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don't judge. check your own keyboard. i bet it's just as filthy as mine.

i decided to clean out the inside of my old graphite keyboard, hoping that maybe a thorough disassembling and cleaning might jostle the option key back to functionality. i pried off all the keys (not very hard, even the ones with the metal hooks were pretty easy to pop off) and then tried to open up the casing. bad idea: i ended up breaking a few plastic clips and now the keyboard won't close tightly. not a great loss, since the keyboard is busted anyway without a working option key. i figured it was a lost cause and started putting everything back together again. i soaked the keys in a bath of detergent, dried them off with a towel, and popped them back in, using the new keyboard as the template.

all in a days work. did you know today was martin luther king junior day? i only found out this saturday. the client was nowhere to be seen online, which in turn made me decide to take advantage of the radio silence and observe the holiday like the good proletariat that i am. i noticed a few friends online though. they obviously must be working. a good day to work since the weather outside was utterly hopelessly miserable, wet and cold. at least it wasn't new hampshire and our neighbors to the north, who are entirely covered in ice tonight. i didn't see any downed tree branches, nor did my power go out. however, i would like to see some snow, but i think it's only a matter of time before my wish is granted.

i left the house in the middle of the day to stock up on kleenex and a bottle of draino from the dollar store on somerville avenue, my source of cheap household supplies. i eyed the new tide simple pleasures vanilla and lavender scented liquid detergent. does that make me a lesbian if i want to get this? i decided to hold off until i can get a definitive answer.

in the evening i met that mt.auburn cemetery mother at carberry's in central square. i almost didn't want to go, would rather have spent it at home watching the red carpet coverage of the golden globes. i got a chai latte (bland, no sugar, not good) and waited. for so many reason this was an awkward encounter, but when she finally showed up, i played along. we chatted for 30 minutes. she told me something that made we wanted to run out of the bakery and scream: she was raising her kids without television, and neither children had ever seen star wars before. she never talked about her husband but she had a wedding ring so she probably wasn't some cougar on the prowl. when i asked if she worked in the area, she was evasive. despite the fact that it was her invitation, she never revealed too much about herself, which didn't bother me since i was more than happy to talk about myself (what smurf am i? vanity smurf). afterwards we went our separate ways. there will not be a second meeting. the one good thing to come out of this is i was perfectly situated in central square, within walking distance to several fast food chains. wendy's was my poison, the no.6 spicy chicken combo the game. i felt a little bit guilty carrying a bag of takeout onto the train (if you didn't see you could at least smell it), but it was only one stop. i got off at harvard square to buy the latest issue of entertainment weekly (my subscription had ran out) and walked back home through harvard courtyard.

i got home just in time for the second 2-hour installment of 24. an tao was in the living room, getting ready to eat dinner, watching an old episode of growing pains. we watched 24 together, critiquing the plausibility of events as they rolled along. he watched it last night, and now i think he's hooked. spoiler begins: jack crying and puking after shooting curtis? does the man have anymore friends? pretty much everyone he knows is dead at this point, except for chloe, bill buchanan, his daughter (whom i don't think will be making any appearances this season, so she's as good as dead), and wayne palmer. assad looks like a nice guy (even though he's a former terrorist with 2 decades worth of crimes), maybe he can be jack's new partner. nuclear bomb explosion in valencia? AWESOME! :spoiler ends

during the commercials and after 24 i switched to the golden globes. hugh laurie wins best drama actor for house? bitch, that should've been michael c. hall for dexter! robbed! alec baldwin's win for best comedic actor in 30 rock might ensure that the show (one of my favorites) will continue for at least a 2nd season.