mrpeenee
mrpeenee: an unauthrorized autobiography
Friday, February 27, 2026
Friday, February 20, 2026
In Whuch We Have a Construction Update
Our story so far: 4 weeks ago, there was a small fire in my building and the resultant sprinklers flooded almost the whole building, only the end of the hall hall where my apartment is located escaped, think whatever god looks over bitter old Queens like me. The water remediation and repairs have preceded remarkably quickly, they have finished all the work in the halls and most of the units.
It's been an annoyance (for instance, the dust occasionally sets off the smoke detectors, always when I'm asleep, causing me to shriek "shut up" which helps exactly as much as you might expect it to) but finally this week they have removed all the fans and dehumidifiers as well as the plastic sheeting on the floor and which sealed off my end of the hall.
My cat Toby has reacted to this by bolting out into the hall whenever he can squeeze past me as I open the door. He had been pulling that for most of the time that he's lived here, but all the racket and workmen out there had convinced him that a little cat should stick closer to home. I was okay with his previous escapades, justifying them by saying that I wanted him to know which door was his if he ever escaped. Toby acted like this was an endorsement of what a tough boy he is. Of course that act was pretty transparent considering he would demand that I accompany him and would then roll on his side and wait for me to pick him up and carry him back home. What a little gangsta.
Because he is a terribly friendly faux-gangsta, he would either be terrified by the occasional appearance of my neighbors, or he would run right up to them and demand pets. The little girl who live next door came to believe he was her cat. One time, a neighbor had propped their door open to get a little cross breeze and before I could stop him, Toby had hopped over the the doorstep and blew into the apartment. Maybe he was looking for a new life, I don't know.
I tried getting him to come back out before the neighbor could become aware of this home invasion by hissing and whispering commands at him, and then I gave up and started ringing the doorbell, but the neighbor ignored me. Eventually Toby showed back up at the door with the air of a butler turning away an unwanted intruder so I scooped him up and we went home. The neighbor never did appear.
Now that the construction is mostly over, Toby has returned to ruling the hall and waiting for me to pick him up like a baby which is what he trained me to do. We also have a game where he sits on the table next to my laptop and bites my hand if I don't brush him, or I will toss his toys at him which he knocks off the table and waits for me to pick up and toss again, so apparently he has taught me to fetch. How did I get here?
Naked guys I would definitely play fetch with:
Friday, February 6, 2026
In Which We Search
As I mentioned in last week's post, I continue to hunt for a replacement for my beloved Peet's, RIP. Peet's, the world's finest cafe, was my daily outing until it closed at the end of January. Since I'm doing my best to avoid becoming a literal shut-in, I need to find some place to go for my coffee and snack.
Because I am a big-city boy, there is no shortage of candidates; I have four likely options in a one block radius of my front door. Tragically, all of them come with at least one drawback. Directly across the street is the charming Wooden Spoon, but they're actually more of a full full restaurant and not someplace just drop in for a muffin.
At the end of my block, we find a pretentious little joint called Verve. Every time I have been in there, I feel that I'm being judged and found lacking, and I am simply not cool enough for their aggressively strong coffee.
Thoroughbread's charmingly shabby patio.
Around the corner is the leading contender, Thoroughbread Bakery. Aside from there their amusing name, they make the best lattes of any of the close places, and a very tasty turkey sandwich. Oddly enough, I find their baked goods sort of disappointing. Still, they're leading the Peet's Replacement Derby.
Trailing along in last place is the very fancy little grocery, Epicurious. They have a cafe with outdoor seating, which is very appealing during this warm spell we've been having. Less appealing is the very thin and sour coffee they serve up. Dudes, you're a cafe. Do better.
Also I need to tip my hat to my favorite, the Cafe du Soliel. Delicious pastries, especially the cheese Danish, and definitive espresso drinks. It's just too bad that they are a tiny bit too far away for a daily walk.
The best thing about my exploration is that it reminds me that I live in an incredibly charming neighborhood in a beautiful city. I have felt very much like a tourist trying out all these exotic places. People pay serious money to come to San Francisco and experience what I get to do by just walking down the street. I try to bear that in mind as I sample my way through an ocean of coffee.
