Cook

02:07 Insomnia Again Lately, I’ve been struggling with insomnia—thinking about my visa, about Xiaohuanhuan, about family, about friends. I just can’t seem to control my mind. 02:35 Got Up to Cook Instant Noodles Couldn’t sleep at all, so I thought about taking a melatonin pill. But I could clearly feel my stomach growling, and after watching Wu Banbao’s video, I decided to get up and cook a pack of instant noodles. Eating a bit more might help me sleep better anyway. Took the pill afterward and got ready to sleep. ...

This morning, my older brother called me and asked me to take my mom to the hospital for a follow-up check-up since they had something to do in Liuzhi. Coincidentally, Huanhuan also had to work overtime today. After we had breakfast, I dropped her off at her workplace, and we went our separate ways. My mom had breakfast with me, and afterward, I took her to the hospital for an ultrasound. The results were quite good—there was no further growth or enlargement. When we arrived at the doctor’s office, we could hear a patient arguing with the doctor, who was recommending surgery. ...

How to evaluate today? It’s hard to say. Yesterday, I scheduled a medical check-up for this morning to assess my health condition in advance and avoid any issues with the upcoming pre-employment physical. So I got up early this morning and quickly finished the check-up at the hospital. The main focus was on blood and urine-related indicators, which were conveniently covered by the free check-up offered by JD.com. After the check-up, I was both thirsty and hungry, and since the free check-up didn’t include a breakfast voucher, I went to Kaihui convenient store across from the medical center and bought a bottle of water and a grilled sausage. Back at my place, I boiled an ear of corn my mom gave me yesterday. The corn lately hasn’t been very sweet—fruit corn seems to taste better. ...

Early this morning, I received a message from Professor Hu, which immediately got me anxious again. I quickly got up to check the progress of my CSC application, and sure enough, there was no update yet. My mom also called me early in the morning, asking if I was coming over to pick up some rice. I hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet. After getting up, I did laundry and took a shower. Then I lay in bed and finished reading Animal Farm—it was incredibly satirical and blunt. I bought the English original to keep at home, so I can read it again next time I’m back. ...

This morning, I tried frying peanuts for the first time. At first, nothing seemed to change, but after frying them a few seconds longer, I scooped them out only to find they had all turned golden. They were slightly overdone but not burnt. Timing for Scooping Out Peanuts ...

Yesterday, I stayed up late playing games with Huanhuan and didn’t sleep until 3 a.m. Today, I’m exhausted. This morning, after getting up, I stir-fried some clams and saved some of them to make clam noodles with the leftover vermicelli from yesterday. The stir-fry turned out pretty good—I’ll definitely make it again in the future. The quality of ingredients is the key to whether a dish tastes good or not. I looked it up online and learned that clams can simply be steamed with a bit of cilantro and sesame oil, and they’ll already be delicious. Next time I get fresh clams, I’ll give that a try. ...

This morning, I made lobster tail pasta, and it turned out pretty good. It’s just not as tasty as live crayfish, but it’s fine to have occasionally. After a short nap in the afternoon, we went to the seafood street and bought some oysters (¥3 each, opened on the spot) and clams (¥7 per pound—the vendor even threw out the bad ones). It was quite a good deal. Then we headed to the supermarket to pick up some side ingredients and seasonings. ...