To finish with this, I’ll continue from January 20, when I left a little after 4:10 PM and rushed to a branch of my bank, getting there just before 4:30 PM. I had made an on-line appointment for that time, hoping to be able to jump ahead if there would be long lines, but since there were only a few people inside, the longer line being outside, for the ATMs, I didn’t say anything until another employee came and asked those of us who were waiting what were we waiting for, at which point I also mentioned the appointment and said that I couldn’t confirm that I had arrived by phone, so she checked and confirmed that I had the appointment, but told me to wait until one of her coworkers was free, and I actually returned to the line where I had been before, even if the other employee finished with the person she was dealing with at the time first and the next person in that line had actually arrived after me. Either way, when my turn came and I said that I was there to pull money out of the investment fund, I was asked whether I couldn’t do that from the app, and when I said that I didn’t have it I was asked if I didn’t want it, so I showed my phone and said that it wouldn’t work on it, to skip any further discussions about that. And then everything was done quickly and correctly, so I can say that I completed my experiment of using an investment fund for a year, but in order to avoid having to sign up again if I’ll want to put money in it again in the future, I also left a small amount there. I’d have wanted to leave the minimum amount, the value of one unit, but you can’t choose how many units to withdraw, the unit’s value for one day is published the following evening, and the stock market had dropped a little since the last published value, so I erred on the side of caution and ended up leaving almost two units.
After that, I checked a bookstore and Carrefour, without buying anything, and then continued to Kaufland, getting an expiring bio (organic) mix for vegan “meatballs” and some spoiling bio (organic) oranges and shiitake mushrooms, at least the mushrooms being from Romania. There was another expiring product that I meant to get, for dad, but it wouldn’t scan and the employee seemed to ignore me completely as I held up my hand for a while, so I eventually gave up and left it there, especially since the code on the label was also too faded and it was unlikely that she’d be able to do anything about it anyway.
I got back for the first time a little after 6:30 PM, ate what I could save from the two moldy oranges from that bag, adding up to about one whole one, along with a piece of cake which had been brought by dad, put the few purchases in their place, did the day’s squats, and left again just before 8 PM, with the regular recyclables, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, after picking up a few of those with the deposit symbol right after walking out of the building, which I put in the machine from Kaufland Vitan when I got there.
I wanted to be in the store around 8:30 PM, but after peeing and washing my hands, it was several minutes after that time when I entered, and the 50% bakery discounts were already placed. But at least I still found some buns that I could use instead of bread, so after using a price checker to check the ingredients I took a few. Then I checked the expiring products and took some, and after 9 PM the huge fruit and vegetable discounts appeared, so I took some vegetables and another handful of those Moldovan grapes before returning to the bakery area. The announcement of bakery discounts of 75% had been made for some time by then, but I still found a few other buns, grabbing two of them after putting on a glove, and then I also scanned some labels to confirm that the discount had increased to 75% for those which I had taken earlier as well. However, the self-checkout machine didn’t accept the first of those expiring products as the correct one, so I called over an employee, who logged on to override the error but then walked away even though I said that I had more, so I had to call her back right way when the second of those products wasn’t accepted either, and after initially saying that I had weighed them myself and had caused the problem, I pointed out that they were taken from the expiring products area, shrink-wrapped, and the discount labels matched the regular ones, and she entered all of them while logged on, leaving me to scan the other purchases after that. And then I also used the voucher received for the recyclables, took my time to arrange everything, and walked out just before the closing announcement.
On the way back, a guy who said that he was from Ukraine stopped me and, after asking whether I spoke English, he started speaking very quickly, so I’m not sure whether he said that he was here legally or illegally, but said that the benefits were offered for women and children, not young men, and that he wasn’t asking for money, but then said that he had just been at a pharmacy, showed me some medicine, said that it was really cheap… But I didn’t quite get what he actually wanted, I guess because he was talking so quickly. He said something about either going together or going by myself, and that doing that for him would be everything, there would be nothing else and he won’t follow me or anything… But the very fact that he mentioned following me was a huge red flag, and since I wasn’t sure what he wanted anyway, I eventually just muttered “sorry” and walked away. And I picked up a recyclable before getting back here.
