Cav's Place

Considering the situation, I could actually sleep surprisingly well this Tuesday. Liza woke me twice by going to the litter box, but I got right back to sleep after that, and one more time I think that I was woken up by my mother grating something in the kitchen, though she was otherwise particularly quiet, which is why I’m quite sure that she cooked and not dad. It did take me a while to fall asleep after that, but I eventually did, what followed being the one time when the workers woke me, a little before 1:20 PM, when they threw some things down, possibly off the building. But I could catch another brief nap even after that, though a dream woke me again at 1:50 PM and then I just waited for the alarm to ring, at 2 PM, before getting up. Then I washed what was in the kitchen and cleaned up a little, ate a banana instead of an apple, then the yogurt with cereals and raw almonds, then put most of what my parents had cooked into jars, so they could take it, and washed a few more things, and after they left I went to the toilet, also ate two nicer biscuits, with added honey, and left at 4:45 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 31-32°C, and the same when I finished, but it seems to have reached 33°C while I ran.
The time was 47:24.57, with sector times of 4:21.32, 5:06.10, 5:51.56, 4:19 (4:18.47), 4:53.12, 5:45.00, 4:26.22, 5:03 (5:02.22), 5:52.19 and 1:48.37, making for lap times of 15:18.98, 14:57 (14:56.59) and 15:21 (15:20.63). I still didn’t think that I could continue the streak of times below 48 minutes, so I aimed to just stay under 49, and the first sector seemed to confirm that as the likely outcome, but after the second I wondered whether I could at least squeeze under that 15:20 that’s the lap time target for 48 minutes on the first lap, so I pushed more on the third sector and just managed it. But then I guess that I pushed even harder on lap two, and seeing that excellent time on its second sector made me actually aim to stay under 48 minutes again after all. And at the end of that lap, which was the first one covered in less than 15 minutes without being the first lap of a run since the last time I managed to get under 47 minutes, in November, I wondered whether I could even squeeze under 47:30 once again. I wasn’t sure that I should try, being worried that I could push myself too hard, especially considering the heat, but at the start of sector three of lap three it seemed that, even if I was tiring, it might just be possible if I really went for it, so I did, especially on the final sector, and I made it by a clear margin.
Once again, there were hardly any notable problems with the exception of the heat, so the main reason why I weaved or went the long way around or otherwise off the best path was because I was looking for shade. And it was on sector three of what I’m pretty sure was lap two, sector three of lap three being too close to the end for the memory of the moment to be unclear by the time I finished, when I felt a little lightheaded, that placement of the moment being even more likely when I take into account the fact that towards the end of sector two of lap two I felt that I wasn’t quite getting enough oxygen. But I found ways to deal with the issue after that, and the only other thing I noticed was a momentary feeling that I hadn’t left everything in the toilet that appeared on sector two of lap three but quickly passed.

I picked up a recyclable on the way back, then ate a whole lot of watermelon and something sweet, did 200 squats, since I had kept putting them off the previous day until I forgot to do them at all, washed some more things which had been left in the kitchen, drank the rest of the tea, arranged the recyclables with the deposit symbol, changed, and initially went out again at 8:15 PM, just to put the recyclables brought by my parents into the machine from the nearby Mega Image, since they had brought a whole lot, saying that they were what they had emptied over the past month, and I only barely managed to make them fit into four bags. So it was a great thing that the machine worked and a guy was standing right next to it to deal with any issues right away, because it obviously reported that it was full after a while… And when I stepped aside to let that guy deal with it, which he did by just pushing the bag a little, the kid who had been waiting behind me went ahead and started putting his recyclables in, and he had a full bag as well, but I shrugged it off and waited, even telling that employee that I let him ahead when he asked if I wasn’t going to also put the rest in. But when that kid was done, he wordlessly dropped a can in one of my bags, and since it was of the kind that I was putting in when the machine stopped, I have no idea whether he gave me one of his or it was actually one of mine and he had set it aside after I had perhaps missed the fact that the machine had returned it. Either way, I then continued, until the machine stopped yet again, at which point that guy did replace the bag, after which I could finish and cash in the vouchers.
