i called my mother this morning to see if she wanted to go to wellington circle plaza to hit a few stores (ac moore, OSJL). i needed to go there to use up a 20% off coupon at pet supplies plus where i needed to get some fish food. she said we might be able to go tomorrow with my 2nd aunt because she wanted to get some ac moore yarn.

i pan-fried my smoked kielbasa for lunch for added crispiness. i also found some sourdough bread that i thankfully discovered before it went moldy. i was tempted to make some coffee but decided to go for juice instead because i didn't want to be jittery the rest of the day. despite my reluctant to go decaf, i figured i'd go get some later today, so i could still have coffee without the caffeine.

it happened again: i went to go start my motorcycle and it wouldn't start. the first few times it cranked, but all subsequent attempts failed with rapid clicking noises. it wasn't even that cold today, temperature in the lower 40's, but in the mid-20's overnight. the bike was even sitting out in a sunny spot but that wasn't enough to warm the battery. i opened up the tool box and removed the battery so i could charge it with the battery tender.

i was going to go to the somerville target to get some 3 outlet taps. initially i figured i wouldn't be able to go until i can start my motorcycle again, but realized i could still get there by bicycle. a 7 minute ride by motorcycle, but just 9 minutes on bicycle.

i found the taps at the christmas decoration department. a lot of shelves were already empty of merchandise and everything was marked with a 30% clearance. i ended up getting 2 packages of taps (a pair per $2 package). i was also tempted to get some led string lights but i'll wait until there's additional clearance.

i was going to go to the fallas discount store next door (to get some socks), but when i got there i saw it was empty. later i learned that the chain had gone out of business and filed for bankruptcy, closing all 184 stores across the country.

on my way home i stopped by market basket to cash in the can deposit coupons from more than a week ago to buy some eggs and decaffeinated french vanilla coffee. when i got back i immediately went about making a cup of decaffeinated coffee. i don't know which i like better, hazelnut creme or french vanilla, both are equally fragrant and delicious. i'm getting better with my aeropress technique. i made enough coffee for about half a cup, add 1/4 with hot water, the rest half & half and 2 teaspoon of sugar.

in the early evening i finished watching bad times at the el royale. an all-star cast including jon hamm, jeff bridges, and dakota johnson, it's a story of a group of strangers meeting at a middle-of-nowhere hotel and the mysterious things happen there. there's something tarantinoesque about the film, not so much the dialogue, but the way the movie is presented in a broken timeline filled with quirky characters. i really liked it and afterwards i looked up who made it. drew goddard. the name sounded familiar, but where else have i seen his work? he's done a lot of impressive screenplay work (world war z, the martian), and was also the showrunner for netflix's daredevil, but the thing that impressed me the most was he also directed the cabin in the woods, one of my all-time favorite horror movies.

by 7pm the battery tender was now flashing green, which meant that the battery was nearly charged. this was a relief because for a second there i was starting to get worried that maybe the battery was dead for good. it got me thinking that maybe i should look into buying one of those portable vehicle jump starters. they're designed for cars but they also work just as well on motorcycles. that way the next time i get a dead battery, i can just jump start the engine instead of having to recharge the battery most of the day.

my $1 charcoal google home mini smart speaker (courtesy of spotify) arrived later in the evening. i only knew about it because it sent me an automated e-mail and when i looked out the window it was waiting on my doorstep like magic. setup was easy, and i already knew what to expect from setting up the gray home mini. one thing it did was automatically recognize that i had a spotify account and linked the speaker with the service.

the motorcycle battery finally charged completely by 8:30pm when the battery tender light went to a solid green. so from the time i charged it at 1pm, it took more than 7 hours for the battery to charge back up again. that's good to know, for the next time it happens. that's about how long the battery took to fully charge a week and a half ago on that really cold morning before the speedo santa run.

i had more spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner. i still have enough for one more serving before i'm out of cooked food for the week and will have to tap into my processed food reserve.