my job this morning was to wake up and buy some ice cream for the cafe. rosev diary opens at 7a, and for some reason that was the time i originally planned on waking up, until my mother told me she wouldn't arrive at the cafe until 8:30a. so i managed to sleep late a little bit and didn't leave until almost 10a.

i decided to stop at the assembly square christmas tree shoppe to pick up some fetching owl mugs i saw yesterday. from there i headed to rosev diary to pick up the ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, rainbow sherbet, and black raspberry with yogurt chips. i made a mistake with the black raspberry, it was supposed to be black raspberry yogurt with chocolate chips (not ice cream), but i didn't know it until i made it back to the cafe.

from there i headed to belmont, where i ate the rest of the leftover fried chicken from yesterday, before doing some vacuuming with the dyson. i came across a sansa clip+ mp3 player. only later did i realize it's the replacement sansa i thought i'd lost! it was underneath some chairs by the fireplace, must've fallen out of my jacket pocket during the winter.

i was going to vacuum the honda element as well, but it was just too dirty, so i decided to use the shopvac instead, only using the dyson to vacuum the dust on the dashboard.

i drove back to cambridge with the 3-segment ladder. ana was awake, videochatting with a spanish boy in the kitchen while simultaneously making breakfast. i told her i'd be outside painting. i used the ladder so i could get to the exposed nail heads above the windows. all the while i could hear loud spanish chattering inside the house, later to be replaced by loud spanish television dialogue.

besides the nail heads, i also stained over all exposed wood, as well coloring my white motion-detection lights. i worked in my alleyway, then the front of the house, and finally the alleyway i share with renee. the sounds of the ladder brought out her first floor tenant, who poked his head from around the porch to say hi. i told him it'd just take 15 minutes, he said it was okay, just wanted to see what the noise was about.

when i finished painting, i told ana i was returning the ladder and wouldn't be back until 6-7p. she said she was going to spend the labor day weekend with the guy she was videochatting, and wouldn't come back until monday night. that was music to my ears. i put the ladder back into the car along with my fuji bike and drove back to belmont. i stopped by the cafe to pick up some frozen chinese dumplings my parents had made earlier. it was around 3:30p.

my mother was out shopping with my sister. she finally came home around 5:30p. she cooked up the chinese dumplings for dinner. i rode back to cambridge on the fuji after i finished eating. ana was gone when i got back.

the main event of the day was the 3rd annual boston harbor labor day fireworks (i'd missed the previous two others because i was away in china at the time). not just any fireworks, but dueling fireworks between two different pyrotechnical companies. the tv broadcast began at 8:30p, but the fireworks wouldn't start until 9p.

there were several places to see it, from columbus park to east boston to fan pier. my original idea was to view it from east boston, with the city skyline as a backdrop. but that meant i'd have to travel by T, since it's nearly impossible to bike there (unless i somehow take my bike onto the subway, which i've never done before in boston). it seemed like too much of a hassle, and besides, i wanted to take my suped up fuji for a spin on this lovely late summer evening, turn on all the lights, bask in the admiration of gawking pedestrians. so i decided to see it from fan pier instead, right outside the US district court.

i left the house a bit after 7p. google map gave me a set of easy directions which turned out was a recipe for my destruction as it involved going down all one way streets (court-state-kilby-oliver) once i got to the financial district. fortunately it was a weekend night so the traffic wasn't too bad. not too many pedestrians in the financial district on an evening away, so i rode on the sidewalks. instead of riding over seaport boulevard, i decided to park my bike on northern avenue next to the james hook building and walk across the bridge in the direction of fan pier. i got there by 7:40p.

i then wandered around, snapping the occasional photo of the sunset behind the financial district, trying to find the best place to sit and watch the fireworks. there were people with cameras, and maybe of them had brought their tripods. i wanted to bring mine but thought it might be too awkward, but in hindsight i should've brought it. fan pier park is currently undergoing construction, so the entire eastern harborwalk was fenced in. i sat as close to the end of the pier as possible, figuring with a wide angle lens i'd be able to capture some fireworks with a view of the boston skyline to the side.

as i sat and waited, with my feet dangling over the edge, more and more people showed up. first an older couple with lawn chairs sat to my right, the woman with her camera mounted onto a tripod, the camera strap safely around her neck. the on my left a group of high school kids, the boys trying to impress the girls by attempting to wake a tightrope to a large wooden pillar poking out of the water. later they realized the rope wasn't even secured onto anything, that it was simply floating in the water. while the boys went to go get some food, the girls stayed behind. one of them then accidentally dropped her phone into the harbor. as if that wasn't crowded enough, later a group of college-age indian kids squeezed in between the high school kids and myself (i've noticed indians have a high tolerance for close proximity), narrowly punching me in the head while attempting to take multiple group selfies.

it was actually sort of a cool night, even more so by the harbor. i should've brought a jacket, i rubbed my arms to warm myself up. i soon forgot about the temperature when the fireworks started by 9p. i don't think i've ever seen fireworks over the ocean before. i've seen them over the charles river, the reflection from the water (as well as nearby buildings) makes for a nice color effect. there were 2 barges shooting off rockets; it wasn't so much as a duel as more of a synchronized display. overall, the light show was pretty, but not as spectacular as our annual 4th of july fireworks. once it was over, people began shuffling towards the exits.

i returned to my bike. before i left boston, i paid a visit to the large overhead greenway art installation, the suspended color-changing web. i'd never seen it before all lit up at night, it's pretty interesting. of course all the lights on my bike were turned on, and i noticed some people taking photos of my ride as well as the art installation.

i made it back home by 10p.