because i run in the mornings, often times by the end of the day i completely forget i went running. it's almost like it didn't happen. the only evidence are some dirty run clothes, a gps tracking route, and a few snapshots i took along the way. i listened to a random historical podcast that discussed current events. the two hosts weren't particularly captivating, i doubt i'll listen to them again. earlier i was listening to a podcast talking about the library of alexandria. the host was british, which for some reason was distracting enough that i had a hard time following.

a tall blonde woman ran past me during the final leg of my river route. i tried to gain up to her but she was a real runner, and got farther and farther away until couldn't see her anymore. could i ever run that fast? in my running heydays i closely approached a 7 minute mile pace. currently i'm probably doing a 10 minute mile, hard to calculate as i punctuate my run with two bridge walks.

i got home by 11:15am. for lunch i heated up a frozen burrito in the microwave. i decided to make century egg congee tonight, and took out my frozen bone-in spare ribs from the freezer (the label said it was from february) to defrost in the sink. i made a grocery list to get a few additional ingredients and biked to market basket by 1pm.

they were all out of scallions (one thin bundle) and barely had any ginger (just scraps). i waited a long time in a regular checkout aisle because i thought i had over 20 items (turned out it was just 17). the guy in front of me had something like 50-60 items, and had an annoying habit of putting one item per conveyer belt space. the most important thing i got was another watermelon (still $5.99), strapped it to the back of my rear bike rack with bungie netting, sitting on a folded up shopping bag to prevent any damages.

i left soon after returning home, rode the motorcycle to belmont by 2pm. there was a long list of garden tasks: build raised bed fencing, repotted several dozen pileas and other outdoor houseplants, and most importantly patch some holes in both the front and back lawn.

i ended up only having time to do the lawn patching. i used up a used bag of raised bed soil before completely using up another brand new bag. that kind of soil is probably too good in quality for reseeding grass, but we bought it back in early spring, so better to use it up now. i first added the soil to a round tub, before sprinkling in some grass starter fertilizer. then i added the grass seeds. i started with the back lawn first, only a few spots needed filling. i used the cultivator to loosen up the old soil before adding new grass seeds infused soil. i then did the same with the front lawn, which needed more care, from bare spots caused up uprooted crabgrass, to rabbit burrowing damage. while i was out there, i said hello to a pudgy old white guy walking an english boxer. just so happens he turned out to be english himself. he walked back just when i was about to leave, made a comment about my motorcycle. he said he used to ride himself, and took apart plenty of honda engines. the reason why he stopped riding was because he nearly broke his neck in an accident. so instead of bikes, he now flies planes. "not as convenient as a motorcycle," he deadpanned in a cockney accent.

the raised bed soil had a distinctive smell to it. it didn't smell bad but was pungent, though it did remind me of farm smells. i also turned the compost heap, hot smoke billowing from the decomposing grass. i found some beetle grubs again, including another large one. i tried looking for identifying features but found none other than its large size. it did do something that was sort of weird: when it uncurled, it would wiggle away on its back instead of on its legs. later i did some internet sleuthing and this might actually be a green june bug beetle. the larger size and back walking are characteristic features. i'm almost tempted to raise it indoors so i can see the beetle when it emerges next spring. i watered the backyard patches but didn't water the front ones, simply because it was going to rain later tonight and tomorrow morning. besides, the soil had plenty of moisture as it is, cooking in those plastic bags for so long.

instead of going home, my mother called to ask me to pick her and my father's prescriptions at the cambridge harvard vanguard office. i went down spark street to brattle before skirting havard square to get to cambridge street. it was the indian pharmacist again. i returned home and put the rain cover over the bike.

i started the congee recipe by 7:30pm. that was already kind of late. the recipe itself is actually very simple, but it takes a while (1-1/2 hours) to cook in the instant pot. i discovered lauryn had used up all my short rice, left me with a few grains. fortunately i'm not too picky about my rice type so used some old long grain rice instead. i didn't have any ground white pepper, so used fresh ground pepper as a substitute. after blanching the pork, i added all the ingredients into the instant pot and set it for high pressure cooking for 35 minutes. that means it took about 15-20 minutes to come to pressure before it started the countdown.

afterwards i let it sit for 20 minutes before venting the pressure. the pork ribs were falling off the bone. i shredded the meat before adding it back to the pot, along with some chopped century egg and a dash of sesame oil. after sauteeing a bit, i turned off the instant pot. i scooped out a large bowl of congee, seasoned it with some old chopped scallions (so old they were barely green) and some pickled mustard green. i also added a dash of spicy chili sauce (which reminds me: i need to make my own someday soon).

i ate while watching oslo. i feel like i've seen it before but couldn't remember a thing about the movie, though watching it now a few scenes felt familiar. maybe i wasn't paying close attention the first time. the congee left my feeling warm and sweaty, and i kept blowing my nose profusely.