we had torrential rain last night that last into this morning. it was grey for most of the day, at time so dark i began to question if the sun even existed. by the afternoon though, the sky brightened up a bit, and i even saw some peeks of blue sky.

yesterday i'd wrapped paper towels around the exposed sewage pipe to see if it was leaking. this morning there was a small wet spot. just to be sure, i wrapped another ring of paper towels a bit lower on the pipe. i didn't have to wait long to see wet spots immediately soaking into the towel. mike still haven't gotten back to me with an estimate, i'll need to contact him about it tomorrow. it may look like we will need to do an expensive repair after all. i looked up some videos online about repair sewer pipes, and the prevailing method is to simply cut the broken cast iron pipe and replace it with a rubber pipe. the thing i'm worried about is how much more of my wall needs to be demolished in order for proper equipment access, and how many days will our bathrooms be out of service due to the repair?

for lunch i heated up some frozen breaded pollock in the oven. they're just a fancy version of your standard fish sticks. i think they would've gone better with some tartar sauce but i didn't have any in the house (one of the few sauces i don't have, maybe i should get some sometime).

i signed up for my covid booster shot in 2 more weeks, which will officially be 6 months since i got my 2nd pfizer vaccine. the nearest place was the walgreens up on winter hills. going through the walgreens portal was a lot easier than the cvs portal, which asked a ton of questions.

in the afternoon i packaged up the two macy's items my mother wanted to return and dropped them off at the UPS store on somerville avenue. originally i was going to bike down there, but the soaking rain we have overnight left my bike seat wet and i didn't want to run errands with a wet bottom so i decided to walk it instead.

i went across the street to walgreens to get my flu shot. it was pretty easy and i only had to wait a few minutes. i got 0.5ml of fluarix quadrivalent (PF) 2021-22 (GlaxoSmithKline). i didn't know what "PF" stood for, maybe "preservative free" or "pre-filled (syringe)". it's an egg-based vaccine that contains 4 strains: A/Victoria/2570/2019 (H1N1), A/Cambodia/e0826360/2020 (H3N2), B/Washington/02/2019, and B/Phuket/3073/2013. i used to only occasionally get a flu shot (like maybe i was already at the hospital and the doctor asks me if i want one), never thought much about it, but ever since the coronavirus pandemic, i've gotten it every year since then. i had it in my right arm, there was no side effects other than some mild tenderness at the injection site. i asked the pharmacist if they were giving out covid booster shots; he said no because they currently only have a supply of moderna vaccine, otherwise they could do booster shots (saving me the trouble of having to travel farther to get one).

since i was just within a few blocks of market basket, i went there to pick up some bagged salad, some boxes of kleenex, and a package of fig newtons.

for dinner i made a simple salad with chopped sweet peppers and a mix of italian and balsamic vinegar dressing as an appetizer while i waited for the main course of roasted parsnips. i followed my recipe from back in july (oven set to 450°, something i forgot to mention). eating parsnips the second time around, i didn't find them as delicious once the novelty wore off. they're maybe a little too sweet for my taste, given the choice, it's a lot easier and cheaper to just use regular russet potatoes if i'm making baked fries.

i ate while watching the AL wild card game between the yankees and red sox. winner advances into the playoffs to face off against the tampa bay rays. i was watching with my cousin eric in taipei, who woke up before work to catch the start of the game (12 hour time difference). nate eovaldi was peak yankees killer, offering 5 solid innings before he gave up a solo homer to rizzo in the 6th before cora pulled him out of the game. it seemed like a bad idea at the time - given how shaky the red sox pullpen has been the past few weeks - but the strategy of using a different relief pitcher per inning paid off this time, everyone rising to the occasion. final score was 6-2, red sox face the rays thursday night.