i woke up for good around 8am. it was early enough that i knew my roommate wouldn't be up yet, so i used the bathroom in relative peace before taking a shower. i left the house by 8:30am, heading to haymarket then chinatown. this morning was slightly cooler, but not by much. less humid definitely, which helps.
i was trying a new route into boston today: instead of continuing onwards on hampshire street at inman square, i'd take cambridge street instead, towards the direction of lechmere. there was a dedicated cycle track for most of the way in cambridge, something that can't be said for hampshire street, where it's just painted lane at most. google map said i could continue onto merrimac street then onto congress street, but i knew from personal experience congress street was closed off, but i attempted it anyway, only to take a detour and go around haymarket station along the surface road. i actually rode through haymarket itself before locking up my bike.
this new route is okay. didn't feel any faster, mostly because it was an unfamiliar route, and i got a little lost in the end. also fewer people ride this way into boston, so there wasn't that convoy of bike commuters like happens on hampshire street. if i'm heading into haymarket, this is definitely the way to go. if i'm heading to chinatown first though, hampshire street across the longfellow is still the quicker route.
it wasn't even 9am yet when i got there. that early, half the vendors were still setting up their stalls. i came here in search of rainier cherries, and found them for $2.50/lbs (i ended up getting 4lbs worth). i also got some baby cucumbers for $2 a pack (got 2 packs), and a bag of baby carrots ($1).
i left 15 minutes later, headed towards chinatown via tremont street. i hit both chinese supermarkets, c-mart followed by ming's market. i got things like napa cabbage, taiwanese cabbage, daikon radish, bokchoi, and chinese celery. from c-mart i got some mini plums. i was disappointed to see ming's market were no longer selling those super discount plum drinks (they were set to expire today anyway). the ming's cashier i got was in training, and took her a while to type in the price code for the produce i was buying. i picked up some longans, which were on sale for $10 for a 3lbs. bag, this weekend only.
i left chinatown a bit after 10am. i called my mother beforehand, told her i wouldn't be able to get to the cafe until 11am. as for the monostay adapter i installed yesterday for my rear bike baskets, it performed as intended, no wobbles, very solid, and most importantly, the screws didn't work themselves loose.
it took me half an hour to get home. i stripped off my sweat soaked clothes and took a quick shower. i also weighed myself, lost 2 lbs from sweating. actually, i did feel some cold chills while i was in the shower. i got back on the bike and rode to the cafe, arriving exactly when i said i would.
my mother was making 4 different kinds of zongzi today: savory (pork and mushroom filling), sweet (with jujubes), alkaline, and taiwanese. however it got so busy around lunchtime, she had to temporary stop zongzi production in order to help out. fortunately my sister was at the cafe briefly, and was able to help out a bit before she disappeared. my aunt also showed up during the busiest time, followed later by my 2nd aunt.
i got back home by 5pm. it was so hot inside the house despite my best efforts to bring in some cool morning air, that i finally broke down and got the air conditioner from he basement and installed it in the living room. i was in the bathroom when lauryn came home with the AC running. i told her about the air conditioner, said there was only one in the house, showed her how to work it if she needed it. she then said something that was kind of telling: "will you then install it in the kitchen?" she asked. i told her that wouldn't be possible (for many reasons), but primarily because it's heavy, and not something i can move around from window to window. she will just have to learn to live with the heat for the next 3+ weeks before she moves to the apartment above my sister's place in early august.
i ran the AC until the indoor temperature was down to 75 degrees. as soon as i turned it off though, the temperature started increasing, and was soon back up to 82 degrees.
for dinner i ate two savory zongzi my mother gave me when i left the cafe. i might've gotten one for my roommate, but when i gave her one a few weeks ago, she didn't say anything afterwards (not even a, "oh, it was delicious"), so she wouldn't be getting anymore. i ate while watching the arnold schwarzenegger multi-part documentary on netflix. i washed everything down with some hard cider.