i wore my $10 commuter pants (in black) that i ordered off of woot. they look like dress slacks. i didn't realize it was also of polyester material, so not only did it feel thin, but was also very stretchy, like i was wearing tights. movement wise it was great, but not sure about durability. i call these "china pants" not only for the unconventional material usage, but also quirky details, like how the zipper has a chain bangle, kind of weird. nice fit overall, but a little tight and low on the hips.

i started making a new batch of tea egg spice but before i could finish packaging them into individual 10g tea bags, it started getting busy. with the temperature hitting 80 degrees today i was expecting nothing less. it got so busy around lunchtime that in a panic we cooked 5 more cups of rice, afraid we'd run out. but the rice curse continues: as soon as we cooked additional rice, it stopped being busy again.

in the afternoon my father steamed some readymade soup dumplings for lunch. i had some with black vinegar and hot sauce.

i heard a voice that sounded like garden helen. i went out and saw it was her. she asked if i had lisa's number, because she lost her phone and was looking for it. i showed her the number on my phone and she grabbed it and called lisa without asking me first. turns out her phone was indeed at lisa's house. i asked helen about the mid-cambridge plant swap this weekend. unfortunately she told me it was last weekend. doh! and i had so many plants to donate. i went online and looked for somerville's plant swap, which was a weekend earlier.

i was talking with my father about our next garden project: making a trellis using EMT conduits. the idea is to cantilever the trellis out onto the lawn since there's plenty of untapped sunlight there. it'd be high enough so we could still walk underneath and not block sunlight for the raised beds in the back. home depot sells three EMT conduit sizes at 10ft length: 1/2", 3/4", and 1". the only legit diameter is one inch, but at about $22.50 a piece, it'd cost us $135 just to make one trellis, not including the connecting hardware. 3/4" conduit is cheaper - $13 per 10ft - but we'd still need to spent $78 on piping alone. another idea is to use PVC pipe, although it's not as permanent or sturdy solution.

my mother's ipad air gen 3 went dark for most of the day. i've been telling her for over a month to get a replacement, but she said it was still working. when it does go dark on occasions, she said it's her ipad's way of making her get some screen time rest. but today seemed to be the tipping point. i told her a brand new latest generation ipad A16 sells for $300 on amazon (apple already sells their at $350). she someone managed to talk me into buying it for her. before i did that however, i looked for some android options. the only brand comparable to apple is samsung. their myriad of tablet models was confusing. i was specifically looking at the galaxy tab S10 lite for $300. i personally prefer android since you can side load 3rd party apps, but an ipad is more dependable, and i know apple will keep the OS updated for a while. besides, if the new ipad isn't that great, we can always return it. i opted for the overnight option, supposed to be delivered between 4am-8am. i highly doubt that'll happen, but worth a try.

once we closed, my parents stayed behind to have some fish for dinner. i went home and had fish myself, in the form of baked fish sticks and homemade tartar sauce.

i had 15 minutes to inspect the grow closet when i got home. i noticed one luffa seedling had rotted in the soil. i threw it away, saving the pot for some future plant. checking my seeds, one more ebay-purchased luffa has germinated, i peeled off the shell and transplanted it into a pot. two more luffa seeds had also germinated, but the root tip had rotted so i tossed them out. none of the corkscrew pepper seeds have sprouted yet.

i half-heartedly watched the two NBA games tonight. pistons beat the cavaliers 101-111, and the thunders beat the lakers 90-108.