January 31, 2000
Finished a mile in 5:50 tonight after adding it to my daily workout two weeks ago. At the end of the run, I felt a small tremor go through my body that was slightly ecstatic, and partially draining. Kind of like a runners high compressed into one small burst.

January 30, 2000
Food galore for a little get-together. Spring rolls, soda pop, pizza, cheesecake coated brownies, guacamole, chips, and little Japanese candies. Of course, I had at least one of everything.

January 29, 2000
One of my best ever experiences with alcohol. Two drinks. Slightly tipsy. Lights flashing. Beats pumping. Dancing, sweating and smiling amongst friends.

          

January 28, 2000
It snowed and iced a bit while I was at work today. I was wearing shoes with very smooth soles, so I got a running start while going to my car and slid over 30 feet across the parking lot while flapping my arms out to both sides for balance.

January 27, 2000
Tonight had to be one of the worst nights ever in terms of cigarette smoke at the club. My nose burned, my eyes watered, and I left early.

     

January 26, 2000
I wore an extra layer of clothes today because I heard that it was going to be colder than usual (2 degrees), but my pants didn't save my ass from the chill when I sat down on my leather car seat this morning.

January 25, 2000
I peeled a particularly juicy orange today and noted little spritzers of juice were shooting all over as my hands worked at it. After I finished eating it, the lunch table, my hands, and my lips were a sweet, sticky mess.

          

January 24, 2000
This afternoon, I was laying in the dentist chair while a small suction device was propped in the corner of my mouth. Saliva, water, tiny bits of plaque and a faint touch of blood ran down my throat as I tried not to gag.

     

January 23, 2000
While playing ultimate frisbee today, I dove and caught one for a point while dragging my feet so they would stay in the end zone. I fell to the ground and the person guarding me tripped over my lanky legs and fell on my left thigh, knee first. Now I have a deep muscle bruise, and I can't walk without limping.

January 22, 2000
Being the completely uncultured person that I am, I had sushi for the first time ever tonight. Dipped in strong ginger sauce, oh yes.

January 21, 2000
While riding along in the car with my brother this evening, he let out a tirade of profanity unlike none I'd ever quite heard. It happened so suddenly that I laughed until tears came to my eyes.

January 20, 2000
I looked at the moon for several minutes a couple different times during the lunar eclipse tonight. It looked so foreign and strange to see it that way. Like some sort of special effect, although that could be due to watching too many movies on my part. A friend said it best; "It looks like Mars."

January 19, 2000
While sitting and staring at my computer at work today, I was startled by a strange sensation in my left nostril. I raised my hand just in time to catch a drip of blood and soon I had to dab even more away with a tissue. Without fail, I get random nosebleeds every winter due to the dry air and cold.

     

January 18, 2000
I'm not sure if it was atmospheric conditions, a low-lying cloud cover, or something else, but there was a huge, bright halo around the nearly full moon when I looked up at it tonight. Perhaps it had something to do with the upcoming lunar eclipse. Either way, it was very cool.

January 17, 2000
While going down to get my laundry tonight (which requires a walk outside), I decided to go barefoot in the 20 degree weather. The cold of the wood steps, the earth and the concrete felt kind of refreshing on my feet which had just seconds earlier been wearing thick wool socks.

January 16, 2000
The air must be really dry in my apartment. When I was taking off a pullover sweater today, literally hundreds of little static pops went off. They were snapping and crackling, making my hair stand on end and prickling my skin. What a neat feeling.

     

January 15, 2000
I went to get a haircut, but I wasn't sure whether I wanted a drastic change or a light trim. When the person cutting my hair asked me how I wanted it cut, I was purposely vague and put the decision into their hands. After the first few snips, things were decided for me. It's now the shortest I've had it in about 7 years, but I like the change.

January 14, 2000
It was definitely a look in my general direction. The question was whether or not it was a look at me specifically. After a few more moments, I figured out that it wasn't, but sometimes even a simple glance like that is enough.

January 13, 2000
I knew that working over the holidays would come in nice at some point. Today, I left work early and took some comp time to simply come home and take a nap. Laying on my bed at 4pm with the afternoon sun shining through my bedroom window, those days of waking up when I could have slept in seemed all the more worth it.

January 12, 2000
When I went to the fountain to fill up my water bottle at work this morning, the hallway smelled horrible. Apparently, someone had burned up a bag of microwave popcorn the evening before, and the acrid smell was still hanging around 12 hours later. What a great way to start my morning (sarcasm noted).

