would there be any customers today, despite the rain? would it be a repeat of thursday, same sort of rainy day, where we had virtually no business? there was no doubt business was slow, but we still ended up with about a dozen customers, and actually made more than last saturday, the weekend before christmas.
i heard my mother yesterday muttering something about buffet hot pot dinner at spring shabu shabu for her birthday tonight. 
i didn't think she was serious until she called to tell us to go directly to the western avenue brighton restaurant after work. i didn't want to go for many reasons. i weighed myself this morning and i think the lack of running, the christmas eve dinner, and the week of pasta this week were all the tipping point to cause me to gain 5-6 lbs. i can't seem to get rid of. it's not going to look go when i have my weigh in for my annual physical next thursday, followed by a visit to the gastroenterologist the next morning. also i wasn't felling well, woke up with a sore throat. i actually used one of the covid tests to see if i got the virus: it was negative, my immediate family seems impervious to the coronavirus it seems. so i was out of excuses.
around 1pm i went over to my sister's place to play with esmei, let her out into the backyard to use the bathroom, then feed her lunch. she seemed very bitey when we were outside, wanted to play fetch or chase, but it was just too wet and gross. i forced her to pee by placing her in one of the raised beds, but she didn't poop. after she had her lunch, i put her back in her playpen and returned to the cafe.
we starting cleaning before closing time and when 4pm came, by sister returned home to see if she could get esmei to go poop before coming back to the cafe half an hour later to drive us (including my 2nd aunt and i) to spring shabu shabu. my 2nd aunt didn't think she was invited and was about to walk home when i asked her where she was going. i called my mother who confirmed my 2nd aunt was invited.
we - including my parents - all arrived around the same time. it was only 4:40pm but there was already a small crowd of people waited to be seated. it was still early enough that we didn't have to wait, though i pity anyone coming here around proper dinnertime. everyone had the bone broth but me, i went with the sichaun mala broth. we all ordered a side of lamb while my sister got the fatty beef belly. we also ordered a plate of white fish and a plate of clams (6).
it's not my first time at spring shabu shabu so i'm a seasoned pro by this point. like don't get side tracked by their wide selection of starchy foods or foods high in carbs, those will fill you up real quick. like my father, i love the fried tofu, even though they're one of the stuffingest foods. i'd forgotten how noisy the place can be, and make sure not to wear your best clothes, but they'll reek of hot pot afterwards. after my first plate i was already full. i forced myself to go for seconds even though i had no stomach for it. i quickly finished so i could get dessert: soft-serve vanilla and green tea ice cream.
we finally finished by 6:40pm, exactly 2 hours later (there's no time limit, but 2 hours is more than enough time for hot pot buffet). there was a crowd of people waiting for tables. throughout dinner i checked the webcam intermittently, to make sure esmei was okay. i was probably looking at the webcam more than my sister. my parents returned home while my sister drove my 2nd aunt and me back. i got dropped off at the cafe where i parked my bicycle and left my bag inside the shop. i went over to my sister's place to check up on esmei. i let her out of her cafe where she came out to play. when my sister finally got back, she let esmei out into the backyard to use the bathroom before giving her dinner. i returned home.
tonight was the raptors-pistons game which started at 6pm. would detroit extend their losing streak, after having lost to the celtics on thursday? i checked the score earlier, pistons had the lead. i watched the game when i got back home. they were facing a depleted raptors, which just today struck a deal with the knicks and traded away 3 of their players, including a starter. that plus the fact that toronto also has a losing record made it ripe for a possible pistons victory to break their losing streak. sure enough, that's what happened. give raptors credit though, they still played well despite being outmanned, and had chances in the final seconds to steal the game. final score was 129-127.