Cav's Place

After making and eating mamaliga at night, on the morning of June 14 I kept getting up to pee, at one point spending a few minutes on the computer and at another exchanging a few words with dad and catching the last few minutes of a match. But when I got up again, just after 10:50 AM, I stayed up for almost half an hour, changing to clean the litter box and exchanging a few more words with dad, and after changing back I set the alarm to ring at 3:50 PM, for the race, before getting back in bed, a little before 11:20 AM. But if I got back to sleep at all until dad left, right at noon, it was for mere moments. Yet I did get back to sleep after that, only getting up to pee once more around 2:30 PM, and then I got some more sleep until the alarm rang, though it was in the form of a series of short naps. Either way, I then had an early lunch and left at 7:20 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, the cartons, and those other things that I take to Kaufland, just picking up another carton on the way, finding that the machines from Kaufland couldn’t be used, the area being closed, putting those other things in what may be the appropriate bin and the recyclables and cartons in a cabinet, washing my hands, and entering the store just after 7:50 PM.
It was only after taking a sweet pastry and a bread, both being discounted by 75%, and meaning to take a bag to put them in out of the backpack that I realized that I had forgotten the backpack and bags! But there was a flimsy bag left there, of the kind that they should charge for if taken from the store, but even though it seemed clean, it had been dropped there by someone, so I took it and put the paper bags with the bakery products in it, with no intention of charging myself for it. Then I checked the fruits and vegetables, seeing piles of spoiling ones, many of them various kinds of packaged tomatoes, and I had set aside a few packages to select one from, but the moment I took two away to weigh them and have a better look, an employee came to gather the rest, starting just with those which I had set aside, even though they were on the otherwise empty bottom shelf and the higher ones were full of products, and I couldn’t identify them when I glanced into the crate. He tried to hand me a better package when I told him that I had set some aside, but I walked away, initially selecting one of the two which I had walked away with but eventually putting that back as well, after seeing that a deep discount had finally appeared for lettuces after 8:15 PM and taking one, along with a bundle of huge radishes and a celery with leaves, both of those also having evening discounts. And I was in line for the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came, and when I could use a machine I tried to scan the screenshot of a QR code which I had seen on-line in the catalog for the following period, though I just shrugged it off when nothing happened.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet, I moved the cartons into the bag with the recyclables and used that one for the vegetables, since it seemed somewhat less soiled, though I continued to hold that bag with the bakery products separately, walking out when it was past 8:35 PM and going to that non-stop Mega Image, where I saw that the regular recycling machine wasn’t working but that one that accepts more recyclables at once did. However, another person used it ahead of me and after she was done a label and a receipt were left inside, and that seemed to make the machine assume that there were still recyclables there, so it kept “processing” and I walked away, albeit taking a bag which that woman had used for her recyclables and then left there, as well as a plastic bottle which had been in the bin and was of the correct size for a label which I had picked up. But after going to put the cartons into that other machine, I went back to that recycling one and found that it could be used again, so I put in what I could, since it spat out the glass bottles and I didn’t dare to try to put in that one on which I had placed that label, since it was certainly going to come off.
After putting my things into two cabinets, I had a look in the store, but eventually just cashed in the voucher received for the recyclables and retrieved my things. And then I checked no less than four other Mega Image locations, putting my things into a cabinet that I didn’t lock at the first three and walking in with everything at the nearby one. I didn’t get anything from the first two, and the machine from the one from Dristor wasn’t working either, but the one from the one from Mihai Bravu was and I managed to get there a couple of minutes before 10 PM, so I used it for the glass bottles, even being able to put in that one which hadn’t been accepted before. But when I also tried that one on which I had placed that label, it pushed it back and the label came off and slid into the machine. However, after cashing in the voucher, I checked another cabinet and found a coin left in the lock, so I took it and considered it as making up for what I had lost. And then I actually got something, two sweet pastries, with the 50% evening discount, from the non-stop Mega Image that’s close to the metro station, after which I left the one bought from Kaufland next to a homeless person who was curled up on a bench. And on the way back I grabbed a few more recyclables and dropped that one without a label in a recycling bin.
I got back a few minutes before 11 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, spread out the purchases, ate a sweet pastry, and rushed to properly write another section of that day’s post but couldn’t quite do so before midnight, so I initially just posted a temporary title, changing it and adding the post minutes later, though at that point the post still included a couple of sections that were only in the form of notes. Either way, I then put the purchases in their place, munched on a small handful of pumpkin seeds, did 200 squats, since I had forgotten to do them the previous day, and it was 1:05 AM when I went to wash. I was done at 1:45 AM, and then I washed what was in the kitchen, dealt with my bread, used the worse leaves of the lettuce for the salad, probably throwing away more than I otherwise would have because I was worried about having carried it in that bag, despite washing what was left particularly thoroughly, and ate dinner between 4:25 AM and 5 AM. I initially got in bed at 7:10 AM, but when I checked the running processes, as I always do before going to bed, I saw an instance of rundll32 added to those that the system seemed to forget to close, and while other such processes kept adding up, Windows 10 seeming to be bad at closing them once they’re done, I hadn’t seen that one stuck so far, so after a few minutes I got back on the computer and rebooted, and then checked that things seemed fine, actually getting in bed at 7:20 AM.

