Cav's Place

I’ll begin by mentioning that, after starting to eat dinner at 3:05 AM, but still finishing at 3:40 AM, in that day’s early hours, on the evening of April 24 I shaved my head… And then I ended up going to bed at 5:20 AM. Then, in the early hours of April 26, I ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:50 AM, putting peanut butter on most of the slices of bread. And I had bad dreams that caused me to wake up multiple times, but I could always get back to sleep quickly and got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, though I had been once again awake for a few minutes at that point, that time the cause being that Liza had started meowing. Then I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing consisting of some more of those nicer but recently expired biscuits, with added honey. I left a little after 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was about 17°C, and about 18°C when I finished.
The time was 1:18:09, with sector times of 4:22.20, 5:06.13, 5:59 (5:58.84), 4:35.60, 5:10.12, 5:56 (5:55.84), 4:30.07, 5:07.15, 5:54 (5:53.85), 4:35.12, 5:12 (5:11.63), 6:04, 4:36, 5:08 and 5:55, making for lap times of 15:27.17, 15:41.56, 15:31.07, 15:51 and 15:39. I memorized the exact times as long as they were displayed, clearly aimed to at least get under 1:18, and wanted to be fast on the first laps, aiming to get under 15:20 at least at first, and that first sector wasn’t promising, but I had also kept my pace in check, and sector two, when I pushed more, was better. But I still needed a very good sector three and I was far from that, so I realized that even staying under 1:19 was going to be hard. And, after a sector one of lap two that made me think that I’ll barely even squeeze under 16 minutes on that lap, I even wondered about staying under 1:20. But at least the average time of the first two laps was below that 15:36 that’s the target for 1:18, and then lap three was better, so staying under 1:19 seemed more or less certain, if no problems would appear, and I wondered whether I’ll manage to stay under 16 minutes on each lap and squeeze under 1:18:30. And, after lap four, staying under 16 minutes on lap five as well was all I needed for that, but I had already gone over six minutes on sector three of lap four and sector one of lap five was a little concerning, so I pushed harder on the last two sectors and actually ended up closer to 1:18, and less slow than the previous two times. But it’s still a poor time, and even more so at a point when I should be a couple of minutes faster… On the other hand, it was a good enough time to make me consider continuing to a half marathon distance, since I might have managed to squeeze under 1:45, but I was far from certain of that and had the next two runs to think of, so I stuck to the plan.
It got cloudy after the first two laps, only being sunny again on sector one of lap four and sector three of lap five, and despite feeling a little chilly on the way to the park, while I ran it felt better when it was cloudy. On the other hand, it was a little windy at first, but I no longer felt it after a while. But there were a fair number of people, and probably the worst problem was on the first sector, when I had to briefly stop and go off the path when the two cyclists who had been pretty much riding alongside me squeezed through on the path and the woman who had her dog on it before that moment pulled it to the other side just when I was about to go around her on that side. Then I slowed in order to squeeze through a roadblock on sector one of lap two, and on sector one of lap three I briefly stopped when a little kid in a stroller threw a toy in front of me just as I was about to squeeze between the stroller and the two runners that I was about to pass. And I hesitated twice because of cyclists on sector two of what I believe was lap four, and there might have been another hesitation on sector two of lap three, while on sector two of what I’m pretty sure was lap five, in that area where there’s no lane, I had to go around a garbage can in order to get around a roadblock, and then, only a few steps later, I also had to weave through children chasing some huge soap bubbles. Otherwise, a certain pressing need appeared on sector three of lap four and got worse from the start of lap five, even causing some cramps at that point, though it faded to some extent after that. And there were still damaged parts of the lane, and much of it was wet, parts of it even soggy, so I avoided what I could.

