Cav's Place

In the early hours of June 5, it was late when I finished making pasta, ending up eating lunch between 1:05 AM and 1:15 AM, and then I selected the handful of usable radish leaves and also used radishes for much of the salad, which also meant picking what little was still usable out of some that were going bad, so I ate dinner, with some more of that expired bio (organic) peanut butter on all of the bread, between 3:55 AM and 4:25 AM. And then I shaved as well, but still managed to get in bed at the usual time.
The problem is that I kept being woken up. First by dad going to the bathroom and blowing and spitting crap out, after which I decided to pee one more time, then by Liza going to the litter box, though at least I stayed in bed and got right back to sleep that time, and then by dad getting up, at which point I checked something on the computer, then changed and cleaned the litter box, stood around for a while, also showing him that Liza was starting to eat something that he was probably once again thinking to take out, and eventually changed back and got back in bed, though I remained awake until after he left… At which point I poked my head out to check and saw that he had forgotten the bag of trash. So I dashed to knock on the door and also try the handle, but he didn’t seem to notice and come back. Either way, after waiting out Liza’s “concert” as well, I finally got back to sleep… Only to soon be woken up again, by an SMS from my provider. And some time later I got up to pee again, had another quick look on-line, decided that I won’t be doing something else before getting ready for the run and changed the alarm from 1 PM to 2:30 PM… And when I got back in bed there was some drilling from above that kept me awake, though it only lasted a few minutes. And some time after 2 PM I woke up again, decided to pee once more, just in case, and actually managed to catch another brief and agitated nap, waking up yet again at 2:27 PM and turning off the alarm.
When I looked in the fridge, I saw that dad had also forgotten something that he said he was going to take with him that day, and hadn’t eaten something else left since the week before. Either way, I then had the usual stuff, with the yogurt being a bio (organic) one, decided to have the remaining bio (organic) cashew and oat cookie, with added honey, as the sweet thing, drank most of the tea, and left at 5:10 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 27-28°C, and 26-27°C when I finished the first run.
The time was 1:21:31, with sector times of 4:31.86, 5:13 (5:12.94), 6:06 (6:05.93), 4:40, 5:09, 6:03, 4:43, 5:23, 6:23, then 10:14 for the first two sectors of lap four, then 6:22, 4:48, 5:36 and 6:20, making for lap times of 15:50, 15:52, 16:29, 16:36 and 16:44. I did check the exact times for the first three laps, but after lap two I realized that I wasn’t completely certain about those from that lap anymore, and while any possible error was only at the hundredths, I decided to make sure that I won’t have issues with the seconds and get the exact times out of my mind… Only to then somehow fail to press the button after sector one of lap four, so I only have a very rough estimate of the times for that sector and the next one, since I looked when I took the first turn and then did so again on the next lap, seeing that it took me 48 seconds to cover the distance between the start of the sector and that point and 5:36 to get there from the start of the lap, while on the previous lap it had taken me 5:27, and the total time for the two sectors was 10:24 on lap five, compared to 10:14 on lap four. Based on that, it’d seem that the times on sector two were similar, with almost all of the difference being on sector one, so something like 4:40 and 5:34 may be probable, but I decided to deduct 45 seconds instead, leading to 4:42 and 5:32. The average of those values may be closer to the truth, but there’s no way to really know and a couple of seconds probably don’t matter that much when it’s such a rough estimate either way.
While I didn’t want to exhaust myself from the first run, I did initially hope to stay under 1:20… Only to realize after the first sector that there was little chance of that. It was only on sectors two and three of lap two that things seemed better, but I obviously exhausted myself in order to manage that and by the end of lap three I was already behind the target. And I wasn’t going to get faster, so even 1:21 was a lost cause. Yet on lap five I hoped to at least squeeze under 1:21:30, and as I pushed on the last sector I really thought that I could do it. But it wasn’t enough and I just failed even that, which was an awful sign for what was going to come.
One problem was that the Turkish Festival was taking place there those days, in fact just starting around that time, the stage still being set up as I first passed behind it, on the first sector’s long straight. That meant that it was going to be crowded, especially in that area, even if it is behind the stage, but it wasn’t that bad during this first run, even if there was quite a lot of weaving and going the long way around. I did have to slow in order to squeeze through a roadblock on sector one of lap two, but on the next sector it was a kid on a bicycle who turned in front of me that made me hesitate, while on sector two of lap five I hesitated twice because of other kids getting in my way. What was concerning for a moment was a sharp pain felt under my butt at the end of sector two of lap four, which was followed by a pressing need appearing, but the pain only lasted for a moment and the other feeling also went away during sector one of lap five. On the other hand, I did start to feel rather dehydrated during that last lap. But that was about it, the occasional warnings given by the right knee being faint even at the start of the run and fading after that.

After picking up a recyclable on the way back, I ate a banana, went to drop that bag of trash which had been forgotten by dad down the chute, and grabbed another recyclable from the garbage room. Then I went to the toilet again, munched on some expired salty pretzels while writing the quick notes about the first run, finished the tea, put some things in the pocket of my tights, and left again at 8:05 PM. The reported temperature was about 25°C at that point, and about 22°C when I finished the second run.
The time was 53:42.58, with sector times of 4:47, 5:27, 6:24, 4:55, 5:35, 6:40, 5:08, 5:59, 6:44 and 2:03.10, making for lap times of 16:38, 17:10 and 17:51. The main target was to at least avoid a new worst time and the first lap was something of a relief from that point of view. And lap two wasn’t that terrible either, though I was wondering whether I’ll manage to squeeze under 17 minutes and sector three meant that I didn’t, and also that I was really exhausted. Still, I knew that I could afford even around 18 minutes on lap three, but I somehow ended up thinking that I needed that in order to get under 53 minutes instead of 54, probably because I was too exhausted to think anymore. Either way, I just focused on getting to the end, wanting to be able to afford at least 2:10, and preferably even 2:15, on the final sector. And that was the case after the end of lap three, though it wasn’t really needed. It was disappointing to see that my calculations had been off by a minute when I finished, and it meant that the total time for these two runs was the worst ever, but the main problem was the first run, and it had made me fear doing even worse on this second one, so I couldn’t be quite that disappointed by it.
It was more crowded than during the first run, so on top of plenty of weaving and going the long way around and various lesser issues, there were two brief stops and a moment when I slowed, this being on the long straight, on the first sector, a hesitation on the second sector, another on sector one of lap two, a stop that lasted a couple of seconds and another brief one on sector two of lap two, and something on the following sector which might have been another hesitation, though it might have been even worse, I’m not sure. Either way, I also took a couple of steps on the grass, twice, on the long straight of sector one of lap three, and another couple of steps off the path later on that same sector. And on sector two of lap three I stopped for a couple of seconds, and it’s possible that there was another brief stop as well, which might have even been on the long straight, but I’m not sure about that. And I’m also not sure about sector three of lap three, though I think that there was something there as well. Otherwise, I felt like I was hitting the wall at the end of sector two of lap two, and the times showed it. And a toenail was hurting, though there was no visible issue with it at the time.

