Cav's Place

Yes, I turned 38 yesterday, but that doesn’t really matter. What’s more relevant for this post is that I wandered around both yesterday and today, so while it should include the remaining odds and ends up to and including September 3, what I managed to post before midnight stopped with August 27. I should have been able to also include August 28 if I would have left everything else for later and gotten back to writing as soon as possible after getting back this evening, but I don’t see how I could have done more than that, so I once again edited this later, in order to add the rest, which ended up being twice as long as what I initially posted, the parts about August 28 and 31 being added Tuesday morning, just before I went to bed, and the rest only Friday morning, again just before going to bed.

With no chance to sleep after the previous day’s run, on the morning of August 24 I got back up and on the computer a little before 6:50 AM, also read one more chapter, after not touching the book since the previous time when I couldn’t sleep, and then went to the toilet again, only getting a little more out even though it felt like there was much more to come. I got back in bed at 8:15 AM and eventually did fall asleep, but it was very light and poor sleep, I kept waking up and it seemed like I wasn’t quite fully asleep even when I guess I was sleeping. And the alarm was set to ring at 11:45 AM, for the rescheduled delivery of the new tuner, but when dad got up a few minutes before 11:30 AM it was clear that I won’t be getting any more sleep, so I turned off the alarm and then took it easy, getting up around 11:40 AM.
The delivery guy called at 12:07 PM and arrived a few minutes later, and he did wait while I hastily checked the package, after I had asked on the phone whether I could indeed do that and he confirmed it. And I also asked whether that’s how they’re organized, only reaching certain areas at certain hours, and he said yes, so I asked about people who work and can only be at home in the evening, he said there was no way to deliver in my area after 4 PM, I asked if they didn’t have cases when someone just couldn’t be available, he said they did, so I asked what then, and when he didn’t immediately reply I also asked whether the parcels can be picked up from anywhere, and he said that their warehouse is in Chiajna, so outside of Bucharest!
Either way, after backing up the system once again, I put in the new tuner, installed the software and let it search for channels, including radio. Since it was taking a long time, I meant to get myself some yogurt and cereals, but ended up dropping the idea and starting to try to arrange the channels, and after a long time I heard some noise, so I thought that dad was back, but I was busy, so I continued what I was doing for a while longer… And when I turned around I saw that the door to my room was open. There was no indication that anyone had entered the apartment and when dad did actually get back he also said that nothing seemed out of place, so I guess I had left it open, but I definitely didn’t remember that, so it was quite a shock at that moment.
Back to the new tuner, its software is slow and uses several times more system resources than the old one’s, and while this old software sees it as well, switching channels still takes a couple of seconds, so I guess that’s because of the tuner itself, and there’s no sound, so I can’t actually use it with the old software anyway. And, on its own software, it can’t seem to find one channel and another one doesn’t work, occasionally the video is garbled when you turn on the software, until you change the channel, and it occasionally also freezes. But I don’t exactly have any choice for the future, since this old tuner quite clearly won’t work on any new computer and it doesn’t seem like there are any other options on the market, so I’ll just keep it there and figure out how to deal with it when the time will come. Until then, however, I moved the cable back to the old tuner… And, possibly because one or both of them moved in their slots when I did so, that caused the computer to freeze completely, the sound from the TV still playing, since it goes straight through, but otherwise being completely unresponsive. Even the reset button didn’t seem to work, though it finally did reboot just when I was about to unplug it, and it worked normally after restarting, though I initially restarted in safe mode and checked the system partition, albeit without also having it perform the physical check.

On August 25, I went out at 3:05 PM, going to Obor, just putting on the mask as I got to that area, being about to enter the Hall just before 3:50 PM… But finding the doors closed. It had actually been on the news that inspectors had again found all sorts of violations and proposed to shut down the whole area, which I guess was what happened, but that was over a month earlier and I had forgotten about it. And I had gone there because dad wanted more of those cheap perfumes, and from there I could get to other locations of that pharmacy that I wanted to get the supplements for joints from, so it seemed to work out. But that changed things, so I wandered around for a while, checking those who sell things outside the Hall and finding those perfumes in one place. The price was significantly higher than it had been, however, I think the same one that dad said they were at some nearby shop that he used, so at first I also checked the other indoor area, but eventually I went back there and got what he told me to, so I at least saved him time.
