Writing About Walking the Route Instead of About the Marathon Itself
I should be writing about the marathon, especially since two weeks have already passed and I only have some rushed notes and the details are obviously slipping from my mind with every moment that passes. And, when it was such an achievement, I should want to write about that… But for quite a long time I just can’t get myself to write anymore, and today I definitely won’t get far anyway, so if I’d start that post I’d only cover what happened before the start, since that part is pretty much written already, and then most likely decide to stop there, without even meaning to edit the post later in order to add the rest, so I’d just waste a personal “slot” at a time when I burned through my buffer again and still not get to the actual run. As such, I’ll be writing about walking the route, and before midnight I only wrote the first four paragraphs of the part about October 3, editing the post in order to add the other five before going to bed in the morning. But in this case I finally edited the post again in order to add the part about October 4 in the early hours of Saturday, and Saturday afternoon I did so once more, adding the part about October 6 as well.
I’ll start with October 3, when the plan was to walk the longer part of the route but still be back to watch the match, so I had set the alarm to ring at 1 PM… But I was woken up at 8:36 AM by the UPS beeping. The blackout only lasted for a little over three and a half minutes, so I could keep the computer on and got back in bed after going to pee, but that gave me something else to worry about and I only caught a few brief naps after that, taking a long time to get back to sleep, waking up again when dad was getting ready to leave, deciding to pee one more time, just in case, after Liza finished the “concert” she started after he left, seeing that it was 10:55 AM at the time, once again taking quite some time to get back to sleep, and being woken up at 12:10 PM by another blackout. That lasted less than a minute, so I didn’t even get out of bed, but if I managed to fall asleep again after that, it was for mere moments, since I was awake again for at least a few minutes when I decided to check the time again and saw that it was 12:31 PM, at which point I meant to get up… But I just felt too tired, so I curled up in bed a little longer, finally getting up and turning off the alarm 20 minutes later, at which point I also did the day’s squats, before having lunch. And it was almost 3:15 PM when I left.
I got on the route from here, but I didn’t walk all the way to Constitution Square, knowing that I was going to walk that last part when I’ll pick up the race kit, so after having a look at the place where the route turns, at about 3.5 km, I took it as walking that part, so I turned when I reached Unirii Square and continued to Victory Square, where I entered that Mega Image, since I had picked up a number of recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way and I wanted to put them in the recycling machine. However, when the person who was before me got to use it, it reported that the bin was full, and I stepped through the gate after her, meaning to ask someone to come if she won’t. But the cashier noticed the issue and called someone over without either of us actually saying anything and I couldn’t walk back out through that same gate, but at least the exit was just steps away and the guy who was after me in the line for the recycling machine didn’t just point me to it, but also invited me to get back ahead of him after the employee just shook the bin a little and then restarted the machine. And I could put everything in, though I had one of those bottles with an odd shape and that did require multiple tries. On the other hand, there were several recyclables with the deposit symbol next to the machine, in a basket, but I didn’t pick them up or try to put any of them in, since I had seen another person try most of them and they hadn’t been accepted and I didn’t exactly care to carry them around all day. So I then just cashed in the voucher and continued on my way.
If I hadn’t seen anything notable on the route until then, things changed moments later, when I found that work was being done on Kiseleff and only two lanes were still available, so we were going to have to use a single lane in each direction and I wondered where were the organizers going to find room for the relay changing point and the refreshment point from that area. And I can’t say that I found out during the race either, since I had more important things to focus on at the time, but they somehow managed it. Either way, even if I had some more recyclables with the deposit symbol by the time I got back to Victory Square, I obviously didn’t go back to that Mega Image, continuing on my way until I stopped to use one of the better toilets that are in front of The Palace Hall, after which I considered eating the pretzels which I had taken with me, since I had washed my hands… But I didn’t, just taking the bag out of the backpack and holding it until I found more recyclables with the deposit symbol, at which point I put it in a pocket. But what was more important was that, while I was still trying to decide whether to open that bag, I crossed the road before that short but steep climb and realized that I felt it much less by walking on that side.
