Cav's Place

After making and eating mamaliga at night, on the morning of May 7 I initially got up to pee every hour, and after that interval started to increase the reasons for waking up were dad leaving, the landline ringing again, and one of Liza’s “concerts”. This last one was at 12:20 PM, and then I guess I only woke again at the end of a sleep cycle, once again needing to pee, since that happened right at 2 PM and then just before 3:40 PM, which was when I decided to get up, though it was a few minutes before 4 PM when I actually did. Since when I had mentioned the landline ringing to dad the day before, he said that it might have been someone looking for him but, basically, not to answer, and I wondered whether I might have entered that phone number at a contest but after having a quick look on the computer realized that it was pretty certain that I hadn’t, I disconnected that phone when it rang again that morning, only reconnecting it after getting up. On the other hand, a serious concern was that the hot water had been off until then, and while when I got on the computer in the morning I saw on the site that it was supposed to be fixed at 3 PM, that had changed to 6:30 PM by then, so I really hoped that I won’t have to heat water again at night, since that was the last day before the half marathon when I could go out late in the evening, and I was also going to pick up the race kit. So I had lunch, took the first part of the supplements, including that one for immunity, went to the toilet, did the day’s squats, and it was past 6:30 PM when I left, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
I put those recyclables in the machine from the non-stop Mega Image that’s close to the metro station, which even accepted the pretty crushed one picked up on the way after a few tries, and then I threw away the bag used to carry them, cashed in the voucher, and continued on my way, using the opportunity to at least walk that part of the half marathon’s route and picking up some more recyclables and just one carton. I found an entire bag of milk cartons in one place, but since just that machine from the Mega Image that’s next to Tei accepts those and I obviously couldn’t go to pick up the race kit with them, I had to leave them there. And since I couldn’t go there with recyclables either, I put them in the machine from the Mega Image that’s close to Constitution Square, though by then I was rushing, so I didn’t stay to also cash in the voucher.
It was past 7:45 PM when I entered Constitution Square even so, and the schedule stated that picking up race kits was possible until 8 PM. But there were no lines, at most one person being before me, so I quickly got everything, being relatively content when I checked what was in the bag, even had a quick look at some of the gels and bars sold there, and before walking away I went to the information area and asked what were they going to do about that part of the route which I had seen was blocked by the work done there, on the side of the fountains that was supposed to be used around the 20 km mark… Only for the guy to say that he didn’t make the route to know, but that if we’ll end up using the same side then it’s not like it’ll be used both ways at the same time… Which was obviously wrong, so I pointed out that those finishing in one hour or so will reach 20 km well before those finishing in three will reach 11 km and he admitted that, but still said that “it’ll be fine”. So I only got a real answer on my own, after walking out of there just before 8 PM, returning to that Mega Image and having a quick look in the store before cashing in the voucher received earlier, and then walking past that area again and seeing 20 km marked on one side and 11 km on the other side of that part of the road that was still open, so on the same side of the fountains.
Since I had grabbed some more recyclables by the time I reached Carrefour Unirii, I put them in the machine, then put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands… And I was surprised to see bakery discounts, though they were of only 30%, so I’m thinking that they had started making them at 8:30 PM, since I got there around 8:45 PM and they were just about done. But I didn’t care to get anything with such a low discount, so I went back down, took my time to select two bundles of green onions, since those were two for the price of one, added an expiring gluten-free brownie, even if it was imported, since it was discounted by 70% and I was curious, used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout, and then retrieved what I had in the cabinet. And on the way to Kaufland Popa Nan I grabbed a few more recyclables, one of them being somewhat crushed, and checked another Mega Image, putting my things in a cabinet and retrieving them after having a look through the store, seeing that the bakery discounts of 50% were already made, and also looking through the catalog.
