Book of Jamez

55 y/o malcontent, something of a writer

Category: Friends

  • Broadway

    So I had my first weekend trip to NYC to see a Broadway show. I took the train up, as i find it much more relaxing than the airplane. I had downloaded the movie: Starfall to watch on my way up which was very enjoyable, and there was a cute guy sitting across from me too – that’s always a bonus. I arrived around 12:30, had lunch at the Ruby Tuesday that was right near the hotel (stayed at the Newark Airport Residence Inn) and checked in early. Took a 2 hour nap and waited for my friend Suzanne to arrive. Suzanne and I had dinner at the JW Prime Steakhouse (at the Marriott at the airport) and then headed back to our suite. The two bedroom suite was very nice, though we hardly used the kitchen at all.

    The plan on Saturday was to spend the morning shopping, before we headed off for Times Square; but when we were preparing to leave we discovered someone had broken into Suzanne’s car over night, the drivers side window had been smashed in and glass was everywhere. They were apparently looking for her GPS system, which she had in the room with us. They left her Ipod, her CD’s, and DVDs all in the car, so the only loss was the window and shopping time.

    Time Square was a real treat, my first visit there and I really liked it (despite the people). I could spend a day there shopping.

    In the theater, waiting for Suzanne to arrive out of the mile long ladies restroom I swear I saw Leslie Jordan who had a recurring role on Will and Grace over the years, that was a treat in itself. The play, Young Frankenstein, was stupendous, even with two understudies standing in for the lead male role and the Inga role, it was still VERY good. Suzanne and I especially loved Igor, he stole the show.

    Saturday night we headed to a local mexican restaurant that Suzanne loves and met up with a guy that she went to high school with and his girlfriend, then it was off to an AA meeting, which was also very good.

    Sunday, Suzanne took off fairly early and I headed back in the afternoon. All in all, it was a great trip and I hope to spend more time the next time I go see a show.

  • Don't Think About Green Beans

    Few weekends ago I traveled to Mohonk Mountain House ( http://www.mohonk.com ) in New Paltz, NY. My best friend Suzanne and I rode up together, she likes to drive she’s …. you know…. American. I do not like to drive, it has never been one of those things that I want to do, which is why I live in Washington, DC and will always live somewhere that personal transportation is optional.

    I should let you know at this point that I was horribly ill, the flu or some nasty cold had taken hold of me. I was full of snot and sneezing, groggy and a bit grumpy. I made do cause I wanted others to have a good time.

    Suzanne and I stopped to eat at one of her favorite restaurants near NYC. All the servers were dressed up in white jump suits, had sideburns and reminded me of Elvis. I hate Elvis. But the food was good (yes, I was stuffed up and couldn’t taste anything, I’m being nice.

    When we arrived at the Mountain House, I was about ready to collapse. This place was huge, beautiful and just stunning. The staff were there immediately to take our bags, check us in and make sure all was good. I found my bosses, smiled and nodded and moved on to dream world.

    Sleep did not come easily, I found myself awake on numerous occasions with limited breathing and fits of coughing or sneezing. So rest I did not get.

    Saturday morning, Suzanne and I went off to the breakfast buffet, I still feel like crap, but I’m putting on a good face…. so I think. Then Suzanne and I both had spa treatments scheduled so we headed off to do that. The spa services menu at Mohonk is quite extensive, several which include them inducing you into a “power nap”. I don’t know about you, but paying someone to put me to sleep is not a pleasurable way to spend money. I chose the back revitalizer, a nice back scrub and massage.

    So a woman arrives in the staging area, and calls my name. I think that this is very nice of them to have staff come escort me to my masseuse. She leads me to a room with a tub, tells me to get in. I don’t recall this as part of the description of my treatment. I look at her a little confused, she asks me what’s wrong. I say, well, first off I asked for a male masseuse, she says: oh, is that a problem. “I guess not” I say and get in the hot tub. The whirlpool tub is actually very nice, hot and scented. She leaves me in there long enough to tenderize all of my organs for harvesting by cannibals. Then she returns to escort me to a room, “disrobe and lie on your back cover up and then i’ll come back in”. She is the professional, but I am wondering how she plans to do my back if I’m lying on it, but I do as she says. When she re-enters the room she says, “good, now we’re going to start with an exfoliation and then I’m going to lead you into a power nap”. Ding! “Now I know this is the wrong treatment!” I say loudly. Turns out it was, they had screwed up my order and the bath was considered a “bonus”, even if I didn’t like it. Once the treatment started that I was actually supposed to be getting, it was very nice.

