Cav's Place

Once again, after actually managing to post the week’s first post in full, the second one initially ends up being just a placeholder, especially since I went out again today. But, even if it just contains four paragraphs, if you also count this one, at least this placeholder does include the relevant part about testing the new UPS one more time, the rest of that day just being a matter of odds and ends that I’m adding because that’s what I usually do, and I edited the post in order to add the rest of that part Monday evening. But then I had to edit it again in order to also add the part about yesterday, and I only managed to do that in the early hours of Friday.

Right after getting up on September 19, I did 200 squats, to be sure that I had caught up, since the 200 done the previous day had made up for skipping September 17, but all that I recalled about September 16 was that I had kept putting them off, and by the time I went to bed that morning I just couldn’t remember whether I had done them before going to the kitchen at night or got right on the computer after seeing that dad was going to bed and they went right out of my mind. Either way, after dad left I took the new UPS to the living room and plugged its data cable into his computer, without installing the software, though I couldn’t figure out what he had plugged into the extension cord that’s next to the desk, so I ended up using two other extension cords to just plug in the light bulb from the balcony into the UPS, to have at least that small power draw… And I confirmed that it’s not the UPS itself that’s the problem, since the data connection wasn’t lost in two and a quarter hours, until I turned the computer off, before leaving, which I did at 7:10 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol that dad had emptied and the can which I had returned with and straightened two days earlier.
I went to put those recyclables in the machine from the nearby Mega Image, though that straightened can wasn’t accepted, and the cashier said that they couldn’t do anything about it when I asked, so I just cashed in the voucher for the others. However, I had noticed a bag full of other recyclables left in front of the store when I walked in, and it was still there when I left, so I looked inside and took it when I found that all of the recyclables had the deposit symbol. I wasn’t about to go back in with it, but I just took it to Carrefour, even if that meant wandering around with it for a while, since I had found out that a run was taking place in the park two days later and it was free, so I had signed up and wanted to walk the part from the beginning and the end of the route, the rest of it consisting of one lap around the lake. And the way the route was listed on the map made no sense to me, the logical way being to switch the direction at the start, so I walked those two portions in both directions, just in case there had been a mistake. Then I finally used the recycling machine from Carrefour, which accepted everything from that bag and one of the three recyclables which I had found there, so after also leaving that bag there I walked away with the other two recyclables and that can, which wasn’t accepted there either. And I didn’t go to the information desk to ask for the money for those, entering the store with them after washing my hands and just getting some garlic and cashing in the voucher, since its value was higher than the price of the garlic. And I still had to use a regular checkout…
After putting the garlic in the backpack, I continued to Penny, noticing that the recycling machine wasn’t working, entering with everything, and seeing that green onions were listed among the vegetables that were at half price in the evening and quite a number of bundles were left, some of them looking like they might be worth it even if a good part of the tops were cut off. But I just walked back out at first, continuing to that Kaufland, putting those two remaining recyclables which I had picked up from Carrefour in the recycling machine from there, though that straightened can still wasn’t accepted, putting my things in a cabinet… And noticing a spider on the bottom of the bag where I had that straightened can, so I shook it off and then squashed it. Then I peed and washed my hands, entering the store at 9:10 PM and noticing that they were out of green onions, even though they are among the products that they guarantee will always be available, saying that if they’re not you can ask for a 10 RON voucher from the information desk. And, even though they’re often out of green onions before closing time and I never tried to ask for that voucher before, I really considered it that evening… But I still didn’t do it, just having a look at the bakery products, since the discount labels which had been placed listed discounts of 75%, but I also scanned a couple of labels from products that didn’t have those labels and I confirmed that the 75% discount applied to them as well. But I didn’t buy anything then, just walking back out through the entrance gates when someone else walked in, since nobody from the information desk was paying attention while I stood at the exit gate for a little while, rushing back to Penny and buying a bundle of green onions from there, which were indeed at half price. And I also got some more popcorn, wondering if it won’t end up full of weevils once again.