The next important thing I noticed was after reaching Cismigiu Park, when I saw that the pavement had been fixed, and the authorities might have wanted to make sure that the area that was part of the marathon’s route was completed in time, since machines were parked and materials piled up right after the spot where the route turns, and the pavement was definitely not repaired past that point. And I stopped there for a few minutes, washing my hands at that drinking fountain and then looking around and fussing with the headphones while once again trying to decide whether to open that bag of pretzels. But since I had washed my hands only with water, I once again decided against it and just kept going, initially thinking that I might wash my hands more properly if the better toilet that I was going to pass by before leaving the park won’t be in use… But that toilet was out of order, which was one more thing that I kept in mind for the race.
I walked some eight more kilometers of the route after that point, but I wouldn’t say that I found anything else that was particularly noteworthy, so the next thing I’ll mention is that, just when I got back to the river, needing to walk a part which I had already walked that day one more time, I saw a bag with several plastic bottles left in front of a building’s entrance, but I didn’t check to see whether they had the deposit symbol and didn’t take it, though even just having another bag that I could use for such recyclables and which wasn’t already full would have helped, since I was struggling to fit what I had already found into the one that I was using. And, after crossing at the next crossing to walk along the river, before the spot where the route turns I stopped to spread all of them on a bench and arrange them better. And I stayed on the side with the river after the turn as well, only switching to the side with the park at the next crossing.
I entered the park at the last entrance before the corner, going to the start area and walking that small part of the route as well before continuing the way I was going, on that other part of the route that was going to be covered twice. And then I just kept going to the next spot where the route turns, where I spotted a Shop & Go that I was relieved to find had a working recycling machine, so I put everything in, though two bottles required multiple tries, and then just cashed in that voucher. And I didn’t find any more recyclables with the deposit symbol as I continued on the way back to Unirii Square, and there was a moment, after I had openly glanced in several garbage cans that I passed by, when a guy walked up next to me and seemed to ask whether I had heard him, but when I pretended not to he took out his phone and fell behind and I walked faster and stopped looking for recyclables a while.
When I reached Unirii Square again, I walked off the route and to Carrefour, grabbing two expiring products and two bags of spoiling apples, and after washing my hands I also took an apple pastry that had the 50% evening discount… But the nice surprise came when I used the self-checkout. Only one of the two machines that accept cash was available when I got there, an employee feeding cash into the other one, but she finished while I was still in line, so I moved there, scanned the products, without charging myself for the bags that those spoiling apples were in, also used a voucher that I had received for previous purchases, paid the rest with cash, and should have received 0.12 RON as change… Yet the machine just dumped what looked like all the coins it had into the change tray, and more came after I took a handful and threw them in a bag, so I then let the employee know, laughing along with the Asian women who were after me in line, who also took a picture, but neither they nor the employee understood what was going on, so they came after me with handfuls of coins, gesturing that I should take what I guess they thought was my change, while the employee said that if the machine gave my change in coins I should be able to take them to the information desk and exchange them for bills. But I eventually got the message across, so the employee went to the machine and those women also walked back with the coins, but I don’t know what happened next, since I walked away at that point, stopping before walking back out to arrange the purchases in the bag and try to put all of those coins in the small pocket of my pants, though after getting back I found that some had ended up in the bag with the spoiling Gala apples, which was torn.
I had tried to keep one hand clean after washing my hands and taking that apple pastry, and while all of that confusion made me uncertain that I had managed to do so, after walking out I finally did eat those pretzels. And after returning to the route I stopped at a bench to move the purchases into the backpack and also put those coins in a small bag, which I then added in the backpack. And by then it was very late, the match being about to start, and I was going to walk that part of the route the following day as well, so I started jogging. I soon realized that keeping the jacket on was a bad idea, but I only took it off at Alba Iulia Square, after going most of the way around, when I saw some cans left on a table and stopped to check whether they had the deposit symbol, picking them up when I saw that they did. And that made me lose even more time that I didn’t have, so I really ran after that point.
I got back a couple of minutes before 10:30 PM, put the expiring purchases in the fridge, made tea, since I hadn’t done so before leaving, ate watermelon and some other pretzels, the salty ones… But the idea would have been to munch on those pretzels while watching the second half of the match, yet the image went black a little over 20 minutes into it, the problem seeming to affect all the stations owned by that corporation, and their site was giving an error as well, things staying that way until the end of the match, so I ended up listening to the final part on the radio. And when I counted the coins I found that I had taken 11.36 RON, so 11.24 RON more than what should have been my change, though that included one of the special 0.50 RON coins released over the years, which was in fact one that I didn’t have until then, so I set that one aside and kept it. Either way, I think it was somewhere around 12:40 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, being done a little after 1:30 AM. Then I also put the apples in their place, ate the apple pastry, drank the tea, and ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:50 AM.
