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it's been a while since we had a big snowstorm, so i'm relearning a few things. for one thing, the temperature outside is much colder, since with all the snow on the ground, we're essentially living inside a big freezer now. barring a miraculous stretch of balmy weather (which would be most unusual and distressing, since it is winter after all), the snow outside will be sticking around for a while, and likewise the cold temperature.

the second thing i realized today with snow everywhere is i'm basically stuck. if i want to go somewhere, it's either walking or public transportation. i can't bike - at least for the time being - since with all the snow around, the roads are barely big enough for cars. during snowtimes, bike lanes are the neglected step child that nobody seems to really care about. like that cycletrack on beacon street? buried in snow. maybe the city of somerville will get around to clearing it, but in the meantime, if you're a cyclist, good luck riding in slush covered streets and keeping the road salt from rusting your chains.

my body was a little achey from the rooftop snow removal i did yesterday, but it wasn't too bad, i didn't need to take any ibuprofen. for lunch i had some leftover scallion bread my mother gave me from last night. in the afternoon i walked to star market to pick up some pineapples and asparagus on sale for my mother. temperature was in the 30's. the sky was a beautiful display of wispy cirrus clouds.

after i came home i went back outside with a camera to take some photos of these crazy icicles forming from the southern-facing roof edges of houses. normally icicles mean a leaking gutter, but these icicles were forming from sheets of snow that had slid partially off the roof but not completely off. they were dangerous because many of them were directly overhead house entrances. a guy even came out while i was taking photos, i warned him about the icicles, he looked up but i don't think he realized the amount of danger he was in. actually, a large piece broken off while i was standing outside, narrowly missing me by a 7-8ft.

i've been communicating with maureen, her mother returned home for hospice care earlier this week, her father told her there was a good chance her mother wouldn't make it through tonight, even asked her if she knew the number of the priest so he can administer last rites. i told of her my own experience with family deaths, from my grand uncle (which i remember vividly) to my maternal grandmother. she told me she tried contacting manny but he hasn't replied so she stopped bothering. i find it a little disconcerting that he can't be bothered with his mother's death, it makes me wonder if i lost touch with him for a reason, since he doesn't sounds like the person i used to know. searching my blog history, i've actually stayed at their parents' house in jersey city at least 3 times, the most recent 2002 and 2003 (this was before he got married). his family has also been to my place before, on the day of manny's wedding back in june 2003.

for dinner i reheated my indian butter chicken leftovers. i spent the rest of the evening doing some retroactive photo adds to recent blog postings. i still have months of backlog from this summer i need to do, i'm hoping to get it all done by the end of the year. maybe i need to work from an actual desk with a secondary external monitor for better workflow. that's something to think about for next week.