A wonderful day. No humidity. Woke up feeling bad because I accidentally elbowed Bill twice in the skull last night. I apologized and Bill accepted knowing it was an accident. He was running out the door driving some big wigs from his bus company to a wedding or something like that. I left soon after and walked up to the boulevard to buy bagels and newspapers for Julio, Stine and myself.

I wasn’t going to hang out and have breakfast with them. I just put it in a plastic bag and hang it on the doorknob. I came upstairs and had my egg breakfast again. Lot’s of newspapers and news shows on Sunday mornings so I was occupied most of the time. It was an exquisite lazy Sunday morning. Not much to do but chill out and that was fine by me. I did get a text message from Juan who started work today. He seemed to be enjoying his employment thus far.

After that was a phone call from Julio, suggesting that we, Julio, Stine and myself go bike riding. Sounded like a good idea. I was in total agreement with the idea of riding to Liberty State Park. I hadn’t ridden my bicycle since last year and a 16 mile tour seemed just right. It wouldn’t be too stressful for Stine either, especially since she has the heaviest bike out of all of us.

When we ride, or when I ride alone, I might do 30 or 40 miles but it’s certainly not non stop. We stop and eat, chill out and occasionally play Frisbee. Which marked the return of Frisbo, who hadn’t really been seen since last summer. The park was crowded with people like us who couldn’t or didn’t want get out of town. Lot’s of families barbecuing, kite flying, soccer. Wholesome entertainment. We rode along the river walkways, even chancing upon Allison Lee and her son Hank. Julio and I have known Allison since the McSwells days. Now she’s partnered with the wonderful Pat Longo and their union has produced a wonderful boy named Hank. Not Henry. Hank.

They were just enjoying the Jersey City waterfront as we were. Soon they headed back home and we three rode off into the light breeze off the Hudson River. We rode through some very tall buildings which lead to the Morris Canal which was a major transportation base back in the day, a canal for moving cargo into the interior of New Jersey. Now it merely smells bad. We stopped and ate some sandwiches and stretched out on a blanket away from the odors with the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

Lot’s of tourists waiting in the sun to buy ferry tickets to go to Ellis Island and Liberty Island. The ferry to Monster Island was closed today for the holiday weekend. The other monster island, Staten Island was open but you’d have to go to Lower Manhattan to catch a ferry there, and there was no guarantee that you’d make it back in one piece. We found a quiet field away and Julio and I played Frisbee. Both of us have good technique when it comes to throwing a Frisbee. No suicidal dives for the flying disc here. This wasn’t sand. It was hard ground, covered in grass and wildflowers but still quite hardscrabble.

We rode back through the bulrushes, past memorials in the making for the victims of the attacks on 9/11 over the Morris Canal and into Jersey City proper. We rode past the Holland Tunnel into the back end of Hoboken where I pointed out two apartment buildings that I used to live in. We sat on the stoop and each had a bottle of Stella Artois. We also looked at the overgrown jungle that the backyard has become, then Julio picked up a grass whip and started whacking the weeds. After a few minutes of that we all went to our apartments and showered making plans to meet an hour later for dinner.

After burgers at O’Neill’s we came back home where I sit with Juan watching Bjork videos. Simply really. Homegirl is crazy said Juan.

and here are some pics

Juan sits on the futon couch whatevs. He’s using the Thera Spa 15 Speed Professional Percussion Massager and making it sound like he has a voice box. Yes, we’re of the altered state of New Jersey. Just lounging about in the apartment listening to music that he’s turning me onto, bands like the Penelope Tree, Postal Service, Jenny Lewis, Bjork with the Brodsky Quartet as well as the Peppercorns. A truly mellow evening. We watched his most favorite movie ever, Mean Girls, which I admit is a pretty good movie. Reminded me of the late great TV show, Popular. And that’s not a bad thing. Not at all. Very funny script by Tina Fey by the way.

It was certainly a mellow day. I got the Lopez’s bagels and the newspaper. Bill was puttering about getting ready to drive some Spanish Nationals around Manhattan. I had my usual weekend egg breakfast. It was hot and humid by 10:00 AM. Read the papers, Bill left and I started the laundry. It was a mellow day. I watched Kenny the Shark and then somehow got sucked into the Cartoon Network. The broadcast of Today in New York was finished a half hour earlier and it threw my whole sense of time slightly askew.

At noon I decided to jump on a bus into the city and getting a web cam. It’s been awhile and I’ve been meaning to get one for a long time. A lot of people fled the city and it was pretty much deserted though the sidewalk cafes were filling up quickly. The good looking men and women from yesterday fled the city. I wandered through Bryant Park again, listening to the Arcade Fire. I was headed to CompUSA despite Randy suggesting J&R down by City Hall. I would if I were headed to the World Trade Center like I usually do after work, but being the weekend I opted for the path of least resistance, which did not mean the Path, at least into the city.

Found the web cam that I researched online and wandered back to the Path train, which was relatively empty. I sat across from two Mexican queens who kept alternatively cruising me. I was flattered but they were incredibly swish. It definitely looked like summer in Hoboken. You can tell by the available parking spaces. I picked up the dry cleaning and wished both cleaners a happy weekend since they rarely get two days off in a row.

Came home and tried setting up the web cam, which took some effort on the computers part, not mine. If I’m ever going to get on Dateline I figured this would be the best and easiest way. Luckily Juan was coming over and knew how to get things running the way I wanted them to. Well actually friends of Juan’s. Juan doesn’t trust anyone over 16 with a computer. Makes sense, sort of.

Juan was getting attached to the Thera Spa 15 Speed Professional Percussion Massager, but he’s since resisted its charms. I have been more dependent on it since I started writing this tonight. Best to quit while I’m ahead.