Cav's Place

On February 3, my sleep was rather agitated, I had complex dreams and woke up several times, though I also got back to sleep quickly each time. And when I woke up at one point and was quite sure that the alarm, which I had finally set back to the normal 2 PM, was about to ring, it proved to have been a little earlier, since I waited for a while before checking the time and seeing 1:47 PM. So I got back in bed and waited, getting up when the alarm did ring and sticking to the plan of running that day despite quite clearly having a cold. My nose was stuffy, and so was my left ear, which was also hurting, but I wasn’t exhausted and my chest felt better, and that ear also got somewhat better after I managed to get enough out of my nose. So I had all of the usual stuff, unfortunately just wasted time on the toilet despite feeling that I really had to go after eating the yogurt, then I had two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and also took a very old Halls. I was still sucking on that when I left, at 4:05 PM, wearing the full running gear, with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, and that thinner training shirt, plus that thing that goes on my neck and the gloves, and the jacket on the way, tied around my waist while I ran. The reported temperature was 7-8°C, dropping by 1°C by the time I finished.
The time was 47:27.86, with sector times of 4:17.23, 5:08.69, 5:55 (5:54.66), 4:28 (4:27.65), 5:05 (5:04.85), 5:49.15, 4:24.13, 4:53 (4:52.87), 5:42.53 and 1:46.10, making for lap times of 15:20.58, 15:22 (15:21.65) and 14:59.53. The cold made me certain that staying under 48 minutes was out of the question, thinking that under 49 minutes would be great and hoping to at least avoid going over 50 minutes, but the first sector was better than expected and that trend continued, the first lap making me set staying under 49 minutes as the target. But I also realized that I was just about on pace for 48 minutes if I kept that up, so I wondered about it, or at least about 48:30, and I pushed more and managing that seemed more and more likely with each sector of lap two that passed. And at the end of the lap I saw that I had some chance of staying under 48 minutes after all, so I really pushed, being really surprised by that great sector two of lap three, and then by completing the lap in just under 15 minutes! At that point I realized that I even had a shred of a chance of staying under 47:30, and while it didn’t realistically seem possible, I kept giving it everything on the final sector and somehow managed even that!
I was dressed for a lower temperature, so from lap two I was overheating a little, but not badly. And there were some warnings from my right knee early on, and while those went away after a while, those coming from the muscles of my right leg, alternating between calf and thigh, remained all the way to the end. As for a certain pressing need, that appeared on sector three of lap one, mostly went away on sector one of lap two, reappeared on sector two of lap two, again went away on sector three of lap two, and on lap three I’m not really sure, I was pushing too hard to notice or remember much, but I’m pretty sure that it reappeared at least from sector two. And I had a hard time focusing on the first lap, also struggling to calculate and remember the times, but that also improved after that. Otherwise, the lane was soggy in many places, so I avoided what I could. And I slowed and maybe even stopped for an instant on sector two of lap one, because of dogs that were going to each other and almost cut me off, then slowed in order to squeeze through in a spot on sector three of lap one, and I definitely lost at least a couple of seconds because of a roadblock on sector two of lap two, the space that I had been aiming for closing when the people who were coming towards me meant to lean to pet the dog of those that I had caught up to. And I likely also lost some time with the glove, since I didn’t try to press the button with it on anymore.

I ate lunch and went out again a few minutes after 7:30 PM, taking a bag of trash, which I dropped down the chute. I first went to Carrefour Park Lake, those vouchers being offered for snacks those days, but the price of those that I get for dad had increased, making them just a little cheaper than at Auchan after using the voucher on a future purchase. But it still was cheaper, so I got some, and the other things that I had gone there to get.
I was again noticing some mild warnings from the back of my left knee, but they weren’t bad, so I continued to Penny, put my things in a cabinet, got what I wanted and a few more things… And a hangnail broke off while I was there, so I was pressing that spot in order to stop the bleeding and trying to avoid getting blood on anything, which was probably one reason why I initially forgot to take the store card back. But I realized it while retrieving what I had in the cabinet, asked whether the one on the counter was mine and grabbed it when the cashier confirmed.
