ironymaiden | (no subject)

I had a lovely morning today: I met up with

just_cris for dim sum and it was exquisite. I'm sure part of it was not having any for over a year, but everything was fresh and a perfect expression of its dish. Normally I don't really like the hairy deep-fried balls of shrimp with mayo sauce but damn if they weren't perfectly crispy on the outside and the sauce was fatty and tangy and just so. I am a sucker for sweets and the cart with the bao and sesame balls and egg custard everything* came first ❤️❤️❤️
I am so used to going with a big group that I hadn't registered that most plates come with three pieces; just perfect.

I am worried about the restaurant. It was very empty, especially for a weekend. In the before times it was wall-to-wall families.

I broke my journey there downtown and had time to walk around before getting the train. The business district has really suffered in a way the neighborhoods have not. I remember our coffee shop (which is a tiny in-city chain) said ours was the last to close/first to open around lockdowns because they still had traffic when everyone was working from home. anyway, lots of boarded up storefronts and no people away from the orbit of Pike Place Market. I walked through Post Alley and saw some people had added masks to the gum wall.

After dim sum I killed time at Kinokuniya and the park with the daleks until it was time for the Sounders game. The game was okay (being there was fun, feels like it will end again any moment, not a good result). On the way out my phone went off with a message from Mom: my brother-in-law is dead, and the kids found the body. (they're young adults, my sister isn't in the picture.) Spent the bus ride home chatting with family and recovering from shock.

As I said to

mimerki:
Anyway Pat's dead and the Sounders lost but I did get this cute transit card holder wallet that looks like a Shiba Inu

We got home in time to order the kids some grocery gift cards, then get online for continent-spanning D&D. We defeated the angry ghost and it was a good way to wind down.

I was originally supposed to be at a picnic at the time when the death notification came through. I felt bad about fucking my schedule and letting people down, but so glad I didn't have to be in the middle of freeform social interaction when this came down.

*okay, they didn't have the ones that seem to be the Chinese version of filled mochi. I'm not sure if I love the egg or taro ones of those more. Most of the staff don't speak a lot of English so I don't know the actual names of most things or what is in them. Not for anyone with food allergies