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i got my new screen protector for my ASUS zenpad Z8s on thursday. it didn't take long for me to crack it. i accidentally dropped my macbook pro on top of my tablet. the screen protector probably saved me from having a cracked screen, but i managed to chip the bottom edge of the tempered glass and there's also a micro-crack that will eventually turn into a macro-crack. i thought about replacing it (i do have a spare protector) but figured i could live with it for the time being. it doesn't affect the screen at all, just when i press the home button i can feel the rough broken edges of the protector.

my sister asked me to stop by her place on my way to belmont because she smelled gas. there was a gassy smell when i entered her place but there was no additional gas smell including the basement. most likely it had something to do with her central air conditioner which she just turned on a day ago.

i had some eggs and a croissant for lunch. afterwards i was out in the backyard for most of the day, until 4pm, despite the heat. they said boston hit the 90's for a second day but in belmont temperature was still in the 80's. hot but not unbearable. indoors we had two fans running.

my father said he saw two bunnies this morning, one on either side of the house. i did another perimeter check and found that on one side of our western street-facing fence, there was a gap big enough for small rabbits to get in. we patched it up using scrap wood. i also pruned back the honeysuckle while we were at it.

earlier my father had added more bamboo poles to the raised beds so now each squash plant has its own pole to climb on. he's also been removing the flower buds, since we think the plants are still too immature to begin making fruits.

elsewhere in the garden: one of my lotus plants have started to unfurl it's first floating leaf. under the water i can see the second stalk emerging for both plants, which is a good sign that they lotus is growing. i redug the bamboo trench. the extra soil i used to block some holes underneath the fences. i did come across another escaped runner which i prompted cut off. our rain barrels are at 2/3 capacity. there's the possibility of rain on wednesday but none of the local meteorologists are willing to make a much-needed rain forecast that many days into the future. i got photos of a metallic green cuckoo wasp bee visiting some foxglove flowers. it was only on my phone, if only i had my dSLR. my father also pruned the dragonfruit cactuses. too many of them are growing from very slender bases. it doesn't seem to affect them from growing bigger on top, but it looks strange. all that's really important is the central "spine" which channels water and nutrients up to the top of the cactuses.

there was a mavericks-clippers game 7 in the late afternoon. i was rooting for the clippers because rondo's on the team. it'd be awesome for rajon to win another championship with yet another team (last year he won it with lebron james for the lakers). i haven't been following dallas, the only good guys they have on their team is luka doncic, whom i've never seen before, but he seemed to be doing it all for dallas. the mavericks also have porzingis and tim hardaway jr., whom i only know because of his father. clippers ended up winning.

around 5pm my father started barbecuing the drumsticks and some smoked sausages. my godmother stopped by, i thought to chat with my mother, but actually she was here delivering some beijing haw slices. she left when we started dinner. my mother also cooked up another batch of sour plum drink. but because she didn't add enough sugar, it tasted bland. she said it's not healthy to drink something so sweet, but the weird thing about suanmeitang is the sweetness actually brings out the rest of the flavors, just like how adding salt or MSG to a dish enhances the flavor. i can't explain it, but once you start making it sweeter, suddenly the smoked plum savoriness and the hibiscus flower tartness really comes out and the drink reveals its multi-flavors.

i got back home by 7:30pm. gradually it's been getting hotter and hotter inside the house. tonight it was 80 degrees. i cooled off by taking a shower and staying topless. i wrote an e-mail to mr.shield, the manufacturer of my tempered glass screen protector. they said their protectors have a lifetime warranty, and if damaged i can receive a replacement protector. it sounded too good to be true but i contacted them anyway, maybe i'll get lucky.

i watched some red sox baseball tonight, a rarity these days ever since youtube tv stopped carrying NESN. i was only able to see it because it was a red sox-yankees weekend series and they were broadcasting on the local fox 25 channel. red sox ended up winning the game in overtime, and swept the yankees at new york for the first time in something like 10-years.

wanting to have something for a snack, i boiled some water and had a tapatío extra spicy instant noodle soup. i bought this at the dollar store, never seen this brand before, surprised to find mexican ramen of all things. it's advertised as "extra spicy" and "hottest" but no hotter than your normal spicy doritos. it wasn't that good, and the list of artificial ingredients made it even more unappetizing. the maruchan chicken instant noodle soup is much better, and they sell those at the dollar store 3 for a $1.