Then I went to that mall, first having a quick look at running shoes in that sports store, then realizing that I had walked past that pharmacy’s location from there, so I went back to ask about that supplement, having taken a screenshot of the product page on their site on my phone, in case they misspell it when I just say the name, but I was again told that they didn’t have it. Then I entered Carrefour, with the perfumes still in my pockets, and found a discounted bread that I got for myself and eggs sold by piece, so I got the six bio (organic) ones that I found, though the price had increased slightly. I also saw Romanian watermelons for a price that was higher than the highest one I’ve ever paid for watermelon, but still lower than anywhere else at that moment, and much lower than in farmers’ markets, plus that hypermarkets had otherwise pretty much switched to Turkish ones by then, so I had a look, thought about it, and since not many were left eventually took one. It seemed past its best and there was another one that I was quite sure was good, but that one was much larger. I didn’t actually weigh it, but it seemed about twice as large as the one I bought, and that one had 5.3 kg. I could have bought it and left it in a cabinet, picking it up on the way back, but I thought that I won’t have time to make that detour, plus that carrying it from there would have been difficult. So I just got that smaller one, had no problems with the self-checkout, took some time to arrange the purchases before walking away, and a little later moved the perfumes back into my pockets, because I had initially placed them in the bag with the eggs and that didn’t seem safe.
Then I continued to the pharmacies, first checking the location from that area of the one that I had initially meant to go to that day, but that location’s really small and has few products, so I put my things in a cabinet and had a quick look, but the employees were looking at me and asking what I wanted, so I mumbled that I was looking for something that I guess wasn’t there, avoided looking at them and soon retrieved my things and left. Then I checked the nearest location of that other pharmacy, and while I was told that they didn’t have that supplement there either, the cashier told me that it was available at their other location from that area. That was surprising, after being told that they had no way to check the stock of other locations, but it is possible that said other location from that area is their main one, so anything that shows up as being in stock on-line is available there. Or, of course, the other cashiers could have lied to me. Either way, I had meant to check that other location anyway, if needed, so I went there, had a look downstairs, since it’s a much bigger place and there’s an upper floor as well, and was still sort of looking around when an employee came to me and got my attention, to let me know that a cashier was free and telling said cashier that I had headphones on and hadn’t heard her, though I hadn’t gone there because I was still looking around, the headphones actually being unplugged. But at that point I went to her, asked about those supplements and could finally buy them, putting them in the backpack after walking out and then stopping again a little later to arrange things better, because they were digging into my back. And I removed the mask as well, and then made my way back, realizing that I’ll even have time to shower.
I got back just after 7:10 PM, put the watermelon in the fridge and rushed to the bathroom, to use the toilet and shower before the matches, all of them starting at 8 PM. So I only noticed after showering that, while still usable, one egg was quite seriously cracked, almost certainly because of the guy who had hit the bag as he walked past me, when I was already in this area. And I also found that I had accidentally set the wrong date for the recording which I had scheduled, so that show hadn’t been recorded, but there’s a rerun that starts when I go to bed and I set it to record that instead. Otherwise, I had some of that watermelon before eventually having lunch.
As for the new tuner, I had sent a support message before going to bed that morning, to ask some questions about its software, and that day I received a reply containing a link to the manual, which I hadn’t been able to find on my own, but which doesn’t include the information I had asked about. And I was also told that the missing tray icon is usually caused by security software, even though the process is running, which shouldn’t happen if it’d be blocked, and also that Windows 7 is no longer supported and to “update” to 10 or 11. So that night I replied in order to point those things out, and also to say that “updating” in that manner is not going to happen… But that seems to have been the end of it, since I never got another reply.

Moving on to August 27, I kept having scary dreams, waking up with a start, feeling out of it, then falling asleep again and having the dreams just continue, so the cycle repeated. I was again at my grandparents’, in the smaller house, and dad was the villain, trying to kick me out, take me somewhere, I was going crazy, it was just a complete mess. And those problems with the left thigh muscle that I’ve been mentioning in the posts about the recent runs also started that morning, when I got up to pee at one point, also went to wash what dad had left in the kitchen, bent to pick up Liza’s plate as well and felt a cutting pain at the back of that thigh, just a little above the knee, a dull pain remaining in that spot after that, something also seeming harder when I pressed, though pressing did not cause that sharp pain to reappear. And I continued to have scary dreams when I got back to sleep, though they were somewhat different, so when I eventually got up I was probably more tired than when I had gone to bed. And I was thinking of going out, having asked dad whether I should get some more food for Liza from Carrefour, those vouchers being offered for pet food and accessories those days, but he hadn’t seen the e-mail I had sent at night and came back too late for me to leave after we talked about it, so I left it for the next day.

