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this day started with me seeing a dead rat on the road coming out of kendall square station. it wasn't mangled, and in fact it looked very peaceful like it was sleeping on the side of the street. when i first saw it i didn't even know what it was. i thought maybe it was a furry sock or maybe a small bag. when i recognized that it was actually a dead rat, the shock didn't even register with me as i stepped over it and proceded to go to work, where i was already several minutes late.

i went out running during lunch, the first time in a long while. i couldn't get anyone to run with me so i ran alone, decked out in my new winter running gear - black running pants, black turtleneck, dark blue fleece vest. my clothing kept me warm but a little too warm. today's temperature was approaching 60 degrees (although it was still windy), and most people running along the charles were still wearing shorts while i had my full gear on. i quickly overheated and took off my vest, where i had to carry it in the crook of my arm as i ran. i yearn for colder weather! but it was a good test run to see how effective my new running stuff were. i ran from the office, around the charles, to the beginning of the longfellow bridge, 3 miles, non-stop. there were times when i wanted to stop, and not yet at the 1 mile mark i was already ready to call it quits and walk home. but i was able to endure and eventually ran all the way around the charles. nothing fast, a rather slow pace, but i think it was pretty good considering i haven't ran in a month and i was really hot. speaking of which, a few times i felt sort of self-conscious in my tight running pants, felt like i was revealing a little bit too much. but most of the time i was too busy running through my cramps or panting to really notice. i walked across the bridge and got the bird sandwich at alinda's. i then returned to the office, took a shower, and went upstairs to eat my turkey sandwich and work.

the bird, what a bad idea! the bird is essentially a thanksgiving sandwich with all the trimmings, turkey with cranberry sauce and stuffing. soon after i finished eating it, i was feeling really sleepy. remind me never to get the bird when i have real work to do! that thing is such a sleep inducer!

today was also my upset everyone over aim day. i upset klea when i asked her, "am i going to see you a million time this week?" which she interpreted as me getting sick of her company. not at all! then later i upset amanda when i told her, "i remember when you first started at the company, you were kind of chubby." she said she never wanted to talk to me and logged off of aim. what i meant to say was she's a lot thinner now than when she first started, but somehow it didn't come out quite right. i'm not doing something right if i don't occasionally make people mad at me when i talk to them over aim.

after work rebecca and i went to the cambridge common outside of harvard square to meet up with david cronin and crew for a light birthday celebration. when we got there, david, julie, klea, elias, lisa, and her friend, were already there waiting. because we didn't make any reservations, we had to wait until a table cleared up. when we finally got over table, we sat down and ordered (more) drinks and then food. i had a big meal, large clam chowder, fried onion strings, and a chicken pot pie. when lisa and her friend left, jared and katie arrived as if on cue. later, david's friend chris came, and finally eliza. tonight was a special night because between julie, elias, and i, we had three independent digital cameras shooting for full triangulation. there were a lot of nerdy digital camera talk on our half of the table, which was received with much eye-rolling from the other half of the table.


david & katie
(birthday boy)

rebecca touching
elias' head

julie & klea
(bad music)


julie making
faces at camera

elias taking
a shot

rebecca
viewing photos

david's present

i gave dave his birthday present, a wolverine/akuma x-men/street fighter combo set. the akuma figure is pretty much worthless, but i essentially got it for wolverine. one topic of our dinner conversation was hair talk, about losing it, about hair turning grey. rebecca even managed to copped several feels of elias' close cropped buzz cut.

julie, klea, elias, and i left close to 10pm. klea drove her car, and was able to give us a ride to the harvard campus, where we walked across the confines of smartyville and went to the t station to take us home. to think, in less than 24 more hours, everyone will meet again in jamaica plains for more drinking and food action.