i installed the new front fender onto the motorcycle this morning. i noticed the color was slightly different compared to the old fender (probably a result of the natural way paint fades over time), but once properly mounted onto the frame, i could hardly tell the difference. i rode to the cafe to show my father the handiwork - basically screwing into 4 bolts with a hex wrench.

i also dropped off a thumb drive with 2 seasons' worth of the wire. before i left, my mother packed me some lunch (otherwise it'd would've another day of yogurt or bagel). she also gave me 2 zaoni (枣泥 date paste) moon cakes my 2nd aunt bought for me in chinatown.

friday already? so this is how i spent the rest of my day: took a few blood pressure measurements (still high! no surprise!); watched a pirated copy of iron man 2 (meh); checked out the wozniacki vs. zvonareva us opens women's single semifinals match; and researched some stock quotes trying to figure out which ones i can liquidate.

in the early evening i intercepted franz while he was talking to his upstairs neighbor about house repairs and got a self-guided tour of their new place. it's the exact same unit as mine except 2 houses down, but it also includes a furnished half basement. these houses are 100+ years old, so over a century the layouts inside have changed. i'd never seen this unit before until now. i always thought i had the best unit, but this one blows mine away by a mile. my living room space is their master bedroom, while my master bedroom is their half study and opens up to their basement addition which functions as a living room that opens up to a manicured private backyard through a southern exposure wall that's nothing but windows. there's even a spiraling staircase that leads to the basement (just like in different strokes!).

franz and his neighbor were discussing the additional repair work needed to fix the house before it could be painted. it seems like the house was painted just recently (within the past 8 years) but it must not have been a good job if they need to paint again. and it's paint too, not stain like my place (which lasts longer). old paint needs to be scraped off before new paint can go on. there was also areas of water damage, and the general contractor was there too going over the place with the painter. the good thing is the upstairs neighbor (who actually doesn't live there, she had a hard time selling so now she's a reluctant landlord) is brazilian so the contractor (also brazilian) might give her a friendly discount.

when my roommate came back home, i managed to relay her some info she'd need for her trip to concord tomorrow. for instance, she didn't need to take the commuter rail from north station, since the fitchburg line runs through our nearby porter square. i printed out some google maps for her and explained concord's historical significances. thank god for wikipedia and its numerous translated versions; once she saw the chinese names of the various famous people buried there, it got her psyched to go.

my upstairs neighbors finally got wireless internet. how do i know this? because i saw comcast making a visit to their place last week, and now there's a new wireless network with their address.