I continued to have scary dreams on said next day as well, but they were different, fewer and not as bad. And I left a little after 7:20 PM, taking those things that I leave at Kaufland, which no longer included the masks, since they had clearly given up on offering bins for those. But I first went to Carrefour, so I put that trash in a cabinet and grabbed four medium bags of one kind of cat food, since those were discounted and the large ones weren’t, so the price for the same quantity was a little lower that way. Then I used the self-checkout and got the voucher for them.
After retrieving that trash and going to Kaufland, I went straight up and put the cat food in a cabinet before looking for those bins and realizing that I had passed by them at the entrance, so I ended up adding those things in the cabinet as well, not wanting to go back down at that moment. Then I washed my hands and entered the store at 8:20 PM, going straight to the bakery area, closing time being 9 PM on Sunday. And I still grabbed a pastry, though none of the things that I’d usually get were left. On the other hand, also tried to check prices as I had seen the previous week, but my phone couldn’t take a good enough picture for the price checker, though the picture was of the red discount label and I’m yet to try it with the regular one, which should be much clearer, being white. Either way, I then noticed an evening discount for potatoes and got some, and also saw a handful of small watermelons, listed as being Romanian and at a price that was slightly lower than it had been for the one which I had purchased from Carrefour three days earlier, and since one sounded quite good when I knocked on it, I got that as well, and it ended up being the last watermelon for this year, which I finished on September 24, after running. Then I added four breads for dad, toilet paper and salt, used the self-checkout, retrieved everything from the cabinet, left those things in the bin on my way out and went back to Carrefour.
After struggling to somehow squeeze everything into one cabinet, since there are no large ones at that location, I think I went to pee and wash my hands, if I didn’t somehow do that the first time I got there. Either way, I went back into the store at 9:15 PM and saw the sign notifying of the evening discounts for the bakery area and that plenty of that bread that I get from there for dad was left, so I didn’t worry about it and first grabbed the other kind of cat food, using the first voucher at the self-checkout and getting another one. However, after somehow managing to squeeze that food into that cabinet as well, I went back in… And found that the employee was clearing away the bakery products, and had already done so for that bread, even though it was only 9:30 PM. So I grabbed a chocolate for dad and some snacks for myself, as a small “reward”, to also use that second voucher at the self-checkout. Then I retrieved my things from the cabinet and spent quite some time arranging everything in the bags and backpack, only finally walking away after the closing announcement, which came at 10 PM. And I stopped once again after walking out of that mall, at the first bench, to count what I had left and arrange the purchases a little better.
After catching quite a thick spiderweb on the way back, I got back a little before 10:40 PM, having carried 16 kg. And it took me 50 minutes to get on the computer, despite wanting to do so quickly, to finish that day’s post, since I first put some of the purchases in their place and also put some pieces of watermelon in a plate. So I ate those snacks and watermelon while writing, posted what I had before midnight and then continued writing, to add the rest, which meant that I only went into the bathroom at 12:50 AM, and also had to use the toilet before showering, though I rushed and was done at 1:25 AM. I still had things to do, however, and also sliced two of dad’s breads, so I started to eat dinner at 3:20 AM and finished at 4:25 AM.

On August 31, I left a little after 2:20 PM and reached the family doctor’s office at 2:50 PM. I had taken the book, but only read a short chapter, since just one other person was waiting, another being inside. I actually ended up waiting a little longer, however, since the nurse came out at one point and asked who was waiting and what for, I said that I was there for tests, she took the other guy’s health card and later called him in, then came out again while he was still inside, also asked the woman who had arrived by then, with her daughter, why they were there, took both of our cards, and after that guy was done she just handed me the document for the tests and invited the woman and daughter inside. So I asked if I couldn’t see the doctor as well, at which point she told me to wait, calling me in after the woman and daughter were done. Not that talking to the doctor did any good, since I didn’t get anything out of that brief conversation, and also forgot to ask for the prescription for those iodine pills that the authorities are handing out to those under 40, in case something will happen, so I only ended up doing that when I went back, with the results. And the doctor and nurse were asking each other whether to tell me where to go in order to have the tests done, I said that any place that has funds should work, pointing out that a new month was just about to start, and they agreed, but by then I was pretty much just trying to get out of there and forgot to even get some numbers from the clinics that are operating in that building.