After going back to drop off the empty bags and pee one more time, I left again just before 8:45 PM, with the bag with the recyclables which I had gathered, jogging to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM and getting there just as the bakery products were being bagged. Some other people were taking some of them right away and asking for the employee to place the 90% discount labels on them after she printed them, but I waited for her to actually place the labels on what was left and just took one small flatbread, buying it after putting the recyclables in the machine and cashing in the voucher. But the cart with the other products that were discounted by 90% was brought just after that, so I rushed to look through it and grabbed all of the garlic and kohlrabies, the handful of onions, and one of the large cucumbers, without being charged for the bags that they were placed in when I paid for them.
I arranged the purchases in the backpack after walking out, then continued to Penny, picking up two recyclables on the way and also spotting two more that had a label with the deposit symbol and one that had none but which was just what I needed for the label that I still had in the bin that was next to the machine from there, so I placed that label on that one and put all of them in, though one of the others from that bin was crushed and I needed some time to straighten it well enough, so the machine timed out and I ended up with a second voucher. Then I entered with everything and just bought some bagels, waiting in line for quite a while, using those vouchers when I paid, and then adding the bagels in the backpack, by which time it seemed too late go to Kaufland as well, so I decided to continue only to that non-stop Mega Image, wanting to be there when they’ll start making the 90% discounts. But I was starting to need to pee again and I wasn’t going to have a toilet there, so I meant to use the better public one that’s across the road from that Penny, yet when I saw that it was occupied and a woman was waiting to use it next, I just kept going, looking for another option and eventually using the toilet from the gas station that’s across the road from that Mega Image, ending up washing my hands only with water, since I even checked the women’s and there was no soap there either.
After putting my things, which included a recyclable picked up on the way, in a cabinet, I wasted over 20 minutes in that Mega Image, the bakery products only starting to be bagged at 10:35 PM. But I could get a few, including a bread, with that 90% discount… And since I had spotted a nice packaged lunch that expired the next day and was discounted by 50%, I then worked up the courage to take it to the employee who had made those discounts and ask whether it’ll be left like that, being told that she’ll deal with those after 11 PM. So I wandered around a little longer and also took a bug repellent that my mother had asked me to look for, seeing that it was slightly cheaper than at Auchan those days and she wanted it right away, though my parents hadn’t said anything about it when it had been noticeably cheaper at Kaufland, Penny and Carrefour, in turn, during the previous weeks. Either way, a few other people were waiting by the time she brought the cart with those other products that were discounted by 90%, but I saw her take the lunch that I had asked her about and another similar one away before leaving it there, so after grabbing two bulgur salads I went after her, wondering whether she was taking them for herself or putting them back in the refrigerated area… Only to notice that she was actually looking for me, and when she saw me she handed both of them to me! So, despite only wanting one and saying so, and also being uncertain about some of the ingredients in the other, at that point it seemed only fair to buy both. And, if I initially put those bulgur salads back, after a few moments I went back and took back the one that was left, someone else having obviously grabbed the other one pretty much right away. And the total was 1 RON less than what I had calculated, but everything seemed correct when I quickly checked the receipt, so I assumed that I had made a mistake.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet, I stopped at a bench and arranged those purchases… And after walking away I checked the receipt more carefully, eventually seeing that I had calculated correctly after all, but the cashier had somehow scanned the bun twice and hadn’t scanned the croissants, the difference being exactly 1 RON. And I was considering giving away those croissants anyway, especially since I didn’t know their ingredients and couldn’t find them listed in that location, so that made me really look for a homeless person to give them to and I eventually left them next to a woman who had just woken up, even if she seemed drunk and started shouting for someone else to come over, that guy shouting back and threatening her, so I hastened away from there. And I picked up some more recyclables on the way back.