After getting back, I ate a banana and lunch, with an entire large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again at 7:55 PM, taking the cat food that I was going to give away. I was thinking to check the farmers’ market, to see whether it was still open at that hour and, if so, whether I’ll find any more cheap but usable apples, but I thought that I didn’t have time and went straight to Tei. Going in a pharmacy without a mask definitely didn’t seem wise, but I quickly got what I wanted, though I then stopped in the entrance area, in front of the cabinets, to put those supplements in my jacket, and noticed a blank sticker on one of them, so I took the time to peel it off, seeing that it covered the part where it said that the box contained 33% extra. I hadn’t noticed that before buying it, but I had looked inside and everything seemed to be in order, and I checked again at that point, so I eventually shrugged it off. Then I went to the metro, having dad’s metro card, and got to that cat cafe at 8:45 PM, just dropping off the cat food. Seeing as it closed at 9 PM, I actually took it easy, and I’d have quite certainly found someone to give the cat food to a little after closing time as well, I would have had time to also make a quick dash to the farmers’ market, but things probably turned out better that way in the end.
Either way, I then decided to check Carrefour Unirii, picking up a bottle with the deposit paid on the way and putting it in the recycling machine from there. Since that location closes at 11 PM and it does make evening discounts for bakery products, I was expecting that to happen at 10 PM, and entering only a couple of minutes after 9 PM made me think that I’ll have a lot of time to waste… Only to reach the bakery area after a few minutes and see that the discounts had already been made, much of it was already cleared, and the employee was cleaning, having moved what was left, so I couldn’t find the price label for the one sweet pastry that I could be interested in, ending up asking her. Then I got the two pieces that were left and, after wandering around a little longer, waiting for 9:30 PM, I used a self-checkout… Only for the machine to say that the voucher received for that bottle had already been used! The employee from the computer just cleared the message remotely, I tried again, when the same error appeared she said, without getting up, that it was already used, and when I went to her to show her that it had only been received half an hour earlier she just repeated that the system said that it was used, telling me to try another day when I asked what to do in that case. But if I did that and the error persisted, I’d have had no real way to make my case, so I paid in full, put the pastries in a bag and then in the backpack, and then asked at the information desk, the employee saying that she didn’t know what was going on but just giving me the 0.50 RON.
After getting back on the metro, I decided to check whether Kaufland had extended the schedule, to close at 11 PM, as they tend to do before holidays, so I meant to get off at Mihai Bravu, but when I saw that the exit that I should have used was closed off, I got right back on the metro, which hadn’t left yet, and got off at Dristor, since that Kaufland is more or less in between. But when I got there I saw that it had still closed at 10 PM, so I then decided to go to Auchan, though I first made a detour to a Mega Image, not bothering to use a cabinet and not getting anything, so it was a waste of time. Then I also checked the one that’s close to Auchan, still not using a cabinet and getting an expiring bread for dad, giving the cashier 0.05 RON less, but he said that it was fine, though he didn’t give me the receipt. The thing is that the closing time for that location is midnight, so it might have been better to leave that bread there and check again after leaving Auchan, to see whether the discount would have increased to 90%, though someone else might have taken all of them by then.
Either way, I entered Auchan with everything, getting more cat food, a bread for dad from there as well, and a piece of a nice sweet pastry, getting to what would have been a self-checkout a few minutes before closing time but having a cashier come to help just as I was about to start scanning, so I just wanted to get away from there and didn’t use the small amount that was on the store card and didn’t even check whether the amount that should have been added to it for that bread was actually added… But there was a 20% discount for that sweet pastry, which I hadn’t taken into consideration when calculating the total. And, after walking away, I did check the receipt and confirmed that 20% of the price of the bread was added on the store card as well.
Even though the store hadn’t closed quite yet and I rushed to the exit with the purchases in my hands, I still had to leave through the emergency exit. Then I took my time to arrange everything once I got outside, and on the way back I picked up three more recyclables with the deposit paid. However, the can was apparently filled with cigarettes and ash, and they were wet, so while none of that came out when I turned it over and poured out what I thought was the little liquid that was left in it, after it fell from my hands when I dug out the key, as I approached the building, and I picked it back up, I felt something falling on my pants and when I saw a wet cigarette I thought that somebody had thrown it from above. However, when I entered the building I shook the can a little more and more came out, so I went to the garbage room and tried to empty it as well as possible.
