i got to the wang building by 8:50am, locked my bike to the MGH signpost because all the bike parking were full. i always go through a lot of effort to lock my bike, passing a kryptonite braided steel cable through the front wheel and securing the u-lock to the frame. my bike has never been stolen before, but i'm also thinking that's never happened because it's not worth stealing. if you're a thief looking to run off with a bike, there are a lot more that's worth way more than my junky trek utility retrofit.
internal medicine wasn't crowded, just one other person in the waiting area. they also had the lights dimmed so it felt like they hadn't fully opened quite yet. a nurse called me inside soon after i sat down. she took my vitals - blood pressure, pulse, oxygen level, temperature, weight, height - and put me in one of the exam rooms. i guess because it was a follow-up appointment, i didn't get one of the nicer rooms with windows but instead got a small windowless room.
i only had to wait a few minutes before my doctor showed up. i showed him my blood pressure numbers, which i've been taking intermittently since i last saw him 6 months ago. i was supposed to him the numbers back in february but never got around to it, despite his frequent requests. my numbers are not the best, but not that bad either. not enough to warrant changing the 3 blood pressure medication i currently take (300mg irbesartan, 12.5mg thiazide, 5mg amlodipine). my cholesterol, also borderline. i'm currently taking 2 medication: 10mg ezetimibe, 20mg atorvastatin. my weight is also borderline. basically, on borderline on everything. my doctor said the one thing that could improve everything is to get more exercise. he even said we might be able to cut back on some medication if i exercise more. that's something i doubt because i've had high blood pressure since high school, when i was at my youngest and healthiest. regardless, more exercise wouldn't be a bad thing.
i also bought up a few more things. like the weird dark spot on the inner side of my right middle finger. it was something that just sort of showed up one day. it's not like a mole, more like a pigment smear, which can be cause for concern, especially if it seems to be growing bigger. so he's sending me to dermatology to have a look. i asked him about my hearing, if i could schedule an appointment with the hearing aid specialist at MEE. finally, i told him about my bloody stool, which i've had for at least 1-1/2 months intermittently. i thought maybe it might be internal hemorrhoids because i can't feel anything and there's no pain. but he wasn't sure what it was, and better to have it checked out professional. just my luck i'm due for another at-home colon test in october; instead of doing that, he's scheduling an in-hospital colonoscopy. i actually wanted to get a colonoscopy anyway, because it's a better check of colon health versus a stool analysis. plus a colonoscopy is good for 10 years, while cologuard is only good for 3 years.
with that i was sent downstairs to wang 2 to get my blood taken. wang 5 also has a blood lab but they don't open until 10am. there was more than a dozen people already waiting at blood works on floor 2. they gave me a number (75) and i waited. they called me number to check in (using my phone number, my name, and my birthday), then called me again to get my blood drawn. the phlebologist i had was a haitian woman (for some reason they've always been immigrants). she inserted the needle into the crook of my elbow but couldn't find a vein. that's when she went digging. after a few unsuccessful tries, she angrily pulled out the needle, like it was my fault she wasn't good enough at her job. i think she was going to try the other arm, but she decided to drawn blood from the back of my hand instead. i'd never experience that before. she put a warm heat pack on my hand, then after about 30 seconds took it off to locate a vein. she kept yelling at me to either make a fist or not make a fist. when she inserted the needle it didn't hurt at first then it really hurt. "fuck!" i unexpectedly muttered, almost flinching my hand away. she looked at me for a second over her glasses, like she was scolding me for not being brave enough to take a needle to the hand. the final insult was she messed up the labels, had to print out new ones for the test tube vials of blood, and even tossed out one of the vials for some reason. my precious life essence! discarded like garbage!
i left the blood lab with not only a bandage on my elbow, but another on my hand. i looked like i was seriously injured. i quickly fled the waiting room, embarrassed by my sorry state.
