New York

11PM Wednesday MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"Delicious bagel, egg, and bacon sandwiches at a random deli were breakfast. Sleeping at the Carlton Arms proved very warm, and the damned loud ass radiator was ruining the carpet. Drip, drip. No prob sneaking Tara in and out though. Anyway, we headed down to SoHo and shopped. I spent even more money. There was this one store full of random skeletons and animal artifacts. I asked them if they had the pockets of a pocketfox, and they got the joke. ... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

11PM Wednesday MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

... The Two Boots Pizza (Boot of Italy, boot of Louisiana. Yes, Cajun-Italian.) was fucking awesome. We only accidently found it, and only much later did I realise it's address is 74 Bleeker street. During a pit stop to the hotel, the new, new hotel-- I moved into the Gershwin in the morning, a real hotel with Warhol / Lichtenstein pop-art everywhere... anyway, during the pit stop I saw cab A74, another occurrence of the number and only moments later a very, very sick looking man (nose bleed, gooey mouth) told me his AIDS story. Holy shit. That shut me up on the walk to the hotel. We went back to SoHo, which is actually when we ate the Two Boots pizza, and then explored NYU's campus. We had beer at the Slaughtered Lamb (same sitch as the Korova, but this time 'An American Werewolf in London'). The bartenders were incompetent. Learn how to serve a Guinness for fuck's sake. ... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

...Ahem, right, so eventually Tara had to catch her bus in Chinatown back to Philly. We stopped for bubble tea, and then I walked her to the bus. Afterwards I headed off for Kebab's in the Lower East Side. The older employee was singing in a great voice lonely sounding songs in I think Turkish. I told the guy who took my order that I got addicted to Kebab's in London, and he told me his were better. 'Stiegl is better!' I lied and said he was right, though it was excellent food. After Kebabs I spotted CBGB's and a few more 74's, and I got to thinking about the train earlier in the day. The numbers on the train cars had been 7474, 7475, 7476... So I was like, ok lets pick a new number, will I see that one? ... MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

...I of course picked 51, and as soon as the thought completed I looked up to see bus line B51. I had to laugh, even if I'm doomed. What else can you do? I wasn't going home yet so I went back to McSorley's and saw the Red Sox beat the Yankees and win the series. In fact, as I write this very line I'm sitting at an ancient table, being warmed by the coals in a real coal stove. I forgot to mention how right before I stepped into McSorley's this bum with no teeth and a dixie cup asked if I had spare change. With a decisive 'Yes!' I reached into my pocket and he responded with a 'You do?!' and a smile. I slowly dropped what must have been $2 in silver into his cup and he lit up and thanked me. As I crossed the street to enter the pub he yelled to thank me again. I hope he enjoys his booze or crack." MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Late on Wednesday MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"I headed home after exchanging pleasantries with the same Irish Bartender as the night before and discussed how he didn't follow baseball but soccer. He meant football. The walk home was filled with oddly enough the cheers of a hundred Red Sox fans. After seeing a Lamborghini Diablo while walking behind two screaming female Sox fans, I called Mike and asked him, 'How about them Red Sox?' I could tell some passerby's were not amused by the conversation. My mobile's battery died, and as I walked quietly past Madison Square Park a bum played to himself on his harmonica. Eventually I got back to my room at the Gershwin. Room 1336. I thought buildings skipped the thirteenth floor?" MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Late on Wednesday MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

3PM Thu, Oct 21st MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

"I got up sort of early to check out Joseph A Bank's suits. Again, very helpful and friendly staff. I wasn't exactly dressed up, and he gave me his card with a personal reference to the VP in Minneapolis. Did I mention the Gardini dealer ($1000+ suits) giving me a reference to a good place in my price range, quite happily. And on the way to the hotel from J. Bank, this FedEx guy all alone with a thousand boxes got help from a very friendly stranger who worked for UPS. Seriously, most New Yorkers are great people. Manhattan traffic made me damn nervous about missing my flight, but I made it, and got to see how gianormous the Empire State Building looks from Brooklyn. My family in Green Bay wants to take me out to dinner when I get in." The End. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

3PM Thu, Oct 21st MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM