i feel like my roommate traveled 7000+ miles halfway around the world just to live at my place for a month and do nothing before returning to china. he's obviously not here to work nor is he here on vacation because he hardly ever leaves the house. it makes me crazy, feels like i'm under siege, like we're two prison inmates sharing the same jail cell. not like he's in the living room with me all day, but even in his room i can sense his presence, from the light in the bedroom, to the loud hum of his broken laptop which he leaves on all day long. every hour he takes a smoke brake, and when he comes back inside i can smell the tobacco. i could understand him not going out yesterday because of the freezing rain, but there was no excuse today, on this clear weather day.

i finally couldn't stand it and left in the early afternoon. i biked to the porter square CVS to buy some dove milk chocolate on sale (2 for $5). i made some light chit chat with the cashier until it started to get awkward when she wouldn't stop talking (she wanted me to try the new dove peppermint bark). i then headed to cafe via avon hill (on those damn hills!), arriving all out of breath and sweaty. to be honest, my mother called me early, asking me to come for lunch where she had some special rice noodle soup. after i finished eating, i went back to the house, hoping through some miracle my roommate would be gone.

my roommate was still home, but the packages on my doorstep momentarily distracted me from returning to my annoyed state. one box was full of beef jerky which i quickly stored away in my kitchen pantry shelf. the other box was a few bicycle tools, a bottom bracket c-wrench (park tool HCW-5 $9.73) and a pin spanner (park tool SPA-1 $5.48). the pin spanner smelled strongly of the green plastic coating the handle; the tool itself resembled either an enormous pair of tweezers or chopsticks. i was surprised by how large the c-wrench was, big enough to brain someone (that's how i categorize tools). i'm still waiting for my bigger shipment of bicycle tools, including a replacement crankset.

finally my roommate left the house to go buy some groceries. he should've gone during the daytime when the temperature was actually warm (in the 40's) versus at night when the temperature dropped into the 20's. i saw him leaving without gloves or a hat and knew he'd have a story to tell when he came back. instead of going to the more convenient star market, he hoofed the 20+ minute walk to market basket instead for the cheaper prices. for a guy who just spent $2000 on a new computer and last week a $1000 for a new camera, he sure is stingy when it comes to food. i was making my "can't think of anything else to make" macaroni and cheese for dinner and split it with him when he came back. he finished his plate but i don't think he liked it because he didn't make any comments. i'm going to get some mexican tortilla soup ingredients tomorrow, perfect for these cold winter days.