Cav's Place

I’m alone until evening today, so that’s another reason why I don’t feel like struggling to write, on top of pretty much never feeling like it and the fact that I didn’t sleep enough lately and feel just exhausted, and also cold because of it. But, as the title spells out, there’s a lot to mention and it won’t get any easier if I wait and just throw some other quick thing here as this week’s second post. Plus, to start with the end, I already spent quite a number of hours in the kitchen yesterday, making myself something to eat then and also cooking something to have for the next few days, which I ate a bit of last night and then a proper serving earlier today. I didn’t even know what I wanted to make while making it, changing my ideas on the way, and it doesn’t taste like much of anything, but it’s edible, which is good enough for now.

Getting right to it, on May 20 I took part in the “Diversity March” for the first time, though this year it seems that they left that name which had usually been used for it around here as something of a subtitle, putting “Bucharest Pride” forward and therefore moving more towards what’s expected for such events. Always felt too awkward to do so in the past, being simply a straight supporter and considering the voices saying every year that heterosexuals who attend “just don’t get it” and shouldn’t be there, and then there’s also my stance on transgenders and that entire concept of gender, but current events definitely call for all hands on deck in support of sexual minorities and I did attend the November march as well, after all, and that was smaller and therefore each person’s presence was easier to notice.
This is a personal post, so there won’t be a report about the march itself, but I need to mention the downpour right when the march was supposed to start. Didn’t last long, so we could get going once it was over, but there were gusts of wind and heavy rain that sent people rushing for shelter under trees while those who had umbrellas tried to also shelter as many as they could, the crowd that was mostly near the street rushing to the other side of the area where people had gathered, making for an image that reminded me of penguins crowding together. And since I was just as much of a penguin at that point and also didn’t want to risk my camera even more, didn’t take any pictures of that period, but do have a bunch of others. And it’s not hard to find pictures including that period anyway.

With the Night of Museums also taking place then and the march finishing very close to a few I had some interest in and pretty much just at the right time, despite having also walked all the way to the meeting place for the march, I then went right to the Museum of Natural History, taking my place at the back of the line at 6:10 PM. And actually that line, long as it was, moved faster than expected, as it’s normal to spend a few hours waiting to get inside that museum when it’s free yet I was in after one hour and ten minutes. And once inside it didn’t feel crowded, the route to take was very clear, and information was generally easy to find and read, so it was all right. Not something I’d normally do, in fact this probably being my first visit to a museum after those to the Clock Museum back in the first few years of school, as for some reason schools regularly took pupils there back then, but I had been sort of thinking of having a look now and then for the past few years, so I thought I’d take advantage of the opportunity.
After that, I went across the road and to the Geology museum, having completely given up on one other thing in the area which I had initially considered, but to a far lesser extent than these two. That was a much poorer experience though, since there was no crowd management, everybody walked right in and was left to decide what to do, and that and the poor layout, with rooms in every direction, exhibits and information crowding on every wall as well as in the middle of rooms, and no clear route to take, made for an overcrowded, confusing mess. Plus, with the replicas of a few dinosaurs discovered in Romania upstairs, the advertised “Dinosaur Garden” exhibition, as in the part actually in the garden, consisted of five replicas in very poor lighting and required walking through the muddy grass left after the rain.
Meant to start walking back after making my way out of there, but took a route that also took me past the Observatory and saw a long line there as well, despite the clouds. And there admittedly were some breaks through which I could spot a few stars, so I thought there may yet be a chance to see something and took my place at the back of that line as well. And I ended up waiting for one hour and 40 minutes to get inside and ten more minutes to get on the roof for nothing, because the clouds had thickened during that time and there was no way to see anything anymore. One of the people there rushed to aim the larger telescope at a tiny break in the clouds while I was there, saying he thought he had spotted Jupiter, but it was only a false alarm. So we only got a couple of admittedly rather funny speeches… Which were actually somewhat refreshing after having spent all that time in line listening against my will to the guy right behind me weaving religion, conspiracy theories and conservative views in a continuous rant to the woman he was with. Considering the day’s events, the rant also obviously included lashing out against sexual minorities and the march, this being one of the few moments when she spoke up to agree, but then again I had heard a few quick comments along those lines while waiting to get inside the Museum of Natural History as well.