After the run, I went to Penny, picking up a recyclable on the way, putting it in a cabinet that I didn’t lock, getting some expiring falafel… And then seeing that someone else had used that cabinet, but at least they hadn’t locked it, so I could retrieve the recyclable from behind their bag. And then I picked up another one and a carton, so I made a detour to that non-stop Mega Image to put the carton in that machine, seeing the bakery discounts already made but not entering, since I wanted to go to Kaufland. So I put the recyclables in the machine when I got there, then put the falafel and the carton which I had picked up on the way in a cabinet, washed my hands, and entered the store just after 10:05 PM, seeing a full crate of green onions with a deep discount, so I wasn’t worried about having to rush to grab some and went to the bakery area first, so my hands would still be clean… But very few discounted products were left and none were interesting, that also being the case for the one that I asked the employee about. So I then checked the expiring products as well, going back to the vegetables right at 10:15 PM… And seeing that all the greens had been cleared! So I asked the employee about the green onions, but she just said that nothing was left. But there were a couple of carts of products there and I found a bundle of green onions in one, so I took it. And that was all I bought, after cashing in the voucher and typing the code for the store card, though it wasn’t relevant at all. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, walked out just before the closing announcement, and on the way back I picked up a few more recyclables and checked three Mega Image locations, putting my things in a cabinet that I didn’t lock at the first two and entering the nearby one with them, and only seeing some bakery discounts at that non-stop one.
I got back at 11:35 PM. Then I put those few purchases in their place, talked to dad a little, ate a huge sweet pastry brought by him, drank the high-protein shake which I had kept for this day, washed what was in the kitchen, did the day’s squats, and it was past 1:30 AM when I went to wash, seeing what looked like quite a rash on the upper part of my abdomen, so I hope that it was just caused by sweat and not a sign of something else. Either way, I was done at 2:25 AM, but then I spent a little time on the computer and cut my toenails, hoping that it’d help with that one which had hurt, so I got back to the kitchen at 2:50 AM. And then I swept the floor a little and used two small flatbreads, some regular cheese and that falafel to make something like some small pizzas, which I ate as a combined lunch and dinner between 5:45 AM and 7:30 AM. After rubbing cream on my feet and making another tea, which I should have done much earlier, and taking it to my room, I got in bed at 8 AM.

Unsurprisingly, I couldn’t sleep. Then again, I might have just fallen asleep when Liza woke up and started meowing for some reason, but I’m not sure, and either way I couldn’t get back to sleep after that, so I eventually read for a while, during which time she also went to the litter box twice. And while I tried to get back to sleep at 9:25 AM, I then got up a few times to drink tea, eventually drinking almost all of it before catching a short nap, which ended when dad got up, so a little after 11 AM I was up again, having slept probably about half an hour. And at that point I changed and after going to pee I finished the tea and ate an orange, and after cleaning the litter box I ate a couple of tiny cake pieces. Then I checked something on the computer, finally getting back in bed again at 12:20 PM. But it was still hard to sleep, and the small noises, both from dad and from the upstairs neighbor, definitely didn’t help, so if I got any more sleep at all, it couldn’t have been more than a couple of very brief naps until dad left to pick up my cousin from his side from the metro station. And, while I went to pee before they got here, which was a little before 1:50 PM, and then remained in bed until the guy left, at 3:40 PM, they were making noise, checking what work had to be done for the balcony and all of the windows except the one from my room and discussing it, so I’m once again uncertain whether I got any more sleep at all, and if I did it couldn’t have been more than a couple of very brief naps.
After that guy left I got up, ate a banana, watched handball and the Formula 1 qualifying, did the day’s squats, washed what was in the kitchen, went to the toilet, and then got back in bed… But dad still made some small noises, so it took me a while to fall asleep again, and he dropped things a couple of times after I did, waking me. But at least I did get right back to sleep after those moments, so I got a couple of naps that were somewhat less brief before the alarm rang, at 8:45 PM, and I got up to watch the national team’s friendly match, eating lunch during its first half and munching on something towards the end.

After once again putting that expired bio (organic) peanut butter on all of the bread for dinner, I could really sleep. I got woken up twice while dad was getting ready to leave, also going to pee and exchanging a few words with him the second time, and yet again when he did leave, but that meant that I was getting right back to sleep each time. And after he left, just before 8:15 AM, I only woke up to pee a couple more times, still getting right back to sleep, even if whatever had caught at the back of my neck at some point during the evening was still quite an issue and I was trying to snap it, without success. And, with the third place match starting at 4 PM and the forecast listing a storm around 5 PM, I had decided to try to do the last run of the series later in the evening and had set the alarm to ring at 4 PM, though I ended up waking up on my own a few minutes earlier and turning it off. And then I recorded the race, which also started at 4 PM, and watched the handball match while having the usual stuff, the yogurt being a “creamy” one with 4.5% protein and 10% fat. As for the sweet thing, I opened a new jar of honey and put some on a doughnut. And I also cleaned the litter box, put some things in the pocket of my tights, and left at 7:15 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 25-26°C, and about 23°C when I finished.
>>The time was 1:23:50, with sector times of 4:45, 5:19, 6:13, 4:53, 5:28, 6:16, 5:03, 5:30, 6:23, 4:56, 5:34, 6:26, 5:04, 5:39 and 6:21, making for lap times of 16:17, 16:37, 16:56, 16:56 and 17:04.
>>So tired, getting lightheaded at first, though it oddly got better later. Stopped for at least five seconds, maybe a little more, at the start of lap three, to tighten a shoelace. Stopped for a few seconds to see the time at the start of sector two of lap five. From the start of lap three it got rather windy too. And my neck didn’t help. But it was so awfully crowded. By far the worst was sector one, and on the first lap, between the bridge and that bar or whatever it is that’s just past the stage, so also covering part of the long straight, it was hard to even find a way to walk through. On the next laps it was noticeably better, but there were always at least a couple of moments when I had to briefly stop, and sometimes more, not to mention slowing, squeezing, hesitating, stepping off the path… And the area around the boat dock was always crowded and made me lose time on all laps. The other two sectors were much better, with only some spots being crowded and stretches where at least the lane was quite clear. But if on sector two of lap one there was just one spot where I hesitated a little, after that I probably had serious issues on each sector two and three as well. Maybe there was one more sector, maybe a sector three and possibly on lap three or four, which was also better, but really not sure. So on the rest there was always something, and usually more than one thing, and at least a few times I had to stop for a few seconds, not just for an instant, plus of course all of the lesser issues.

>>After just managing to post a temporary title just before midnight, the initial form of the post, which I posted minutes later, had the details about the above run and the next one still only as quick notes, as was this paragraph, when I just mentioned that the total time for the first two runs was 2:15:13, the worst yet, and I needed 1:20:01 for the first to be better than in 2024 and not slowest overall, so I ended up the slowest by 3:48, with a total time of 3:39:03.

After the run, I continued to Carrefour, picking up a few recyclables but ending up putting them in a cabinet that I didn’t lock, since the machines weren’t working, one stating that there was no container and the other giving a “too fast” error no matter how slowly I tried to put something in. But at least I could get a cabbage, peeling enough off one to make it look quite all right, though those that were left looked quite bad. And then I also took a sweet pastry, but decided to make my own evening discount for it, since they don’t make them in that location but they do bag the bakery products, and I had found two of that kind among the discounted products. Both looked rather banged up and only one actually had a discount sticker, but I took one from the bakery area and then peeled off both stickers off that discounted one, so including the large one with all of the information, which isn’t placed on those from the bakery area, and put it on the “new” one, so nothing would seem off. And then I also recovered that 1 RON that I had to recover after what happened with one of their recycling machines on May 27, finding a small product among the expiring ones that I could get for dad, discounted by only 30% but that being just enough to make it cost just over 1 RON. So I slipped it into the little bag with the few other things that I had taken with me and then just kept a straight face while needing to use a regular checkout, since those two self-checkouts that accept cash in that location were closed by then. And then I retrieved the recyclables from the cabinet, picked up a few more recyclables, and entered with everything when I had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, noticing two expiring sandwiches and coming up to ask dad whether he wanted them. And he did, so I dropped off the bags and rushed back to buy them.
I was back for good at 10:35 PM. Then I ate a banana, cleaned the litter box and went to shove a bag of trash into the overflowing chute, put the few purchases in their place, also ate some koliva brought by dad while quickly writing that day’s post, posting what I had at 11:59 PM and editing it to add the rest a little later, did the day’s squats, and it was 12:40 AM when I went to wash. I was done at 1:30 AM, but then I gathered my clothes from the rack, washed what was in the kitchen, including the pot where the last of my pasta had been, ate that, as lunch, on and off, between 2:55 AM and 4:35 AM, and ate dinner between 5:05 AM and 5:45 AM. I got in bed at 7:15 AM.

Since I stayed in bed until he left, at 9:05 AM, I can’t say exactly when I got woken up by dad clinking Liza’s plate when he fed her, but it quite clearly couldn’t have been after more than an hour of sleep, if even that, and the various other small noises made sure that I remained awake. So after he left I went to pee again, just in case, and after checking something on the computer I read a little, until close to 10:10 AM. But I could sleep after that, getting up to pee a couple of times but getting right back to sleep until just after 4:10 PM, when I initially meant to get up but then decided to pee once more and try to catch another nap, though I only managed a couple of brief ones, plus some time spent awake, before getting up for good at 5:10 PM, after a total of six and a half to, at best, some seven hours of sleep. And in the evening I noticed another invasion of ants in the bathroom and used some bug spray. But I was still out of it… Which led to breaking the whisk while making mamaliga at night, since I had turned on another burner for a while, didn’t turn it off when I was done with it, and the whisk’s handle was right above it, which led to whatever’s used to hold the end of it in place melting and eventually snapping off, and I saw that some sort of insulation is inside the handle, which may pour out now that the end cap’s gone, so I can’t risk using the whisk anymore. And then I once again “cheated” to take a first bite in my room before 3 AM but actually started eating at 3:15 AM and finished at 3:50 AM. And this was also the first day in a quite a while, probably since the end of last year, when I only brushed my teeth once, before going to bed in the morning… Which was at 5:35 AM, since I had clothes to hang to dry as well.

