Category Archives: Love Love Love

I’m Gonna Love You Just A Little More, Baby

It’s a Saturday and it’s a day off. It’s been overcast with threats of rain and quite muggy too. But I don’t mind. Like I said, it’s a day off. I did some shopping for tomorrow and also played the guitar.

Talked to various friends on the phone. Some are coming, some aren’t, some are leaving early to watch the World Cup final. I sent Todd an email telling him that close to 40 people are expected.

Tim and Lily of the Street Corner Mourners (pass the hat!) are playing tomorrow and I think Jon & Deena from the Cucumbers are playing as well. I did ask Deena a few months ago when this whole shebang started.

Rand is supposed to be handling the music on the iPods. Chaz is making or bringing Spanakopita, Lois and Sheilah are making salads and Karen, Elaine and Meghan Taylor are bringing cakes or desserts. I’m alternately psyched and anxious about the whole thing.

I doubt there will be any problems but having said that, this superstitious atheist gets nervous.

Annemarie made it safely to New Jersey. She stopped by Hoboken on her way to Garfield. We walked around a bit and had salads at the Garden of Eden in the upstairs room. No one else was there and it made for some quality time. After that, a walk around Pier A. I enjoyed a nice cigar, a freebie from work. A La Reloba by My Father’s Cigars.

Earlier, I stopped by the library and took out the Celluloid Closet and the Dark Knight. I’ve seen both of them of course, but there’s nothing on TV tonight and I figured when Bill gets home, maybe something familiar to watch would be nice. That’s about it.

Downloaded some songs that I remembered from a Stiff Records collection from 20 years ago, as well as the new single from N*E*R*D*. That track is swinging.

I will have to get Rand to play it tomorrow. I pointed him in the direction of what I would like to hear and what I think the other ‘grown ups’ would also like. I have two playlists for him to use if he would like and also requested a certain song be played.

Hopefully that will be revealed tomorrow.

Don’t know what else to write. I think I’ve covered all the bases. Don’t know if I’ll write tomorrow. I will be busy enough, but then again there will probably be a lot to write about. I suppose I will see what state of mind I am in at the end of the day.

I hope to be feeling quite nice and relatively cross eyed and painless.

I am certainly looking forward to seeing family and friends. If you’re reading this and know where to go at what time, I look forward to seeing you. For the rest of you I hope you have a good day tomorrow doing whatever it is that you do.

Even if you’re in Bala Cynwyd or even Portland.

Not Annemarie's car




(I’m Always Touched By Your) Presence Dear

Well it’s later than I anticipated. It’s almost 11:30 here. I just got back from having dinner with Bill and his friend Lawrence and Lawrence’s boyfriend Joe. Lawrence used to live in Hoboken and now he and his boyfriend live in Secaucus.

I remembered Lawrence vaguely from 20 years ago when I worked at a local video store. He has an out of the ordinary surname so that would stick out in my mind.

Lawrence suggested East LA, one of his old haunts when he lived here and Bill not knowing any better agreed. It’s not my favorite spot. The food is edible, the service is horrible and the music is way too loud. It’s also owned by the dickhead former Mayor of Hoboken.

I enjoy going out to dinner and having a conversation, but going to East LA, one doesn’t go for conversation. It could be the food, the margaritas, not the ambiance.

I hustled to get out of work on time to make it to dinner at 8:00, not taking into consideration that many people with no taste would be going there on a Tuesday night, causing us to wait for a table for 4.

The host told us 20 minutes and when the 20 minutes passed, Joe went and asked. The host said he told us 30 to 40 minutes, but just then a table opened up.

We ordered 3 Corona’s and a margarita. Bill got the last Corona. A faux Mexican restaurant with no Corona. I had a Heineken.

After about 45 minutes the wait thing finally decided to take our orders. I had to check Bill’s menu since my menu had smudges on the price list. Still I put on a smiling face and engaged in conversation which was mainly trying to be heard above Good Life, by Inner City. A 12” club record I played about 23 years ago.

A group of 20 somethings threw food at each other landing on our table. It was Bill’s birthday and I did my best to have a good time. I could barely hear Lawrence or Joe but I think I laughed and smiled at the appropriate moments.

Despite all the noise and the lousy service it was good to spend time with Bill and his friends. There was no birthday cake to celebrate Bill’s birthday though. That was a drag. Arthur’s would have been a better spot to go, but I wasn’t making any decisions. I was along for the ride.

I grinned and bared it. I think Bill, Lawrence and Joe would have been content to stay there longer than we did if I didn’t mention that I needed to go grocery shopping at 11:00 to buy things for breakfast. Perhaps Lawrence and Joe thought I was a stick in the mud.

It’s more than likely that I will go to the actual Eastern Los Angeles before I go to East LA again.

It was a long day for me and I was hoping for a nice time with friends of Bill’s, not anticipating being horse from shouting while trying to have a conversation.

Now Bill is asleep in bed, and here I am, finally home and writing. I ‘m glad Bill had a happy birthday.

Lawrence & Joe


El Stiffo & the Birthday boy