i was all ready to go for a run this morning, got dressed, stretched, put on my earbuds. but as soon as i set foot outside, i noped the idea. temperature was 35 degrees - not ideal but workable - but there was a strong wind which made it feel like it was in the 20's. the idea of being outside in the cold for an hour did not appeal to me one bit. i think the cold alone i could handle, but the strong winds was the deal breaker.

steve sent me an e-mail in the early morning, said they'd be out for the next 2 weeks. didn't say where, but the fact that they'd be gone for the 14 days was all i cared about. of course they were missing all the excitement, as the city was trimming the trees on our street. at least one car got towed when it didn't heed the notices about tree trimming that was only posted 2 days ago. they did a pretty thorough job, even used a cherry picker to get to the top of the tree to make some cuts.

i ate a spicy jamaican patty for lunch. afterwards i started making my korean kimchi. i don't think i made korean kimchi at all last year. the kind i was making today would be mak "easy" kimchi, which was the first korean kimchi recipe i learned. i spent some time setting up a gopro rig so i could film a time lapse of the kimchi making process.

i cut up the cabbage and daikon into squares and salted them to reduce. every once in a while i'd go back to the kitchen and mix the vegetables.

my comcast internet bill is due to increase at the end of the week. i was trying to figure some way to make it cheaper, and was about to do the old switcheroo where i sign up one of my parents as a new customer to get the cheap introductory rate. but i discovered yesterday that i'm actually qualified for their reduced rate plan based on my income. i had to get an account at the FCC and send them last year's tax returns for confirmation. i thought it'd take a while but they notified my eligibility right away and i was able to get back to comcast to sign up. i thought that'd take a while as well, but they confirmed me immediately. i'm still not quite sure how much i'll be paying. i think i read something about $30 less/month, which would still be more expensive than the new customer rate. so i may have to jump through more hopes to get the cheapest internet.

rest of the day was spent in retroactive blog post updates. it was actually kind of cold inside the house, but i was reluctant to turn up the heat.

i discovered hard water deposits behind the kitchen and bathroom faucets. i poured out some white vinegar and left it to soak a bit before using a thin brush to remove the dissolved deposits. the bathroom faucet i cleaned completely, but the deposits behind te kitchen faucet are so thick, i may need to chip them off with a knife.

6:30pm - after 6 hours of reducing - it was time to finish making the kimchi. some of my ingredients weren't the freshest. there was a reason why the napa cabbage was so cheap, they're on the ripe side. the haymarket ginger had a weird smell to it. the shrimp paste most likely expired. and the red pepper powder was old, so it was more dark red than bright red. nevertheless, once it all ferments, it'll taste fine even if it doesn't look fine. i ended up filling about 5 jars (2 jars not completely filled). i'm leaving them out in the kitchen to ferment before refrigerating. the house will be smelling of kimchi for the next few days.

i ate the last of my tonkatsu for dinner. earlier i took the cutlet out from the freezer so it could thaw in the fridge. unlike last time, i managed to finish everything.

later in the evening i went to move out the trash cans. both trash and recycle bins were full to capacity with my neighbor's trash. i almost wanted to move them back, leaving them for my neighbors to bring out when they get home.