with no roommate nor upstairs neighbors, i had my first peaceful night of sleep in a long time. this was the first morning where i saw frozen ice puddles outside when i woke up around 10:00. i got dressed and went to star market to look for some tzatziki dip (my mother bought some pita bread yesterday). they didn't have any, so i returned home to get the bike and ride to market basket, were they did have it (2 different brands). i was reluctant to go to market basket because of the holiday weekend crowd, but the line wasn't too bad, and i checked out almost immediately without waiting.

riding to belmont, it was cold enough that my hands hurt a bit when i didn't have my gloves on. i re-adjusted the rear fender and a few days ago i re-aligned the front wheel so now the bike rides smoothly, doesn't catch on the fender or the brake pads. i wasn't trying to go fast, but when i arrived in belmont, my t-shirt was sweat-soaked underneath my lamb wool sweater. i took a shower and wore one of the souvenir new mexico t-shirts my mother bought at a santa fe walgreen's more than 2 weeks ago.

before the patriots-jaguars game started, i went into the backyard and drained the rain barrels. there was so ice along the interior walls and the surface, but it was still water for the most part. a rain barrel can't be left to freeze with a full container of water because it'll burst the barrel when the water solidifies. i pulled the garden hose so the water would drain out onto the other side of the backyard. i came out during halftime and after the game to switch the hoses to the other remaining containers.

as for the game, it was supposed to be a simple win over the 2-14 jacksonville jaguars. everyone assumed new england would get the W, the only question was by how much. some were saying since the patriots lost to the 49er's last sunday, the team was angry and would take it out on the jaguars. so it was under those conditions that jacksonville came out and took control of the game. their strategy was to deny tom brady the ball, and with the additional of a few new england turnovers (including 2 interception throws by brady), they quickly pulled ahead to 10-0. but the patriots clawed their way back, and tied the game by halftime. in the second half new england adjusted and kept the jaguars from scoring while they pulled ahead for good. it was an ugly game, and even though the patriots won, it felt more like a loss because it wasn't supposed to be this hard.

after dinner (i ate so much that if i burped or even tilted the wrong way i could taste the food) i returned to cambridge wearing my new safety reflector vest. i was also all bundled up in preparation for the cold, with a pullover stocking hat underneath a baseball cap underneath my bike helmet. i felt i was traveling through space than riding my bike 3 miles home. as for the vest, i have no idea how effective it was since i can't really see myself with it on. the good thing is i'd only wear it at nights, when people can't see me anyway. it's okay to dress up like a human reflector as long as nobody can recognize me!

after a shower, i watched the sunday night football game between the 49er's and the seahawks. i'm glad seattle won in a blowout; maybe san francisco came into the game over-confident after having beaten new england last week.