Tuesday, June 2, we go to the West Village for a drink at Pieces on Christopher Street, then one at the Monster.  After leaving the Village, we taxi to the East Village to try to find dinner, hard since it’s almost midnight.  But we wind up at “First” on First Avenue near 5th Street.  I do know that we wind up at Dick’s talking to Mark Harrington, one of the founders of TAG (Treatment Action Group – one of the premier AIDS organizations) who will be at the AIDS conference in Geneva in July.

Wednesday, June 3, Bryan has been bicycling all afternoon in Central Park with his friend Greg so he’s pumped when he gets back to the apartment.  So we go off to the Cloister Café (on East 9th Street between 2nd and 3rd Avenues) with Greg where I have great clams on the half shell (the two boys have shrimp cocktail) and a very good chicken breast in cognac & cream sauce (Greg’s steak was well-received also).

Thursday, June 4, I go to the final choir practice of the season.  And possibly my last for Trinity.  I had a wonderful time with the choir (even if I never became a great singer), it’s just that getting to Cranford early on Sunday morning is hard, and I don’t like not making my commitments.

After practice (which lasted barely a half hour), I went to Jim and Jamie’s alone.  Jim is quite depressed over the musical state of affairs of the choir.  Next season both John Beier and I will no longer be regulars at Trinity, Al Lehmkuhl is very busy with his car service, and even John Zebrowski (who has been with Jim since he was a kid) said he might not be attending regularly (he has four girls, one brand new).  Which would leave Jim with no basses.  Similar things are happening with the other parts of the choir.

Friday, June 5, a short day at work and absolutely lovely outside.  Dick’s for a drink and dinner at Café Viva, a new pasta/pizza joint on 2nd Avenue across the street from Pangea (I know, we haven’t eaten there in awhile but Bryan wants them to add some new items, particularly vegetarian before he wants to go back).  Their specialty is vegetarian fare, even leaning towards vegan.  Therefore, forget the pepperoni!  Although they do have a variety of meat substitutes for those that need it.  Anyway, we both have very good pastas and salad (take out).

Saturday, June 6 … dinner at Brunetta’s (the white sangria with peaches and strawberries seems to have become part of the summer menu).  Back at Dick’s we make the all important decision:  What to do tonight? Guess what … we decide not to do much of anything.  We have a little dessert at Café Cente Sette around the corner and then retire with a copy of “It’s My Party” starring Eric Roberts as a gay man who will end his life in a few days because he has a terminal brain disease.  So he invites everyone to a last party.  A little preachy, but overall very good.

Sunday, June 7, we’re up early.  Me for church as it’s the last choir day of the season; in addition there is only one service (9 am) preceding the parish picnic.  Later for dinner, it's Pizzeria Uno (not much is open late on Sunday night, even here).  I haven’t been to one in years, since Boston.  It actually seems to have gone downhill (not that it was ever on one), just a college joint with not great food.

Monday, June 8, we were going to eat at Mie, the Japanese restaurant next door to Dick’s (the bartenders there rave about it) but they’re closed on Mondays.  So we eat at India Village, next door to Pangea.  Well, the food tastes great but it gives both us trouble for the next 12 hours.

Tuesday, June 9, a relatively quiet evening with a late dinner at Mie.

Wednesday, June 10 and we’re meeting Joe Fiore and David Feight to see “The Opposite of Sex” starring Christine Ricci (from the Addams Family movies), Lisa Kudrow (from “Friends”) and some very interesting men (including Johnny Garecki, from Roseanne, as a gay man – although I’ve been told that he really is).  It’s a really interesting movie, everyone has great bitter and sarcastic lines.  Afterwards we stopped for Mexican food at Gonzalez y Gonzalez around the corner (it’s got a huge blinking neon sombrero in front, which they sat us under until epilepsy set in!).

Thursday, June 11, a lot more accomplished at work and then a new hair dye.  My hair has been natural since meeting Bryan (it was bleached when we met) but my foreman’s daughter (who works with Al’s wife in a beauty salon) wants to try a new product.  So I’m an experiment tonight!  And it really doesn’t go badly; the color isn’t quite what they expected (it’s about the same color as a baby chick) but it is fun to change my color again.  What else is interesting is how interested they are in Bryan, even asking if I had a picture of him.

