today was a free day, no deadlines to meet, no appointments to keep. i still had to work but i did so at my own pace, nice and easy-like, no need to pull out any hair. in the afternoon i even found some time to go running, dressed in my turtleneck and shorts on this 40 degrees (but otherwise pleasant) day. i stretched thoroughly before i went out, and any initial coldness i felt quickly went away by the time i ran to the charles river. i could feel my knees buckling awkwardly from lack of use, and i felt like i was running with some extra weight. the fact that there was nobody else running during that time meant i didn't have to pretend to look good and i went about my 3 miles circuit at a moderate rate. by the time i was done, i looked down to see my thighs were pink. i walked home, disgusted with the silhouette of my fat head in the shadow casted.

julie had to cancel on dinner again so i had to fend for myself and play russian roulette cuisine. i had some instant channa dal masala (the kind that comes with a perforated rice packet and a container of sauce that i just boil) from trader joe's, with a 2004 expiration date. still feeling hungry, i looked in the freezer and found some pork buns from october. even after 2 minutes in the microwave they were still hard (and smelled like freezer burn), so i zapped them again for another 2 minutes, to a point where they were edible (i had to eat fast, before they re-solidified). the rest of the evening i waited for symptoms but nothing happened, another victory.

julie did eventually come over, but only to watch project runway. she wasn't paying attention though, focusing more on compiling a list of good local restaurants with the help of my slow ibook. she said my mushroom photos look particularly phallic and said my outside voice was especially obnoxious tonight (it's true, i do a lot of shouting, there's no volume control when i conversate in the privacy of my abode). she accidently left her gloves at my place when she went home; i told her i'd sell them on ebay if she didn't reclaim them within the next day. i'm strict like that.