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i don't know how many projects i'm on currently. at my last job a single project could last for a year, but now at squid it seems like i have my hands in everything. i don't mind it, the variety keeps things fresh, but at times it can be a bit tedious, like my mind is everywhere at the same time. at the end of friday, my jellyfish project still needs some code work even though originally i figured it'd be done by the end of wednesday. i'm no coding nostradamus, and perhaps my lack of experience in gauging how long it'll take me to finish an assignment has me making overly optimistic predictions for projects that take longer than i realize. hopefully this will improve over time, but now i'm so deeply entrenched in the code, when i close my eyes that's all i see and i can't stop thinking about it. i just want to get into the office early on monday and finish it off so i can move on to the next project. all this work does provide a certain level of job security, yet at the same time i can't shake the feeling that i could be fired at a moment's notice, side effects of prior layoff trauma.

i came to work wearing my contact lenses. i had a floater in one of my eyes and had to borrow some saline solution from kristine to wash it out (no amount of strategic blinking could get the blob off my lens). everything was fine after that. i noticed i keep on trying to push invisible frames up my face, looks like i keep on rubbing my cheeks for some reason.

sensing a need for a break, i went out running despite the fact that it was an overcasted 42 degrees. i had on my shorts but it felt warm for some reason, perhaps the humidity or the lack of wind. i spotted some red-breasted mergansers in the river, one male and two females, taking turns diving into the water (the last and first time i saw these was last year on the mystic river). i've found my groove but started thinking whether or not i've plateaued. i do all this running but i don't really notice any speed improvement. maybe things will be different during the summer, when i'm not battling the elements as much as i am during the winter. i definitely know i have more energy to burn, i'm not running to exhaustion. the problem during the summer will be the fact that there's no shower facility at the office, i can imagine some pretty sweaty work days. i went to al capone's again for lunch, a slice of sausage pizza on my way back. i like the attention i get when i wear shorts on cold days. i pretend i don't notice but i catch people staring from the corners of my eyes.

after work i met dan at the boston common theatre to see starsky & hutch. he arrived with two of his coworkers, mike and bob, and elias showed up as well (elias, who saved, who will actually be another coworker of dan's starting next week). while going to the bathroom, i ran into alex macguire again (the second time in about a week), who was also seeing the same movie. starsky & hutch is a funny movie, i think a lot better than zoolander, that other ben stiller-owen wilson collaboration. the two of them play type again, stiller the intense and angry one, while wilson the more laid back pretty boy. i've never really seen starsky & hutch on television, but i know about it. i probably still wouldn't watch it now, for one thing it's a serious cop drama unlike the movie which plays the storyline for comedy. it takes place in the 70's in bay city, california, and the two detectives are on the trail of a businessman drug dealer (vince vaughn) who's perfected a new variety of cocaine that's undetectable by scent or taste (tastes like sugar). along the way we meet some of the other characters who inhabit bay city, including street informant huggy bear (snoop dogg), tough-as-nail police captain dobey (fred williamson), dragon-obsessed prisoner (will ferrell), and nubile cheerleaders (carmen electra, amy smart). i can't really say much more without giving away the jokes, suffice to say i was tearing with laughter and after it was all over, i wanted to see it again, like a really enjoyable amusement park ride.

our group disbanded after the movie. dan was hanging out in town to get a ride from cymara, mike disappeared into a macdonalds, while the rest of us took the red line outbound, bob getting off at kendall, elias at central square. when i got home i made some ramen for dinner.