Kaufland was next, and I again put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands, and entered the store a couple of minutes before 9:30 PM. The bakery area was completely cleared, however, and an employee was also clearing away vegetables that might have been discounted, so I just found a bag of discounted pears, which I grabbed for my mother before also getting what I had gone there to get. I looked for more of those caramelized walnuts as well, but while they were expiring the next day, the discount was just 30%, while at Obor those that expired on February 4 had already been 60% off on January 31, so I didn’t get any more. And the self-checkout wouldn’t accept something else that I had grabbed for my mother as the correct product, which made me weigh it on the scales from that area and see that it weighed about 3% less than it should have. But those products were on the other side of the store, so I couldn’t dash there to get another and I just called over an employee, and while she told me to wait, another one came and sorted it out. I was paying when it was announced that the store had closed, then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, took a little time to arrange before walking out, used one of those tables to do a better job, and it was a little after 10:10 PM when I walked away.
Then I also went to that Auchan, with everything in the backpack and one bag, and I asked the guard where to leave the bag and he told me to just put it behind the desk, which I did. Then I got what I wanted plus what seemed to be the last two packs of some biscuits that were two for the price of one, but I made a mistake when I calculated the total, and when an employee came to help at the self-checkout, scanning the products instead of letting me do so, my brain pretty much disconnected and I got even more confused. I did remember to check whether the little amount which should have been put on the store card on January 31, at Obor, was actually added, confirming that it hadn’t been, but when I saw a total that was slightly higher than what I had calculated, I asked why and checked, eventually realizing that I had miscalculated. I think that I had just finished using the machine and was checking the receipt once again when it was announced that the store had closed, so I rushed to retrieve the bag, seeing that nobody was keeping an eye on it, then I took my time to arrange everything after walking out. And, despite really needing to pee, on the way back I still decided to check the Shop & Go that’s on this street, since it’s open until midnight, just leaving the two bags next to the entrance, looking for the bag of biscuits that I wanted and getting one.
I got back a little after 11:45 PM, with almost 22 kg, so just over 21 kg if you don’t count those biscuits, and rushed to pee. Then I put some of the purchases in their place, ate a banana and the remaining caramelized walnuts bought on January 31, and it was past 12:45 AM when I went to the toilet and to wash. It was past 1:50 AM when I got back to the kitchen, and I had plenty to wash and the remaining purchases to put in their place, so I started to eat dinner at 3:55 AM and finished just after 4:25 AM. And I ate in the kitchen, finishing some expired roes received by dad, after microwaving for three minutes. On the other hand, while I had been mostly fine until then, while I ate I started coughing and my nose started running, and those symptoms didn’t go away after I finished.

On the morning of February 16, I wasn’t sleeping when dad got back, and I knew that he was bringing quite a number of things, so I went to quickly separate what he brought, put them in their place and exchange a few words with him about what he’ll take to mother. It was a couple of minutes after 6 AM when I got back in bed, and I wasn’t really coughing anymore, but my throat was sore and I wondered whether I had tonsillitis or those additional lymph nodes were really reacting, the way things developed after that proving this second scenario to be true, albeit not necessarily to the exclusion of the first. And my stomach also seemed to be a little upset. Also, while the bad dreams didn’t return, I still kept waking up. And once it was because of a dream, but actually because I was laughing! Another time was in order to pee, but otherwise I just kept waking up without knowing why, so I couldn’t say how much I slept until dad got up and got ready to leave, making noise that at least made it clear why I kept waking up after that point, so I could only have brief naps until I saw 1:51 PM when I checked the time, and the alarm was set to ring at 2 PM, so I went to exchange a few more words with him before he left, then went through the little exercise routine that I do before getting up. My back was still bothering me, but the fact that I didn’t really spit stuff out anymore that day helped.
Either way, the plan was to finally run again, after having decided to make use of the small “buffer” created towards the end of 2022 in order to skip a week, so I had the usual stuff, but the yogurt was a drinkable one which had expired the previous day, from what dad had brought. And two of those expired nicer biscuits, with added honey, were once again the sweet thing. I left at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear and in fact deciding to get back to using the old running t-shirt, but also wearing the jacket on the way, tied around my waist while I ran. The reported temperature was 11°C, but there was some wind and I didn’t want to feel cold. It was 9-10°C when I finished.
