A rainy Wednesday. Bill came home again last night, in a better mood and in better spirits. Of course he came in as I was fading fast, and I wound up going to bed before him. He was surprised but I knew I had a busy day today. He left this morning, around 5:30, kissing me good bye, leaving me to get up about a half hour later to overcast skies, about to rain. He made coffee again which was very nice. The act of making coffee and the coffee itself that is. Then it was out the door for me.

No pink skies this morning, all was gray. Read the New Yorker on the bus, still a week behind. Wandered through midtown, through Grand Central Station, decided to try a new program on the camera, enabling me to take 10 shots in sequence. Of course when the photographer is moving and the subjects are moving things tend to get blurry but following the philosophy of Andy Warhol, ‘there’s no such thing as a bad picture’ I was able to get through. I deleted most of the blurry pictures, and left what I considered to be the best of the set. You decide if you dare, all four of you.

Today was the day of a showcase for Canon copiers. I like their cameras obviously. My office has a leased Canon copier and the lease is up in March 2008. Our distributer wanted to meet me and she invited me to the Hotel Pennsylvania to see the latest models. An excuse to get out of the office? With a free lunch? I am so there, so there! It was scheduled from 11:00-3:00 and I actually expected being there for that amount of time but after about 45 minutes I was done. The saleswoman made her pitch and let me eat a sandwich in peace as I gazed, glazed at a copier catalog.

I wandered around the hotel for a bit trying to figure out my next move. I knew Carla Emalee was in the area and texted her. She was having lunch and she soon came over and we chatted as I walked her back to her office. We caught up on things, she’s doing well and looked good, and she seems happy. Now we just have to find her a boyfriend. I walked across town on 34th street, window shopping, then crossed to Third Avenue, where an elderly woman told me I was almost hit by some guy swinging an umbrella and that if that happened she would have hit said guy with umbrella with her cane.

The afternoon flew by, Vivek and I had a one on one about his expenses which between the two of us we were able to figure out what was and wasn’t done. That means it should all be cleared up by the end of the week, which is actually two days from now. Not a problem says I. After work, it was still threatening to rain, I hadn’t opened my umbrella all day. I fired up my Padron 5000. Had a Padron 7000 yesterday and it was really good. Got to keep an eye out for those since no one really has them in stock.

As I was walking past one of the entrances to Grand Central Station, an elderly gent walking with a cane stumbled right in front of me. A guy walking alongside me caught him mostly, I grabbed one of his arms. We sat him down and asked if he was ok. He said in broken English that he had Parkinson’s disease. I asked him if he was on medication, or needed water, he said no, he needed to get to the post office. I offered him my arm so he could lean on me for support as we headed to the post office. He asked my name and I told him. His name was Hugo.

His leg freezes up which is what caused him to stumble. He would take a few tiny steps then spurt forth, but he wasn’t doing that well. I kept telling him to take his time. I wasn’t in a rush to get anywhere, just enjoying my cigar. I got him to the post office, most of the people got out of our way, probably muttering under their breath. As Hugo was headed inside he told me he’d pray for me. I told him to save the prayer and to pray for himself instead. I watched him as he struggled up the ramp, and seeing him through the doors I turned and headed towards the bus terminal.

Who ordered a rainy Wednesday?

Here’s some pics.

Grand Central ghosts

sort of looks like John McCain gone to seed

Playing with the flash

It’s a Tuesday and that’s not so bad. Southern California is burning and that’s bad though. Hopefully anyone I know (or that you know) is safe and will still have a roof over their head when the inferno is finished. I think Connie’s sister Jennifer is ok, haven’t heard anything about Oxnard Shores and I know Steve Snaporitao lives or lived out there. I did hear he was coming back east, back in the closet. You see out in California he’s out of the closet but under the watchful gaze of his mother he’s just a confused lug in New Jersey.

Last night was pretty mellow and also a very good night of television. It started after watching an hour of Scrubs naturally, then I watched Chuck which was good once again after last week’s mediocre episode. Good storyline involving a Chinese mafia, a Chinese spy and her kidnapped brother. Good fight scenes though though oddly filmed. When The good girl spy and the good guy spy would throw a punch or a sauce pan, the action froze for a split second, then went back into attack mode. Other than that it was good overall.

Then came Heroes, also pretty good. The Indian doctor is turning into a bitch, the mind reading bear cop can face down Sylar with a gun but is afraid to see his father, who turned out to be a real dick, though the mind reading bear cop didn’t know it at the time. Adrian Pasdar was his partner as the sought the father. Milo V. still buff and confused (maybe closeted?) from his amnesia. Micah, the kid with the jeri curls was cute talking to his cousin about their powers. She’s an interesting character, though she met up with Doctor Bitch who was thrown against a wall by 21st Century Schizoid Woman. And Hiro’s storyline is getting thin. But still it was enjoyable.

Then came the jewel in the crown, Weeds. So much happened in a half hour. Nancy is making money hand over fist and tried to do right by her late six month husband’s first wife, who didn’t trust her, hired a private eye, who tried to blackmail Nancy who thanks to Shane, her youngest got out of that jam. Celia messed up her estranged wheelchair bound husband, a stiletto heel on the scrotum will do that to you. Celia is deliciously and certifiably nuts. And is Conrad getting back into Nancy’s life?

Then came Californication which was really good. Not as good as Weeds, but still quite good. David Duchovny’s character actually elicited sympathy. The mother of his daughter usually gets all the sympathy, but Duchovny’s turn as a writer who accidentally had sex with a 16 year old girl, who turns out to be the soon to be step daughter of the mother of his daughter stole his latest manuscript and presented it as her own. Duchovny can’t say anything about it due to the fact that the 16 year old gave him head, though to his credit he thought she was of age.

Bill came home last night, awfully tired and with a head filling with mucous. He’s been working as much as he can at the law firm, then rehearsing two plays as well as dealing with his dad in the nursing home and his mother who’s not doing so well with reality. He sometimes winds up doing too much then he crashes physically, getting sick. He slept in a real bed, and took the day off so he could recharge his batteries somewhat.

Here’s a few pics.

Bill, all tuckered out.

But the sun does rise