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as soon as the morning rainstorm ended around 1:30, i left for belmont on the newly fixed fuji bike. no adjustments needed as the ones i made late last night seemed to do the trick. it was nice to be able to ride in low gear (larger sprockets), allowing me to achieve the proper cadence, meaning no more leg pains to and back. stem shifters are a bit of a hassle so once i found a gear ratio i liked (2nd gear in the front, 4th gear in the back), i didn't bother changing it, regardless if i was going uphill or downhill.

in the 2nd to last day before my parents leave for taiwan, they were gone most of the afternoon running some last minute errands (mostly to make sure the cafe was fully stocked with supplies). when they came back, my father and i were out in the backyard doing some pruning of the plum trees. even though it wasn't raining, the sky was overcast and everything outside was soggy and cold.

returning home, i saw a reddish orange star in the eastern sky: this was mars, which tonight was in opposition. there was a myriad of other bright stars visible in the clear sky. no cloud cover meant the temperature was falling fast and there was a layer of condensation all over the bike seat which i wiped off with the sleeve of my hooded jacket.

back at home, i made one last pass at cleaning up the house before my new roommate arrives tomorrow morning at 7:00 (a friend of his is going to pick him up at the airport). i decided to put the old stereo back on top of the kitchen cabinet with the implicit promise that i'll try to use it more often (if nothing else, at least to drown out the sounds of my upstairs neighbors when they get too noisy). i'm kind of annoyed this new roommate is arriving so early on a sunday, because it's going to cut short my weekend sleep time by a few hours. i hope he won't be too bothersome since he's going to be here for 3 months. he had been staying at my great uncle's place before he returned to china, and i think i might've even seen him before.