since i wasn't going to the peabody essex museum like i originally planned, i had picked out the lincoln woods wildlife sanctuary (audubon, leominster) as the place i'd go naturing this morning. however, my legs were still sore from two days of walking around in the forest and the mosquito bites from yesterday were still fresh, so instead i decided to sleep in and didn't wake up until much later. i had leftover barbecue waiting in the fridge and had a piece of corn on the cob, a barbecued porkchop, and some buffalo wings. i was disappointed to see that the 48 hours cheers marathon was over at tv land, to be replaced by an all-day marathon of boy meets grill with bobby flay on the food network. i never liked the show, i don't think his food is that great, and he has a pompous air about him that i find distasteful. however, stephanie march (of law & order:svu fame) was on the show, which caught my attention long enough to see an episode or two. i did some online research and discovered that the two of them are actually engaged. ugh. speaking of which, i always thought she looked like eliza jones, whom was coming over tonight for dinner and a movie. originally i thought it'd be slow monday, mourning the end of the long weekend, but i ended up having to cancel two other social plans: movie with renata and chinese dumpling dinner at my godmother's place.

eliza called to confirm we were still on. "i have some good news and bad news for you," i told her. "good news is saved! [the movie we were going to go see] is definitely playing. the bad news is it's not playing here in boston." she came over anyway, and we'd decide when she arrived what alternative movie we'd go see after dinner. i was drying some laundry, eliza said the sound was soothing. i was making mee krob again because it's a fun recipe (expanding fried rice noodles is awesome) and i still had a lot of leftover ingredients i needed to use up. i had some shitake mushrooms that'd been soaking since thursday night, and i opened up the bag of lychees i'd bought in chinatown on friday. while i was cooking, eliza went online to find out what else was playing. we decided 13 going on 30 was a worthy substitute (her ability to relate to a 30 year old female character, our mutual love of 80's music, and my own private love for jennifer garner), and picked the 7:45 showing at the somerville theatre in davis square (a short car ride away, we could've even walked if we had the time). unfortunately the cooking was taking too long and we decided to scrap the movie idea and just have dinner. she took some multi-angled snapshots with her matching nikon 4500, it was a new sensation being the subject of somebody else's photos. perhaps she captured me at my finest moment when i screamed in terror as hot oil sputtered from the pan while frying the rice noodles. or the look of brain freeze when she triggered an olivia newton john song attack. finally the mee krob was done, and we ate at the dining table (the few times she's eaten at my place, it's never been in the living room, always the kitchen for some reason). we listened to my mix cd playing on the stereo, a collection of sad love songs assembled for another event. throughout the night eliza talked about the party they threw last night in JP, the addition of yoga to her exercise regimen, her 7-month old new ear piercing, her decision to leave her current job to go to a new job, and her search for a new roommate come this summer. i was able to surmise from her plate (and verified when i asked her) that eliza doesn't particularly like eating mushrooms.

eliza left after she cleaned up for me (my job was putting away the condiments). out on the sidewalk, she remarked how nice and quiet my street was, and when i told her she could easily move to cambridge if she likes it so much, she reasserted her first love for jamaica plain and disappeared into the night before i could convince her otherwise.

i finished out the evening watching the tom selleck's ike movie on A&E and lighting some candles to get rid of the fried peanut oil smell in the house.