I got back just after 10:25 PM… And dad saw that he had no bread left in the drawer and demanded to know if I hadn’t looked there at all, to take more out of the freezer, even though he had obviously been the one who had finished his bread and hadn’t told me to take more out at any point, plus that he could have checked before wanting to start eating and the fact that there were bread bags left with breadcrumbs in them in that drawer showed that I hadn’t checked it in a while. And when, a little later, I asked whether he had really blamed me for that, he said that he hadn’t and got even more aggressive, saying that it’s just how you talk among family and to stop acting bothered by it. And a couple of days later, when I did check that drawer, I saw that he had a slice of bread left in a bag, which must have already been there at that point, but he had eaten the bread taken out that evening and part of another since then, without noticing that one, and this was less than a week after I had found a part of a bread which he had left there until it got moldy while eating new ones, and which he had also blamed me for. Either way, to return to that evening, I also cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate lunch, washed what was in the kitchen, and put the purchases in their place, and it was 12:30 AM when I went to take a rather uncomfortable shower, the water being around body temperature. I was done at 12:55 AM, and I ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:50 AM.
The following night I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4 AM… And that meant that I was rushing to do what I normally do on-line at night and didn’t really check BOINC, which ended up running out of work in the morning, apparently after completing a whole lot of tasks immediately since I had last actually checked, and I had it set to not ask for more, since it still had hundreds when I had last looked and I was still worried that I’ll be unable to complete them before the deadline. At least all of those tasks validated, so it wasn’t some error, but it led to cores starting to be freed at 6:42 AM, with only four tasks left to process at 7:04 AM, three at 7:09 AM, two at 7:26 AM, and one at 7:46 AM, that last one completing at 3:17 PM, and I only checked and received more tasks at 4:17 PM.
On January 26, after doing the day’s squats, eating lunch, with most of a large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, and scheduling the relevant part, about the actual runs, of that day’s post to be posted at 11:59 PM, I left at 8:40 PM, jogging to the metro station, since I had dad’s card… Only to find that I shouldn’t have bothered to jog, since I ended up waiting for six minutes for the metro. And, while the card that I picked off the stairs showed up as having one trip left on it when I checked it when I got to Obor, I didn’t also check the listed expiration date at that point and when I got back I saw that the date printed on it had passed long before. Either way, I then also jogged most of the way to Carrefour, entering the store just before 9:05 PM and finding that they were just finishing making the bakery discounts, so I took a few breads for myself and a few sweet pastries, and from the expiring products I took some breads for dad and a bag of spoiling apples, also using the voucher received for previous purchases when I paid. And then I just arranged the purchases and took the metro back, deciding against going anywhere else, so it wasn’t even 10:20 PM when I got back and I could stick to the dinner schedule that night, even finishing a few minutes before 3:40 AM, albeit after only dealing with one of my breads and without even trying to find room in the freezer for any of dad’s.
On February 2, I went out at 6:55 PM and pretty much ran to Kaufland, washing my hands and entering the store at 7:10 PM, finding that the labels with the 75% bakery discounts were just being placed, so I took three buns and a sweet pastry. But I was mainly looking for vegetables and that area was shockingly empty, and what was still available was mostly imported, while the few kinds of Romanian vegetables that were left had no evening discounts. So I just took a handful of those Moldovan grapes and some potatoes, both of these having great evening discounts. The employee from that area did mean to apply discount labels on some products when I weighed the potatoes, but when I went to have a look he quickly covered the crate and started to say something that sounded like those weren’t meant to be sold then, though he didn’t finish the sentence, so I walked away. And, after using the self-checkout, I was still standing around, after having arranged those few purchases, when the closing announcement came, even though it was still a few minutes before 8 PM, and in fact it wasn’t quite 8 PM even when I walked out, after washing my hands one more time. And I got back a little after 8:20 PM, and after taking a quick shower I ate half of those grapes and that sweet pastry, and later I made mamaliga, with various things mixed in it… Including some that should have probably been thrown away instead…
On February 7, after putting together the post about the best times, eating lunch, logging on to dad’s Kaufland app on-line, since I had finally set a password some time before, and activating the additional voucher received for the recyclables put in their machines during those few days when they had doubled the reward, and spending quite some time looking for dad’s card for a pharmacy but failing to find it, I left at 8:50 PM, pretty much running to Mega Mall. And, even though I couldn’t get the tea that I’d have been looking for without that card, since the price would have been much higher, I still had a look in that pharmacy before going to Carrefour and just getting a little garlic. Then I jogged to Kaufland, washing my hands and entering the store a little after 9:35 PM, but what was concerning, seeing as I had seen none at the other location three days earlier either, was that there were no bakery discounts. But I got some cheese and the two bundles of radishes that were left, which were rather wilted but at least had a great evening discount, had the amount on that voucher deducted from the total at the self-checkout, and I was arranging my things when the closing announcement came. And then I continued to that Mega Image, putting my things in a cabinet, once again pointing out that the wrong label had been placed on a bakery product, and buying a bun and a sweet pastry that had the 50% evening discount, even if that made the bun’s price similar to the full price of the cheap ones from Kaufland. Either way, I then retrieved my things and picked up some recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back. And my hands were really freezing, but I only put the right one in my pocket after a while, holding the bags in the left one instead of alternating.
