Cav's Place

On October 19, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, and my chest felt better but my throat was rather sore again. But I had to go to a protest in the park, so I shaved and left at 3 PM. I realized after walking out that I forgot to take a bag for the recyclables with the deposit symbol that I’ll happen to find, but that was that, since 3 PM was when the protest was actually supposed to start, so I jogged, getting there in less than ten minutes… At which point I realized that I had also forgotten the camera, just like at the previous protest which I had attended, back on November 29, 2023. And this time around I didn’t take any pictures at all. But after being greeted by that guy whom I kept meeting around this area during a certain period, I still had something to hide behind, since they had some “newspapers” there, one presenting some NGOs and their projects and actions as part of a gala, which I looked through and then put back, since there were only a few copies, and another presenting the problem with the park and what had happened until then, and they were handing out that one to everyone, so I took a copy and looked through it, both before and after the human chain, which was the main point of the protest. Otherwise, I just stood around and sort of listened to the speeches until we left to form the human chain.
The organizers knew that there weren’t enough participants to surround that entire area with a proper human chain, and while I thought that there were enough to surround it in a reasonable manner, with a little distance between people and also using all of the signs and banners to fill some of the gaps, the initial announcement was that we were going to form the chain normally, linking hands after taking our positions, and then walk around the area like that, until the head of the chain would reach the other end. So I walked away with the rest and kept going until I was past the corner, taking a spot a little later, when I was past the bus stop as well… And we only moved a little, then we stopped and I stayed there until we were told to get back, the organizers seeming happy that the chain had reached the metro station and scrapping the plan to keep moving all around that area.
After getting back to the area where we had initially gathered, we were asked to take some forms and fill in some memories from that part of the park, but I didn’t do that, not having anything relevant to write, so I just continued to read that newspaper during the speeches that followed and left a few minutes after 5 PM, when the protest was ending and others also started walking away. But then I got back in that area through a gap in the fence and looked around at the destruction caused by the supposed “owners”, also grabbing a few recyclables with the deposit symbol, including one of those oddly shaped bottles that I spotted behind that pastry place that’s next to the metro station… At which point several rats scattered in every direction… And that also made me hope that what I later spotted on that bottle was dirt and not shit, be it from rats or people. Either way, I couldn’t get out through the tiny gap in the fence that’s in that spot, realizing that I shouldn’t even bother to try when I was wearing the warmer jacket, so I wandered around a little more and eventually walked out of that area at the other metro exit, with the recyclables still in my hands.
Since the recycling machine from that Penny wasn’t working, I went to that Mega Image and put everything in the recycling machine from there, even that oddly shaped bottle being accepted, albeit after a lot of tries. Then, after spending quite some time to select some better onions, I saw just the tea that I was looking for among those that were discounted by 50%, so I took that and put most of the onions back, just keeping a few. And when I asked for the reason for that discount the cashier said that they were downsizing the tea area and wanted to get rid of what they’ll no longer sell… And she also said that I was actually getting two 50% discounts, so a total of 75%! But only one of the teas would scan like that and I had found and gotten two, so after trying a few times she scanned them separately, and then put the onions on a third receipt, and while I had given her the store card at first, the fact that she had broken everything up into three separate transactions obviously meant that it no longer applied for the onions, and it was required in order to receive the discount. But I was already confused at that point, since I had also used the voucher received for those recyclables and paying for everything separately required recalculating everything when my brain already wasn’t working, since I was interacting with the cashier, so I only realized the problem after paying for the onions as well. I did mention it at that point, and while the cashier said that it had to be a very small amount and I said that I’ll let it go on account of the discount for the tea being very good, I kept it in mind, meaning to make up for it later.
After putting the purchases in the backpack, I also checked that Penny, spotting a few recyclables next to the recycling machine but leaving them there, since they seemed to be of a kind that won’t be accepted and I didn’t have the bags to carry them in, and then entering with everything. And those pumpkins were once again supposed to be on sale, but just one was left and it was quite clearly bad, so I didn’t take it, just buying something for dad, which I then added in the backpack.
