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i called my mortgage consultant bob this morning to find out the latest news on the interest rate. despite the unsteady economy, the 30 year mortgage rate has reached a 3 month high, which is not very good news for me. i have no choice but to wait it out, hoping the rate will go down eventually. bob said he'd call me if the rates go down to 5.5%, otherwise i'm just going to have to sit tight and hope the rates won't keep on increasing.

i did a few loads of laundry and went out running earlier than usual (1pm). i brought my mp3 player, which definitely helps me to keep my running endurance, i was able to complete the charles river loop without stopping, and felt strong the entire way. the weather was overcasted and earlier it had rained, but it was still very humid. on the storrow drive side of the route, i went topless, the heat build-up finally getting a little too much for me. this of course also allowed me to work on my tan, which i'm definitely getting a little bit darker every time i run. by the time i walked back home, i was a sweaty mess, using my t-shirt as a towel, my body slick from perspiration. when i got home, before i took a shower, i did 100 bicycle crunches, after i did 100 last night. a few years ago i had a dream of rock hard abs, and now i'm trying to go back to that dream. my abdominal muscles hurt from the unfamiliar exertion, but i've learned to equate pain with getting jacked, so i know i'm definitely doing something right. if i can trim a few pounds off my gut, i'll be a happy man.

with the rain stopped, i decided to ride the motorcycle down to the somerville target to get some toiletries. a tube of facial scrub, some shampoo and conditioner, and a bottle of listerine. i also wanted to get the hello kitty shaped bottle of bubble bath, but the container i wanted to get, all the bottles were damaged and tampered with.

my mother came with her entourage after work, including my sister, my 2nd aunt, and suhan. they were on their way to IHOP for dinner, and dropped by to deliver a free standing clothes storage closet, which i didn't really like so i'm keeping it in the box until i can find something better. they also brought a flat plastic box with wheels to be used as under-the-bed storage. my mother chastised me for not keeping my bedroom clean, and told me to watch queer eye for the straight eye every week to learn a thing or two about better living. before she left, she and my sister folded all my freshly laundered clothes, chastising me further for shrinking all my t-shirts in the dryer. they all left shortly afterwards.

julie aimed me with a few comments about queer eye for the straight guy. i asked her if she saw it last night, and she told me it was on as we speak. we'd watch the show and instant messaged each other with comments during the commercial breaks. when it was over, i asked julie if she had dinner already, and if not, whether she wanted to come over where i was making some french bread pizza. she agreed to come, which was kind of auspicious, because originally she was supposed to meet up with another friend but cancelled because she had a headache, which miraculously disappeared after she watched an episode of queer eye for the straight guy. it was also auspicious for me because to be honest, i was simply bored out of my mind tonight, and just needed some excitement. excitement came 30 minutes later when julie arrived in her dressy work clothes along with a six pack of smuttynose old brown dog ale. i turned on the air conditioner because it was still quite humid, while julie busily snacked on the potato chips (i also had some biscotti, but julie didn't touch any of them, so i ended up having it all). we watched an episode of that 70's show (julie thinks our beloved mutual friend rob house actually looks like eric forman) before going into the kitchen to make our pizza.

i discovered julie and i have different tastes in our pizza ingredients. i like to cut my pepperoni into little wedges, while julie likes then circular and thin. i like my pepper chopped into cubes, while julie likes them in slices. they don't have french bread at star market, so i went with italian bread, which is a little wider. besides a meaty pasta sauce and a sprinkling of cheese, we also added some olive slices, fennel seeds, dried basil and oregano powders, fresh ground pepper, and hot pepper slices (a lot of pepper products!).

i threw everything into the oven for 20 minutes at 425°. julie and i listened to my mix cd by the kitchen table (including such hits as "pull over that ass is too phat") while waiting for the pizza to finish cooking. when the timer finally went off, i brought out the pizza and we ate it in the kitchen. our dinner conversation included which of the fab five guys we wanted to be. julie thought about either the food expert or the interior designer, while i opted for the hairdresser, because he didn't really do very much work, just brought the guys to the hairdresser, which did the rest. besides, how hard can it be to do men's hair? you can't go wrong with the short classic haircut.

after dinner, we watched a little bit of law & order, then julie left before she could fall asleep, my living room having that effect on young women, i don't know why.

david cassidy - i think i love you