After rushing back to Kaufland and adding those purchases in the cabinet, I once again considered asking for that voucher, but still didn’t, and now that I actually read the terms and conditions I found that you have to ask for it after making purchases, since it’s granted on the basis of a receipt that must be no more than 30 minutes old, and after they check that the product you ask for isn’t available in storage either, and such a delay would have been quite a problem at that point, seeing as, after washing my hands again, it was a couple of minutes after 9:30 PM when I went back into the store. Then I scanned a few more labels from the bakery area and also used that price checker to check some ingredients, eventually taking two pastries that I thought were sweet, though one turned out to be just greasy… Either way, I then saw a 50% discount for some goat cheese and asked for a small piece, though when I received it and read the label I found that it only contained 50% goat milk, the other 50% being cow milk. There was another kind that might have actually been “proper” goat cheese, since it was discounted by more than 50% but remained significantly more expensive, but it was only because I had found that bag of recyclables with the deposit symbol that I even got that piece, so the other kind was out of the question and, with no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables, I just added a small yogurt and some pizza dough, then went to the self-checkouts and rushed straight to the machine that was freed when I got there, not noticing any line… Only for another man to yell that he had been in line, so I apologized and stepped away, waiting for another machine to be freed and then using the voucher received for those recyclables and typing in the code for dad’s digital store card, since I had decided to use it that time and the machine refused to scan the picture of the QR code.
The closing announcement came while I was in the checkout area, possibly while I was using the machine, though it might have been even before that, so after retrieving my things and arranging everything, I had to walk out through the emergency exit… At which point I saw that it was raining quite seriously. So checking that Profi on the way back, entering with everything, also served to get me out of the rain. And, while I still didn’t find any of those canned mushrooms that were supposed to be on sale for such a good price, I grabbed some expiring falafel, needing to use the manned checkout from the entrance, since at the exit I only saw self-checkouts that didn’t seem to accept cash. And when I walked back out, after adding that falafel in the backpack, the rain seemed to have stopped, though I eventually noticed that a light rain was still coming down.
I was back a couple of minutes after 11 PM. Then I put the purchases in their place, ate a few plums, a candy that dad had brought and lunch, and also took another pill, just in case, by which I don’t just mean that I had been in the rain, but mainly that dad obviously has something but, as usual, won’t even admit it. Either way, it was 12:45 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, and I was done just under an hour later, yet still managed to stick to the dinner schedule, somehow. And I’ll also mention here that no visits were recorded that day.

Moving on to yesterday, the problem was that the regulations for that run stated that participants could sign up on-line between September 16 and 20 or on location that morning, between 8 AM and 12 PM, but all had to pick up their numbers that morning, yet it wasn’t specified whether that had to be done between those same hours or after, just before the start, the start times being between 1 PM and 3 PM, 30 minutes apart, depending on the category, with the possibility of delays, and I was among the “veterans”, being over 35, and those were going to be the last to start. So I had sent a question about this, and also about the beginning and the end of the route, but I hadn’t received any reply, and while I didn’t check again when I woke up a little after 8:30 AM and just went to pee, nor a little after 9:30 AM, when I woke up again and just checked the time, when I woke up yet again, a little before 10 AM, I did check, but there was still no reply, and that remained the case when I looked one more time, after the alarm rang, at 10:30 AM. So I got up, made the tea, ate an apple, put on the running tights and the t-shirt from last year’s marathon, after having decided pretty much on the spot to wear a different one and selecting that one after a quick look, and left at 11:20 AM.
I got there just after 11:30 AM and found that the numbers were indeed handed out at that point, but when the guy who was before me wanted to confirm the start time of 3 PM, since he was in the same category, he was told that the organizers had said that everyone should be there at 1 PM because they may rush the starts, and the reason seemed to be the low number of participants, since they seemed to just be handing out the numbers in order and assigning the names to them on the spot and, after handing over the form which I had filled and signed ahead of time, I received number 109 despite being there close to the end of the registration period. But I obviously wasn’t going to stay there, so I then made my way back, receiving some coffee from a promoter at the park exit.
