Cav's Place

On September 30, the workers actually got to putting the EPS on the outside of the apartment, and while I initially hoped to still manage to catch some naps, when they got to smashing the tiles we had in front of the windows, it was clear that there was no chance of that, so at 10:10 AM I got up, the good thing being that dad was also staying home that day and he talked to them, ensuring that they’ll leave my external blinds in place, though they initially said that they had been told by the crew that will later come to change the windows that they should get rid of everything that may get in the way and expressed surprise that we’d want to keep those “ugly” blinds. And him being here and having already talked to them also meant that I could go to the kitchen while they were right outside the window, so I ate the Gala apple before trying to get back in bed when it was close to 10:45 AM and things seemed somewhat quieter… Only for some drilling to soon start, so just after 11:10 AM I gave up and got back up, washing what dad had used and moving half of the large cup of bio (organic) yogurt into a jar before getting back in bed once again at 11:55 AM, hoping to take advantage of their break. And, while at first they still made some occasional noises and also seemed to be talking right outside my window, things were eventually quiet and I managed to catch another nap before the drilling woke me again and at 1:38 PM I got up for good. Then I ate the half of that yogurt that I hadn’t moved, with cereals and raw almonds, arranged things a little in my room, since dad wanted to call the building’s administrator over and ask him whether the new window could still open like my current one does, also ate two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, and left at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 18-19°C, holding steady.
The time was 1:17:12, with sector times of 4:22, 5:10, 5:56, 4:31, 5:05, 5:50, 4:27, 5:12, 5:56, 4:27, 5:03, 5:58, 4:30, 5:04 and 5:41, making for lap times of 15:28, 15:26, 15:35, 15:28 and 15:15. And I was just hoping to be less slow than the previous week and willing to accept even only staying under 1:20. But after the first two sectors I wanted to at least get under 15:30 on the first lap, which I did, and after sector two of lap two I wondered whether I could stay under the 15:36 that’s the target lap time for 1:18 on lap two as well, so I pushed more on sector three and ended up with a lap that was even faster than the first. That made me aim to get under 1:19, but losing several seconds on sector two of lap three was a problem… Until I saw that I managed to stay under the 5:15 that’s the sector two target for a 16-minute lap even so, and then even squeezed under that 15:36 on the lap as a whole. That finally put the thought of getting under 1:18 in my mind, and while 1:18:30 seemed more likely and it was too early to push hard from the start of lap four, I put more into it as I went along and after the end of the lap I even started thinking about 1:17:30. The main target was still just to get under 1:18 again, so I delayed the full push until after the first sector, but then I went for it, really giving everything on the last sector, managing that great time on it and ending up over two minutes faster than the previous week. And the last time I was faster over this distance was a day less than a year before. And another very good thing is how close the lap times were, almost equal on the first four laps if you also take those lost seconds into account, and then lap five was the fastest, ending with a great sector three that proved that I still had a fair bit left.
There were a few gusts of wind that bothered me a little here and there, but that was pretty much it in terms of the conditions, and the people didn’t cause any notable problems either. So the one important loss of time was on sector two of lap three, when I lost at least five seconds, possibly a little more, after thinking that a shoelace was getting loose and stopping, noticing that it was actually fine but taking that time to tighten it even more, just to be sure. But my leg muscles were a little sore from the beginning, maybe after what I had done in my room before leaving, and at the start of the second sector it felt like my cap was coming off, but I managed to arrange it properly at that point. The more serious reason for concern was that I felt rather out of it throughout the first lap and for a part of the second, so it was quite a relief when the feeling went away after that point and I felt quite fine until a pressing need started to appear as I pushed to recover that lost time on sector two of lap three, the feeling getting worse after a while, though it eventually became more manageable. My left hip started giving some warnings on sector three of lap four, but those weren’t an issue, far more concerning being the few irregular heartbeats I felt on sector three of lap four and sector one of lap five, though that didn’t happen again after that, so when I was actually pushing much harder, the one other issue that I noticed as I was giving everything on the last sector being that my hands went numb.

After jogging back, I put some watermelon on a plate, eating it and lunch after cleaning the litter box and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, drank some of that apple and pear juice bought two days earlier, and at 7:50 PM I rushed out again, with 90 RON in coins, for Penny’s campaign… But I forgot the recyclables with the deposit symbol, so I turned around to grab them. Then I rushed to Penny, putting the recyclables in the machine, all of them being accepted, so I had straightened that can well enough and the label placed on a bottle that didn’t have one was also read correctly there. And then I entered the store, found an employee, and asked whether they still had vouchers for the coins campaign, initially being told that I should talk to the shift lead. But I obviously didn’t know who that was and said so, telling her that she had the headset and could send a message, which I guess she did after taking over at the checkout, since she called out to me to say that I could bring the coins, but the following morning… And they were out of the tomato juice that was on sale anyway, and that’s what I had planned to spend most of the amount required to use one of those vouchers on, so I just bought some other things, using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid, and giving up on the idea of trying another location that evening.
