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with morning temperatures in the upper 60's, it would've been a crime if i didn't go out for a run. my last outing was about 3 weeks ago, and whatever little endurance i'd built up were by now all gone. i had one of my slowest runs, and ending up walking half of it because of side cramps. coming back i took a peek at the community garden and saw that some of my peas had sprouted. unfortunately they haven't turned on the water yet so i can water the seedlings.

swine flu was the story du jour on all the news networks, trumping the demise of pontiac (built for excitement!). is it really that bad? i suppose people have a right to know, but it seems like a lot of sensational hysteria. i even saw a woman outside my house wearing a surgical mask (she had other issues though: sunglasses and a handkerchief scarf - talk about weirdo). also, the word "pandemic" - does it involved adorable chinese panda bears?

my sister sent me a photo in the afternoon of a swarm of bugs in the garage. they looked like flying ants, but i couldn't quite tell. while i raced to belmont to check it out, my sister was at home depot looking for the proper insecticide.

as i'd feared, they turned out to be termites. the winged ones were adult swarmers ready to leave the nest and start new colonies of their own. apparently they'd been living in a few 2x4's. the beams were on the ground near the garage door and apparently must've gotten wet and rotted, making the perfect home for termites. the damage seemed to be only isolated to the beams, since the garage floor is cement and the walls are plaster. when i turned over the 2x4's the wood had been mostly eaten away, nothing more than a delicate lattice work that crumbled to the touch. and of course there were the white termite workers. instead of throwing away the wood, we decided to burn them in the backyard.

i spent some time in the backyard digging up all the new dandelions that've sprouted due to the warm weather. even time i got up from squatting down, i'd get light-headed to the point of nearly blacking out. not sure what's causing that, maybe my new blood pressure medication. or maybe i'm horribly out of shape.

after dinner in belmont, i returned to cambridge. unlike last night, i was smart enough to bring a jacket so i wasn't freezing cold on the ride back.