the betamethasone dipropionate ointment i put on my weeping eczema last night seemed to have done wonders, but i was already on the road to recovery. i guess we'll never know whether it was because of the aquaphor or the corticosteroid. a little goes a long way, the tube i have - provided it doesn't expire - could probably use for a decade or more. at the very least the "weeping" has stopped, and so has the itchy. this ointment was originally prescribed for treating the occasional dermatitis i get on my hands, but it's difficult to apply on the hands and not have it get everywhere.
because i woke up so late, i had less than half an hour to get ready and go to the cafe to help out my parents. i took the bicycle, wore jeans because it was actually a little chilly. my sister was at the cafe making her catered meals for a few clients. it included a quiche pie that she was taking a long time to make. in my own experience, fresh quiche can be very gooey, hard to divide. but the type she made was more like a pie crust pizza with some eggs, cheese, and onions. it was also a recipe she'd never made before, kind of risky trying out new recipes on clients. i ended up having a leftover slice, it was very salty from the gruyere cheese and the crust. later my mother made me a mantou stuffed with chinese sausage.
business was slow again today, compared to last week where we set records. despite what the net sales say, i found out all the money my sister makes from catering actually goes to her, i thought she was doing it as an extension of the cafe.
things i did today at the cafe: make another batch of tea eggs; vacuumed the floor; made a makeshift second shelf on the railing wall next to the basement staircase; 
rehabilitated a badly damaged orchid my godmother gave us; went to go feed hailey close to 6pm because my sister wasn't home (hailey didn't want to eat at first, like she forgot, but after a few minutes of coaxing, she suddenly snapped to life, ran outside to pee before coming back inside to eat).
i returned home afterwards, my mother packed me ingredients for making beef noodle soup at home. a package was waiting for me on the doorstep: hanes boxer underwears i ordered last week, to replace all the threadware undergarments i currently own.
in the evening i went to star market to pick up some chips on sale. when i came back (8:30pm) i started making dinner. i warmed up the beef soup in one pot, the noodles in another. in the past i would've done everything in a single pot, but after having worked at the cafe, i do it separately now. i added a spoon of sichuan chili oil sauce for extra flavor. i make beef noodle soup all the time at the cafe but it's the first time in a while since i've had it myself.