I got back a little after 10:50 PM, my left hand being awfully frozen and very painful once it started warming up, so I waited for the pain to subside before cleaning the litter box and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I just put the garlic in its place, threw the cheese in the fridge and took out the few other purchases, and went to wash, being done right at midnight. Then I ate an apple and the sweet pastry, washed what was in the kitchen, dealt with the radish leaves, using them for the salad, and ate dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:10 AM.
On February 9, after eating lunch, shaving and doing 200 squats, since I was a day behind, I left at 6:55 PM, pretty much running to Kaufland, so after washing my hands it was 7:10 PM when I entered the store… And had it confirmed that they had stopped making evening discounts for bakery products, the employee from that area noticing me and saying so, and when I said that they’ll be left with them she said that they’re donating them. And I didn’t have much choice in terms of evening discounts for vegetables either, but those better lettuces did have a great one and I took the two better ones that were left, plus some potatoes and a handful of black radishes, even if the radishes only had a 50% evening discount. And an older woman whom I usually see there in the evening commented that we can at least get some potatoes and we exchanged a few words about them no longer making discounts for bakery products. Either way, I then grabbed two more of those cheap yogurts, finally seeing a price label for them again, which seemed to indicate that the slightly lower price actually became the regular one, and also took some expiring breads for dad that had a good discount. And at the self-checkout I used that 10 RON voucher and typed the code for dad’s store app, since the QR code wouldn’t scan that time. The closing announcement came as I was using the machine, but then I took my time to arrange the purchases before walking out.
I then decided to rush to Penny as well, quickly checking that Profi on the way, putting my things in a cabinet that didn’t lock and then retrieving them, once again putting them in a cabinet when I reached Penny and entering the store, which closes at 9 PM on Sunday, a few minutes after 8:30 PM. And I found the cat food that was on sale… Only to realize that I had forgotten that 3 RON voucher, which I could have definitely used then. But, despite planning to go out again the following day, I didn’t want to risk to no longer find any left by then, so I bought two bags anyway, then retrieved my things and put the cat food in the backpack. And then I checked that other Profi as well, putting the other things in a cabinet that once again didn’t lock, entering with the backpack, and then just retrieving what I had in the cabinet. But the concerning thing was that I saw no mention of evening bakery discounts there either, though there used to be, and I also realized that I hadn’t seen that note at Penny either. Not that I had made use of those discounts from either of those stores before, but it seemed to indicate a general decision to no longer make them anywhere.
Either way, after picking up a recyclable on the way, I put the bag in a cabinet when I reached Carrefour, put that recyclable in the machine, and entered the store a little before 9:20 PM. They had a campaign those days, the second product of one of their store brands, which also included those breads that I can eat before runs, being discounted by 50%, and two of those breads were left… But they were sliced, so I had no use for them, and also didn’t think to try to enter them at a self-checkout to check whether the discount actually applied to them as well, just getting a large beet for dad and a little garlic, to use both the voucher received for previous purchases and the one received for that recyclable when I paid, once again needing to use a regular checkout, since the one accepting cash had been turned off by then. But at least I told the cashier that I wanted to keep the receipt that the voucher received for previous purchases was on and she didn’t take it… And then, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and taking some time to arrange the purchases a little better, I started walking away just as they were closing the store’s gate, stopped for a moment to try to arrange one of the backpack’s straps a little better… And that older woman greeted me again, the encounter seeming to amuse us both. But after she asked whether I had found any interesting prices and I said that I hadn’t, I walked away quickly, not wanting to continue the conversation, though she stayed right behind me until I stopped one more time to deal with that strap and she went ahead… And after that point I controlled my pace to stay a short distance behind her, since we were going the same way. And before getting back here I had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image as well, once again just putting the bag in a cabinet that didn’t lock and then retrieving it.
