it was also supposed to be the day where i give up my camera for 2 weeks (letting them borrow it for their trip), but i decided to keep it for one more night so i can clean off some dust from the CCD chip. that's actually the hardest part, giving up my canon EOS 350D DSLR. i will be without it for both the annual boston marathon and the greek parade (should i decide to go). i still have my old camera, the nikon coolpix 4500, but after using the canon for the past 4 years, the image quality just isn't the same. at least i won't have to lug around the much heavier canon for the next 2 weeks.
this early in the season there isn't much to do in the backyard except weeding. even after spending all of yesterday getting rid of all those yellow dandelions on the lawn, today a whole new crop had already sprung up. despite the seemingly neverending task, i still get satisfaction from each dandelion i dig out. for a gardener, they're the perfect enemy because they're so conspicuous. it's almost like a personal challenge when i see a yellow flower on the grass.
nobody felt like cooking so when my sister and father returned from the cafe in the early evening, we decided to get some pizza instead. 
we went with stella's pizza on mt.auburn street in watertown. we ordered a large spicy buffalo chicken and an 18" thin crust anchovy with onions. 
the guy on the phone said the food would be ready in 10-15 minutes. i went with my father to go pick it up. the buffalo chicken was alright, a little too cheesy for my lactose-intolerant self (it just made me a little winded). the anchovy with onions was much better, but i think i just loved the saltiness of the anchovy and had nothing really to do with anything else.
after dinner i finished doing taxes for my sister and my 2nd aunt. my sister finally found the letter from the IRS she received last year about a miscalculation on her 1040 which resulted in some additional overdue taxes. the same thing happened to my aunt, and the same happened to me. not wanting to make that mistake again, i went over all my numbers once more. what the hell is the making work pay tax credit and can they take it? in the end i decided to go for it, with the thinking that the IRS can always ask for more money, but not refund you for deductions/credits you failed to take.
riding home, i had another motorcyclist following behind me. earlier, on my way to belmont, the same thing happened, and when i went to home depot to return something, it happened again. not sure what the proper etiquette is. usually i turn back and give a friendly nod. the guy following behind me tonight was in a real hurry though, and when we stopped at a light, he positioned himself ahead of me so he could speed down the road on green. i noticed he had veterans motorcycle license plate, which i'd never seen before.