I got back a few minutes after midnight. Then I put just the lunches, the bulgur salad and the cucumber in the fridge, spreading out the other purchases, drank some of that drink taken at the Dream Trek, which had expired for a while, and a few minutes before 1 AM I went to wash… Only to see that the water wasn’t heating up, so after waiting for a while, I resigned myself to a cold shower, being done a little before 1:25 AM. Then I selected the garlic and put the remaining purchases in their place, at which point I noticed that the small flatbread from the first Mega Image wasn’t the one listed on the label but a similar one that would have been slightly more expensive but also a little sweetened, which bothered me. Either way, I also washed what was in the kitchen, ate lunch, on and off, between 3 AM and 4 AM, also dealt with my bread, and ate dinner between 4:25 AM and 5:05 AM, forgetting to put seasonings in the salad and not bothering to go back to the kitchen when I realized it, especially since I had left a little bit of the salad included with the lunch in the plate, while on the other hand I spent the last several minutes gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 6:35 AM.

A few minutes before 8:30 AM, I was woken up by the sound of mowing from behind the building, but since the workers had put the dust nets on the scaffolding the previous day, I couldn’t see much, and definitely couldn’t take any relevant pictures, so this time around I don’t have those before and after shots that I usually take when they do that. So I cleaned the litter box, peed, drank a little more of that drink taken at the Dream Trek, checked the site and saw that the hot water was supposed to return the following morning, the reason being the yearly maintenance of the city’s system, and got back in bed at 8:45 AM, still without setting an alarm despite meaning to leave quite early, since I didn’t think that I was going to need it. But it was apparently pretty quiet after that, so it was almost 12:25 PM when I checked the time, a few minutes after waking up again, which meant that I had to rush, leaving a little after 1:40 PM.
Since I was going to the Sector 3 Treasury again and still wanted to get there before 2 PM, to be absolutely certain that there will be no problems, I jogged, getting there at 1:55 PM and withdrawing the interest resulting from the state bonds purchased a year earlier. Then I continued to that Kaufland, picking up a recyclable on the way but seeing a line at the recycling machines, so I put it in a cabinet, washed my hands just with water after even checking the women’s and finding no soap there either, and saw that the price for the better kind of watermelon was 30% lower than in the TV and on-line ad, and while most of those left didn’t seem too good, I eventually took one that I was relatively content with, though digging through them led to getting my shirt pretty dirty, especially on the right sleeve. Either way, I also grabbed an expiring chicken leg for dad and a small box of bio (organic) blueberries for mother, since those had what looked like an evening discount even though it wasn’t evening and they seemed pretty much perfect. And then, as I was arranging those purchases, it was announced that the price of the sour cream that I had actually noticed was already discounted had dropped even further, so I put those purchases in the cabinet and dashed back in to get some of that as well, obviously being charged for the plastic box. And I also added what at that point was the last pack of one kind of cat food. Then I retrieved my things, added those new purchases in the backpack, and on the way back I picked up a few more recyclables and checked two Mega Image locations, putting the watermelon and the recyclables in a cabinet and entering with the backpack both times.
I was back for the first time at 4:35 PM. Then I straightened the two crushed cans which I had picked up, put the purchases in their place, finished that drink, ate some more of the old watermelon, washed what was in the kitchen, and at 8:20 PM I left again, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up one more on the way to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM. And another one had been left next to the recycling machine from there, probably because the label was a little scrunched up and the bar code couldn’t be read, but I straightened it and put that in as well, along with all of the rest, ending up with three vouchers, since I separated dad’s from mine and the machine reported that the bag was full before I was done, so I gestured a couple of times to the guard and he eventually came and kicked that bag a little, which allowed me to continue. And then, after cashing in the vouchers, I waited for the 90% bakery discounts to be made and got some things… And I should have left right after that, but some products were set aside in the spot where I saw that those that are to be discounted by 90% are placed in that location, so I waited, yet the employee from that area started cleaning the store and the one who had made the bakery discounts vanished for a while and eventually took over from the cashier who had apparently left a little early, so after wasting a lot of time I finally gave up a little after 9:40 PM, just buying those bakery products… And being given a 0.50 RON coin as change even though it should have been half of that amount, the cashier saying that she didn’t have smaller coins and that it was fine like that. So I thanked her, waited outside for a couple more minutes, just in case that cart would be brought after all, and at 9:45 PM I finally walked away.