I got back at 11:45 PM, washed those recyclables which I had picked up, paying particular attention to that can, cleaned the litter box, and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I tried to get the ash stains off my pants, and also wiped my slippers a little with wet hands, since I found them one over the other on the hallway and thought that dad, who had gone to bed by then, might have pushed his shoes into or over them and then just moved the shoes, so I won’t yell at him again. Either way, after that I ate the sweet pastry that I already had and put the few other purchases in their place, leaving the bread out for the time being. I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, just before 1 AM, being done at 1:55 AM, and then I also put the bread in the freezer and washed what was in the kitchen, so I ate dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:25 AM. And there were no visits recorded that day.

After eating dinner between 3:25 AM and 4 AM, without any peanut butter that time, on April 28 I had set the alarm to ring at 1:30 PM, but I dreamed that it was 1:55 PM and, even though the “image” clearly couldn’t be “real”, I woke up with a start, and when I checked the time, after what was probably a couple of minutes, I saw 1:20 PM, so I decided to turn off the alarm and get up. Then I had the usual stuff, with the last of those particular nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, but I also started taking all of the supplements, so I took one of each before leaving, a little after 3:45 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 22-23°C, holding steady.
The time was 50:46.86, with sector times of 4:26.73, 5:18 (5:17.41), 6:12.13, 4:44.65, 5:24 (5:23.60), 6:16.00, 4:48.15, 5:29 (5:28.35), 6:15.03 and 1:54.81, making for lap times of 15:56.27, 16:24.25 and 16:32 (16:31.53). It was the third slowest time over this distance since being hospitalized, in September of 2021, and the two slower ones were obtained under entirely special circumstances, since those are the first run after having COVID-19 and the second run in one day before last year’s Dream Trek, so when I didn’t just run ten kilometers not long after running 16, but also after wandering around in between, so without any rest. And the only other time when I went over 50 minutes after the hospitalization was after getting Micky back from the vet for the last time, so not just on very little sleep and without following my usual routine, but also after that sort of morning. And I did expect the time to be bad, in good part because it was so crowded, but I was initially thinking that I’ll struggle to stay under 50 minutes and yet hoping to surprise myself and do at least somewhat better, and the first sector wasn’t exactly bad, considering the circumstances. However, the second one made it clear that I’ll struggle to even cover that first lap in less than 16 minutes, and to stay under 51 minutes in the end. And that’s exactly how things went, so there’s little else to say other than the fact that it’s a terribly disheartening result. Yes, I most likely lost at least a minute because of how crowded it was, but that’s hardly an excuse for being some three minutes away from a normal time.
So it was terribly crowded… And that’s pretty much all I can say about it. I mean, what stood out was that the lane seemed mostly clear on sector three of lap one and sector one of lap two, but you couldn’t tell it from my times, and otherwise there were so many problems caused by people, so many times when I had to briefly stop, slow a lot, even to a walk, go off the path, react quickly in order to avoid a crash, or carefully pick my way through a group, that trying to memorize any details quickly became pretty much impossible, so I didn’t even try. It was one of those times when there were moments when I could barely move at all, much less run. But, again, while that did cause me to lose a lot of time, it’s far from enough to cover how slow I was. And, while I did sweat a fair bit, which once again makes me dread the next several months, I can’t say that I noticed any particular physical issues either, so the problem was that I just couldn’t go any faster even when I did have some space. Then again, seeing how slow I was made me so disheartened that I’m not sure that I really tried to push, at least after the first lap. But that’s most likely just another poor excuse.

At least I jogged back, so I was back in time for the handball match, which was why I had gotten up and left earlier in the first place. Either way, I ate an old banana and a small bag of bagels, did the day’s squats, timing them and seeing a shocking 1:55, changed, and left a little after 6:40 PM, with the recyclables, which I dropped off in a bin on the way, and also those with the deposit paid, the large majority being those used by dad which he hadn’t taken anywhere, but I also had the ones which I had picked up and was yet to put in a recycling machine, and I picked up one more on the way.