The mamaliga meant getting up to pee every hour or so at first, but I could get right back to sleep until dad got up and fed Liza, when I remained awake but stayed in bed until after he left, and after peeing again I checked something on the computer and then it took me a while to get back to sleep again. But then I could sleep for some three more hours, possibly even a little more, before going to pee again, and another hour and a half or so before waking up once more, at 3:50 PM. That should have added up to some eight hours, but I wanted to see whether I could catch another nap, and I did drift off again, possibly twice, but some drilling meant that I could only add mere moments of sleep before getting up for good, just before 4:25 PM. Then, after doing the day’s squats, I left at 7:50 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol and the cartons.
After picking up two more recyclables and a carton on the way, I put all of the recyclables in the machine from Penny, which even accepted that 300 ml bottle on which I had placed that label from a 330 ml one. And then I put the bag with the cartons and the large backpack in a cabinet that I didn’t lock and got what I had gone there for plus two expiring products, using one of the vouchers received for the recyclables and cashing in the other, since I had split those from my parents from “mine”. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged the purchases in the backpack with rope straps, and continued to that non-stop Mega Image, picking up one more recyclable and one more carton on the way and putting all but a couple of the cartons, which weren’t accepted and which I left there, in that machine from there, and splitting them on two vouchers. I’d have wanted to split them on more, to make it easier to use them, but another guy came next to me while I was putting them in, grabbed the bottle which I had placed on top of the machine, and then started excusing himself when I said that it was mine, rather digging himself in deeper while doing so. I definitely understood where he was coming from and how he felt, but it obviously made me want to get out of there faster and didn’t want to risk being asked why was I splitting them like that.
Since I had dad’s metro card, I then took the metro to Obor, picking up one more recyclable, deciding to put them in the machine, finding that it wasn’t working… But that quite a number of recyclables had been left in front of it, so I grabbed those that had the symbol, washed my hands, put the recyclables and the large backpack in a cabinet, and entered the store a little after 9:10 PM, with the purchases from Penny. And I got a number of things, including one more of those better baguettes and a sweet pastry, both of these having the 50% discount and being brought by an employee to the expiring products area while I was checking out the rest. But what she brought seemed like a mere fraction of the bakery products that should be left, and discounted, at that hour, so I also checked the bakery area… Only to find it completely empty, so I guess that what she had brought was everything… Unless some more were going to be brought around closing time, since when it was already past 9:30 PM I had another look at that area and another employee was just bringing a cart of other products. Either way, after finding that one last self-checkout that accepts cash was still open, being used by a woman, and the guy from that area was waiting behind her, I initially asked whether I could use it too and stepped ahead of him, yet when that woman had trouble with the store app and, after asking whether I had it, began trying to work things out with that guy, I moved to a regular checkout.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging the purchases a little, I rushed to Kaufland, grabbing another recyclable and putting all of them in the machine from there. Then I put everything except the backpack with rope straps, where I had the purchases from Penny and some empty bags, in a cabinet, went to pee and wash my hands, and entered the store, with that backpack, just before 10 PM, not finding much left in the bakery area but nevertheless getting three breads for dad and five cheap buns, all with great evening discounts. And then I made use of nice evening discounts for cucumbers, beets and oranges, the 2 kg bags of oranges being particularly cheap and meaning that I shouldn’t have bought those other ones on my way back from Bookfest, since I think that I had just eaten one of them until then. Not that I could have known it then, of course. Either way, I also added some frozen spinach for dad and a couple of expiring products and was just reaching the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came. But, after also using the voucher received for the recyclables, a guard who was standing outside the gate of the self-checkout area was getting impatient while I was bagging my purchases again, and when I walked out he said that the store had closed at 10:30 PM and that was when I should have walked out. But I just ignored him, retrieved what I had in the cabinet, and then spread everything on a table outside and arranged things properly. And then I took the metro back, also grabbing some more recyclables, a label off a crushed one, and a carton, and having a quick look in the nearby Mega Image when I got here, entering with everything.
I got back at 11:30 PM, with over 16 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate an orange, put most of the purchases in their place, needing to rearrange things in the freezer in order to make the spinach fit, washed what was in the kitchen, realized that I hadn’t read the water meters this month and did that as well, and it was 1:25 AM when I went to wash, noticing what was most probably a bite on my leg, and possibly more than one. I was done just before 2 AM, and then I put the remaining purchases in their place, needing to rearrange more things in order to do so, ate lunch, on and off, between 3:20 AM and 4:05 AM, and then ate dinner between 4:55 AM and 5:40 AM. I got in bed at 7 AM.

It probably wasn’t even 9 AM when Liza woke me, since I remained in bed for a while and it was a couple of minutes after 9 AM when I meant to get up. But then I changed my mind and managed to drift off again, briefly but probably more than once, since there was noise from outside and dad also got up. Yet when I was woken up once more, at 9:30 AM, I got up, pulled one of the bags of spinach out of the freezer, so dad could take it to mother, went to pee, and eventually tried to get back in bed. But the noise, which included occasional drilling, made it pointless, so after dad left, at 10:05 AM, I got on the computer for a while and then read, getting back in bed at 12:05 PM. And at least I could sleep after that, getting woken up a number of times and going to pee on two of those occasions but always getting back to sleep almost immediately and therefore getting a total of at least seven hours by 6:35 PM, when I got up for good.

It was even better on June 11, getting woken up around 7:45 AM, as dad was getting ready to leave, and staying up to exchange a few words with him until he left, but after that I just woke up twice more, and after going to pee I got right back to sleep, getting up after the alarm rang, at 2 PM. The problem was my neck, whatever had caught there still being that way and hurting a fair bit, always getting much worse when I wake up, regardless of the position I try to sleep in, but I just had to deal with it, so I had the usual stuff, the yogurt being another bio (organic) one, also got back to two of those nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey, for the sweet thing, and left at 5:10 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 32°C at the station inside the city and 30°C at the other two, while at 6 PM it was still 32°C inside the city but had dropped to 29°C at one of the other two and all the way to 26°C at the other… And the weather service’s site seemed to get stuck there, not updating at 7 PM, or even at 8 PM, so I can’t really say what the temperature was when I finished, but it had probably dropped by a couple of degrees.
>>The time was 1:19:47, with sector times of 4:23.54, 5:06.25, 5:55.16, 4:32 (4:31.74), 5:09.26, 6:03 (6:02.31), 4:33.37, 5:15 (5:14.56), 6:08.03, 4:38 (4:37.88), 5:19 (5:18.91), 6:18, 4:47, 5:29 and 6:12, making for lap times of 15:24.95, 15:44 (15:43.31), 15:56 (15:55.96), 16:15 and 16:28. I’ll go with that for the times between sector one of lap two and sector two of lap three, main issue is sector two of lap two, but three to some extent too and not entirely certain of the rest either. But seems right.
>>I slowed to squeeze through some bicycles on sector two of lap two, then on sector one of lap three I briefly stopped when a kid on a scooter jumped in front of me and I didn’t know which way he’ll end up and then slowed when other kids on bicycles were coming on the lane, and on the next sector I briefly stopped to squeeze through a roadblock. And on sector two but not sure if of lap four or five I briefly stopped when a kid on a bicycle was racing on the lane from the opposite direction. Maybe four. Real wind on the long straight of sector two of lap three. Some more wind at other parts of laps three and four, didn’t seem so on five. But was cooler from lap three, and in fact perhaps on lap three in particular, when it was more cloudy too, quite hot on the first two laps in the sun. Some warnings from that knee on sector one of lap four but then faded. Pressing need on sector three of lap three and again on that of lap four. A bruised nail at the end.