At 6 pm, I pick up Bryan at the bus station in Cranford and we go over to Jim and Jamie’s for the choir picnic, an annual tradition at the end of the season; my parents have already arrived there.  It’s a burgers and hot dogs bbq, but I haven’t had any meat since Sunday, so I just have some salads (and of course a martini).  We get to meet John Beier’s new baby, Sophie, also.  Around 9 pm, we head back into the city, have a slice of pizza, and asleep before midnight.

Friday, June 12, I get most of Connections done, start Ecclesia, and do a little shop work; but it’s also a lot of stuff so I give up thinking of getting to the gym or Cranford and go directly into NYC from work.  Bryan gets home about the same time as me and we find a phone message from Donn, yes, the famous “waiter boy” from John’s that we met a few months ago.  We return his call to say we’ll see him for dinner Sunday night.  Having had such a nice quiet evening the previous Friday, we repeat the lack of effort.  Quite rewarding!

Saturday, June 13 …  rain rain rain … So it’s a late morning for us with lunch at the Lunch Box around 2 pm.  Then it’s a walk around Union Square for plants.  During the afternoon, I clean the back porch while Bryan plants.  So it’s a relaxing afternoon.  We watch Star Trek: Deep Space 9, but it’s a boring enough episode to put Bryan to sleep; I follow soon after and then we wake up around midnight.  We go for late eats at Around the Clock in Sheridan Square (fruit crepe for me).

Sunday, June 14 … get up around 11 am, and then it’s domestic day with K-Mart.  There we find the perfect remote by RCA for only $9.  Plus, Martha Stewart sheets (hey, they’re nice).  Then some food shopping (yes, us) for some wonderful tomatoes, cucumbers and salad dressing and more which will become snacks all day.

We then take a walk to Metro Bicycle (in Chelsea, where else?) at 3 pm for helmet and bike shorts for my new bicyclist.  We also hit Old Navy for clothes for Bryan’s niece Angel and nephew, little Bryan.  We stop at Splash at 5 pm for a cocktail and then head off, by car, to Brooklyn.  Bryan has found a bicycle on the Internet and we’re going to check it out.  Well, it fits him perfectly, nice color … hey, what do I know from bicycles?

But here’s the interesting stuff.  He buys it from a young woman.  While he’s “test driving” it, she and I start chatting and by the time he’s back and decides to buy it, she and I recognize each other.  She’s Robbie Alterio, a friend of Jill Glass, Carmine & Mollie from Boston!  She’s working in a graphics capacity for a telecommunications magazine (she assured me that unless you’re in the business you wouldn’t recognize it; I didn’t).  So, Boston folk, there’s a “where is she now” for you!

We got back to the apartment and went to John’s Italian Restaurant.  After chatting with Donn, we invite him over after work.  But he also has news that he’s going to Paris on Tuesday for at least 4 weeks!!!  Ah, well, it will be a great experience for him; plus he’s thinking of going to Morocco after that – we may never see him again!  Anyway, we go to Orson’s (across from Pangea) for drinks for an hour.

Monday, June 15, dinner at In Paella (2nd Avenue and 9th Street) around 9 pm (decent calamari and penne putanesca for me, grilled tuna salad and penne with plum tomatoes and mozzarella cheese for B).  A quick drink at Dick’s and it’s bedtime by midnight.  This makes one week of no meat.

Tuesday, June 16, we both get to work at a decent hour for a change; Bryan goes shopping at Macy’s during lunch and gets us six great shirts for our European trip.  After stopping in Cranford, I drive into NYC and pick up Bryan at work close to 7 pm.  So we don’t even get to dinner (while doing laundry) at Brunetta’s until almost 9 pm.

Wednesday, June 17, I go to Westfield to get my passport.  It seems as though they’re making up the price to have it expedited, but as long as they get it to me on time, I don’t care.  On the way, I see the most stunning Aryan on a motorcycle (Chelsea boy pants, white athletic tee, hairless, no fat … yikes!).

Another boy:  on the way back to NYC, I see a “drink of water” – a cute “heroin-chic” shirtless waif … his Levi’s dangling off his very cute butt which has an interesting tattoo curving around it (I thought it was one of those wallet chains at first).

