Cav's Place

The day spent at the hospital was July 5, but in order to at least finally post something to cover the period between the previous somewhat more general personal post, which goes up to June 20, and that day I only really have to get to the end of June, as the only thing I feel I should mention about July’s first days is that on July 1 I asked for and received Dragon Age: Origins – Ultimate Edition from The Community Giveaway on the GOG.com forums. The key was again one of a huge list donated by that same user who donates so much, on top of his own occasional giveaways that are huge and outstanding in many other ways, and in order to make room for this one I finally got rid of most of the installers for the games I’m not interested in, just keeping a few I found myself not being entirely certain I’ll never care to at least try when I thought about it again, despite having labeled them as such.

To get back to the beginning of the period covered by this post, on the morning of June 21 I got in bed at 5:20 AM, but sure caught up on sleep, waking up the last time at 3 PM, without getting up before then, and finally got up at 3:30 PM. And at night I ate the first part of dinner in the kitchen a bit before 3 AM, though I only continued in my room at 3:30 AM, and hadn’t had lunch before. But as I was making dinner the microwave refused to start again after working once, so I kept trying, turned the plate a bit, moved it, shook the microwave a little, and eventually I heard the click I usually hear seconds after it stops and it worked again, though the issue was certainly worrying. And, of course, since hotter temperatures had arrived, it had started “raining” in the fridge again for some time.

Being worried about the microwave and fridge made it hard to fall asleep after I got in bed then, again at 5:20 AM, and I soon got up, when dad came from work, went to pee after a while, then kept tossing and turning, over an hour later went to pee again, and if I napped at all during that time it was for mere minutes. Then they started mowing weeds outside and that made it even harder to sleep, I went to pee one more time at one point, after napping a bit, and managed to nap a little more after that, but if you add it all up I didn’t get much sleep until I got up at 2:15 PM. The alarm had been set to ring at 2:30 PM, but I was awake for a little while at that point, heard dad go to the bathroom, checked the time and got up. Then I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with a slice of cozonac with added jam as the sweet thing, but wore shorts and a regular t-shirt, since the running t-shirt and tights were in the laundry basket. Left at 4:45 PM, when the reported temperature was 30°C, supposed to drop by probably 1-2°C by the time I’ll finish.
The time was 51:51.60, with sector times of 4:32, 5:24, 6:16, 4:48, 5:26, 6:25, 4:52, 5:35, 6:32 and 2:01.07, making for lap times of 16:12, 16:39 and 16:59. There was no point in trying to memorize the exact times when they were so bad, so I didn’t. Realized from the start that the only realistic target was 52 minutes, though after lap two I was hoping for 51:45 and, though I barely struggled up the stairs at the end and that final sector time was just awful, that might have been possible if I wouldn’t have first thought that my keys were slipping towards the end of sector three of lap two, as if the pocket got torn, which is actually likely when it comes to those shorts, and then if my stopwatch wouldn’t have fallen, the strap finally snapping completely, towards the end of sector two of lap three. The issue with the keys meant that I first tried to figure out whether they were still in the pocket or had slipped through some hole, so I won’t push them out completely or make it even harder to retrieve them, and then fished them out and held them in hand from then on, but I had already started lap three by then, so it took a little while and caused me to lose some time. As for the stopwatch, it just suddenly fell off, so I had to pick it up, which obviously cost me a few seconds, check that it still worked and hold it in hand from then on as well.
Otherwise, it was hot when it was sunny and I sure was drenched in sweat by the end. There were a couple of windy areas on the first lap, but that was it with the wind, and there were also some clouds towards the end of lap two and early on lap three, which helped. As for people, a girl stopped and turned in front of me on the first sector, so I had to sidestep, while on the next sector there were multiple issues. I had to briefly stop when a roadblock formed in front of me, and again when a little girl came running from the side, I thought she’ll keep running and I’ll pass behind her, but she noticed me coming and froze right in front of me, so I had to avoid her. And silly dances made me slow twice more after that. But that bad sector wasn’t a sign of things to come, because people didn’t cause any more notable issues after that, just making me weave or go the long way around at times.

