2002-07-12 - 11:37 p.m.

My niece is here and we had our whole day planned, but first I had to wait for the cable guy, who was to be here between 8 and 12 today. I was hoping against hope that he'd get here by 10 or so, so I didn't waste the whole morning. Got up at 7:30, and 15 minutes later my DOORBELL rings. So I push my hair out of my face, through on my robe, and open the door. The fucking elevator man. "Uh, there's someone here from the cable company, and he says he has an appointment." Jesus. J told me today that when they came last night, he told them I wasn't expecting any visitors. And then I realized that I am supposed to TELL the doorman if someone is coming. Including, say, my parents. I am never going to get used to it.

Anyway, we then went to the Br0nx Z00, which was amazing. That place is huge, though, we got there at 11 and stayed until 4, and we didn't see half of it. But J got to look at monkeys and baby monkeys to her hearts content. We went to the Congo section, which is truly amazing. It's set up like a rain forest, with thick fog and sun through the trees and heavy mist. And there are gorilla babies, and I swear I could have stayed there all day watching them. Their family units are so HUMAN. The babies were rolling around, the mother tossing them across her back and cuddling them, and the male sitting watch, with his arms crossed over his chest, occasionally scratching his head. And the babies come right up to the little kids in front of the glass, and press their palms to the kids palms through the glass, and they stick out their little tongues out and push their faces against the glass. We bought a gorilla cup, and some stuffed lizards, and we fed the goats and J held a guinea pig on her lap. It was really great, and very long and tiring.

So we took the subway home, and then went to the stationers to buy a scrapbook and some gel pens, and J walked home with me, sunglasses on, swinging her bag and talking to her little brother on the cell phone. 7 going on 27. In NYC, no less. She also tried to get me to buy her the EM1NEM cd. Sh'yeah, right.

Then we went to He@rtbreak to play with the Pekinese doggies they have there, and then to the diner for dinner with the boyfriend and his friend. They went upstate, and we came home and J "spied" - meaning she looked out the window to see what she could see in other apartments. We started the scrapbook, we talked about how much we love the stationary store - "I love all the pens, and those soft erasers they have, and the paper." "Yeah, and the clay and all those notebooks. I always want to buy everything in there." Heh.

She colored with my oil crayons, tried on the fake hair ponytail holder things she got at R1cky's, and I finally got her to go to bed. And now that I got this out, I'm going myself.

last - next