By 8 pm, we’re both home and then off to dinner at Sapporo East (corner of 1st Avenue and 10th Street) for Japanese food with Scott “Dangerboy” Reich and his girlfriend Susan.  Within minutes of being seated the heavily humid skies give up their bounty and the whole time we’re eating there’s a massive thunderstorm outside; and it’s over by the time we’re out.  The fish is great, the sake wonderful, the company fun.  After, we drag them to Dick’s (they’ve never been, to no surprise) for a couple of drinks and then they’re off.

Thursday, June 18, at lunch, it’s sun-dried tomato ravioli with pesto sauce, and eleven days without any meat product.  No reason, I just think it’s fair to try Bryan’s way instead of just putting it down; although I’m balking at trying tofu!

Friday, June 19, around 10 pm, we meet Dangerboy at Flamingo East (on 2nd Avenue) where I have great calamari fritti and a super rare tuna steak – it even tastes like steak!  After a couple of Cosmopolitans, we decide it’s too humid for drinks at Dick’s and it’s off to bed (really).

Saturday, June 20, a good night’s rest and breakfast at the Lunch Box at noon.  Walking over to the plant store at 1st Ave and 7th St, we get caught in an amazing thunderstorm; we take refuge at Bar 81.  This turns out to be a beer dive, but with a twist:  it’s Ukrainian.  A couple of old codgers from the army of Tsar Nicholas, an older woman, and then three tourist women.  Middle-aged, not too great looking, they’re wandering around and wanted to find a Ukrainian bar to have a drink!  Only in NYC.

Anyway, a quick drink at Dick’s and then off to meet Philip.  He’s walking over to Chelsea with us as Bryan drops off his new bike for a tune-up.  After, Bryan and I walk down 7th Avenue to the Village.  Along the way, we stop at the Chelsea Lobster Co. (it used to be Claire’s and still has the same bartender and pretty much the same menu).  Now here's a coincidence ... one of the owners is Albert O's brother!  Later, we drop into A  Different Light, the gay bookstore on 19th Street and have drinks at the Hangar, as another thunderstorm is starting up.  Then it’s a cab back to the apartment by 7 pm for me to see Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (it’s the episode where Jadzia Dax dies – she’s married to Worf; the symbiont gets saved).  After that, we decide to stay in as it’s brutally humid outside.  We turn on the air conditioners and order in.

Sunday, June 21, up around 2 pm as it’s Father’s Day.  We meet my parents, their friend Pat Faraone and his friend Elaine and her son, and Mario and MaryKay at Patsy’s (“Authentic Neapolitan Cuisine” at 56th St near Columbus Circle).  The food is OK, nothing to write home about, although since my dad and Pat have been going there for years, it’s their “favorite” place.  Yeah, well, they also started off with martinis.

By 6 pm, after stopping the Virgin record store in Times Square (B gets Luciano Berio, Honegger’s Symphony #2 and Madonna remixes, I get a box set of early live Genesis and late-period Roxy Music), we go to see “The Truman Show” with Jim Carrey.  OK, the reviews are spectacular, but we really thought it dragged considerably.  And the implausibility of the plot, coupled with the essential meanness of the characters (hey, even his best friend lies to him), made it a tough go.

Monday, June 22, we go to get Bryan’s passport.  That requires waiting until 11 am, when they open.  Plus they’re slow, so I’m not at work until 1 pm.  But that allows me to listen to part of the new Genesis box set (a live recording of “The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway” plus other great live performances, most with Peter Gabriel).  We go for dinner at Penang, the Burmese restaurant at the corner of 3rd Avenue and 11th Street.  The only other time we’ve been there has been with Uncle Ralph, so we thought we’d try it again.  But to be honest, it wasn’t very good (and the Mai Tai’s particularly bland).

Tuesday, June 23, we’re at work early, not that either of us wind up that productive.  After work, Bryan is to pick up his bicycle but the cabs have the city in gridlock and he can’t get there by closing. B has to go over to his friend Greg’s to help him take some pictures, so I’m fast asleep when he gets home.

Wednesday, June 24, it’s off to Japanese food at Mie for a second try; and it’s as good as the first, and quite reasonable as well.  Hmmm, could be the new place!

