but i think i might've pulled something, who knows, have to give it a few days to find out. something always goes wrong at the two miles mark. if it's not cramps, then it's a pulled muscle group. and just when i'm starting to feel like i'm back in running shape again, i find myself facing the possibility of being sidelined until my leg heals up. i guess this potential running hiatus will give me more time to work on that upper body strength. in the mail i received my very first mortgage invoice. boy it's expensive to live in your own place! the only good thing is that i have a few dollars left over, and if i'm frugal with my expenditures and supplement by meager unemployment checks with my former calling of male prostitution and closet grown cannibis production, i think i just break even. afterwards, i motorcycled to microcenter to buy some blank cd's (double rebate $5 for a spool of 50 80 minute tdks), to research some computer books worth buying (flash mx, php), and to check out pc prices (for my sister, she wants to get one, for myself, to play those pc games i've always dreamed about playing but never got the chance because i'm a mac user). to the cafe i went to grab a spare surge protector, 
my final destination being my house in cambridge, where i'd be stripping paint for the rest of the day. before i started working i set up the webcam and turned the tv to the food network (my new favorite channel that i can't get in belmont). 
erin's housewarming gift finally arrived today, a cast iron cricket figurine, which will look good with my cast iron bee/cicada votive holder. the mailman tried to slip it through my mailslot but it wouldn't fit, so he eventually rang the doorbell to let me know of my package. mark hickey and his friend anthony showed up at my place to check it out, guest number 14 and 15. while my father was busy stripping the windows, i gave them the tour, culminating in the basement where i showed mark the screen house foosball table, perhaps one of the more important relics from screen house past, something only someone like him could fully appreciate, having tasted so much blood of vanquished enemies upon that very table.
and then finally the highlight of today was meeting my upstairs neighbor steve for the very first time. i rang his doorbell a few times but nobody answered, so i was just going to write him a note and slip it in his mailslot, but i heard noises coming from upstairs so i knew somebody had to be there. i knocked on his door instead and he came down to greet me. i showed him my place, gave him a sense of what i'd be doing with the house, then he brought me upstairs to show me his space. oh my god jesus christ mary joseph mother of all creatures great and small he has the most beautiful apartment i have seen in a long time! apparently one of the previous owner of the upstairs unit was an architect, so you can imagine what kind of marvelous home an architect would design for himself! a lot of wood, recessed lights, drop ceilings, spot illumination, a real feast for the eyes, a myriad of fine detail work everywhere. late at night when i stare up at the ceiling of my first floor unit, that's what i'm going to be thinking of. right upstairs from me is a whole different world, an apartment that should belong in some sort of architectural digest. after seeing his place, i feel inspired.
we chatted for the longest time, steve and his housesitting friend shelley. he's sort of a gardening guy as well, and from the 2nd floor deck we surveyed the backyard, both agreeing on what should be done (less bleeding hearts, add ferns). he was impressed with my flower knowledge but i confessed i had secretly researched a lot of the backyard flora when i first got the place. i told him about replacing the four basement windows with ones that can actually open up to allow some circulation into the cellar, he seemed to be fine with the idea. he told me he got laid off from his publishing job back in november, and i revealed to him that i got laid off a month ago. what irony, two guys sharing the same house, both unemployed. we talked about all the good and bad of unemployment, and then when the subject got depressing, we started talking about houses in the area, and lessons in home improvement, as only home owners can! after 3 hours (it didn't seem that long!), i went back downstairs. kind of scary, but my front door blew open while i was upstairs, but fortunately everything inside was intact. i closed up the house and had a cold motorcycle ride back to belmont.
in a recession, even big name stars have to appear in bit parts, just to make ends meet. that's the only explanation why julia stiles was in the bourne identity and natasha lyonne in kate & leopold. i just had to share that.
finally, saw the strangest insect tonight, a creature that i'm calling the t-moth. i have never seen anything like it, can it even fly?*
* i found out that it's called a plume moth, they're fairly widespread all over the country. 020728