
since i can only transport one box at a time with my bike, i mailed off one of them first, postponing the second box for monday morning. i had the misfortune of riding into the wind. this day in general was very breezy which in turn made it colder than normal. there was 2 clerks working today so the line went fairly quick (there was only one person ahead of me).
next i walked to the community garden to dig up my rosemary for the season. i brought along an empty ceramic pot and my shovel. i was hoping for some peace and quiet but fellow gardener joel happened to be there as well, cleaning up his garden. in a perfect world i wouldn't even be caught talking to joel because he's kind of creepy.
i dug up my rosemary as quickly as possible and left. i didn't realize how heavy the pot would be, made worse by the fact i was also carrying a heavy shovel. at one point dropped the pot (from a low height) while trying to change hands and half the dirt tumbled out. i was on my knees scooping everything back into the pot.
i went to star market to get some cereal. i was going to pick one of my usual selection (apple jack, corn pops, frosted flakes), but decided i want to go healthy, and got the new kellogg's crunchy nut caramel nut cereal ($2.99). it was pretty good (i finally ate by around 1:00), but probably not as healthy as i expected, since sugar is the second ingredient. it sort of tastes like corn flakes sprinkled with crushed nuts.
next i went out in search of 10W40 motor oil. i took the motorcycle this time, didn't want to brave the winds again. first stop was advanced auto parts next to the somerville target. they had a wide selection, but all were pretty expensive ($6-9 quart bottle). the cheapest they had was store brand for $3.99, but they were all out of 10W40 (seems like a popular grade). one of the employees even went back to check if they had anymore; i didn't have the heart to tell him i just wasn't interested. fortunately they were all out.
since i was already there, i decided to take a quick peek at target in the slight chance they might have some 10W40 motor oil. i surprised to find they had some mobil 10W40 in stock, at the bargain price of $2.99 a bottle. i bought three.
during the checkout i asked the cashier if she had to work on black friday. she sighed and said she reported to work at 12:30am. given the choice, i think most retail workers would rather have the opportunity to enjoy a normal thanksgiving instead of coming into work at midnight. at least in massachusetts there are laws preventing stores from opening on thanksgiving day; in other states, workers aren't so lucky and have to suffer through the new indignity of black thursday.
i pulled over as i approached union square so i could check out the christmas trees for sale at ricky's flower market. earlier i saw a car with a tree tied to its roof. i was impressed with the selection, from pines to spruces to firs.
i spent the rest of the daylight hour in my bedroom, backing up some files and making a duplicate of a dvd using mac dvdripper pro. i've never used it before since i can't remember the last time i had to copy an actual disc. i also reconnected with the itunes library on my desktop computer, blaring music from the speakers. while waiting for the dvd to burn and verify, i made myself a mantou sandwich. i also peeled 2 pomegranates. some people might think pomegranates are a pain to eat because it's not easy to remove all the seeds, but i actually like removing all the kernels, kind of like the same feeling one gets from popping bubble wrap.
i wanted to go back to ricky's flower market around sunset to get some nice photos of the christmas trees with all the lights lit up, but i just didn't want to go back out to the cold, so that didn't happen. i pretty much completed everything i wanted to get done today, with the exception of cleaning the fish tank.
with my sister's birthday coming up next sunday, i figured i should get her a present. i ended up ordering her one of those retro phone attachment (in red) for her iphone. i actually want one for myself but it doesn't work with my dinky phone. i just hope it can get here in time.
i made one last mantou sandwich for a late dinner around 9:30. i ate while watching a copy of lawless, that movie about virginian moonshiners. the story is kind of plain and predictable but it features some great actors, including jessica chastain, tom hardy, and guy pearce.
i realized just tonight that i can actually pay and print out USPS shipping labels from home. i also save a few dollars with the online discount. the hardest part is figuring out how much a box weighs, but with my new bathroom scale capable of display a tenth of a decimal point, i can get fairly accurate readings. i'm going to try it out with the shipment i'm sending on monday.