I was back a little after 10 PM, and while watching the match I put the purchases in their place, talked to dad a little, washed most of what was in the kitchen, and just started to eat lunch, finishing it after the match ended and then also doing the day’s squats before going to shower, a couple of minutes before 12:30 AM, and finding that the water was actually acceptable. But I still hurried, being done at 12:50 AM, though I then also cut my nails, from both hands and feet, and stayed in my room a little longer, going back to the kitchen when it was close to 1:15 AM. And then I had a few more things to wash and also moved something into jars, but I still stuck to the dinner schedule, albeit “cheating” a little in order to be able to say that I started eating before 3 AM… And after getting in bed I felt something and realized that I had forgotten the nail clippings there, so I gathered them up as well as I could at that point and threw them away.

While last week I had the excuse of the year’s best run to “waste” a personal slot just on that, there’s less of one this week and I was really hoping to write the review for Lost Words: Beyond the Page, which I started on July 5 and finished two days later, instead of posting this. But I’ve been playing The Witcher 2 a fair bit these days, and I haven’t written a “proper” game review since the one for Hero of the Kingdom II, in November of 2023. And that didn’t change now, so I gave up on even trying, adding three paragraphs to the post about this year’s Dream Trek instead, seeing as I still have most of the part about the actual run to add there, not to mention that the post about the half marathon remains a mere placeholder.

But I might as well also mention that no visits were recorded yesterday, while in that day’s early hours, after once again “cheating” in order to be able to say that I started eating dinner before 3 AM but actually starting at 3:20 AM, I couldn’t quite stuff everything that was left in my mouth at 3:40 AM, so I just missed sticking to the schedule and took the last pieces at 3:41 AM. But in the early hours of today I did just manage to finish at 3:40 AM, despite once again “cheating” by taking a first bite in my room just before 3 AM but really starting to eat just after 3:10 AM, and having made mamaliga, with plenty of things in it, so I really stuffed myself.
As for this evening, after doing the day’s squats, I left just before 7:40 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and I picked up some more on the way to Kaufland, putting all of them in the machine. Then, after peeing and washing my hands, I entered the store a little after 8:15 PM and saw a lot of green onions left, with an outstanding evening discount, so I took six bundles that were also particularly large and made up a seventh out of a few scattered green onions that were also large in themselves. And the bio (organic) pleurotus mushrooms also had an outstanding evening discount, so I took the better box of those as well, plus almost two kilograms of bananas, since those also had a good evening discount and, after digging through the boxes, I managed to find some that were actually good. And then I spotted another box of those mushrooms among the expiring products and they didn’t look that bad either, so I grabbed that as well, along with some more cat food. But, unsurprisingly, considering the size of those bundles, the self-checkout machine didn’t accept the green onions as the correct product, so I had to call for the employee to override the error, the closing announcement coming while I was waiting for her to come over. And then I also used the voucher received for the recyclables, arranged the purchases, and walked out when it was close to 9:10 PM.
Since I saw conflicting information on-line about its closing time, I wanted to check another Mega Image on the way back, to see whether it could be another option while looking for products discounted by 90%. But when I got there, after picking up one more recyclable, I saw that the closing time was 11 PM, which is between the hours listed on-line and, either way, meant that I wasn’t going to find such discounts that early. But I nevertheless decided to have a quick look, leaving the bags next to the cabinets, entering with the backpack, and then retrieving those bags and gathering a few more recyclables on the way back.
Annoyingly, I got back here just after a goal was scored in a match, and while I was listening to the match on the radio and rushed to catch a replay, the time it took for the image to appear on the TV meant that I just missed that as well, only catching the replays of the players celebrating. Either way, I then put the purchases, with the exception of the green onions, in their place, and at half time I rushed to take a cold shower, seeing on the site that there was a problem that affected pretty much half the city and we weren’t going to get hot water anyway. And then I managed to find a way to put the green onions in the fridge as well, ate a small bag of bagels, and wrote this last section and the paragraph that’s before it, just failing to finish before midnight and editing the post a few minutes later to add this last sentence. Or the last two, since I’m adding one more, to say that I’m now going to have lunch and then work on dinner, the salad obviously going to consist mostly of green onions.