with the chain on my motorcycle a little loose i was reluctant to take it out, but it was the fastest way to run errands, and besides, with the heat, it meant i wouldn't risk dehydration. first stop was ac moore, to pick up a hardcover 4x6" (220 pages) sketch book ($3.19), which i'll use as a travel journal. then magoun square in somerville to see if they had any white shirts at the salvation army thrift store. i'd never been there before and they had more selection than what i anticipated, but still nothing in my size. to davis square i went to visit the goodwill store; i couldn't find anything either. a quick stop at the cafe to find my father negotiating with a comcast representative trying to get him to switch to xfinity high speed and internet phone (saving $10/month compared to what they currently have with verizon).

after being back at home, i went out a short time later to do some work in my community garden plot. the mulberries are falling now, but not particularly bad. maybe at the start of july i can cover up the bare dirt with some salt marsh grass (if i can still find them at garden shops) to keep the weeds down. all my tomato plants have green tomatoes, but the ones on the right side underneath the shade of the mulberry tree don't seem as healthy as the ones on the left that get more sun. i also haven't fertilized my plot for a few seasons now, i'm due for some fresh manure/compost. my cucamelons are barely hanging on. one of them seems to be on the verge of death, but the 2 i've trained onto smaller tomato cages have at least a fighting chance. they don't seem to be any bigger compared to when i transplanted them, but they're not suffering either.

my presents for my cousins arrived in the mail today: an architecture guide to boston for my cousin christina, an authentic replica david ortiz red sox jersey for my cousin eric. i also found out that the garmin etrex 30 was not a gift from frances, so i contacted my ebay seller asking for return directions (my seller has a 14 day return policy). in the mail i received a letter congratulating me on my choice of celticare as my health insurance. i actually wanted neighborhood health plan, and this being the last day of open enrollment, i called up the health exchange to verify i was under NHP (i am). finally, called the optometrist to give them the go ahead to order 2 boxes of biomedics 38, my contact lenses of choice. these are for traveling, just for when i get back, but i want to get them in by next week before my health insurance changes.

i'm trying to get to bed early tonight, since i have to wake up at 4:30 so i can leave my house by around 5:00, bike into south station, and catch my 6:00 megabus to new york city for the annual mermaid parade. john was supposed to join me but he has a prior engagement. hopefully i can meet him in the morning when i arrive, and also pick up the dell mini from him. it will be a long day tomorrow, good practice for when i go traveling in a few more weeks.

(i have photos but too lazy to process them. hopefully sometimes this weekend...)