Cav's Place

This is definitely an “odds and ends” post, and the last period covered by something like this was June of 2023, but I’m obviously still not going to finish writing about this year’s Dream Trek, can’t move on to the following runs until I do that, and really can’t get myself to write about something non-personal, at least not in a way that it’d do the issue even the slightest sort of justice, since I have a number of things that I meant to comment on but discarded all of them because it’d be just wrong to write a post that’d be only a quick and largely irrelevant comment about an important matter. So, seeing as I absolutely need to write this week’s first post today, I’ll waste a personal “slot” on yesterday, using the fact that I purchased some state bonds again, and also got some new pajamas and slippers, as an excuse for it, seeing as that makes it slightly more than just a regular day when I went to some stores.

Actually, let me add something else, so it won’t just be about one day. And that other thing is that on Wednesday I finally moved the yucca into the larger pot. I quickly vacuumed that area after that, since a little soil had spilled, and also the most obvious dirt that was around the chair and the door, but that couldn’t possibly count as even the lightest form of cleaning my room, so the last time I did that remains back in February, unless I’m missing something, which I doubt. And I’m not sure that I moved that yucca properly either, since I’m quite sure that I didn’t compact the soil properly and the plant isn’t quite straight either. And at night, after once again selecting cucumbers, to use the worst of those remaining from the ones which I had purchased with a really deep evening discount, and struggling to get that sticky crap that seems to be on them off my hands, I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:20 AM, but really rushed and still finished at 3:40 AM.

To move on to yesterday, I got up when the alarm rang, at 10 AM, and left at 12:15 PM, dropping a bag of trash down the chute on my way out. I had dad’s metro card and also took the recyclables with the deposit symbol, except those that I knew weren’t going to be accepted, but I first went to the Sector 3 Treasury, since I wanted to get some state bonds again. And, after picking up two more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way, it was almost 12:40 PM when I got there, and seeing that the signs about state bonds still listed the information for the previous period when it was the last day of the current one made me wary, though the interest rates were the same, so that might have been the reason. Either way, I said that I wanted to get some state bonds and was told to quickly go to the door that’s on the stairwell, which seemed to only be for receiving money before, so I did, and the person who was there seemed a little bothered, saying that I had left it not just for the last day but for the final minutes, since they end cash operations at 1 PM on Friday. But she seemed in relatively good humor, did her job and then told me to hurry upstairs, and the rest of the procedure was completed soon after I got there, and I decided to get those state bonds for three years, since it was a relatively small amount and the interest rates were likely to only get lower. And I was walking out ten minutes after walking in.
Then I went to that Kaufland and used the recycling machine, at which point I noticed that three of the beer cans left by dad in the living room didn’t have the deposit symbol, so I just held on to those, and then I also grabbed a bag of recyclables left by someone who had been ahead of me, knowing that the recyclables in it weren’t being accepted by the machine, so I didn’t even try to put them in myself but, after a quick look, thought that they all had the deposit symbol, at least. Then I washed my hands, dashing to the women’s for soap, and entered the store at 1:10 PM, with those recyclables. Toilet paper and paper towels are discounted by 30% these days, and the large pack of the kind of toilet paper that I usually get had a regular discount as well, so I wondered whether there was any chance of the discounts stacking, but none of those large packs were left. Yet I saw some of the smaller packs, and those were also listed as discounted, the listed price actually being 30% lower than the regular one, but that price actually showed up when I used a price checker, and that pack also has that additional 10% discount if you use the store card, so I wondered what would happen if I tried to buy one and used a self-checkout… But only that additional 10% applied, so I walked away, put the toilet paper back, and just got some paper towels, cheese and one box of walnuts with Himalayan salt that were discounted by 50% and when I first checked I thought that they expired in a week and a half. But that was either wrong, which I doubt, or some expired then and others a week before that date, so in just a few days, and when I picked one based on how the walnuts looked I didn’t check the date again and ended up with one of those. And I shouldn’t have bought one from there anyway, but I couldn’t have known that at the time.
