a repeat of christmas 2015, last night i went to bed around 3am and woke up late this morning at 11:30am. i fixed one of my solar-powered tibetan prayer wheels by taking it apart and adding oil directly to the gear axle.

i rode the fuji bike to belmont on quiet streets, to eat some leftover ham for lunch. this day would feature 5 NBA games, the first of which (12pm) was celtics against the knicks. new york came to life in the final minutes to tie the game. i went out briefly to fill the birdseed feeder, and when i came back, boston was up by 5 points, and would eventually win the game.

we went to my aunt lili's place in arlington for dinner at 6pm (went went last year as well around this time). the last time we were there was the night before i left for china back in early april. my parents brought the xinjiang ice wine from 8 years ago when they visited northwestern china. we saw matthew's german-style fermentation pot - it was the exact same brand and model (gärtopj) as the one we wanted to get on craig's list - but this one was 7.5L while the one we wanted was 30L. we stayed until around 9pm before leaving.

despite the relatively cool weather (28°F), i was excited to be biking back home with the illuminated fuji bike. however it was making a slight grinding sound whenever i pedaled, which gave me concern.

later in the evening while watching the news i saw that george michael had died, age 53. michael's death touched me more than prince or david bowie, 2 other musicians that passed away this year. i like some of bowie's songs, but never connected with his music. likewise, prince's music was catchy, but his music spoke to me differently. i loved michael from his wham days, and i thought he had one of the greatest musical voices. i thought his musical style was more accessible, and i bought into his whole macho sex idol image fueled by his music videos.