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APR

15

2008

since i wasn't at home for most of yesterday and i didn't do any work (at least not the kind that pays), today felt like a monday. regardless what day of the week it was, i still knew it was tax day. although i paid my regular taxes yesterday, there was still the business of my quarterly taxes. unable to pay the full amount (most of the projects i've worked on this year i still haven't gotten paid), i paid what i could, then dropped off the checks in the mailbox.

today was a catchup day on some work i was supposed to be doing over the past few days. just some bug fixes, which can be hit or miss in terms of difficulty, but they were all pretty easy (fixable at least). i did think about saving some for tomorrow but i managed to fixed them all by the end of the day, which leaves me the rest of the week to do my own thing provided i don't get anymore bugs to fix.

got the weirdest call this afternoon, from harvard vanguard reminding me of my scheduled lab appointment for tomorrow in kenmore square. thing is i don't remember having a doctor's appointment, and even if i did, it wouldn't be in kenmore square. what's more, i'm not even with harvard vanguard anymore, i have a different health insurance now. the problem was they couldn't tell me what exam i was scheduled to go in for due to patient confidentiality laws, and i was reluctant to give them anymore information than necessary, in case this was some sort of identity phishing scam. by the end of the phone call though, i got the feeling they still didn't believe me and probably thought i just forgot about my appointment.

that reminds me of a call i got a few weeks ago, supposedly from my bank. the woman on the phone told me i'd been a long-valued customer, and after looking over my account, she saw that i might be interested in their premium banking service package. now this was right during a time when i was at a money crisis, and signing up for premium service was the last thing on my mind. before she continued, i stopped to ask her, "okay, what's the minimum balance i need to have in my account in order to qualify?" she hesitated. "normally $10,000," she said. "okay, i'm going to stop you right there, because if you saw my account, you'd know that i don't have that kind of money." she was persistent though, and told me about some of their other financial services. "do you have a mortgage, mr.yang?" red flag. "okay, i don't feel comfortable answering these questions over the phone with you. maybe if you send me some literature at my address on file, i can take a look." thing is, i still haven't received anything from them, so i wonder if it was a scam? i still have her number though, i could *69 them and ask them what's the hold up.

there was street cleaning on my side of the street today. of course having been towed before, i'm hyperaware of what day it is, and last night parked my motorcycle in a safe place. sometime in the afternoon, after the street had already been cleaned, i looked out the window and saw something really interesting. the position of the sun was casting shadows of the houses all the way down my street. the shapes of each houses was clearly visible, something i'd never seen before because normally there'd be cars parked along the street.