After grabbing a recyclable on the way back, I cleaned the litter box, put jam on a doughnut and ate it, cleaned up a little after dad in the kitchen, changed, and left again just before 8:50 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol. And I think that I picked up at least one more, if not two, on the way to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, but what’s certain is that I picked up another label and a plastic bottle of the right size, so I placed it on it before entering the store a couple of minutes after 9 PM. Since someone else was using the machine at the time, the bakery discount labels were still being placed, and the cart with the products that are discounted by 90% wasn’t yet brought, I meant to have a quick look at the other discounted products, but that guard who had searched me a month earlier told me to leave the bag at the entrance as soon as I took a couple of steps away from the machine, so I snorted and then put it on the cabinets, since it didn’t fit inside one. Then I grabbed a few things from the cart when it was brought out and looked around a little longer, considering getting a couple of bakery products as well… At which point that guard came to ask why hadn’t I put the recyclables in the machine. So I snapped that she had told me to leave it at the door when someone else was using the machine and I wanted to get in to catch some discounted products, and after an attempt to contradict me she turned around and walked away. But that settled things for me, so I only bought those products that were discounted by 90%.
After retrieving the recyclables, I picked up a couple more, plus a carton, on the way to Kaufland, deciding against also checking Carrefour first. The machine didn’t accept the large glass bottle, so I was left with that, but it did accept both plastic bottles on which I had placed labels, since I found another one there which was suitable for the other label that I already had. And then I put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands, dashing to the women’s for soap… And saw no evening discounts whatsoever when I entered the store. And the situation didn’t change later, so I should have also checked Carrefour after all. As it was, I just got some of the cheese with a regular discount, two expiring yogurts, for mother, at half price, and one of those cheap yogurts, and used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout. Then I retrieved my things, arranged the purchases, walked out a few minutes before 10:30 PM, and put everything into two cabinets that I didn’t lock when I reached that Mega Image, retrieving them after getting a small flatbread that had the 50% discount. And on the way back I picked up some more recyclables and checked the nearby Mega Image as well, leaving my things next to the door and then just picking them back up.
It was close to 11:20 PM when I got back. Then I ate an orange, cleaned the litter box again, went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, and put the few purchases in their place, noticing that the bread bought for dad from the first Mega Image, with the 90% discount, had a little mold on it already, telling him about it, and then cutting away those parts and moving it into another bag before putting it in the freezer. I also washed what was in the kitchen, cleaned up a little more after dad, since he had also cooked something, munched on something, did the day’s squats, and it was almost 2 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. It was past 3:05 AM when I was done, and then I used that small flatbread to make a sort of pizza, or more exactly three tiny ones, and ate it and dinner, combined, between 5:50 AM and 7 AM. I got in bed at 7:45 AM, after using cream on my feet.

Well, it wasn’t even 9:20 AM when Liza woke me by going to the litter box, and that was because dad also got up then, so while I changed out of my pajamas but eventually got right back in bed, when he started taking something that he wanted to take to mother out of the freezer I did get up, and after cleaning the litter box I made the tea and ate an orange and a small chocolate pudding. And then I spent some time on the computer and reading, only changing back into my pajamas and getting back in bed at 11:40 AM… And getting woken up just after 12:30 PM by an SMS from my provider. But after peeing again, just in case, I could get right back to sleep, and that was also what happened when I next woke up, around 2:30 PM, but after another nap that probably lasted for a while I started just drifting in and out, and at some point some noise from a neighbor was the reason why I woke up. Since I only checked the time again when I got up for good, a few minutes before 5 PM, I can’t really know how long I slept, but a total of around five hours, with the last half an hour being put together from a number of very brief naps, seems like a fair guess. But my neck was much better, which was a nice surprise. On the other hand, I finished cooking late, so I ate dinner, on and off, between 2:30 AM and 3:05 AM and dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:35 AM, and I got in bed at 6:10 AM. And then I actually got some good sleep, being woken up a couple of times by drilling but the noise stopping quickly, being able to get back to sleep after that, and sleeping until 2:30 PM, when dad got back and I got up.

The recently agreed changes to Formula 1 power units for the 2027 and 2028 seasons continue the trend of the sport going in the wrong direction, which remains disappointing despite not being in the least surprising. I mean, there was a time when I was hoping for a completely electric Formula 1 by 2030, so something that’d basically make Formula E obsolete, at least in this sense, though the other differences might still leave a space for that series. But, instead of that, we’re now looking at increased power and fuel flow for the internal combustion engine and reduced power for the electric engine, the total power remaining the same but the ICE ending up providing 60% of it in 2028.
There is every reason to do the exact opposite, and Formula E already proves what can be done, but the interests of those behind Formula 1 aren’t in that direction and they’ll make full use of every excuse to hold off progress while greenwashing the current trajectory with the same sort of false claims that the major ruling bodies and corporations from so many fields are using. And I’m not even sure that it’s a matter of plenty falling for that, because the feeling I get is that many fans simply don’t care… Which is, of course, true for many people in general, including plenty of those who claim otherwise when asked.
Not that Formula 1, and motorsports in general, obviously including Formula E and other electric series, aren’t environmentally damaging by definition, and what powers the engines themselves is only a small part of the impact, but the message being sent makes quite the difference, and switching from internal combustion to electric power for the pinnacle of motorsport is also something that would be likely to translate into technological developments that would then be adopted for the road as well… Not that personal cars, including electric ones, aren’t a huge problem in themselves.
Looking at things from that perspective, maybe it’s not that bad, because it may make it clearer that personal vehicles, as well as motorsports, are something that must be phased out, because any attempts to make them less damaging are doomed to fail because of the people who’ll end up making the decisions down the line, regardless of the available technology or even the intentions and initial decisions taken at any one point. But it remains disappointing, and there’s also the fact that motorsports could provide an outlet for those who’d still want to experience or at least watch vehicles in action if and when personal ones will become a rarity in daily life, so seeing that they can’t be sufficiently reformed and should therefore be opposed may not be that desirable if the goal is to make the transportation sector more environmentally friendly. But it’s not like there seems to be much of a chance of that in any foreseeable future, at least not if you take how much needs to be done and how fast into account.

