i went back to the photo store this morning to ask them if there was something wrong with the flash (that was a rhetorical question, of course there was something wrong with it). "yeah, unfortunately you got your hand on that flash before we could tag it," their equipment guy told me. "the last person who rented it out said it was malfunctioning, so we were going to take it out of service." they apologized for their mistake and ended up letting me borrow their demo flash - the newer version 580EX II. with a brand new (working) flash in hand, i raced back home to test it out.

in the afternoon i went to the cafe to do some photo tests with people and to snag some lunch. my mother told me she sold two of my photos and gave me the check. afterwards i went to the supermarket to get some groceries. i was having my grandmother over for dinner again and my mother requested that i made some more of those ribs she and my father had last week (you remember, the ones using rotten meat). this time i made sure i had fresh ingredients, buying 6 lbs. worth of spare ribs.

when my mother and grandmother came over close to 5pm, i started making the ribs. when my aunt came by at 6pm, we went to the garden to collect some tomatoes, basil, and scallions. by 7pm the ribs were done and my mother and aunt made some other side dishes to go along with the main course. the ribs were a big hit once more, even though i didn't really think they were that special.