The time was 48:15.01, with sector times of 4:14.84, 5:09 (5:08.64), 5:56.40, 4:32 (4:31.69), 5:08.38, 5:55 (5:54.75), 4:28.15, 5:05 (5:04.88), 5:54.22 and 1:54 (1:53.06), making for lap times of 15:19.88, 15:35 (15:34.82) and 15:27.25. About halfway through sector three of lap one I found myself thinking that the first sector’s time had been 4:14.82, making the second 5:08.66, but I had been sure of that 4:14.84 until then, and the difference isn’t relevant anyway… Though two hundredths would have been relevant at the end, since it was frustrating to see a time that was just over 48:15. Either way, I obviously wondered about staying under 48 minutes, but a week without running tends to cost me a minute over ten kilometers, leaving aside the fact that I was still recovering from the cold, so I was aiming to be less than a minute over that previous 47:27.86 and the first sector was better than expected, but sector three of lap one was somewhat worse and the lap just squeezed under the target for 48 minutes if I’d have kept it up, which was unlikely. Still, after lap two I wondered whether I’ll manage another great lap three and make it anyway, so I pushed, but on sector three of lap three I was starting to feel out of it, out of breath and even a little dizzy, and it showed, so I wasn’t able to really recover time there, as I had done on other runs, and the last sector wasn’t good either.
I had noticed that I hadn’t tied the jacket quite well enough around my waist, but I started running anyway and it proved far less of a problem than I feared, sliding around a little on sector three of lap one, but then settling into the new position and not unbalancing me. Otherwise, the lane was wet in some areas, so I avoided what I could, and a few small patches had been repaired, one resulting in a little bump on the long sector one straight that could trip me if I’m not careful and another one, early on sector one, being fenced off, though that didn’t cause any problem. As for people, there weren’t many, so other than some weaving and going the long way around, there was just one moment, on sector two of what I think was lap two, though there’s a small chance that it was actually lap three, when I slowed and took a step off the path after meaning to go on the inside when another person was coming from the opposite direction, on the outside, but being uncertain that the space would remain open. And the slight pressing need that I felt much of the time was just something to be aware of. So the real problem was that I just couldn’t push any harder, and towards the end I really felt that I was at the limit, as I already mentioned.

Despite not having a mask, I quickly checked the nearby Mega Image on the way back, spotting some discounted oranges, but I had no money with me and also thought that I might find better ones elsewhere, so I just kept them in mind in case I won’t. Then I changed and went back out a little after 6:10 PM, wearing a FFP2 mask and first going to Penny. I didn’t get anything, however, since I had sent dad an e-mail to ask whether I should get some things from there, telling him to call if he sees it in time, and he didn’t. So I then started looking for recyclables to take to Kaufland, the 10% discount being offered for fabric softener those days, picking up ten on the way and putting them in the machine when I got there, getting two vouchers, after which I washed my hands. However, I didn’t find the pack of fabric softener that I was looking for, so I just grabbed a small discounted product, and the self-checkout rejected my bills a few times before eventually accepting them. Then I threw that product in one of the jacket’s inside pockets, saw a cart with a coin in it and took it back, to connect it to the others and retrieve that coin, and then checked Carrefour as well, though I didn’t get anything from there either.
The trip had pretty much been a waste of time until then, but at least it meant that I was back early, so I went back to this nearby Mega Image and that bag of oranges was still there, so I grabbed it. The cashier was searching for something when I got to the checkout and didn’t react at first, so I meant to move to the next one, but that one admonished her and she told me to stay there while they had a brief argument… After which she complained that I had given her too little money even though I had given her the exact amount, at which point the other cashier told her that it was a discounted product without even looking, after which she checked and confirmed that it was the correct amount. She didn’t give me a receipt, however, and I didn’t insist.
Since I had taken the money with me, I then went straight up, to pay the maintenance bill, before getting back, at 8:25 PM. That was early enough, so I threw that other product in the fridge and could also take the oranges out of the bag and eat the half or so of the one bad one that was still usable before going to the toilet and to wash. I finished just before 10 PM, when the match started. Then I also put the oranges in the fridge and during the second half of the match I ate the walnuts with chili that I still had, since dad was going to fry some mici after he’ll also finish his bath and I decided to wait and have some of those as lunch, eating them while making the salad for dinner. Since I also cleaned up after dad in the bathroom and living room, I started eating dinner at 3:05 AM, but I nevertheless finished a little after 3:35 AM. I got in bed at 5:20 AM, after once again taking a pill, which also seemed to help with my throat, even though it wasn’t specifically for that.

