Ulysses | johnozed

Let’s get it over with shall we? Goodbye 2009. Crap year for me and a lot of other people. New calendars are in order. I was going to head into the city and go to a Barnes & Noble to see what calendars I can get there.

Also to exchange the John Lennon biography that Julio got me. I read it already and changed my mind about keeping it. I can get a calendar and probably a different book.

I started out stopping by the library to drop off the DVD of The Apartment, the Billy Wilder movie. I had never seen it before and neither did Bill. Very good movie, Jack Lemmon was perfect, Shirley MacLaine was pretty and Fred MacMurray was a real dick. Just a pretty good movie to watch at the end of the year.

I headed towards Washington Street intending to walk to the Path train or catch a bubs into Manhattan and by the time I made it up to the boulevard I changed my mind. I just walked around a bit and came back to the apartment building and shoveled the sidewalk in front.

No one else had and it didn’t seem likely that anyone would. I didn’t mind and it was just pushing the snow into the gutter. I was finished with that in about 10 minutes and climbed up the four flights to my apartment.

Bill was at work and I was going to take a nap but started watching videos on YouTube, then Juan called. He’s in California having a good time. Bill came home as I was listening to Tomorrow Never Knows on YouTube, quite loudly. I didn’t hear the door open and I was startled.

Also spoke with Ulysses who had called to wish me a Happy New Year. He wasn’t doing anything, just spending the night with his mother like he’s been doing the past few years.

So the plan for Bill and myself, after he wakes up from his nap, is to go to our annual steak dinner at Arthur’s restaurant in Hoboken. We’ve been doing it for a number of years, then we smoke cigars and stroll around Hoboken, come home and rest and then go to Rand and Lisa’s for cocktails.

It’s usually a low key night which is how we like it. No complaints on this end.

Just finished watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High on cable. Seen it a few times before, now it’s a look back on the early 1980’s. Back then I didn’t know what to make of it. More of a Southern California scene than a North Jersey scene. Still can’t relate to it and I’m not sure if I’m supposed to.

I think Dark Was the Night was the best CD release this year. Best reissues were the Beatles remasters. Best compilation was Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8. ~~(which may have come out in 2008 but I got it in 2009 so fuck off)~~ I guess the best movie was Avatar. Best concert, Paul McCartney at CitiField of course. That was an easy end of year list.

Hope you all have a Happy New Year. All the best wishes for 2010. It has to be a better year. It just has to!

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Best DVD watched in the past 24 hours!

Blue moon New Years Eve which I will take as a good omen.

Perhaps the best song of the last decade:

Well I’m back. Been back for a few hours actually. Came home, showered and took a nap. Woke up to the sound of the St. Ann’s feast band marching through the streets, and stopping in front of my building for a blessing.

Not the way I wanted to wake up but it worked nonetheless. Still a bit groggy. Many beers were drunk last night and I woke up still buzzed.

Getting to Otisville was pretty easy, got on a train and just took the two hour train ride. Read most of the New Yorker including an interesting article on organ donation for altruistic reasons. Compare that to the organs for cash scheme which was revealed the other day as part of the NJ corruption arrests.

The scam was reportedly going on for 10 years, run by some Rabbi. Nice. I made it up to Otisville with no problems. A few girls making some noise was easily ignored. There was a hitch once I got off the train.

No cellphone service at the station. I stood around for 20 minutes trying to call Pedro & Connie, on their land line and his cellphone to no avail. I didn’t panic. It was a nice day, clear skies and I enjoyed a cigar while I tried to get through. Even tried a pay phone but that was out of service as well.

I finally got through and Pedro was on his way. A few minutes later a car pulls up and I was expecting it to be our friend Excer. No, it was Ulysses, someone I hadn’t seen in years.

Ulysses started working at Murdoch Magazines the day after I started in 1986. We hit it off immediately back then, so much so that I was DJ’ing a friends wedding and Ulysses and his late brother Tony rented me their equipment for $100.00.

I hadn’t seen Ulysses since Tony’s wake in 2000 or so. After Ulysses started working there, in came Pedro and Tony and eventually Excer. Harpy was there by that time as well.

Last night was all about Stella Artois and dominoes Ulysses didn’t play dominoes, he was too busy downloading various programs for his music studio. Pedro, of course dominated the dominoes, I was a drunken second place.

Every one crashed by 1:00, the only 2 staying up were me & Ulysses, chatting away until 2:30 when he decided he had to head home despite Connie setting a bed for him.

I tried to convince him to stay over but as Pedro explained this morning, he never stays out, always heads home before sunrise. I woke up bleary eyed, hearing Excer and Connie talking in the kitchen.

Excer offered me a ride back to Hoboken so I figured he would want to get moving soon. I got out of bed and had some pancakes and scrambled eggs that Connie made as well as some coffee.

Excer and I were on the road at 10:30, taking Route 17 all the way down to Route 3 where I directed him to Hoboken, specifically right in front of my building.

Came upstairs, Bill was cleaning the apartment. I showered and took a nap. After being awoken by the St. Ann’s feast band, I went for a stroll with Julio.

We stopped in Radio Shack when all of a sudden, the skies opened and it started pouring and hailing. We were inside the store for about a half hour waiting for the rain to stop.

The staff didn’t mind, they were too busy laughing at the soggy people walking down the street avoiding cafe umbrellas that started flying on the sidewalks.

That is about it. I’m sure I will sleep well tonight. Here are some pictures from last night.
7.26.09 weekend 005