nothing manlier than working on the motorcycle. i drove out to belmont this morning so my father and i could remove the rear tire on the bike, the one with the flat that needed replacing. because it was the rear tire, it's a little bit more complicated to detach since the whole drive mechanism is attached to it. brake adjusting nut, brake rod, brake arm, cotter pin, axle nut, axle shaft, drive chain - in 9 surprisingly easy steps we had the wheel off. unfortunately the motorcycle shop is closed on sundays, so i put the tire in the trunk of the car. while my father got ready to work, i took a quick tour of the backyard, seeing the signs of spring here and there. my father gave me a ride back to cambridge.

i spent the early afternoon watching the constant gardener. an interesting movie with some serious subject matter, makes you want to devote your life to helping others. for lunch i ate half a bag of pretzels while watching some college basketball (i don't have march madness, but boston college was playing so i watched them lose to duke). when evening came around, my parents came over with some dinner. we cooked some more mushrooms and i made corn chowder.