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apart from yet another delivery, the two things that stood out today at work was alex prancing around the office in his genuine diamond encrusted "alex" pimp ring, and then later seeing james, whom i haven't seen since the company let him go about two weeks ago, making a special cameo appearance, minivan, cellphone, tie, sunglasses.

after work i waited outside the office for dan to arrive so we could go down to chinatown to catch our new york city bus. i was surprised to see him pull up to the curb in a taxicab. i hopped in and we made it down to chinatown with 15 minutes to spare before departure time. i was disappointed to see that the bus we got was a medium sized bus, probably seating no more than 24 people. fortunately, not a lot of people were taking the 7pm bus to new york city (7 boys, 3 girls), so everyone had at least two seats to themselves. originally dan and i sat together chatting, but then he relocated so he could be alone with his book and his gameboy. i leaned back and fell asleep. at the midway point we stopped at a macdonalds, where we all got off to use the bathroom and get some food. after 15 minutes everyone got back onboard. dan and i ate our food in the dark because there were no lights inside the bus. it was pretty surreal, luckily i was just eating fries and mcnuggets, simple food. during the final two hours the boy sitting behind us was on his cellphone the whole time talking with friends and family, didn't really care that everyone on the bus could learn all the details of his life. the transgender drag queen sitting up front kept on looking back angrily at the uncouth youth.

the bus dropped us off in the new york city chinatown. from there we walked to john's apartment looking like total tourists, hands clutching large bags, periodically checking a street map to find our bearing. to make matters worse, it was also raining lightly as we made our way to john's place. when we finally got there, john wasn't home yet, so dan and i wandered around the neighborhood a little bit more, finally hiding out at the two boots pizza shop, waiting for john to call my cellphone. after finally establishing contact, john came out to help us carry some stuff and we made it back to his apartment.

i was surprised to see how small the apartment was, but i heard it's very typical as far as single studio apartments go. with the right treatment, it could be really cozy, and you can't beat the location. at least it has a window. at least there are hardwood floors. a kitchen. new fridge. a bathroom with a bathtub (not one of those standing shower deals). then it dawned up me that tonight we'd be sleeping here. fortunately i brought my sleeping bag with me. john informed us that his father was driving up with some furniture tomorrow morning, and that he had recently got this apartment, not yet moved in from where he's currently living in brooklyn.

after midnight or so we went out to get some food and drinks. john brought us to katz's delicatessen, a famous landmark establishment on the corner of houston and ludlow street. this was where they filmed the fake orgasm scene in when harry met sally (a suspended placard informs the lucky patron that s/he is sitting where meg ryan sat). you come in, you get a ticket, and depending on what you get, they mark the ticket accordingly, which you then pay when you leave the place. i had a saurkraut hotdog (maybe i was really hungry, but it's been a while since i've had a hot dog that great!). while waiting in line, i was approached my a rather attractive young woman who asked where i got my "drama queen" t-shirt. i let her see the collar where there was an website address. "that's a great t-shirt! i have a son, he'd love it, he's a real drama queen." a son? wah wah wah wah.

we came back to the apartment, john deciding to spend the night here as well because he was too tired to go all the way back to brooklyn. while the boys slept on the bare floor and used jackets and clothes as pillows and blankets, i was living in the land of luxury with my sleeping bag. i downloaded my photos onto my ibook, took a shower, and then went to bed.