Well it’s been an alright day off, so far at least. First off, I slept really well, later than I expected to. But I was alright with that. Everything I planned was tentative anyhow. I did have to go get some groceries and that is what got me out of bed.

After a shower and some coffee as well as trying to figure out what it is that the smartphone does I headed out. On the way I decided to use the camera and took a couple of shots. I think they came out just as good as they would be if I used the Coolpix Nikon.

Still a bit shaky with it, though it will become more comfortable to use as time goes on. I came home and had a decent breakfast and then headed out again. It was threatening to rain most of the day and I was fortunate to be able to avoid most of the downpours by mere minutes.

I also made it to the library to pick up a book I ordered, The Sibling Effect by Jeffrey Kluger. I saw him on the Colbert Report and the book sounded interesting, so now it was time to pick it up before it goes back to the original bibliothèque.

Tomorrow is my nephew’s birthday, Earl is turning 21 and I bought a Greetings from Hoboken NJ t-shirt. I also had a Bob Marley book and a John Lennon book that I bought second hand earlier in the year and hoped to give them to him when he visited this year. But that did not work out since Earl’s flight was cancelled.

The books were too bulky to have Annemarie bring back with her so I hung onto them. I stopped at the local card shop and bought a birthday card that I thought was cool and walked over to the Post Office. It wasn’t crowded at all and after packing a box and paying for the shipment I headed out for a brief walk around Hoboken. The box will hopefully be there for Earl when Anne, Rex and Earl get back from the Not Strictly Bluegrass Festival this weekend.

I saw Bill Ryan outside the Post Office and said hello. It was good to see him, he’s looking healthy. I always liked Bill and he seemed to like me. I always enjoyed working for him at Pier Platters, either sitting behind the counter if he had to run an errand or manning the register at Pier Platters 2. And of course I always got a good deal on my purchases.

I played with the Google Latitude on my smartphone and watched myself as I wandered around town. I also talked with Bill for a few minutes. I’m trying to be conservative with my phone calls since I do not have the unlimited calls that I used to have with T-Mobile.

I found out later when I got home that I arranged to have my calls to Bill to be free and available whenever I want. I am enjoying the smartphone nonetheless. I found myself at one point in the day accessing some websites on my phone while sitting right in front of the computer. That was very dumb. Why waste time and access when I have everything right in front of me? I was glad I caught myself.

It’s a nice quiet evening, Bill is up in Harlem stage managing a play and here I am, in Hoboken, writing this very line.