by then it was 10am. just in time for casa bikes to open up, so i can go check them out again and ask some more questions. since i last saw them, they moved from their old location in kendall square, to a new space in cambridge crossing. not just any space, but where REI was formerly located, the most prime retail location in all of cambridge crossing. they had a bunch of e-bikes, some for show, some for riding, and some assembled for customers, with nametags. the space was so big, they could probably do test rides inside if they needed to. there was a fat topless man looking to buy an e-bike. another guy who looked like a businessman came in as well.
i came here to check out the velotric breeze 1 and the T1 ST plus, even though i'm pretty sure i'm getting the breeze 1. the T1 is great looking, and i love that it looks more like a regular bike than an e-bike, but it's smaller battery and smaller engine means it's not as good in tackling hills, and it doesn't have trottle. there was one breeze 1 in white, with optional fenders and rear rack. the velotric-brand rear rack was one solid welded piece, seemed very sturdy. if i were to buy a 3rd party rack it wouldn't be as sturdy, and the fit might even be off.
i spoke with the asian woman whom i saw last time. "i remember you!" she said. i told her i was definitely buying a breeze 1, but not until the tax-free holiday. i asked what was the wait time for one of these bikes after purchase, she told me maybe 2 weeks, or 1 week if they can pre-order the bikes ahead of time. she said the breeze was a very popular model, they sold 10 in the past 3 days. i asked if i could leave a deposit to pre-order a bike, and then pay the full amount on tax-free weekend. she said unfortunately they don't have the resource to do something like that, but would definitely pre-order some models ahead of time if she can gauge the interest level.
to really make sure i wanted the velotric breeze 1, i asked for another test ride. cambridge crossing is a better place to ride than kendall square full of construction activities. i left my driver license and phone and got my helmet. the mechanic wheeling out the bike told me something else: as an added bonus, all velotric bikes come with free fenders and rear rack. just like their online deal! that's great news, because not including the fenders and rear rack was a sticking point, meant i had to pay an additional $150 to get them. that means with voucher and tax-free incentive, i'll only need to pay $600 for the bike. it's still a lot (considering i've never paid more than $100 for a bicycle), but now a much better deal.
cruising around cambridge crossing with its newly paved roads was pure joy. no pot holes, smooth surface, dedicated bike lanes. pedal-assist was like using a cheat code. i was still pedalling, but going much faster than i normally would. i tried the throttle, pushing it to see how fast i could go, up to 20mph (level 2). it didn't even feel scary fast anymore (probably because i was used to it, being my second test ride), it felt natural. i took the bike over the pedestrian bridge by the skate park, the closest thing here to a hill. riding uphill was no match for an e-bike, it climbed it like it was nothing. there was a cyclist ahead of me, riding a manual bike. without even trying, i not only caught up to him, but i passed him while i climbed the bridge.
say what you will, but an e-bike is just fun. all the enjoyment of biking, but none of the strain of actually biking. it definitely feels like cheating, but it also opens up biking to a lot more people, folks who previously never consider biking because they didn't feel fit enough. who says cycling should only be for fit people? if e-bikes allow more people to be out and about, isn't that ultimately a good thing?
i returned the e-bike at the same time the topless man came back from his test ride. i didn't see what bike he was riding, kind of afraid to look too closely. i spoke with the woman casa bikes shop owner and told her for certain i was going to get the breeze 1 size regular in white. i told her i only wish there was some way for me to reserve an e-bike, so it'd be ready for me sooner when i come back tax-free weekend to buy it. she said i could send her the voucher code, and she could put in the paperwork, get things started. that's what i wanted to hear! while i was leaving, she go the other employees to wave good bye to me.
back on my regular bike, it just felt so slow. not only slow, but also like i was wasting time riding something like that, when i could be going faster on an e-bike. i went on the somerville community bike trail, just so i wouldn't have to deal with traffic hassles. the topless man overtook me, test riding another bike. i hadn't even reached my destination when he was already doubling back. i got off the trail by the brazilian jiu-jitsu school, in kind of this industrial lot next to the mcgrath highway. i then went down poplar street until i came to target. it also seemed like fate, but there was burger king, right close to lunchtime. i stopped to get takeout: the BBQ brisket whopper meal with large fries and large drink ($15). i was shocked with the cashier handed me the empty soda container, like a pitcher of soda. i filled it with cotton candy slushie.