Left again a little after 7:15 PM, first going to Tei, strangely seeing quite a long line for the stuff you can get yourself and none for the other side. But it moved quickly, I grabbed the toothpaste for myself and something dad had been looking for and was back out at 7:50 PM. Then I went to Kaufland, not seeing any evening discounts for bakery products, but there were such discounts for some vegetables, so I grabbed four bundles of green onions and the stuff I was looking for, with the exception of the cat litter, since I couldn’t find the regular one. The self-checkout wouldn’t let me complete the purchase, however, telling me to wait for an employee, and when I called her she said it was because I had beer. The kind I had was alcohol-free, my mother having asked for some, but when I pointed that out the employee said there’s no such thing as completely alcohol-free beer, it’s still made with yeast, so it has a very tiny amount. But at least she didn’t ask for an ID, since I hadn’t taken mine… Either way, once that was over with I saw that the total was the price of a bundle of green onions less than what I had calculated, and I wondered whether I had entered three instead of four, but then I saw on the receipt that the three for the price of two deal that I had seen in the catalog but had forgotten about applied on top of the huge evening discount, so I ended up getting four for the price of three… Should have taken three or six, if I’d have remembered that…
After needing several tries to open the cabinet door and retrieve my earlier purchases, I also went to Carrefour, immediately running into another issue with the cabinets, since those still require a 0.50 RON coin and I had none, nor even a 1 RON bill. So I asked at the information desk for change from a 5 RON bill, but while the employee said she couldn’t do that, she instead just gave me a coin and simply asked me to give it back once I was done, which I obviously did. And I just got some garlic and a little ice cream from there, then walked back, seeing lightning and hearing distant thunder, but I was more than halfway here when the wind also picked up and some drops started to fall, and the weather didn’t get worse until after I got back, a little after 9:50 PM.

Had a particularly late lunch that evening, and ate most of it while playing Fantasy General, so it was 1:15 AM when I finished, only going to shower after that and returning to the kitchen at 1:45 AM, where I first had to wash some things, including a pot. Started eating dinner at 3:40 AM, finished at 5:10 AM, got in bed at 5:30 AM, and again slept badly, weeds continuing to be cut outside, that neighbor also drilling again, briefly but several times, and seeming to drop some things as well… And then, even though dad was away until evening and started his vacation, so he wasn’t going to leave at night for quite some time, instead of catching up on things on-line I cleaned my room a little. Had lunch late again, but nothing like the previous evening, finishing before 11 PM, and while I thought I’ll manage to start eating dinner by 3 AM, I still didn’t, starting at 3:05 AM.

