as promised, i went running today. i was hoping to leave early, but didn't get out of the house until almost 10am. temperature was in the upper 40's with muted sunshine and no winds. it actually felt pretty comfortable despite only wearing a pair of running shorts and a long-sleeved turtleneck pullover. i scoffed at the few people i saw who were already bundled up in their heavy duty winter garb. days like this makes me think it wouldn't be a big deal to run in 30's degrees temperature, i'll just need to wear some jogging pants, but i should be okay. last year i think my final was in early november, but i'd already started phasing out my runs weeks earlier.
given what happened to me on tuesday - when i crapped my pants during my run - i was a little afraid of a repeat today. however i made sure to use the bathroom thoroughly before i left this morning, and i was pretty sure my gut was essentially empty.
there weren't too many other runners, not like during the summer months. finished with my strike force five podcast, i started listening to the WGBH podcast about the history of boston's big dig project. i finished my run in about an hour, getting back home by 10:50am.
i quickly showered before leaving 15 minutes to run a few errands before heading to the cafe. first stop was walgreens to pick up the missing prescription from tuesday. i then went to harvard vanguard to pick up some prescriptions for my father. the indian pharmacist was there, she talked about her love of anime, about the netflix live action one piece and possible live action avatar. outside i chatted with a woman who was parking her electric specialized bike. from there i cut through harvard square to get to the cafe by 11:40am.
the tall pantry cart arrived today. i didn't realize it but my father had already pieced it together and put it to use. he stacked all 4 shelves which still fits in the space between the refrigerator and work table, but it's basically wedged in tightly, no clearance. a fix would be to move the work table by a smidge. there's ample space between the shelves, with enough clearance for the tallest of bottles or containers. my mother didn't seem overly impressed with the new cart, but it usually takes a while to win her over to anything new.
i made a new batch of tea eggs. i brought my meatball sub ingredients and made two subs for my parents. i myself didn't eat one because i was meatballed out. while that was going on, my aunt showed up at the cafe. after she finished eating she wanted to see esmei. my sister wasn't home but her dog was, so i took my aunt to my sister's place to play with esmei in the backyard after letting esmei out to use the bathroom.
my sister was out having lunch with her godmother for over 3 hours. she even called me to ask me to let esmei outside, which i already did. when i checked the webcam after i left, i noticed esmei was still awake, playing with her toys. i decided to go revisit her. when i got there, i saw there were several plant pots in her enclosed pen, including one that had completely shattered. she must've pulled them down from the shelf. she wasn't hurt, but i had to keep her out of her pen so i could pick up all the shards. fortunately my sister came home minutes later and could take over cleaning duty.
my 2nd aunt showed up today at the cafe as well. she told me she called her health insurance herself and got her missing walmart order resolved after two days of calling including the service of an interpreter. the insurance told her they'd reimburse her for the missing/stolen package. later i helped my 2nd aunt reorder some items online.
a chinese vendor came by today to deliver a bunch of takeout boxes and bags we'd ordered. he helped us bring them into the basement, but i was left organizing them onto our shelves. i just basically made sure none of the boxes were on the floor, but the basement supplies could use more organizing.
my sister brought esmei over to the cafe a few more times today. she's a very well-behaved dog (for the most part). doesn't bark, doesn't chase, and only engages if she thinks she's going to receive a treat. she enjoys sitting somewhere and quietly watching everyday life. times like these, she seems more cat than dog. she's especially attentive to sounds, and you watch her independently perking her ears whenever she hears something. she also has a sensitive dog nose and knows if you're hiding treats in your hands. her paws don't seem very large anymore, at least not compared to when she was a few weeks smaller. now they seem proportional, which probably means she's not going to grow very much larger. my sister keeps bringing up her chihuahua DNA, but i think those dog genetic services are not very accurate.
i finally left the cafe by 5:50pm. riding home i noticed the colorful autumn foliage backlit by the street lights seemed like natural kaleidoscopic stain glasses. i tried to photograph them with my phone camera but it didn't do them any justice. my dSLR would be better, but autumn foliage are so ephemeral, when i do finally have the time to photograph them, they'll be gone.
tonight was the first in-season tournament game for the celtics. they were facing the brooklyn nets in boston. al horford sat out, not sure the reason (maybe just a day off). celtics played very well (after losing their last two games), and the only reason why the nets weren't blown out was because of lights out shooting. jaylen brown had 28, jayson tatum 23, and pritchard had 13. celtics won, 121-107. they play again tomorrow - back-to-back games - against the raptors.
i watched the game while eating some stouffer's macaroni and cheese i baked in the oven for nearly an hour. it was okay, but i think i could make my own that would be even tastier. i haven't had pasta in a while (trying to lose weight), but with the temperature getting cooler, i'm starting to have a craving again. maybe next week is spaghetti week!