luckily it was hot and i was thirsty, so the giant drink was just the thing i needed. i put it on my handlebar beverage holder, but it wasn't very secure, and the drink nearly bounced out a few times when i rode over bumps, so i put it in the rear basket for safe keeping.
i tore into my burger kind meal as soon as i got home, turning on my AC. did i mention today was a hot day? maybe not as hot as yesterday (99 degrees), but still in the lower 90's. anyway, the BBQ brisket whopper is just a regular whopper, but with an extra layer of pulled pork brisket, sprinkled with some bacon and a slice of orange american cheese. it was okay, but i was so hungry, it probably tasted like the best thing i've ever ate. the cotton candy slushie was kind of gimmicky, i wish i'd gone with the root beer instead. fries? no complaints, perfect, didn't even need ketchup. the weird thing was burger king sent me an e-mail receipt. how did they even know who i was? they probably tracked me through my credit card number.
my gen3 replacement nest thermostat arrived yesterday. it was pretty easy to upgrade, just turn off the power in the basement, replace the baseplate, rewire everything, and pop in the new thermostat. it looks nearly identical to the old one, except gen3 has a weather feature. i think gen4 (the latest generation) has even more display features, but i don't like the design. i like these old nests because they remind me of the old honeywell mercury-switch manual thermostats. the new nest looks more like a mushroom pedestal.
i left the house around 1:30pm to run errands: pick up my mother's prescription at harvard vanguard, go to whole foods to return an apron i got on amazon, go to the UPS store to return some temu stuff my mother bought, and finally went to market basket to get a few things. i might be having dinner with eliza so i didn't need to pick up any dinner-making ingredients. even if i wasn't having dinner out, that whopper was filling enough that i probably just need to do a little snacking to keep me filled the rest of the day.
my doctor got in touch with me regarding my test results. one thing he checked was anemia, which would happen if i was bleeding internally too much. happily, i do not have anemia.
eliza contacted me around 6pm, asked if i wanted to get together for some mexican food on their last night in boston. she was searching for a possible mexican place but couldn't find one because she was looking in inman square. i suggested el potro in union square, and made plans to meet there at 7:30pm.
eliza and theo showed up a little late. they were relocating one of the window air conditioners and forgot there was water inside and spilled it everywhere. it gave me time to admire the 10ft long picnic tables in the union square plaza. to make it sturdy, they used 3 pairs of legs.
we got one of the window booths. i allowed both theo and eliza to sit by the window so they could look outside. it took us a while to decide what we wanted, one reason being we weren't quite sure what things were: what's the difference between an enchilada to chimichanga to quesadilla to taco? i basically closed my eyes and picked tacos de adobada mainly because it had a homemade spicy sauce. both eliza and theo got the combos. we eat got a jarrito. my tacos were okay, and ended up with the most vegetables (that was entirely by accident). the hot sauce it came with was more like a barbecue sauce, so i added some more green habanero hot sauce found on the table. theo wanted to order something else but decided not to. we left around 9pm.
i took them to bow market. a few eating places were still opened, but a lot of the little shops were closed. there were still a good amount of people just sitting outside enjoying their drinks and conversations. this was just the second time i've visited bow market, and that was during the daylight. at night, during the summer, it's a whole different vibe, and seems like a cool place to hang out. there was a pinball arcade with powerful air conditioning. we played a few machines, staying until 10pm.
eliza and theo walked me back to where i parked my bike outside the korean market. eliza gave me back the moka pot. eliza's flight back to france tomorrow is 6pm while theo's train to new york city leaves around 3pm.
i made it home by 10:20pm. it's been a long day, and the hot weather made me feel even more tired. i went outside to put the rain cover on my motorcycle, as it's going to rain tomorrow afternoon into early friday morning. i took a hot shower and prepared for bed.