Scenes From an Economic Lull

Work for me has been super-slow lately- spending my 7th straight day off from work today- have worked a bit during two-week pay period that ended today and was also supposedly getting paid this week for road show I did almost 7 months ago- so things could be worse for me

But- after a week of mostly sitting around my abode- I still have feeling of being the protagonist in some sort of one-man Nordic art-house film based on a screenplay adapted from an Albert Goldman biography- a thought I sort of had while showering for a weekday at around 7:15 PM the other day- could track my movements for most days based on my unyielding fealty to the printed word and newspaper industry and would walk up the street and get the local papers- which themselves are rather expensive at 75 cents each- but each of the NY papers are at least a $1 a piece on weekdays and the New York Times is $1.50- which is same cost as in the Tri-State Area- for the moment- but I digress

Among the few highlights of my unwilling vacation week:

-The NHL Center Ice package has been free all week (through this coming Sunday- 22 February)- has been a window into regional and Canadian advertisements and different game presentation styles between teams- I still have a soft spot for the New York area teams- particularly the Rangers on MSG- but was struck by a couple visages from individual telecasts I saw

One- being the image of a lonely peanut vendor at a Carolina Hurricanes game- All I could think was either- Thank God it's not baseball season for peanut sellers- in light of recent developments with peanut manufacturing in the south- or must be as counter-intuitive as having been a Chicago-area Tylenol sales/ display rep around 1982-83 or so- except they weren't selling tainted pain relievers at sporting events at concession prices

The other- was while watching a fan getting a Little Caesars pizza at a Red Wings game at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit- I lived in the Detroit metro area for a bit as a young person (about 5-7 years old) and have lived in other areas where Little Caesars was available- including my days in Southern California and until I looked it up- had no idea there were 5 in Massachusetts- with one in Lynn being the closest to me- haven't had the Little Caesars in about as long since I've last ingested Taco Bell (10 1/2 years or so)- but cannot shake how bad/ bland it was- even as a 6 or 7 year old in Michigan- 32-plus years ago- I cannot imagine paying the sports-arena price for that commensurate to the $8 beer or whatever other shit they are serving at the hockey arena- made me practically lose my appetite while watching

Thanks to the NHL preview- I will at least be able to record/ watch Andy Bathgate/ Harry Howell night for the Rangers Sunday night opposite the big film awards- sort of rooting against Sean Penn- only because I don't want hear his level of self-righteousness on the platform of the Oscars- and the chance of Mickey Rourke winning and rambling out of bounds of whatever delay/ common network TV decency would make watching show worthwhile

-Another week-off "highlight" was the day I showered so late and had my wake-up coffe around 8:30 PM or so- was watching the G4 when one of my favorite "Cops" episodes aired at 3 AM- featuring Officer Manny Mauri (not the "Open up 'cause I'm coming in!" one- for the "Cops" aficinaidos) from Denver about 15 years or so ago- You know you've reached some sort of personal low when a 3 AM "Cops" rerun represents the high point of your time awake during a 24-hour period

-It took a lottery scumbag to show me the light- was in the store down the street from me today purchasing the newspapers- in year and a half of living here- never had any idea why it was the "LP Market"- always thought it looked like a de-commissioned chain convenience store- until one of the hardcore lottery players blocking the line there was on a cell phone saying "I'm at the Little Peach on Highland in Sumah-vil" - it occurred to me that its a former Little Peach store- kind of the Jons< Vons comparison to anyone who's ever lived in Los Angeles/ the scab version of a known brand that was subsumed by another/ went out of business- Yet, all the Little Peach/ Christy's- became 7-11's years ago while all the Tedeschi's/ Store 24's have all seemingly become Tedeschi's- Just odd to the think the "LP" moniker of the defrocked store has long outlived the chain itself

-I woke up dreaming of bacon today (20 February)- I was eating bacon as part of a dream that woke me up- I truly have become lame during this period of inactivity if that is what has woken me up