After what may be seen as yesterday’s normal results, CSM losing to Metz and Gyor defeating Brest, today came with quite a shock in the EHF Women’s Champions’ League, in the form of Metz defeating Gyor to win the title. But what I was interested in was the third place match, where CSM defeated Brest, which may be seen as something of a surprise as well, albeit an incomparably lesser one, especially since CSM had trashed Brest back in the group phase, albeit only at home. And it did seem like CSM desired this victory more, Brest perhaps not being quite that interested in third place. But a victory in the Final Four, and a podium place, isn’t something to scoff at, so while others seem to keep berating them no matter what, I for one am quite pleased with what CSM achieved in the Champions’ League this season.
On the other hand, their youth team did even better, being the only non-Hungarian team to reach the Final Four of the Youth Club Trophy and going through two matches that required extra time and ended with the same score, 41-39… But unfortunately reversed in case of the final, since they defeated Gyor after being no less than eight goals behind at half time, then ending up leading, being equalized in the final seconds, but pushing through it and coming up ahead after extra time, but then they lost to Debrecen after managing to come back from three goals behind with a minute and 13 seconds to go, pushing the match into extra time, but then falling behind again right away and not managing another recovery. But, however disappointing and frustrating this outcome may be, what they managed until then is nothing short of amazing. And it seems to indicate that CSM Bucharest has a bright future ahead… Though the senior team has very few Romanian players in general, not to mention players actually raised at the club, so whether the youth team’s players will be promoted and actually play regularly in the senior team over the next few years remains to be seen.

In the early hours of May 30, after once again “cheating” in order to be able to say that I took a first bite of dinner in my room before 3 AM, I actually started eating at 3:15 AM and finished at 3:45 AM. And I got in bed at 5:20 AM… And the tea I drank and the mamaliga eaten at night led to needing to pee a whole lot of times, and at one point I also cleaned the litter box, changing out of my pajamas and then back into them, after dad got up I couldn’t get back to sleep until some time after he left, at a later point I went to close the window from his room because my door kept banging because of the wind and waking me up even more often, and the next time I got up I spent a few minutes of the computer. Still, it was a few minutes before 5:30 PM when I got up for good, and I should have gotten a total of at least eight and a half hours of sleep by then, possibly even close to nine hours, even if it was so interrupted. And after seeing that dad had once again taken some of Liza’s food out, I hope at least to give it to other cats, because she wasn’t wolfing it down right away, even if it wasn’t that kind that she usually doesn’t like, I dreamed that I had snapped at him about it, he snapped and shouted back until I ended up cowering in fear, but then I worked up a blind rage and killed him.

The following day I slept for a similar total time, but much better, only waking up twice. The first time was when dad did, but while I remained awake until he left, I just stayed in bed, going to pee after that and then spending some 40 minutes on the computer. But then I got right back to sleep, which also happened after the only other time I woke up, to pee again. And after getting up for good, at 4:05 PM, I ate lunch, cleaned the litter box twice, since Liza went again just after I had cleaned it, and left at 7:30 PM, with a small bag of trash that I dropped down the chute, the plastic and metal, which I dropped in a recycling bin on the way to Kaufland Popa Nan, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put in the machine from there. And there were a whole lot of recyclables left in that area, but most were heavy glass bottles that I assumed weren’t being accepted, so after trying one, which was indeed not accepted, I ignored them. But there were some plastic bottles as well, and the guy who was throwing all of those discarded recyclables into a container went to empty the container by the time I finished putting in my recyclables, so I had a look and quickly grabbed a few of those plastic bottles that were only slightly crushed, all of them being accepted right away, so I got a second voucher. And then I spotted another one which had been left right in front of the machine, straightening it a little before putting that in as well and getting a third voucher.
After washing my hands, I entered the store at 8:05 PM, the only thing that I could still take from the bakery area at that point being one of those better cheap buns, at half price. But then I saw entire crates of spoiling mushrooms with a great discount, so I took four boxes, plus a pack of bio (organic) Gala apples that also had a nice discount, though they were imported and put in a bag, so I couldn’t really see how spoiled they were. And I also noticed a box of expiring germinated wheat that also had a great discount, so I grabbed that as well, and the bananas were discounted by 90% from the price that had a regular discount those days, so I rushed to pick what seemed less spoiled than the rest before moving on to take more roes and yogurt. But I wanted more cat litter as well, before the discount expired, yet I checked the non-refrigerated expiring products first and that was a great thing, because I saw some torn bags there that were discounted by 40% from that discounted price and placed in plastic bags, so they won’t spill even more. And while I’m used to such products being discounted by less than the missing quantity, those looked like they weren’t missing much, so I grabbed two and rushed to weigh them before closing time, finding that they were indeed only missing a few hundred grams. So I kept them, just reaching the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came, deciding to leave one of the yogurts there, and using all of the vouchers received for the recyclables as well as that 10 RON one. And then I just managed to take everything to that table meant for arranging the purchases and did just that, getting the cat litter in the large backpack and the rest into bags, the guard telling me to hurry up just before I was done and then saying that I had to use the elevator to leave, which I did, finally walking away just after 8:45 PM.
On the way back, I grabbed three cartons and checked two Mega Image locations, in each of them putting my things into two cabinets that I didn’t lock and getting two breads for dad, using a glove. But in the first one the cashier, who was very young and quite obviously new, said that they weren’t discounted at that hour when I asked, even if the sign clearly states that their regular bread is discounted by 70% after 8 PM. I pointed that out, but she insisted that there are no automatic discounts and if there’s no discount label on the bag, it won’t be discounted, asking whether I still wanted them in that case. So I said no, not bothering to ask her to try and see what happens if she’d just enter them and just going to the other location, where there was no problem with the discount, and I actually mentioned the issue to the cashier from there and she was surprised, saying that the discount is automatic and I should have checked on the receipt to confirm, I guess assuming that the cashier had entered them but told me the total according to the full price, not that I had simply asked first.
I was back around 9:45 PM, with over 28.5 kg. And I actually rushed up the stairs, since I was listening to a match on the radio and there had just been a goal, so I wanted to catch the replay, but dad had left his key in the door, took his time to come and unlock while I knocked, and then had forgotten about the mach, even if I had told him about it several times, so by the time he changed the channel the replays were over. But I could catch one later, and the match went to penalties, so I had time to put the purchases in their place, unfortunately finding that the apples were quite spoiled, also cleaned the litter box again, ate a banana, and at half time of extra time I dropped another small bag of trash down the chute.
After the match, at 11:20 PM, I went out again, taking the paper and cardboard to a recycling bin as well and then having a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, being back for good a few minutes before 11:30 PM. And then I washed what was in the kitchen, remembered with a start that I hadn’t written a second post for the week and threw something there just before midnight, ate a part of a cake brought by dad, rearranged some of the munchies from my room, and did the day’s squats. It was just about 1:20 AM when I went to the bathroom, washing the mat from there to some extent, after seeing that dad seemed to have played at rinsing it, just getting it wet without really removing any dirt, and then washing myself. I was done at 2:10 AM, but then I spent some time on the computer, getting back to the kitchen when it was past 2:30 AM, wolfing down a large bag of corn puffs, eventually mixing some pâté with some butter which had expired a very long time ago, and eating dinner between 5 AM and 5:30 AM. I got in bed at 6:55 AM.

