Well it’s a gray Sunday. Overcast white clouds, not much sun today. It was quite similar yesterday. Met up with Rand for a bus ride into the city. He was off to a Comics Convention, I was off to meet up with Sweet Sarah and her husband Bob at the Museum of Modern Art. The two of them had gotten to the museum before I did and they wandered around the galleries. I got in the queue and paid my twenty dollars and walked around looking at some classic paintings and sculptures that were modern fifty years ago, now are classics.

I finally met up with Sarah and Bob as we wandered from room to room. We looked at Monet, Manet, Matisse, Rousseau, Picasso and Miro and Van Gogh and Man Ray and Duchamp and Warhol, Oldenburg and Lichtenstein. It was fun to walk around and discuss art history with Sarah and explain various things to Bob who admittedly doesn’t know anything about art. We discussed how Duchamp’s ‘Bride’ paintings caused riots in the early part of the twentieth century. He didn’t know and we explained it to him. I was never too keen on the Museum of Modern Art, and even after the renovation I still don’t like it, though I’m pretty sure a security guard clocked me.

After the museum we wandered around midtown trying to find a pub that Sarah’s friend Ellen and her boyfriend were in. I was hungry and hoped to get some pub grub but the pub we found them in after walking around for about 45 minutes was very crowded. I found myself being the fifth wheel amongst two coupes so I quickly downed a pint and said good night to everyone, heading onto to a local train at Grand Central Station to the Village.

I got off at Union Square and walked over to Farfetched, saying hello to Jessica and Lois. Apparently they wished I was there a few hours earlier since they had an unruly customer that needed to be forced out of the store. Luckily they called on Fausto, a local handy man who is big and burly who was able to escort the jerk out of the store. I soon left and lit up a cigar, walking over to First Avenue and stopping by East Village radio to finally meet Tim, someone I’ve been chatting online with for a few years. We both have similar interests though some of those interests are one way.

I hung out with Tim for a few minutes. I was tired and hungry and hadn’t sat down for about six hours. He was busy with his radio show so I walked off after wishing him well and walked up to St. Mark’s Pizza for a slice and a coke. I still think they make the best slices in Manhattan. I do like their sweet sauce.

There was a party I was invited to and I invited Bill, Julio and Stine. Rand and Lisa were planning on going. I got back to Hoboken, Julio not answering his cell, Bill out, who knows where. I called Rand and he was on the phone with Jane. I asked him to call me when he got off the phone, but I wound up falling asleep. It was just as well, since Rand didn’t get off the phone until 1:00. I was asleep by then. C’est la vie.

Finally. It took forever to get to Friday but it’s here. It also took forever to end. At one point I thought it must’ve been close to 4:00 and it was not even 2:00. It was hellish but I got through it. Almost hooked up with Pedro who had a day off and was downtown. I hadn’t seen him since August and it would’ve been nice to see him if only for a few minutes but he was waylaid in traffic and got fed up, heading upstate to his home in the country. I really couldn’t complain though Pedro would’ve been a welcome distraction from the tedium.

Felicia made yet another final appearance, on her birthday to have her exit interview. There is so much bullshit that goes on in that office, it’s really pathetic. Raige Piney, (vaginal slang word inserted here) has the makings of a double chin. She’s one of the non-thank you types. The others are Web and Baldy. Dondi is alright by me. Those are names I gave out a few months ago to some of the guys who desperately try to be hip. Wearing a ski cap all day in the office does not make one a teenager or even twenty something. Unless it’s freezing in the office I can understand that but it was quite warm.

I am relieved that I won’t be seeing any of them for the next nine days. I have no plans to go to Soho. I dread running into any of them outside of the office. Plus I’m not so keen on Soho anymore. It’s just not the same place it used to be. What will I do during those nine days? Well on Thanksgiving the plan is to go to Trenton and have dinner with my cousins. Tomorrow there may be a chance to go into the city and meet up with Sweet Sarah and go to the Museum of Modern Art, which I haven’t been to since the last century. It was her birthday the other day and she’s such a good person., so why not?

And now, the iPod shuffle

Barrington Levy, ‘Moonlight Lover’
Great classic Reggae which sounds so good on a loud sound system, heavy on the bass. This is a digitized version of a cassette, recorded from an album complete with hissing and pops. This is how Reggae should sound I think, don’t you? Barrington has a great voice and it’s a great song, old school.

Daúde, ‘Marinheiro Só’
Daúde is a Brazilian singer that Pedro and I saw quite accidentally at Summerstage a few years ago. One of the best times ever with Pedro and the show was amazing. It was a hot day and we were sprayed with a hose from the stage. Neither one of us ever heard of Daúde but we were big fans after her set. A few days I wandered around the Brazilian section of midtown, going to various record stores, trying to find her records. Nobody had them so I wound up spending a lot of money on imports at the Virgin Megastore n Times Square. It was better than humming songs to indifferent shop owners off of Times Square.

The Wailers, “Satisfy My Soul’
More old school Reggae, from the undisputed masters, Bob sounds young and vulnerable. He remade the song years later, but this is an early rough version, from the Songs of Freedom boxed set.

Otis Redding, ‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay’
Otis’ most famous song, a big posthumous hit. Never really got into Otis until a few years ago. One of my earliest memories featuring Otis Redding was returning from a trip to West Point with the Lodi Boy’s Club. The driver played nothing but Otis Redding. I didn’t understand it then. Now I do. I think.

Honey Cone, ‘Stick Up’
Old school disco. Very gay disco at that. I prefer the Three Degrees, ‘When Will I See You Again?’ recorded and released around the same time. It’s funny how 2 minutes and 52 seconds could seem like an eternity. From the Soul Hits of the Seventies compilations.

Al Green, ‘Here I Am (Come and Take Me)’
Classic Al Green from his greatest hits. Al Green wove a lot of thread in the tapestry of my musical youth. Pass the dutchie!