my upstairs neighbor must've been building robots or something with all the loud banging and sawing coming from both the upstairs and the basement. fortunately i woke up earlier than usual so my sleep wasn't interrupted by all that noise. for lunch i went back to my old egg and bacon english muffin sandwich. i just have one final package of bacon left to eat and i'm done with the stuff, it'll be yogurts and salads from then on. it was the hickory-smoked maple-glazed variety of bacon and for the rest of the day my house smelled like a breakfast diner waffle house. i ran out of kleenex and went on a supply run to the dollar store, the only time i went outside today. i didn't have dinner after eating a whole bag of corn chips with salsa in the early evening.

i ordered a new hiking/camera bag today. i used to have this great lumbar bag i bought from the gap many years ago (probably cost me around $20), it was my all-purpose carrying case when i went out naturing. i still have the bag, but i'm pretty sure it's covered in poison ivy so i've since retired it. since then i've been trying to find a replacement and i've come across the mountainsmith tour, which is almost an exact copy of my old gap bag but just 3x as expensive (i wonder who copied whom). the great thing about it is despite the fact it has a lumbar support straps (making it look like a glorified fanny pack), i never use it that way, but instead carry it as an across-the-shoulder bag. it also has handles for easy carry by hand. two mesh side pockets are good for water bottles as well as a spare umbrella in case it rains. it's just big enough inside to fit all my lenses, minus my camera, which i carry on the outside wrapped in a protective neoprene case.

from the living room i can hear this intermittent beeping. i usually notice it when the television is off. it could just be my imagination but i think one of the smoke detectors in the basement is low on battery. the faint beeping is driving me slowly insane though. if my neighbor was down in the basement today, he would've heard it, unless his hearing is just as bad as mine. i'll need to replacement the battery tomorrow morning before it starts snowing and i won't be able to go into the basement until everything melts again.