Went to the optometrist and bought a pair of off-the-shelf reading glasses. I already have a pair, plus I have my old prescription glasses, but my eyes have gotten so bad that I can’t function without them. Felt the need for a backup pair.
By noon it was so hot that the streets were nearly deserted.
The main road through my neighborhood is named Jingtian. One end has been blocked off due to subway construction. Consequently it is not as busy as it once was. When the subway is finished I am sure it will be very busy again.
From time to time I notice there are many blue trucks parked along the road. Most have drivers sleeping in the cabs. Some have card games being played outside their doors. Some are empty. They all have different markings on their sides, so they are not all from a single, very poorly run company.
One day I counted 21 blue trucks parked in a 5 block strip of Jingtian.
Since my favorite restaurant has closed, I went into another one close by. Unfortunately the menu is in Chinese only. Feeling adventurous, I blindly ordered the third thing in the second column. I have tried this approach before with poor results. Today I was lucky. I was served 5 small mu shoo rolls. They were about half the size of an egg roll found in US Chinese restaurants. They were excellent, and were in fact the only thing I have eaten in China that was anywhere close to dishes served in US Chinese restaurants.
By 16:00 people had returned to the streets, but it was still stifling. When I returned home I turned on the air conditioner for the first time in several days.