The following day, June 24, was when I planned to replace the stopwatch, the strap not being removable, and I actually saw slightly lower prices when I checked the site. So I left at 2:25 PM, got to that mall from Obor, quickly checked a bookstore, then bought a new stopwatch. Had to go with the dark blue one though, since I couldn’t find any lighter one, even if one model was listed as in stock even when I checked on one of the screens, which said seven pieces were available at that location. Had a good look at a theoretically better model as well, turning it on and leaving it on since if there’s a way to turn it back off I couldn’t figure out how, but that one shows interval times in a way that’s not useful for me. Or at least it does so by default, since I didn’t take out the instructions to read them or try to dig through settings enough to see whether there was one that changed that. So I just got that model, which is simply the current version of the one I had, the notable and very important difference being that, while it could still be much better from this point of view, the screen actually lights up when the light button is pressed, while the old one just made the digits fluorescent, which didn’t really help. Either way, the price I saw when I checked the screen, and was asked for at checkout, was the regular one, so I mentioned that the site listed a lower one when I left and the cashier checked on her phone and showed me that the regular price was listed on the site then as well, saying that they don’t change prices over the course of a day, so it might have been an error, which indeed seemed to be the case, since I checked again when I got back and saw the regular price on the product page, but that lower one in the list showing up while searching.
After that, also went to that Carrefour, just getting bread for dad and the single egg out of the remaining cheap ones that didn’t have code three on it and wasn’t cracked. There were multiple prices listed for that bread though, and one of the kinds didn’t scan, so I couldn’t check it, but the cashier typed in the code and the price was the lower one out of those listed, so it was fine. And then I also checked that market, still looking for eggs, recalling having previously seen a place that sold some with code two at a good enough price, but that place was closed, and in fact many of the stores were closed, so I couldn’t find any.
Got back at 5:50 PM… And soon was again arguing with dad over the electricity contract. I had seen the name of one of the contract options written on the invoice, but that was a more expensive one, so I asked him what that was about and he said he wrote down what he heard when he went to pay, and when I said that option was more expensive than others he said that was the first time he heard anything about multiple options existing, even though I had written him that e-mail with all the details and had also mentioned it after that, even a day or two before, when I told him that the cheapest contract option for this company he insists on staying with wasn’t among those listed in the offer they had sent along with the invoice. But he latched on to the e-mail, saying that writing doesn’t count for him, I must tell him, and very clearly and insistently, completely dismissing the fact that I had also mentioned it to him as irrelevant. I said I can’t do that, he said he called them, just saying he wanted a contract, and received an e-mail with a link, with no information, and I reminded him that I had offered him links to start the procedure, also including the necessary information, in that e-mail. But, of course, instead of making him realize how wrong he was, that just led to things escalating further. There was shouting, he insisted that I must talk, I insisted I can’t, and definitely not the way he wants me to, so I spent hours researching and writing instead, he said that’s zero help, as help would mean doing things the way he can do them, I said I guess only what he can do matters, what I can’t doesn’t, and again asked what else was my fault, he said he didn’t say it was my fault, I wondered what the fuck did he just say in that case, slammed some things and ran back to my room.
Not wanting to stay here, I got dressed again and went back out just after 7:05 PM. Dad had asked me to get the last bag of spinach out of the freezer and there was a sale at Penny, so before the shouting match I had asked him about getting some, and also about checking another Carrefour for eggs, so I went to the mall this other Carrefour’s in, but first checked two bookstores, seeing a 25% discount for books in English in one, and also a sports store, for shoes, actually seeing both models I had been considering in the “last chance” sales, both actually being in my size, the prices not being as good as I’d have hoped but nevertheless being at the high end of what might be acceptable, though I obviously didn’t have that kind of money on me at the time. Then I went to Carrefour, but there was nothing to get from there, so I then checked Kaufland as well and saw an unannounced discount for onions, evening discounts for some bakery products, though very few were left at that hour, also happened to see salt and finally remembered wanting to get some from Carrefour that day and forgetting both times, and the price was exactly the same, and in the end I decided to also add two large apples. Then I also went to Penny, getting cucumbers, since dad had bought a few at a much higher price again, and that frozen spinach. There was nobody manning the checkouts when I got there, the guard telling me to wait a bit, and then, after retrieving the other purchases from the cabinet and arranging them in my bags, I tried to walk out and the door wouldn’t open. I guess I was trying to walk out through the wrong one, possibly closed at that point because it was close to closing time, and other people were trying to tell me something, but I had turned the music back on and only realized that the other door was open after finally noticing their gestures.
Was back again just after 10:20 PM, didn’t exchange as much as a word with dad, had a late lunch, finished at 12:15 AM, and only got back to the kitchen at 1:25 AM. Even then, first spent half an hour slicing the two unsliced breads bought for dad, bagging them again and putting them in the freezer, and at least as long washing the pile left in the kitchen, just doing my part. Only started eating dinner at 3:35 AM, and got in bed at 5:35 AM. In between, I saw that pair of GT-1000 on the store’s site for much less than the label indicated, so I reserved it, intending to go back for it the next day… Or that day, considering the time.

Still without a single word exchanged with dad until then, on June 25 I left at 7:25 PM. I had no reply from the store by that time, so I just went there, found the shoes still in the “last chance” pile, tried them and the GT-2000 on, then asked an employee to confirm the prices for both. Since he did, I then showed him the picture of my reservation request for the GT-1000, with the 35% lower price, and he said that in that case they’ll honor that price, asking me to meet him at checkout. When he got back to me, however, he said I had been denied the reservation, which I also saw after getting back, the e-mail being sent while I was on the way, because that pair isn’t actually a pair, one being size 42 and the other 42.5. He said he might offer an even lower price if I’d take them that way, but I refused and asked if they couldn’t find the other 42 somewhere, and he said no and that somebody probably left them like that. So I had another look myself as he put them back there, then left with nothing. Interestingly, when I checked again that night, I saw that “pair” of GT-1000, supposedly size 42, once again being listed as available, so I sent an e-mail asking what that was about, whether they found the correct pair or are just hoping the next person won’t care, also adding that I wanted to thank that employee for pointing it out to me when I hadn’t noticed. Though it was a long shot, I also mentioned that if some additional discount could be applied to GT-2000 I’d but those instead, but there was no reply of any kind… And both models, in size 42, are still listed as available at that location even now.
Getting back to that evening, after leaving that store I went to Carrefour, finally finding expiring eggs and also grabbing an expiring yogurt for my grandmother before also going to Kaufland and getting some things from there as well, though I still couldn’t find cat litter. The self-checkout again told me to scan the product first after I selected both green onions and radishes, because I had just placed the onions on the scales at first and I guess it doesn’t care about weight for those products, but I just removed the radishes from the scales and kept going, not needing to ask for help. Then I realized I had just enough time to dash back to Carrefour to check something before it closed, getting there at 9:50 PM, but I didn’t find anything anymore, and got back here at 10:20 PM.

