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the noise of construction work woke me up this particular morning. nails being hammered, wood being sawed. i closed the windows and went back to bed. so much for trying to wake up early. finally got in touch with client N, looks like maybe another project down the pipeline starting this fall. there's no joy in it though: the money i make will just about pay for the taxes i owe this year, so a net sum of zero. the more i make, the more i owe. but who knows: if i can finagle yet another project, maybe i just might make enough money to go traveling again. so there is a glimmer of hope for the wanderlust within.

went running in the afternoon, after a long struggle where i tried to rationalize my way out of it. "no more excuses," i said to myself, then got dressed and headed out the door. energy-wise i felt sapped, and ended up walking to the charles river. once i got there though, i managed to run all the way around, stopping only once for a drink of water. from across the river i saw a black-crowned night heron on the opposite shore; when i got to the point where i saw it, it had already disappeared, probably scared off by some noisy kayakers.

i spotted the meter man who patrols my neighborhood today. jeff from across the street calls him the "robot" and saw him write me a ticket a few weeks ago, even after telling him that i live right here. the weird thing is i've seen this guy before, out in west cambridge. does he cover this whole 02140 area? maybe that's why he's so thin, must do a lot of walking on his beat. from a distance he looks like a college student, with his headphones, his baseball cap, his sagging backpack. i waited for him to write me a new ticket so i could run out and challenge him, but he totally ignored my bike (maybe because i moved it today), but instead went to inspect a few cars. i can't wait to get the motorcycle registered in cambridge next month, so i don't have to live in fear anymore.


7:27pm

julie came over in the evening. we first paid a visit to my garden, so she could try some fresh mulberries. we each brought a container, in case we wanted to collect some. after one taste though, she changed her mind. mulberries aren't bad, but they're not particularly spectacular either. julie said they tasted almost like watermelon, sort of a bland sweetness, but without the crisp texture. unfortunately she was wearing light-colored pants, and with all the smooshed berries littering the ground, she ended up getting some stains. it was julie's turn to cook, she made some mexican thing, with chicken and chipotle peppers and cheese and corn tortillas and rice. john called me unexpectedly, told me he was actually in the boston area, out in mansfield for a business meeting, but was working on a plan to rent a car so he could drive in to cambridge. the plan had to be cancelled when he discovered he couldn't check out of the hotel without incurring a penalty fee. mansfield is also not that close to boston, closer to providence (rhode island).