After putting the purchases in the small backpack, I walked to Carrefour Unirii, grabbing a Kaufland catalog from a stack that was on the handle of a building’s door and checking it on the way. I wanted to try those recyclables at a recycling machine from there before walking in the store, but just one worked and it was in use by two women who had a few bags of recyclables, so after waiting for a little while I gave up and entered the store, with everything, since I couldn’t find any free cabinet. But I found nothing to get, so I then just walked back out, the guard asking me to show him the bags at that point, not saying anything about the backpack and waving me through after I quickly showed him that I just had recyclables in one bag. Then I looked at the recycling machine again and found that it was free, a guy walking away but noticing me and saying that I had been there before and had left, and he stayed close by as I tried one of the plastic bottles a few times, telling me to move it around a little or try something else first when it didn’t work, but when I tried one of the glass bottles and that was also refused he noticed that it didn’t have the deposit symbol, and I also realized that when I looked again, so I threw that one away and then gave up, telling that guy that I was just trying what hadn’t been accepted elsewhere, and he apologized, making me think that he worked there, though he didn’t look like it.
Then I finally took the metro, meaning to go to Auchan Titan, but ending up using the wrong exit at that station and then also going the wrong way, and when I realized it I decided to get back to the metro station and go to Pallady instead, which I had realized was an option while on the metro. But I just missed a metro when I got back there, ending up waiting for a good eight minutes for the next one. But I got there after that, trying all of those recyclables in that recycling machine, but it didn’t accept any of them, so I entered the store with everything.
I was mainly looking for slippers and found some that had a discount listed, and I was surprised to also find a discounted pajama that might just be acceptable. It’s made in Bangladesh and I didn’t really like how it looked, but I eventually decided to get the one that was in size S and was also listed as made of 100% cotton, hoping that the listed price really was for all of it, though it had no single label, the blouse and the pants having their own, but the bar code was the same and they were stapled together. However, the problem appeared when I used a price checker for those slippers, the full price showing up, and that remained the case even when I scanned the price label! And then I also found slippers that were just like my current ones, which are badly torn, but those had no discount, so I didn’t care to get another pair, but I found others that were discounted, and had a lower base price too, and while they were clearly worse, and also black, I decided to get one pair of those in the end, just to have something. And then I found water for dad as well, so I got a pack. And at the self-checkout an employee came right away after I scanned one of the labels for the pajamas, taking them away and saying that they certainly had an alarm, bringing them back, without having removed the hanger, which is a kind that dad actually wanted, when I held my hand up when the water accidentally scanned again when I moved it across the machine, after entering the six bottles the first time. At first she entered five more, then realized that I had entered all six and removed those five. And I think that it was another employee who took the receipt and scanned it for me at the gate as I was struggling to carry that water, at which point I noticed that the guard was standing it front of me, but he eventually stepped aside without a word.
After arranging everything, putting most of the purchases in the large backpack, which I had also taken with me, and just leaving the cheese and those walnuts in the small one, I accidentally still put the small backpack on first, and then put the large one over it. As soon as I stood up, I realized the problem and moved it in front, but the damage was done, since the cheese, which hadn’t leaked at all until then, started leaking after that, as I realized after getting to that Kaufland and putting everything in a cabinet. But at least I found those large packs of toilet paper in that location, taking one to a self-checkout and confirming that the 30% discount did apply to the price that already had a regular discount. There was no additional 10% discount on top of that, as the smaller packs have, but the price was great anyway, so I paid for that one but didn’t walk out, rushing back and getting another pack, making sure to keep the receipt for the first one very visible, though nobody seemed to check when I just paid for the second one and then walked out with both.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging everything, I picked up another recyclable with the deposit symbol just as I reached the metro station and then took the metro again, getting off at Dristor and going to Tei, where I managed to stuff the other things into two cabinets, but the large backpack obviously wouldn’t fit, so I left it next to the guards, then got what I wanted. However, after adding the new purchases in the large backpack, the alarm rang when I walked out, and while those guards didn’t say anything, I remembered the one from Auchan and was pretty certain that the employee hadn’t removed both alarms from the pajamas. But that wasn’t a problem at that point, so I just retrieved what I had in the cabinets and made my way back.
I got back for the first time at 7:10 PM, with about 20 kg, though I only checked the total weight, without also weighing myself without anything, and when I did weigh myself after getting back the second time, the difference was just under 20 kg, but after getting back that first time, putting the purchases in their place and washing a few things, I had eaten watermelon, some salty pretzels and lunch, and had drank some tea as well. I had considered eating those walnuts instead of those pretzels, but I decided to save them for the following run, which was another poor choice. Either way, I left again a few minutes before 10 PM.
