i did however watch the live broadcast of the US women's soccer match against the netherlands. it was tied when i matched it - 2-2 - and in the first extra time. after a second extra time where the scored was still tied, the game went into penalty kicks. i've never been a big fan of the US women's soccer team - i find distasteful their lack of humility despite being such a dominant force in the sport (didn't help that former goalie hope solo was also a toxic influence) - but i actually found myself rooting for the US, maybe because it looked like they were actually losing for a change. the US ended up winning on a 4-2 penalty kick score, a lot of credit goes to the US goalie alyssa naeher.
alewife co. called me around noontime. i didn't recognize the number and almost didn't answer. it was one of the on-call plumbers, i thought maybe the schedule changed and they might be able to see me today. that wasn't the case, he called to ask about the issue, since the dispatch (victor) failed to write down the problem, and because he was out sick, the plumber who called didn't want to disturb him so called me instead. when i told him the problem, he took the news very matter-of-factly, no additional comments. i hope that means it's fairly routine and he can fix it without too much collateral damage.
i left for chinatown a bit before 1pm. i was working under a countdown, as there was a forecast of brief torrential rain beginning at 3pm. it wasn't a guarantee (one of those spontaneously forming storm clusters between warm and cold fronts) but i didn't want to take that risk. riding through beacon hill, i saw a white alewife co. van parked outside. maybe that was the person who called me earlier!
i arrived at c-mart by 1:15pm, putting on my mask before entering. chinatown supermarkets still continue to make masks mandatory despite the state lifting mandatory mask orders back in may, but now with the rise of the delta variant and new info that the vaccines seem to be ineffective against contraction and transmission (though still good at preventing severe covid symptoms), maybe they had the right idea keeping customers masked.
i was at c-mart primarily to get some more longans, tangerines, and cherry plums. i was originally planning on going to ming's market to get some napa cabbage and daikon (cheaper prices), but discovered they were also having a sale at c-mart (cheaper by a penny), so i ended up just buying everything here. i was finished with shopping at 1:30pm.
i decided to get some food before returning home. i'd forgotten there's a wendy's in downton crossing until i found it again on the map. that was my original intention, but then i decided to get some chacarero's. i wasn't even sure if they were still around after the pandemic, but happy to see they were still there on arch street. the last time i went there was back in april 2019. i've never really had chilean food besides chacarero, but if its indicative of chilean cuisine, then i'm all for it. i got the large beef sandwich. prices had gone up, i remember it used to be around $8, now it was $13.
afterwards i biked up franklin street to washington. you used to be able to drive here, but now it seems to have been converted in a semi-private circular driveway for the millennium tower luxury condo. there was also a renovated downtown crossing entrance. i kept climbing the hill, bromsfield to chapman, city hall avenue to court square, to finally onto court street then cambridge street in the direction of the longfellow bridge.
returning home, i decided to go straight down broadway street, to the cafe. it was a bit after 2pm, early enough that i could still beat the rain that may nor may not arrive at 3pm. i passed by mulan and called my mother asking her if she wanted me to pick up some smoked duck. she said they had plenty to eat already. i kept going, cutting through harvard square, and finally made it to cafe by 2:30pm.
my 2nd aunt was there, so tried one of the cherry plums. cherry plums are kind of a novelty. they taste exactly the same as a pluot, just smaller and firmer. if you've ever had a pluot then you'll recognize the sweetness. i was going to bring home the chacarero sandwich but decided to eat at the cafe because i was hungry. i also divided some for my 2nd aunt and my father so they could try, my mother wasn't interested so i ate her share as well.
i didn't get home until 4pm.
i spent the late afternoon parked by the window, taking photos of random people walking up and down the street.
because i finished all my deli ham, there would be no sandwich for dinner tonight. instead i made a bowl of luxurious korean ramen. i also scooped some sichuan paocai, but they're so old all the vegetables have turned soft, it's better if i get fresh ingredients next friday and restock the paocai jar. finally i had some longans as well.