Well, when I got to the recycling machine from the nearest Penny, I started with that last one… And the machine “ate” it without counting it and displayed a message that told me to try again. All of the others worked, but I made a mental note that I had another 0.50 RON to recover from Penny, though I didn’t do so that day, when I just got a few things, thinking that I probably had to limit myself to the little money that I actually had, so I put back one of the bags of corn puffs… Only to realize, while I was waiting in line, that I had included some roes for dad when I had calculated the total, yet I had forgotten to take them, so I dashed back and grabbed those as well, getting back in line by the time my turn came. And I was indeed told once again that I had to pay first, after which I was given the money for the voucher, which was more than what I had to pay. And that time I actually told the cashier that it’d be the same thing if he just entered that I had paid, then scanned the voucher and only gave me the difference, but he said that he wasn’t allowed to do that anymore, and in fact even asked me to write my name on the voucher and sign it, which never happened before, anywhere.
After putting the purchases in the backpack, I continued to the farmers’ market, picking up two more recyclables with the deposit paid on the way. However, even though I checked and saw that I did indeed remember correctly, the listed schedule stating that it should be open until 9 PM every day, it was closed, so I then continued to Kaufland, discarding the next plastic bottle with the deposit paid which I spotted on the way, since it had cigarettes, tissues and a questionable liquid inside, but making some effort to grab another one that was difficult to reach… Only for it to cause problems at that recycling machine, which kept refusing it. But the guy who was using the next machine noticed and handed me one of his, which worked on the first try despite being one of those that usually tend to cause problems, so I thanked him and gave him that one in exchange, but I didn’t stay to see whether he managed to get it to work, washing my hands and entering the store, with the backpack, when it was almost 8:10 PM.
While other bakery products were discounted by 50%, bread was only discounted by 30%, so I just got some buns, then kept looking for a while, in part because I meant to penalize myself for the bad times by buying something and then giving it to a homeless person, but I had a set, and at that point very small, amount in mind, determined according to the exact times, and I also had very little money with me, so I kept trying to calculate and decide until the employee asked whether she could help me with anything, at which point I moved a few steps away and eventually gave up on the idea for the moment. So I just continued with the original plan, which was to spend most of what I had on a pack of beer for dad, since beer was discounted by 30% those days, and then check for deep evening discounts for vegetables. And at first I was just considering a bundle of red scallions, but at 8:30 PM several discounts increased sharply, and that included going from 50% to 90% for both the red scallions and the radishes, so I took four bundles of each, after taking some time to select and decide, and then also added a handful of the red scallion tops that were scattered in the crate… Only to see the discount for lettuce also going from 50% to 90% at 8:45 PM. I also saw peppers becoming very cheap at that point, and an employee was placing 90% discount stickers on mushrooms and people were just grabbing them out of his hands, but I had very little money. Or, well, I did have 10 RON more, but they had been set aside by dad and I had grabbed them before leaving but didn’t mean to use them unless I absolutely had to, so I tried to recalculate and decide, but having to rush meant that I was a little off. Either way, I ended up putting one of each of those bundles back and taking a lettuce before grabbing dad’s beer on my way to the self-checkouts.
I took my place in line before the closing announcement, but it was a long line, and that gave me time to try to arrange what I meant to buy to some extent… And to keep thinking that I should have also grabbed a few peppers for dad, if I could have found a way to afford them without using those 10 RON. But at that point I actually thought that the total already exceeded what I had left, not counting those 10 RON, by a tiny amount, so if I wasn’t going to find some coins, I meant to leave one of the buns behind, and I had an empty paper bag to leave it in, having taken it when I was considering getting something to give away. But it was so crowded and that time several employees actually were there and they were rushing the customers through, often scanning the products for them, and that happened to me as well, an employee asking what I had, logging on and entering the products, starting with the lettuce, which I had placed in a bag and with those red scallion tops underneath it, so at first he asked whether I had two in there and I told him what was underneath it, pointing out that I had three of those bundles as well. And when he got to the buns, I told him that I had four but may end up only buying three, explaining that I might not afford the last one, since I had found one coin but my mind definitely wasn’t working anymore, so I didn’t even try to calculate whether it was enough. He pointed out how cheap they were, but I said that I knew how much I had on me, yet he still entered all four, and then asked whether I wasn’t buying the last thing, meaning that he had assumed that I had something in the other paper bag as well, so I said that it was empty and tossed it aside.
