alex wong came by my house today and used up all my toilet paper.

he dropped by unannounced and before he left he used the bathroom. i heard a loud groan, which got me kind of concerned, so i shouted at him through the door, "hey, you okay?" he mumbled back that he was fine. when he came out, he apologized for using up my "expensive 2-ply" toilet paper (alex thinks 2-ply is a luxury, obviously he's never experienced 3-ply before). i told him it was alright, but i didn't realize he really did use up all the toilet paper in the bathroom. i only found out about it when i went to go use it myself and realized there was no toilet paper to be found. not to worry though, i still have an ample supply in the hallway closet.

after alex left i went out running. 24 degrees of crispy winter coldness, i ran my charles river route nonstop having not seen one single other runner out there. i guess it was just too cold for most of them. i was relieved to see the ice on the path i experienced a few days ago had mostly melted away. when i got home i took a shower (my second of the day, i took one when i woke up).

prior to dinner i went to star market to get some grocery items. tonight i'd be making thai red curry for the 4th time, inviting my mother (and sister) to be taste testers. i think i'm fascinated by ingredients. how do you turn this into that? cooking is kind of like art, using a bunch of raw materials you transform it into something beautiful, and in the case of cooking, something delicious and nutritious at the same time. still, i think the ingredients are often prettier than the final cooked results. i like to assemble all of them on the counter before i cook, so i can take a survey of what's to come. i especially love vegetables in their myriad of different colors. even if you just cook with greens, there are so many different shades and hues, not to mention the shapes and textures.

when my mother and sister arrived at 7pm, it was time to make the red curry. what's special about tonight's recipe was the addition of mushrooms and eggplants. the mushrooms were an extra addition, i've never had red curry that included mushrooms, i just bought too much for a pasta recipe so i wanted to use them. the eggplants however were a good thing to add, i have seen them in red curry before (most recently at brown sugar with kathleen). even the recipe on the side of the can of red curry paste recommended eggplants. unfortunately, the eggplant is the only vegetable i don't like to eat (i also dislike bitter melon now that i think about it), although once it's cooked though, it shrinks and becomes soft and absorbs a lot of the red curry flavor, so i think eggplants should be a necessary ingredient for any successful thai curry dish. the three of us periodically tasted the curry while it was still simmering, adding more fish sauce and lime juice to balance the flavor. we ate while watching the gilmore girls, my mother and sister left by the midway point, taking home the rest of the curry for my father. score on my 4th try at thai red curry? i think it was my best attempt to date.

tonight's gilmore girls (from tv guide): english: While in Hartford, Loralei runs into Max and begins to wonder if she made the right decision in calling off their engagement. Meanwhile, Rory enters a speech contest at Chilton. japanese english: At the Hartford, the run it did Loralei maximally, while starting thinking in doubt, whether or not she thing of promise decided the right of cancel. At that time, Rory inserts the argument conference with Chilton. tonight's 24 (from tv guide): english: The bulk of the action in this hour remains at Norton Airfield, where Jack is warned there's a wild-card player on the scene, and where Kate is drafted to help interrogate two suspects, who cite different reasons for their actions. Meanwhile, there's a Palmer showdown, when the president confronts his ex, who tells her story---or at least a story. At CTU, Tony assumes command after Mason acknowledges his fate; and Michelle seems to have a history with the new arrival who's replacing Paula. In his cabin in the woods, Lonnie continues to dupe Kim about what's really going on outside his bomb shelter. japanese english: As for most of disposal of this time in the taking off and landing place of Norton where the jack is alert warned there is a wild card player in the scene, in order and to help the question of 2 suspects who quote the reason where Kate their disposal differs in the place, being drafted it remains. When at that time, the president her story or facing before the that at least you inform to the story, there is showdown of Palmer. With CTU, Tony after the stone carpenter recognizes that destiny, supposes command; It seems that is history of the new arrival where and Paula is replaced to Michelle. With that shed of the forest, concerning those which Lonnie skin increase really have gone the gold is continued outside that bomb shelter.