the time or the means to get out there right now, but the offer is certainly appreciated. Jimmy Seltzer also mentioned that the entry I posted a couple of weeks ago should be expanded into a full story, perhaps even a book. He made a suggestion as to how to do it and I paid heed to his sage advice.

Now with just a few words to go, my smartphone is singing its siren song imploring me to give it attention. It’s almost like I have a Tamagotchi!