I got back at 10:20 PM, with almost 13 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, though at that point I just put dad’s bread in the fridge, ate an orange and something sweet, washed what was in the kitchen, and it was just after 12:10 AM when I went to the bathroom, mostly wasting time on the toilet and then washing, being done a little before 1:10 AM. And then I spent a long time struggling to rearrange the bread in the freezer and make dad’s new ones fit, and I also used the worse leaves of the lettuce for the salad, eating dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:10 AM… And at 4 AM I realized that I had forgotten to move the date of that post that’s scheduled to show up at 11:59 PM on Sunday unless I do so, meaning that it was up for four hours.
The following day, after doing the day’s squats, I left at 6:50 PM, with the plastic and metal, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put in the machine from Carrefour, splitting them on two vouchers and entering the store with the one which wasn’t accepted. But I didn’t find any of that bread that evening, so I just got two expiring croissants for dad, since they were vanilla-flavored and I didn’t know if he wanted more like that, and the two huge spoiling apples that were labeled as Fuji, deciding to risk it even though the other spoiling apples were Idared and I saw no Fuji apples in the store otherwise, and when I did eat one, before that week’s run, it was proven than they were Idared after all, so I was tricked into paying a little more than I should have for them. Either way, I then finally got to use the one self-checkout that accepts cash, obviously without charging myself for the bag that those apples were in and using one of the vouchers when I paid and then cashing in the other… And after walking out of the checkout area I realized that I had forgotten my gloves on the machine, so I dashed back in and retrieved them.
Since I had to pee again by then, I went to the toilet and then, having dad’s metro card, I took the metro and went to what I knew to be the main location of that slightly cheaper pharmacy, where I assumed that what’s listed as in stock on the site is actually available. However, when I asked about that tea for dad, I was told that they didn’t have it, and that the site only lists what’s available for ordering on-line. So I just continued to that Kaufland, putting that remaining recyclable and the two others which I had picked up on the way in the machine from there, needing to remove the lid from one before it was accepted, and then once again peeing and washing my hands… And just at the entrance to the men’s, I found a 1 RON bill on the floor and picked it up, though the location and a small brown spot on it made me suspicious and I stuffed it in one of the jacket’s pockets and meant to use it to pay.
I believe that it was 9:10 PM when I entered the store, with the purchases, though I’m not entirely certain. Either way, it wasn’t just that there were no evening discounts for bakery products there either, but I seem to recall that a price checker was at the bakery area in that location, obviously just so customers would be able to quickly scan price labels and see what discounts applied, and it wasn’t there anymore. But there was an evening discount for cabbage, and while the price was still higher than what I’d normally be willing to pay, it was lower than I had seen in a long time, so I took four cabbages, along with some other things, including the one pack of eight rolls of the kind of toilet paper that we use that I found, thrown on top of the stack of packs of 16, even if I had to buy it at full price, because we were running out. But one of the pieces of processed meat products which I had grabbed from the expiring products, for my parents, wouldn’t scan and another wasn’t accepted by the self-checkout as the correct product, so I called over an employee and she logged on to sort things out, and then I also used the voucher received for the recyclables. However, the total didn’t require any 1 RON bills, and while I did put that one in anyway, since I ended up needing to receive one as change, the machine apparently just gave the same bill back to me and I didn’t realize it until I got back, so I put it along with the others… Either way, the closing announcement came while I was still using the self-checkout, but I then really took my time to arrange the purchases, or in fact mainly to make the bag with all of the cabbages fit in the backpack, only finally walking away around 10:15 PM.