On the morning of February 22, it was almost 5:20 AM when I got in bed and I had a hard time falling asleep despite having slept really badly on the previous days. Or maybe just because of that. Either way, I’m not even sure that I got a little nap before dad got back from work, and then he had to prepare everything he was going to need after getting up, having already warned me about that, so I only really fell asleep after he also went to bed… And after some two hours of sleep I got up to pee and then couldn’t get back to sleep at all. Some two more hours later I decided to pee one more time, just in case it’d help, and it actually did, but I got at most one more hour of sleep, if that, before waking up again, at 12:40 PM, as dad was getting ready to leave. And I couldn’t get right back to sleep after he left either, so I only got one more brief nap before the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and I got up, after yet again sleeping for a total of probably only about three and a half hours, and after having gone out the previous evening. But the plan was to run, so I had the usual stuff, with two of those expired nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left at 4:10 PM, wearing the full running gear, since the reported temperature was about 14°C, dropping to 12-13°C when I finished.
The time was 49:08.29, with sector times of 4:23.01, 5:17.34, 6:03 (6:02.84), 4:39.03, 5:13.10, 5:58 (5:57.84), 4:31.64, 5:13 (5:12.46), 5:56.69 and 1:55 (1:54.34), making for lap times of 15:43.19, 15:50 (15:49.97) and 15:40.79. Even though the next run was going to be the first longer one, it could be said that this one marked the start of my preparation for this year’s half marathon, so I was hoping to get back under 48 minutes, but after pushing hard from the beginning and ending up with a first sector time that was some 15 seconds slower than it should have been, it was clear that it’ll have a bad time. The second sector made it clear that even staying under 49 minutes was going to be hard, and the first lap’s time made me set 49:30 as the realistic goal. I was closer to 49 minutes in the end, but that was still an awful time, the worst since the start of the year, and the second worst, and the second over 49 minutes, since the second one after getting rid of COVID-19. And there were no terrible crowds or other conditions that might be seen as excuses.
Admittedly, there were actually quite a number of people, so there was quite a lot of weaving and going the long way around, and on the long straight of sector one of lap one I had to go off the path in order to go around a group, and those little bushes meant that I had to stay on the grass for a few meters before I could return, while on the long straight of sector two of lap two I briefly stopped when a woman realized that she was on the lane and suddenly stepped off it when I was a couple of steps away and already about to go around her on the side that she ended up blocking, and on sector one of lap three I had to quickly avoid a dog that got in my way. But that’s nothing compared to that run from January 2, when it was so crowded that plenty of times I could barely advance, much less run. Either way, it was also windy at times, but I can’t really say that I had to fight it. So the main problem was that I just couldn’t push. I felt out of breath, my legs weren’t pumping well enough either, and the overall feeling was the one I had when I was clearly affected by anemia. I was even starting to feel rather out of it on the second half of lap three.

Despite not having a mask, I once again had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image on the way back, and then I ate a banana and decided to go to Penny after all, even though I didn’t initially mean to go back out that evening. So I left again at 6:15 PM, had a quick look in that other Mega Image that’s on the way, then got to Penny… And couldn’t find the main things that I had gone there for, so I just got the other two things, which could have waited. I think it was between 7:20 PM and 7:25 PM when I got back, and that morning I managed to get in bed at the usual 5:15 AM, but the following morning it was once again 5:20 AM when I did.

In the early hours of February 27, I started eating dinner at 3:25 AM and finished at 3:55 AM. Then, while I woke up multiple times and also went to pee at least four times, if not five, a couple of them just in case, I did always get back to sleep quickly enough, so after several days of sleeping little and badly, I finally slept pretty well, and had in fact done so on the previous day as well, plus that I had also napped a little in the evening. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a slice of panettone, with added honey. I left at 4:20 PM, wearing just the full running gear, since the forecast that I had seen before going to bed in the morning had listed about 13°C and dad was home, so I hadn’t checked again until just before leaving, when it was too late to change even though I saw that the reported temperature was only about 8°C! And it dropped by 1°C by the time I finished. So it was definitely chilly on the way…
The time was 1:18:28, with sector times of 4:19, 5:16, 5:59, 4:31, 5:10, 5:56, 4:27, 5:10, 6:00, 4:33, 5:17, 6:03, probably 4:39, probably 5:12, and 5:56, making for lap times of 15:34, 15:37, 15:37, 15:53 and 15:47. My hands were too frozen to feel what I was pressing and I missed the button at the end of sector one of lap five, and I wasn’t looking at the stopwatch just then, so the listed times assume that I looked a second later, but I’ll leave them with a question mark, since I might have looked two seconds later, making that sector a second faster and the next a second slower. Looking in the same second seems highly unlikely. Either way, considering the previous week’s time, I was realistically just aiming to stay under 1:20. Of course I was still thinking of getting under 1:18, but 1:19 seemed to be the very best that I could really hope for. However, after a worrying sector two of lap one, the first two laps were a little better than I thought, and lap three being equal to lap two was a nice surprise, so getting under 1:19 seemed certain if I won’t have problems. But it was the first time I ran over ten kilometers since the marathon, so I wasn’t sure how I’ll feel from then on and only tried to calculate after lap four, on which I slowed a little less than I thought I would. And at that point I realized that, with a real push on lap five, I might just get under 1:18:30 as well. So I did push, and did so even harder from sector two, doubting that I’ll keep it up but doing my best and just making it in the end.