After walking out, I stopped at a bench to put the purchases in the backpack and then took it easy, picking up a few recyclables, including one with a cap that granted a can of beer, which I kept for dad, and crossing the road to use that better public toilet. And then I put what I had gathered in the machine from the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, entering with the purchases and waiting for the 90% discount labels to be placed on the bakery products… But I didn’t rush to grab anything right away, not even the one remaining apple pastry, so others took everything that I might have been interested in and I didn’t get anything. And others rushed in when the cart with the other products discounted by 90% was brought in as well, but at least I managed to grab a nice high-protein yogurt, cashing in the voucher received for the recyclables before paying for it.
On the other hand, the one younger woman who’s among those who usually wait for the discounted products at that non-stop Mega Image that’s on the way to Kaufland Basarabia was there as well that evening, not for the first time, and she called after me when I walked out, seeming to hope that I was heading to that other Mega Image as well, and when I said that I was going to Kaufland instead she tried to persuade me to go to that one from Basarabia instead of the one from Pantelimon, so she was obviously hoping for me to walk with her. But I had my plan, and walking with someone like that was a pretty frightening prospect anyway, so we went our separate ways after only exchanging a few words, which included me telling her that I had run 16 km that day and her saying that she used to run 20 km but had been slacking off recently and that’s one reason why she walks between multiple Mega Image locations even if she may catch few, if any, discounted products, since she does still feel the need for some exercise in the evening.
Moving on, I put my things in a cabinet after reaching Kaufland, entering a couple of minutes before 9:30 PM and making use of evening discounts to get a lettuce with root, or more exactly two of them placed in the same bag, potatoes and onions, plus just one banana. And after retrieving my things from the cabinet and grabbing a recyclable on the way out, I saw that it was a couple of minutes after 10 PM when I walked out but there had been no closing announcement, so it’s possible that they had already switched the closing time back to 10:30 PM, though I didn’t check at that point.
Either way, I then continued to that Mega Image, entering with everything when there didn’t seem to be any free cabinets that had a key and grabbing a few bakery products and two breads for dad, all of these having the 90% discount, and two more of those bug repellents. But the awkward moment came at the checkout, since the cashier was crying, someone asked whether she was all right and she didn’t answer, another employee gave her a pill and told her to take it to calm down… I didn’t dare to ask anything, just waiting for my turn awkwardly and trying to not look at her too much, though when I walked away, after she rounded down the total, asking for 30 RON when it was 30.09, I said that I hoped that her evening would get better.
After going to that bench and arranging everything, I picked up a few more recyclables on the way back. And when I got here I checked the nearby Mega Image as well, initially just having a look from the door and walking away when I couldn’t see any bakery discounts at all. But then I went to a bench, tied the bags, and entered, leaving the bags near the door, entering with the backpack, and looking around a little, just in case they’ll start making the bakery discounts. But there was no indication of that happening, so I just retrieved my things and walked out.
It was almost 11:10 PM when I got back, and dad had removed the internal AC unit and moved things around, so I immediately started rearranging what I could. Then I cleaned the litter box again and went to drop a little bag of trash down the chute and leave something else in the garbage room, put most of the purchases in their place, ate a bag of snacks, boiled the rest of that juice, to have something hot to drink in case the water would only be lukewarm, did just that day’s squats, meaning that I was still a day behind, and went to wash when it was just about 12:40 AM, finding that the water was very good. I was done a little after 1:15 PM, and then I washed what was in the kitchen, put the remaining purchases in their place, cleaned up a little more, ate a sweet pastry and drank that juice, also used lettuce leaves in the salad, though I wouldn’t say that there were any noticeably bad ones, and ate dinner between 4:10 AM and 5:10 AM, forgetting to put seasonings in the salad and not going back to do so, and writing notes about the day during that time. I got in bed at 6:20 AM.