After putting those recyclables in the machine from Kaufland, needing to stick a finger in that rather crushed one in order to straighten it enough to be accepted, I put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands again, entered the store a few minutes past 10 PM… And saw piles of green onions that looked great and were discounted by 90%! So it was really frustrating that I had bought those from Carrefour, but how could I have known that I was going to find something like this after usually not finding any green onions in Kaufland in the evening for so long, or at most finding a few bundles left only because they hadn’t been discounted that day. But I wasn’t going to miss the opportunity, so I grabbed eight bundles from there as well, plus the last two remaining bundles of radishes and a lettuce, that great discount applying to these as well. And there was a nice evening discount for red cabbage as well, and it was also supposedly Romanian, so I took one of those too. On the other hand, none of the products which had been discounted were left in the bakery area, and they also seemed to be out of the nice yogurt that had a nice discount if you activated it, which I had done on-line. Either way, I also used the voucher received for the recyclables and was just about to finish using the self-checkout when the closing announcement came. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything.
While I had plenty of those cheap yogurts, so there was something to fall back to if I won’t find something else, I wanted a nice yogurt to eat before the race and not finding any of that one at Kaufland made me check three more Mega Image locations on the way back, hoping to find something among the expiring products. So I put the bags in a cabinet at the first one, in two cabinets that I didn’t lock, the door of one of them not even closing properly because it was too small for that bag, at the non-stop one that’s close to the metro station, and left them next to the door at the nearby one, entering with the backpack each time… And finally finding something just at this nearby one. It wasn’t what I’d have wanted, having 10% fat and just 4.5% protein, but it was bio (organic) and “creamy”, and the 50% discount meant that it had the same price as that other one would have had at Kaufland, so I bought one. And otherwise, I grabbed a few more recyclables and a carton and used a drinking fountain to wash my hands a little more.
I got back at 11:25 PM. Then I showed dad what was in the race kit and talked to him a little, just put that expiring yogurt in the fridge, cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, realized that I had forgotten something that I had meant to add in that bag and went back to drop that down the chute as well, ate what was still usable out of a spoiling orange and a sweet pastry that I already had, and since there was hot water and I also wanted to watch something, a little before 12:40 PM I rushed to wash, being done at 1:05 AM. Then I ate what was still good from a spoiling apple as well, washed what was in the kitchen, put the rest of the purchases, as well as the things from the race kit, in their place, used the worse leaves from the salad and plenty of green onion tops for the salad, and finally ate dinner between 5:05 AM and 5:45 AM, putting some of that recently expired bio (organic) peanut butter on all of the bread. I got in bed at 7:05 AM, after rubbing cream on my hands and feet.

Despite being woken up by Liza scraping in the litter box for minutes, by the landline ringing again, and several times by drilling or other such noises, I always got back to sleep quickly, so I’d say that, by the time I got up for good, just after 2:50 PM, I had gotten a total of at least six and a half hours of sleep, if not close to seven, though the quality left a lot to be desired. And before going to bed in the morning I used cream on my hands and feet again.

On the morning of May 9, after waking up for the first time, just before 8:30 AM, as dad was about to leave, I remained pretty much awake for well over half an hour, in part because of the noise made by the workers who seemed to finish taking down the scaffolding that was between the parts of the building, behind the bathrooms. But then I slept for some three hours before getting up to pee again, got right back to sleep after that, and woke up again at 2:15 PM, by which point I had gotten a total of some seven and a half hours. Even though it was quiet, it was harder to sleep after that, or at least harder to stay asleep, so I alternated between being asleep and awake a number of times, but I wasn’t awake for all that long when I finally got up, at 4:44 PM, so I should have gotten a total of some nine hours of sleep.
