Sunday Sunday. Pretty gorgeous day today. Woke up later than yesterday, closer to 9:00. Juan came over and hung out for an hour before driving back to school. He was up for some family event and it was good for me to see him. He looked great with his new haircut and as spiffy as ever. I don’t remember what I watched last night actually. Could barely keep my eyes open I was sofa king tired. Luckily I had the foresight to record SNL which was hosted by Scarlett Johansen and the musical guest was none other than Bjork. I don’t think Juan would have a chance to see it so there’s another reason why it was good to record.

Fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow and slept uninterrupted. Woke up a little more than 8 hours later. Had some coffee before heading out for bagels and the papers. Called Julio as I headed towards Washington Street and got his voice mail so I hung up. Minutes later I got a call from Julio saying that he was on Washington Street buying the papers. I knew he wasn’t telling the truth and he wasn’t. He was at home with Stine listening to me walk down the stairs told me he said ‘There goes John’ when I walked past his apartment but I didn’t hear him.

Julio is on a no carb diet and Stine didn’t want a bagel so it was just the newspaper for them. It was a beautiful morning as I walked back to the apartment, nearly singing a song, but not having enough coffee I hummed as I climbed the flights to my apartment. Bill was gone already as I made my breakfast. I sat down and read the papers as I ate, a nice breeze coming in through the window. After breakfast I read more newspapers and turned on SNL and watched last night’s performance.

Scarlett was very funny again and Bjork was as captivating as I expected her to be. I’m sure she’s going to put on a great show when Juan and I go to see her at Radio City in May which is fast approaching. I called Julio and Stine around noon to see what they were doing for the day. Julio mentioned bicycling and I wasn’t that into it. I told him I would meet him outside, downstairs. Surprisingly enough I found myself pulling out my bike and pumping my deflated tires. Julio joined me and soon Stine was with us and we were pedaling through the streets of Hoboken.

We rode around on a sunny afternoon. Julio and I deferring to Stine’s judgment. Wherever Stine wanted to ride, that’s where we would ride. So we rode over to Pier A, where it was even more packed than it was yesterday. We then rode up to 14th Street in Hoboken where we had some nice salads, then we rode to a coffee shop where Julio and Stine had coffee and the three of us sat outside in the outdoor cafe chatting away. Then it was to the back yard of our building where we used to barbecue a few years ago before it was overrun by cats.

We gingerly sidestepped cat shit and tried not to gag from the smell of cat piss. Chris Gohorel our neighbor has taken it upon himself to feed all the strays in the neighborhood and Julio counted 15 cats this morning. Stine did some research on how to get rid of cats and heard that lavender is something that cats hate so I suggested getting lavender seeds and throwing them every where in the backyard. If they take then the cat problem might be solved, welcoming us as liberators. If the cats stay then we’ll have a backyard that smells like lavender.

Bill came home and took me out to dinner at Arthur’s, then we walked around Hoboken. Now we sit inside waiting for the Sopranos. Not a bad day, eh?

It’s Saturday, a beautiful day with temperatures around 78 degrees. Once again we’ve gone from winter into summer. Last night I hung out and watched Frailty, directed by Bill Paxton. A little gruesome but a tense thriller with a religious theme. I recommend it. I originally saw it when it first came out in the theaters and liked it enough to rent it via Netflix a few years later. Bill and I stayed up to watch Bill Maher and soon we were fast asleep in bed. Woke up and took a shower, had some coffee then headed out into the world for bagels and newspapers while Bill slept.

He doesn’t eat bagels and doesn’t read the newspapers so it was an easy errand. It was a beautiful morning though. Nice day for a bike ride I thought but didn’t want to deal with getting it tuned up and ship shape. Maybe tomorrow, maybe next weekend. I had some breakfast, read the papers and checked email while Bill stirred and got himself ready for his acting and voice classes. I watched another dvd called Fuck, about the use of the word fuck in present society. It was alright, nothing that I didn’t fucking know already.

I went out for a walk around Hoboken and wore a blazer but it was too warm for that. I looked good though I was overdressed. I wandered over to Pier A and most of the grass was covered with people sunbathing. I snagged a spot by the wall and looked at Manhattan. I tried reading but there was so much going on that I was too distracted to concentrate on a book. After about an hour I went shopping at the supermarket and came home and chilled out. Juan came over for an hour and chilled with me.

That’s about it for my day. Time for a shuffle.

Hollywood Swinging – Kool and the Gang
Funky pop from Jersey City, pre-JT. These cats were quite a party band. When JT joined they started singing songs like Joanna and for me that wasn’t up to par.

Tenement Yard – Jacob Miller
Classic reggae about how dreadlocks can’t live in a tenement yard. Jacob Miller had such a great voice and a dynamic presence on stage and he was on the chunky side. Died in a car crash in the 70’s. His backing band were Inner Circle known for the Bad Boys theme from Cops on TV.

Foolish Love – Rufus Wainwright
First song on his first record. Not my favorite of his but still better than most. He’s playing the Gramercy Theater five nights in June. Can’t get a ticket. Not even one. This song has a great stride to it, when it gets past the beginning.

So Cruel – U2
From Achtung Baby. If there were any records that U2 made that I really like, most of this would be one, but for sure it would be the one that followed this, Zooropa. More adventurous and engaging and shows a big Eno influence.

You Got the Silver – The Rolling Stones
I think this is Keef’s first lead vocal from Let It Bleed. Pretty cool, laid back country-esque type of thing. Must have been a Gram Parson influence.