After all of that, I walked all the way back as well, also grabbing a cabbage and a few radishes from a non-stop hypermarket on the way. By the time I walked out of the store, at around 12:10 AM, it was starting to rain again, but it didn’t rain heavily, so it wasn’t much of a problem and I finally walked through the door here at almost 1 AM. Without all that time pointlessly wasted at the Observatory, I could have been back well in time to also take a shower, but it’s hard to get hot water at night from the city’s system, needing to leave it running for at least 20 minutes while paying all of it as hot water, hoping it’ll eventually warm up enough to just allow you to wash a little. So I just ate and left washing for the next day, despite feeling pretty clammy.

That sure ended up a whole lot longer than I meant it to be, but now I’ll finally get to Tuesday, when I ran again, for the first time after the half marathon. Finding motivation to just get back to regular runs for no particular reason was hard after doing it all with that clear goal in mind since winter, but I managed it by setting my mind on sorting out the frustrating matter of having only matched my record for ten kilometers by actually improving it. And, with no notable issues to slow me down along the way anymore, I managed just that, the new record being 48:32. Sector times were 4:32, 5:09, 5:51, 4:27, 5:07, 5:55, 4:34, 5:11, 5:58 and 1:48, making for lap times of 15:32, 15:29 and 15:43. So fastest ever third lap, first time I cover sector three of lap three in under six minutes, and matching the fastest ever second lap, which was managed on my second fastest seven-kilometer run, so when I didn’t have another lap after it.

Didn’t mean to go out again that day, but my mother was in the kitchen when I got back and she said she had assumed I was out shopping, which made me think that maybe that’d actually be a good idea, at least to get myself bread and maybe some other vegetables, as I was running out and adding that to what I already meant to do over the next couple of days will be more inconvenient. Plus, there was no hot water anyway, so couldn’t shower after the run, and in fact I only washed a little on some parts of my body after eating that night, with water heated on the stove and rinsing some areas very quickly with cold water from the shower, since it was apparently a scheduled maintenance period in the entire area, ending Thursday at noon. Definitely saw no announcement about it, but in the evening dad said he had talked to neighbors and someone told him about it, after which I checked on-line and found a PDF confirming this.
Either way, back to the fact that I went back out, that’s relevant for two reasons, the first being that I took a different route from one hypermarket to another and as a result stumbled into a farmers’ market that I was actually searching for seven years ago. It’s completely hidden away between buildings and I don’t know how anyone not living there or studying in the nearby high school could know it’s there, but as I quickly passed through I saw an old man selling apples that seemed decent and I actually was looking for apples, so I made a mental note to get back there some other day. And the second reason is that I dropped some money between my seat and the side of the free bus offered by this hypermarket when I used it to get back, and it was one of the seats above a wheel, so they couldn’t fall under it. Yet all’s well that ends well, because after failing to get the 10 RON bill back out otherwise, I saw that the lower part of the seat could just be pulled out, so I did that and retrieved my bill, along with a 0.10 RON coin that was under the seat in front and a bus card that at that moment, with people behind me watching and commenting on what I was doing, I actually thought was mine, as I checked and couldn’t find mine on me otherwise. Only when I got back did I realize that I hadn’t taken it with me in the first place, so I had found one lost by someone else.

Wednesday I went to see King Arthur, the main reason being how I remember seeing the 2004 one in a theater, with Andra. Or, more exactly, with her and that friend of hers, Razvan, since she had wanted us to meet then. Sadly, however, this one was a waste of money and time, having nothing to do with what the title leads you to think of other than having some names forced upon a fantasy tale that’s so cliché that it seriously bothered even me. And that’s saying something, since I’m not easily bothered by a lack of originality. But at least it was cheap, since it’s not available in IMAX and I therefore looked for a cheap option, finding a theater apparently recently reopened in a mall in one of the worse parts of the city and which, on top of being cheaper in general as well, has particularly low prices on Wednesdays. Did mean I had to walk seven kilometers each way to get there and back, but that’s hardly notable anymore for me.