In the evening, I set the carrots to boil before finishing what I posted that day and the water boiled away before I went back to the kitchen. It’d have probably been fine if I’d have done so right after posting, but I also checked the links and then tried to see when was the last time I walked to the metro station, realizing that I was taking too long and giving up before finding that it was way back in 2017, but by then it was already too late, at least for my tea kettle, which I had used and got badly burned, though at least the carrots were quite fine. Either way, I ate dinner, putting some of that expired bio (organic) peanut butter on gluten-free bread, between 1:50 AM and 2:15 AM. And then I got ready for the morning, putting the number on the t-shirt, getting most of the burn off the kettle before making the tea, putting that bio (organic) yogurt in a bowl, along with the cereals and almonds, getting rid of the bad parts from an apple, cutting it in half, and putting it back in the fridge as well, taking a pill against gas, shaving, and putting napkins, a Smecta Go, a vial of liquid magnesium and an expired high protein chocolate bar in the pocket of my tights. I got in bed at 4:10 AM… But it was hard to fall asleep, and I didn’t even stay asleep after I eventually did, waking up at some point, and I’m not even certain that I had just managed to fall asleep again before the alarm rang, at 6 AM.
Either way, after getting up I ate the apple and the yogurt with cereals and almonds, actually left something in the toilet, though it felt like there was more there, also ate the last of the cozonac, with added honey, took another pill against gas, a regular Smecta, putting it in the tea I drank, and the first part of the day’s supplements, taking what was left, as in one pill of iron and one of that one for joints, with me, and left a little after 7:45 AM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The temperature was supposed to be about 15-16°C at the start time of 9 AM and 17-18°C at 11 AM.
The unpleasant part was that it was raining lightly. And, as I said, I walked to the metro, apparently for the first time since 2017, using one trip from that found metro card. And, while the metro came right away, it then stopped in the tunnel for a while, some of the lights turning off and the conductor only announcing that there had been a technical problem after it got moving again. But then I could switch, the other one coming pretty quickly as well, so at 8:15 AM I was getting off at Izvor… And when I got back to the surface I found that the rain had worsened.
I must have reached Constitution Square somewhere between 8:20 and 8:25 AM, though I didn’t actually check then. Then I had a quick look around, not seeing anything that was readily given away, or at least nothing that I cared and dared to try to get, so after doing just a few stretching moves on my own, I put my jacket and phone in the backpack, took shelter in a tent while trying to tie the rope straps the way I usually do but eventually having to give up when I just couldn’t seem to manage it, and at 8:40 AM I went to hand it in at the wardrobe, taking the remaining supplements after doing so. And then I went to the toilets that are closer to the starting area, standing in line there, then peeing and washing my hands, and then making my way to the sector meant for those aiming to finish in less than 1:45, which was once again listed as 1:20:00-1:44:59… But after initially remaining pretty much where I was as I ate that expired chocolate bar, I saw that it wasn’t hard to follow others and keep advancing, so I did that, ending up unexpectedly close to the line by the time the start was given, about a minute late.

I’ll now skip past the race and what I did after it, before walking away from Constitution Square, and say that I did so just before 12:55 PM, with some gathered recyclables. And I only grabbed one more as I approached Carrefour Unirii, and then yet another out of those which had been left in front of the exit, where the machines are, seeing more there but not daring to have a good look at them since those who take care of the machines were paying close attention. So I just took my place in line, dad calling while I was waiting, and I ended up using a machine that couldn’t have accepted glass bottles at the time, since that crate had filled and the guy took it out and restarted the machine before walking away to empty it. So a woman who was also there had a look at what those of us who were waiting had and told us to only use that machine if we didn’t have glass, and that we should unscrew the caps from plastic bottles before putting them in. Either way, I had no glass, so for me it was no problem, and I could put everything in, including a somewhat crushed can which had been left on the machine and which I grabbed and straightened enough to get it to be accepted as well. And just after walking away I grabbed another recyclable and a carton.
After putting my things in a cabinet, I took a couple of expiring products and hid them before going to pee and wash my hands. Then I retrieved those products and beeped dad twice, but he only called back after I had already left the store, so I went with what I thought he’d want, just getting one for him and putting back the other. I had also taken something for mother that I thought was two for the price of one, but at the self-checkout I saw that there was actually only a 50% discount for the second product, so I called over an employee to remove those things. And the value of the voucher received for the recyclables was higher than the price of what I bought for dad, so I couldn’t use it when I paid, and then I forgot to cash it in, ending up keeping it for another time.
