i finally used up that head of cabbage that'd been sitting on my kitchen counter for over a week. i noticed the outer leaves was starting to get a little old, and if i waited any longer the cabbage would go bad.

the steps were essentially the same as regular sauerkraut, but instead of adding caraway seeds, i added sichuan peppercorn, hot thai chili peppers, and a dash of chinese baijiu. i shredded the cabbage with a knife as using the food processor was too much of a hassle to set up despite being faster. after salting, i left everything to reduce for the rest of the day (6 hours), until i could get back from belmont.

my parents have signed up for a senior care program where the state pays them personally for taking care of my grand uncle - which is essentially what they've been doing - instead of hiring others to do so. i went to belmont to see if a backdated check had arrived yet. there was a check for overtime payment but the amount didn't seem like a lot, because apparently they split the payment (just the additional overtime portion, not including the regular hourly payments). they're waiting to see if an additional check will arrive my tomorrow, otherwise i've been tasked to call the agency and get them to reissue a check.

back in cambridge, i squeezed all that shredded cabbage into a 1-quart mason jar. i saved a piece of cabbage leaf and used it as a block before screwing on the lid. block or no block, weight or no weight, a fermenting jar of sauerkraut will leak from the airlock regardless. i can either manually press down the sauerkraut to release the trapped carbon dioxide, or just let it overflow. maybe when i have time i'll go pick up another 2-quart mason jar, which gives me more space to work with, and not so packed that it'll pushing all the liquids out.

karen didn't come home until around 9pm. she said because she didn't do any work yesterday, she made up for it today. apparently she already ate dinner because after a shower she retired to her bedroom.

i finished watching moonlight, downloaded the movie immediately after mahershala ali won best supporting actor last night. i didn't realize this but we have almost the same birthday, i'm just 4 days older. i was surprised to find janelle monáe in the film as well, which explained why she was on stage when moonlight won best picture. that means she was in 2 oscar films this year, the other being hidden figures. moonlight was interesting, but the sort of independent movie you'd go see in an art house theatre, versus a typical academy best picture consideration film. i'm surprised it won, but glad that it did. mahershala ali is one of the best parts of the movie, although he's only in it briefly at the beginning. i've been a fan of him since his 4400 days.