The following day, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, but after searching for the peanuts with pepper that I wanted to take with me, I ended up leaving a little after 5:15 PM, with the three recyclables with the deposit symbol that I came back with the previous evening, and I continued to gather more on the way. On the other hand, since I had already walked this part of the route, I initially kept going on this street, to reach the gas station and check whether that company’s stations have toilets… But when the cashier asked whether she could help me when I stepped in, I turned around and walked back out right away, without checking. And then I continued to take the slightly shorter way, and when I did get back on the route I stayed on the wrong side all the way to the National Library, where the marathon’s route turns away from Unirii Boulevard, since that was where the part that I actually had to walk that day started. And I tried to sort of glance in the places that I passed by without actually entering, trying to figure out whether they had toilets that I might be able to use during the race, but it didn’t exactly help. On the other hand, I saw that some work was still being done in a few spots from that part of the route, along the river, but the closed off places were in the middle of the road, covered a far smaller area than in previous years, and weren’t going to create any problems, especially since only those who actually took part in the marathon were going to reach that area. And I gathered quite a lot of recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back to the National Library, after turning where the route does.
After running back from Unirii Square the previous evening and then walking in the wrong direction earlier that day, after getting back to Unirii Boulevard I properly walked that part of the route as well, still sort of glancing around for toilets that I might be able to use but still not really seeing anything that I could be certain of. Then, when I reached Alba Iulia Square, I entered that Mega Image but made the really bad choice to not use the recycling machine, so I put recyclables which I had gathered into two cabinets and then retrieved them after just having a quick look through the store, but those cabinets require using a coin in order to lock them and I only clearly remember recovering the first one, and what happened later makes what I did with the second unclear. Either way, I then kept sort of glancing around as I passed by the places that are on that other part of the route which I had skipped the previous evening, on Burebista, after which I also quickly checked that Profi, entering with everything. And then I went to Penny, since those treats for Liza were on sale those days, so I started putting the recyclables in the recycling machine, the cashier quickly called someone to sort it out when it reported that it was full, that person did so while I had a quick look in the store, and then I went back and put in the remaining recyclables as well, with the exception of a can that wasn’t accepted, getting a second voucher, before going back in and grabbing some of those treats, not finding anything else.
Well, that was when the problem appeared, since I forgot to also give the store card to the cashier when I got to the checkout and she didn’t ask for it, and that discount required it, so I didn’t get the discounted price but only noticed it after giving the vouchers to the cashier and placing on the counter an amount that should have left her to give me exactly 0.50 RON as change, since she asked for a larger amount after scanning those vouchers. So I realized what happened and asked her to remove the products and just give me the money for the vouchers, then scan the treats again, along with the store card… Only for her to say, repeatedly, that it couldn’t be done, because she had already scanned the vouchers and she couldn’t scan them again when I’ll pay. Not that I was asking her to do that, but she just kept saying that it couldn’t happen and expected me to pay the full price, asking whether I expected her to pay the difference instead and saying that it wasn’t her fault that I hadn’t given her the card while I said that she hadn’t asked. And she just stared at me without a word when I asked to talk to someone higher up, and when I said that I hadn’t been in that location in a long time because I kept having problems there she said that it wasn’t surprising, if I don’t offer the store card. But I wasn’t budging, she was the only cashier available, the line was growing, and she eventually said that she’ll pay for the difference, took the money which I had placed on the counter, without giving me those 0.50 RON that would have been the correct change, and handed me the receipt. So both of us ended up losing money, and time, and getting angry, instead of things being sorted out either by doing what I had asked or by first entering the products as paid, then doing a return at that full price and then scanning them again, along with the store card.
