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9:46. that's when my father called this morning, asking if i was still asleep. i got out of bed and let him inside. he was here in search of a set of door knobs he thought he saw in my basement. a package was waiting for me on my backyard deck. occasionally delivery drivers will leave it there instead of out on my front steps to keep the shipment from getting stolen. i figured it was the shoes my mother ordered last week and gave the box to my father to bring back to the cafe.

my mother called me an hour later. turns out the package wasn't her shoes but instead the motorcycle cover i bought through amazon 2 days ago. i was surprised it got here so fast, i just asked for normal shipping. i got the nelson-rigg deluxe all season cover in navy blue to distinguish it from the black cover i got for the now-defunct honda rebel at the start of the season. i picked size XL but i was worried it wouldn't fit: too small it doesn't cover enough of the bike, too large it'll collect rain water.

around noontime my godmother and her son jack came by to pick me up so i can take them to an open house at 303 lowell street in somerville. part of a 48 unit split condo complex, the first one we saw was a 3rd floor 2 bedroom 842 square feet bright corner unit for $240k that included a reserved parking space. that low price belie the expensive $350/month condo fee however. there were a few other units for sale, including a single bedroom condo next door, and a 2 bedroom on the first floor. this complex complex was also within eyesight of an eventual green line extension station scheduled for completion in 2014. nevertheless, jack (who's the one looking to buy) wanted something even cheaper, possibly $200k or lower. he was thinking about waltham, where condo prices are still more affordable. a chinese woman also came to see the open house, and she had the annoying habit of eavesdropping on our private conversations. i asked the realtor so many questions that he was starting to suspect i might've been a real estate agent myself. i just have a lot of experience condo searching, having seen several dozen units over 2 consecutive years before i eventually found my place.

after jack dropped me off, i took the motorcycle to the cafe to pick up my motorcycle cover. my mother's shoes arrived at that point (via fedex) and i was able to give them to her in the exchange. i had a tuna fish croissant sandwich for lunch before returning home.

the motorcycle backfired a few times, stalled once, and needed some choke adjusting in order to get started. it still needs some long distance riding in order to (hopefully) work out the bad fuel kinks from the engine.

once the engine had some time to cool down, i went outside and put on the cover to see if it'll fit. it fits, but just barely, with about a quarter worth of tires exposed on either end. if i remove the windshield the cover would be able to completely wrap the motorcycle but it's not too bad the way it is now. i left the cover, which made worry less about the bike. a shiny new motorcycle attracts a lot of unwanted attention. out of sight, out of mind is a good motto to follow in this case.

i spent the rest of the day doing laundry and cleaning the house. i've been noticing a tickle in my throat every night when i go to bed. at first i figured it was the ragweed, but then i got to thinking maybe it might be the years of dust accumulating underneath my bed. just to be on the safe side, i decided to clean under the bed. it's been a long time, and the amount of dust was criminal. an itchy throat should've been the least of my problems. i did a thorough job, even moving the bed so i could reach behind and wipe clean all the base boards. the vacuum cleaner was having a suction problem. initially i thought it was a stuffed bag so i replaced it with a new one, but the problem continued, and when i noticed the new bag was still empty despite all the low-powered vacuuming, i knew the hose was clogged. it took a while to dig out all the debris with a wooden skewer. once that was done, the vacuum performed like a champ. i've had the eureka mighty mite ii (model 3630) since 1992, when i started college. it's so old i can't even find a photo of it online. the cleaner bags it uses have to be special-ordered on the web because no local stores carry them anymore. it's not so good with carpets (especially since i lost the rug cleaning attachment) but i use it mainly to suck up dust hiding underneath the furniture.

eliza dropped by in the evening, back in town from paris for a few weeks to see friends and family. i thought she looked european, wearing a denim shirt that ironically she bought locally a few days ago from boomerang (she didn't realize boston would be so cold). we watched the end of ghost before grabbing some dinner at pho n rice across the street. i found all her french observations to be very interesting, and told she should collect her stories. we came back just in time to catch the end of dirty dancing. seems like every network is putting out their patrick swayze tribute this weekend. eliza left soon afterwards, but not before i promised to see baby theo before they leave in a week.

i ended the evening with a long hot soak in the bathtub, burning my redwood incense, drinking cold glasses of water, eating my tangerine slices, and reading the latest issue of wired. when i got out of the tub, i was still steaming.