I then decided to walk to the Obor metro station, also losing a few minutes while waiting at stoplights in order to have a look in a Mega Image and getting even more concerned when, after just glancing from the door in that location and one other one that I passed by, I didn’t spot evening discounts for bakery products there either anymore. And I didn’t even find any more recyclables on the way, only finding one more just before getting back here, so I only lost some time and most probably one metro as a result.
I got back at 11:10 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, washed what was in the kitchen and ate a clementine and a packaged croissant that I already had and which I ended up microwaving too long after thinking that I had kept it there too little at first and then the microwave turned itself off early when I tried to have it run for less than one more minute, so I set it to about one more minute after that and the result was that the filling and some of the area around it was burned. Either way, I then also ate lunch and finally went to wash when it was almost 1:15 AM, being done at 1:50 AM and eating dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:30 AM.
On February 12, after doing the day’s squats and eating lunch, I left at 6:30 PM, with a few recyclables with the deposit symbol, putting them, along with the one that I picked up from that mall, in the machine from Carrefour. Then I bought I bread that I found among the expiring products, also using the voucher received for the recyclables, put it in the backpack, and went to Tei, entering with that bread and the recyclable which I had picked up on the way and buying the teas for dad that I was looking for, which I then added in the backpack.
Since I had dad’s metro card, I then took the metro to Carrefour Unirii, picking up a few more recyclables and ending up having to use both of the recycling machines from there for them, since the first one said that it had no container for PET bottles, so I had to wait for the other one to be freed and put those there, ending up with two vouchers. Then I entered the store with the backpack and just got the one bag with a few spoiling apples of the kind that was also on sale those days that I found, without charging myself for the bag at the self-checkout, and then also cashed in those vouchers and added the apples in the backpack.
From there, I took the metro to Obor, grabbing another recyclable and putting it in the machine from Auchan, before getting three eggs and a bag of corn puffs with powdered milk… But I only entered two eggs at the self-checkout, keeping the third one hidden, to make up for the amount that I had to recover from there. On the other hand, I got even more worried that all stores might have agreed to stop making such evening discounts when I no longer saw the notice about them at the bakery and cooked food areas from there either, and it wasn’t that long since Auchan had introduced the 50% evening discount for bakery products, albeit only for those using the store card. Either way, I then added those purchases in the backpack, albeit waiting until I was outside that shopping center before also adding that third egg, and went to Carrefour, picking up two more recyclables on the way, though one was a really crushed can which I couldn’t straighten much with my hands, yet the machine from there accepted both, along with a bottle which had been left right in front of it, but not another one which had also been left there, so I kept that one and, after washing my hands, put it and the backpack in a cabinet. And then, relieved to see the 50% evening discounts still made in the bakery area from there, I got two sweet pastries and three breads, using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid. On the other hand, I seem to have lost a bag, and I did have the impression that I had seen it when I had pulled out the bags and then it seemed to be missing when I put back the ones that I didn’t need, but I thought that it had just been covered by another one and shrugged it off. Either way, I then retrieved my things, arranged the purchases, and took the metro back, picking up some more recyclables on the way here.
I got back at 10:20 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, washed what was in the kitchen, put the few purchases in their place, ate one of the apples, which was much less spoiled than it seemed, and one of the sweet pastries, and at 12:05 AM I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, being done right at 1 AM. But then I also dealt with one of my breads and made way too much salad, showing that, after not having cabbage for so long, I forgot how much results from using a part of one, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:15 AM and 4:10 AM.
On February 16, I wanted to go out and feel the first snow of that “winter”, so I ate lunch and went out at 6:55 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol and a little food which I had scraped off a pot but which dad said was too burned for him to eat, so I first made a little detour to leave it behind the building, in case any animal would want it, and since I went around instead of through the back door, I also noticed that there’s a compost bin there, though even now I still don’t know whether it’s actually usable. Either way, I then went to Kaufland and put those recyclables in the machine, entering directly, without washing my hands, since the lack of evening discounts meant that I wasn’t going to get bakery products… And all I got was a handful of small potatoes, albeit with a good evening discount, cashing in the voucher before paying for them.