After standing there a moment longer and staring daggers at her, I stormed out and slammed that remaining can against a bench, after which I think I put the treats in the backpack. It’s also possible that I held them in my hand and only added them in the backpack later, but I definitely entered that Mega Image with them, along with that remaining can, after that recycling machine also rejected it. And I grabbed an expiring pack of biscuits and some cheese that was among the expiring products, apparently because the bar code had been wiped off almost completely, since it wasn’t actually expiring. But what was even more interesting about that cheese was that it was priced by weight and the discount label was from another kind of cheese but the price worked out to exactly a quarter of that piece’s actual price, so the employee who had placed that label had managed to find a product, and in fact another cheese, that had a regular price that was exactly half of what it should have been for that piece of cheese and then created a label with a 50% discount for that product and placed it on that cheese instead, working around the limitations of their system to create that 75% discount for that piece. And the cashier was actually surprised when I handed it to her, saying that she didn’t think that cheese could be discounted in that manner, but she then just scanned the products and took the money without any problems. And then I added the purchases in the backpack, and I know that when I walked away I had the empty bags and those peanuts in the jacket’s pockets, but I’m not sure whether I took them out at that point or had already done so after storming out of Penny.
If Penny, Profi and the two Mega Image locations had been on the route, I then went completely off it and made my way to Kaufland, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol and putting them in the recycling machine when I got there, though that can still wasn’t accepted, so I put it in a cabinet, but after washing my hands I entered with the backpack, as well as with those peanuts, all of the products being store brands from other stores. And I got two breads for dad and some buns that I could use instead of bread for myself, the bakery discounts being of 75%, after which I was surprised to see a 50% discount on some nice pasta that wasn’t expiring, so I took one of those as well, even if it was imported. And then I got some carrots, even if the price remained rather high despite the evening discount, and grapes, fibbers and onions, all of which had great evening discounts, and I believe that the closing announcement came while I was still looking through the onions. Either way, I used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout, then retrieved that can and took my time to arrange everything, after which I washed my hands again, initially thinking that I’ll save a little time by entering the room for disabled people but then going to the men’s when I once again found no soap there. And it was past 10:20 PM when I finally walked out.
I then went back to the spot where I had walked off the route, struggling for a little while to open that bag of peanuts and then eating them, making sure to keep one hand clean as I picked up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol. And when I reached this gas station that’s right on the route I crossed the road and actually checked to make sure that it does have toilets, after which I had a quick look in that Mega Image as well, entering with everything. And then I crossed back and continued along the route, though I stopped when I reached the spot where I had gotten on the route the previous day, leaving the part that goes past that point for later. And when I got here I checked the nearby Mega Image as well, once again entering with everything.
I got back at 11:40 PM, after which I cleaned the litter box and went to drop that little bag of trash down the chute, put that cheese in the fridge and spread out the other purchases, eventually washed a few of the things that were in the kitchen and ate a lot of watermelon… And I realized that I was actually 1 RON short, not just 0.50 RON, but I remembered taking out a 0.50 RON coin at that Penny and trying to decide whether to hand it over, in order to get a 1 RON bill as change, and since things got so messy after that, I had no idea whether I had left that coin there as well or had in fact forgotten one in that second cabinet from that first Mega Image. But I was determined to recover that amount from Penny either way, considering that cashier’s behavior, and I still am, since I’m yet to do so. But, to return to that night, I also did the day’s squats, and it was a few minutes after 1 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash… And while washing I noticed that what’s usually a small lump at the back of my head, which I’m pretty sure is one of those additional lymph nodes that I ended up with because of that infection that I had while I was little, was much larger, so after I was done, when it was almost 2:10 AM, I checked it out more closely and asked dad to have a look as well. But it wasn’t like there was anything to do about it at that point, so I then put the other purchases in their place as well, put together something sweet and ate it, washed what was in the kitchen, with the exception of the pots and the lids, and finally ate dinner between 4:50 AM and 5:30 AM. I got in bed at 6:35 AM, without getting on-line… And after “managing” to bump my head against dad’s door, though at least I did so lightly.
On October 6, I shaved, did the day’s squats, saved some more of the weevil-infested popcorn, ate lunch as well, scheduled the placeholder for that day’s post to be posted at 11:59 PM, and went out at 7:15 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol that I came back with two days earlier. And I grabbed just one more while walking the remaining part of the route from this area in one direction. But walking this part of the route was basically something that I was going to do on the way to some stores and back, so when I reached the point where the route turns, I kept going, entering Penny with those recyclables, since the recycling machine wasn’t working, having a quick look and then continuing to Kaufland Basarabia and grabbing two more recyclables with the deposit symbol when I got there.