    The dinner that night was a mandatory part of the trip for work, jackets required for men. I wore a nice mock turtle neck, some tan pants and looked pretty sharp. Suzanne wore a nice outfit that had shades of purple, mostly I liked her shoes. I might mention at this point that Suzanne is beautiful, she really is…. she’s had a boob job, is very skinny, always has men looking at here butt in department stores… mostly, I like her shoes. One of the people from work, came in with his girlfriend, they were a lovely couple; when he removed his jacket, I saw that his V Neck sweater was on backwards, I mentioned it to him and he ran from the room to change it. Everyone had something to drink, I had a cold glass of water that I dropped two Alka-Seltzer Cold and Flu into. That is the last I remember of the evening.

    Sunday morning, I could actually breathe… which was nice. I slept most of the night and was feeling a little better. Not 100% but better. The breakfast buffet was nice again, I had some pancakes and Suzanne had some fruit. The fruit caused Suzanne to be “green beans”, all the way home…. and she said: ‘please don’t write about my “green beans” on your blog’ as she rolled down the window. The ‘green beans’ were all I’ve been able to think of since… So truly this is a story of ‘green beans’, the first few paragraphs here are to mask my true intentions. I’ve become obsessed with her ‘green beans’ and the fact that the ‘green beans’ were not detectable by me… I had a cold!

    It is my understanding everyone had a good time on our excursion, even if they were exposed to ‘green beans’.

  • Elton John in Concert

    I spent 2 1/2 hours listening to Elton John play oldies and the new stuff in the Hall at Atlantic City. When he first walked onto the stage tears came to my eyes; lets face it this man is a legend in any age bracket.

    The songs he played of yesteryear, were the ones you always expect to hear; From Bennie and the Jets to the Bitch is Back. The Captain and the Kid was the history lesson a look back into his first submissions and travels from days gone by.

    The sound was bad at times, but not as bad as the woman beside me… her swinging arm and alcohol breath were almost too much to take during this brief fest. The song Elton played when she was at her worst was, Someone Saved My Life Tonight and I looked up to heaven to find the light.

    A moment like this I’ll never forget, and I really need to go out and buy Captain Fantastic.

  • Welcome to the world Samuel Benjamin

    Michelle New had her baby, Samuel Benjamin, at 12:41pm today! Baby, mother, and father are doing well. He weighs 6 lbs. 10 oz. and is 19½ inches long.

    May your eyes always behold the wonders of life…
    May love be the center of your world…
    May all your cares be met and all your needs fulfilled…

    Surrounding you are shining examples of the human spirit…
    Before you is a path full of choices, learn from our mistakes…
    You have the chance to make your own life great…

    Make time to love, live, and learn…
    Share your time, knowledge and love…
    Wonder at the beauty of the unknown…

    We see our future in your eyes…
    We see your smile and want to cry…
    You’ve lifted our love beyond the skies!

    Welcome!

  • Update

    Hi,I’ve probably told you all more than enough, to check my site: http://mrjamezq.blogspot.com/ if you want to know what’s going on with me… well… I haven’t written anything there in a while… so you can claim you did and still don’t know what’s going on.

    I’m temping at the NAHB which is about a 20 minute walk from home. Nice job, nice folks… but only 4 days a week. There are issues there… like the one woman who put together a fax, even made the cover sheet… walked past the fax machine came to my desk and said: “This needs to be faxed to this number (pointing to the number on the cover sheet she made) ASAP.” So, I smile and don’t ask why she’s such a lazy cow.. I get up and fax her two pages. Or the fact that “short-term” means anything from 1 month to 25 years… but I digress.