The plan was to get up when the noise would wake me up and take those coins to Penny, but I was only woken up for the first time a few minutes before 11 AM and it seemed like I could even get back to sleep before the workers’ break, so I got back in bed and actually did get back to sleep before noon, and while I woke up a few more times after that, it was pretty much quiet and I could get back to sleep right away, seeing 2:14 PM when I next checked the time and getting up about a quarter of an hour later, which was too late to risk going there again, so I didn’t. And late in the evening I napped a little more, that nap ending around midnight, when I was woken up by banging from upstairs, lasting for probably about a minute. And various noises that mostly sounded like relatively light furniture, like chairs or smaller tables or cabinets, being dragged around, possibly in the kitchen, and things occasionally falling or rolling on the floor, continued after that. But more concerning was that the faint soreness that I thought I was once again starting to feel in my throat for the past couple of days seemed more obvious at that point, but I just took one more of those vitamin C supplements expired since 2022. On the other hand, after going to the kitchen when it was past 1:20 AM, I “cheated” by taking a first bite of dinner in my room just before 3 AM, but it was past 3:20 AM when I actually started eating and I didn’t really wolf it down until I checked the time again and saw that it was almost 3:35 AM, at which point it was too late, so I finished at 3:45 AM.

After finding it pretty hard to fall asleep again, and then also getting up at 7:25 AM to pee, around 9 AM, if not a little earlier, I was woken up by loud drilling from upstairs. And the rain wasn’t bad, so I decided to take those coins to Penny, walking out just after 11:10 AM, wearing the warm jacket and a sweater, since it was 7°C. And since I also took the few recyclables with the deposit symbol, I went to that Carrefour Express first and put them in the machine, being left with the oddly-shaped bottle, which wasn’t accepted, and then cashing in the voucher. But I found three more recyclables on the way, and that was before reaching that Mega Image, so I went there and put them in the machine, even if each of them required a few tries. And in fact that machine also accepted that oddly-shaped bottle, and more easily than the others. So I then cashed in that voucher as well and had nothing left, which was just what I wanted, to avoid having anything other than the coins when I reached Penny.
After having a look inside and seeing how long the lines were, I didn’t try to enter through the exit door and talk to a cashier, hoping to find another employee inside. But I didn’t, at least not unless you count a guard, despite walking back and forth a little, so I eventually stood in line and when my turn came I said that I was there to hand over coins for their campaign, even pointing to the sign, that I had been told to come in the morning, and that I had 120 RON, since I had added 30 RON more, and should receive four vouchers. The cashier was somewhat confused, but she relayed the message through the headset… And then I was asked to show the coins, which I did, the other cashier also turning to look and seeming pleased. But a guard asked to see what I had in my pocket, so I showed her the empty bag. And, after discussing matters a little more through the headset, that guard took the coins, insisting on it even though the other one, who had been the one who had been in the store while I was looking for another employee, asked multiple times to do it instead. And then I waited for a while, until another employee, I guess the shift manager, came and handed me the 120 RON in bills and the four vouchers, turning around and walking away immediately… So he was already gone by the time I noticed, just after walking out, that one of the vouchers was from the original batch, before the campaign was extended, so it had already expired. But I rushed back in before the doors had even fully closed behind me, told that guard what the problem was, and after initially meaning to take all of the vouchers back, when I once again explained that just one had to be replaced she sent the message through the headset and took it away, returning some time later with a valid one.
Then I continued to Kaufland, but that proved to be a waste of time, so I walked back out without getting anything, using the entrance gate that opened for someone else, since there was nobody at the information desk at the time. But at least from Carrefour I got two sweet pastries, a ciabatta, and three beers for dad, all of them having the 50% discount… Admittedly, a 50% discount for bakery products seems awfully little now that I’m used to the 90% discounts made by Mega Image, but I wasn’t going to go to Mega Image that evening, so it was my only chance to get such things. And, after the machine asked for an employee twice, first after it told me to make sure that I had correctly scanned the beers and then, at the end, to approve their sale, I used both vouchers received for previous purchases when I paid.
On the way back I had to go around the area around the stadium again, because of the match taking place there that evening, and since when I had used the machine from this Carrefour Express I had spotted some eggs among the expiring products, I went there again, entering with the purchases and having a look, but two were cracked, one of them badly, even in the carton that looked better at first glance, and the other two had eggs that were smashed, one of them even being placed in a bag. I’d have probably been able to replace those two with two from the other carton that wasn’t bagged, to end up with a good carton, but the discount for such products is only 40% there, they weren’t exactly cheap, and the guard was hovering around, so I didn’t even try and walked back out. And when I got here I checked the nearby Mega Image as well, once again entering with everything and initially just walking out after having a look at the expiring and spoiling products, but there were two recyclables in the bin that’s outside the door, so I picked them up and went back to put them in the machine and then even stood in line to cash in the voucher.