I started feeling a faint pressing need even on lap one and it got more notable on sector two of lap three, but then it lessened again, becoming barely perceptible, before once again becoming notable on sectors two and three of lap five. And my right knee starting giving some warnings at some point, maybe on lap four, or late on lap three, I can’t quite recall. And at the end, maybe just from the start of sector three of lap five, there were some warnings from my left knee as well. Otherwise, there was some wind in a few places on lap one and on sector three of lap four, and on sector three of lap three it was worse, so I had to fight it in the early part of that sector. There might have been some wind on lap five as well, but I was pushing too hard to really notice at that point. As for the lane, some parts were soggy, but I’d say that I avoided less of it than I usually do. And there weren’t many people and they caused no notable problems, just making me occasionally have to weave and go the long way around.

I pretty much ran back, even though my left thigh muscle started complaining on the way. Then I ate a banana and some nicer corn puffs, changed, straightened two more bottles, and left again at 7:25 PM, with 12 plastic bottles, since I also had two that I was quite sure won’t be accepted. I also had some broken headphones that dad was getting rid of, which I dropped off in the proper bin from that mall before putting the bag with bottles in a cabinet but entering Carrefour with the backpack in which I had some more and just buying some garlic. And then I spotted two of those bottles that go towards that voucher from Penny in a recycling bin, so I grabbed them and added them in that bag after retrieving it from the cabinet, the garlic going in the backpack.
Penny was next, but besides the fact that the machine refused those two bottles that I was quite sure it would and that I struggled a lot to make it accept the straightened ones, it also refused two beer bottles, so it was a good thing that I had grabbed those two from that bin and I hope that the campaign does work as it says, requiring a total of 20 bottles, not all of them on the same receipt, since I have two or three on the other receipts received since then as well. Either way, I didn’t bother to put the backpack in a cabinet, grabbed a few things, rounded down a little at the checkout and the cashier didn’t comment, and then I continued to Kaufland, putting the bag with the purchases from Penny in a cabinet, washing my hands and entering the store a little before 9 PM. The bread was already gone, but some other bakery products were left and discounts of 75% were soon announced, so I grabbed some things, scanning the labels in order to see the actual prices, since that discount didn’t apply to everything and the employee was just starting to place the new labels as I finished getting what I wanted. Then I also got some grapes that had an evening discount, a bag of discounted oranges and a few more things, had no problems with the self-checkout and was done a few minutes before 10 PM, so I could retrieve what I had in the cabinet and leave through the normal door, after which I took my time to arrange everything in the backpack and bag, using one of those tables.
I didn’t walk away right after I was done, however, since I had spotted a small Lidl cart with a coin in it on the way in and hadn’t taken the time to see what it had to be connected to at that point, so I went back there, found that it hadn’t been moved and meant to take it to the nearby Lidl… Only to find another Lidl cart with a coin in it on the way, a regular one that time, and the two wouldn’t connect to each other, so I tried to take that one to the proper place first, since I knew where that was, meaning to return for the other one after that… But the carts were barred off, since the store had closed, so I couldn’t connect it to the others and had to just leave it there, and I also left that small one where it was. And then I ended up wasting a little more time by having a look at the pile of plastic bottles that had been left in front of Kaufland’s recycling machines, which were not working, and grabbing four more that I thought also went towards that voucher from Penny, along with the bag that two of them were in, even if it was torn, since I could make use of it in order to better balance what I was carrying, moving the toilet paper to it before finally walking away, at 10:15 PM. It was only recently that I actually read the regulations and found out that, even if the brief description of the campaign doesn’t mention any such restrictions, only the 0.5 l and 1.5 l bottles count, so those four didn’t.
