from there i biked to belmont to get the battery charger from the garage. from a few blocks away i could already see the huge crane behind the house and hear the sounds of chainsaws and wood chippers. apparently the backyard neighbors have decided to get rid of an enormous pine tree on their property. these are the same annoying neighbors with their noisy kids and clucking chickens. i rather get rid of the neighbors than the tree. there ought to be some law against chopping down an old tree just because you don't like it. i don't exactly know how old or how tall that tree was, but it was definitely one of the tallest trees in the vicinity.
back at home, i removed the battery and charged it inside the house. i connected the leads wrong, sending out angry sparks from the point of contact. i quickly figured out the problem. after a few hours of charging, i put the battery back onto the bike and managed to start it up without any problems. i may want to buy a new battery though: this is the second time the battery has failed. i was lucky both times because i was close to home, but it'd be a nightmare if i was stranded somewhere far away with a dead battery.
i made lasagna for dinner. originally i was going to teach my roommate, but she didn't get back home until 11:30, having gone out for dinner in chinatown with some coworkers.