during lunch i went to the costume shop to look for something interesting to wear. i've never in there before, it was actually pretty busy, a bevy of girls stood by the counter, picking out costumes for themselves. who has a costume party this time of the year? later i went to a radio shack to buy a timer. taiwan cafe was opened but i had some leftover in the fridge at work so i ate that instead. i called my doctor and had to walk out in the middle of the street away from the building to get a good enough reception to make the call. and even though i recharged the phone all last night, it said my battery level was down to one bar. despite the limited range of these new fancy GSM phones, at this point i'm willing to pay $150 and sign up for a one year contract just so i can get better service. my current cell phone pretty much doesn't work anymore, and considering how i don't have any other phone and this is my one pipeline to the rest of the world, i think it's worth it to upgrade.

after work i went to chinatown to buy some oranges for my godmother, who had invited me over to her place in belmont for dinner along with her two sons, alex and jack huang. on my way back to the train station i bumped into katrinka. i went home to cambridge, where i rested for a few minutes before walking to harvard square to catch the 73 bus into belmont. it was very nostalgic because 73 was the bus i used to ride everyday to work when i lived at home. i took it so much i had the schedule memorized. as if it could get anymore nostalgic, who shows us but none other than adam smith, just getting out of the office, my old commuting buddy buring that brief period when we both worked at screen house. when we got back to belmont, we bid each other a fond farewell (until tomorrow that is, when i see him in the office). i walked to my parents' place in belmont. they're away in taipei on vacation, and nobody's at home except for my sister, who has a strange schedule and isn't always home, so that where the timer comes in. just so happened that my mother called me at that moment from taiwan. i talked with her for a few minutes before my phone went dead, out of batteries. i called up my godmother and she sent jack to come by and pick me up.

we had dumplings for dinner, each dumpling (dipped in a mixture of soy sauce, balsamic vinegrette, and sesame oil) was accompanied with a bite of raw garlic to give it some kick.

after dinner, i watched this singaporean movie (i think it's called "kids are not dumb" in chinese) with them about three childhood friends and their families, tackling such tough subject as father losing a job, mother dying of leukemia, child abuse (tough love), teenage suicide, teen rebellion, cheating on tests, bullies, family feud, asians versus caucasians, class warfare, asking the goddess for help, and a kidnapping. oh, it's a comedy. despite the fact that it's from singapore, there's a universal appeal that even western audience can appreciate, and the dialogue is so different, a mixture of mandarin chinese, taiwanese (fukienese), and english. after the movie, my godmother gave me a bunch of leftovers, slipped a red envelope full of chinese new year money into my pocket, and had jack give me a ride back to cambridge.