On the way back I saw piles of non-refrigerated expiring products in the Profi from Decebal, buying some that were discounted by 70%, and seeing that the receipt listed the store as Mega Image, so I guess that the takeover was completed in the formal sense. Either way, I then grabbed another recyclable, put everything in a cabinet that didn’t lock from that Penny, and spent almost all I had left on some bottles of a thicker kind of tomato juice and a bag of expiring chicken legs. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged things a little, and grabbed more recyclables on the way back.
I got back for the first time a few minutes before 4 PM, with almost 14.5 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop what I gathered down the chute, picking up another recyclable from the garbage room, after which I put all of the things I had brought in their place… And filled the toilet. And then I ate a bag of peanuts, getting some 950 calories just from that, changed, leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again at 7:20 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
I picked up some more recyclables on the way to Kaufland, and I also took the labels off two crushed ones… Or at least I think I took both of those then, though it’s possible that I had already taken one before getting back for the first time. Either way, what I hope was just water dripped on me from the second crushed bottle after I picked it up, but I also found a bottle of the right size for one of the labels, placing it on it and having it accepted by the machine along with all but one of the rest. And then I washed my hands, dashing to the women’s for soap, and entered the store, with the remaining recyclable and label, a little before 8 PM, finding the bakery area almost cleared, though I could get two sweet pastries for mother that were discounted by at 50%. And then I figured out just what to get in order for the total to be just marginally over the amount needed for the voucher that doubled the value of those received for recyclables and used during their recent campaign. And it worked, so I then cashed in the one received that evening, the closing announcement coming just when I was done. But the purchases were both heavy and large, so I struggled to drag myself away from the machine and went through the gate when the guy who used the machine after me scanned his receipt to open it, since it’d have been really difficult to find a way to scan mine while holding on to everything.
After struggling to arrange most of the purchases in the large backpack and the rest in a bag, I made my way to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, getting there at 8:55 PM and leaving everything next to that payment machine. But there was no sign of the cart with the products that would have been discounted by 90%, though that regular seemed to have found or been given one, or at least I think she did, though I didn’t actually look closely enough to confirm that it was discounted by 90%. Either way, after the labels with the 50% evening discount were placed on the bakery products, I saw the employee who was handling the discounts take several discounted products out from under the counter and hand them to someone, possibly another employee who wasn’t on shift at the time, and then she came to the self-checkouts with a basket of her own filled with such products, so it didn’t seem like she had left anything for regular customers, though I didn’t actually ask. But at least I got three sweet pastries. And on the way back I had quick looks in Profi, Carrefour Express, and the nearby Mega Image, entering with everything and then just walking back out in the first and the last, while at Carrefour Express I left the bag with purchases on the cabinets and retrieved it after trying to put that recyclable which had been rejected earlier in the machine from there as well, still without any luck. I also grabbed a couple more recyclables on the way, but I didn’t care to put those in if that one didn’t work.
I was back for good just after 9:45 PM, with over 21.5 kg. And dad had taken something out of the litter box, putting what he had gathered in a bag, but he told me to put back the clean sand if I thought that he had gathered any, which he obviously had, so I tried to do that, but had more to gather from the litter box anyway, so I then did that, though I left that bag there. Then I put the purchases in their place, and at 10:40 PM I went to wash, being done a little after 11:25 PM and then rushing to post something, even if it the post wasn’t quite complete at 11:59 PM, so I edited it to fix things minutes later. And after spending a little more time on the computer, I made myself something to eat as lunch, on and off, starting to eat around 2 AM and finishing at 3 AM. As for dinner, I ate it between 4:05 AM and 4:55 AM, after which I put cream on my hands and feet and actually got in bed at the usual time. And I caught up on sleep, being woken up a few times between 11:40 AM and 12:35 AM by drilling but napping even between those moments, and while as of some point I started alternating between being asleep and awake and had been awake for a while by the time I got up, close to 5:45 PM, I should have gotten a total of some ten hours of sleep.

