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at 55 degrees it's still warm enough to go motorcycling if i wear enough clothes: three layers of jackets and a pair of thermal underwear underneath my jeans. it's still cold but bearable. i wouldn't travel too far though but going into the city isn't a problem. after getting some cash in harvard square and buying some stamps, i went down to fenway park to see about getting a red sox cap for my cousin eric in taipei. since he wanted a fitted version, i was reluctant to buy one without knowing the exact measurement of his head so i left the souvenir shop empty-handed.

i went to chinatown afterwards, looking to get some smelly tofu takeout. i ate my share in china but none compares to taiwanese smelly tofu. since i can't go to taiwan, i'm doing the next best thing by visiting the taiwan cafe. not since china have i seen so many chinese faces in one place, for a moment at least it felt like i was back in the mainland. i found myself speaking mandarin to people regardless if they understood me or not. nearby boston costume had live models in skimpy outfits dancing in their window displays. after i got my order i got back on my bike and returned to cambridge.

i dropped by the cafe to drink some pu'er tea i'd brought back from china. after i went home, my parents came by to pick me up and together we went to costco to get some supplies. i was surprised to see christmas decorations already up. also surprising: an aisle of flat screen televisions - the days of the cathode ray tube appear to be over. afterwards we returned to my house for pizza. i was nursing a mild headache, could be a side effect of drinking way too much tea. my internal hard drive also arrived today, but without the external enclosure i can't use it for the time being.