Lockdown Day 15: Water!
This morning started with another bowl of apple cinnamon steel cut oats, with chia and flaxseed.
Since I was down to my last bottle of water, I tried to see if I could make this oatmeal with less water than yesterday, relying more on the moisture from the apple to cook the oats. I liked this consistency!
Just as I was finishing breakfast, at 8:49am the entryway leader said that we would need to do two antigen tests today. Once before noon, and the other before 6pm. So, does that mean we can do one right away? And can we do the afternoon test … anytime in the afternoon? Or just before 6pm? Later in the morning one of the volunteers said that we would do the antigen test at 5pm, and to set the alarm to do that.
I did the test right away, and followed the lead of the others to post a picture of my result in the group chat.
After working some, I had lunch. I had the last of the coleslaw, and also the last of the piece of parmesan which I put on toast. I also heated up a bowl of beef stew from the freezer.
At around 3pm, the entryway leader said she just got a notification that we had to do the test at 3pm. So, right away, and not at 5pm.
In the afternoon came the breakthrough of the week! I was down to my last big bottle of water, and was already starting to ration myself. I tried to use as little bottled water in cooking as possible, like this morning’s oatmeal. I also started to drink the soda and iced tea that I’d accumulated but don’t normally drink.
I had placed an order on JD 京东 with estimated deliver before the lockdown started, but that delivery date keeps on shifting out. I tried two group buys of water, but both fell through. I contacted some suppliers myself, but they either had only the big bottles of water that only work with water dispensers, or their smaller bottles were too expensive.
Some neighbors upstairs and I were exchanging some messages about buying water, and how it was so hard to find. Today, one of them messaged me and said that they just got a big shipment and that they could give me two of their boxes. Each box has 4 x 4L bottles, meaning I would be set for about the next 3 weeks! (I’ve gotten pretty good at estimating my drinking water rate, after my 21 day hotel quarantine!) My neighbor said each box was 48 RMB, about US$7.50, and I gladly paid that. I usually pay about 30 RMB for a box like this, but it was so worth getting this water now. And I had actually also contacted this same supplier myself. He quoted me 55 RMB per box! My neighbor said she placed her order last Saturday, so by the time I contacted him this week, his price had already gone up.
Also this same evening, we got another supply of vegetables out of the blue. This one came in a box, and looked like it came from neighboring Jiangsu province.
They all rolled to one side…
In this shipment, there was (yet again) a head of cabbage, two big purple onions, a daikon (which I’m quite happy about, to give more flavor to soups), tall brown mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, two carrots, a bunch of sweet potatoes, and a small head of napa cabbage. All nice things, and no more bok choy for now, which I’m quite satisfied about.
I did my workout of the day, and then prepared dinner. I stir-fried the last of my 鸡毛菜 chicken feather bok choy, while my turkey pot pie was in the toaster oven.
I then took a shower, and then dug in. This was the last turkey pot pie that came from Thanksgiving leftovers!