After walking out of there at 3:30 PM, I checked one other store on the way, then bought onions from Penny, which I walked in with everywhere else from then on. Once I got to Mega Mall, I first checked a sports store and actually tried on a couple of shoes, then went to Carrefour, not buying anything but seeing both the small electric oven that I was going to order and one that was larger and also seemed to have more functions among the discounted “last piece” products, with the latter having a lower base price as well, and the discounted price matching that of the first one on the site, where two discounts stacked. So I asked an employee what the difference was between them, but she had many other customers, was snappish when she got to me, and said that they were two entirely different products. I pointed out that they were from the same brand, but she repeated that they were different, said that they could have 20 models from that brand and asked if I’d ask about the differences between each of them, even though they carry exactly three models from that brand, which is actually a store brand, and all three were right there, next to each other. Then she said that one’s bigger and has a different color, but the functions are the same. That last part was obviously wrong, but I just asked how come the bigger one was cheaper, and she said that they might have had that one in stock for four years and the other one for one year, so they were purchased at different prices, plus that they’re sold as they are, without even packaging, though that applied to both of them. So I could have done without that conversation…
After quickly checking another sports store and washing my hands when I got to Kaufland, I went in and saw a carton of expiring bio (organic) eggs that was discounted by 75% and wasn’t wrapped in sticky tape, as discounted eggs usually are at Kaufland. It contained five instead of six, but none were cracked, so I grabbed it, plus something for dad, and also looked through some nicer apples and picked the one that seemed to be the best one, wanting it for that long practice run which I had planned for the following week. I could have waited, since over the next few days I found bags of discounted apples of that kind in several places, but I couldn’t have known that at that point, plus that I’d have had to purchase an entire bag and they probably wouldn’t have been as good. Either way, since I wanted to wait for 6:30 PM, I had another look around and among the spices I found no label for the cheap basil, so I used a price checker and the listed price was lower than that of any of the other spices, so I grabbed some of that as well and then had no problems with the self-checkout.
I felt some drops when I walked out, which after a while became a light rain and just as I got back here, at 7:10 PM, turned into a “proper” rain. Then I called two clinics, trying to make an appointment for those tests, but one told me to try again in the morning, from 7 AM, and the recorded message from the other asked people to call the specific location that they want to go to, and the nearby one had closed much earlier. So I left that for the following day and then made that order which I had discussed with dad the day before, containing that oven and a Slow Cooker. Then I ate some plums and the pastry brought by dad, went to the toilet and showered, and then finally made mamaliga again… Which apparently caused everything else to be pushed out the other end before I went to bed in the morning… And that night I also checked the new catalog on Mega Image’s site and saw that the cat food which I had bought from Carrefour a few days earlier was going to have a lower price there as of the next day…

Since I was awake when dad got back, having just gone to pee, and it was just after 7 AM, I decided to try calling right away, so I asked dad for his phone… But ended up giving up after being on hold for 20 minutes. I also tried the other clinic at that point, but they told me that their earliest openings for tests covered by insurance were in November. So I gave dad his phone back at that point and he decided to try calling that first clinic as well, but at first the call was cutting off after exactly ten seconds and then the number became unavailable! So I used his computer to search for other clinics and called a few of them, but that didn’t help either, getting no answer from one, the one that I had the MRI at telling me that they charge for those tests, another one, operating in the same building that the family doctor has her office in, telling me that their earliest openings for tests covered by the insurance were also in November, and yet another one, which also has a center in that building, saying that they only had a few openings left before November, on October 5 and 6, which definitely couldn’t work, being just before the marathon. However, that apparently didn’t take into account the center from that building, since when I asked about it specifically I was told that they don’t have information about the funds available there and that I should call that center directly… Which I did, but once again there was no answer. So dad eventually sent a message to the family doctor, to ask her to recommend a place that was more likely to still have openings for September, and then finally went to bed, and at 9:10 AM I did the same.
I had sort of considered going to another nearby clinic, since their site stated that appointments for tests covered by insurance could only be made in person, at the desired location, especially since it didn’t seem like I was going to be able to actually sleep again, but I was too messed up after the calls to try something like that as well, so I just curled up in bed and eventually did manage to nap a little, getting up again just before 10:50 AM. And if trying that first clinic one more time, since dad had left his phone for me to use, once again proved to be a waste of time, since I was again put on hold and at 11 AM I once again gave up, I then made another attempt at the center from the building where the family doctor also has her office of that last place which I had tried before and someone immediately answered and told me that I could definitely make an appointment in September, the earliest date available being September 13. It wasn’t right away, as I had hoped, but it was good enough, so I agreed.
