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even though i went to sleep around 2am, i woke up with the sunrise. still in bed, i wondered about all the people who were getting up and going to work right about now. this lasted for a few minutes then i went back to sleep, waking up every hour to check the time, returning to sweet unconsciousness again and again. a warm bed on a cold day, it doesn't get any better than that. all i need is somebody to bring me hot chocolate and read me a math textbook and i'll be in heaven.

there isn't a lot to mention, so i'll be quick: did some SRM work while eating a chicken pot pie, contacted somebody about cleaning out the gutters, ran to mike's place to deliver some more mail, ran around in the charles river in cold 38 degrees temperature with my shorts on, played some diablo, studied some insect field guides, ordered a pair of shoes online, bought some groceries, rented some dvd's, and make spicy thai egg noodles for dinner.

it wouldn't have been bad if i only had gloves on. i didn't warm up until i was about a mile from being done. i was dismayed to see they had already removed the water fountain in preparation for the winter. running in the freezing temperature felt just like old times. i've been wondering how i did it last winter, running in shorts when the temperature was near freezing. now i know. i don't take cold showers, but this as close as i'll ever get.

i've been toying around with the idea of making an ice lantern, i just have to get the right mold. i figured something shaped like a bundt cake, but it has to be on an elevated tray in order to compensate for the fact that eventually all that ice will melt and become a pool of water. if i can add some food coloring to the ice, that'll look even prettier. i'll have to give that a try. it'll be fun come wintertime, because i can just leave the lanterns outside and they'll stay like that so long as it's below freezing.

the house smells like cooking ever since i made that spicy thai egg noodles: bean sprouts, scallions, basil leaves, jalapeno peppers (didn't have fresh red chili peppers), garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, chicken, peanut oil, eggs, and egg noodles. it had some promise but the final creation was too bland for my taste, i'll have to up the sauce factor for next time. also, you really need a wok to cook this, and i had a large flat pan which stuck to everything.

the two movies i rented (2-for-1 special) were spring, summer, fall, winter...and spring (korean 2003) and audition (japanese 2002). i watched audition, saving the other movie for tomorrow night. audition is one of those movies i hear a lot about and always wanted to see but never got the chance until tonight. without giving anything away, this horror movie is famous for the brutal torture scene in the end. the first hour of the movie starts off innocently enough: a widower enlists the help of his filmmaker friend to audition women for a part in a movie which also serves as a matchmaking service to find a prospective wife. the widower ends up falling in love with a demure young woman who reciprocates his affection, much to the consternation of his friend, who senses something not quite right with her. the ending of the movie is filmed in real time and with very little edits, forcing you to watch every painful second. the scene feels long, and you reach a point where you're just, "when will this end?" not since the ear-cutting scene in reservoir dogs has torture been so graphically depicted on the big screen. i have a high tolerance for gore, but even i winced a few times, looking away from the television on more than one occasion. audition is much better than the eye, a cantonese horror movie i watched last time (i'm really into asian horrors these days) that feels like a ripoff between the sixth sense and the mothman prophecy. anyway, i'd recommend audition with the disclaimer that you have to have a pretty high tolerance for graphic violence in order to stomach the ending. even the director himself admits that about a fifth of all audience members leave before the ending, unable to handle what's in store.