it's been a little over a week since i doused it with drain-o max gel, but my bathtub was slow to drain again, even worse than before. when i showered last night i was standing in ankle deep water by the time i finished. so after my morning shower, i blocked the overflow outlet with a wadded up plastic shopping bag and started plunging the drain. it didn't take long before i heard a satisfying gurgle and the tub was free of water. let's hope it keeps for a little longer than a week compared to last time.

i also did a load of laundry this morning.

i biked to the cambridge library in the late morning to drop off the two ham radio books before going to market basket to see if they had rice crackers. i couldn't find any, left with a package of ground beef (for dinner) and some ingredients my father had asked for (ritz crackers, cilantro, bean sprouts). instead of going home, i biked directly to the cafe to drop off the groceries. a private arborist was removing a large front yard tree of the condo next door, before trimming a large tree in the backyard. my 2nd aunt showed up before i left, which surprised me, because technically she wasn't supposed to work today. apparently she came to see my mother, until i told her my mother was still recuperating from her return trip and was sleeping at home. i left with a few stale muffins, one of which became my late lunch.

i spent the rest of the afternoon into the evening studying for my amateur extra exam. i finally passed my first practice text late yesterday afternoon after my 8th try, and i barely passed with 13 wrong answers. i took it again late last night and passed once more, with just 12 wrong answers. that's still really close, but each time i take the test i get a little closer. my best score so far is 9 wrong answers.

i realized something today: where is my renewed registration? i remember putting the new registration sticker on my motorcycle, but i should've also received the registration certificate. i looked everywhere, but there's a good chance i threw it away. the cost to get a duplicate registration? $25. it only cost $20 to renew it!

for dinner i made a meat sauce to go with some rigatoni. i served myself a huge bowl of pasta, which scared my roommate, who didn't think i could finish it all. li himself made an italian sandwich, trying to finish the deli meats he bought before they go bad.