i decided to ride into chinatown/haymarket early, so i could come back early. even then, i didn't leave until almost noontime. temperature was in the upper 30's but rising. i didn't bother with any long underwear or a winter jacket, figuring i'd naturally warm up from the biking. i did wear my gloves though. passing by the apartments on paul place about a block away from the asian supermarkets, i noticed all the electricity meters had been taken out. i wonder if that means these apartments are vacant, sold off to developers?

i decided to visit ming's market first, before heading to c-mart. business at ming's has started to pick up, more things are in stock i noticed. i only bought a few things, so i could carry them in my messenger bag while i continued shopping at nearby c-mart. if you want to see people taking PPE to the extreme, visit any asian supermarket. i didn't see face shields (not anymore at least), but everyone was masked without complaint, and i even saw one woman using plastic bags as gloves for pushing her cart. i bought mostly things for my mother so i used the company card, the only thing that was mine was two bags of ?? watermelon seeds. i also got a bag of persimmons ($2) and a bag of mandarin oranges ($2).

i cut through downtown crossing and post office square to get to haymarket. this was my haul: 14 navel oranges ($4), 2 large pomegranates ($3), 3 lbs. of baby cucumbers ($2), 2 orange bell peppers ($1), 5 yellow dragon fruits ($5). i left haymarket by 1:30pm.

it took me half an hour of riding to get to the cafe. the ride was pretty smooth but long, the newly repaired front wheel riding better than ever. i was there to not only drop off chinatown and haymarket supplies, but also to deliver the two catshin children fitness trackers for my godmother. unfortunately she wasn't there, went with my 2nd aunt to the bank to help my sister deposit some money. my father showed me the honeywell HPA300 in action. like he said, it was pretty quiet, especially since there was a fridge compressor nearby that was loud enough to drown out any other sound.

i left by 2:30pm. passing by rc kelley street, i noticed a house there had been stripped. i knew they were doing construction there, i didn't realize it was a demolition. like most recent constructions, they tear it down so only the shell of the house is left, this way it isn't categorized as a new construction but rather a renovation, and certain things like parking spaces doesn't need to be included like it would for a brand new house.

i had a really old chicken sausage link i wanted to cook up, so i heated it up in the toaster oven at 400 degrees while i prepared the oatmeal. the sausage was a bit spoiled, had a weird sour taste, but i ate it anyway, waited for the side effects to kick in hours later but fortunately it never happened.

for dinner i made a bowl of luxury korean ramen. the soup base was a mixture of kewpie mayo, spice packets, 2 tbsp of gochujang, minced garlic, and an egg. i added half a package of soft "firm" tofu, cooked it in the same water as the noodles. the final result was very good, that combination of noodle starch mixed with tofu protein and hot spicy korean-style broth made my face go flush after i finished eating. i also had one of the yellow dragon fruits for dessert. it was picked before it had time to ripen, so it wasn't as sweet, but still pretty sweet. the last time i ate a whole dragon fruit i had intense stomach cramps and diarrhea, so i was prepared for the worst, but once again, my iron-clad digestive system escaped unscathed.

i started watching only murders in the building, the hulu crime comedy starring martin short, steve martin, and selena gomez. it was good enough that i downloaded the whole season and found the chinese subtitles so my mother can watch it as well, i think she'd like it.