Cav's Place

There’d be a lot to cover in this post and I won’t do it, but I will start with today, when I finally ran again, after skipping last week. Since I still have quite some way to go with the treatment, though the obvious symptoms are just about gone, I expected a poor time, but at the same time had hopes it won’t be quite that bad, thinking I’ll be thrilled to stay under 50 minutes and aiming for that at first… Only to end up with 53:38, with sector times of 4:43, 5:37, 6:42, 5:02, 5:33, 6:44, 5:04, 5:44, 6:31 and 1:58, making for lap times of 17:02, 17:19 and 17:19.
Temperature was good and I’d have overheated if I’d have actually been well and pushed as hard as I normally do, but as it was I was fine, and the wind wasn’t an issue either, but I wore my regular shoes, there were a few areas where there was some muck left, where I lost some time, and there were a fair number of people as well, and I didn’t really try to find the most efficient routes. Add the fact that I didn’t really push except close to the end, as having the fastest third sector on the third lap shows, and I’m quite sure I could have gotten under 53 minutes if I’d have given it everything, but that was pretty much the limit today. There was no particular reason for it, didn’t feel like I couldn’t breathe, didn’t have to stop to blow nose or cough, nothing hurt in particular, even my back seeming fine again today, but I just didn’t have the energy to do better. After that first lap, I even feared for my chances to stay under 55 minutes, so I controlled my pace to avoid exhausting myself too soon, but eventually realized I wasn’t really tiring that much, just couldn’t be faster.

Last week I meant to run Wednesday, when the regular flu symptoms seemed pretty much gone and these other ones that required seeing a doctor and taking various kinds of pills hadn’t quite started yet, or at least not at a level that made it obvious that something serious was going on. Used some nose drops again that morning, hoping for some relief that’d allow me to sleep better, even though I could actually breathe much better than I normally do when I have a cold, then woke up at a good time to run, made the tea I tend to drink when I run in the cold, ate what I usually eat before running, but then read a few more articles about running with a cold and decided against it at the last moment, considering the exact symptoms. Did go out briefly, to buy this month’s issue of National Geographic, but that was it, and I got back quite angry with myself and certain I’ll really regret the decision not to run, which I definitely still do. Pretty sure I’d have managed a better time then than today… At the same time, can imagine all too well how my mother, who was here at the time, would have reacted to me running without really getting better first and then the truly troubling symptoms becoming obvious immediately after that, since she’d have assumed that the running caused that to happen.

Did run a second time the week before that though, on Thursday, and even though it was clear that I had a cold, that also being a large part of the reason why I ran again then, knowing that neither my condition nor the weather were going to get better too soon, I actually did well enough, the time being 48:19, with sector times of 4:22, 5:08, 5:53, 4:27, 5:04, 5:58, 4:26, 5:07, 6:01 and 1:53, making for lap times of 15:23, 15:29 and 15:34.
Set the alarm at noon and just managed to get out the door at 1:45 PM, as planned, and started running at 1:59 PM, so just managed to stick to the plan to start before 2 PM. Was prepared to accept just staying under 50 minutes, doubting I’ll manage to stay under 48:30, but could still breathe, just breathing out through my mouth a fair bit, since I was running out of air before I could breathe in again if I breathed out normally, and didn’t really feel weak then, though I did later. So the first lap worked out and I thought I’ll push to have a good time on the second as well and maybe fail on the third, but just gave it everything, including tactically, and it worked out. It’s possible that I also gained a few seconds on the first sector of lap three, where a caught a guy running with his dog and when he noticed I was catching up he turned to tell me to overtake him on the side with the dog, then saying again that the dog liked to chase after runners but it’s fine, and pulled the leash tighter. So I pushed a bit at that point, wanting to put some distance between me and the dog… But it’s possible that I left those seconds on the final sector, where I didn’t push that hard anymore, knowing I didn’t need to.

