although still overcast, it wasn't raining as much as it was yesterday. even then i was reluctant to go outside, but i'd been cramped up at home long enough. i biked to market basket after my oatmeal lunch to get a few things (mostly snacks). i then went back outside and got some trash bags from the dollar store after realizing i'd run out. i was going to go down to harvard university to get a few photos of the richardsonian romanesque buildings, but it began to mist so i decided to go another time.

i made some homemade brown sugar today. brown sugar is nothing more than a mixture of white sugar and molasses. it gave me a chance to use the bottle of nearly-unused molasses i had in the cupboard. the recipe i saw last night (martha stewart no less) said to mix 1 cup of white sugar with 1/4 cup of molasses. i didn't want to a measuring cup because i knew i wouldn't be able to pour the molasses back out, so just eyestimated the amount. it looked like there wasn't enough so i gave it at least 2-3 more additional long squirts. when i checked again for alternate recipes, they all said to use only 1 tablespoon. i probably had half a cup by that point. unfazed, i continued mixing. after a while the large dark brown molasses clumps begin to soften and disappear into the sugar. the final result looked like brown sugar but with a strong molasses smell. can't wait to try it out (the next time i have sweet oatmeal).

with drew leaving on friday, this was our last wings night. he called to let me know he was leaving MIT, i told him i'd make the order and pick it up. hours before i'd drank a glass of milk. my lactose intolerance is hit or miss but tonight it was a hit, as i suddenly had to make frequent bathroom trips. not sure why, but i then had a craving for cheese, and finished my wedge of danish blue cheese, which could've made it even worse. by the time it came to dinner my stomach had finally calmed down.

tonight was also the 2-hour season finale of ink master. in the first hour it looked like sebastian would get the boot with his inferior tattoo, but they ended up cutting tatu baby, whom i thought would win it all. it was so shocking, i was waiting for them to bring her back as their supposed twist, especially since they showed tatu baby and steve in the next episode promo. her cut was real, but the twist was due to popular support, she'd be back next season (3) as one of the artists. this is a smart decision on the part of the producers since tatu baby is one of the few reasons why anyone should watch this show.

the live second hour was kind of terrible, a totally unnecessary stunt that backfired in several awkward moments. it was jerry springeresque, as former artists griped with the judges, and former "human canvases" griped with the artists that tattooed them. sebastian finally got cut, with just steve and sarah left. sarah lost some weight during the month she had to work on her final tattoo and looked pretty good (even david navarro was impressed, the man who was briefly married to carmen electra). in the end steve won. he's a good enough tattoo artist, but in a perfect world an asshole like him would've lost and a mentally-unhinged woman like sarah would've won instead. no, actually, in a perfect world, tatu baby would've won.