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i started packing up client P's test machine when i woke up this morning: one high performance desktop CPU, one touch screen LCD panel. i haven't really used the computer too much, it's just been sitting in my bedroom collecting dust for the past month, so i was happy to finally see it go.

so off i went, first riding the motorcycle to belmont to borrow the car. i fed hailey some lunch and let her out in the backyard to use the bathroom. i drove back to cambridge to pick up the computer. i drove down to cambridgeport to deliver the machine to client P (who just happened to be working this sunday). with this project now officially over, i can finally send an invoice and get paid, but all the money i make on this one will be used to pay off the taxes i owe for this year.

i returned to my place, where i picked up my roommate to take him to market basket, grabbing a bagel from the pantry shelf as a quick breakfast. i was having second thoughts: there are favors, and there are taking someone to market basket the last weekend before thanksgiving. i wasn't expecting to find a parking space but found one after a few minutes of waiting. the place was surprisingly less crowded than i imagined. after i drove my roommate back to my place, i went to the cafe to drop off some grocery items for my aunt. i also took the opportunity to water my father's houseplants before going to belmont to spend the night dogsitting/housesitting. by then it was almost 3pm and i finally got a chance to rest, carving up half a rotisserie chicken for lunch.

i don't know how many more times i have to shuttle back and forth from cambridge to belmont for dogsitting/housesitting duties. if only my sister was more responsible with her time and doesn't just call me when she's about to go out to let me know there's nobody around to take care of the dog. next saturday can't come soon enough, when my parents finally come back from their egyptian vacation. at least the weather's been nice (but cold); no snowstorm to make my travels that much more difficult.

speaking of the weather, i've been following the forecast for several days now, but not for the obvious reason. it's not traveling conditions i care about; i still need to do some more work on my kitchen french doors, and the 3 coats of oil-based polyurethane requires temperature above 50 degrees for proper application and drying. i was thinking tomorrow, but i have a bit of a schedule conflict since i still need to be in belmont taking care of the dog. now it looks like the day after thanksgiving might be the perfect day. so while some people are out shopping on black friday, i'll be in the privacy of my own home huffing on paint fumes.

i fell asleep on the couch in the early evening with hailey curved up by my legs. my sister came home later, along with a friend. i pretended to be still sleeping so i wouldn't have to get up and say hello (i'm misanthropic like that). then i saw something crashing through the living room: it was another black labrador, but this one was twice the size of hailey, who was running besides this giant dog. i wonder if hailey will grow up to be just as big? i think her hound half comes from a small stock dog because i haven't really noticed her getting any larger the past few weeks. when my sister and her friend and the large dog left, i made hailey some dinner while gnawing on the other half of the rotisserie chicken.

all that egg nog i've been drinking didn't agree with me and i felt the urge to go to the bathroom. unfortunately i had some performance issues, made worse by the fact that hailey follows me where ever i go around the house, even to the bathroom. and if i shut the door, she'll cry and bark on the other side. i had to wait until she fell asleep before a successful trip to the bathroom.