That guy being there, needing to talk to him and being rushed in that manner obviously messed me up, but if he’d have at least stepped aside at that point, after also clearing the sale of beer, which he must have done before logging off, I’d have probably managed to push through. However, he then pointed to the prompt about the store card and when I couldn’t immediately react he said that I didn’t have one, wording it as a question but acting on that assumption and skipping the prompt before I could speak again and say that I did actually have one, but since I saw that the discount for the beer had applied and the total was actually slightly lower than what I had calculated, so I could afford everything, I was just relieved that I didn’t have to ask him to take out a bun and said that it didn’t matter, at which point he finally stepped aside to let me pay. But that only meant stepping to my other side and asking whether I had cash or vouchers, so I told him that I had both, also mentioning that I got confused, and at least I managed to use that voucher received for the recyclables and then finish the payment without him doing anything else, though it still felt like he was watching me like a hawk, and he quickly took away the used voucher when I was done. And I was a complete mess at that point, so I awkwardly gathered my purchases and didn’t realize that I had thrown the cleaner bag where I had meant to put the paper bag with the buns under everything else, so I started looking for it, which made the next customer who was starting to use that machine ask whether I was looking for the receipt, at which point I thought that I had lost that bag and dragged myself out of the checkout area.
That was all I could do at that point, however, so I ended up squatting a few steps away, covering my eyes and trying to recollect myself, focusing on just breathing and trying to stop myself from crying, and hoping that nobody would stop to ask whether I was all right, or interact with me in any other way. And nobody did, so I somehow managed to recover just enough to start rearranging the purchases to some extent, also finding that bag in the process… And when I also checked the receipt I saw that, by not scanning the store card, I had missed out on another discount. It was a tiny amount, but that employee had cheated me out of it, and did it when I had already told him that I might not have enough money, so it might have made the difference between being able to afford everything and needing to leave something behind, so I set my mind on recovering that amount at a later time, especially since I was starting to turn the panic into anger. But at that point I just had to get out of there, so I finally walked out when it was almost 9:15 PM.
I got back at 9:45 PM, put some of the purchases in their place and spread out the rest, showered, set the water for mamaliga to boil, ate a sweet pastry that I already had and finished writing what I posted that evening, then made the mamaliga, dealing with the vegetables while doing so and then finally putting them in their place as well.

In the early hours of April 30, I ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 4:10 AM, putting peanut butter on most of the slices of bread, and I got in bed at 5:20 AM. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, but I really couldn’t say how much I actually slept during the last two hours or so; it might have been closer to half an hour or to an hour and a half, I have absolutely no idea. Either way, I then had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing consisting of another kind of somewhat nicer biscuits, with added honey, took the supplements, and left at 4:50 PM, wearing the full running gear, an undershirt and one armband, and deciding to use the old running shoes again, because the new ones were clearly fine, I didn’t still need to break them in or get used to them, and I didn’t want to “soak” them when it had only stopped raining after 4 PM, and in fact it still drizzled a little when I walked out, and one site listed a chance of some rain returning around 6 PM, plus that I didn’t mean to get right back after the run either, so I also had some things in the pocket of my tights. Either way, the reported temperature was 16-17°C, but it likely increased a little while I ran, especially when the clouds were clearing for a while, since I couldn’t check what it was during that time, but it was still 16-17°C at 7 PM.