Since the other Kaufland was listed on-line as closing at 9 PM, I then went there, picking up another recyclable, putting it in the machine after seeing that 9 PM was indeed listed as the closing time on the large sign… But then finding the doors closed, the listed closing time on the actual entrance being 8 PM. So I was left with that voucher and then I decided to also check that Penny, entering with those potatoes but then just walking out without getting anything. And then, even though I did consider going straight to Dristor, since I had dad’s metro card, I wasted even more time by changing my mind and checking Carrefour as well, once again entering with those potatoes and not finding anything to get.
At least I walked for a while in the snow, and then I found something to buy as well, after taking the metro to Carrefour Unirii, once again entering with those potatoes, going to pee and wash my hands, and getting two expiring products and some pretzels which had the 50% evening discount for my mother, who was here those days. And as I was getting my change from the self-checkout machine, the employee from that area came and looked at the bag with the pretzels, yet while she seemed satisfied after checking that I had entered them correctly, as I was arranging the purchases a guard came and asked me to show him the receipt and my purchases, so I did, also pointing out that the potatoes from my bag were clearly from Kaufland, having the label from their scales. And then I took the metro back, changing at Dristor and picking up two more recyclables on the way back.
I got back just before 10:45 PM, ate an apple and a sweet pastry that I already had, put the few purchases in their place, washed the few things that were in the kitchen, did the day’s squats, and it was still several minutes before midnight when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, and not even 12:40 AM when I was done, so even though I then dug things out of the freezer for what my parents wanted to cook in the morning, I easily managed to stick to the dinner schedule.
I went out again the following day, leaving a little before 7:30 PM, after eating lunch and doing the day’s squats and taking those two recyclables with the deposit symbol which I had brought back the previous evening and a bag of trash, which I dropped down the chute. And I had dad’s metro card again, so I took the metro, from this station, switching at Dristor and going to another part of the city, first to another Carrefour which used to be Cora… Where I just wasted some time, entering with those recyclables and not finding anything to get. And then I took the metro for two more stops, to a Kaufland that I entered at 9:15 PM, after putting the recyclables in the machine, peeing and washing my hands. And at least I found two expiring products with good discounts that I grabbed, along with a handful of those Moldovan grapes, for mother, even if the evening discount wasn’t as great as it had been in other locations before, and the last one of those sweet pastries that had a regular discount those days. And no, there were no evening discounts for bakery products there either. Either way, I used both the voucher received for those two recyclables and the one I was left with the previous evening when I paid and I was just done when the closing announcement came.
After getting back on the metro, I decided to also check Carrefour Unirii again, but the only benefit was finding a recyclable on the way there, since I otherwise just put my things in a cabinet and then retrieved them after not finding anything to get. However, if before that moment I had been wondering whether I should switch at Dristor again or keep going to Titan and walk back from there in order to have a look in the park, the time lost there, which meant that it was too late to switch at Dristor again, and the fact that the first metro that came was the one that did go to Titan, settled things, so I ended up having that look through the park, finding that the lane was just covered in snow, no attempt having been made to clear it, and that the layer of snow covering the rest of the path around the lake was hard to run on, but did reduce the risk of slipping, and I did run on a couple of stretches as I passed through the park, confirming that it was sort of possible, but definitely impossible to get anything other than a truly dreadful time.
Either way, it was 11:35 PM when I got back, and then I put the few purchases in their place, ate an apple and a sweet pastry that I already had, washed what was in the kitchen, and went to wash myself at 12:55 AM. I was done a couple of minutes before 1:30 AM, and then I talked to dad a little, also moved something into a jar, and ended up starting to eat dinner at 4 AM and finishing a couple of minutes after 4:40 AM. And I got in bed at 6 AM.
My plan for February 21 was to sleep well, go out earlier, and after coming back wash the stove top and make a pizza. However, the neighbors had a different idea, because they installed an AC, so I got up to pee just after 10:15 AM and while I was in the bathroom I realized that some noise must have actually woken me up, because awfully loud drilling started at that point. I still got back in bed and tried to wait it out, hoping that it won’t last that long and I’ll be able to get back to sleep, but after a while I did get up… Only for the noise to seem to stop about a quarter of an hour later, so just before 11 AM I got back in bed. But various occasional noises, including a little more drilling, albeit not nearly as loud, meant that I only caught some brief and agitated naps… And a little after 12:35 PM that awfully loud drilling returned, waking me up with a start. At least it stopped quickly that time and I did manage to get a longer nap until I was woken up yet again in the same manner, at 1:50 PM, at which point I got up, also doing the day’s squats. And I eventually went out a little before 5:55 PM, with the regular recyclables, for which I made a detour to a recycling bin, and the two with the deposit symbol which I had arrived back with two days earlier. I remembered just after stepping out that dad had emptied a couple since then, but I didn’t come back for them.
