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i went running today, the first time since february. other than walking (which i did a lot of, the cheapest mode of transportation) and the occasional bicycle, i didn't get any exercise in southeast asia. i wasn't even sure if i could still run the same distance. stretching beforehand was a painful task as i moved muscle groups that'd been dormant for several months. the weather was cold (50 degrees, i could see my breath at times) but at least it stopped raining. i was surprised to find that i could still run after all, and probably easier now that i've shed 15 lbs. i didn't cramp up and i didn't feel tired. when i returned home i had my celebratory shower.

i biked down to the fresh pond cinema to catch batman begins. although i had a jacket on, i miscalculated how cold it was going to be and i was freezing the whole way there. i paid for my ticket with a movie pass that i'd been saving. the theatre wasn't crowded but the people that were there must've all had interesting reasons why they can afford to see a movie in the middle of the day. the projector wasn't focused correctly and at least two people went out to complain before it was fixed.

batman begins was pretty good. out of all the superheroes, batman is the only one who doesn't have any superhuman abilities. he augments his natural human shortcomings through the use of technology. this film does a good job in showing how bruce wayne became batman. it's very psychological and story-driven, and if you took out the batman element, it'd still be a pretty compelling movie. it's sort of like what ang lee was trying to do with the hulk, but that movie was flawed because the audience had to suspend a good amount of disbelief whenever bruce banner transformed into the raging green monster (also, the cgi hulk was distracting). because batman is essentially human, the story remains grounded in reality throughout. i will admit that the spectacular conclusion might be a little farfetched, but i can forgive them for that. batman begins is a more thoroughly satisifying movie than the original tim burton batman. batman was stylized eye-candy, the kind of movie you'd watch and forget, and you get nothing out of it besides how long you waited in line to get tickets, some cool special effects, and interesting costumes. not so with batman begins, it's a very mature film, makes the original look like a kid's movie. it'll be interesting to see what happens in the sequel (how can there not be? and the ending strongly hints at one anyway), if the same level of realistic integrity is maintained throughout. the best part of the movie is when bruce wayne returns to gotham and starting acquiring the technology and infrastructure that makes up batman. the movie couldn't be any cooler as the pieces get assembled, from the batman suit to the batman mobile to the bat cave, batman 101 coming together before your very eyes. i haven't seen a lot of movies since my return, but batman begins is definitely one you should check out.

the ride back was even colder as it was drizzling and i was covered in a fine fuzz of freezing rain. i clenched my teeth the entire way and squeezed the handlebars tightly, trying to stop myself from shivering. when i got back home i immediately jumped into the tub again for another hot shower.

thinking about dinner, i couldn't decided to go ready-made or cook something up. i decided to buy some french bread pizza but also get the ingredients necessary to make some spaghetti and meatball this weekend, my first time cooking since my return. the night before i had finally found my wallet (somewhere in the house), which had my shaw's discount card. i purchased about $20 worth of food after saving something like $7. i then spent a quiet evening of baseball, pizza, and passing out on the sofa.