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i didn't even realize my doctor had written me a letter with the results of my blood tests. it was in a pile of envelopes by the door, and i opened it up before i left for work. "it's nice to report that your laboratory tests are generally quite favorable," he starts. "generally quite favorable?" hmmm, doesn't sound that good. he goes and talks about the results, but stops at my cholesterol profile. "your HDL or good cholesterol is 51, which is protective, but your LDL or bad cholesterol is modestly elevated at 147." oh my god, i have high cholesterol now? he says he finds no need that i should go on any medication but i should continue exercising and avoid animal fats and transfatty acids.

so i went to work with one more physical ailment to worry about, besides the hypertension (it's the silent killer, you know), the bad eyes, the poor hearing, and the weak knees. when the life odometer shows 3 decades' worth of mileage, you're bound to acquire a couple of dents here and there i guess.

the train was full of newbie riders on their way to the patriots parade in city hall. i can tell because they don't know which stop to get off at and they travel with tokens (instead of a pass). when i got to south station, there were already streams of people with the singular intent of getting down to government center for the rally, still 2 hours away.

around noon, dana, kristine, and i left the office and cut through chinatown to the intersection of boylston and tremont street. it was a good location, slightly elevated and at the corner of the parade route which allowed for a longer view of the procession. a lot of people had on patriots wear, whether it be a jersey or a hat, and some even had signs ("blow me a kiss tom brady"). parents brought kids and there was a large gathering of young people, kids skipping a day of school/college to come watch the parade. we stood below the emerson college dormitory and students with the best view on the house were watching from their windows.

we stood out there for 40 minutes before the parade got down to where we were. we could tell because the motorcycle cops were pulling into position, there was suddenly a bunch of helicopters overhead, and we could hear the cascade of cheering. a convey of duck tour boats drove by, first quarterback tom brady and owner bob kraft holding the lombardi trophy, followed by the other players, then the cheerleaders with the mascot.

after the procession, we, along with everybody else who was standing with us, walked towards city hall for the speech. the streets were a sea of heads, and there was a heavy police presence (as well as there should be, with 1.5 million people estimated to be at the parade). walking by suffolks law, the place was covered in shredded papper confetti.

government center was crowded but it wasn't that bad that we couldn't slowly squeeze closer and closer to the heart of the city, where the owner and the coach and the players were thanking the fans, everything played back on a large jumbotron (there was another jumbotron in boston common, but it was no where the size of the one in city hall). there was trash everywhere, which goes to show that human beings are basically dirty animals, especially in large groups. kristine was joking that i should clean everything up because she believes i have OCD since i wash my hands every morning when i come into work (hey, i don't want to get sick, the trains are full of germs!). i bumped into the joel doppleganger. long story, but i see this kid everywhere. the very first time was back in october when i saw him at spooky world (john and dan will vouch that i am not lying), then i saw him a few more times around town, at coolidge corner, and now i see him (and his group of friends) at the superbowl parade, totally freaky. i've been trying to get a photo (to prove i'm not lying) and i finally managed to do it.


center plaza view

lush girl with friends

lush girl drinking

joel doppleganger

dana, kristine, tarzan

we decided to head back to the office before the parade was over, to avoid the rush of people. i saw a family taking a photo and suggested to them that they should take it the other way, with the old state house and that john hancock wannabe in the background. they immediately took my advice and took a new photo. when we got back, kristine showed me her poorly circulating toes and past frostbite damage. she was surprised that i never got frostbite as a kid, since growing up she and her friends would always get it (she grew up in connecticut, not any colder than its here in boston). i had soup from a can for lunch.

adam had modified his green laser pointer so that it's more powerful, even removing the button so no one could accidently shoot himself. green lasers are actually stronger than red lasers. to demonstrate this fact, adam went out and bought an assorted bag of colored balloons. the pale balloons were useless, but the darker ones were just right. they came with a plastic balloon pump which looked rather phallic during the inflation process, as the balloons got as big as 4 feet long. when the green laser beam hits the darker balloons for a few seconds, they exploded. we ran around in the office like giddy children at the display of laser prowess.

julie came over right when cnn was projecting the winners for this week's slew of democratic primaries. kerry seemed to have won most of them, with the exception of south carolina, where john edwards won his home state. julie brought along a jar of fresh vanilla beans she purchased for me a few weeks ago. i showed her on the television my slideshow of the patriots parade from earlier during the day. by the time we started making burritos, it was already 8:30pm. after cooking the long grain rice, i add the onions with the oregano and chinese five spice and a can of chopped tomatoes. chicken breasts were boiled and the meat shredded, adding everything together with the pepper jack cheese and scoops of sour creme and a cup of cilantro. julie wanted to see the recipe but i wouldn't let her until after the show, for fear of having my mistakes discovered. we ate while watching some primary coverage, then switching to see the last 30 minutes of 24, the action seeming less and less exciting every week. we then caught law & order: special victims unit, a new episode about human trafficking. we discovered that the whole law & order series are all filmed entirely on location in new york city. earlier, i was trying to convince julie that it all takes place on some hollywood backlot. we had some ice cream drumsticks for dessert before julie went back home.