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a strange thing happened last night. it was so hot underneath the covers with my sweatpants on that i took them off in the middle of the night and went back to sleep. i woke up completely bottomless, kind of confused, then realized what happened. i don't think i need to explain. the things i do when i'm half asleep!

on that bizarre and very personal note, i kicked off my day.

heard back from the client, did some quick fixes, uploaded the next version of the project. feeling a twinge of post delivery high, i paid some bills (of course!), got a chance to aim carrie (whom i haven't seen since she helped me prime my place back during the summer), then had curry rice noodles for lunch. i also heated a bag of edumame beans. my father came by briefly to deliver food and to take a break from the cafe.

at 3pm i met julie for a run at porter square in this near 50 degrees weather. we both had on shorts to fully take advantage of the sudden warm change in temperature. she was wearing a barrette she made from a dehydrated kumquat. get a map, because this was our route: from porter square to beacon street, across the secret underground pass to somerville while the commuter train crossed above us, 1 mile northeast straight up lowell street, crossing two bridges overlooking train tracks, to medford street, 3/4 mile northwest into medford until harvard street, then about a quarter mile northeast into the mystic river reservation, where we ran counterclockwise along the shores of the heavily polluted mystic river (once again, the smell of dog dropping was very noticeable), where we saw numerous ducks on the frozen edges of the river, along with a male downy woodpecker and a male red-breasted merganser (wish i brought my camera!), across the weillington fellsway bridge, along the northern shores of the reservation, trudging through muddy paths (my light running shoes not suited for such messy terrains), up the wooden watch tower were we briefly admired the scenery, before crossing the mystic valley parkway to the meadowglen mall (my very first time), where we went to kohl's (the equivalent of a bradlees, according to julie) to look for new running shoes for julie and cereal bowls, back out to the reservation, across the bridge to mystic avenue (the mystic river reservation circuit about 2.5 miles total), where we visited the decathlon megastore, once more looking for julie shoes (no luck), then 1.5 miles southwest along harvard street and college avenue to davis square.

we went to julie's apartment where she could change, then went to the house of tibet kitchen for dinner. i was a little underdressed, still wearing my running shorts (since i wasn't able to go home and change), but we got serviced anyway. twice i've tried coming to this restaurant and it was closed, and i've only successfully eaten there one time. this was my second outing, and julie wanted to make sure i get the dish that comes with the soup and the salad. she went with a chicken, i went with a beef, and we got some appetizers on the side. although i wasn't knocked off my feet with the food, the meal was pleasant, and i think i have a wider appreciation for tibetan cuisine. the highlight of this evening's dining was when a pair of parents and two kids sitting at another table set something on fire with the tabletop votive candle. one of the waitresses flew across the run with a pitcher of water, dousing the flames. although neither julie and i saw a thing, seconds later we could smell something was burning.

after dinner, julie took me back to my place where i could change into something more appropriate. we then drove to saugus to the christmas tree shop (once again, another first), where the quest for cereal bowls continued. christmas tree shop reminds me a building 19, but geared more towards home decorating items. no bowls were to be had, but julie did get some pistachios and other snacks, although she was disappointed they didn't have the mint green tea she wanted.

we went back home, where i took julie to the best asian supermarket in all of boston, which surprisingly isn't even in chinatown, but in allston, the super 88 on commonwealth avenue (julie's first time). i wasn't going to get very much stuff but ended up pushing a shopping cart before i left. i got mostly snacks and a box of hey-song sarsaparilla drink, julie bought every single exotic fruit she could get her hands on for her dehydrator.