but the worst? a note from my upstairs neighbor steve, a 3 part series of bad news: 1) the roof is leaking but he got some guy to take a look so it can be repaired ($); 2) the leak was from some old skylights, which will eventually need to be replaced ($$$) in a year or two - i quote, "apt to be an expensive proposition"; and 3) he suddenly wants to set up a reserve fund for house maintenance and repairs ($$), with the implication that the money would go to paying his new skylights. so basically he wants me to pay to replace his windows. it's not like the skylights are in a common area; they can only be used by him. but his thinking is because they're part of the roof, and the roof is common, i should pay a portion of the cost to replace them. if that's true, then i should also be able to decide which kind of replacement skylights "we" should have, and i want the kind you can't see out of, essentially tarp over those damn holes so i never have to think about them again. even when i told him i didn't think it was right and i wouldn't pay, he still wasn't satisfied and said he'd check the condo documents (good luck with that; i did the same, didn't find anything pertaining to skylights). basically he's created a situation where one of us will be very unhappy once the dust settles.
so basically today was non-stop work from morning until night. it's exhausting and i'm completely bleary eyed, but satisfying at the same time in a masochistic way. i griped about the fact that i had to design the interactives as well, but the one good thing is i can basically do whatever i want, because there isn't enough time for the back-and-forth approval phase of a normal project. it looks okay and it's functional and adheres to usability standards, but it definitely lacks the kind of polish one would expect had i had more time to work on it. still, i think the client should be happy with the result. i've been experimenting with easing actions for animations and blends, giving everything a more natural feel.
i took a break in the mid-afternoon to go have a chat with my parents regarding the news from steve. they didn't think i should pay for the skylights either, but my father agreed that we should have a reserve fund for future repairs.
when i got back home, bruce and i walked a few blocks to harvard, across the street from the hoffman laboratory, where a pair of red-tailed hawks had built a nest up in a pine tree. 
bruce saw the whole family yesterday, but reports from dennis this morning said they had already flown away. we didn't see anything when we got there, but a single hawk circled the sky then landed on the roof of a nearby building. according to our field guide, it's a juvenile red-tailed hawk from the large white bib on its chest.
projects like this are bad for my health. besides the stress and the exhaustion, it also disrupts my diet. i had a sandwich this morning then finished my leftover wings in the early evening, before snacking on a peach. not the most nutritious or fortifying of meals.