Well, Liza woke me by going to the litter box after dad got up, and while I was so exhausted that I probably got right back to sleep after the first time, she then went again, probably moments later, and I got annoyed when I got woken up again, so I checked the time, seeing 9:20 AM, changed, went to clean the litter box, and then I also made sure that she ate what dad had given her when he was once again about to take the food away because she hadn’t wolfed it down immediately. And after dad left I got on the computer for a little while… And some scraping started upstairs, which also made Liza agitated, so she kept meowing and jumping on things. But I meant to read anyway, so I changed back into my pajamas and got in bed, but just to read, continuing even after the noise stopped and only getting back under the blanket at 11:40 AM, after peeing one more time, just in case… And minutes later there was noise from above again. It wasn’t bad, but Liza also got agitated again and it kept me awake for a while longer and woke me a few times after I did manage to fall asleep, though at least I always got right back to sleep on those occasions, which was also the case the one time when I went to pee again. But after waking up again several minutes before 5 PM, when it was quiet, and peeing once more, just in case, I couldn’t get back to sleep despite still being exhausted, so I eventually cut my losses and got up a couple of minutes before 6 PM, after a total of only some six hours of sleep, split in many parts.

That was much better than the following morning, when I got woken up at 9:35 AM, when the delivery guy came to bring dad the replacement drilling machine and take the one that broke under warranty. And since I was considering going out during the day and dad said that he was only leaving around 3:30 PM, I decided to stay up and leave earlier, to be able to use his metro card and go to Obor. And seeing as noise started from above after 10 AM, including occasional drilling, I wouldn’t have been able to get more sleep anyway. So, after doing the day’s squats, I left at 11:50 AM, with one recyclable with the deposit symbol.
I put that recyclable in Carrefour’s machine when I got there… Only to find one more which had been left there and which wasn’t accepted, though I knew that it would be elsewhere, and I couldn’t get myself to ask for the deposit from the information desk, so I ended up putting it in a cabinet. But then I found the cat food I was looking for, which was two for the price of one until that day. Admittedly, I found three bags of one kind and nine pieces of the other, but after digging through boxes I found a box of another type of the first kind that might work for mother’s cats, and there were some more of another type of the other kind, so I added one bag of one and three pieces of the other, deciding to scan each kind as the same type at the self-checkout, just to be sure, even though the discount would have probably applied even for different types. And then I grabbed some expiring products that were at half price, plus one deeply discounted product that wasn’t even expiring soon, though it was imported, which was why I didn’t take both that were there, though I should have. Either way, I also added some yogurts that were also two for the price of one, some almonds that had a regular discount, and a chocolate, seeing that it had a regular discount that was slightly higher than the 25% general discount listed for that brand, and which was supposed to not apply to products that were already discounted. However, at the self-checkout, after getting a separate receipt for some of the cat food, to have two to enter in a contest, and using the voucher received for that recyclable at that point, when I scanned everything else I found that the 25% discount did apply to the already discounted price of that chocolate as well! The only issue was that the regular bar code of one expiring product accidentally scanned as well, so I needed to call over an employee to remove it.
After retrieving that recyclable and taking my time to arrange everything, I decided that I really wanted to make use of the fact that I was finally there early enough to get some doughnuts from a place from there that closes early, so I didn’t check Kaufland as well, going straight there and getting three, which were placed into two bags, though I said that they should have fit into a single one, but I wasn’t charged for those bags, even though the sign listed charges for bags. And then I got some apples from the farmers’ market as well, the prices having increased even for the spoiling ones, so those weren’t worth it anymore, but I managed to pick a kilogram of pretty good ones out of some small ones that were only slightly more expensive than the clearly spoiling ones. On the other hand, on the way to Carrefour I had spotted some surprisingly cheap lemons, considering the insane prices that they ended up having lately, in that area where you can usually find unusually low prices for such products, yet when I got back there I couldn’t see any anymore, so I just took the metro back, grabbed a few more recyclables and a carton, and put the recyclables in the machine from the nearby Mega Image, leaving the bags next to the door, entering with the backpack to have a quick look inside and cash in the voucher, and then retrieving the bags.
I got back just after 3:05 PM, so after cleaning the litter box, putting the purchases in their place, eating a banana, putting jam on one of those doughnuts and eating it as well, noticing that it was indeed better than those that dad has been getting lately, pretty much wasting some time on the toilet, and taking a shower, I could have a pretty normal evening, even if dad brought mother. The problem was that I didn’t take another nap when I really couldn’t afford to keep increasing my sleep debt.