I was back a little before 2:15 PM. Then I ate the last piece of what’s quite certainly the year’s last watermelon and one of the sweet pastries, took one of those cold pills expired since last September and one of those vitamin C supplements expired since 2022, cleaned the litter box and went to drop some trash down the chute, and put the few purchases in their place. And then I rearranged the munchies in my room and cleaned a little, doing an even worse job than I usually do because I didn’t bother to move even some things that I usually do move, not to mention some of the new ones, and I only pushed aside some of those that I did move, so there were areas where I couldn’t dust or vacuum, or at least not properly. But the main purpose was to change the sheets and start using the blanket again, since it was definitely getting too cold to just keep covering myself with that sheet, and I did that, though I didn’t bother turning the mattress at all, neither around nor over. And then, after also doing the day’s squats and washing, I munched on some slightly sweetened bagels while watching that match that took place here and made lunch, using a cheese pie that I already had as the base for something similar to a pizza, during the evening’s second match, eating it after it was over. And at night I used that ciabatta to make something else along those same lines that counted as dinner, though in that case I actually used the electric oven instead of just the microwave, as I had done the first time.

On October 3 it was quiet, most probably because of the storm, and being able to curl up under the blanket again probably helped as well, plus that I was just exhausted, so I really slept, only getting up close to 3:45 PM. And I only woke up twice before then, getting right back to sleep both times, after peeing… But the actual reason why I woke up the first time was that, if I had somehow managed to stop it from happening two and a half weeks earlier, my body did clean the plumbing after all, so I had to clean up a little. On the other hand, after getting up and eating three plums and two small apples, which I diced and mixed with sugar, I noticed that one of my lower front teeth was chipped. And I’m quite sure that it wasn’t chipped before eating those diced apples, but there’s no way they could have caused it, so it’s weird. And it actually hurts a little… Either way, in the morning I might have gotten in bed at 5:20 AM, but dad went to the bathroom just as I was about to go and I thought that he won’t take long and waited for him to be done instead of using the other toilet… But he actually took what for him is an unusually long amount of time, so I ended up getting in bed at 5:35 AM. But at least I once again slept well, the noise I heard during the few times I was awake for a somewhat longer time being faint and distant, and I only got up after the alarm rang, at 3:55 PM, to watch the qualifying for the race.

On October 5, I got up at 9:20 AM and actually went to the toilet, as in not just to pee, only getting back in bed when it was almost 10 AM. But then I actually got up after the alarm rang, at 2:50 PM, to watch the race. And then I also watched handball, during which I ate lunch, with part of a large bag of snacks instead of bread. And it was 6:50 PM when I left, taking the recyclables with the deposit symbol and rushing to Carrefour, having to go around the area that’s around the stadium, since a match was being played there that evening.
Since I had no time to waste and saw a line at the machine from Carrefour, I put those recyclables in a cabinet before entering the store and getting a few expiring products, including three bio (organic) yogurts. Then I retrieved the recyclables and put them in the machine from Kaufland, after seeing that they had changed the closing time again, to 8:30 PM for Sundays, and returning to 10:30 PM otherwise. So I peed and washed my hands as well, grabbing a recyclable left on the sink, putting it and the purchases in a cabinet, and entering the store when it was close to 7:50 PM, which wasn’t that much of a problem anymore. Then I made use of a great evening discount to get some parsnip roots for dad, along with some of the cheese that was on sale. I also picked up some of the cat food that should have been on sale, but the labels were confusing and the full price showed up when I scanned it, so I wondered whether it required the store card, since I couldn’t remember what was listed in the catalog… Only for the employee from the self-checkout area to notice that I was holding those bags and let me know that other customers had tried to buy those as well and saw that they weren’t discounted, saying that only the kind with turkey was. But the one I was holding was with turkey, so I pointed that out and told her that I’ll check first, yet when I did I found that it was indeed not discounted, so I had to call her over to remove it, though I pointed out one more time that it was with turkey and should therefore be discounted. Either way, I also used the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid and then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything. And then I rushed back, only picking up one more recyclable on the way and then putting both in the machine from the nearby Mega Image and cashing in the voucher.
It was close to 8:50 PM when I got back. Then I cleaned the litter box but left the bag there, in case there will be more to take later, did the day’s squats and finished those snacks while watching the rest of that match taking place here. And at 10:35 PM, just after it was over, and also shortly after my parents got here, since dad brought mother again, I went out again, wearing the thinner jacket, since I had taken the warmer one earlier and it proved to be too much even if I didn’t run, while I was definitely going to run then, after leaving so late.
