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i thought i could wake up early enough that i had time to ride to market basket and get some fresh dill, but it was almost nearly 10am by the time i got out of bed. i had less than 30 minutes to use the bathroom and take a shower before i needed to be at the cafe. before i left the house, my 2nd aunt called me, said her new HDTV was broken, and asked me to go over to her place and fix it. i told her i was about to leave for the cafe, and that we could do it afterwards.

temperature was in the 60's this morning, i wore a light jacket riding to the cafe. when i arrived i called my 2nd aunt and told her to send me photos of her tv screen so i could debug her problem. turns out she was stuck on the license agreement page, which asked her for an e-mail address in order to put her on the mailing list, and unless you clicked to opt out, you couldn't clear the screen until you inputed your e-mail. she couldn't fix it right away because she was also on her way to the cafe.

today started off very slow. i put a fresh batch of tea eggs (from the fridge) into the slow cooker. i could tell these were new because the tea brine had yet to penetrate into the eggs, or they weren't cracked hard enough. regardless, i made another fresh batch. my sister cooked 5 cups of rice but we were afraid there'd be tons leftover because nobody was buying bento boxes. nobody was buying the dark noodles either, they're usually a hot item.

the most popular thing customers ask for? can i use your bathroom. the answer being no because of health code reasons. we had all sorts, from people flat out asking to use the bathroom, to others saying they want to buy something but can they use the bathroom first. we even let a chinese guy wash his hands in the front sink, even though that's kind of a no-no as well.

it started to get busier after 1pm, we made the most profit around 2pm, and starting at 3pm, there was a non-stop hour of order taking for an hour before we closed. we got 2 large orders, one of them a total of 4 different noodles, a bento box, a chicken platter, and some dumplings. the other large order was a dine-in party, an asian family, who ate and then their trash for us to clean up afterwards, even though we have trash cans, and it's a cafe not a restaurant. that made me so angry, if i ever see that family again, i'd murder them. working at the cafe also makes me hate small children, they're nothing but trouble. i can't count the number of times children spill their food all over the place, or try to wander into the kitchen. i guess i really shouldn't blame the kids, it's their parents i should be hating, thinking it's okay for their spawns to make a mess of the world. if they only knew what i do to little kids that annoy me!

i didn't really eat anything all day but i wasn't really hungry either. i did eat a tea egg that had lost its shell and turned completely black after sitting in the tea brine for a few days. it didn't look so good, but was super tasty, having absorbed all that flavor. i also ate a few leftover pieces of chicken.

our fear of not being able to use the rice was unfounded, as we managed to use all 5 cups completely, yet at the same time didn't have to cook anymore. a lot of dumpling sales today, we boiled to order since any dumplings left over on saturdays either go in the trash or my sister takes them home to eat.

a busy day goes by much faster and i was surprised when i looked at the clock and realized it was almost closing time. i couldn't wait to turn off the lights and have my sister lock the front door. the air conditioner never went on today, it's set to 78 degrees, but it was already 74 degrees indoors, and still in the 60's outside (sunny though, many customers opted to eat out on the back deck).

i didn't get to my parents' place until almost 5pm. i was there just long enough to go down to the basement to check on my hydroponic mustards and to have dinner. i also saw the new 100W aluminum frame solar panel we ordered. it was actually heavier than i imagined, not something we could simply hang off of the side of the house, more like something we'd just angle on the ground and have it pointed towards the sun.

my mother made a sour bamboo shoots stew with pork while my father made a bitter melon salad. i didn't even get a chance to go into the backyard, i'll do that tomorrow. i returned home by 8pm. my upstairs neighbors still have yet to return from their mysterious 2 weeks vacation.