Cav's Place

I’ll start what’s basically just another placeholder for a post, initially limited to just this first section, the rest only being added Friday afternoon, from the early hours of May 6, when I ate dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:20 AM. However, in the early hours of May 7, after shaving, selecting the apple, putting the cereals in a bowl, thinking that I’ll just have the yogurt to add, and making the tea for the morning, I ate dinner between 1:30 AM and 2:30 AM. Liza was going to the litter box pretty much constantly, which was also going to make sleeping quite a problem, and I was starting to worry that she might be struggling to pee as well, but those “trips” have once again started to be “productive” since then and dad’s yet to take her to the vet, so I’ll leave that for a time when I’ll have more to say and get back to that night, when I got in bed at 3:30 AM and, despite a concerning e-mail sent by dad, I managed to fall asleep pretty quickly, and I also got back to sleep particularly quickly after each of the three times when I woke up, also going to pee on two of those occasions.
I got up when the alarm rang, at 8 AM, rather worried that I was drenched in sweat, which had also been the case the other times when I woke up that night, and my left foot was burning as well… And minutes later the UPS kicked in, and the fact that it actually beeped and an alarm started outside made it pretty clear that the reason was an actual outage, but it just logged “electrical noise”, which happened again a few minutes later, though by then I was in the kitchen and didn’t hear whether it beeped again or not. But there was an obvious outage, lasting almost a minute, at 8:30 AM, just after I got back to my room, and at that point I went back and unplugged the fridge, to be on the safe side. Then I had the usual stuff, also adding the baked almonds with Himalayan salt into the yogurt and cereals, having realized that I had forgotten to put them into the bowl at night, and the sweet thing consisted of two more of those somewhat nicer biscuits, with added honey. I also took the supplements, wasted some time on the toilet, which was rather surprising despite the early hour, since it felt like I shouldn’t have that problem, plugged the fridge back in, and left at 9:45 AM, wearing the full running gear, which obviously included the new shoes once again. The reported temperature varied between 17°C and 21°C, depending on the source, and it was about 22°C when I was done. And on the way to the park I realized that I had forgotten to pee one more time before leaving, and I might have had time to use the toilet from the park, seeing as I took it easy and still waited for about one minute in order to start right at 10 AM, but just as I turned towards it another guy was about to enter, so I gave up on the idea, and it didn’t matter anyway.
The time was 47:12.79, with sector times of 4:20.42, 5:00.56, 5:46 (5:45.72), 4:22.09, 4:56.07, 5:43 (5:42.81), 4:28.19, 4:59 (4:58.37), 5:49.00 and 1:49.56, making for lap times of 15:06.70, 15:01 (15:00.97) and 15:16 (15:15.56). On the tenth day of taking those supplements, I definitely aimed to stay well under 48 minutes, but the first sector’s time didn’t look good, making me worry that I won’t even stay on that pace on the first lap, which led to wondering whether I should try to switch to 16 km. But I pushed more from sector two and that sector’s time was better than expected, and so was sector three’s, leading to a pretty good lap time. However, I assumed that I’ll get slower after that first lap, so I pushed even more on lap two, on sector two I was running like I had the finish in sight, and while that resulted in a particularly good time, halfway through sector three I was just about done, so I thought that from then on it was a matter of just getting to the end and wondered whether I’ll manage to limit the losses well enough to stay under 48 minutes after all, continuing to 16 km obviously being out of the question. But the time for sector three of lap two was a pleasant surprise, leading to a lap two time that was also really nice. Then, after losing less than I thought I would on sector one of lap three, the target became to get under 47:30, which seemed pretty certain after the next sector, which I once again surprised myself by covering in less than five minutes. And the next sector was also a few seconds faster than I thought it’d be, considering how tired I was, which led to aiming to get under 47:15 at the end, which I managed despite thinking that I really didn’t still have that in me. So I guess that those supplements were having an effect, this being the best time in exactly six months, but I wouldn’t call it good enough for a last run before a race…
I felt tired at first, my joints and muscles seeming to have a hard time to get going, but that kind of fatigue seemed to become less noticeable as time passed. Otherwise, my right knee gave some warnings at one point, but they quickly went away. But a certain pressing need was already making itself known on sector three of lap one, and after the start of lap two it got worse. It gradually lessened after that, but it definitely remained noticeable all the way to the end, even temporarily increasing in intensity at some points over the course of lap three. And, even at that temperature, I felt the heat and sweated a fair bit. On the other hand, on sector two of lap two I hesitated and might have stopped for just an instant when I had to avoid a woman who was pointing to something on or across the lake and then didn’t know which way to move when she noticed me, and on sector one of lap three I slowed and had to go very wide until I passed a little kid on what I believe was a tricycle who was moving towards me.