Since I once again had dad’s metro card, I took the metro to Obor, grabbing another recyclable after walking out of the metro station but first checking the farmers’ market, since I was there early enough, buying some apples… And thinking that I was cheated by the seller, since they seemed to be 2 RON / kg, I asked for 5 RON’s worth, specifying that it should be 2.5 kg, so I didn’t even pick them myself, couldn’t see what was listed on the seller’s scales when he weighed them, and when I used some other scales from a stall that was unmanned at the time I saw 2.09 kg, and the test scales at the market’s exit confirmed that, showing 2.1 kg. But, even though I briefly considered going back and confronting that man, I couldn’t get myself to do so, just continuing to Carrefour. And that might have been the correct course of action after all, since when I went there again those same apples were 2.5 RON / kg, but I had to look carefully to notice that, so while the guy might have increased the price by then, it’s not impossible that I missed it the first time. It’s still not exactly fair to write the price in that manner, but that’s a lesser problem.
Either way, after using the recycling machine from Carrefour and putting the apples and my gloves in a cabinet, I looked for some cat food, and when I got to that area a promoter told me that if I bought two products from a brand that we do buy cat food from anyway, albeit mainly for mother’s cats, I’ll get one for free after checking out, so after getting what I wanted, hoping that the discount for each second product listed on the site was going to apply correctly even though there was no sign about it in the store, I also got two of those products, one probably being a little better. And then I sort of just wandered around, since there was no packaged bread among the expiring products, two days earlier I had seen that the entire stock of those fluffy flatbreads expired on February 23, none were left in the regular place on the shelf, a few others placed in another spot expired on February 25, and the bakery employees seemed to be doing something in the back, so I wondered whether some of those would appear there that evening. But I was wasting too much time, so I eventually cut my losses, also took one of those really nice yogurts, since all of that brand’s products generated a voucher with 30% of the value those days, used the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid, and then went to the small stall where that promoter had returned by then and picked up the free cat food.
After retrieving my things, I wondered what to do next, eventually deciding to just stay in that area instead of trying to go anywhere else and not even going to Auchan, so I just checked Penny, putting the purchases and the two other recyclables which I had picked up by then in a cabinet and retrieving them after just buying one thing. And then I went to Kaufland, picking up two more recyclables and putting all of them in the machine from there before once again putting my things in a cabinet, grabbing an expiring bio (organic) chocolate, despite being imported and expensive even at half price, and then seeing that evening discounts had appeared for some vegetables and getting a large lettuce, plus some regular onions, though the small discount that those already had when I got there didn’t increase. But, of course, no green onions had been left even when I got there, and they were supposed to be on sale those days, so after waiting for 9:30 PM, seeing no new or increased discounts, and using the self-checkout and that voucher received for the recyclables, I asked for and received another 10 RON voucher for not finding green onions, no questions asked.
After retrieving my things, I found another recyclable in the parking lot and put it in the recycling machine, eventually managing to do the same with one more which had been left there, though that one required multiple attempts and using another machine, so I ended up with two vouchers for another time. And I picked up more recyclables on the way to and from the metro station, but I just missed one metro and waited for over ten minutes for the next one, so I might as well have waited to see whether any discounts would have increased at 9:45 PM. Not that I could have known that, and I did want to get back earlier.
As it was, I got back a little after 10:30 PM… And dad had forgotten about the stove top and even said that he also wanted to wash that evening. But at least he quickly gave up on that idea and removed the stove top, and I put some of the purchases in their place and spread out the rest, ate one of the apples, which at least was really tasty, and a part of the chocolate, and then went to use the toilet, wash the stove top and the grates, and then shower, the water really not allowing for more, and in fact I was shivering hard even so. Either way, it was around 1:40 AM or so when I got back to the kitchen, and then I put the remaining purchases in their place, washed what was to wash, including the remaining part of the glass baking tray, made the pizza, also used a few lettuce leaves in the salad, an expired supplement that supposedly aids immunity, just in case it’d do any good, and ate that combined lunch and dinner between 4:40 AM and 6:10 AM, getting in bed at 7 AM. And the following night I ate dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:10 AM and got in bed at 5:25 AM.