Moving on to the early hours of May 12, I was making mamaliga when another piece of enamel from the bottom of the cast iron pot shattered with a pop, so I was worried about something having happened on the inside as well and poured the contents of the pot into two bowls and tried to scrape enough of what was stuck on the bottom to check, being relieved when everything seemed fine and I could pour back what was in those bowls and continue. And since that guy was going to come in the afternoon and continue working on the bug nets and I wanted to go out before he did, I initially set the alarm to ring at 1 PM. However, while I could get right back to sleep after getting up to pee for the first time and also after Liza woke me by going to the litter box, I could no longer do so at all after getting woken up again, a little before 9 AM, when dad got up and fed Liza, and peeing again and exchanging a few words with him. There were the noises he made while getting ready to leave, then Liza’s “concert” after he did, also the landline ringing again, and at some point noise started coming from above once again. I might have just drifted off for a little while at some point, but when I got woken up again by some drilling, a little after 11:30 AM, and it looked like I still wasn’t able to get back to sleep, I eventually decided to go to the toilet, the annoying thing being that it was quiet while I was there. But at least that was done, so after having moved the alarm to 2 PM before going, I then moved it to 2:30 PM, and eventually managed to get a few more naps, though they were still interrupted… And after being woken up at 2:05 PM by another one of those bad dreams that seemed very “real”, I decided to get up and turn off the alarm.
After cleaning the litter box and doing the day’s squats I finished taking the supplements, since starting a day early meant that I had a day left after the half marathon and I had decided to just take one pill of iron and the one for joints the day before and the rest, plus one more of those for immunity, at that point. And then dad called to say that the guy was going to come later, so I read a little, but as time passed and dad wasn’t getting back I got increasingly worried, both about him and about that guy coming while I was still here and alone, eventually stepping out to drop a bag of trash down the chute and leave two cooking oil bottles next to it… Only for dad to walk up the stairs just then, so I came back to wash my hands, we exchanged a few words, and I finally left just before 5 PM, with a few recyclables with the deposit symbol and a label that also had the symbol.
I had seen that a kind of cat food, mainly for mother’s cats, was two for the price of one at Carrefour Market, though not at the hypermarkets, and there are two of them on either side of a farmers’ market that’s not far, so I went there, picking up a couple more recyclables on the way, putting all of them in the machine from the first one, getting what cat food of that kind I found there, which was less than a box, plus two cans of something else for dad, which I noticed were also two for the price of one, and then using the voucher received for those recyclables as well as the one which I had forgotten to cash in at Carrefour Unirii after the half marathon. And then I continued to the other one, putting those purchases in a cabinet that didn’t lock and finding more than two full boxes of that cat food, so I got all of that as well, after which I retrieved the previous purchases, put everything in a bag, and after stepping outside I took my time to get as much of that cat food as I could in the backpack. And since I hadn’t been there in years, I then had very quick looks in a few of the stores that are in or around that farmers’ market before making my way back to Penny Titan, putting everything in a cabinet that once again didn’t lock and getting what I wanted from there, plus some expiring chicken legs. And dad called just after I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, to say that the guy had left, so I came right back, picking up a few more recyclables and a carton.
I was back for the first time a little before 8 PM. And then dad told me of the new plan for the bug nets, which he had made with that guy. I disagreed with it, but even if they weren’t installed yet, they were already built according to that idea, and they’re not for my window, so I just moved along, putting the purchases in their place, eating lunch, and finally leaving again when it was almost 9:40 PM, with the recyclables and labels with the deposit symbol, since I had picked up one more label during the first trip. And I had seen a bottle in the garbage room that didn’t have the symbol but was the correct size for that second label, and it was still there when I had another look, so I grabbed it and at some point on the way I took off its label and put that one on it, obviously needing to walk slowly while doing that but otherwise jogging much of the way to Kaufland, though I still picked up some more recyclables.
