The summer heat used to piss me off. I live on the top floor of an old tar-roof brownstone. So my apartment is, for all intents and purposes, the attic just with really high ceilings. The heat has nowhere to go but here and as you come up the last flight of stairs, the extra ten to fifteen degrees really hits you, especially when it’s over 90 outside. And don’t get me started on my electric bills thanks to the added need for air conditioning.
However, this year is different. Oh it’s just as hot, but I don’t seem to mind as much. I guess it has to do with my stress levels being so low after quitting my job. Oh sure, I worry about money, but that is my doing. I’m now where I want to be and that is in control of my life. For better or for worse, my days follow paths now that are unpredictable and rarely boring.
Take for example this past Thursday. I woke up early to meet with Shawn Butler. I met Shawn thru a series of events put in motion by my brother Dennis. After I quit my job, Dennis started sending me all sorts of job leads and contacts. One that really panned out for me was this guy named Greg Kaple. Greg runs Integrated Management Services, Inc. along with Shawn and a group of diverse techie and creative sorts.
Shawn also works with an artist collective in Brooklyn called BNS Sessions. It was in this artistic capacity that we really hit it off. We were meeting this morning at Sullivan Diner in Manhattan to basically get to know each other better and toss around some project ideas. We traded stories of our respective sordid work pasts and shared insights into current projects as we dined on these strange concoctions called Dutch pancakes. Crepe-like thin but massive wafers with varied toppings. Mine had Canadian Bacon and Swiss Cheese.
After our very productive chat, I was off to Times Square to meet my friend Tami for lunch. I was entering the danger zone by going to Harmony View which is right across from Hachette’s main building and a favorite spot for some of my ex-coworkers. But we both love this spot so I sucked up the courage and crept on by the building and into the bar.
I got there a little early so I had a beer and chatted with Paul the bartender. Once again, even after not seeing me in here for quite a while, he remembered my drink. But the thing I commented on was the fact that, here I was in between business appointments and various work, sipping a cold Smithwick’s in the middle of the afternoon. I joked, “I have a very cool boss now.”
Tami arrived and Paul asked if we wanted to sit by the window. I feel like some sort of subversive when it comes to being around that building. So we instead found a table way in the back. I wanted to eat light but was shocked at the size of my salad with grilled chicken in a crunchy tortilla shell. It was one of the Thursday specials. Tami got the Corned Beef on Rye, I think.
Three beers in and we were having a great time catching up. My new schedule leaves my mind to wander and not so much wonder about the time. Tami, on the other hand, still needs to get back to a job and a boss at a decent time. At the one hour, forty-five minute mark it was clearly time to get going. We walked across the street. I was feeling a little braver and stood right outside the revolving doors leaving myself wide open for possible encounters with former coworkers as we said our goodbyes. The bravery was inspired by the beer.
It was a little before 2:00 at this point and I was heading back into Hoboken to pick up my friend Aileen and then head on out to The Valdez Performing Arts Center in Hackensack. Aileen and I, along with my friend Lisa who runs Valdez PAC, are trying to set up some acting clinics for kids and adults. As I went into my apartment to drop off the computer I’d been lugging around all day, I noticed a message on my cell. It was Aileen calling to reschedule.
Apparently she had a very emotionally draining dramatic gig the night before which also wiped her out physically. She was asking if we could reschedule for later in the evening. But that was no good because The Fave (formerly eugene) was performing on the river in Sinatra Park that night. So we made plans to get together with Lisa a week from Sunday and then made our respective ways to downtown Hoboken where we’d meet up for the show.
Hanging by the river listening first to JD Duvall as the blinding sun set on his sweating face; at least I was cool and relaxed. Thanks to The Fave’s Jaime and Dom and their secret mystery rocket fuel elixir in a large blue cooler served with a ladle in plastic cups. I felt like I was in High School again. I kept thinking how perfect it would have been to be on a boat, floating along to the music.
As The Fave got rockin’, sure enough someone stole my idea. A small, rickety looking row boat with four or five people in it drifted up to the rocky shores of the Hudson and listened. Dom at one point turned around and, spotting the American flag they had waving, thanked George Washington for making the crossing for the show. Click here for my pix.
The sound was really quite good. Getting a decent sound outdoors is not an easy thing to do. This guy Scott was the same one who did the sound at last year’s big show at Pier A. Aside from being thankful for the sonic qualities; luck would keep us all dry as the ominous storm clouds that were looming earlier in the evening made there way east and over NYC. It made for a few really cool visuals.
After downing a few more cups of whatever-the-fuck I was drinking, we all made our way to Court Street Bar & Restaurant (61 Sixth St, Hoboken). They were the sponsors of this evening of fine music. I had planned on going into Manhattan for another show, but at this point I would never have made it on time.
At one point in the bar, Dom from The Fave pulled me aside to ask what I was up to. I had been embroiled in a deep political conversation with JD Duvall and open mic regular Charles. Dom said, “I never talk politics in a bar.” I replied, “Well, sometimes I just like to make a game out of it. I’ll keep changing my point of view to alternately agree and disagree with a particular argument just to fuck with people.” To which Dom said, “Oh you dick!!” And we both laughed.
Soon after, I was joined by my friend Mary and her roommate Tiffany. The political conversation was halted when Tiffany said she can’t vote in the States. It turns out that she holds a dual residency between the US and the island of St. Croix. This fascinated me on many levels and I was curious as to why. Of course the answer was obvious.
There are the many tax breaks one gets for hovering between two home countries. Aside from that is the issue of self-preservation. The NYC area offers a lot in cultural and social stimuli but more often than not, it can be a very stressful, loud place. Having the ability to hop between this high-speed life and one that is considerably more laid back can be very good for the mind, body and soul.
Tiffany’s descriptions of the life down there reminded me of how my friends describe life in parts of Europe and how I got to experience that first hand while visiting Graz, Austria. As we sat and drew little maps of Europe on her copy of The Onion, I was reminded of a bit of the conversation I was having with Shawn earlier in the day.
We both agreed that life should be more Quality over Quantity. Unfortunately, for most people, it is very much the other way around. Shawn said something that rang true to me which was that he, in a way, wanted to live life as a child again. With the fascination and wonder that makes life more interesting and fulfilling as well as more fun.
The night would end in that vein when Tiffany and Mary climbed on the back of the giant Elk outside of the Hoboken Elks Lodge just so I could take a picture. Afterwards we laughed and said things like, “Whose idea was that?” and, “I can’t believe we just did that,” and so on. It was just the thing I needed to prove that there is still fun to be had; you just gotta know where to look.
And so ended a day that could never have happened if I were still shackled to the corporate rack. Lucky for me, this day was not entirely atypical as I can now enjoy this type of freedom.
See Also:
BNS Sessions
Photos from Sinatra Park
The Fave @ My Space
JD Duvall
Court Street
The Hoboken Elks Lodge
