the trick (like magic) to surviving (like bomb shelter) monday is to keep your expectations low (that's the first rule). that way if anything happens, even if it's the most mundane thing, it's bound to be exciting.

this morning was humid and cloudy, the sky looked like it could rain at any moment (evidence pointed to some rain earlier). fortunately my motorcycle ride down to norwood was without precipitation, although i could feel the occasional sputter of car wheels on wet roads splashing my lips. you don't get that same feeling driving. soon after i arrived at the client's it started raining again. liz had to go home early because she felt sick, so i was left to fix some bugs while leaving a few others on the table. i didn't feel right getting some of that free buffet lunch without liz, so after 3 hours of coding, i quietly left the room that's sort of become my little office in recent weeks. i'll probably have to come back again at least one more time, but hopefully this project can wrap up soon.

i left the building and my glasses immediately fogged up in this muggy weather. since i was passing through JP i decided to give renata a call on the off chance that she might be home. she wasn't, so i headed back now that the rain had temporarily stopped, getting some lunch at bbq town on washington street in roslindale (i pass by it so many times, i was curious to see what they had). i ordered a steak tip sub, which was okay, but the best steak tip sub i've ever had is still kendall house of pizza in cambridge, pizza nazi and all.

now that renata lives in JP, it seems like the only time she comes up to visit me is when i'm part of an errand tour that brings her north of the charles river. oh to be an item on somebody's to-do list! to be reduced to nothing more than a point to be checked off! none the less, a phone call from renata alerting me to the fact that she was coming over was not an unwelcomed event. right off the bat she told me when she needed to leave. the clock's ticking! that right there killed any intimacy of the moment, diluting the occasion to something detached. i played along though, my weakness. from my bedroom (which doesn't have air conditioning, which meant it was sweltering) i showed her the photos i took from acadia. it was a brief slideshow, but that used up all our time, and just as quickly as she arrived, she soon departed. i stared from my doorbell, repeating the first rule of mondays in my head.

i could always depend on the red sox to put me in a better mood, so with the air conditioner blasting in the living room, i watched tonight's game against the tampa bay devil rays. which red sox team were you talking about? because the red sox have been sucking something serious the past few weeks, and the losing streak continues. after tonight i think the yankees are back on top of the division, i don't dare check the stats.

my mother dropped by, bringing with her some food (now that i'm poor, i enthusiastically welcome handouts), and also to check out the acadia photos, mainly to see the photos of herself. before she left i gave her copies on cd's.

my monday was capped off with the new battlestar galactica episode i missed this past friday because i was sleeping in the woods of maine. i'm totally hooked. an "oh my god" moment happens before each commercial break, and the glimpse of next week's episode has got my "oh snap" seal of approval. it's a total soap opera, but instead of the "who's having who's baby?" plotline (they got that too), there are also killer cylon robots and space ships and assassination attempts and the fate of mankind. not to say it's purely science fiction, it's probably more drama than anything else, with scifi as the backdrop. as long as the story is captivating, people will watch, whether it takes place in deep space or orange county. it doesn't hurt if you have a pretty cast, although the way the series is going, i'll be surprised if anyone survives (i'm rooting for you boomer! even if you are a cylon and there's a million of you). not since 24 have i been more glued to my seat.