i walked a mile to the cambridge public library today to return some books and take out a few new ones: something about modern china, something about the palestinian-israeli conflict, something about kazakhstan, and something about the revolutionary war. although the weather was brisk, i was way overdressed and by the time i got to the library i'd already removed my hat, my gloves, and unzipped my jacket. walking back, i was armed with the camera to take a few snapshots of the interesting things i passed along the way. i stopped by johnny's foodmaster to get some groceries. this walk constitutes the few times i've exercised all year (referring to 2008). i'm hoping to ease back into running eventually (waiting for a warmish day).

i've always been fascinated by the missing pet signs that frequently dot the local landscape. although losing a pet is never a happy occasion, these flyers interest me because they reveal a little something about the pet's owners. i wonder what the success rate is for recovering a vanished animal. does it depend on how well thought out the notice is or does that not even matter? i've never seen a sign notifying the neighborhood that the beloved critter has been found. sure, flyers disappear eventually, but they could just be the work of city workers cleaning the telephone poles.

i'm switching over from bagels to english muffins for my morning/afternoon bacon and egg sandwiches. i don't consider myself a calorie counter, but a bagel has 350 calories versus just 80 calories for an english muffin. i can eat 4 english muffins and still be eating less calories than a single bagel.

as advertised, i did no work today. i thought about it, sure, but that's what sunday nights are for. instead i just sat back and relaxed, enjoyed the second day of the new year. for dinner, i heated up the leftover macarotini with cheese from last night. when my roommate home from work, we got into another long discussion discussing everything from central asia to religion to chinese research scams, finally finishing 3 hours later at 1am.