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marco said he'd try to go into work a little later (since nobody seems to go to the laboratory early anyway). i caught him before he left around 9:30. today was a grey wet cold day. when it finally stopped raining in the late afternoon, i took the opportunity to go to the bank and get some groceries.

with the weather so miserable, it was a good day to make chicken soup. i don't have a recipe, and the few times i've made it they've all tasted less than stellar. i used a whole chicken (4lbs for $4), cooking it first in the stock pot. when the water finally came to a boil, i added the other ingredients: celery, carrots, onion, lemon grass, garlic, ginger, peppercorns, a tsp of salt, and a dash of vodka. in total, about an hour and a half of simmering before the stock was ready.

i took out the chicken which i then shredded by hand and strained the stock. i sauteed some ingredients for the actual soup: celery, carrots, onion, garlic. i then poured in half the stock, and threw in half a box of bowtie pasta when everything came to a boil. once the noodle was cooked, i added half the shredded chicken. i also put in a tsp of salt and some ground peppers.

the final result was savory, but okay at best. i don't know why i added carrots when i don't like the sweet taste it imparts to the soup. i also have a tendency to make very robust soups, so in the end there was very little soup itself and more of everything else.

i must've pulled something sunday because ever since yesterday i've had this terrible muscle cramp on my inner right thigh. normally i can't feel it until i try to spread out my legs, and then it hurts. i can ride a bike without problems and walk around just fine, but ask to straddle a puddle and i wince.