i mailed off frances' latest package this morning. it's one of the largest boxes i've ever sent (back in february i sent a similarly large box). the clerk (whom i've never seen before) was excited that i prepaid my postage since it meant she didn't have to do any work.

the whole day was geared towards my 11:30 dentist appointment. i'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but my last visit was more than 4 years ago. back then i took the 66 bus to allston; this time around i rode my bike. it helped that i've biked there before (on my ross eurosport no less). i made an omelette for breakfast since i wouldn't be able to eat right away after seeing the dentist.

i've been seeing doctor huang since the late 80's that he's practically family. his wife - a fellow dentist as well - was just as happy to see me. the same upper left molar that was causing me discomfort was the main impetus that made me come to the dentist today. basically, a poorly drilled filling too close to the nerve. but x-rays were good. however, the problem was the tooth behind it, a cavity in between the gap that i'll take care of next month. in the meantime i got my teeth cleaned. "your teeth looks pretty good, you've been taking care of them," doctor huang told me. that was like music to my ears. the total cost of cleaning plus x-rays was $85.

i got home by 12:45, but quickly went back out to get some groceries. i had some granola with yogurt for lunch before heading out to belmont close to 2:00. my sister was home so i didn't need to dogsit, but i promised my mother i would caulk the bathtub before they got back from vacation. i brought my tools (caulking gun, awl, razor) but i didn't have any bathroom caulk (silicone), so i took the car and drove to home deot to get some. i couldn't resist and bought a PAR38 LED floodlight ($23) as well for the dining room.

when i returned to the house the first thing i did was to try out the new LED bulb. it was a philips 19.5 watt (120W equivalent) 3000K. i was careful opening the packaging because i might return the bulb if i don't like it, but i ended up having to cut it out from its plastic casing. it was definitely bright, but more of a spotlight than an overall glow. enclosed behind a frosted piece of glass it was much better, but still bright enough to create glare on the dining table. i'm going to return it at some point.

i did finally get to the caulking. earlier, before i left for home depot, i'd already pulled out most of the old caulking. i was only doing the bottom edge of the tub, since the caulking around the top edges were still good (my sister did that some time ago). silicone caulk is kind of hard to work with (sticky, soupy), but for some reason there seems to be a shift to silicone as there was hardly any acrylic caulk at the store. i used my finger to smooth the beads, and ended up with a trash can full of paper towels and discarded caulk. i began to realize this towards the end, but the chemical in the caulk was actually hurting my finger. i quickly washed up as soon as i finished.

my sister made some egg drop soup which i had before i left around 6:30. i also brought back a container of leftover spaghetti and some leftover chocolate cake. a package was on my doorstep, my order of rechargeable batteries finally arriving.

all i really want out of life is less drama, but drama has a way of just showing up whether i want it or not. drew was doing another wash tonight (whites) and noticed that the washing machine was stuck before the rinse cycle. i went down to the basement to check if the circuit breaker had flipped or maybe the cold water intake was shut off, but they were both fine. i fiddled with the washing machine and discovered it also wouldn't complete the spin cycle either. i removed the cover to check if the fuse had blown but that was fine too (i even replaced it, with no improvement). this was beginning to look like a repair i wouldn't be able to fix and i was dreading having to call an appliance repair man. it could cost more than $400-600 to repair, and i wondered if it's better just to buy a new used machine instead.

so it basically ruined the rest of my evening as i became obsessed with trying to figure out what was wrong. my guess is a clogged pump hose, since there's still some standing water in the drum. there doesn't seem to be anything inside the pump, and i don't feel anything trapped when i squeeze the tube. i'll need to remove the hose tomorrow and take a look inside.

in the meantime, drew took out his wet clothes, hand-wrung them in the tub, and dried them in the bathroom. he suggested we should ask our upstairs neighbors if we could use their washing machine but i nixed that idea. the next option was one of several local laundromats, but it was already late and they were all closed. i felt bad and told drew i would personally take his clothes to one of the laundromats come morning and get them washed, but he said not to bother, he won't need them until thursday.

i've never had a roommate break so many things before. sure, there was the case of my last roommate, who exploded my microwave, shattered my table fan, and even managed to fry her own computer. in drew's case, the list includes: jammed up bicycle chain/derailleur, dryer, salad spinner, and now washer. i'm not blaming him and i hope he doesn't blame me. fortunately i've managed to fix everything but i think my luck is about to end with this washer business. i don't think i can DIY-myself out of it.