despite having the day off, karen still went to work today on president's day (although at a more leisurely time of 10am). it was the first time i had the house to myself since the weekend. i had a tea egg for lunch and became engrossed with the details surrounding stalin's death, the anniversary of which will be in less than 2 weeks.

in the afternoon i biked to belmont. temperature was in the upper 40's, the piles of snow continue to melt, leaving behind a mess of broken twigs, pavement asphalt, and road salt in the emerging bike lanes. whenever it snows, cyclists always get left behind. they clear the roads and the sidewalks, but not the bike lanes, which become makeshift parking spots. biking in the winter is so much more dangerous than the other seasons, but some people still do it.

i noticed a few days ago that my makeshift cold frame was damaged. the glass had cracked from either the weight of all that snow or maybe it was the periodically refreezing. i went into the backyard to try and gather up the broken panes of glass, being careful not to slice open my hands.

i was still hungry, but fortunately there was some leftover bertucci's pizzas. my parents didn't return home until the late afternoon, when the sky was already darkening. they brought home hailey, who couldn't seem to sit still, begging to be let outside to use the bathroom, then begging to be fed.

after dinner i biked home. i got back by 8pm, karen was in her room trying to get ahold of a client. from the network data i knew she'd been home since 6:40pm. there was the faint smell of cooking oil, not too much, but still enough to make me wonder if i can stand it for an additional 3 months. there is rarely a day where she doesn't cook, both mornings and nights. no roommate has ever cooked as much. she seems to be conscious of the odors, but no matter how careful she is, when you cook with oil that smell still lingers afterwards. i can only hope that somehow she decides to return home early. or invest heavily in scented candles.