I then decided to also check Carrefour, but when I entered the park I saw that there was a fair there once again, and when I approached I saw one of those portable things, so I washed my hands there, then had a quick look through the fair before going to Carrefour, once again entering with everything and just buying one thing. And on the way back I gathered some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, still holding them in my hands until I reached the nearby Mega Image, where I put them in the recycling machine and just cashed in the voucher.
I got back at 7:40 PM, thinking that I’ll at least see the second half of the handball match, which was listed as starting at 7 PM in the TV schedule… But it had apparently started at 5 PM, so I had already missed it. Either way, I then left the tea out but put the few other purchases in their place, ate grapes and a couple of pieces of a nice but long expired chocolate, did the day’s squats, took a bath, and later cooked beans, which took a long time, since I tried to do it properly, throwing away the water three times, so after also taking a pill and moving something that dad had asked me to move, I finally ate a combined lunch and dinner between 4:10 AM and 5 AM and got in bed at 5:50 AM. After after getting up I still felt something in my chest and occasionally coughed. But in the evening I finished Eternal Knight, also writing the quick review.

Since I mentioned that previous protest and I should be adding something more in a post that basically wastes a personal “slot” even so, I had to edit the post at a later time in order to add that part as well, but finally finishing the previous post this afternoon and then wanting to cook means that the above is all I could write before midnight, scheduling it to show up like that at 11:59 PM, to have a first post of the week, which I edited Sunday afternoon in order to add the rest.

Yes, it does seem that the previous protest I attended was way back on November 29, 2023, and it was a small event that I’ll only briefly mention in this section that otherwise includes that day’s odds and ends, starting with the early hours, when I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4:10 AM and got in bed a couple of minutes after 5:15 AM. And the alarm was set to ring at 9 AM, but I was woken up by drilling at 8:50 AM and I needed to pee too badly to even stay in bed those remaining ten minutes, so I went to pee, but then I did wait for the alarm to ring, just to check once again that it does ring even if the phone’s on silent, since I had set it like that because I didn’t want to be woken up even earlier by a call and the organizers of the protest had stated that they were going to call those who sign up to participate. But there was no call… And then I lost time while trying to get the apples back in the fridge after taking a larger one to eat, eventually giving up and placing two on another shelf. So I meant to leave at 10:45 AM, but only did so ten minutes later.
To make matters worse, I realized after a while that, while one of the reasons for choosing to attend was to start getting used to taking the new camera with me when I went to events, I had forgotten it. And I had also forgotten to transfer the image with my the shopping list for the day on the phone. But turning back was obviously out of the question when I already risked being late, so I just kept going despite feeling disheartened, not jogging but rather marching, and reaching the Ministry of Economy a few minutes before noon, which was the announced start time of the protest, which also gave me enough time to replace my hat with the cap which I had taken with me, so I won’t once again wear something with a fossil fuel company’s logo at such a protest.
The point of the protest was to ask our government to vote against the EU’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act and demand focusing on obtaining a much greater share of those materials through recycling instead of mining, but I had briefly glanced at the proposals before leaving and my understanding was that the message of the protest was wrong, the problems with the proposals being different from the ones that the organizers were focusing on, which actually struck me as improvements compared to the previous form, and I mentioned that to the organizer who greeted me when I got there and asked whether we had talked on the phone, but she said that another person writes the messages and I didn’t talk to him, just taking my place in that small group as the protest started, a few minutes after noon. However, while I stood there and chanted along with the other participants, I didn’t hold the banner or any of the signs, and just took a few pictures with my phone.
After the protest ended, at 12:40 PM, I walked to Obor, and over the course of the day I entered multiple Mega Image and Profi locations, and also the Penny from Obor, putting the backpack and gloves in a cabinet and then retrieving them in case of those entered after leaving the Obor area, except the nearby Mega Image that I just took a couple of steps inside of, with everything, when I got here. But I only bought something from the first Mega Image, a nice expiring bar, which I ate right after stepping out.
