i was still eating cereal at home when my father stopped by this morning to pick up a usb-to-usb cable on his way to costco for supplies. afterwards i made my way to belmont and proceded to sand from 10a to 1p, detailing the middle front of the house. i was up on the ladder and using just the orbital sander with the dust bag. every 15-20 minutes or so i'd climb down to empty the bag. it wasn't that bad, with my talk radio on my mp3 player and when the battery ran out, google streaming interest radio, rhinestone cowboy channel.

i think we're very close to finishing with the prep work, definitely by next month we'll be painting and that'll go quick. yesterday i looked up how to replace broken shingles. there's still some caulking work, and the awning has to be taken down as well. my 2nd aunt is away on her california vacation for a month, so my father doesn't have a lot of time. if we need to, painting can be postponed to october, but i think i can manage a lot of it on my own. the shingle repair will require an overcast day, so the roof won't feel like fire.

my mother came home while i finished up by 1:30p. she fixed me some rice noodles for lunch and i left by 2:15p, trying to get home before ana arrives at 3p. when i got back ana sent me some text, asking if she could move it tomorrow, because today was too crazy for her. i said sure, although i won't be here when she shows up tomorrow afternoon, going instead to the carnival parade in boston.

that meant i had another free day of single living. i did a load of laundry and proceded to fall asleep on the couch from 5p to 7p. i woke up to watch the patriots preseason game against the carolina panthers while i ate two hot dogs for dinner.