    I’m also working at Olsson’s Books and Records, in DC. Very laid back. I’m pretty sure there are three people (minimum) that don’t like me… I don’t much like them either. I hate when there are author events and the authors and their fans can’t seem to understand what closing time means… perhaps if they hung out in more bars they would get the concept. Remind me, IF I ever get famous, what I hated about book events.

    Gary and I went bike riding on Monday, was a little hot but nice. I need to exercise more, but the bike seat is broken and I’m saving cash… and DC drivers are nut jobs (no offense to you nut jobs… er DC drivers).

    WHC (Washington Hospital Center) finally called back about the job I intervied for over a month ago… they want me to come in (Monday) and take some tests: Word, Excel, Power Point… no worries. The job is a union job, and I don’t know what that means yet. I would almost rather stay at NAHB if it was 5 days a week.

    I was hoping to go to WI this summer for an AA thing… but it just can’t happen in this financial situation. I’ll have to see what else I could do… but winter is fast approaching there so no promises.

    No men… as there is no time. The cats are a little grumpy due to not getting enough attention, but when I do give it they are content if only for a purr or two.

    I am going to my meeting in Georgetown, and considering getting a sponsor… there are two candidates… don’t hold you breath, I’m very picky.

    On Monday, I’ll be contacting Northern Virginia Community College about classes this fall, I need a minimum of six credits to maintain my financial aid. I hope this shouldn’t be a problem… just have to decide which classes I would like to take.

    I read: To Kill A Mockingbird for the first time, and I must say it was a really good book. Currently I am reading: Hunting in Harlem which has promise.

    OK, its way past my bedtime. I miss most of you (some of you I actually see on occasion)Jamez

  • The Only Hill

    Jean-Pierre used to say we lived on the only hill in Washington. Not true, but it sure seemed like it when I was a smoker. 16th Street gradually runs up, so there is presently no flooding near my house.

    The rain has been something to see, the entire sky whites out and all you see is vapor as this stuff hits objects. The rain doesn’t manage to cool anything off either, the humidity keeps us all soaked even if we have an umbrella.

    I’ve been summoned for Jury Duty, again. They never take me, don’t know why they keep trying.

  • Anonymous

    I can’t of course mention her name… she’d never forgive me.

    She has the biggest heart behind the gruffest exterior. A buzzed hair cut, keys jingling as she walks by. Everyone knows her, no one truly knows her-she has touched the lives of so many.

    She’s given gifts towards every cause brought to her attention, never takes credit, never signs the card. If something was done for you, by an unknown source, she did it.

    The Spiderman statue joined my cubicle as a result of her actions, she’s always said to me: “You’re wasted here… .” There were mornings I’d come in and a woman and or children would be sleeping in one of the cubicles, she made sure they were safe that night. She tries to keep in touch with everyone, people will send the new baby pictures to her, the wedding pictures, people we hadn’t seen in years.

    Everything changes now for her, for the rest of you who knew her… that place will never be the same, you’ve truly lost one of the better parts from those colorful walls.

  • Changes

    I’ll be moving back to Washington, DC in one month (+/- a day or two).

    What prompted? Well, mostly the recent trip up there for Michelle’s wedding. Even though it was a five hour trip (the way up there) and the tourists were in the streets like diaper rash on a baby… I realized I miss it: I have so many friends/family there… and reliable PUBLIC transportation, and jobs abound… My old room is available, with my old roommate (who I’m sure my cats miss, and I do too).

    So there you are… DC bound.

  • Ghosts

    I’m staying at my old place in DC over the weekend.
    I walk into the kitchen and my cats do not appear at my feet hustling for treats
    They do not race up and down the stairs or peek through the railing, as if to smile from a afar
    The old blue couch is gone, moved to Chesapeake with me, so I can’t lie back and nap
    Maybe tomorrow when Gary is here it wont seem so empty and silent
    Maybe I wont miss my cats so much then

  • Gravity pulls on my eyes

    The dog sitting is over, but the dogs did manage to wake me almost every day at 3:00 ish in the morning… as a result, my sleep pattern is a little wacky and i’m tired.

    This morning snow is falling, the grasses and cars are covered with a light coat of snow and the roads are wet.

    Nothing else new… but thought I’d better post something…

    tired