A nice day. Mellow, pleasant to go out. I read the papers most of the day and chatted online with various friends from the past few years. I enjoyed chatting with a few of them, and some new friends too. Juan made an appearance and we fell into a surreal Abbott and Costello routine that we sometimes do to the annoyance of most everyone in the main room. A welcome change from the usual, ‘Any Tops Online’.

Actually was invited by david209 to check out a spa in Palisades Park and I actually went. I’ve chatted with David for years now. A sweetheart of a guy. It was nice, whirlpool baths, dry and steam saunas. Hey it was something out of the ordinary and totally innocent. Just relaxing for an hour or two. I feel super clean and probably could have used the sauna when detoxing the other day.

The majority of guys were Korean with 3 Hassidic men there and David and myself. Strange company to keep. After an hour, David and I had enough and decided to leave. It was fun. Nice modern sauna, no hanky panky.

David offered to take me back to Bloomfield to his apartment but I begged off. He was cool and dropped me off in Hoboken where I wandered some more and met up with Bill who had just passed by on the 126 bus from New York.

I was a beautiful evening as we walked down Washington Street, Bill talking and me smoking a Padron. Didn’t run into anyone we knew which was odd and pleasing. With Bill coming home from the gym and me returning from a shvitz, we were both pretty mellow.

Bill has been wearing Old Spice aftershave which has been provoking strong memories of my father which does not lend itself to erotic feelings at all. I just asked if he would wash his face to lose the aroma and he’s doing that right now. I told Bill about studies that prove that the sense of smell is the strongest sense that provokes memories. I am grateful and won’t be so reluctant to kiss him.

Now chatting with Juan about transferring Buzzcocks cd’s.

Tonight is the Academy Awards. Julio is expected so the usual couch positions are reserved. I’ll sit by the computer, trying to give a play by play as the show unfolds.

Jon Stewart was very funny, very dry which will surely guarantee him a description of failure. Too intellectual and hip, and mocking of Hollywood. Brilliant!

George Clooney just won best supporting actor. Nice speech. Self Mocking! Brilliant and earnest. The clip of George in bed with Jon Stewart was hilarious. Ben Stiller is funny in green screen suit. Wallace and Gromit. Dolly Parton. Sixty something? Did she have work done? Wearing a corset? These are the questions that float around the room as she testifies and Travels through. Owen and Luke Wilson. I’d hang with them. Irish guy won short film, camera keeps going to a woman quite happy he’s won, but remains in shadows.
Animation award. Not paying much attention. Memoirs of a Geisha wins best costume. A tribute to historical portrayals. A commercial with a T.Rex remix of ‘Get It On’. Will Farrell is funny. Make Up awards, with Steve Carrell. Hilarious. Jon Stewart, too cool for school.

Best supporting actress goes to Rachel Weiss. Didn’t see it. She looked good. Julio mentions her enormous breasts. Great commercial spoofs. Terrance Howard short documentary. He looks hot. Charlize Theron crazy thing on shoulder long documentary. March of the Penguins? Murderball? Penguins win.

J.Lo introduces a song from Crash. Geisha wins again? Over King Kong? Ach. So now it’s a boring speech by the President of AMPAS. I’m out.

Ok. Buzzing in a nice way. Bill went to bed after a two and a half hour visit from my dear brother, Frank. It was nice. The way we riff back and forth is amazing and rapid fire. So much so we shut Bill out unfortunately. I think of all the people I know, Rand is probably the one who can get most, if not all, of the pop culture references. And with me sitting next to the computer, fact finding is so much more easier.

Solves disagreements fast. And with Frank and myself, disagreements or challenges about trivial matters usually occur. We talked through just about everything Bill was watching. We tried, but something would set off a riff and there was no stopping it then.

It was a welcome relief from the horrors of today. That and some jazz cigarettes and some Absolut can’t help but think I jinxed what could have been the Persian Bitch’s last day by writing about it. I am near the end of my tether. The Persian Bitch has the Wanker Banker powers that be in fear of being sued. They have email records of her planning on suing the company dating back to Septemeber 2005, only a week or so after she started.

But she is claiming to be harassed and subject to threats from me. It’s perverse and not in a good way. I had a better day at work yesterday than I did today and I was hung over as fuck yesterday. I was fed up and left work at 3:00. Wandered to the Path train in the cold, finding solace in a Padron cigar.

Jeez I mention Padrons so much they should pay me for publicity. I’m sure the six people who read this are as avid as I am for cigars.

Getting home a few hours earlier than usual enabled me to clean up the apartment somewhat in preparation for Frank’s arrival. Throwing out papers, filing papers, turning over the futon for maximum comfort and also because we should have done it ages ago. It was much easier to do when Bill came home earlier than usual

We succeeded and had some dinner while waiting for the perpetually late Frank. I have to admit when he called me telling me he wasn’t coming over since he was too tired. He made the call outside the apartment building from the cell phone he never uses. He got me good.

Like I said it was good to have him over. Having a good time, lot’s of laughs and in jokes which inadvertently shut Bill out. Elaine gets shut out I’m sure when we riff just like Rex would if I riff with Annemarie or Karen would if I riffed with Brian. Oh the poor spouses of my clan.

Bill was enraptured with the TV anyway, so we were just white noise, probably both literally and figuratively. We watched Bill Maher and Frank slinked off when it ended after a final riff in the hallway.

Bill is in bed, and I am soon to join him.