November 2

Weird day. I just got the third degree from John & Gary about Maya's intentions in re: the apartment. And I've discovered that I got a certified letter from someone that's awaiting me at the post office on Atlantic Avenue. I had assumed it was from the IRS in response to my payment plan for my back taxes, but now John has informed me that the landlord is going forward with her plans to evict based on his having "cured," which we were under the impression he'd done. Now she's not giving him his new lease, and she's not accepting his rent payments. The craziness just abounds.

I wonder why I don't sleep at night and I'm tense all the time? Thank god for the biking, is all I can say.

I went a little hog wild this weekend, thinking the apartment situation was settled. I acted prematurely, it seems. But I bought a comforter to replace the one that Truckstop had shat upon, and aI got myself a fluffy new pillow, and I went to Old Navy and bought myself some new cold-weather clothing. I got a couple of turtlenecks and some pullovers that are a wee bit tights -- formfitting, let's say -- 'cuz I bought smalls. The mediums were too big. Story of my life. Don't fit in anywhere, stuck in the gray in-between.

So I decided, it being Monday and there being nothing of interest on the tube, that I should just get out of the apartment. John was smoking and Gary was toking and they incense burning.

Triple whammie.

Suddenly, having just gotten this news, I'm all paranoid. Why are we suddenly getting new locks on the building, as I discovered as I was getting home from work? Greg, the super was overseeing some guy preparing to change them. In my humble opinion, our landlady is a bit crazy, so I don't know what to expect, and every move makes me suspicious.

The weather in New York has taken a turn for the warmer. We've had a bit of Indian Summer for the past few days. It's been really beautiful, but to tell the truth, I wish autumn would just stick and be done with it. The change in the weather is not being kind to my allergies, and that's not being helped, of course, by the smoking, toking, and the incense.

Despite all the that, the weather's been great. I had a wonderful Halloween weekend with Kevin & Kirsten. On Friday night, we went to Steve and Michelle Burnett's apartment, where I got to meet their very cool Kiwi friend Jude, who flew in from London for a long weekend. Jude is, apparently, Michelle's counterpart in the DeutscheBank London office. Jude had the coolest New Zealand accent. She sounded like Fran Walsh -- the co-writer of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

I also got to meet Kevin's college roommate Jason, who was in town doing a gig for Universal -- for whom he works in Florida. All in all, a very delightful evening.

On Saturday, Kevin, Kirsten & I went to see the big-screen re-release of Alien, which, even after all these years, manages to , if not scare, startle. I does a kick-ass job of building tension. I bit off all my fingernails, and I haven't bitten my fingernails in over three years.

After the movie, we went to dinner at Zuni -- on of our favorite 9th Avenue Restaurants. After dinner we walked all the way down to the Barnes & Noble and the Bed, Bath & Beyond on 6th Avenue. At B&N, I decided to pick up copies of Shogun and Tai-pan. I've decided to re-read Clavell's "Asian Saga." I remember loving them during the 80's. So I thought I'd pick 'em up in paperback and re-read 'em.

At BB&B, I finally replaced the comforter that Truckstop had, er, soiled. I managed to get a great deal and, rather, god forbid, than spend less than I'd planned, I threw in a comfy new pillow. It's an extravagance, but boy, is it comfortable.

On top of my Sunday trip to Marshalls & Old Navy, all this adds up to having blown a wad of money I probably ought not to have. I'm probably gonna regret it when the 15th of the month is still a week away and I'm wondering how I'm going to make it to payday.