The time was 1:18:48, with sector times of 4:24.88, 5:14 (5:13.75), 6:05.22, 4:37 (4:36.28), 5:11.60, 6:05 (6:04.62), 4:40 (4:39.72), 5:07.75, 5:59.03, 4:35.00, 5:07 (5:06.25), 5:59, 4:34, 5:11 and 6:00, making for lap times of 15:43.85, 15:53 (15:52.50), 15:46.50, 15:41 and 15:45. I was thinking that I’ll go over 1:20 and didn’t mean to memorize the exact times at first, but since I noticed them, I decided to do so after all, and then continued until I went past one hour and the hundredths were no longer displayed. But those times, and going over six minutes on sector three of lap one in particular, made me worry that it’ll be the only lap that I’ll cover in less than 16 minutes, and sector one of lap two wasn’t promising. But I did stay under 16 minutes on lap two as well, so I then pushed more, starting to think that I might at least stay under 1:20 after all. The first sector’s time was quite a reason for concern on lap three as well, but the next two sectors were actually more or less decent, and the lap was less slow than the previous one, which didn’t just make me quite certain that I’ll stay under 1:20, but I also wondered whether I’ll manage to keep staying under 16 minutes per lap. So I pushed even more on lap four, even if I thought that I’ll exhaust myself and end up slowing on lap five, and lap four actually ended up being the least slow lap of the day, which made me go from just hoping to ensure that I’ll stay under 1:20 even if I’ll get a fair bit slower to wondering whether I’ll somehow manage to squeeze under 1:19, and on the last sector the target became to stay under that 1:18:57 which at the time I misremembered as the time from four days earlier, though it was actually the one from just over a month before. Either way, I managed that, but it’s still a poor time, and it’s even worse when I’m also taking the supplements and it’s the last longer run before the race.
There were very few people at first, and while the number later increased and I had to weave or go the long way around a number of times, and maybe slow a little on a couple of occasions, I wouldn’t say that people caused any notable problems, except perhaps on sector two of what I’m pretty sure was lap two, when I had to slow a little more because I was off the lane and had to allow the cyclist who was just passing me to do so before I reached some people who were standing still and blocking my way ahead. On the other hand, there were some puddles, at one point I stepped in a hole that was under the lane, though I can’t recall when or where and it was just with my left heel, and much of the lane was soggy, so I mostly avoided it on the first two laps, though after that I started using it more, which allowed me to better optimize my route. Otherwise, on sector two of lap two the clouds started clearing to some extent, and I felt like I had to snap my back and a certain pressing need also started to appear. The back problem seemed to go away on its own pretty quickly, but by the end of the lap I was starting to regret wearing that undershirt. However, around the end of lap three it became overcast again, so that was no longer a problem. As for that pressing need, it seemed to go away on the first two sectors of lap three, but on sector three of lap three it returned, giving the impression that I’ll need to manage it all the way to the end… Yet I wouldn’t say that I really noticed it over the course of the last two laps, and while the fact that I was pushing had plenty to do with that, it also means that it faded at least to some extent. What I did notice towards the end was that my arms started to go numb from the start of sector three of lap four.

The total time for the three runs was 3:27:43, which means that I really have to go back to 2021, before the hospitalization, for a worse series, with 3:31:27. With a time on the second run that wouldn’t have been so awfully embarrassing, I’d have squeezed under last year’s 3:26:36, but even that was a sign of bad things to come, and I didn’t obtain that less embarrassing time anyway, so it’s safe to say that my hopes and my morale are around rock bottom as a result… And I also decided to “penalize” myself for it by setting aside a small amount, determined according to those times, which I’ll eventually spend on deeply discounted things that I’ll then give away to homeless people.

Either way, after the run I continued to the farmers’ market, meaning to see whether the woman whom I had bought those from some three weeks earlier had more of those cheap but tasty apples. And she did have a pile at that price, 1 RON / kg, but as I passed by her stall she called after me, saying that she’ll give me more of those apples at that low price, and then adding that she’ll even offer me that price for the “yellow” ones, referring to the pile of smaller and wrinkled but otherwise still good Golden apples, which were listed at 2 RON / kg. And when I turned around and said that in that case I’ll get some, she showed that she even remembered me, saying that she had given me that kind of apples before, and she even asked whether I still had my own bag… Only to say that the first one that I pulled out wasn’t good, since it didn’t have handles. But I had more, so I gave her one with handles, which she was satisfied with. She also asked whether I liked sports after I said that I was coming from a run, and when I said that I was training for the half marathon the man who was sitting behind her asked when “the marathon” was, so I told him the dates for both the half marathon and the marathon. Either way, the woman said that I could pick the apples myself if I wanted to, but I said that she could put them in the bag, and that if I could get five kilograms for 5 RON, that’s how much I wanted. And she ended up giving me all but one of the apples from that pile, so I should have just asked for all of them, especially since I weighed them after getting back and one scale listed 4.9 kg. But that’s for people and may not be that accurate, especially at such low weights, and the kitchen scale listed 5.05 kg, so she probably gave me the right amount.