Had wanted to start running before 2 PM that day because ski jumping was starting at 3 PM, and I rushed back after the run for that reason, but I didn’t need to, since it was just 2:54 PM when I was back. So watched that and ate some more, finishing after it was over, then went to Auchan, after wasting a bit more time failing a couple more times in the fight with the second Jotun and ending up just running out with gloves and bags in hand and jacket unzipped. Was out two minutes before the free bus should have arrived, fearing I missed it, but it came pretty much on time or maybe a minute late, so I just had time to sort myself out first.
Once there, got what I wanted and some cheap candy that they’re trying to get rid of, being typical for Christmas, though I saw two pieces of another more expensive kind in that pile and added them in the bag too, and then, after seeing one more color after weighing the bag, I took one more piece of that cheap kind and threw it first in the basket and then put it in my pocket, since others were just grabbing a piece to taste anyway. On the other hand, there were two problems, one being that there was a single price listed for the entire area with buns, making me think that it was a special price for all kinds, but when I got to the checkout with the three I had, I was charged the regular, slightly higher, price for that specific kind. But the other issue bothered me more, and it had to do with rushing to catch the free bus at the end and only having a quick look at the box of yogurt, not noticing anything wrong then, but then seeing the cashier get a rag to wipe it after scanning it, because there was yogurt on it, which hadn’t been there before. I asked whether one broke and she said it was just dirty, but it hadn’t been… Gave it another quick look, then dumped all my stuff in the basket next to the payment machine and then had to find the receipt to scan among the others thrown there by people, then found I had missed my bus anyway and ate that one piece of candy and actually opened the box while waiting for the other one, looking at the tops of the cups and still not noticing anything wrong… But did when I got back here with them, when I took them out of the box and saw that one was cracked on the side. Put it in the freezer and then used it the next time I made mamaliga, scraping away the bit that was right next to the crack too, since it was frozen and I could do so.
Meant to sleep after putting things in their place, was in bed for some two and a half hours, but couldn’t sleep at all, feeling nasty, the cold catching up to me. Took a bath after eating at night, and ate quickly, not making a salad, after all I had already eaten that day. Also, that day marked seven days since reinstalling Emsisoft Anti-Malware, so debug logging should have stopped, and the support guy was saying it should stop on its own, not waiting for reboot, but that’s clearly wrong, since it kept logging. Either way, went to bed at 4:30 AM, after a few more failures in Jotun, though the next evening I finally managed to defeat that second Jotun and things went quite smoothly after that. Very smoothly with the third Jotun, since I got to that one that night too, and defeated it on first try.

But the period covered by this post should actually start with January 2, when I confirmed that I was coming down with a cold, or more likely a flu, after starting to feel a bit of a sore throat the previous evening. I’ll also mention that I woke up a bit after 11 AM that day, though I actually got up a bit after 12 PM, just staying in bed for a while. Wanted to leave at 2 PM, since I wanted to go to Kaufland and the listed schedule stated that it’ll close at 4 PM that day, and only actually left a bit after 2:20 PM, but even though I had a quick look through Carrefour too on the way, it was fine. In Kaufland, saw big sales on fruits and vegetables, so got a few things, and was out just before 4 PM, but heard no closing announcements and there were plenty of people behind me, so not sure what was going on. Meant to go back to Carrefour after that too, but was already carrying enough, plus that I saw no empty cabinets at Carrefour when I first passed by it, so I wouldn’t have been able to store my stuff there.

Since I mentioned Jotun, on January 5 I had completed the first area of the next section and died right at the end of the second, due to being unable to see the entire constellation, but then had to do it all over again since I had to restore from backup again, for reasons I’ll leave for another post, and forgot to copy the file it stores in the user folder, following this annoying trend of games saving there instead of using the folder they’re installed in for that, leaving me with the one backed up automatically in the morning. And that night I couldn’t even finish the first area again, being unable to find the apple again. But at least the next day I could complete those two areas on first try, in case of the second needing to take a screenshot of that last constellation on the stone and then compare with what I could see there at the end, and then killed that Jotun as well, on the third try. And then, on January 10, I finished the game, I think needing four tries to defeat Odin. That fight seemed impossible at first, and I think I tried twice and then quit, but then I worked out the strategy, got back and managed it on the second try like that. Did attempt a handful of fights against the first and third Jotun in Valhalla Mode over the next few days, but got crushed every single time, and I didn’t care to do anything in that mode in the first place, so I just wrote the review and uninstalled it.

