It’s a Saturday, a day of recovery oddly enough. Well, not really oddly enough since I knew I was drinking and I knew there would be a price to pay. The Piper’s Union sent their dues collector and that went well. They let me alone soon after that. I didn’t sleep particularly well, but slept about 8 hours which was good. Only a few steps behind myself most of the day. Contact with the outside world was kept to a minimum which was best for all concerned. And on top of that it was hot and the sun was quite strong. I went out for some items this morning and ran into Alice Genesse, Glenn Morrow and his wife Elizabeth (?) and also saw Tim Daly. These various people from my McSwells days, good to see them, but couldn’t stay too long to chat because of my aforementioned state of mind and disrepair as well as starting to melt under the oppressive morning sun.

Running on empty I suppose. Need to recharge. So far the day has been filled with laundry, food shopping, dry cleaning, eating, and reading the papers while an excellent BBC documentary on Black Popular Music. It’s on right now on VH1 Classics. It came on after I watched a documentary on Stevie Wonder and making Songs In the Key of Life. That record was massive and still resonates today. Some commentator said it’s much a touchstone of modern popular music as Sgt. Pepper. Now they’re onto Aretha Franklin signing with Atlantic Records. Great footage and it was written by Barney Hoskins who’s work I enjoy. I met him once back in the day when he came to Right Track Studios to interview Metallica. Anyway, it’s work checking out.

Plan to take a nap soon, that tired I am. After that I might watch Knocked Up from Netflix or Blue Velvet, which I hadn’t seen in a number of years. Let’s see if it holds up. Last night was a good evening with Vivek and Carla. Vivek certainly knows how to have a good time and he’s also a Yankees fan which I won’t hold against him.

Bill was a few blocks away from the pub where I was quaffing a few pints being the stage manager for Monk. He decided to take a town car home and while putting his things in the trunk, accidentally left a bag on the sidewalk. He drove by, dropped off his gear on the first floor then went back into the city to see if the bag would still be there. I think you know the outcome to that.

You never can tell though. One day back in the eighties, I had parked the company van on east 18th street, going to deliver the interoffice mail, and while I was doing that someone broke into the van and stole my bag of tapes which also had my checkbook in it. I wrote it off, closed the checking account and mourned the loss of my tapes. A week later I get a call from the NYPD. They had my bag with the tapes in it, and tracked me down since my name was on the checkbook. The only thing missing was a Graham Parker cassette which I didn’t much care for anyhow.

This was easier than I expected. I should be hungover more often.

Hello from Hoboken on a Friday night. I am between buzzed and drunk. Went out after work for cocktails with Vivek and Carla. Vivek wouldn’t be able to make it next week for the ‘official’ cocktail hour with Carla the receptionist so we went out tonight. Many pints, a few steak fries at a pub called Murphy’s around the block from the office. Since Vivek runs the show, it was on his dime or at least his platinum American Express card. Pints pints pints, fries, run out to the street for a quick ciggie and then back for more loud chatter over the Yankee game. Vivek is a Yankee fan and has season tickets. If the Yankees make it to four games, he’ll be in the Bronx Monday night and not having drinks with everyone else. It’s all good, no harm, no foul.

It was also the first time when Vivek and I could hang out and talk about the office. He has big plans for me and thinks I’m smart. I have no idea where he got that idea, but I’ll go along with the flow. He mentioned me getting a blackberry and I mentioned that he mentioned that a few months ago. I sure as hell ain’t about to buy a blackberry on my own. Vivek and I are both happy for Carla, though I think I’ll miss her the most. She was my go to girl since she started a couple of months before I did. So far it has been almost seven months since I’ve been there and I don’t really have anything to complain about, as opposed to the wolffmen at McMann and Tate. The only thing I could say is that there isn’t enough for me to do. I’m almost in Costanza land.

Last night was good TV night. Watched Daily Show and Colbert Report which were both good and funny, but My Name Is Earl was brilliant. It featured the dude who played U Turn on Weeds and it was great to see two guys kissing and falling in love in prime time, which means Earl will more than likely be canceled after this season. Just a feeling, nothing that I read. 30 Rock was good but I’m starting to wonder why Tracy Morgan is still on the show. Was Liz Lemon imitating Elaine Benes? Or Diane Keaton as Annie Hall or is Elaine Benes, Annie Hall twenty or so years later? Discuss.

The Office was also very good though I would give the Thursday night crown to Earl. And it also featured Craig T. Nelson who I sort of had a thing for a while ago. I think quite a few gay guys did. I skipped Ugly Betty and watched it at work, online before the office started humming. Ugly Betty would get second place in my Thursday night sweepstakes.

Other than that, not much else to report. Bill is still in Manhattan a few blocks away from the pub where I was. He’s stage managing the one man show about Thelonius Monk, called Monk in midtown. Having seen it about a dozen times I was excused. Plus I was drinking. And there’s a pint to my left which is calling my name.

Look Ma, No Pics!
But, Dan Savage on the Colbert Report