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the TNPA4250AB SC board is approximately 15x10x2". the only flat rate box that fits it is the priority mail board game box which has a dimension of about 23x12x3". i went down to the porter square post office this morning to see if they had any. the clerk's seen it before ("it's got a chess piece on the box") but they don't carry it since it's not a typical size. she said i could try either harvard or central square, but i should call instead of running down there and see.

this was my first time riding the bike since the blizzard. for the most part i was riding in the street because the bike lanes are either covered in snow or used as curbside parking. besides the cars and the occasional slick ice/snow piles to watch out for, there are also newly-created potholes. if i can avoid it i should stay off the bike until more snow has melted. the newly-fixed bike rides fine though, very smooth with the thoroughly-cleansed chain and gears.

i stopped by the dollar store to restock my kleenex supply before finally returning home. i called the harvard square post office, the person there told me they didn't have any board game boxes, and the only to get them is online. there was nobody at central square, so i called the main boston post office behind south station, figuring if any place would have it it'd be them. after navigating a phone tree i finally got a live person who told me they too don't carry board game boxes, and i should get them online. i know about the online option (which is entirely free), but on their website it says it takes 7-10 days for the boxes to arrive. i wasn't hoping i wouldn't have to wait that long but not like the broken HDTV is going anyway.

the only consideration is i have my first roommate of 2013 arriving not this sunday but next sunday (the 24th). i've never met spanish david before but he knew almost all of my european roommates since he and his girlfriend (now wife) were responsible for referring them to my place. it only seems fitting that we could meet now. they returned to europe, but he's coming back for 2 weeks to do something at MIT. he might also come back twice more in the spring and summer (both 2-weeks stints), but the schedule is still being revised. when comes next sunday he's going to see this big disassembled HDTV on the dining table. hope he won't mind.

the rest of my day was spent installing windows 7 on my MBP via bootcamp. what i really want to try is windows 8, but the MBP drivers for the latest windows system hasn't come out yet. i actually installed windows 7 late last night (that's why i didn't go to bed until 4:00, big mistake) but while mucking around with the bootloader, i did something bad and the windows partition wouldn't boot up anymore. lesson learned! so for this 2nd install, i refrained from tweaking the system while the computer was working. after the initial install (including MBP-specific drivers) then came the hundreds of updates that had to be downloaded then installed. i also added VLC, quicktime, logitech controls (for my wireless logitech mouse), microsoft security essentials (virus protection), and FRAPS (for capturing screenshots during games). i also added the downloads folder to my start menu, which turned out to be a rather complicated procedure that required running a script to edit the registry and restarting the machine. finally, the last thing i did was to install skyrim. i ran the program to test, the animation doesn't stutter and the graphic is better, although i'm not blown away (maybe it needs some mods). the game did make the MBP work hard as the bottom of the computer got warm and i heard the fans go off got the very first time (up to this point the MBP ran cool). but skyrim works great, which is bad, because now i'm never going to get any work done if i go back to skyrim!

in the late afternoon i walked to the nearest rite aid to pick up some dove chocolates. when i came back i got out the deicing chisel ("the mutt") from the basement and went to work breaking up the ice on the sidewalk. it's actually pretty fun breaking apart ice. if i hit it just right i can get it to fracture in the most satisfying manner. i hope there will be plenty more ice for me to smash during the tail end of the winter season!

once again i didn't get any groceries today. i already did the math, i don't need to visit the supermarket until next week since i still have things to eat in the house. for dinner i finished the last of my turkey by making another sandwich.