I got back a little before 10:55 PM, with almost 15 kg, and then grabbed some trash and threw it down the chute… Only to then realize that I wanted to throw away that bag as well, so I went back to do so, actually going to the next floor, to also check that garbage room for some more of those bottles, though I didn’t find any. Then I spread out the purchases and put the plastic bottles and dad’s Pepsi on the balcony, ate some of the grapes, finding that some had been squashed in the backpack, and also had something that could count as lunch. I also noticed that those discounted oranges really were quite bad, but I could still make use of them. And I took a pill as well, just in case. It was 12:30 AM when I went to wash and a little before 1:20 AM when I got back in the kitchen, but I had to put the purchases in their place and things to wash, and I also mixed something, so I started eating dinner at 3:25 AM and finished at 4 AM. I got in bed at 5:20 AM.

If in the early hours of March 6 I ended up eating dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:45 AM, after falling asleep while trying to rest my eyes and warm up in bed and waking up when it was almost 1:30 AM, in the early hours of March 7 I ate between the same hours despite going to the kitchen before 12:30 AM, since there was a lot to wash and clean after dad had fried fish and made mamaliga, and I also scraped the crust of mamaliga that was left on the pot, plus that I peeled and boiled carrots for the salad, which I made only from those, the last regular onion that we had at the time and a little lemon, not having green onions or anything else that I’d want to put in a salad made on the night before a run. I didn’t have any whole wheat bread either, nor any other bread that I’d normally get, in fact, so I made do with that “semiwhite” one that I had grabbed from Kaufland on March 1.
Either way, after actually waking up just seconds earlier, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a recently expired walnut, cranberry and apple bar, with added honey. I left a little before 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear, with a few things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 16°C, holding steady. And I’ll also mention here that, just before leaving, I noticed that my stopwatch was about a minute behind, so I fixed that, but I still wonder whether it had been like that for a while or it recently started falling behind, which would be a problem even if it’d happen at a very slow rate, since it’d mean that it may become less accurate.
The time was 47:08.79, with sector times of 4:13.54, 4:59.38, 5:51.03, 4:23 (4:22.81), 4:59.06, 5:54 (5:53.69), 4:26.34, 4:59 (4:58.94), 5:40 (5:39.22) and 1:44.78, making for lap times of 15:03.95, 15:16 (15:15.56) and 15:05 (15:04.50). I wanted to get back under 48 minutes, pushed from the start and the first sector wasn’t as good as I hoped, but it was acceptable, and the second sector was actually good, so I wondered about covering the lap in less than 15 minutes, but sector three wasn’t good enough for that. It was still a good lap, however, and after it I was pretty sure of staying under 48 minutes. And then I was pleased with the first two sectors of lap two as well, and after the end of the lap I started wondering about getting under 47:30. It seemed unlikely, but I pushed on lap three, even more so after sector one, and I was surprised to already be safe at the end of the lap. I kept pushing, however, wanting to get under 47:15, and I actually ended up even under 47:10, and two minutes faster than on the previous run over this distance, so I was clearly over the cold… Even if my nose was somewhat irritated over the following days.
I felt something of a pressing need on sector two of lap two and on the final sector, and there was a small warning from my left knee at the start and one from my left calf a little later, but they quickly passed. Also, on sector three of lap three I once again stepped in that hole that’s under the lane, but it was with my right heel, so it was just jarring. Otherwise, I was initially worried about the wind, after it had made the walk to the park uncomfortable, and I did fight it on the early part of sector three of lap one, but after that there were just some occasional gusty areas, and even those weren’t a real problem. And there weren’t many people either, so there was just some weaving and going the long way around, and at most hesitating for an instant a couple of times, while deciding which way to go.

I pretty much kept running after finishing, going to the nearer Penny even though I hadn’t taken a mask with me, picking up one of those bottles that actually do go towards that voucher on the way and leaving it outside. An employee seemed to be gathering expiring products when I entered Penny, but I couldn’t wait for her to be done, so I quickly got what I wanted, retrieved that bottle and walked back, seeing that I had enough time to not need to run again.
After putting the purchases in the fridge, I had lunch, then changed and went out again just before 7:40 PM… Without really knowing where I wanted to go. I kept changing my mind, alternating between Obor and the route that ends at that newer Kaufland, but I eventually decided on the latter… And started by just wasting time at Carrefour, after seeing that the almonds that I considered getting didn’t look too good, eventually deciding on a bag, but then changing my mind since there are no self-checkouts that accept cash in that area and I couldn’t get myself to stand in line and deal with a cashier just for that, especially when I was uncertain about it.