Also, Monday I started reading The Lady of the Lake. Really didn’t want to read this one, knowing how it ends, but I went to the doctor that day, with dad, and she keeps people waiting a lot, not scheduling in any way, or not respecting anything in case she does tell you to come at a certain time, so I knew I’ll be there for a while and decided to take this one with me instead of one of the others I’m yet to read, and read two chapters by the time I got in… Or almost two chapters by then, finishing the second as she was talking on the phone while we were there, this being another reason why people wait so long. Since then, just read one chapter per day, and today I won’t be reading anything, so I guess the plan is to finish it by the end of next week.

I’ll leave the other stuff about the flu, what I was left with after it and the doctors I went to for another post, but before finishing this one I’ll add that, after leaving the clinic yesterday, leaving the car there since dad had another appointment there in the afternoon and then had to go somewhere else from there, I fell on a patch of ice. Dad noticed that it was bad ice, uneven and with a layer of water on top, and warned me, but I tried to walk on it and ended up on my back. Took the fall well though, just using my elbows to spare my back a little and make sure my head won’t also hit the pavement and otherwise dissipating the energy pretty much all over my body, so my right elbow hurt a bit for a little while, but there’s no mark there either and otherwise the only issue was that the butt of my pants got wet.

But the more important thing is that I made a deposit with the money I had managed to set aside so far. Had been thinking about it for a while, had compared interest rates and fees and information about the banks, and what dad gave me Wednesday evening got me to a round amount exactly a year before I plan to use it, since I’m trying to have as much set aside as possible at the start of 2020, when I’ll need to get the components for a new computer, so I made my decision and told him about it that morning, before we left to go to the clinic. Had pretty much selected a bank too, but there was another with the same interest rate that I know he has an account at and which we could also get to on the way back from the clinic, so I asked which one he’d recommend and, as expected, he selected that other one, so we went there first… And left after being told that a regular account is required to make a deposit and there are fees for that, which would have eaten into the already very low interest I stood to earn.
So we then went to the bank which would have been my choice, which also required opening a regular account and also having a debit card tied to it in order to avoid any fees when withdrawing cash, but neither the account nor the card carry any fees in themselves, so even though I just wanted to make a deposit and definitely want to stay away from cards, I could just get those as well, as required, and just ignore the fact that they exist and make my deposit, mainly to make sure I won’t touch at least this amount until then, and if I can also gain a tiny amount then why not. They were also celebrating purchasing another bank and had boxes of cookies for people to eat, one employee making a point of inviting everyone to take some, and dad did so both while standing in line with me and while standing next to me when it was my turn, but I just grabbed two once it was all done, after having meant to not to so at all until then. Not counting the time spent waiting in line, it took some 30 minutes, but at least it was done, and I was relieved when I ended up with an employee who knew what she was doing, since there was a guy who seemed to be in training and I feared he’ll finish first when it was my turn, considering to let the person behind me go first if that’d have happened.

After getting back, took the recyclables, since quite a lot had gathered, and rushed to Kaufland, dropping them off on the way. Also quickly passed through Carrefour, just losing time I couldn’t really afford to lose, but got the kiwi I meant to get from Kaufland and a little cheap thing to munch on when I’ll take the antibiotic, since it added up to pretty much exactly what I still had, including a few coins I had grabbed from here before leaving, then rushed back. It was almost 3:40 PM when I got here and I should take the antibiotic at 3:30, being every 12 hours, but managed to take it around 3:45 PM and I’d say that’s close enough, the instructions in fact saying to take two per day, at least four hours apart, not necessarily one every 12 hours. The probiotic was more of an issue that afternoon though, since when I wanted to take that day’s first one, after napping for about one hour, the capsule broke as I was pushing it through the aluminum foil, a puff of powder ending up in my room and on my shirt. Keep fearing this happening, the design seeming quite wrong to me, making it likely to happen, and then it did, and I didn’t take the next one, just taking a little bit of the powder left in there on a finger and putting it in my mouth and cleaning away the rest, cutting the used part of the blister pack away. Been making sure I open it very carefully since then, not pushing the capsule through anymore.