After getting back, I ate a banana, a large doughnut, with added jam, and an “egg salad”, with an entire bag of salted snacks instead of bread. Then, at 3:15 PM, I left again, but I wasn’t sure that I had closed the door to my room, so after locking I unlocked again and checked, then spent some time trying to put both backpacks on properly, since I had some old clothes and shoes that dad wanted to throw away in the large one, so it was past 3:20 PM when I actually walked out of the building… And quite some time later, when I was well on my way to Obor, when I realized that I had forgotten to take those other things that I take to Kaufland, and also that their campaign that was supposed to double the amount received for recyclables with the deposit symbol, under certain terms, ran on an actual calendar week, not a “Kaufland week”, Wednesday to Tuesday, so it had already started and I should have taken those as well, along with the unused voucher that I still had. I even stopped for a moment and considered turning back, but eventually decided against it. And I just picked up three plastic bottles with the deposit symbol on the way, shortly before reaching Obor. There were more recyclables in that area, and at least some of them probably also had the deposit symbol, but those were the ones that I could reach, through a fence and over a stream of particularly large ants, some of which ended up on me, so I did my best to brush them off and walked away, hoping that the small brown spot that I then saw on my sleeve was just regular dirt and not something worse.
Either way, I went straight to Kaufland, put those three bottles in the recycling machine, then washed my hands and tried to wash that spot from that sleeve a little as well, though it didn’t really work. The plan was to look for more of that food that dad likes to give Liza, since all pet food was discounted by 30%, which made it slightly cheaper than it had been at Auchan for the whole of April, so I was wondering whether I should put the difference as from “my” money, since I had bought a lot of it from there but I’ve been keeping it in my room until dad gives her more of the other kind, only giving her one when it was obvious that she was having problems, to see whether it made a difference. But I just found 31 of that kind left and took all of them, so I couldn’t have gotten the others then as well, meaning that I still bought the entire quantity at the best possible price. And then I saw that the discounted price for the food for my mother’s cats wasn’t actually listed as a discount, even if the labels were red, maybe because it had been discounted to the same price not long before, so I thought that the 30% discount should apply to those as well and took a box of the one kind of the three that my mother asks for that was still available. And then I also grabbed two expiring products, after taking some time to look through what was available, and at the self-checkout the discounts did apply for all of the cat food and I also used the voucher received for those three bottles, after which I arranged the purchases in a bag… And grabbed a bottle with the deposit symbol from a trash can, but there were lines at the recycling machines, so I walked away with it.
I put the purchases and that bottle in a cabinet at Carrefour, then just got some expiring yogurt, beeping dad and asking him when he called back whether he wanted another expiring product, but he said that he didn’t. Then I retrieved my things from the cabinet, gathered some recyclables with the deposit symbol that were at the top of some trash cans from that mall, wanting to make full use of that campaign, washed my hands again, had a quick look through the farmers’ market, few sellers being there, and continued to Auchan, needing to leave the purchases and the recyclables in a cabinet that didn’t lock, none of those that did being free. But the fact that green onions had a 75% discount was a nice surprise, and it seemed highly unusual for Auchan, so I got two bundles, then the water for dad and, after stumbling into the new location of the non-refrigerated expiring products, some walnuts with pepper, an employee finishing with the customer whom she had been helping, walking over and entering the products even if I had been specifically standing in line at what had been the unmanned checkout. She did let me pay, so I also used the small amount that was on the store card, but I had pulled out all of the store cards and then couldn’t remember what I had done with them, seeing a stack of cards with one for Auchan at the top on the checkout but assuming that it was a stack of Auchan cards, as they tend to have there, so I dug through my pockets for a few moments, until that cashier handed me those cards and told me to take them when the next customer came. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, put all of the purchases in the large backpack, and struggled to put it on. And on the way back I grabbed some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, and also checked a Mega Image, leaving the large backpack and the recyclables next to the cabinets and then struggling once again to put that backpack back on.
