It’s a Monday again, but it’s a federal holiday, Presidents Day. I have the day off but still I write at the usual time. Been active today, don’t know about busy. Active is better but it creates the image of exercise. I don’t exercise.

I don’t even consider riding my bicycle 40 miles exercise. I call it bike riding. I couldn’t fall asleep last night, been drinking a lot of juice so I thought maybe the sugar in the orange juice was keeping me awake but upon reflection I would say it was more than likely, the Cuisinart coffee maker Bill got me for Valentine’s Day.

I drank a lot of coffee, all in the name of making sure the coffee maker was working properly. I think I drank more than 10 cups. I know I made 2 pots and each pot is 10 cups so you do the math while I sit here vibrating. I do like the coffee maker though, I like it very much.

I’m sure Bill was nervous getting me the present, since a few years ago I was a bit sniffy about an expensive sauce pan he bought for my birthday a couple of years ago. In fact, I was so sniffy I didn’t use it for a year, just kept it in the cupboard still in the box.

I resolved never to behave like that again and to be grateful for whatever it is I got. It has now gained a position in my pantheon of cookware, and it is now the ‘special’ sauce pan.

So either because of the sugar in the orange juice or all the coffee I was up until 1:30 watching From G’s to Gents on VH1. It’s about taking some thugs and thug wannabes and turning them into what passes for gentlemen on VH1.

Farnsworth Bentley is the host and the final judge on whether these hoodlums from around the country, (including Union City) have what it takes to be a gent. They also get 100k if they make it to the end. It was mindless entertainment and perfect for someone who couldn’t fall asleep.

Then I fell asleep and woke up around 7:30, coffee pot a brewing and since I didn’t have to go to work today, I went back to bed, waking up at around 9:00. I showered and after watching the second half of A Hard Days Night on IFC I went out, bought some bagels, the papers and was able to get a haircut.

It wasn’t too crowded at Mr. L’s but apparently I got there at the right time since midway through my haircut, the place got crowded. Tony worked his magic, earning his tip by trimming the goatee and reducing the gray hair, as well as trimming eye brows, ear hair and nose hair. Above and beyond the call of duty.

They were watching Angels with Dirty Faces on TCM. Tony remarked about how well dressed everyone was back then, mentioning that even when they would show footage from baseball games the men were all dressed in suits and ties, not to mention hats, which seem to be coming back.

I was home soon enough in time to head out to have lunch with Casey Chasm. He suggested McSwells, but they weren’t open. I suggested the Malibu diner which was adequate. It was good catching up with Casey who is going to be a father and also studying for the New York Bar exam next week.

He’s nervous about the whole thing and I tried to reassure him. It was good to see him, both of us doing a rapid recent history much like one of those 5 minute date things you see in the movies. I did think it was odd when he left almost immediately after getting the check.

Lunch was on me as was planned, but I figured we’d walk afterwards, he back to his law books and me to Shop Rite but he was fast out of there. The man has got the Bar review on his mind.

I wound up walking alongside the viaduct, past the 5 screen movie theater under construction, past the recently completed and still quite vacant mini-mall and past 3 fire fighters who were doing some kind of training in the northwest quadrant of Hoboken.

I walked into Shop Rite which is much larger than the A&P a block away from my apartment. Shop Rite is maybe a 20 minute walk which is cumbersome if you’re carrying a few bags of groceries. That was basically my day. Really nothing much else to report so I think I’ll just stop it here.

Or here.

Or maybe even….here.