Otherwise, I just pulled up that thing to cover my mouth and nose when I went to Auchan Obor and got shaving cream, also using what was on the store card when I paid. The person who was ahead of me at the self-checkout seemed to really struggle and an employee eventually came when he was done, and then she stayed there and wanted to check me out, which was unpleasant, and she also made a comment when I said that I wanted to use what was on the store card, plus that the machine didn’t automatically add the period after I first pressed zero, as it used to do, so it gave an error and that employee entered the value correctly before letting me pay the rest with cash.
I put my things in a cabinet when I got to Kaufland, though I just had that shaving cream in the backpack, then peed and washed my hands and finally put on the mask before entering the store. And I took pictures of the discounted prices for some products that dad might have been interested in, bought some things, arranged them in the backpack, and continued to Carrefour, where I once again put my things in a cabinet, got a few expiring products, plus some roes that were among those products and discounted even though they weren’t expiring soon at all, and two black radishes, since for some reason the black radishes had a lower price in that location than what they should have had in Carrefour those days. On the other hand, I had also found one of those apple pastries among the expiring products, but when I scanned it the machine said that an assistant will soon come, and when one did she said that it wasn’t recognized, so I gave up on it.
After adding everything in the backpack, I continued to Mega Mall, dad calling while I was on the way to ask why was there no room in the freezer for what he had brought even though I had taken his spinach out. And after reaching that Carrefour I had to wait for a cabinet to free up in order to put my things in it, and then I just bought a leek, the scales printing the label with the full price, but I scanned it and confirmed that it was actually discounted. An employee brought crates of expiring products while I was there and I waited to have a look at them, but there was nothing interesting.
I continued to that Kaufland with the leek in my hand, but no large cabinets with working locks were free, and in fact someone else even used the only remaining small one while I stepped away to have another look, since I hadn’t wanted to bend the leek in order to make it fit in that one. A woman who was also looking for a free cabinet said that there were some more behind me, but the three that are in front of the elevator and those that are in front of the bathrooms were also either full or not working, so I eventually bent the leek to stuff it in the backpack as well and entered with everything. And I found some expiring bread and got two for dad and one that I was going to use, to be able to just get back, without waiting for any evening discounts, especially since the only kind of bread that was left in the bakery area was one that had a regular discount those days, so it might not have had an additional one later anyway. But the discount labels hadn’t been applied over the bar codes for dad’s breads and I accidentally scanned one at full price at the self-checkout, so I had to call over an employee to remove that.
It wasn’t even 8:15 PM when I got back, after finding a coin from 1963 on the way! And that was after finding close to 2 RON in coins over the course of the day. Either way, I then easily found room in the freezer for what dad had brought, put the purchases in their place, ate an orange, also finally putting those in their place, since I had bought them two days earlier and hadn’t done so yet, and then ate lunch as well, did the day’s squats, and waited for dad, who only got back at 11:30 PM.
Since I only went to the bathroom after that, I made a point of telling dad, twice, that the bread which I had left on the kitchen table was mine, even if it was of a kind that I usually bought for him, and that his bread was in the freezer, and he had said yes… But when I came out of the bathroom I saw that he had taken a part of that bread, and what was left was partially on the kitchen counter… And when I rushed at him in a rage, he said that he had never heard me say anything about it! So we shouted at each other, he asked whether I wanted him to go out and buy me a bread, and that otherwise there’s nothing to do and no point in talking about it, I said that there never is any point in saying anything to him, he said that he didn’t know how I mumble things and that I had to really get his attention and ask whether he really heard me when I want him to listen, that it only means that he heard after he clearly, specifically, confirms it, that I had to have patience with him since he’s old, which was the first time he admitted that, and that he was also patient with me when I was little and I wouldn’t have gotten this far otherwise. So I said “if only” and that I wasn’t the one who had chosen for him to exist, and then I rushed to my room and sort of hugged myself and shivered…
It was 1:25 AM when I finally made my way back to the kitchen, but I nevertheless managed to stick to the dinner schedule. And dad took a bath late at night, so I had a little to clean up in the bathroom after him, though he had actually taken more care than he usually did until then. But he had also left some things in the living room, so I picked up after him from there as well, ending up getting in bed at 5:20 AM. And the following morning I got in bed at 5:25 AM, after being terribly slow in the kitchen and ending up eating dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:40 AM.