I got back a little after 7:50 PM, with 22 kg, and it definitely looked like Liza’s problem was advancing and affecting peeing as well, since she barely seemed to squeeze out a few drops, so I was counting the days, but when I later pressed dad again he repeated that we are the only priority for the moment, and we’re all waiting, since that came after I had told him that I could wait to replace that lost filling until next week, when he’ll get paid, pointed to Liza and said that something else’s more urgent. But I did tell him that I still had some money and the next day he said that he had talked to the vet and asked for them, to cover some initial tests… But then she started leaving both things in the litter box again and, even though she’s struggling and something’s obviously wrong, dad changed his mind again, telling me to take back those money, and he’s yet to take her anywhere.
To return to that evening, I put the purchases in their place, did the same for what dad had brought, drank the last drink taken after last year’s Dream Trek that I had left, even if it had supposedly expired back in March, did the day’s squats, washed, and ate the pizza which had been brought by dad in the morning, which was actually some three quarters of an entire pizza, not just some slices. And since I ate that late in the evening, finishing somewhere around 12:30 AM, I was stuffed, so I really should have just made the salad and eaten the pizza as dinner, with the egg salad counting as lunch, but as it was, I eventually managed to also have dinner, between 3:20 AM and 4:05 AM, even if it felt like too much. And I got in bed at 5:20 AM.

After seeing that no visits were recorded the previous day, in the early hours of May 9 I started eating dinner at 3:05 AM, but still finished at 3:40 AM, though I then got in bed at 5:25 AM. And in the afternoon I went to pick up the race kit, I believe leaving at 5:15 PM, though it might have been a little earlier. Either way, I had dad’s metro card, but also took the recyclables with the deposit symbol, as well as those other things that I take to Kaufland and that voucher that I had forgotten two days earlier, since I was going to Kaufland first.
I picked up four more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way, then used the recycling machine, splitting what I had, so the vouchers will be easier to use. One bottle wasn’t working and, when I asked, the employee who was there said that 99% of the time those aren’t accepted, so I kept that one for another time… And as I was walking away I glanced in a large crate where some other recyclables were dumped and saw two full paper bags that actually had recyclables with the deposit symbol in them, so I took one and told another man who was also looking there at the time to take the other, but for some reason he just dug through it a little and then left it there, so I took both, as well as some more recyclables from another crate, and put those in as well, once again splitting them. And I have no idea why all of those recyclables had been discarded, since only two didn’t work, the employee telling me that one of them had been left there for that reason and then telling someone else that the brand of the other one wasn’t in the system and won’t be accepted, which proved true. However, I had arrived there with 47 recyclables, including the four picked up on the way, ended up putting in 80, and was left with three which weren’t accepted, and the rules state that the maximum amount that can be gained in that campaign is 50 RON, which means 100 recyclables. But it remains to be seen whether that will actually happen, since that employee told someone else that the additional voucher only worked with the digital card, in which case I won’t be able to make use of it. Either way, I then went to put those other things in the bin as well and washed my hands.
After taking the metro to Izvor and walking to Constitution Square, I got the race kit, and this time around I wasn’t asked anything when I gave the QR code to be scanned, the only question being about the size of the t-shirt, when I moved on to the place where those were handed out, even if you need to select it when you register. However, since the signs for the kits for the half marathon and 10 km races were next to each other, I wasn’t sure that I had received the correct bag, so after having a quick look in it I was standing around and kept glancing in that direction, hoping to see which box was used for which runners and what was written on the boxes, but I couldn’t see what was written on the box that my bag had been taken from and otherwise there didn’t seem to be a rule, and others were putting bags into those boxes that those who were handing them out were taking them from, so in the end I shrugged it off and walked away. And the kit did contain liquid magnesium, which was great, and should probably be enough to confirm that it was the correct one. Either way, I then placed the bag on some planks that were stacked outside of the “Sport Expo” area as I took the large backpack off in order to put that one on underneath it… The problem being that it had been raining and the water had pooled on those planks, so when I picked the bag back up, it was soaked. At least the material doesn’t easily allow water to seep through, but I had to wear it with that side away from me, and some water still dripped from it.