I did have a look in the nearby Mega Image first, being surprised to see the bakery products already bagged and those from the top drawer having the 90% discount labels. But those weren’t interesting and no employee seemed to be around to label the rest, so I walked back out and ran to the Mega Image from Mihai Bravu. But it was too late for that one, only two uninteresting bakery products being left when I got there, and the other remaining expiring products were only discounted by 50% and not interesting enough to buy at that price. So I then really ran to Dristor, reaching that Mega Image that closes at 11 PM in just five minutes, entering at 10:52 PM… Only to see no bakery discounts whatsoever, plenty of products being left on the shelves, and all of the refrigerated expiring products were only discounted by 20%. So I left right away, rushing to the non-stop Mega Image as well, though I didn’t run anymore. But there were no bakery discounts there either, and I also saw ready meals that expired the following day that had no discount whatsoever, so I guess they hadn’t bothered to make those discounts that evening, though there were some products, mainly raw sausages and fish, that were discounted by 90%. But I wasn’t interested in any of those, so I just bought one thing for myself that was discounted by 50%, without receiving a receipt, putting it in the backpack, picking up a recyclable right after walking out, and then rushing back, though I didn’t run anymore. And when I got here I had another quick look inside this nearby Mega Image from the door, but there seemed to have been no change in the bakery area, so I didn’t enter again.
I was back for good a little after 11:35 PM. Then I went to drop that bag of trash down the chute, ate a banana brought by mother, talked to her for quite a while, and it was past 1:30 AM when I went to wash and close to 2:10 AM when I was done. Then I talked to dad a little as well, washed what was in the kitchen, moved what I had bought from Mega Image into a jar, and ate dinner between 4 AM and 4:40 AM. I got in bed at 6:15 AM.

The noise meant that my sleep was once again interrupted and agitated, and while I’m not certain, at one point I even thought that somebody knocked, either at the door or at a window, but I nevertheless did manage to sleep quite a lot, if you put it all together, only getting up when it was past 4:30 PM, though I was mostly awake towards the end of the period. On the other hand, after eating one of those bio (organic) yogurts I noticed that the cup had been pierced in one spot, the actual hole looking like one a needle would make, which was an obvious reason for concern. Either way, after doing the day’s squats, at 9:50 PM I went out again, despite the rain.
I once again jogged to the Mega Image from Mihai Bravu, getting there before the bakery products started being discounted, but some people were telling the employee what they wanted and getting those products right away, so if I didn’t do that I didn’t have much left, but I took one pastry that I could do something with and two buns that a guard spotted being set aside, in a bag, and put back on the shelf, the employee discounting them as well after being done with the rest. Then I wandered around a little, wondering if any of the other expiring products, which once again were only discounted by 50%, were going to get a higher discount, but I eventually gave up and just bought those things, the cashier rounding up the total. And then I once again continued to the non-stop Mega Image that’s close to the metro station, the good thing being that the rain had died down to a light one. But I entered that Mega Image just after 10:30 PM, with the purchases, and found that the bakery area was already cleared even then! And the other expiring products weren’t interesting there either, so I made my way back, picking up some recyclables and entering this nearby Mega Image at 10:52 PM. But no bakery products were discounted, and while I wasted some ten minutes inside the store, only leaving my bags next to the door when I went to the back area, the employees were cleaning and gave no sign that they were going to make any discounts, so I eventually retrieved my bags and walked out, grabbing another recyclable before getting back here.
I was back a little before 11:10 PM, just leaving those few purchases in the kitchen, cleaning the litter box and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute, and then rushing to wash. But then I spent some time in my room and only ate lunch, on and off, between 1:30 AM and 2 AM. And I also washed what was in the kitchen, though I left the grill, which dad had once again used, for the following day, took one more of those cold pills expired for over a year, and ate dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:10 AM. I got in bed at 5:25 AM… But the severe weather alert meant that the workers weren’t around and I slept really well, waking up as dad was getting ready to leave but staying in bed, getting back to sleep after he left, and not even needing to pee before getting up in the afternoon. On the other hand, while the weather alert was upgraded to red and the work on retrofitting the building was paused today as well, I was woken up at 10 AM by what sounded like walls being knocked down upstairs, and it felt like it too, considering how everything was shaking. But at least the noise eventually stopped, possibly after less than an hour, and I could get back to sleep, only getting up when it was almost 3:10 PM.