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i went to sleep at 11:30pm last night. even though i wasn't the one driving, i was keeping watch from the back seat, making sure my father didn't fall asleep while driving, or miss a crucial exit. i didn't even bother writing a blog entry, leave that for tomorrow. it was too stuffy and hot in my bedroom, so i cracked the window just a bit, allowing some cold night breeze to cool down the room. i also kicked the blanket to the side and spread out all my pillows, allowing me full access to the bedsheet, which thankfully stayed cool. in the middle of the night it also started raining and thundering. i didn't mind, more water for plants, more cooler air for us.

i woke up at 7am but forced myself to sleep another hour before waking up at 8am. my roommate wasn't even up yet, so i had a chance to use the bathroom in peace, though i held off on a shower. lauryn got up around 9am, used the bathroom, made some breakfast, then went back to her bedroom. at 10:10am she came out again to leave for work. that's when my day started.

after using the bathroom one more time, i showered then relaxed for what was left of this morning. for lunch i finished the leftover bagels from yesterday, washed it down with some pink lemonade. i did some cleaning, ran the air purifier to get rid of a slight oil smell in the house, vacuumed the bathroom, scrubbed the wall tiles with foam cleanser. i had the windows opened to aerate the house, and even though it was cooler outside, the humidity was pervasive throughout, so made it feel hotter.

bruce got in touch with me and i went over to his place to pick up some leftover potato-bean-salmon salad. after returning home, i got my bike and rode to the harvard stadium trader joe's to pick up some cheap white wine for my risotto recipe i wanted to make tonight. i also picked up some snacks, including dried mandarin slices and a pint of ube ice cream. riding back, i saw two girls standing in the bike lane, one of them on a scooter. i thought it was weird but rode past them. few minutes later i see them barreling behind me, two of them sharing a single motorized scooter. it didn't take long for them to pass me as i ate their dust.

after dropping everything off at home, i went out again to market basket to get a few additional risotto ingredients.

i ended up not making risotto for dinner because it was too hot. besides, i had that bean-potato salad i got from bruce, which i can eat cold, so that's what i ended up doing. risotto will have to wait until tomorrow or thursday.

i checked the state department website to see if they'd received my passport renewal application yet. you'll recall i went cheap and decided not to add any tracking to the package, so i had no idea if my old passport even arrived yet. i was happy to learn that they did receive my document on the 21st, nearly a week ago. because i only requested routine service and didn't pay extra for the expedited service, the state department told me it'd take 10-13 weeks to get my new passport. i also haven't heard anything about my taiwan passport, but they told me it'd take 6 weeks.