i opened the large box and took out a single pot - the 5qt dutch oven - just to get a sense of the quality. i was still on the fence regarding either to keep or return it. the pot was lighter compared to my existing 5qt, but the one that i currently have is anodized, so it's naturally heavier. as for material thickness, i couldn't tell the difference, they looked similar. although the pot itself was light, the glass lid was heavier and felt like it was better quality. the metal inner rim of the lid was bent (shipping damage), but i was able to bent it mostly back, and it still fit over the pot without any problems.
after finishing the last of my chicken sausage oatmeal for lunch, i set out by 1:30pm to run errands. first stop was the porter square target to pick up some dove nourishing shampoo and conditioner for thickening thinning hair (lavender and rosemary scented). i ordered it last night for pick up today. i parked in the porter square mall parking lot, which i haven't been for close to 2 decades. it was larger than i remembered, there were plenty of parking so basically the only businesses there are anna's tacqueria, citizens bank, an eyewear shop, and the target. i prefer the larger targets (somerville, watertown): the porter square target is many times smaller, and their in-store prices are more expensive than their online prices.
next i went to the mass ave speedway to fuel up my motorcycle. december is usually when i put away the bike. how many more days can i ride before the first snow? of course this year's all screwed up because we already had our first snowstorm back in october. self-service gas station pumps are ripe with diseases, and i try to handle it only with gloves hands, but for some reason i still managed to grab the pump with my bare hand.
i went to the cafe to fix my mother's samsung S9+ phone. it bothered me to no end that her screen protector was causing touchscreen issues. i almost bought a new protector last night, but decided to hold off until i could try something first. that something was to turn on the touch sensitivity switch in the advance settings. it even said that this was useful for using with screen protector. as soon as i did that, sensitivity was back to normal, buttons responsive again.
i also added a 128GB memory card to the samsung phone. when i checked the storage though, it said internal memory was 128GB on top of the additional 128GB of external memory. i could've sworn i ordered the 64GB version of the S9+, not the 128GB. later i checked and sure enough, i was supposed to get the 64GB s9+, but somehow they made a mistake and gave me the 128GB version instead. regardless, i took out the memory card, 128GB is more than enough storage for the time being.
i tweaked some phone settings. even though i turned off sound notifications, line for some reason was still beeping every time my mother received a new update. i ended up going directly into the line app and turning off sound alerts. i also downloaded spotify and logged my mother into her account; it's the one she uses when she goes out for her walks, to listen to her chinese songs. i also paired the wireless earbud to the phone.
having never had a samsung phone before, i just wanted to play with it. there are so many settings to explore, i wish i'd gotten a samsung phone myself. i'll get the chance this weekend though. that's when i'll also sign my mother up for a samsung account, activate contactless payment, and install the nova launcher so we can customize the home screen.
if i didn't ask, my sister would've never known: i asked her if she received the amazon gift card i sent her for her birthday (today). she said no, i told her i sent it last night around midnight. after she did some searching she finally found it.
i left by 3pm, to market basket, with an hour left of daylight. the clouds today were also dramatic, would've been nice for some drone flying, but unfortunately i didn't have the time. i thought market basket would be empty in the late afternoon, but it was the usual crowdedness. since i only had my motorcycle saddlebags to carry back the groceries, i couldn't get too much. plus, one of the saddlebags was still full of empty containers i forgot to drop off at the cafe. they had the mi nina tortilla chips my aunt dropped off last week, i bought a bag. they also restocked their inca kola, got a bottle as well. i returned home by 3:40pm.
i started watching devs, the 8-part alex garland series on FX. difficult to summarize the plot, basically about a mysterious tech company, and a woman who's trying to find out what happened to her disappeared boyfriend after joining the ultra-secretive "devs" division of said company.
later in the evening i took out the rest of the pots, decided i was going to keep them after all. i think the problem i'm having is because i bought them so cheaply (the whole set for just $50), they feel cheap to me, even if they're not. i think if i paid $200 for the whole set, i might be feeling differently. the bottomline is i need to replace some of my pots immediately because they're all scratched up (and i'm tired of eating teflon). i could try piecing together my replacement cookware, but that'd take time and cost more. since i already have this t-fal set, might as well use them now.
this buys me some time as i can slowly piece together my dream team cookware set: 1qt sauce pan (best size for instant noodles), 2qt sauce pan (for reheating leftovers), 5qt dutch oven (for soups), 6qt wok-style chef pan (the workhorse), 9.5" frying pan (that uses the same lid as the 5qt dutch oven), and a smaller sized frying pan that uses the 2qt lid. the lids have to be glass so i can see inside, and venting would be nice but not required. as for material, i'm partially to the stoneware that's all the rage these days with asian cooks (stoneware is the new ceramic).
the t-fal cookware set included a tiny egg pan, which almost seems like a novelty item because it's designed to cook a single egg (it's called the "one egg wonder"). i think the 8" frying pan would be better for maling eggs. the lid from the 5qt dutch oven doesn't fully fit on the 9.5" t-fal frying pan; that's because the frying pan is too sloped on the sides, which means a smaller cook volume. i'll probably continue to use my old 9.5" ceramic frying pan. the 5qt "jumbo cooker" has a larger radius but it's not as tall as my 6qt chef pan. because it's so wide, it takes up two cooktops. i think i'll still continue to use my 6qt chef pan, until i can find something better. there's also a pizza pan. i already have a pizza pan, but this one is peppered with little holes, i guess all the better to crisp up the crusts, i'm not familiar with this style of pan. it also came with plastic kitchen tools, but i already have wooden ones so i won't use these. likewise the set of measuring spoons, i have my own. there's a 10.25" square griddle, not sure i'd ever use that as well, unless i like to get oil splatter all over the stove. finally, a 12.5 x 9" baking tray. so out of all these things these are the ones i'll actually use: 5qt dutch oven, 2qt saucepan, 1qt sauce pan, 5qt jumbo cooker (when i'm not using my 6qt chef pan), 8" frying pan, and pizza pan.
i'm still not sure the retail price for the 22-piece t-fal cookware set. when i revisit the walmart listing for the item, the price is still $50 though out of stock. on amazon.com the cost of the 5qt jumbo cooker with lid alone is $30. so i'm getting all 22-pieces for only $50. it seems wasteful that there are some items i will never use. however, when i look for cookware set with less items, they're actually more expensive, nothing beats the black friday $50 price i scored.
for dinner i made a meatball sub. i think it's going to be meatball subs for the rest of the week, just so i can use up my sub bread. next week i've decided i'm making risotto, already got my all ingredients ready.