Moving on to June 26, dad finally spotted the pretty large spider which had been in the bathroom window for quite a while and grabbed the vacuum cleaner and vacuumed it, alive, while I kept saying that spiders are quite fine, and often even useful, if left alone. So I told him to at least not put the vacuum cleaner back in its place, in front of my room, and he did put it on the balcony, but he definitely baffled me when he asked how come I don’t like to have mold but say that spiders are fine. With the previous argument still very much on my mind, I decided to not reply to that.

On June 28 it wasn’t even 9:30 AM when that neighbor started drilling, and after half an hour I cut my losses, got up and made tea. But another half an hour later I got back to my room and the drilling soon stopped, so I went back to sleep, getting up for good a few minutes before 2 PM. I had moved the alarm from 2 PM to 2:15 PM when I got up to pee, around noon, but when I woke up again at that point, there was little reason to just waste some more minutes in bed. Either way, had crazy dreams until then, something about needing some medical tests, which is interesting if you consider what happened a week later, and flying to Cluj for them and wondering about meeting Alma, then something about a lab researching medical matters and me or, somehow, my character breaking a year’s worth of the condensed product, others wondering briefly whether we were infected because of that, then just shrugging and leaving. Then I found myself right on that day, but Andra was here and pissed that I was focused on resting for the run and not paying attention to her. My parents, my grandfather, who died several years ago, and a much younger version of my grandmother were also here, along with Andra’s brother for some reason, and my grandmother asked me to help her wash a burned arm even though the alarm had failed to ring and I was really rushing after waking up after 6 PM instead of 2:15 PM. And Andra was still pissed, of course, and I was wondering how to run but also make it up to her later. But, back in “reality”, I had the usual stuff, with raisins in dark chocolate and almonds added in the yogurt and cereals, put on the full running gear, with a few things, including the expired protein bar, in the pocket of my tights, and left at 4:15 PM, when the reported temperature was 29-30°C, supposed to hold steady or maybe drop by 1°C by the time I’ll finish.
The time was an utterly terrible 1:55:49, with sector times of 4:22, 5:10, 5:58, 4:32, 5:14, 6:10, 4:43, 5:24, 6:29, 5:03, 5:50, 6:53, 5:31, 6:05, 7:15, 5:29, 6:26, 7:29, 2:09, 7:13 and 2:24, making for lap times of 15:30, 15:56, 16:36, 17:46, 18:51 and 19:24, plus 11:46 for that final portion. Aimed for 1:50 after the start, and was pleased with the first lap time, then meant to stay under 16 minutes on lap two and managed that as well, but then I meant to lose less compared to the target times on laps three and four than I had gained on the first two and yet already lost more on three, shockingly hitting the wall on its sector three. From then on, it was just about getting to the end, changing the target to 1:51, 1:53, 1:54, 1:55… Had only allowed for 18 minutes on lap six, but went well over on both five and six, and it wasn’t until I saw the time at the start of the final sector that I realized I was actually looking at 1:56. And I was crushed, rather walked up the stairs, the result being my worst final sector time, albeit tied with that from my second worst half marathon run through the park, this being the third worst through the park, and fourth overall. Also had my worst lap six, even including those on the two 35.2 km runs, though there was a worse lap five on the second of those, and also the worst lap five that I know of except those on those two 35.2 km runs.
Had to briefly stop after a silly dance with a cyclist before the long straight on sector two of lap two, and slowed to squeeze through a group at the end of the next straight, but otherwise there weren’t many people and they didn’t cause other notable issues, just making me need to occasionally weave or go the long way around. The Sun was really burning though, and if it was this bad even so, I have no idea what I’d have done without the clouds. I guess I’d have had to give up, as even so I found myself thinking that if each time I previously thought of giving up before the planned distance I nevertheless pushed through, that day I really will have to stop earlier, so I at least avoided that even bigger embarrassment. But, back to the clouds, one came at the end of sector one and start of sector two of lap two, then it might have gotten mostly cloudy from sector two of lap three, though by the time I finished I couldn’t really recall anymore, just knowing that it was definitely mostly cloudy since sector two of lap four, and getting more so after that. Otherwise, lost a significant amount of time when I ate that protein bar, on sector one of lap five, briefly stopping twice and slowing at least three more times, if not four, the fact that it had been melting in my pocket making it hard to eat, and I also threw away the wrapping in a bin. And from sector three of lap one I already felt a certain pressing need, which came and went after that, being quite an issue at times, albeit not for long, and seeming to eventually go away after it got really cloudy. But I couldn’t say that anything hurt or there were other specific physical issues, just feeling awfully tired and unable to do any better.
Had meant to check Carrefour after the run, which was why I had the other things in my pocket, but decided against it, feeling rather out of it on the way back even so, with a brief but worrying moment when something even seemed rather wrong with my vision. Did quickly check this nearby Mega Image, just pulling my t-shirt up to cover my nose so I won’t dig out my mask for just a few seconds, but just had a look at the expiring products and went back out.

