tagless | johnozed

Oh I have the blues. It could be from it being January and the holidays are over. I don’t know. I’ve been prickly lately. That much I do know. I was out and about for a short while and did some grocery shopping and a visit to the bibliothèque. Leaving the supermarket I stopped to tie my shoe and a guy who is always asking for spare change came up to me saying that I told him I would give him change to get a cup of coffee. I didn’t say anything like that, in fact I didn’t speak to the guy at all.

He did remind me that I needed coffee so it was a trip back into the store and another wait on a long line for one item. This guy who always asks for spare change always catches me at the worst possible moment. I have snapped at him in the past but this time I held my tongue. When I was leaving the store he was gone but I did spot him on the corner talking to a construction worker who was going to give him money for coffee. I don’t think this guy drinks coffee at all.

Tonight is Chaz party. Bill can’t join us since he is driving to Atlantic City tonight. I am meeting up with Rand and Lisa and we are going to walk to the party. Previously Bill would rent a Zip Car and we would go that way, or take the Path train to Journal Square. Well there are no Path trains in Hoboken this weekend. We would have to get to the Newport Mall in Jersey City to get the train to Journal Square. Since Rand and Lisa have done the walk before, that will be the way to go tonight.

I know it will be a good time at Chaz’ party, good friends, good food. I am bringing the rest of the Guinness that I bought last week. I bought two eight packs of Guinness and brought one to Rand and Lisa’s. It’s already packed and ready to go. Of course I am not ready to go despite me running around getting ready to go. Running down the clock I guess. I just heard from Bill, some nonsense about having to swap buses as he’s travelling. He doesn’t mind and called to tell me his call later on tonight will be later than either of us expected.

I should be leaving in a little while. I am stopping by the cigar shop to pick up a cigar or two to enjoy on the walk there and back. Perhaps we will pool our money and take a taxi back to Hoboken. Perhaps we will just walk back. I don’t know. I am somewhat ambivalent, but that is probably from being inside a lot today and being alone too much. Once I am outside I should have a better frame of mind. At least that is what I am hoping for.

Voodoo Ray

Blah blah blah. Am I right? Another day, low key at best. Ran around some, did some errands. I did not go to the bibliothèque, at least not yet. There’s still time. I did request a book the other day and as of yesterday it is en route. I figured it would get here by today and since the bibliothèque closes at 8:00 tonight I still might get an email letting me know it had arrived. It’s a lot like watching paint dry. It’s been a slow going day today with the sun finally making an appearance late in the afternoon.

I was in midtown Manhattan this afternoon and ran into my friend Jesse. Jesse had news to tell me about our mutual friend Marcus. When Jesse told me this news I feared the worst. But as it turns out it wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t the best either. It seems that Marcus has been deported. Apparently he was in custody of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for the past year. That is certainly too bad, but Marcus is a survivor and I am sure he will be back one way or another. He does have family here.

I told Jesse to give my best to Marcus’ family. I was soon back in Hoboken and decided to have a seat by Pier A and read. It felt funny without my guitar. I thought I would be situated to be away from my usual spot so I wouldn’t be seen by the toddlers without the guitar. As luck would have it, there they were trooping around Pier A with their minders, asking me where my guitar was, and making the motions of strumming. I told them the guitar was home sleeping but they would see it tomorrow. Too much information for their minds.

I have been playing the guitar inside and trying to remember songs by heart. Not Ann & Nancy Wilson from Heart, but by memory is what I should have written. Lately after I’ve properly butchered a song enough, I’ve been going off on musical tangents which I think sound pretty cool. I have one on a Sound Cloud and I am sure I have posted it here before, around 8 months ago. So now I have the itch to do another and I might just post a new ditty tonight. I have no idea what it will sound like.

I listened to the older song on Sound Cloud since someone I used to admire in the 1980’s started following me on the Cloud. To me I think it sounds a lot like Laraaji, someone that Brian Eno produced back in the 1970’s. Not as melodious as Laraaji of course but conceptually it’s near that neighborhood. And also perhaps a little Feelies in the mix which is probably by osmosis. Having written that I can safely say that it is nowhere near Laraaji or the Feelies. Or anything else for that matter. I guess it sounds like me.

I just did a search online for this here blog and could not find the link to the Sound Cloud. So here it is again. NSFH or NSFW, and definitely NSFD. It may cause drowsiness and alcohol intensifies the effect. Use care when using the Sound Cloud. It may cause dizziness as well. Do use caution. And now, on with the shoe.