compared to today, yesterday was a beautiful day despite the cold. by the time i went out to shovel the slush off of the sidewalk around 4pm, it was already frozen. i had to chip at the ice with the tip of the broken plastic shovel and what i could pick up was heavy and wet. it was raining throughout, my jacket was soggy and my hands underneath the soaked gloves were so cold i thought i'd lose some fingers. it was quite a workout and i stopped often, picking my head up to see my other neighbors either digging out their car or clearing the sidewalk. after i finished, i went to the dollar store to get some toilet paper and kleenex. there were so many icy puddles that i just gave up trying to keep my feet dry, plunging ankle deep into the slush. crossing the underground pathway, water from somerville avenue was flooding into the tunnel from the stairwell. portions of the street were submerged in water, little miniature icebergs floating on the surface as cars sped by splashing ice water everywhere.

i woke up late today, but in the limited time that i had from the moment i got up to sunset (which i normally when i stop working, or at least think about stopping) i managed to get all my work done. barring any unexpected errors, i should be free at least for a few days.

after a shower (who showers at 6pm?) i watched the rest of babel while eating the rest of julie's leftover chili for lunch (or was it dinner?). the movie's hard to explain, seemingly unrelated stories (in morocco, in tokyo, in mexico) eventually converge together. it was interesting, and marks one more movie i've seen out of the academy's best picture pool (the two other i'm missing is letters from iwo jima and the queen).

rearranged some plants in the minibow. i pulled out a few plants to prune off some dead leaves and trim their roots (i noticed they had a weird earthy-fishy smell). most of the plants don't seem to be doing very well, with the except of the vallisneria and the java fern. even the vallisneria seems to be growing awfully spindly and pale. as for the rest, i think the guppies have something to do with it because occasionally i see them eating parts of the plants. the new plant i got a few days (i don't even know what kind it is), the stems have rotted and i had to replant them. i need to find some new plants, preferably easier to take care of (hardy and fast growing). as for the 10 gallon, not much action. the carbon dioxide injector i set up, so far i haven't noticed any difference yet. the temperature seemed to have gone down though, 76-78 degrees, so maybe i don't need a new heater after all.