After stopping to split the apples into two bags, I eventually made my way out of the farmers’ market and also went to Penny on the way back, seeing that guy that I kept bumping into around this area during a certain period enter the store as I was approaching, so we nodded at each other, then I put the apples in a cabinet and got some pasta and another bag of corn puffs, using the price checker to confirm that they were both still discounted, since it was the last day of that sale and the prices had already been changed back to the regular ones. What was concerning was that a guy who coughed and had sores on his legs was in line and I spent quite some time there, and after the second checkout reopened and the two women whom I had allowed ahead of me moved to it and I followed them, in good part in order to once again avoid being right behind him, I ended up right next to him, so it was pretty much the same thing. On the other hand, the cashier was laughing her butt off at what the old woman who had been helped by the guard, and allowed ahead by me and that other woman, and in fact for whom that second checkout had even been reopened at that time, had said just before hobbling away, and she forgot to give me the receipt, and I was also snorting and didn’t press for it, just retrieving the apples and adding the new purchases into a bag.
I got back at a little after 7:40 PM, initially meaning to leave again, but after eating something sweet and one of the older apples, putting the pasta and corn puffs in their place, and making a couple of attempts to weigh the new apples, though it was only later that I managed to do so properly, on the kitchen scale, I checked and saw that Kaufland Basarabia, which I was considering going to, as well as the one from Pantelimon, which would have been the other option, had switched to closing at 11 PM, and I didn’t exactly care to get back at midnight, plus that I was uncertain whether the bakery discounts would be made at 10 PM or still at 9 PM, and the main reason to go out again was to get bread, so I gave up on the idea, did the day’s squats and went to wash, my left ear feeling clogged while I did so, and the feeling persisting after I was done. Either way, I then had lunch, but taking things way too slowly meant that I only ended up eating dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:25 AM, and I got in bed at 5:30 AM…

Well, at some point after 8 AM I was awake again. I’m not sure exactly when, since some time passed before I got up and went to pee, but while I didn’t hear the computer do the daily backup, it couldn’t have been long after that. And then I kept trying to figure out when to go and buy bread, and also more cat food of the other kind, and when to walk the route of the half marathon, so getting back to sleep was pretty much out of the question and a little after 9:20 AM I got back on the computer, only returning to bed when it was almost 10:30 AM. And, while I eventually got back to sleep, I really have no idea how much I slept before waking up again, since I then spent quite a long time in bed before finally getting up, so the fact that it was around 2:20 PM or so at that point doesn’t mean anything.
Soon after that, as I was eating a piece of cake which had been brought by dad from his sister, things got worse, since that filling that I kept thinking was loose for a long time fell out, picking a really bad time to do so, especially since the dentists that I was going to are on vacation until after Easter, so I still have a hole there. And that ear remained clogged, which made me feel weird, and as the day continued I started feeling worse in general, even worrying that I might start to have a fever, and while I did take a nap late in the evening, at night I was feeling quite out of it and there seemed to be some crap in my chest as well. But I did feel somewhat better after dinner, which I ate between 3:20 AM and 4:05 AM. And I got in bed at 5:25 AM, and by the time I got up I had pretty much recovered, so I was probably just exhausted… But now I’m starting to have the digestive problems that may be associated with the supplements that I’m taking, so I’ll have to see how that will turn out.

I managed to write everything except the part about the rest of April 28, after the run, before going to bed this morning, since that part’s longer and I wanted to finish as many sections as possible before posting. But, with the plan for today being to walk the route, I obviously couldn’t add anything else by the end of the day, and this has to be the week’s first post, so I scheduled it to be posted in that form at 11:59 PM, to mark the fact that it wasn’t finished at that point. But I managed to finish that part as well and add it the next afternoon, before really thinking about the week’s second post.