After shaving, again with heated water, Wednesday evening, Thursday I went to the book fair, Bookfest, considering walking all the way despite the long distance and the fact that it was raining when I left, considering the lack of a monthly metro card. However, there’s a bus that goes straight from here to there, one was actually just arriving when I was passing by the first stop on the way, and I did have that found bus card, so I hopped on and used one of the validating devices to read it, finding that it’s an electronic wallet and not nominal, so can be used by anyone and on any route and has no expiration date, and that it had exactly the price of one trip left on it. So I then validated it, using up that amount, and went to Bookfest by bus to spare myself the long walk in the rain.
Since this time I actually intended to buy something and was meaning to check out something else on the way back as well, for once I didn’t look at pretty much everything, passing by whatever I had no interest in, as in not even in the sense of some degree of curiosity, which meant ignoring all the bigger publishers from here, for one. One place I was interested in, knowing that they sold books in English, now advertised that they had also started selling books in Romanian and that seemed to be all they had brought, but found another that was selling books in English that I didn’t know about. That was an unpleasant experience though, because a girl approached as soon as I walked in and she kept trying to tell me about them and to get me to fill a form to receive their offers, undeterred by the fact that I was ignoring her, looking over or around her and looking through books as if she wasn’t even there, only leaving me alone after I refused her a couple of times and bent down to look at the bottom shelf. On another note, the consumer goods fair which way back was by far the main event taking place in that area was now quite small and had been relegated to an area next to the one reserved for Bookfest, one being able to walk from one to the other, so I had a very quick glance in there as well, for no particular reason.
Back to actually buying something, there were five books I was considering, two of them found in two places, but two were those that I had also considered while checking out that science fiction and fantasy fair back in April and the publisher had far lower discounts now, and two others were cheaper if ordered on-line from this store I usually order from. Or at least I had seen one heavily discounted to a lower price before, confirming after I got back that it was again heavily discounted now as well, and I actually asked them to look up the other after making my purchase. So yes, I just bought one book and from them, since they’re taking part as well, the fact that I didn’t order it on-line meaning it won’t get added to my account, so I won’t get the points that I could then use for a tiny discount on a future order, and also spent a bit more, the listed price being rounded up. And I’m definitely uneasy about the choice, not being something I’d usually care for, but all those I considered fall into that category and they didn’t have the others there, so it was that or nothing and I did have some interest in that particular book, had been considering it, so it wasn’t a matter of simply seeing it there and deciding on the spot, I could still support them with the purchase, and it was noticeably cheaper than in the other place where I had found it anyway.

Once out of there, I also went to the little traditional products fair that always seems to take place at the same time as Bookfest, on the main alley, since I keep meaning to get something from there but could never get myself to approach and say something before. Had actually had a look before going in for Bookfest and had something in mind, so I pretty much went straight there, looking at the kind of cheese I wanted, and the person saw what I was interested in and asked whether I wanted to taste it. Didn’t particularly want to, but refusing would have taken more mental effort than simply allowing her to do what she wanted and I couldn’t manage it, so I did take the bit she offered, though I pointed out that it was actually a pretty big piece, at which point she told me not to worry about it. Then I asked for one of the small wheels, she weighed it, I paid and went on my way. It was actually smaller than I thought and I’d have wanted a bigger one, but, again, asking for another would have required mental effort I wasn’t capable of, needing to interact in such a manner. Either way, it’s tasty, and I supported a small producer. Or I hope I did, at least.