That was just the start of that day, however, since I had plans to wander around, despite the lack of sleep and the pain in my upper abdomen, quite clearly caused by having stuffed myself in that manner. So I left a little after 3:35 PM, going to Auchan and getting a number of things, including one of those breads, even though the real weight was once again a little below listed one, and the price is according to the listed weight. And then I also went to that Supeco, wanting to put the purchases in one of the cabinets that seemed to have a key but being unable to actually get that key. Whether that was because I didn’t know how or because it didn’t actually exist, I don’t know, but I ended up just walking in with everything and getting some things, though I couldn’t find number 1 candles, which I wanted for my grandmother’s 101st birthday. And the cashier also pointed out that one of the bags of soy was torn, or more exactly that the entire area where it should have been glued together was no longer glued, but I took it anyway. Then I spent quite some time arranging everything in the bags and backpack, both before and after walking out, and was finally walking away at 5:45 PM.
I had intended to be back by 6 PM and eat lunch before going out again, but since I only got back at 6:25 PM, having carried just about 11 kg, I didn’t eat anything, just getting ready and leaving again at 7:10 PM, taking the grapes and using the metro to meet my mother, after offering to do so because dad was so busy those days and I had purchased those grapes for her a few days earlier and they were going to spoil. And, after calling me just when I was switching trains, she was already waiting outside the station when I got there, just after 7:45 PM. Since the station is right next to the park, I had asked whether she’ll meet me there, and when she agreed I thought that we’d actually go in the park, but she said that she didn’t want to and we ended up sitting on a bench that was just outside of it and talking for a while. Then I gave her the grapes and was back in the metro just before 8:20 PM.
From there, I went to Obor, being in that mall at 8:50 PM and deciding to also pee when I went to wash my hands. Then, since I needed a sterile container for the urine test that was included on the list from the family doctor and had seen that the pharmacy which has a large location in that mall had the cheapest ones, I went there first… And wasted my time, since I couldn’t see any while looking around the medical accessories area, was told that I had to ask a cashier for those after asking another employee, needed a few moments to find the machine handing out order numbers, after seeing that they use those in that location, had someone else cut in and go to the checkout where my number had been called, got called over by the next cashier instead… And was told that they only had the larger containers, which I had no use for, so I didn’t want to spend more for one and said that I’ll try again at some later time, since I didn’t need it right away. But at least I got a few things from that Carrefour, including a deeply discounted expiring small bio (organic) yogurt that was among the products which were just being placed in the expiring products area at that moment… And then also got that container, after rushing to Kaufland, leaving the purchases in a cabinet and deciding to ask at the small location of that pharmacy that’s in that building. And, since I used dad’s fidelity card, I could also take part in a raffle that they had during that period, though I didn’t win anything.
After washing my hands again, I went in Kaufland at 9:35 PM, looked for evening discounts and grabbed two bakery products and a bundle of green onions. I also tried to dig through the crates of red onions, but couldn’t find as much as one good one, and likely ended up with a lot of those little flies on me and even under my clothes. And, just when I was about to head to the self-checkouts, the store being about to close, an old woman went to an employee wearing a t-shirt which clearly stated that he was in training and may be unable to help and asked where the teas were, saying that she was looking for thyme tea. I was a few steps away and found myself saying that I didn’t think that they had any, and after the coworker called by that trainee told the woman that she’ll take her to the teas I rushed ahead of them and told her to follow me… Only for her to keep following the employee even after she had pointed the area out to her and walked away, so she had to tell her to stay there and look at the teas. And I had already started looking by then, saying that I didn’t think that they had thyme tea but still helping her search. At one point she said that it didn’t have to be tea, just thyme, so I told her that she should be looking in the spices area for that, but it had just been announced that the store had closed, so I couldn’t take her there as well and I just quickly checked all the teas, told her that they didn’t have what she wanted and rushed to the self-checkout… Where I discovered that the price of the bundle of green onions had dropped to next to nothing, so I should have grabbed more.
After taking a little more time to arrange the purchases before walking away from there, I got back at 10:45 PM, washed some of the things left by dad, put some of the purchases in their place, ate a few plums, one of the sweet things bought from Auchan and lunch, went to the bathroom at 12:20 AM… And, despite feeling the need to go, I ended up just reading a newspaper on the toilet, before showering. And I had more things to do after that, including slicing dad’s three breads and dealing with one of mine, so even though I finished washing at 12:55 AM, it was 3:30 AM when I started eating dinner, 4:15 AM when I finished and 5:40 AM when I got in bed.

