i didn't want to go outside today. temperature was near freezing, but it was the strong wind (53mph) that made everything bitterly cold. from my living i could see leftover slush patches from last night, now frozen glacial solid. but today was actually the warmest day of the week. it would only get worse over the next few days.

my early afternoon consisted of making myself an english muffin sandwich for lunch and calling the social security office to make an appointment for my 2nd aunt. i was on hold for 20 minutes before i got through; they were booked solid for the month but the woman i spoke with managed to find an opening for this thursday.

around 2:30 i bundled myself up and left for belmont. i was looking for my mittens but i think they might've fallen out of my jacket last night; i wasn't too sad about that since i found them on the street originally (in a way they just returned home). knowing my hands would be cold, i wore two pairs of gloves, but after about 10 minutes of riding they started to hurt. at one point i was gliding downhill against a strong headwind that actually pushed me to a stop.

unless i know there's something i want to photograph, i've been leaving my camera at home, saves me from having to carry the thing. likewise, no need to bring my laptop either. all because of the phone, which does double duty as a computer and a camera. my favorite feature by far is the geotagged photos. this has always been a dream of mine. back in the days, the only way to geotag a photo was to do it manually by syncing the data log from a gps with the photo capture times. my little panasonic ZS20 P&S camera has gps functionality, but it's a hassle to use, takes forever to lock onto satellites, and drains the battery. the smart phone i bought in china had the ability to geotag, but like my panasonic camera it would take way too long to get a gps signal and only a few photos i ever took with that phone were geotagged. however, ever since i got the oneplus one phone, i'm just amazed how fast it can lock onto satellites and geotag my photos. is it hardware, or is it software?

my parents ordered pizza for dinner, i went with my father around 5:00 to go pick it up. i went home at 7:00. by then the temperature had dropped into the 20's. my father insisted on giving me a ride home but i was determined to bike back despite the bitter cold. it actually wasn't that bad, but maybe because i was peddling to stay warm and had a belly full of pizza. normally i run red lights after a stop but today i welcomed the opportunities to stop and warm my hands.