all my neighbors are gone for the holidays. jen and franz left weeks ago. renee went to florida last week. and this morning steve and paul packed up for the vineyard. that leaves just me holding down the fort, as always. paul even called me in the afternoon, said he forgot to lock the basement door before they left.

all i really cared about was the fact that in less than 24 hours my roommate would be leaving. i didn't even know what time his flight leaves, that's how little he's revealed to me. i was just afraid it was one of those early morning flights and that he'd be asking me to give him a ride to the airport.

i wonder if my roommate will be leaving anything behind? in the bathroom he has his towels, his electric shaver, and an assortment of toothpaste for some strange reason. maybe he likes to mix his own special blend, something i did as a kid when i tried to recreate my own aquafresh multi-colored toothpaste. what bothers me a little bit is for a guy who's so keen to distance himself from my life, he certainly has no problems using my soap and shampoo. most astrophysicists who arrive bring their own supply, so i've just gotten used to the idea of the separation of soaps and shampoos. but this is the first roommate to buck the rules. with a roommate who seems incapable of sharing, i'm a bit bothered by this discovery that he's been taking liberties with my soaps.

i had a ham and egg sandwich on toasted wheat bread for lunch, washed down with a fruit smoothie that took me the rest of the day to finish (the banana i used was too raw so the result wasn't very sweet).

i did a wee bit of home renovation. i don't know why i never noticed it before, but there's about a half centimeter gap in the kitchen wainscoting next to the back door. i put my hand next to it last night and was shocked to discover the cold draft blowing into the house. so today i got my tube of caulk and sealed it up. in the grand scheme of things it'll probably only make a small dent in my energy saving (the problem is the 100+ year old walls, poor insulation) but a little is better than nothing.

my roommate came home around 7:00 in the evening. he returned his keys, said he didn't need them anymore. i reluctantly asked what time was his flight tomorrow. he said 11:30, and would be leaving around 9:00 in the morning, which means i'll also have to be awake when he leaves; if not out of common courtesy, then at least to lock the door behind him when he's gone. i'm not even sure how i'm going to be celebrating. probably going to be doing another load of laundry or something. the partying will be short-lived unfortunately: my last roommate of the year will be arriving next tuesday (for 12 days). can't wait!