With the electric oven getting delivered that morning and the delivery guy calling at 9:50 AM, it’s unsurprising that my brain wasn’t really working, so I tried to delay him a little, to give myself time to change, but couldn’t quite figure out how, and dad didn’t help either, even though he was awake and I asked him to stick around, instead staying in the kitchen and then asking me whether Liza had gone out while the door was open! I had even needed to go back to my room, to check the SMS I had received and tell the delivery guy the code contained in it, so how would I have known? I couldn’t even recall whether I had looked at the box when it was delivered, so when I saw that it was torn in two places after we took the oven out of it, I had no idea whether it had been like that all along or we had damaged it. But at least we found a suitable place for the oven and let it run for ten minutes, to check that it worked, and then I changed back into my pajamas and got back in bed at 11:20 AM. But I was still awfully sleepy when I eventually got up again, after being woken up by some noise at 2:45 PM, and dad cooked that day, so I had a lot to wash after him, and also did a load of laundry, which also included washing the snot off some of dad’s handkerchiefs by hand in order to add those in the machine as well, without it ending up on everything else…

In spite of that, on September 3 I went out again, leaving right at 6 PM, having quick looks though Supeco, that Mega Image and the farmers’ market, just a few still being in the market at that hour, and then heading to the other Supeco, with a quick look in another Mega Image and an equally quick detour through another farmers’ market, which was almost deserted… And during that walk I realized that I hadn’t taken more money with me, so it was going to be tight. But what helped was that the first purchases were only made after I got to Auchan, and also used the toilet. And I used an actual self-checkout, which said that the bar code was wrong for the second product on the first attempt, but worked after that.
I used the toilet once again when I got to Kaufland Pantelimon, then entered with the purchases and just checked prices before going to Carrefour, once again entering with the purchases and at first only getting dental floss. That was because that was one of the categories of products that those vouchers were offered for those days, so after throwing it in the backpack as well I went back in and bought a few more things, also using that voucher and therefore keeping the receipt, since I used a self-checkout. But, despite getting two of each, I didn’t enter the bakery products as one of each, to get the discount that way, so I had to call an employee in order for it to apply, and she said that she had to discount each of them separately, so she had to first cancel them and then enter them again. And a box was thrown from the direction of the customer service desk while I was there and several people gathered, but I didn’t try to figure out what was going on.
After taking a little time to put the food products in a small bag, I finally put everything in a cabinet when I went back to Kaufland, then washed my hands once again, but plenty of bakery products weren’t discounted and I didn’t care for any of those that were. Still, that meant that I had enough for some bananas and a lettuce, both having evening discounts, albeit not enough to get some more garlic as well. Then, after having no problems with the self-checkout and retrieving my things from the cabinet, I meant to also check that Mega Image, but changed my mind while waiting at the stoplight and ended up going to this one that’s across the road, putting what I had in bags, not including the one hanging from my neck, in a cabinet, even though they don’t have keys, and getting cucumbers. Nobody was at the checkouts when I got there, but after I asked a guard about it he called a cashier.
I got back at 10:35 PM, just had a banana and a quick shower, quickly wrote and posted that evening’s post… And then for some reason decided to reinstall Fate of the World: Tipping Point, and since when I checked the logs of Comodo Firewall after doing so it complained that there was no disk in the DVD drive, which was odd, I checked the system logs… And found that during the afternoon there had been an error, saying that “the driver detected a controller error” at what I discovered was my SSD, and when I checked I also saw one CRC error logged in the SSD’s S.M.A.R.T. data. So I went to the kitchen a little after 1 AM and had quite a few things to do, since I hadn’t put the purchases in their place and there were some things to wash as well, and I also talked to dad a little, which meant that it was 3:05 AM when I started eating dinner and, since I searched for information about that error and tried to figure out just what I was doing at that time and whether a file was corrupted as a result, I only finished at 4:10 AM.
However, since I was so close to winning, before going to bed I finished King of Dragon Pass! After meaning to try again each year since the last failed attempt, back in 2015, on July 21 I had finally managed to get myself to do so, and when that attempt went too badly from the beginning, the following day I restarted and decided to stop trying to just keep going, being determined to actually win, which meant playing it “properly” but also saving and reloading when things went too badly, and sometimes also when I wanted to experiment.