Well, the recycling machine wasn’t working there either, there was also a line of people waiting for the problem to be sorted out, and the store closes at 9 PM on Sunday, so I didn’t wait along with them, putting the recyclables in a cabinet, peeing and washing my hands, and entering the store a few minutes after 8 PM. I saw a sweet pastry that seemed nice, but it didn’t have a discount label and when I scanned the regular label the price checker said that it was an unknown product, despite the fact that I could find the entry for the product and check the ingredients, so I went to a self-checkout and used that to check the price, finding that it did have the 50% evening discount after all. However, I also confirmed that the other sweet pastry which I was considering only had the 30% discount that was listed for it. So I took one of those pastries that did have the 50% discount and a plain bun that had that same discount, the plain ones being the only cheap buns left, a bundle of green onions and a lettuce with root, both of which had evening discounts, some of the cheese that was on sale those days, and some expiring things for dad. And, after scanning the label of that other sweet pastry again and seeing that the discount remained at 30%, at the self-checkout I used the 10 RON voucher received on September 24, when I yet again hadn’t found green onions and decided to take them up on their offer to give such vouchers when they run out of a product that’s supposedly guaranteed to be available at all times. And then, though I had just finished using the machine when the closing announcement came, I took my time to arrange the purchases, so after retrieving what I had in the cabinet I had to leave through the emergency exit, after also pointing two other people to it when I saw that they were going to the regular exit.
I then continued to that Carrefour, and since I didn’t know where the recycling machine was in that location and couldn’t find it on my own, I eventually asked at the information desk, then went there and put in my recyclables, after which I grabbed some more which had been left there, and one of them was even accepted, so I ended up with a second voucher. And, seeing as I knew that you can normally hand recyclables with the deposit symbol that aren’t accepted by the machine at the information desk in Carrefour, I then tried to do so, but while the employee confirmed that it can normally be done, she said that she had no storage space that evening, so I held on to them and entered the store with everything. A little later I realized that I hadn’t looked for the toilets to wash my hands after digging around for those recyclables which I had picked up, so I meant to walk back out of the store and do so, but a guard kept his eyes on me as I approached the exit and I had all of those purchases, so I gave up on that idea and got some potatoes and some expiring products with my hands as they were. And then I used the vouchers received for the recyclables when I paid, the fact that Carrefour took over Cora not changing the fact that using a regular checkout is still needed in order to use cash in that location.
After arranging the purchases and walking out, I picked up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, checked a Mega Image that I saw closed at 11 PM, putting the bags in cabinet and then just retrieving them, and then entered a Profi that was also still open, meaning to get the money for those recyclables there, since the sign on the door stated that they take them manually. So, after initially leaving my things at the entrance after the guard told me to do so and having a quick look at the expiring products, I picked everything back up and asked about the recyclables, but the cashier said that it was too late, so I’m thinking that, even if they don’t use recycling machines, the system is set up like the recycling machines from Mega Image, for example, which turn off at 10 PM in all locations. Either way, I picked up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back, and I also checked a non-stop Mega Image, putting the bags in a cabinet but entering with the backpack… And after walking out the first time I realized that I had forgotten to look for something that was supposed to be on sale, so I went right back in. But those products were too expensive even on sale, so I just walked back out, retrieved my things and made my way back, also walking this part of the route in the other direction in the process.
It was close to 11:10 PM when I got back… And I was really just about to piss myself, so I took care of that problem before cleaning the litter box and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I talked to dad a little, put the purchases in their place, with the exception of the green onions and the lettuce, ate an apple and that sweet pastry, and it was almost 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash… At which point I noticed another reason for concern, a bloody spot in a certain place, which was something that I recalled seeing way back when I had that yeast infection. But at least that spot at the back of my head wasn’t swollen in that unusual way anymore, and the issue noticed that night also went away after a few days. Either way, it was almost 1:40 AM when I was done, and then I cut my toenails, sliced dad’s breads, dealt with those buns which I had bought two days earlier, had plenty of things to wash in the kitchen, took a pill, also used some of the lettuce and green onions for the salad, and finally ate dinner between 4:45 AM and 5:30 AM, with the last several minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 6:35 AM.