I was back just before 11:50 AM, leaving that coffee for dad to take to mother and deciding to get back to the park well before 2 PM, in case they’ll lump together more of the categories and end up with three starts instead of five. That seemed like the worst that could happen, since mixing the people with disabilities and the children with the rest struck me as impossible, but if they were going to do it and I was going to miss the start then so be it, since getting back to the park by 1 PM was clearly impossible. I mean, even this meant rushing the preparations, and after eating the yogurt with cereals and baked almonds with Himalayan salt mixed in, it proved to be too early to leave everything in the toilet and I couldn’t lose even more time, so I put on the number, the simple fact that they had punched holes in the corners making it so much easier to do that, took the supplements, with the obvious exception of the second pill for the iron and the one for joints, and left a little after 1:20 PM, with a few things in the pocket of my tights, including a bar that I was going to eat there. And I also took a candle, which I lit at the church, for a reason that’s probably not my story to tell, so I won’t. Either way, the fact that the reported temperature was about 25°C at that point is irrelevant, but it shouldn’t have changed much, the forecast listing about 26°C later, though I didn’t even check again after getting back.
Well, when I got there I went to the tent where they were offering various things to the participants and took and ate a banana, after asking whether I could take something, being told that I could take anything I wanted but meaning to return and take more things after the run… And then I ended up wasting a lot of time, and nobody even seemed to know anything about the actual start times… But saying that, instead of the schedule being rushed, there had been delays. And when I asked for specifics, those from that tent sent me to the registration tent, even though that area was closed off at that point, someone from there sending me to the tents from the start area, the gendarmes who seemed to be guarding the gazebo where some of the organizers or volunteers seemed to be saying that they couldn’t even hear what was said on the stage and therefore didn’t even know which category had started already, someone from one of the tents from the start area just reading the listed schedule and saying that the “veterans” were supposed to start at 3 PM but also mentioning the delays, and someone who asked whether she could help me when she saw me wandering around the organizers’ tents and probably looking quite confused saying that the delay had been caused by most of those who had registered on-line arriving right around noon to pick up their numbers, so there were in fact quite a lot of participants and the first category started half an hour later than scheduled, because it took that long to hand out those numbers, but gesturing vaguely back towards the registration area when I asked for specifics, and when I said that I had been there and had been sent to the start area she agreed that there was some confusion, explaining that a single person handled those matters and asking me to wait a little before rushing away… But I stood there for several minutes and she didn’t return, so I eventually wandered away.
Since the next category was announced as the “seniors”, which meant those between 19 and 35, I worried that they had changed the order and the “veterans” had started first, especially after the first person who finished really didn’t seem disabled, having managed an outstanding time and appearing to see, despite wearing dark glasses. But I did eventually exchange a few words with a couple of other participants and learned that the disabled people were indeed the first category, and some time later those in wheelchairs or who were obviously blind and accompanied during the run started appearing, making things clear. So, after holding it in my hand for a while and then meaning to put it back in my pocket, I changed my mind and ate that bar quite early, since I noticed that it had started to melt… And then I just stood around and wasted a lot of time. Since plenty of recyclables with the deposit symbol were obviously being discarded in that area and I had seen some people, including some of those that I regularly see checking the garbage cans from the park, start grabbing them, at one point I considered grabbing some and taking them to Carrefour, but I didn’t, just continuing to waste time and stay around all those people, which was likely another bad idea even if it was outdoors, until the other categories started and the “veterans”, which were indeed the last ones, were finally next, at which point I went to pee, washed my hands at one of those portable things, and then joined the crowd when we were asked to get ready, initially on the sides of the starting area, to leave a space down the middle for the last ones from the previous categories, which were yet to finish.
