memorial day weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. even though that's still days away, today it got hot, with temperature in the upper 80's. as a rule i don't normally put in my air conditioner until mid to late summer, so i had to use different strategies to stay cool. for one thing, i had all my windows shut, since it was cooler inside my place than outside (for now at least, before the outside hotness heats the entire house so both temperatures are the same). i took plenty of showers and lounged around the house, trying to move as little as possible wearing as little as possible.

i did have some grand vision of doing some naturing, but i didn't like the idea of baking outside. better to stay home and conserve my energy. however, i did leave the house anyway, taking a bike ride to the comcast office on sherman street to replace a broken cable box (i was missing audio on a few channels). i dropped by the cafe briefly, before returning home.

on this lazy summery day, i fell asleep on the coach around 5:00 and woke up close to 8:00. this morning my sleep was interrupted by my neighbors again, but i was so tired, i managed to sleep through part of the ruckus. good news though: i think my neighbors have already departed to their long weekend vacation destination, so i should be able to sleep late tomorrow morning (even though i have to get up early for my annual checkup).

it's funny, but days before a doctor's appointment, suddenly i have a craving for everything healthy, like that would make up for a year of not exercising and eating badly. the appointment was actually for a few weeks later, but since i've been experiencing some chest pains recently, i figured i'd just combine the appointments into one. so tonight i made myself a nice big grilled chicken caesar salad (is that really healthy though? the dressing is probably what kills you eventually). it's actually pretty easy to make, just toss some romaine lettuce with parmesan cheese and croutons, drizzle some caesar (i used greek) salad dressing, and add the grilled chicken (cooked on a foreman grill).

i caught the phoenix-los angeles game. i'm rooting for the suns just because i want to see the lakers get a bruising before facing the celtics. or maybe even defeating the lakers, since i think boston would have an easier matchup against phoenix.

with the windows opened to let in the cool night time air (74° and dropping), i could hear the sounds of bottle collectors scouring the recycle bins looking for deposit money. scavenging for bottles is so pervasive now that i'm actually shocked when i leave the house the next day to see any bottles left behind.