i spent the day at home, as my parents were at the cafe getting ready for the annual neighborhood holiday stroll event. i was going to stop by, but when i saw the crowd of people already at the cafe through the webcam, i figured one less person wouldn't make much of a difference.

the whole day was gearing up to the chiefs-patriots game at 4:30pm. recent events have revealed new england's vulnerability especially on offense, and victory was not assured, especially against a very good kansas city team. it almost seemed inevitable when the patriots finally lost, but the game was close and new england had chances to tie or take the lead. two egregious referee calls cost the patriots a pair of touchdowns: a fumble that would've been an easy touchdown had the play not been called dead, and a touchdown that was ruled out that couldn't be challenged because the pats had already used up all their challenges already on crappy officiating. since the ravens won today, it's pretty much all but assured baltimore will get the number 1 seed while the patriots get the 2nd seed. currently all the top seeded teams in each AFC division has beaten new england in the regular season: ravens, chiefs, texans. the texans are the weakest opponent, followed by the chiefs. kansas city plays tough but they're beatable. the team nobody wants to play is baltimore. hopefully the pats use these last 3 games of the regular season to tune their offense.

i heated up a leftover slice of pizza for lunch, but i already knew what i was getting for dinner: poke! i went to the corner poke shop during halftime around 6pm, there was only a couple waiting for their order. they charged me $16 this time when i remembered it was $15 before (and it said $15 on the menu). i didn't have to wait too long before i got my order and hurried back home, the tv still on, the door unlocked. it was good, like a flavor and texture party in my mouth - spicy, sweet, salty, savory, soft, crunchy. the serving size seemed too small, i could've easily had another bowl or two. it got me thinking maybe it'd be cheaper to make my own poke, but the advantage of buying it is the variety, something i can't easily achieve at home (fried chicken? that in itself would take me forever to make). still, if i can get my hands on some good quality sushi fish, i could make some raw fish poke, and maybe dress it up with some homemade korean kimchi. for the the crunch, i can always make pork tonkatsu, which would be similar to the fried chicken.

i watched the penultimate episode of watchmen tonight, so good. nobody else i know seems to be watching it though, so i can't discuss it with anyone. instead, i follow the watchmen subreddit and read various online recaps.