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i met eliza and shauna this evening to see the preview of the MIT glass pumpkins. apparently when those students weren't studying to invent the next revolutionary gadget or finding cures for diseases, they were blowing glass pumpkins. a lot of pumpkins too, not sure the official count, but at least 1000. what's more, they were all available for purchase, with the actual sales starting tomorrow morning.

the glass pumpkins resembled pretty translucent teapots or colorful candy dishes. they came in all shapes and sizes, with the cheapest one i saw being $35 and most expensive one at $950. glassware make me nervous, and i was careful not to swing my bag or accidently bump the table. eliza pointed to one glass pumpkin that already had its stem broken off by somebody. i was too afraid to touch anything, but i saw people picking up pumpkins and inspecting them.

neither eliza nor shauna brought their cameras, but instead took photos with their cellphones (they weren't the only ones, there was a lot of photography going on). outside a ginormous 850 lbs. pumpkin from derry (new hampshire) was available for photo opps. a girl nerd struck up a conversation with us about how robert heinlein predicted cellphones 50 years ago and then we discussed the limitations of lasik eye surgery.

later we went to the student center to hang out. shauna got a strawberry-banana smoothie with tapioca balls. eliza was going to a bar in central square and was just buying her time. we chatted while MIT students went about their business around us. we left a quarter after 8 and i got home just in time for the start of the red sox game against the angels (game 2).

i woke up late this morning, slept through my alarm clock. not that i really had to be anywhere, but i told my parents i'd go to belmont and do some cleaning. i stopped by the cafe first to drop off some julie's salsa peppers for my mother. i helped my father move the furniture in my parents' bedroom. after he left, i cleaned up the kitchen a little bit, before going to home depot to buy a pint of wood stain. i returned to the cafe to get some lunch before going home. later in the afternoon i went with my father to market basket to get some groceries.

still unable to fix my glasses, i went back to wearing an old pair. the problem was it was an old prescription, so my eyes weren't used to them, which made everything look distorted. my sister took my broken glasses to her friend who owns an eyewear store to get them fixed. she said he couldn't fix them and suggested i get a new pair instead, bringing back with her some sample frames for me to try, none of which i liked. when she finally returned my old glasses, i discovered they had been fixed. she said it was only temporary, but that was good enough for me.

i had half a rotisserie chicken for dinner after i returned from MIT, saving the rest to make some chicken soup. the game started at 8:30 and didn't finish until after 1am. the fenway crowd cheered as the yankees lost their second game in extra innings. daisuke was the struggling pitcher we've seen during the regular season, although he performed well enough to keep the game close. although boston scored 2 runs early in the 1st inning, the angels came right back and got 3 runs of their own to take the lead. red sox didn't tie it until the 5th inning, thanks to the help of a young fan who interfered with the angel's catcher to prevent him from getting the out. what followed was 3 tense innings of stalemate, ending in a manny ramirez walk-off 3-run home run in the 9th inning.