Running. Rumming.

Ross had this thing called "UMBR", their University Medical Board Review Course. It was conducted several evenings a week and one weekday morning throughout the 5th semester in Miami by the clinical faculty, and, in my opinion, was nearly useless - except for the fact that it was the gateway: 90% attendance was mandatory in order to be allowed to attend the final 10 days - a fantastic review of pharm and physio by Dr. Wazir Kudrath, who teaches for Kaplan. Thus, I actually sat through some of that information twice, which was a positive thing. I bring it up because, during those final few days, Nicole and I started working out in the mornings (the courses were 8 hours a day, starting at 1pm or something like that). That generally isn't my thing; my body takes a while to wake up, regardless of whether I'm doing weights, running, or something else. However, working out early gets it out of the way and frees up the day - so that's what I did today. During my year off, I had this enjoyable running route that took me down highways and over fields - around 5 to 5.5 miles. It was exciting to get back to it, but working out after a 12 hour fast is tough work, especially with unpleasantly vicious winds going against you half-way.

Nicole makes this rum cake that I absolutely love. Love. She sent two for me (one for the family - I ate that one first) a few weeks ago, and the last piece disappeared yesterday. That tragedy impelled me - emboldened me - to try my hand at my own rum cake! I googled a recipe, and actually came up with the same one she uses. So, after my run today (and before the arrival of my favorite Jamaican grandmother, who always comes down for Christmas), Caleb and I went out to pick up the ingredients. I started right after we got home - Nicole said that she'd consult for me, but that this was an incredibly easy recipe, which it was. I had the kid brother crisco the bundt pan while I took care of everything else. While it cooked, we went off to enjoy his birthday present - Halo 3:ODST. After an hour, I made the glaze and brushed it all over. I'd forgotten to poke holes so that it could permeate, but that was soon remedied. Now - I'm not an awesome cook, but I can survive; I can make a few things, and I've lived on my own and cooked for myself. I can cook, but I'm not a gourmet chef; the things I make are tasty, but few of them are as beautiful as this:

Apparently, one of my mother's friends uses the same recipe, but with coconut rum. I was only half-joking when I said I'd try it out tomorrow.