Thursday, June 25, two and a half weeks without meat.  Mary Ann’s has a half hour wait, we try a new place, Virage, at the corner of 7th Street on 2nd Avenue.  They call themselves a “Mediterranean Bistro” and the food isn’t bad.  Not great, but not bad; also only beer and wine.  After, we head over to see “The X-Files” – “Fight the Future” ?  I think “Fight the Boredom” !  Actually the movie is somewhat entertaining, just a trifle unbelievable.

Friday, June 26, driving down Fifth Avenue, I see that they have already painted the lavender line that the Gay Pride Parade will follow on Sunday.

Leaving work at 3:30 pm, in the horrible heat, get into NYC, get a haircut then cab to Teddy’s, a bar in Tribeca (very yuppie – and loud) to meet Bryan, Michelle Petersen and her friend Donna Bruggemann (an old bank friend of hers with the same birthday as her).  Well, many drinks (Martell Cordon Bleu for me, martinis for B, Campari for Michelle, wine for Donna) and three dozen oysters (some very good Malpeques and some I’ve never heard of – sounded like Coti Mundi, but he was a vocalist for Kid Creole and the Coconuts).  At any rate, the tab came to $200 (with an extra c-note for the waitress).

Saturday, June 27, we rise for lunch at the Lunch Box (the weather having calmed down a bit from the heat) and snacks and window shopping at ABC, the great department store on Broadway near Union Square.  Star Trek: Deep Space Nine is the episode with Iggy Pop as a Vorta – not the best actor, but it was fascinating to watch him in heavy makeup!

Around 10 pm, we arise and go to Café Viva Natural Pizza.  We’re really getting to enjoy this place and have a great corn meal crust pizza with whole pieces of roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella cheese which we take back to the apartment while we watch “Gattaca.”  Starring Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman (yes, the movie they met on), it’s science fiction but a touch slow.  It is fun, however, to see supporting actors Gore Vidal and Ernest Borgnine in it.

Sunday, June 28, Gay Pride Day in NYC and the weather is incredible.  Just warm enough with a nice breeze.  We meet Joe Fiore and David Feight at Woody’s on 7th Avenue at 11:30 am, just like we did last year (which was also the first time we had met David).  Also the same as last year, we walked up to watch the parade at Madison Square, where the floats perform.  It’s fun, but after a couple of hours we’ve seen enough and say good-bye to Joe and David.

Back at the apartment by 3:30, Bryan goes for a bike ride in Central Park while I catch up on my magazines.  By 6 pm, B is back and we go over to Dick’s for margaritas and then back to Pangea for dinner.  It’s been almost a couple of months since we’ve eaten there, as Bryan has sworn that he wouldn’t go back until the menu changed.  But maybe it wasn’t such a good idea, as Bryan gets horribly sick from the cold split pea and yogurt soup.

Monday, June 29, back to work on a gray and rainy day; and three weeks without any meat.  Getting to the gym, I find that I’m lighter than I’ve been in ages; so maybe it works!  This night is the final meeting of the St. Barnabbas group for the season (it will resume in the fall).

Back at my parents’ house, my cousin Lorraine stops by and I find that her daughter, Gina, is living on 7th Street for the summer.  If you recall, this is one of the two daughters who have been attending Cornell University and the one most likely to become President (the other is sure to win an Oscar).  Bryan and I stop over at the St. Mark’s bookstore, after I call Gina to wish her a happy birthday (I like to be the first).

Tuesday, June 30, a normal workday and then B and I meet Scott “Dangerboy” Reich and his girlfriend Susan to go see Eddie Izzard.  Perhaps you’ve already heard of him – the transvestite English comic who is currently taking the comedy world by storm?  He’s just finishing up a three month gig at the Westbeth Theater in the Village and what an incredible show it was!  We were practically falling on the floor – and that considering his heavy accent!

Afterward, we had dinner at Nadine’s, just a couple of blocks away.  But the low quality of the food, the inattentive service, and my slightly inebriated state made me go off on the management.  Bryan and Susan got upset with me, so it really wasn’t worth it.

And so ends June.

Next up is July, but if you want to skip the New York stuff and go directly to our major trip of the year, then go for it ...  Europe!