just when i was thinking that maybe wangyang wasn't coming to boston next month since it's only 2 more weeks before july, she messaged me today asking if i was still free next month. she wanted to confirm because she was about to ask her new company for vacation days and then buy her plane tickets afterwards. i congratulated her on her new job, it didn't take her long to find work just as i thought. she asked how she should fly in; i suggested she both arrive and leave from boston. she wanted to visit new york city during her time in the US, but if she wanted to return to shanghai via new york city, the logistics of transporting their luggage from boston is just too daunting; better to keep boston as a base, and logan airport is more easier to get from the city compared to JFK or laguardia.

2 hours later she wrote back, got authorization from her boss, bought the tickets, hainan airline direct flight, july 1st to july 14th. she asked if i wanted anything from china. i didn't hesitate, immediately sent her a photo of the romano soap box i've been keeping. when i told her the reason why i wanted the soap (it reminded me of chongqing), she laughed. i suggested she might be able to find the brand at carrefour supermarkets, but she said she could just order it online.

so now i'm under pressure to not only clean up my place in the next 2 weeks, but also come up with a itinerary for when wangyang and her son arrives. i was going to clean anyway in anticipation of GC's arrival next saturday; not now i also have to properly clean my bedroom since wangyang and her son will be staying there. for 2 weeks in july the living room will be my home.

before the storm arrival, i took a quick trip to market basket in the morning to get a few things. i made a grilled cheese & ham sandwich for lunch, forgetting that the roof of my mouth was still tender. i had to eat gingerly, biting down from the side with my molars to prevent the crunchy crust from touching my palate.

it was actually sunny early this morning, but by mid-morning clouds started to fill in and it was overcast for the rest of the day. there was hardly any storm, at most a sprinkle. we still managed to make 27.73kWh despite the sub-optimal conditions.

i spent some time today retroactively updating some empty blog posts. the older the post, the harder it is to update. and i actually write more on days when i don't do very much versus days where i do a lot of stuff.

my upstairs neighbor david told me they're leaving town tomorrow afternoon and won't be back until late sunday. they're telling me this in case packages arrive, which there will be a high likelihood if they're sending me a message. i thought i heard the rumblings of guests, and all day i could hear somebody upstairs while dave and christine were supposedly off at work. later in the early evening i saw who it is, a teenage boy, most likely one of their sons. with free housing in cambridge for 3 months, of course they would invite guests. i expect to see more throughout the summer. they've all been relatively quiet, although the night time AC noise still annoys me.

for dinner i steamed 3 zongzi. i'm very particular about my sauces, and with savory zongzi i must have my yeo's sweet chili sauce. 3 was probably a little too much in hindsight, 2 would've been enough. afterwards i watched another new episode of the expanse: kind of a weak episode, seems like the whole hour was just spent watching james holden descend into the ring while talking to phantom miller.