After that, I went to Carrefour Unirii, putting the large backpack in a cabinet, even if I had just those few recyclables in it, and entering with the one with the race kit, but then just walking out and retrieving that backpack. Then I took the metro to Obor and first checked Auchan, entering with everything and then needing to ask an employee to open the gate. And then I went straight to Kaufland, also meaning to put the few other recyclables with the deposit symbol which I had picked up on the way in that machine, and make another attempt for those which hadn’t been accepted at the other location, but none of the machines worked, and an employee came but nothing changed, people who had asked said that they had been told that it’ll take an hour, and when that employee was asked he said that they’re waiting for a technician, so I gave up, went to the toilet, and entered the store 8:35 PM, getting some things. Those didn’t include any bakery products, since it does seem that the evening discount is limited to 30% in that specific location, but included just a handful of the olives that were on sale that were already in a box, so I didn’t have to pay for that as well, though I was wondering whether the self-checkout would scan that, since the QR code on that label was different from that of the others that contained much larger quantities and the scanners from the store couldn’t seem to scan it. But at least they scanned a lettuce with root that didn’t seem to have a price label, so I saw that it had a pretty good evening discount and took that as well, then calculated which vouchers to use and used them at the self-checkout, having no problems with those olives either.
After arranging the purchases in a bag, I glanced at the recycling machines when I stepped out, but they still didn’t work, so I just continued to Carrefour, putting the bag with the purchases and another plastic bottle with the deposit symbol which I had picked up on the way in a cabinet and entering the store at 9:35 PM, getting the bio (organic) “Greek” yogurt that I wanted and a few other things, including two beets, after asking an employee where they were and finding just a handful left after he pointed me to them. I also wanted some tea that I meant to drink for a couple of days before the half marathon and which doesn’t seem to be available in any other hypermarket or supermarket that I go to except Carrefour, but I once again forgot to look for it. Either way, I was fast enough that the closing announcement only came as I was arranging my things, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet, despite needing to ask the guard to open it, since it acted as if the code was incorrect, and having to wait for her to finish talking to someone before she came to do so, though she then opened that cabinet without even asking what I had in there.
When I got to the metro station, I initially kept going, meaning to check the Mega Image that’s across that road, but it closed at 10 PM, so I just wasted a little time. Then I took the metro back… Only to once again forget to walk this last remaining part of the route, so I never actually walked it these days. And the bottle with the deposit symbol that I picked up after making that turn, on top of being dirty, had the same shape as that one that I had been told isn’t accepted 99% of the time. But I got back with ten recyclables with the deposit symbol, at least six of which should be accepted, and I only needed eight more in order to get to the 100 that’s supposed to be the maximum for the campaign, if it will work with the physical store card as well. Or eight if that older voucher, which had been received for nine recyclables, also counted, so if what matters is when you use it, not when you receive it. But, even if it didn’t, it meant still needing at most 11, so the plan to start gathering discarded bottles after the race wasn’t necessary anymore.
Either way, I got back a few minutes after 10:30 PM, washed that bottle a little, put most of the purchases in their place, ate an orange, a piece of cake and lunch, did the day’s squats, and went to wash at 1:15 AM. I was done at 2 AM, then I dealt with the bread which I had purchased for myself from Carrefour, used the worse leaves of the lettuce, also took another pill once again, just in case, and started eating dinner at 4:50 AM, being done a few minutes before 6 AM and getting in bed at 6:35 AM. However, it seemed that another tooth got a little chipped as I was eating, and I apparently forgot to take the second pill of the supplement for joints, so I took three the following day.