Since it wasn’t raining anymore, though I did hop on a bus at some point for a few stops, taking my time to check that the found card really was empty and then getting off when I could easily be at the door again, walking back seemed pretty much the normal thing to do, and I actually took a different route the first part of the way, to check out another store as well. Found nothing interesting there though, nor in the few small places selling fruit and vegetables that I glanced in on the way, nor in a farmers’ market I also happened to stumble into. Shouldn’t have gone in there at all, since a man stopped talking to the other one he had been talking to when I walked in and kept pestering me as I walked past him twice, since I needed to go that way again to get back out, asking what I wanted, listing things, calling after me… So that’s one place I won’t go in again, and I’d have no reason to go to a market in that part of the city anyway, but on the way I also found the location of a permanent fair, though it was closed for the day by the time I got there and I saw later that most sellers are only there on weekends, and that of a confectionery I had been curious about, confirming that I may try something from there if I’ll have a reason to be in the area when I will want to get some cake or something of that kind again.
But while I didn’t buy anything else on the way, I went back out after dropping off the book and cheese and getting things out of my pockets, because I knew the yogurt I tend to buy is discounted at a chain that has hundreds of stores all over the city, including one right in front of my building, and they, as in that brand of yogurt, also have a contest now that requires the number of the receipt instead of some code printed on the product. So for the maximum number of entries, the idea would be to buy one at a time, and I had gone out that day anyway, so I thought I’d just grab one despite the previous interactions, including one with an old woman and a child who stopped and insisted on inviting me to go ahead of them when entering the building and again when going up the stairs until I gave in and did so, having taken a heavy toll… And shouldn’t have done it, because there was a line, so all the people made me even more uncomfortable, and then I gave the cashier 2.07 RON, to get 0.20 back, and she dismissed the coins, telling me I had a discount, so the 2 RON were enough. I did explain, and she did give me the correct change, but she seemed either amused or irritated, or a mix of both, probably because a customer was calculating so exactly and had that kind of small change, and adding that to the state I was already in and all the other people around meant I just had to get out of there as soon as possible and only realized I never took the receipt, never noticing whether she had even pushed one my way, quite some time after getting back. So purchased that yogurt separately for no reason, as I can’t use it for a contest entry.

And to finally get to yesterday, before making food, I went out again in order to buy a couple of things I needed for what I sort of had in mind to cook, and definitely for apples, as I was completely out. And while I got those other things, as well as more bread and a couple of other things, from the hypermarket I buy most things from, I went back to that farmers’ market which I had accidentally discovered Tuesday for the apples. Actually, passed through it once on the way to the hypermarket, having a good look around and pretty much making my decisions, then returned to it on my way back, as I walked both ways. Did get somewhat confused after leaving the market though, but I eventually found my way, and this may be a route I’ll be trying to learn and use more from now on.
And yes, definitely managed to buy the apples and they’re really good, they were also cheap and I really think I supported an actual producer. Also got some radishes from another person, but the apples were the reason I was there and there were three selling them, though one shouldn’t have really been in such a market, as he pretty much had a store selling imported fruit. That left two, one guy having just two kinds, at 3 RON and 4 RON per kilogram, and one woman having several kinds, I think eight or so, at prices ranging from 1 RON per kilogram for the pile of quite rotten ones to 4 RON per kilogram for some big and shiny ones… Too big and shiny, I’d say. She was the obvious choice, also because having all those kinds and having them sorted according to their state in that manner definitely made her believable as an actual small producer, wanting to sell as much as possible of what she had.
So I picked one kilogram at 1.5 RON, as you could find decent ones there if you paid some attention while selecting them, and one more at 2.5 RON, those not requiring much selection. And I could do that quite all right, as I had placed some 700 grams of the first kind on the scale before she even paid any attention to me, coming to put them in a bag and wait for me to finish, then she just held another bag when I said I wanted some more of another kind, putting it on the scale when I asked how much I had already picked. Then I kept going to one kilogram, managing to hit the quantity both times on first try. Or, well, it was actually 990 grams for the first kind, to be exact. Either way, I obviously didn’t want plastic bags, having my own, but it would have again been too much mental effort to refuse, and it took quite a lot to just manage to pay even so, during which time I was worrying she’ll trick me in some way, being unable to even follow where the bags were anymore. Found them right in front of me though, and after wandering around a little to recover and weighing them on another scale as well, to check, I made my way back. And yes, I did taste each kind already, and they’re very tasty, the 2.5 RON ones in particular but the others are good as well.