i woke up with a cough. my father was coughing yesterday and saturday's museum of science was full of little kids with their little germs. disease is everywhere, including here now. it's a light cough so far, feels like i have something in my throat that i keep on trying to clear. i've been taking a lot of fluids but don't know if that'll help. hopefully it'll pass quickly, it's no fun being sick.

in the morning i took the subway to alewife and walked to anne's place to help her out with more mac stuff, particularly things she wanted to do with her iphoto. i personally can't stand the program, in its simplified user interface it does certain things like renaming the files and permanently editing them that i don't like. two hours later i got a ride back to my place. after eating a hot pocket for lunch, i ordered a few things online (some more camera batteries, a new memory card), called up my homeowner insurance to inquire about a mysterious canceled policy notice, sent a free-of-charge photo to a small book publisher in exchange for some books, and heard back from my life insurance agent concerning how long before my account can be self-sufficient.

once that was all done i got dressed and went out running. the temperature was in the 40's but it felt warmer and i went out in shorts. it's been a while since my last run, and even though i was full of energy, i started to cramp up on the other side of the river and grounded to a walk until the pain disappeared. my back pains weren't an issue though: i pulled it two weeks when i was cheering for the patriots (in their AFC championship victory).

an amazon.com package was waiting for me when i got back, my lonely planet guide to southeast asia (i can finally return the library's copy). i took a shower and watched eurotrip on dvd. the movie's okay, good for a few laughs, especially if you love european stereotypes. michelle trachtenberg is hot. why she doesn't get lindsay lohan publicity is beyond me, but maybe it's because she's a good girl. when she was still a little kid she was in harriet the spy (1996), which should be required viewing for anyone who writes a weblog, about the dangers of writing about other people.

for dinner i had some smelly tofu ramen while watching another episode of 24. CTU totally tortured the wrong woman! it wasn't horrible torture though, she got tazed a few times and somebody gave her a shot (truth serum?): i didn't see any bruise-free beatings or crushing of digits. i hope the second half of the day is her talking with her lawyer about a possible lawsuit.