first the high: i finally got my insurance check for my old motorcycle. i was afraid there'd be complications because i'd stripped the bike a little bit prior to the insurance company hauling it away, but i got the full amount anyway (if i'd known that was the case, i would've also tried to remove the brand new tires).

now the low: carlos finally sent me the estimate after i called him again this morning. although finally getting the estimate was a victory, the result was utter failure when i saw the amount he was asking: $5650. to fix a few shingles and to replace a few boards? really? and how did he even arrive at that amount? i felt like i was getting fleeced, and the fact that i waited a whole week for this bad news added insults to injuries. had i known it'd be this expensive, i would've been searching for another general contractor instead of just waiting around. steve and i were thinking the minor repairs would cost $1000, while i personally thought it wouldn't be more than $2000. but $6000? that's a joke, right? steve and i will figure out a new strategy on sunday when he gets back from his business trip.

cleber climbed the roof with my camera and took photos of damaged areas that needed to be repaired. i called daniel the general contractor who was supposed to come over last night to see the house; we made an appointment for him drop by in the afternoon to do an estimate. unfortunately he called back an hour later, saying he just landed a 2 week long project so he wouldn't be available. cleber is just working too fast and the weather has been unusually dry. at this rate he'll be done by next week, before we can even find somebody to patch up the house.

i did a water change on both aquariums, even though i'd already done them last week (i didn't replace the filters at the time). i put in the last of my whisper filter inserts (i'll be switching to the aquaclear after this) and rolled my own activated carbon insert for the other tank. yesterday i turned on the aquarium heaters because i didn't want the fish to freeze to death. i currently have 9 guppies, 1 neon tetra, 3 glowlight tetras, and 1 cherry barb.

after dinner i took a long soak in the tub. partly to relax, but partly to keep warm because it's been awfully cold in the house all week.

a sucky day for chicago as well, when they were eliminated from the 2016 summer olympics host city contention in the first round of voting, despite an appearance by obama. actually, out of the 4 contending cities - madrid, tokyo, rio, and chicago - chicago was the weakest link. the only reason why it even had a chance was because of obama. tokyo wasn't going to get it because they'd already hosted before (in 1964). madrid? could it be another barcelona 1992? they'd already tried twice, third time wouldn't be the charm. chicago? america has hosted more games than any other country, last time i checked it wasn't called the united states olympics. rio seemed the most obvious choice. up-and-coming global powerhouse (just like china of 2008), and the fact that there's never been a game in south america before (not counting mexico, that's central). besides, if the olympics is supposed to be this global party, what better place to have it than the party capital of the world?