After putting all of the recyclables in the machine, that one also being accepted, albeit after several attempts, I washed my hands particularly thoroughly, since I usually make a point of not looking when I pass by hospitals, and that one in particular, so I won’t be tempted to grab something from spots that are more risky, but when I took off that bottle’s label I was passing the bin that’s next to the bus stop that’s at the gate to the hospital, so I threw that label in it and when I saw a recyclable there, I took it. Either way, it was a few minutes past 10 PM when I entered the store, and the bakery discounts were of 75% but hardly anything other than buns and some breads were left, so I took several buns and one bread, then added two lettuces that had a great evening discount, looked around the store, and when I found nothing else I went back to the bakery area and added two more buns, even if my hands were no longer clean at that point and one also looked quite banged up. And I was at the self-checkout when the closing announcement came and had all of the buns in a single bag, which the machine wouldn’t initially accept… Until I dropped it a little harder on the scales, which made it accept it for one moment but then say that I had picked a product off the scales, and I couldn’t sort it out, so I eventually had to call over the employee to override the error. And then I also cashed in the voucher received for the recyclables and went to the scales that are outside the checkout area to get some labels to hold the bags closed, at which point I also weighed the bag with the buns and saw that it had six grams less than the total weight that the buns should have had, so I guess that machine wanted to be very accurate.
After spotting a cart with the coin in it in the parking lot and struggling to take it to others that I could connect it to and retrieve the coin, since the wheels seemed mostly stuck, it was almost 10:45 PM when I actually walked away… And then I also jogged part of the way to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, so I was there at 10:50 PM, entering with everything and finding some products that were discounted by 90%, most of them having something else listed on the discount labels, though the prices seemed correct. Still, I took one of those that had the correct label and a plain bread for dad, since that was discounted by 70% at that hour, and then continued to the non-stop one, putting my things in a cabinet that didn’t lock, and getting two bakery products that had the 50% discount. The discount label listed just one, but I pointed out to the cashier that there were two, and I also used the voucher received for cartons that I still had, but when the cashier, who had apparently just filed a complaint with the police and was closing the register after the person who was behind me, seemed to make a point of thanking me for coming and asking me to visit them again without handing me the receipt, I didn’t ask or wait for it, just going to retrieve what I had in the cabinet and then making my way back, grabbing some more recyclables… Including one from a bin that contained more, but after I picked up that one I saw a woman stopping at a nearby bench and looking in my direction, so I walked away, had a very quick look in the nearby Mega Image, and by the time I got back there both the woman and the rest of those recyclables were gone.
I got back just after 11:45 PM. Then I put the purchases in their place, washed what was in the kitchen, made tea, since I hadn’t that day, ate an orange and put together something sweet and ate that as well, and it was 1:45 AM when I went to wash. I was done at 2:30 AM, but then I spent some time on the computer, so it was 3 AM when I got back to the kitchen… And at some point I saw and squashed another strange bug there, so I guess things had on again gotten in while the windows were open and still without nets. Either way, I also searched for an appropriate bag and arranged that food for mother’s cats in it, used the worse leaves of the lettuces, and finally ate dinner between 5:40 AM and 6:30 AM, with some ten minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 7:15 AM, somewhat concerned after having sneezed several times during the day and having a rather odd feeling in my chest as well.

At least I caught up on sleep, even if it didn’t seem like it at first, since I fell asleep quickly but at 7:45 AM I was woken up by Liza going to the litter box after dad got up, so I changed back into my day clothes while waiting for him to be done in the bathroom, then went to pee again, just in case, and cleaned the litter box before changing into my pajamas again, getting back in bed… And basically waiting for him to leave, which happened just before 8:30 AM, since I could only get back to sleep some time after that. But then there were no other noises that actually kept me awake, and even though after a certain point I kept waking up on my own, the naps getting ever shorter and basically alternating between being asleep and awake, I always did get right back to sleep and only got up for good a few minutes before 5:30 PM.