Speaking of that, it wasn’t even 8:10 AM when I got up, after being woken up by noise made by my parents. And then I stayed up until they left, at one point also changing and cleaning the litter box, and only changing back and getting back in bed at 10:05 AM. And it took me a little while to get to sleep, but it was 1:47 PM when I woke up again, and I meant to get up at 2 PM, so while I didn’t set an alarm, it worked out all right and I could take it a little easy, getting out of bed right at 2 PM. And then I had an early lunch, did the day’s squats, and left at 4:20 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put in the machine from the Mega Image that’s close to the metro station… And before cashing in the voucher, I noticed something coming down in front of my eyes and realized that it was a spider which had tied the end of a strand of web to my cap and was spinning it down! So I got it off and squashed it before cashing in the voucher… And then dad’s metro card wouldn’t be read, and there was no cashier there at the time, the guard saying that they were at the toilet, but since my repeated attempts had attracted his attention and I showed him the expiration date, he forced a gate open and let me in.
Since I noticed that there was less to walk that way, plus that I no longer had to get through that spot where I keep getting confused, I switched at Basarab, got off at 1 Mai, and walked in at 5:35 PM. But on the way I had picked up a few recyclables, a label that also had the symbol, and a carton, so I went down the stairs to put those in a cabinet and wash my hands before actually entering the Bookfest area and grabbing a plan, to make sure that I won’t miss anything as I looked around. Or at least nothing except a few of the biggest publishers, since I never care for those. And this time around there was no more need to keep searching for everything in the alphabetical list, since who occupied each area was also printed on the plan, even if in a tiny font, so I could focus better and the fact that I had once again forgotten to take a pen wasn’t an issue. But I did just go there to look, not meaning to buy anything… The frustrating thing being that the book which I had just recently purchased from Carrefour was just over 10% cheaper there, and it’s not like I’m even going to start it too soon. That hadn’t seemed possible at the time, since on the publisher’s site it was discounted by 50% and yet still marginally more expensive that it had been at Carrefour when all books were discounted by 40%, but at Bookfest the 50% discount still applied but the listed full price was lower than on the site! Either way, I didn’t dare to grab anything to munch on from the places that offered something either, and after deciding against wasting some more time by going back to the one place that I had started to check more properly but then walked away from, I returned the plan to one of the information desks, retrieved what I had in the cabinet, and walked out at 7:45 PM.
I did walk to Aviatorilor on the way back, going around the park instead of through it… And I’d have probably needed more bags for recyclables if I would have gone through it, since when I reached the entrance I saw a large group of runners, and I picked up quite a bunch of recyclables, most of them just from that area, and that was without actually getting among them. I also found a plastic bottle without the symbol that was of the right size for the label grabbed earlier, but then I found another label that had the symbol, the issue being that it was for a 330 ml plastic bottle, which is an odd size. Yet I had seen a 300 ml one that didn’t have the symbol a little earlier, so I went back to take that one and place that label on it.
The metro card was initially not read at Aviatorilor either, but it worked when I tried another machine. And then I got off at Obor… Only for the machines from Carrefour to not work, one of them displaying an error and the other stating that there was no container when I tried either cans or plastic bottles. So I grabbed another recyclable which had been left there and, after washing my hands, put all of them in a cabinet. And then I saw that two bags of those imported bio (organic) dark chocolate candies that were very deeply discounted despite not expiring until November were left. Admittedly, they weren’t those figurines that only contained dark chocolate but the “eggs” with hazelnut paste filling, but I took them anyway. And out of what had the 50% evening discount in the bakery area I took two small flatbreads and a baguette partially made with whole wheat, which I don’t recall having seen before, the few remaining better breads not being discounted even if I kept going back there to check. Either way, I grabbed two of their small bio (organic) yogurts as well, those having a regular discount… And unfortunately reached the self-checkouts when those that also accept cash were already closed, so I had to use a regular one, though at least there were no issues.
After retrieving the recyclables, I rushed to Kaufland as well, putting them in the machine, that one that was of the right size for the label which I had placed on it being accepted, but the other one being refused, so I was left with it. On the other hand, I found three more recyclables which had been left there for some reason, the only issue being that one of them had a sticker over the bar code, so I peeled it off and put all three of them in, getting a second voucher before putting my things in a cabinet, using the room for disabled people to wash my hands properly, and entering the store a few minutes before 10 PM. The bakery area was basically cleared of anything that had an evening discount, but I managed to spot two buns that were listed as being deeply discounted and took them. Then I added a few discounted pieces of processed meat products, for my parents, and the radishes had a great evening discount and several crates were left, so I took a lot, plus a bundle of lovage that also had a great evening discount and two bags of oranges, those having a pretty good evening discount as well. However, at the self-checkout those buns showed up at the full price, even if they were definitely what had been written on that label that listed that great evening discount, and I just left them there, not caring to ask what was going on. And since I had started leaving things, I left the lovage as well, along with one of the bundles of radishes, which seemed worse than the others when I took them out of the bag at that point. And then I used both of the vouchers received for the recyclables. But I didn’t dare to try to ask for one more of those 10 RON ones because I hadn’t found green onions, especially since the closing announcement had been made while I was still at the self-checkout, considering what had happened that one time, albeit at another location.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet, it was close to 10:40 PM when I walked out, and on the way back to the metro station I grabbed a few more recyclables and made a detour to that Mega Image that’s still open at that hour, putting the recyclables and the purchases from Kaufland into two cabinets that I didn’t lock, entering with the purchases from Carrefour, but then just retrieving my things and walking back out. And the metro card worked on the first try. And on the way back I grabbed plenty more recyclables, plus a few cartons, and quickly checked the nearby Mega Image, seeing that they were cleaning the refrigerators, looking for a spot to leave the bags, and then just retrieving them and walking back out.
I was back at 11:35 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop what I had gathered down the chute, grabbing another recyclable from the garbage room, ate an orange, put jam on one of those doughnuts bought the previous day and ate that as well, washed what was in the kitchen, put the purchases in their place, and finally went to the bathroom a few minutes before 2:30 AM, wasting some time that I didn’t have on the toilet and then washing. I was done at 3:20 AM, and then I also dealt with that baguette and ate dinner between 5:10 AM and 5:45 AM. I got in bed at 7 AM.

I was woken up after dad got up, but I think that I initially got right back to sleep, even if only for the briefest moment, before waking up again, a few minutes before 10 AM, checking something on the computer, and then going to pee, changing, and cleaning the litter box. After changing back, I got back in bed at 10:30 AM and slept until a little after 3 PM, when I got woken up by some noise, probably from upstairs. But it only lasted a few minutes, so after peeing again I got back to sleep, waking up once more just after 5 PM. Since at that point I decided to pee once more and try to catch another nap, it was past 6:05 PM when I actually got up for good, but I didn’t get any more sleep during that time.

I must say that what surprised me about the recent Russian drone strike on an apartment building from Galati is that it took so long for it to happen. I mean, after dozens of drone incursions and quite a number of crashes on Romanian territory, a strike with full detonation was bound to happen. And the problem is that, even after all this time, there’s no appropriate defense infrastructure in place. I mean, we scramble fighter jets to follow drones that cost less than it takes to even turn on the engines of those jets, and so far we’re not even striking them down, not even in such cases when they’re obvious threats. Not that striking them down with missiles fired from those jets wouldn’t be like using a high-tech sniper rifle to fight mosquitoes. So the first question is where are the actual defenses adapted to this current form of warfare that’s taking place right at our border and which we should have had long ago? But, of course, the even bigger question is how long will Russia keep being allowed to wage this war, if not for the sake of Ukrainians, who obviously don’t matter enough for major EU and NATO powers to actually receive the support needed to win, then at least for existing EU and NATO members, who are ever more directly affected by the ongoing situation. Because for once I find myself agreeing with Medvedev, who said that this will continue to happen as long as the war will continue. The difference, of course, is that he means it’ll continue to happen as long as Ukraine will keep fighting while I mean that it’ll continue to happen as long as NATO and the EU will continue to allow Russia to wage war.