#COVIDCatLady, Day 769

Our whole compound tested negative and lockdown was *gently* lifted as scheduled at 6 p.m. today. I say gently because we were still encouraged to limit outings as much as possible.

There's been lots of what I've come to refer to as "the COVID cranky's," just people being generally anxious and irritated. Lots of online spats and pandemic shaming. How dare they go out for St. Patrick's Day!? We're all on lockdown here! / Why can't they be CLEAR about when we're going to be starting lockdown? This is so unorganized! / Ugh this is so stupid and stressful! How come you can work from home? / Why do I *have* to work from home?

In the midst of shifting policies and cranky's, 2 of my WeChat connections have been nothing but delightful.

The first is a pet store, updating everyone daily on who's in (pets and humans), who's out, and what products and services are available day-to-day based: we're all in lockdown / no grooming, we're understaffed / hey we're back at it but if you want to come say hi to the birds and cats, they're in lockdown, but here are some cute photos. *Chef's Kiss*

The second is my favorite beef noodle spot. They're not on any of the delivery apps, because they're so damn cheap they can't be bothered with the fees. So instead, they just have a group chat. You @ them to order. It feels chaotic but I always get my steamy bowl of hand-cut noodles with pickled cabbage within 20 mins. The were told yesterday that they'd have to close starting Saturday, but then was told to shut immediately, and then suddenly announced this afternoon that they'd be reopening at *midnight*

Yeah, you read that right. This place is open every single day of the week and delivers 24-7. For the price of 2 bowls of noodles here, you can get a cup of very well-made flat white in Shanghai. And they don't charge extra for delivery. It's ridiculous.

I texted the group admin to say "y'all work too hard!" And he simply replied, "we are here to serve the people."

(Beef noodle photo from January 1st, 2022, but you bet I'm ordering them again tonight...)

In other news, Freyja the cat has learned to play fetch.