I then went straight to Kaufland, washed my hands, entered the store just before 8:35 PM… But still couldn’t find any of that bread, seeing that it was the only bakery product that already had a discount label, and none of it was left. Also, only one other kind of bread was left, and I didn’t want it, so I got some other things until the bakery discounts were actually announced and I grabbed a number of products from there. However, I put them in a bag and hid it, in case the discounts would increase, just buying the other things at that point and putting them in a cabinet after using a self-checkout without problems.
Penny was next, and I found one last bundle of green onions and wondered if it had a 50% discount at that hour, since some of the vegetables from that area do, but it took me a while to work up the courage to ask an employee, and I also asked her about those large packs of food for Liza… Not that it did any good, since she said that they had no more of those packs and wasn’t sure about the green onions, saying that they should be discounted but she didn’t really know. And I couldn’t get myself to ask another employee, but I managed to reach up, grab the discount labels and look through them, putting back that bundle after not finding green onions among the products that were listed on them. That didn’t necessarily mean that they weren’t included that evening if they happened to still have some at that hour, as there were also a couple of labels that had no product listed, possibly intended just for such situations, but I couldn’t get myself to go to the cashier and ask, so I just searched for some more of that pretty good cornmeal that I knew had a good price in that location, found one last one behind the worse kind and just bought that.
Then I went back to Kaufland, added that cornmeal in the cabinet, washed my hands again and retrieved the bag that I had hidden, finding that the discounts had remained at 50%, so hiding it had served no purpose. Either way, I then added a few red onions, at full price, since we were running out, the price of onions had exploded, and the red ones somehow ended up being less expensive than the regular ones, which had doubled in price since the start of the year and tripled since earlier. And I also spotted some expiring bread that I could get for dad, and it ended up being cheaper than the one that I had bought for him from Auchan on March 3, and I had bought so much at that point that some of it still couldn’t fit in the freezer. But I still got two of those, one of them for myself, just to have some bread, even if it was white, since at least that kind has no ingredients that I’d want to avoid. And then I went to the self-checkout, having no problems with the machine… But obviously having a problem with my brain, even though nobody was rushing me or even near me, because I somehow forgot the coins received as change, and it wasn’t a tiny amount either. I had even put in a 0.01 RON coin, to get 0.75 RON as change, then I counted the bills, arranged them nicely in the pocket, but somehow just left the coins there. And, while it wouldn’t have really helped anyway, I didn’t even realize it while I was still there, even though I finished a couple of minutes before closing and then took my time to arrange all of the other purchases in the backpack before walking out, leaving just the bakery products in that regular bag.
On the way back, I for some reason decided to also have a look in that Profi, putting my things in a cabinet, having a good look around and eventually grabbing a bag of nice and deeply discounted bagels that I found among the expiring products. And I was about to make my way to the checkout when my phone gave a battery low warning, so I turned off the music from that point. That obviously didn’t help with my anxiety, but after retrieving my things from the cabinet and adding those bagels in the backpack, I nevertheless checked that non-stop Mega Image as well, putting just the bag in a cabinet but not finding anything to get. And the guard stopped me to ask what was in my pockets, so I showed him the gloves, being somewhat amused that he hadn’t said anything about the full backpack that I was carrying. Either way, I then retrieved the bag from the cabinet and made my way back here, getting increasingly worried about the yogurts, since it sounded like they were no longer arranged properly in the backpack.
Those concerns were proven correct after I got back, at 11:15 PM, and found that the top of one of the yogurts had been slightly pierced by the edge of another. So I moved the contents into a jar, then I ate an orange, those bagels and a small chocolate, put the purchases in their place, and it was past 12:20 AM when I went to the toilet and to wash, being done when it was past 1:15 AM. I then sliced the remaining two breads from Auchan for dad and found a way to stuff one of them in the freezer, ending up starting to eat dinner at 3:35 AM and finishing at 4:20 AM. I got in bed at 5:25 AM… And I do seem to have confirmed that the keyboard’s indicator LEDs get stuck after rebooting, so the problem is probably caused by what I installed for that TV tuner that otherwise remains unused. At least unplugging the keyboard and plugging it back in fixes the problem.