I’m not sure when the start was finally given, but it was well past 3 PM, probably closer to 3:30 PM, and with both categories of “veterans” starting together, and with these categories having the most participants anyway, there were quite a lot of people and I hadn’t placed myself among the first few lines, plus that I was right at the edge, and that starting portion was quite narrow, so it wasn’t easy to advance at first, and after I had to quickly avoid slamming into someone, or more exactly into the chair that they were sitting on and had pushed back and onto the path, I was even more wary of taking risks, so while others were finding ways to squeeze through or around, taking to the grass and pushing past, I found myself rather stuck behind a much slower woman for much, if not most, of those first 300 meters or so, only finally making my way through when we were about to reach the path around the lake. And then I quickly went past a few others and found myself in a strangely empty space, between groups. But the group that was ahead began to slowly scatter within seconds and I pretty quickly made my way through those that were falling behind, so it wasn’t long until there were just three people ahead of me that I thought I still had a chance to catch. That wasn’t easy, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was only running a little more than one lap, so I could push harder than I’d ever consider pushing on the first lap of a regular run, but I eventually managed it, gradually closing in, staying behind each of them for a little while and then gritting my teeth for a burst of speed.
I was thinking of checking the times for what would have normally been sectors two and three and/or for the lap, as in between the moment when I reached the path around the lake and the one when I passed by that spot the second time, before turning towards the finishing portion, but I didn’t, just having a quick look after passing the last of those three runners… And all that I remember is that I saw a little over 12 minutes at that point, possibly less than 12:10, but I’m not even sure of that and I definitely don’t know anything more specific. But that makes sense, since I definitely passed that guy before the peacock enclosure, if not even just before that straight, which would make it a little over one kilometer before the end. And I was quite certain that I won’t advance any more than that unless somebody was going to have worse problems than me with that bad climb… Yet the next guy who was ahead of me just stopped right after what would normally be the starting area for one of my regular runs, and shortly after turning towards the finishing portion and therefore starting that climb I passed a woman who had slowed to a walk. Two more guys were ahead, but they dealt better with that climb, and while I reduced the distance a little after the end of it, on the portion that goes down, I was way too far to have any chance to catch them, my main goal being to avoid being caught by that guy whom I had passed before the peacocks, since he was just a couple of steps behind me when I turned to look, at the start of that climb.
Well, the next person ended up finishing 18 seconds behind me, so I guess that he couldn’t deal with that climb. And I was pleasantly surprised by my time, since I initially thought that I’ll be aiming for about 18 minutes but saw 16:49 on my stopwatch and then 16:51 in the official results, which were also displayed on the spot, on a screen. On the other hand, I was unpleasantly surprised by my position, especially since I had kept gaining positions around the lake and never saw more than a handful of runners ahead of me after getting through the rest of that group and setting my sights on those three that I eventually passed, so while I knew that the winners must have been some five minutes faster, I fully expected to be in the top 30 in my category, men between 35 and 49, since that was how the results were displayed, and probably somewhere around the 50th place among all of those who had started at the same time, so all of those 35 and over. But I found myself the 45th in my category, and when I got back I saw that there had been a total of 65, or 66 if you include the guy who didn’t finish, so I was in the bottom third, and putting together the results says that I had been the 73rd among those 35 and over, and that was out of 164, or 165 if you include the guy who didn’t finish. And I might have managed to gain a few more seconds if I’d have been more confident from the beginning, and some more if I’d have taken more risks on that starting portion, but the very best possible result would have likely been gaining one or maybe at most two positions overall, and I don’t see how I could have gained any position in my category, the 44th having finished 17 seconds ahead… And my nose was awfully irritated after the run.
