i wrote PNY last night to see if i can get a replacement 128GB PRO elite microSD card for the one that i bought just a year ago that suddenly stopped working. they responded this morning, asking to see a copy of the invoice and photos of the busted memory card, front and back. i sent the attachments and they got back to me immediately, said they'd replace the card, and that i didn't have to send back the damaged one. i wasn't even sure if the card was still under warranty, i read a bunch of conflicting info, each one said something different, but it was worth a try, and glad i did, i should get a new replacement card in a few weeks.

in the late morning i ran a bunch of errands: returned the bosch drill combo set at the UPS store; got 8 free covid tests from walgreens, went to harvard vanguard to pick up prescriptions for my parents; returned a pair of mittens at whole foods; then finally to market basket for some groceries, including some toilet paper.

i stopped at home briefly to drop off the groceries before switching to my motorcycle and heading out to the cafe. my sister had been bugging me since last night, said the energy consultant people were coming today so she couldn't be at the cafe and asked me if i could go. this essentially meant i'd be working at the cafe every day this week except for thursday, since my sister also said she wasn't going to work on friday and saturday on account it was her birthday, and wednesday is my one weekday where i'm at the cafe. i never replied to her, but when i arrived at the cafe it was getting busy so i stuck around until 2:45pm helping my parents.

i helped my mother take a covid test after she said she hadn't been feeling well ever since she heard my aunt had contracted covid. the test was negative, just like the dozen of tests she'd already taken over the past few months. she said my father should take one as well, but he doesn't have any symptoms, so she's saving the test for tomorrow.

the only good thing from having to work at the cafe today was i got some leftover hot and sour soup. i was so busy the soup was heated twice in the microwave but when i finally ate it was already lukewarm.

my original plan today besides running all those errands was to do some gardening, both in belmont and my own community garden plot. but it was already close to 3pm by the time i left the cafe, with just about an hour left of daylight, so i decided to postpone the gardening until thursday.

i baked some hazelnuts in the oven for a snack. hazelnuts are good and all, but what i really want are some roasted chestnuts. i'll get them the next time i'm at the supermarket. i fell asleep surfing on the couch, i didn't go to bed until at least 4am last night (rewatching the good cop on netflix), then woke up at 9am, so i'm definitely not getting enough sleep.

i was making instant pot century egg pork bone congee for dinner tonight. while blanching the country style bottom pork spare ribs (2.6 lbs, a little much), i noticed my kitchen surge protector wasn't working. when i removed it from the wall, the outlet on the 3-tap was scorched as well as the back of the belkin surge protector. when i plugged in the power strip directly, it didn't work, no matter how much i reset it. i tested it with a non-contact voltage test pen, and noticed it was hot on both the neutral and the hot sides, so there's probably a short somewhere. like the PNY memory card, i'm going to try and see if i can get a warranty replacement. belkin products are supposedly under warranty for the life of the product.

anyway, i grabbed a shorter surge protector and carried on with cooking my dinner. this is such an easy recipe, and i've eaten it so much that you'd think i'd be sick of it by now, but it really hits the spot, especially now the weather's turning colder. i should look into more instant recipes.

while my congee was pressure cooking, i went to go use the bathroom and take a shower. it was done by the time i got out of the bathroom, i just needed to do the second stage of he recipe, which was to remove and shred the pork, then add the chopped century egg. i got some good spare ribs this time, very little bone, mostly meat. i'd gotten bad ribs where there was a lot of fat and it makes the congee so greasy it's almost inedible. i had a big bowl, ate while channel surfing on youtube tv. afterwards i had a persimmon i bought from chinatown last week.