Naked guys:
Friday, January 30, 2026
In Which We Say Goodbye to an Old Friend
Goddamit
Yes it's true, my beloved Peet's, the world's finest cafe, is closing the location I go to every day. So, once again, fuck 2025. And before any of you get alarmed about mrpeenee's chronology problems, let me assure you I know it's technically now 2026, BUT 2025 is when the corporate buyout that led to this occurred. First Trump gets reelected and then that. Goddamit.
Peet's announced that its corporation had been consumed by a larger conglomerate headed up by Dr Pepper/ Keurig, which sounds like an evil business name from Saturday Night Live, but it's really real. Keurig I can sort of understand since it's simply a coffee company buying out a competitor. I suppose they don't need any cafes in their drive to choke the environment one tiny plastic container at a time. But Dr Pepper? What did I ever do to them? Whenever I bump into DP in the wild I'm always vaguely surprised they're still around. They seem like a remnant of my Southern childhood, an also ran in the the cola wars. Now I simply have a concrete grudge against them.
Since there are many, many days when stumbling down to get my daily cup o' Joe is the only reason I have to leave the house, I now need to find a replacement for Peet's. I'm researching possibilities, but all the candidates have some fatal flaw; they are too far away, or too fussy, or not fussy enough, or I have sworn eternal enmity against them and their bloodlines for some wrong they committed against me that no one but I remember. Mostly, of course, the truth is simply that I am a cranky old man and I am opposed to change on principle. I have outlived R Man, family, friends, people I love, cats, and now my cafe. Give me a break, entropy.
At least I still have naked guys:
Friday, January 23, 2026
In Which We Have Excitement
Oh, my little grease spots, such thrilling times here at the old Chez peenee. Early one morning last week I was blasted out of bed by the fire alarm in my building. The alarm is deliberately so painfully shrill and loud that there is no ignoring it. I know because I have tried to do just that. It turns out an apartment at the other end of the hall on the floor above me had indulged in a small kitchen fire which, fortunately, was put out with no real damage from the fire. Unfortunately, the sprinklers went off and flooded most of the building. My unit was one of the very few that were not damaged; out of 75 apartments, only 12 wound up unscathed.
It's really been very impressive how fast the emergency remediation of all the water damage has been. They have ripped out all the sheetrock walls and ceilings in the hallway and most of the fucked up apartments and they've had dehumidifiers and heaters blasting for almost a week now. My end of the hall is unaffected except for the noise and the heat. In case you were wondering what it's like living in a sauna, I am here to tell you it is not all it's cracked up to be. Although Toby thinks it's absolutely great.
They've finished the demolition and will be moving on to construction next week. Having lived through a couple of renovations when I owned a house, I know that these things will take longer than I might hope for. Worse still is that none of the construction guys are in the least bit attractive. Dammit.
Guys who would make for excellent tradies:
Friday, December 26, 2025
In Which We Run
I believe I have mentioned in the past my chronic runny nose, and by "mentioned" I mean "whined at length about." The dripping from my nose never really stops, it just fluctuates between a light dribble and a full-on flood. It runs in my family (did you see what I did there? Runs? Oh never mind.) My father, my brother, at least one of my nieces, we all got drippy noses.
The medical industry was not able to give me any insights into this constant flow and so I turned to the internet, because isn't shopping for a diagnosis you like what it's there for? Dr Google came through once again and explained that my condition is Non-Allergic Rhinitis, a runny nose that is not caused by any allergy. That actually seems less like a diagnosis and more like a simple statement of fact, but it's more than any of the physical doctors with expensive degrees had come up with.
Since that discovery, I've found out there's a similar condition called Geriatric Rhinitis, old people runny nose. I'm not sure when, or if, I segued from one into the other, but since it doesn't seem to matter, I'm not really concerned. Again, no real cause or treatment, the medical community just shrugs and says get used to it. Anyway, what brings up this whole fascinating insight into mrpeenee and his snot is that this afternoon I blew my nose, as I so very often do, and a gout of blood shot out of my nose and filled up the handkerchief. What the fuck, Geriatric Rhinitis?
Staring at what looked like evidence from a crime scene, I should have been panicked or at least concerned, instead all I felt was mild annoyance. I think when you reach my age, being faced with yet more evidence that you're falling apart isn't really shocking, you just file it along with all the other symptoms you've been collecting since the first Bush administration. I am just glad it happened in the privacy of my bathroom.
In Which We Have a Nice Day
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