On February 25, I ate lunch and left at 7:30 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and I picked up one more on the way to the nearest Penny and some more from there, but the machine wasn’t working, so I left them next to the cabinets, after the guard told me to do so when she saw me trying to put them in one, and then just picked them back up, since I didn’t find anything to get. But I had dad’s metro card again and took the metro to Titan, to check that Penny as well… And the recycling machine wasn’t working there either, so I put the recyclables on the cabinets and entered the store after telling the guard, who asked whether I meant to just leave them there, that I was going to pick them back up on my way out. And at least in that location I found the cheese that I was looking for, and I also took a carton of expiring eggs, then put the purchases in my backpack, retrieved those recyclables, and went back to the metro station…
Well, the metro that I should have taken was just arriving when I got there, but I wasn’t sure that it was the right one, I couldn’t see the front of it, had no time to check the back, it didn’t seem to have displays inside, and the information isn’t displayed in that station except on some signs that end up hidden when a metro arrives, so I didn’t get on and waited for the next one. But at least that one arrived less than five minutes later and I took it for one more stop, to Kaufland Basarabia, where I was finally able to put the recyclables in a machine, though three of them just wouldn’t be carried by the belt, they just slipped on it and stayed in place, so I initially gave up on them… And that machine didn’t release the voucher, appearing to print it but have it end up stuck inside. It detected that something was wrong and displayed the error message, but instead of going to the information desk to ask for help I tried to see whether I could open it myself, and it wasn’t locked, so I did and retrieved that receipt. And then I moved on to the other machine and, after several more attempts, finally managed to put in those three remaining recyclables as well, getting a second voucher.
After washing my hands, I entered the store, with the backpack, a little after 9:10 PM… And I found some bakery discounts again, actually of 70%, and the price checker from the bakery area was still there and operational in that location. However, those discounts were only for a handful of products and I confirmed that they didn’t apply to what I’d have been interested in by scanning those labels, and the muffin that might have seemed interesting was obviously new, had no listed ingredients, and didn’t show up at all when I tried to use the price checker to look them up, so I didn’t take one of those either. But I found what I was looking for, both products having the full price listed on the label but actually scanning at the correct discounted price, the sale ending that evening, and I also saw that some sausages had an evening discount and, while those which I had bought before for dad were taken away and placed in a box and on the scales before I got back there and I didn’t ask about them, I got some others for him, noticing when the employee handed them to me that the price was even lower than what was listed, so the evening discount must have just increased, since it was 9:30 PM at that point. Either way, I also grabbed a few beets that were at half price and used all of the vouchers received for recyclables at the self-checkout, so also including those two that I had been left with the previous time. And the closing announcement came just after I finished using the machine, but I still took my time to arrange the purchases and then obviously had to leave through the emergency exit.
I then took the metro again, to Carrefour Unirii, entering with the purchases and getting a few lemons that were among the expiring or spoiling products, obviously without charging myself at the self-checkout for the bag that they were in, plus some sort of large bun or mini bread that had the 50% evening discount, and a little garlic, which I put in the glove that I used to take that bakery product, since I didn’t wash my hands again. And then I took the metro back to Dristor and also went to that non-stop Mega Image, putting my things, including another recyclable which I had picked up by then but without that larger bun, which I had placed in one of the jacket’s inside pockets, into a cabinet. And I found a few things to get, discounted by 90%, and for two of the products I found at the checkout that an additional 20% discount applied, apparently because I had purchased two of that kind, so it was actually a 92% discount. Either way, I then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and picked up two more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back.
It was several minutes after midnight when I got back. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate an apple and a sweet pastry that I already had, and it was close to 1:30 AM when I went to shower, the merely lukewarm water making me hurry, so I was done some 20 minutes later. And then I also washed what was in the kitchen and cleaned up a little, since dad had cooked, ending up eating dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:20 AM and getting in bed at 5:50 AM.
