t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


JAN

23

2012

the file sharing apocalypse happened this morning. not to say i use such services (because, you know, they're technically illegal), but a whole slew of cyberlocker sites went offline in response to megaupload's take down by the federal government last week. so much for easy access movies, and music, and books!

i met julie for lunch today. she arrived in her new 2012 honda fit (base model). the car was so new it still had the dealership tag in the back which julie promptly ripped off. besides all the different seat/cargo arrangement options, the other cool thing about the fit is being able to connect an mp3 player (or a portable usb hard drive) and access music (including playlists) through the stereo system with song information. maybe mp3 integration is common with new cars but it's the first time i've seen it in action.

the turkish restaurant istanbul'lu in teele square was an original choice but unfortunately it's closed on mondays (a common practice with restaurants these days). so instead we went to yak & yeti in ball square, a nepalese and indian restaurant. the few customers that were there were there for the indian buffet but we came for the fine nepalese cuisine. we both ended up getting the set meal ($20), julie going with lamb while i went with goat. the waiter asked us how hot we wanted our food and we both answered "spicy." julie seemed to really love our meal but i thought it was okay, a bit spartan in quantity (other than the appetizers). served on a metal tray, the food reminded me of the roadside indian restaurant in inman square.

afterwards we checked out the bowling place a few shops down. julie would later tell me she's been going around making pilgrimages with her new boyfriend to all the local bowling spots. this place in particular seemed closed, although stacks of bowling shoes seen through the dirty windows might say otherwise. it was a total old-school bowling joint, with scores kept through paper and pencil.

i biked to belmont around 2:30. temperature was in the 40's, the warmest it's been in days, although the clouds overhead meant there'd be rain later. my parents had the day off so my father was busy reading a novel online before falling asleep while my mother was knitting a dog sweater for hailey. she found out the mixed natural patons wool yarn she bought were actually from several different dye lots so they didn't exactly match. i don't think the dog would be too concerned about that, being color-blinded and all.

i couldn't get enough of the pats-giants superbowl rematch coverage. fortunately my parents had the NFL network on their verizon fios lineup and i was tuned into that for most of the day. i'm so caught up in the excitement that i tried listening to some sports radio last night before going to bed. unfortunately the numerous lengthy commercial breaks turned me off.

i was ready to bike back to belmont until it started to rain heavily. i was perfectly willing to ride home in a 40°F rainstorm, and even brought some trash bags to cover up my things. my father said it was a bad idea and insisted on giving me a ride with my bicycle in tow. that saved me from getting completely soaked. it's one thing to ride in the rain during the summer, but to do so during winter is flirting with hypothermia.

in skyrim, i only played a little bit today, making a carriage cart trip (20 gold) to riften to see if i can get some mysterious gems appraised. turns out riften is the base of the thieving guild and i've been asked by one of the members if i wanted to join (by proving myself as a pickpocket). political intrigue doesn't interest me; i want to be sent out on a mission to fight monsters!