A bluebird in the backyard woke me up. Damn the noisy bastard. Haven't seen him all summer so he's back. Hope says she hates Nature and loves towns. How refreshing.

John also has a fun relationship with family pets. No kitty-poo nonsense. Some mild, fond abuse as all friends deserve and mete out every now and then. He needed a there-there as he got handcuffed and locked away by the pigs for selling his DVDs in Union Square Park. Don't they have better things to do? Law or no law, there has to be some judicious appreciation of what makes New York New Yawk.

And then he got jumped on in the nabe. A bias crime that also makes New York New Yawk. I'm sure it confirms the worst for his folks back in lily-white Ottawa. I am a little worried that it will affect his green card application. Must call him and give him Scrappy Dave's number. He was the only attorney who even suggested I apply for A-1 and made me Alien of Fuckin' Amazing Ability, and to national interest to boot. Boot is right since every one thinks I'm overqualified for any mildly interesting job.

Back to John. He came over for lunch Saturday. Dee's idea. She stands by people. Rare. Of course it doesn't excuse her from not picking up beans and collard greens from Harlem, but she did make up for it by buying me a pound of coffee from Sahadi's. She loved it. Esp. the dinky non-deethnicized Arab stores on the other side of Osama Avenue. Great afternoon hanging out and shooting the breeze.

What a rare week. Made three new friends I feel: John, LH and Raju (OK OK an old acquaintance refurbished after 30 years). Raju still carries the torch for Neena. Funny how schoolboy crushes die hard. Karl sent me pics of Mounties reunion. How appropriate it was in Colorado. Anyway, since Raju hopes Neena is old fat and ugly, I haven't had the heart to tell him she still looks gorgeous from what I can see from the pics on the web. K and Ken I would not have recognized on the street. They are looking good, prosperous and - yes, aren't we all - hitting, ahem, youthful middle age! Boo looks the same. Barbie same same. And I don't know who Quack's sister is. Maybe she was very junior. Hmm. Do I contact some of them I wonder? Life is so life-consuming here.

Raju has a phenomenal memory. Watched my tape of old pics. That place was so Hogwarts I can't believe it. Except for the owls. Our share of witches, natch. He was a fount of rude nicknames, some best forgotten. SSRM: Short Strong Man from Rangpo! Called me Puppet and a shim! Told him I was shimmier than ever. That got him going with all sorts of indelicate questions that I was happy to answer in lurid detail. Heehee!

Still plays a mean guitar. He said, had he been able to stay for my Thursday dinner, he would have played "And the Wind Cries Mary" for Hope. Somewhere a queen is weeping... Somewhere a king has no wife.... Nice. He told me it was fun to make friends anew not just meet up school buddies. And it came via Buddhahead connections - Zette's friend Judy in SF. who she says I've met when we were doing the Tibet Film Festival.

I am glad Raju is here. America is good for him. As it is for me. I told him my mother once sighed she had sent the wrong son to the US. Bobby would have made tons of money as an MD. I think she is wrong. I am sho' glad it was me. A doc is a doc anywhere, not that he's doing anything about it. What the fuck would I have done with those liberal arts degrees anywhere else? I don't even claim them in verbal resumes: when people ask me where I went to school I say Little Flower School and wait... Hehe.

Gotta get going. NYFF press screenings starts today. Haven't even read the Sunday Times; I was so busy finishing up the AppalSeeds proposal. Then Tim came over and we dissected his dating life. Same old shit. Kept trying Venn diagrams when I was positing my "marrying-up and marrying-down" hypothesis for same sex couples. I think he was too dense for it last evening though he blamed the Samuel Barber violin concerto distracted him. I think he saw glimmers though. I do harangue my friends. Fond, mild abuse was meted out.