with a rainstorm coming our way tomorrow, i took the opportunity to make another supermarket run. i thought about taking the motorcycle, but the simple fact is i can actually carry more groceries with my bicycle milk crate. i stopped by the rite aid to stock up on some on-sale chocolates (those dove milk chocolate mini squares are my new favorites) before going to market basket. i switched to the motorcycle when i got back home (a lot faster than the bicycle) and went to the cafe to drop off some eggs. i then went to belmont to drop off some birthday chocolate for my sister but she and the dog both weren't home.

i was surprised to find my roommate back at home when i got back to my own place. he was camped out in the living room, with his laptop partially disassembled on the coffee table. not only that, but he'd pulled up all the blinds and turned on the lights, allowing anyone from the street to have a clear view of the living room. being a rather private person myself, this was clearly a no-no but i didn't say anything. i asked if he wanted to check out the new cambridge library, but he said no. "oh, because you have to go to the office later?" i asked, hoping he'd say yes. "no, because it'll take me all day to fix my computer," he said. wrong answer.

i was back on my bicycle. that's when i noticed one of the new reflectors from yesterday was missing, probably fell off on my way to the supermarket earlier. slightly annoyed, i made my way to the library. exactly a mile away in walking distance, biking down to the library is actually a dangerous endeavor as it involves riding on narrow 2-way roads that don't have bike lanes, bumpy street conditions, and several left-turns on busy intersections (especially if you're like me and never use hand signals; i've since figured out a new route i want to try next time that involves taking a shortcut behind the harvard divinity school). i was only there to return a couple of library books (i'd already renewed a few online).

coming back, i retraced my steps to the supermarket in the hopes of finding my lost reflector but i had no luck. hopefully somebody picked up and will give it a nice home.

my roommate was right where i left him, now with his laptop in even more pieces, and with my macbook turned on to some online pdf service manual. it was already 1:00 and i didn't eat yet so i made myself a tuna fish sandwich and munched in my bedroom watching the latest juicy tidbit about tiger woods on tv (now even more mistresses have come forward - tiger likes the pretty ladies!). back in the living room, my annoyance grew, and in my passive aggressive way i told my roommate, "i'd really love for you to use my computer but i need to do some work on it now," and took my macbook away. by work i meant checking my e-mail and surfing a few online news pages. few minutes later i was pretty much done, and let him use my computer again. i sort of feel for the guy, he comes all the way from china to do his astrophysics work and his laptop starts acting up. the problem is the fan is completely busted and needs to be replaced. it makes a loud horrible sound that so distracting nobody can work on it. my roommate thinks something is just getting caught in the fan and by taking apart the computer and blowing out the dust, he can fix the problem.

i stained the shingle shims i created yesterday. a single coat followed by a second coat 4 hours later. once they're dried i'll put them back below the porch light fixture.

back in the living room, my roommate had pretty much stripped his sony viao and was putting everything back together. by then i'd already drawn the blinds and turned on the rest of the living room lights. he didn't finish until almost 5:00. even then, the fan was still as loud as ever, except now his laptop buckles since he couldn't get everything to fit back together like it was before. later in the evening i think he was skyping with his family back in nanjing and discovered the webcam isn't working anymore so he'll need to take apart the computer again to fix that. i hope it'll be a quick fix because i don't know if i can stand him being in the house again. i don't think i've ever had a roommate who's at home as much as him. i need my private time!

i had another tuna fish sandwich for dinner. the only new show that was on was glee. i was surprised to learn that it was the penultimate episode, with the season finale happening next week. i remembered the rain and went outside to put the cover on the motorcycle before it started. i learned from yesterday and turned off the television after the evening news. if the tv is on, my roommate will come out and sit with me, even if it's to 2:00. i think he's picking up some of my bad habits.