i went out for a run, put my t-shirt on a rock before crossing memorial drive and onto the charles river. it was hot, it was humid, but it was also raining slightly, and i was topless. i managed to run nonstop, taking only a 30 second water break by the public fountain near the bb&n boat house, re-enacting some lost scene from some gay version of playboy's wet & wild.
the first thing i did when i got home was to check e-mail. there was a message from eliza asking me if i wanted to do a run with her along the charles before she had to meet a friend for dinner at 8pm in harvard square. i immediately replied and said "yes," despite having just ran 3 miles (it's such a rarity to see eliza north of the charles river, i couldn't say no - besides, it was eliza jones). there was also a message from bruce vacationing out in the adirondacks (upper new york state), with a week long job offer to come up and do some mild housework but get my own room and board and spent time in the forest. i just might take him up on this offer, i'll call for more details tomorrow.
what's a day without errands? i went to mailbox etc. to make some copies, bringing along a pocketful of change so i could get rid of my coins.
eliza got to my house around 6:30pm, we both changed into our running clothes (my shorts were still wet from running the rain earlier) and headed out the door. eliza sported a tattered pink t-shirt worn inside out, with the sleeves rolled up and the bottom of the t-shirt precariously rising up as she ran, exposing bare midriff. i ran haphazardly, hurdling recycle bins and trashcan lids whenever i got the chance. i was surprised to see how pale she was, because i figured she'd been running as much as i have, and while i'm becoming more africanized each and every tan-tastic day (they call it a "killer" bronze), eliza's skin tone (or lack thereof) was still stuck in winter phase. but i guess if you run at nights, there isn't a lot of sun action. for the 30 minutes of sweaty running in the humid summer weather, we were able to converse between breaths, mostly juicy gossip about ourselves and others of our ilk. we briefly slowed to a walk because eliza had a cramp (confession: she had some oatmeals before arriving at my house), but soon picked up the pace again. normally i'd just walk back the 15 minutes worth of distance home, but because we were under a time pressure, and because eliza seemed like she wanted to keep on running, we actually ran back to my place, performing for the very first time a complete nonstop run from my house and back, a feat i've always wanted to do, but never had the proper motivation until now. despite being my second run of the day (6 miles baby!), i wasn't at all tired, and even wanted to sprint down my street as a final glorious display of running prowess, but didn't want to appear too "show-offy" in front of eliza.
back at the house, glasses of cold water never tasted so good. while eliza was stretching, i told her about my recent experiments with beer and wine, shocking her with my uncharacteristic recklessness when it came to alcohol consumption ("next time you're drinking alone, call me," she said). she took a shower, then got all dolled up for her dinner, even borrowing some of my "fragrance," a bottle of unisex spray i had received one christmas past. fun fact about eliza: did you know she brushes her tongue? well, neither did i! she also showed me how jacked her arms and back were from all the swimming she's been doing. i remember she used to be the thinnest girl in the office, but now she's all empowered with crimefighting muscles. she left the house with wet hair despite my many attempts to coax her into using the blowdryer ("it makes me feel hot," she said). in her haste not to be late for her appointment, she left her running shoes at my place. accident? or a clever ploy to revisit? who knows! before she left though, she threatened that if i should ever repeat any part of our lurid running conversation, that there would be some serious consequences. oh i am so scared!
for a late dinner, i had some korean ramen with an egg. after a week of really great food, especially in the last two nights when i finally cooked for a change, i was due for something very bad. ramen, you are that very bad food.