by the time i got to the cafe around 10:45am, i was surprised to find my taiwanese relatives. originally we were only scheduled to meet them later tonight for dinner at the cafe after they were done with their touring. but for some reason they were here early. originally thought maybe it was because they wanted to spend more time with us, since today was the last day we could see them before they leave for connecticut tomorrow morning. later i'd learn that the reason was because my cousin had an argument about the tour guide making everyone pay the bill for two harvard professors he invited to join them (everyone had to pay an additional $200 each). so my cousin decided to leave them this morning, joining back up after 12pm at harvard square.
it was pretty crazy, besides our three relatives, my 2nd aunt was there too. a high school classmate of my cousin was also there. wednesdays are normally busier than usual because my sister does her catering stuff at the cafe as well, and there was hardly any space to work or stand with so many people around. my father ended up mixing the dough in the basement for the flat breads. my taiwanese aunt was helping out in the kitchen with the vegetable chopping.
my cousin, her friend, and my niece all finally left around 12:50pm, as my father gave them a ride to the harvard art museum to rejoin their tour group. my taiwanese aunt stayed behind since she wasn't too interested in the architectural tour anyway, and would rather spend time with her two young sisters at the cafe.
in the late afternoon my sister's godmother showed up. we hadn't seen her in a while, and figured something was up. that something turned out to be she passed her citizenship test today and will have her naturalization ceremony next month.
my arlington aunt stopped by briefly to pick up her catered order. she probably noticed how many people were there and didn't stay long, making a hasty retreat.
also during that time my father took my taiwanese aunt to the bank. so the primarily season why she came to boston after more than 20 years wasn't to see us - which was just a perk - but rather to close out a bank account she opened here on her last and only visit. she was the sole owner and the bank was unwilling to do anything about her account without her being here in person. so she came, traveling halfway around the world. it turned out to be a simple procedure, didn't even have to meet with any bank manager, they did it right at the register.
i didn't leave the cafe until 6pm, when it was already dark. if i waited a bit longer, i probably could've gotten a ride, but i decided to walk home since it stopped raining since early this afternoon (though the streets were still very wet). nearing the end of linnaean street, i saw two bags of yarn somebody had thrown out. they seemed to be in good condition and weren't very wet, so i grabbed them and brought them home. i took a photo of the two bags and texted it to my mother. a few seconds later she called. i took all the yarn out and spread them over my kitchen table to get a better look. they were all synthetic yarn, but most of them were unused.
my mother called me again around 7pm. she had just dropped off my aunts at my 2nd aunt's place, and wanted to come over and pick up the yarn, wanted to collect the cache of yarn immediately. the paper bags had torn so i ended up packing all the yarn into a large trash bag. i was still stuffing the yarn when my mother arrived. she grabbed the yarn and left.
for dinner i'd brought home some stir-fried chinese rice cakes my mother had made (using leftover ingredients from my sister's catering). i didn't eat until after 9pm, after i used the bathroom and took a shower. i ate while watching the latest episode (8) of andor, andor goes to prison.
for some reason i was super tired and kept nodding off. i decided to skip writing up the blog entry for today and go to bed early, around 12:30am. i fell into unconsciousness very quickly, almost like i passed out.