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JAN

08

2009

i woke up this morning and walked down to harvard square to catch the 86 bus to western avenue for day two of workapalooza. the sidewalks were icy but the air was warm to start the slow melting process. i had my rubber boots on anyway so puddles were no match for my all-weather footwear. i waited on dawes island but moved to brattle square when i had the sinking suspicious that the bus wouldn't be passing my way. onboard the bus, i sat towards the front so i could see my stop when it came up.

today's visit was supposed to be short but i actually stayed longer than yesterday. in the empty conference room with half a dozen computers running various interactives the place got warm enough that i was reduced down to my t-shirt. unfortunately i forgot to wear some deodorant and i became very self-conscious about my man musk. my installation work was made that much more difficult by the fact that there was only one set of keyboard and mouse to be shared by all the machines. i boxed up all the equipment before i left close to 5pm.

i got wise this time around and walked to the nearby mcdonalds to get some food (to be honest, i'd been fantasizing about fast food hours in advance). i ordered 2 hamburgers (less than $2) from an employee who was chatting in spanish with coworkers. two coeds (faux fur trim jackets and ass word sweat pants) behind me in line ordered some fries. i ate my burgers quickly in the blustery wind while waiting for the 86 to take me back to harvard square. though only about a mile away, it would've taken me half a hour to walk back. fortunately it was only a short wait before the bus arrived and there were a few other folks waiting besides me, so it didn't feel like a lost cause.

arriving back in harvard square, my appetite for junk food was not yet satiated. i went to the dunkin' donuts and got a box of munchkins (25 count for about $5), or as i like to rudely call them, donut holes. the girl working the cash register was awfully pretty and a man waiting for coffee smiled when i told her i didn't want any of those munchkins with the leftover green holiday sprinkles on them. armed with my assortment of donut holes in a convenient cardboard carrying box, i went to the watch shop to get the battery replaced on my casio. the cost to replace the battery is more than the value of the watch itself but i've had that watch for more than a decade now so it has sentimental value. the young repairman told me there'd be a 15-20 minute wait. "can i come back for it tomorrow?" i asked. "what am i, going to say no?" he answered. after giving him my contact info, i cut across harvard courtyard to make my way home. it was right during the evening rush hour and there was a buzz of students and commuters crisscrossing in the darkness. having to work alone from home most of the time, i found the rush to be exhilirating. harvard square used to be my commute destination when i had an office job in cambridge/boston so i'm quite familiar with the area but tonight underneath the glow of a moon half obscured by the clouds, it all seemed new again.

after the obligatory snapshot, i devoured the entire box of munchkins, washed down with a bottle of tamarind jarrito. each donut hole is about 60 calories so 25 of them meant a 1500 calorie meal. in hindsight i shouldn't have bought them so late in the day. all they had left were leftover chocolate, plain, glazed, and jelly-filled (i wanted some powdered cake ones but they didn't seem to have any). the chocolates were the best (does that mean more preservatives to retain their freshness longer?) while all the others were dried and stale. i ate them all nevertheless, savoring their deliciousness, however diminished by their post expiration date condition.

tired from working all day and with a stomach full of food, i crawled into bed and decided to take a nap. i seem to be really good at these micronaps, where i fall asleep for 15-30 minutes but wake up like i just slept for hours. i took a shower and spent the rest of the night watching television. it's going to be an easy day tomorrow; i don't have to visit any clients.