January 11, 2000
Somehow, I managed to cut the knuckle of my left hand open while playing racquetball tonight. I didn't even notice until I looked down and saw the red spreading out over my finger and dripping onto the floor while I set up for a serve. It was only a few points from the end of the game, so I stuck it in my mouth, sucked all the blood off and continued playing. Of course, the game ended up going on for quite some time yet and I had to repeat this same action nearly 10 more times.

     

January 10, 2000
It wasn't really that cold outside tonight while biking, but a bitter wind made all the difference. After making 7 traffic lights in a row across town (with an average speed of nearly 25 MPH), my lungs were hurting from sucking down the cold air. When I got home, I collapsed on the floor and broke out into a sweat, while my lungs felt like they were simultaneously burning and freezing. My eyes were watering and my vision blurred for a moment, then everything went back to normal. Not a smart move.

     

January 9, 2000
Instead of running along the floor just out of site or hiding in the shadows, the most daring spider I'd ever seen was now making its way across the center of my monitor. I was typing away at some work when the little fellow scampered around the right edge, then slowly started making his way across the screen. I watched intently until it reached safety on the other side, then I reached forward with a bit of paper and squashed it.

     

January 8, 2000
Salt had been building up on my car for weeks after we'd had threats of ice and a couple little drops of snow, so I decided to finally give it a washing off. After driving into the car wash port and hopping out, I inserted my quarters while holding the spray gun with my right hand. I squeezed the handle, but underestimated the blast of water that would come out. The thing lept to life in my hand and a big spray of cold water richocheted off the side of my car and into my face.

January 7, 2000
One half hour until the club closes and I've been dancing for over 2 already. Red and green lights are spinning around and a strobe flashing directly overhead makes my movements seem even more exaggerated and goofy-looking than they do without the enhancement. It's been a couple weeks since I went dancing, and at least a month since I danced this hard. My clothes are almost completely drenched with sweat and the loud beatBeatbeat of the music is nearly making my heart skip, but it feels great.

          

January 6, 2000
When leaving the rec center tonight, there was a weird scent in between the set of double doors at the front entrance. While usually it smells like body odor or simply nothing at all, tonight there was a light, soft scent that reminded me of a girl up close. I wish it smelled that way more often.

January 5, 2000
As I was taking my vitamins this morning while eating breakfast, I accidentally dropped a Vitamin C tablet in my cereal bowl. After fishing around for it with my spoon for awhile, I gave up and continued eating. Only a few bites later, I crunched clear through it while chewing and before I could spit it out, it basically dissolved in my mouth (sitting in the milk for nearly a minute no doubt helped this process). The bitter, sour taste contrasted starkly with the sweet milk, but I finished swallowing the bite anyway.

January 4, 2000
Just after lunch, I went into the bathroom as usual and splashed some water on my face. When I looked at my face in the mirror, both eyes were more bloodshot than I'd nearly ever seen them. My sleep schedule is still way off-kilter from the holiday break after keeping nocturnal hours and it shows.

January 3, 2000
It didn't seem that cold when I stepped onto the back steps this morning, which is probably why I didn't think it would be slick. It was cold enough to freeze, though, and my footing went out from under me as soon as I had put all my weight down on the first step from the top landing. On the way down, I managed to catch myself partially with my right arm and saved myself a fall on the arse. My body kept sliding, though, and didn't stop until I was two steps from the bottom. Not only that, but a rather large chunk of skin on my left ankle was missing.

January 2, 2000
I crawled over to the kitchen floor on my hands and knees and pricked up my ears even more to hone in on the noise. Leaning over, I put my ear directly against the wooden cupboard door and heard the nibbling sounds just inches away on the other side of it. It was upsetting thinking I had a small intruder rummaging through my food, yet kind of interesting knowing my head was less than a foot away from it. I banged the door with my hand loudly, then waited a few moments and opened it while holding a shoe in my right hand. Sure enough, a bag of wounded rice was laying there, with scores of rice grains scattered around between the jars of pasta sauce and canned foods. It's time to buy a trap.

     

January 1, 2000
Standing on a corner downtown one hour after midnight, it's a sensory overload. The bars have closed and honking cars are streaming by with people hanging out the windows slapping hands with whomever will oblige. Police officers are trying to keep some semblence of order while fireworks go off overhead and on all sides. I snap a few pictures to try and capture the crazy moment and smell a slight waft of gunpowder from a nearby firework. A streamer flutters by my ear and random people hug me in a completely free (or perhaps it's just the alcohol) display of emotion. For 30 minutes, all differences seem to be set aside in the name of celebration.