But let me get back to what happened right after I finished, when I was pointed to a table where I received the t-shirt and a bottle of water, but while I seemed to remember reading in the regulations that the t-shirt was offered when the number, with the timing chip, was returned, they didn’t ask for it, and I didn’t see others handing back the number either, so I didn’t take it off at that point. Then, after going to the screen and waiting until I saw my position, I pulled out the bag that I had taken for this purpose and meant to start picking up some recyclables with the deposit symbol… But when I picked up the first ones, which were scattered behind a bench, some other participants who were nearby thanked me for cleaning up and handed me their bottles as well, which made me feel really awkward, so I thanked them while they were thanking me, muttered something about taking them if I could, and when one guy told me to also empty and take two that were next to a tree, I hurried away, saying that somebody might still want those, since they were mostly full. And then I just quickly glanced in a few garbage cans as I hesitantly made my way back to the tent where they were handing out various things, but I might not have seen anything else, because I seem to remember just having six bottles when I got there.
Either way, after grabbing two apples, a Lipton and a Gatorade, I sat down for a little while, near a teenager who asked me to take something for him too, I think initially a Gatorade and then at least a Pepsi, since they weren’t offering any of those to minors, but I refused, and when he insisted things got quite awkward, the fact that a man had also just asked whether I had a spare bag and I told him that I didn’t making it even worse. And then someone else grabbed something for that teen and the people who were there shouted at him to at least go away, because they were going to get in trouble if he’ll be seen drinking next to them. But, after I took a banana as well and had what was perhaps too obvious of a look at the closed boxes of candies, without anybody asking whether I wanted any, I walked away, finally took off the number and washed my hands at one of those portable things from the other side of that area… At which point I found myself next to that teen again, who proceeded to complain that I hadn’t grabbed anything for him. But I just ignored him and returned to the starting area, albeit on the other side, so I won’t pass by those people again, and I grabbed a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol from the top of a couple of trash cans. And then, even though I like some of the songs of the singer who was on the stage then and I had some interest in one that was going to sing later as well, I hesitantly made my way to Carrefour, not wanting to stick around much longer.
At least I looked for some more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way, getting less apprehensive about making it obvious as I went along, so I had 18 when I entered that mall, found some more around the recycling machine, and ended up putting in 23 and walking away with three that weren’t accepted. And I found a couple more in the bin that’s right in front of the entrance to Carrefour, I believe after getting back there, though I’m not absolutely sure of that. Either way, I then put everything in a cabinet, taking everything out of the bag that didn’t hold those remaining recyclables, since it was the only other one I had, went to wash my hands, and bought what I wanted, using the voucher received for those recyclables and correctly receiving one with 30% of the value of the purchases on the receipt, since all of the products were covered by that deal those days.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet and managing to arrange everything into that bag, I made my way back, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, including a crushed can that I tried to partially straighten in my hand, and using the recycling machine from the nearby Mega Image, which accepted all but two of the three which hadn’t been accepted at Carrefour, so it even accepted that can that was still pretty crushed. And then I just cashed in that voucher and got back here. Somebody had dumped quite a number of recyclables with the deposit symbol in the trash can from the entrance by the time I walked back out, but I didn’t pick up any of them, having doubts that I could get the one plastic bottle to be accepted, the label being torn in a way that seemed to affect the edge of the bar code, and the rest seemed to be the sort of thing that usually isn’t accepted, and they were also glass bottles, so they were going to be rather heavy.
I got back just before 5:25 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate watermelon, left the croissants which I had purchased from Carrefour on the table but put all of the other things in their place, did the day’s squats, ate a small bag of salty peanuts, and then I went to the toilet and washed. After that, I ate that pastry from Kaufland that I thought was a sweet but ended up being just greasy, and after finishing and posting that day’s post I made mamaliga, but what I mixed in there sure made it taste weird, so I hoped that it was at least safe to eat, including in the long term… And I had also used some of that very old milk from the freezer, which was probably why some of it got stuck to the bottom of the cast iron pot. And my nose continued to be terribly irritated, so at night I finally used that aromatherapy lamp again, just in case it would help a little… Not that it did. Either way, I went to bed at 5:25 AM.