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i found my bike toppled over on its side this morning. i've been sort of lax with my bike locking habits so i just had the u-lock and not the security cable, which made it easier for the bike to fall over. i went out to see if it was okay and noticed right away that the front brake lever was broken. this isn't the first time my bike has been knocked over. the last time it happened it bent the lever but i was able to bent it back. i guess that shows you the poor quality of material. however, instead of bending, it actually snapped off this time. my personal theory is the cold weather made the metal brittle. fortunately the brake lever is something i can replace ($9.82 for a new pair from aawyeah), but the hard part will be how to remove the handlebar grip without damaging it. they should arrive no later than thursday.

my father dropped by in the late morning to help me move my couch, which can now sit flush against the wall since i made my own DIY cardboard heating vent diverter tube. the living room seemed larger with the newly reclaimed extra space. the best spot to sit is right in front of the diverted heat that now comes out from the bottom of the couch. now i'm faced with the problem of what to do with the empty space. i thought about a coat rack, but what about another armchair? or a sidetable with a lamp? how about another bookshelf? lots of possibilities, that just gives me another reason to go to ikea.

it's a good thing i have plenty of other bikes to ride, but during the winter months i prefer my junky trek grocery getter because the salty roads tend to ruin bikes. heading out to michael's for my mother to check up what kind of yarn they had in stock, i ended up taking my ross 10-speed. i don't like riding road bikes, the dropdown handlebar makes me feel unsafe compared to a traditional splayed-out handlebar. the steel-framed ross bike isn't that light, but compared to my usual trek, it's still probably 15 lbs. lighter (the trek is heavy because of the large rear baskets). the weight makes a difference (along with the bigger 27" tires), and i can definitely feel i'm going faster on the road bike. it has old-fashion stem shifters which are a pain to change, so i just ride in a single speed.

michael's didn't have a wide selection of patons 100% classic wool yarn. i ended up buying a ball of vickie howell sheep(ish) yarn in teal. i'd never seen this yarn before, with it's 70% acrylic/30% wool blend. the acrylic gives it a shiny silky look, the wool for warmth. i was about to pay when i realized i left my money at home (in my normal bag; i was carrying a different bag that held both my camera and computer). so i ended up going home to retrieve my credit card then coming back to the store. i was going to use my michael's card when the clerk told me they were doing away with it. i think that's for the best because i never really got any discounts from using the card, and more often than not i forget entirely.

from porter square i rode to belmont. it was cold and a few times the strong winds shifted me off to the side. i wore gloves instead of mittens and my fingers were hurting.

i would've stayed at home to work if the clients needed me but things were pretty quiet workwise. client M got in touch with my this morning, asking for my social security number so they can send me a 1099-MISC tax form. i wrote client N's payroll person asking when they'd finally pay me for the work i invoiced back in october; she said i'd get a check this week. client R did call me, only after i called first to leave a message when i saw their belated e-mail; they called to let me know everything was okay.

the bike i really wanted to ride was my fuji 10-speed. it has a road bike body but with a normal handlebar. i also suped it up with a strand of electroluminescent wire which looks really cool at nights. i ended up going with the ross because it has a clip for my rear tail light; riding the fuji, i would've had to clip it to the back of my bag strap and that's an easy way to lose a light.

back at the house, i got a chance to see the light configuration in my newly arranged living room. now that more space has cleared up, i could really use another lamp (there's already 3). i ended the evening watching new episodes of the following and castle.