Finally moving on to June 29, I got up when the alarm rang, at 8 AM, but I was already awake for a little while at that point and had slept those couple of hours poorly anyway. I should have left at 10:10 AM, but dad also left then, he asked where Micky was and I wondered whether she had ended up in my room when the door was open, so I went back in to search, couldn’t find her, and it was after he did, at 10:15 AM, that we both finally left and went our separate ways.
The reason for waking up so early was that, as a first reaction to the information that, now that the date when it was going to be discussed once again was approaching, our Prime Minister didn’t want to support Rosia Montana’s inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List, a small protest had been announced, taking place in front of the headquarters of PNL. So I went there, arrived just after 11:35 AM, saw a few people and the large banner… And then reached for my mask, which I hadn’t worn on the way, and found that it was no longer in my pocket! I recall checking, just patting the pocket, not too long before getting there, but at that moment it just wasn’t there anymore. And masks are still required at public gatherings, plus that I meant to check multiple stores on the way back, and also go to a location of the Library for another book. But I had to give up on those ideas, and on the protest, just turning around and going back without even approaching to take a few pictures. Ended up on a different street at first, but after realizing it I went back and retraced my steps all the way to the spot where I remembered checking for it, wondering whether I’d actually wear it if I’d find it, since it was in a small paper bag. But that remained a hypothetical question, since I couldn’t find it, so if it did fall out of my pocket somewhere, it was likely blown away by the wind or gathered by the street cleaners before I got back to that spot.
Either way, got back here at 1:15 PM and decided to follow what would have been the initial plan for the day, before seeing the talk about that event, so I got 15 kg of paper, as in most of the newspapers, magazines, catalogs and other such things which had gathered, weighing both for the total and in order to split the weight evenly between two bags and the backpack, and left again at 2:05 PM, going to the recycling center that’s just before that newer Kaufland. When I got there and started dumping the paper on the scales, the guy asked whether it was loose, I said I did want the bags back, and he said they usually take packaged paper, but then he looked around, grabbed a nearby bag and held it for me to pour everything in it, so in the end it was fine and I just said I didn’t know that, but will from then on and will put it in a bag if I’ll have more. And I got 3 RON for it, according to the listed rate.
Then I went to that Kaufland, finally finding the cat litter I was looking for, plus a number of other things. The self-checkout machine was having issues though, as when I placed the toilet paper on the scales the screen flickered and then asked me to place the correct item, so I had to call the employee to help. But, while she seemed to have been left to handle both the self-checkouts and the information desk on her own, she seemed in a particularly good mood, and she quickly sorted that out, stayed logged on when I selected the pretzel as well, then logged off and left me to continue… Only to need to come back when one of the expiring breads I got for dad also wouldn’t be recognized after the screen flickered, though it had recognized the first identical one, so she stayed logged on after that in order to override any further errors. Then, after I got out of there, I also got cheese from that store that’s in the building with that Penny, then also went to Carrefour on the way back, getting a few things from there too, and was finally back here at 5:55 PM, having carried a total of almost 21 kg, including everything, all but a couple of them all the way from Kaufland, so the backpack definitely helped a lot.
Did go back out one more time just a little later, briefly, just to leave some food our cats had left until then and weren’t touching anymore to those that are behind the building. As for that night, after a lunch I started late and finished after midnight, eating slowly, while playing and winning another Fantasy General battle, I would have nevertheless started eating dinner before 3 AM if I wouldn’t have taken the time to move the expiring cheese I got to jars. As it was, I ended up starting at 3:10 AM.