15 minutes later i got a phone call. could it be? i looked at the number. it's doctor huang's office! i didn't leave a message, but they must've saw the caller id. i picked up and it's doctor huang's wife - who's also a dentist with an adjoining practice. she said she was happy to hear from me, and that they were actually away for a few weeks. she told me the last time i came in was 2018, so not that long ago (i thought maybe more like 10 years). she asked what issue i was having, i told her about the dental impact plug. "no problem, we can take care of it," she said. i told her i was afraid they'd closed permanently, but she said they now operate on a reduced schedule, come in only for appointments, since being there all the time can be boring. so i made an appointment for the earliest possible time which is monday morning 8:30am. i was actually kind of hoping to get it fixed even earlier, but given the situation (doctor huang just back from vacation, wasn't even sure if he was still around, no tooth pain), it's still a very positive outcome.
i still had time this morning to do some running. there was no excuse, with temperature at 45°F, no wind, and sunny. however i managed to procrastinate and found myself verifying my internet plan. even though i signed up for discounted internet yesterday, i still had a bum plan through xfinity that was set to expire if it hadn't already, and i wouldn't really be saving any money. so i decided to change my plan. what i currently have is blast! internet which is a 800/20Mbps that i was paying $60/month but due to increase to $80+. i switched to superfast internet, which gave me the same speed of 800/20Mbps for the same $60/month price. however with the ACP credit i'm getting a $30/month discount, plus with paperless billing and direct withdrawal from my bank account, that's another $10/month savings. so my final price for internet for the next 2 years (contract term) will be just $20/month! not bad.
only then - a bit after 11am - did i finally go out for that run. it's been nearly 3 weeks since my last run, and this was my first run of march. i wore my adidas jogging pants (a little tight on the butt and thighs) and an insulated pullover plus gloves. i was warm initially, but by the time i reached the river, i was getting a bit hot. midway through my run i took off my gloves and put them in my pockets.
after the run i was basically overheating, taking off the pullover and wrapping it around my waist. my legs were killing me, and maybe a younger me would've stopped running, but i kept pushing through the pain. even if it meant running slow, i wouldn't stop running. instead of the hardcore history podcast i listened to stuff you should know on spotify, with an episode on honey. i spotted some early spring bulbs, like snowdrops, scillas, early season irises, and crocuses.
i was worried i'd lose my gloves and patted my pockets a few times to check they were still there as i walked back home. when i got back a bit after noontime however, i noticed i only had glove now. so i got on my bike and retraced my route. this is the second time i've lost this pair of gloves! but the thing with losing a glove is there's a good chance nobody's going to take it. who picks up a single glove on the street anyway? i made it all the way to the river but didn't see my missing glove. coming back gave me a second pass. i finally found it in front of 29 garden street (harvard university housing). i thought i saw it when i passed by it the first time, but it was on the other side of the street, so i didn't get a good look. by the time i made it back home, it was already 12:30pm. so not only did i get in some running today, but i topped it off with some biking as well.
after a shower, i reheated the leftover rice noodles along with the leftover hainan chicken for lunch. i watched the latest episode of hot ones on youtube featuring pedro pascal. later i watched the season finale of poker face, followed by the season 3 episode 2 of the mandalorian.
my plastic leakproof mason jar lids arrived today. they're aozita brand ($10), 8 wide mouth lids and 8 regular mouth lids. i've bought them before, they're pretty good. they make me want to make some preserved foods so i can use them in conjunction with my various mason jars.
i've been obsessed with knipex pliers wrenches. it all started because i needed something to remove the large packing nuts from the T&S brass service sink faucet at the cafe. the jaws on my 6" adjustable crescent wrench is too small, nor do i have any combination wrenches with that size. buying a cheap larger adjustable wrench would solve the problem, but i'd have to go up to 10" or above to find an adjustable with a jaw 1-1/2" or wider. then i discovered wide-mouth adjustable wrenches, with an 8" wide-mouth wide enough to have a 1-1/2" jaw. finally my research led me down the path of german-made knipex pliers wrenches. perhaps the most expensive solution, they also seem the coolest in terms of new technology. the size that i want is 7-1/4", which is comparable to an 8" adjustable wrench, but with an adjustable jaw reaching close to 1-1/2". in terms of prices, a normal 10" adjustable wrench goes for $7, 8" wide jaw adjustable wrench $16, and a 7-1/4" knipex pliers wrench $51. at this point i've basically seen every single youtube video that's related to the knipex pliers wrenches.
for dinner i heated up a brick of frozen lasagna.