i woke up with a stiff neck emanating from the right side of my body down to my back. i hope it goes away soon and doesn't affect my hiking on sunday. i took an aleve but it still hurt. i'm more of an ibuprofen man myself.

today was supposed to be an unusually warm day with temperature in the 80's. the weirdness started overnight, when it began raining heavily around 3am. then instead of warm, it was overcast and temperature only in the low 60's. apparently some unexpected fog had swallowed up the coastline. i could feel the increased moisture content in the air, there was a cold dampness that kept making me think i'd accidentally left a window open.

freddy wrote me this morning. i'd asked him last thursday what time he'd be arriving in boston in 2 weeks, so i could know when to be home. he didn't reply until today, finally told me his flight would get here at 11:57pm, and asked if that was too late to catch the subway into cambridge. he could've checked the MBTA schedule himself but i did the research and gave him the answer: the last silverline leaving logan is 12:45am. if he can make it out of customs before that time he'll be okay, otherwise he'll need to taxi/uber.

nothing really constructive today, i left the house just once to buy some honeycrisp apples on sale at star market. for lunch i had a bowl of chicken sausage oatmeal. i caught my next door neighbor, the one who likes to bike and suffered some sort of accident at the start of the summer that left him with a hobble and in a foot brace. i've always wanted to ask him about his accident, but whenever i see him he goes by so fast i don't have time to talk to him. today i watched him return home with some groceries (i noticed he was no longer wearing the brace but still walked in a slow limp) then go back out again, either for some energy drinks or booze, i couldn't quite tell. i don't mean to be profiling, but with his beard (he used to be clean-shaven before the accident) he kind of looks like a sullen terrorist.

for dinner i made my risotto recipe. it's perfect for the cold season, really hits the spot. i've made it so many times (following this recipe) and i've always wanted to change up the ingredients but i never do. a few tips: the more time the arborio rice has to simmer, the creamier it gets. i cooked on medium heat today, but maybe low-medium heat would be best. the onion should also either be yellow or white, not a red onion, which gives the risotto a pinkish hue. next time, i want to try a mushroom risotto recipe, with a bit of prosciutto.