jeremy put in the melon light fixture in the master bedroom and took down the track lighting. next, he did up the bathroom, relocating a light switch from one side of the bathroom to the other and adding a vanity light. the last thing he did was to install a single recessed light in the hallway. unfortunately, after he made the hole in the ceiling we discovered that it was blocked by a beam and also a horizontal pipe, so we went with the alabaster light fixture. 
while he was installing the light in the hallway, barbara taggart and her assistant sarah showed up in their plumbing van. barbara is famous because i hear her name all the time, not only the fact that she's one of the few female plumber in the business, but that she also does very good work. the few times we had plumbing problems in belmont were all fixed by her. while sarah switched out the faucet in the sink, barbara worked in the bathroom, showing us (my father and i) what she was doing. she's one of those fast working repair people who not only fixes the problem but also explains to you at the same time, so you'll know why she's doing something. 
she put a stopper in the bathroom sink, talked us out of replacing the faucet with the moen one we got (the preexisting faucet was worth more, some german import model), and tried to extend the shower head out from the wall but she didn't have a long enough piece of chrome piping. it was kind of hectic, jeremy was outside the bathroom snaking wires through the walls for the ceiling fixture while we were running in and out with plumbing stuff, maybe we could've scheduled things a little better than happening simultaneously. after the kitchen was fixed (they replaced the faucet and fixed a leak once the faucet was installed) barbara and sarah left, promising to return on monday to fix the shower head. soon afterwards jeremy left as well, he too returning monday afternoon to finish the last of the lights (connect the hallway light, install three more ceiling fixtures, patch up the closet light, and add an outlet to the master bedroom).
claudio called me from new york city, having just arrived there from tokyo for a coworker's wedding. "who's wedding is it for? michael roker?" i asked. "no, i said, 'my coworker!'" claudio replied. after the wedding he's coming up to boston and staying at my place (wednesday). i'm under the gun to get the house finished enough so that he can live there for a few days. i almost begged him to stay at my place about a month ago when i learned he would be visiting nyc/boston, but that was before i realized i couldn't get the house completely done in time for his arrival. i think i can get as far as priming the interior, but there won't be comfortable furnitures (no sofa, just hard dining room chairs), no table to eat at (unless you count the coffee table, which is usually where i eat when i'm at the place), and the house isn't very well stocked, no food, hardly any utensils, maybe a pot to cook with, that's all. claudio also wants to visit foxwoods when he comes up. i'll go with him (i'm sort of his local guide even though we both went to school in the boston area), but he's going to have to realize that i am unemployed and gambling probably isn't the best thing to be doing when you don't have a normal income.
later, i went back to the watertown home depot to return the moen faucet along with an undercabinet halogen light kit we bought about a month ago but never used. while processing my returns, the woman behind the counter told me that i bought that light kit on the same day as her birthday. i gave her a happy "ohh!" in response. i wanted to added, "then that must make you 21 years old," (she was middle aged) but i held my tongue. i also went to target to return a brita water pitcher. i tried to buy a large 24x36" picture frame for my isometric boston poster, but they ran out of the black edged variety. they never have what i want at this damn watertown target! i can't wait until back to school shopping is over.