I rushed to the Kaufland that I knew closed at 11 PM, and that was still what was listed at the entrance, but after washing my hands, just with water, in the room for disabled people, since I saw cleaning equipment when I opened the door to the men’s and didn’t even poke my head in to check whether the cleaner was actually there, I noticed that multiple cleaners were at work, the gate was wide open and I only saw two employees on the main aisle, so I asked a cleaner if they weren’t still open until 11 PM, entering a little after 10:20 PM, after she confirmed that they were. Then I scanned a few price labels from the bakery area, finding that they were correct, so there were some products with no discounts and one that just had the regular discount, and I just got two sweet pastries that did have the 50% evening discount, and the full price was also lower than it used to be… And then I spotted two boxes of those expiring walnuts with Himalayan salt that were discounted by 80%! And the expiration date was the same as the real one for the ones which I had bought earlier, though at the time I thought that it was a week earlier. But I still got those as well, and then just some parsnip roots for dad that had a deep evening discount, plus a handful of plums, since they were listed as being from Romania, some of them did look like they might really be, and the evening discount made them a little cheaper than those from Moldova which I had bought four days earlier, so I shouldn’t have bought those.
When the gate wouldn’t open when I was trying to scan the receipt, the woman who came behind me asked whether I’d let her try to scan hers, and while at first that didn’t work either, the gate finally did open just when she called an employee to help. So I followed her out, after she waved me through right after she stepped out, so I ended up getting between her and the guy she was with… And they were next to me when I spotted a coin and picked it up, so she probably saw that and it might have been the reason for what happened next, which was quite similar to what happened three months earlier, just that this time around it happened outside, since I walked out right after them, still before closing time, she got to their car, which was parked right in front of the entrance, and then asked me to come over and wait, saying that she wanted to give me something. I just asked why and turned away, walking away rather slowly and awkwardly, because I wasn’t sure how to react, but she once again told me to wait and then came after me, holding a 10 RON bill in her outstretched hand and telling me to get myself something when I once again asked why. But I just said a firm no and hurried away, once again probably rather rudely. Not that I couldn’t use any little bit, but while I pick up anything I can find, and I also picked up another recyclable with the deposit symbol on the way back, it doesn’t feel right to just take money from a stranger when so many more, both people and causes, need it far more.
Either way, I got back at 11:20 PM, put the few purchases in their place, washed some of what was in the kitchen, ate one of the sweet pastries, saw that the alarm from the pajama blouse was indeed not removed and cut it away, which was easy, and went to the bathroom, to waste time on the toilet and then wash, at 12:45 AM. I was done a little after 1:40 AM, then I washed what was left in the kitchen, rearranged a couple of things in the fridge, and finally ate dinner between 4 AM and 4:30 AM. And then I noticed the real expiration date for those walnuts which had been discounted by only 50% and was even more unhappy that I had purchased them, especially since I am pretty certain that when I had first checked I had seen August 20, so ending up with one expiring on August 13 just meant that I hadn’t actually checked the one that I ended up getting. Then again, while I find it unlikely, there is also a chance that those expiring on August 20 were the ones from Pallady, where there were some among the expiring products as well but they were only discounted by 30%, and my mind mixed things up. But the fact remains that I shouldn’t have bought that one. Either way, I got in bed at 5:50 AM… And once again slept too little, but that’s been the rule for quite a while…

I guess that I could have just posted this right away, without scheduling it to show up at 11:59 PM, but it was hastily written and I thought that I’ll have plenty of changes and additions to make and couldn’t do so at the time, wanting to take a nap in the evening, yet after managing to catch up on some sleep and eating dinner, I went through it and only made a relatively normal number of edits, pretty similar to what I tend to do after many posts. So, just to justify the fact that it was scheduled to be posted at 11:59 PM in some way, I’ll also add that I’m still using those torn slippers, at this point the plan being to start using the new ones after I’ll wake up, and I also washed the new pajamas today and, while the blouse seems relatively fine, at least at a glance, the pants are the kind that seems to attract any sort of dirt, so they came out of the washing machine with white areas, I guess from the detergent, since I can rub them off pretty easily if I take the time, and various bits of lint and hair. And the material obviously feels different as well, making me question the label that states that they’re also made of 100% cotton…