Dad had said that he had nothing to do until the afternoon and was going to sleep as long as possible, but he woke me by feeding Liza when it wasn’t even 10:55 AM, and when I came out of my room he rushed to use the toilet and brush his teeth, so I had to wait before going to pee as well. And then I had another look on the computer, getting back in bed at 11:10 AM… And remaining awake for quite a while, the small noises that dad kept making definitely not helping. Still, I eventually got back to sleep, and while there was a point when I was woken up again when dad had put his phone on speaker, I got back to sleep again within moments, waking up once more at 2:10 PM and getting up just over ten minutes later, so after some five hours of sleep, maybe up to five and a half at the very best. On the other hand, I ended up giving up on my plan to read some more that day, because I took a shot in the dark and asked ChatGPT about that game that I played way back and which I could never identify despite having very specific memories about how it started. And, while it didn’t identify it for me, the advice about where and how to look led me down the right path. It took a while then, and later I spent some more time looking into it, but I’m basically certain that it was version 0.5 of Abaddon, which seems to be quite different from later versions that more information can be found about, though it seems to be available on archive.org, and the thumbnails from the archived SourceForge site also helped jog the memory.

Moving on to the early hours of June 16, I put some of that expired bio (organic) peanut butter on all of the bread, albeit sparingly, wanting to make sure that I had enough left to have before the Dream Trek. And then I asked ChatGPT to help me find a book series that I knew I read and could never track down… And I’m pretty sure that it actually did. Oddly, it did it when I was offered two different answers that went on two different paths, one not even mentioning that series, which the other said immediately stood out according to some of the criteria, though others didn’t fit. But when I saw the covers of the Ever series by Felicity Savage I had an immediate “that’s it” reaction, and some of the descriptions also seem to fit, and they definitely seem to be obscure titles, which would explain why I couldn’t find them before. On the other hand, while the plan was to run, I didn’t set an alarm, and I really slept, only waking up twice and getting right back to sleep both times. The first time was at 8:35 AM, seconds before the phone gave a low battery warning, so that couldn’t have been the reason, and I set it to charge and then went to pee, while the second time was at 1:45 PM, but I decided to just pee once more and then get some more sleep, which lasted until just after 3:10 PM, when I was woken up by some brief drilling. And I took it easy even then, snapping up when I realized that I was about to drift off again and getting up when it was almost 3:25 PM. And then I had the usual stuff, both the apple and the yogurt being bio (organic) and the sweet thing consisting of two of those nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey, cleaned the litter box, and left at 6:10 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband and with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 25°C, and 26°C when I finished.
The time was 1:19:15, with sector times of 4:26.82, 5:09 (5:08.66), 6:01 (6:00.81), 4:35.31, 5:08.22, 5:59 (5:58.66), 4:39.31, 5:13 (5:12.84), 6:10 (6:09.94), 4:38 (4:37.65), 5:10.59, 6:05, 4:45, 5:15 and 6:02, making for lap times of 15:36.29, 15:42.19, 16:02.09, 15:53 and 16:02. So I once again checked the exact times for as long as they were displayed, and I didn’t get confused about any of them. Either way, I was hoping to stay under 1:20, but I doubted it, and going over six minutes on the third sector, even if marginally, wasn’t a good sign. But the lap as a whole wasn’t bad, and if I could also stay clearly under 16 minutes on lap two, I had a chance. And I managed that, so I started calculating, hoping to at least squeeze under 16 minutes on lap three as well… Only to lose a little time and be unable to make up for it despite pushing, that sector three actually being a concern in itself. So I knew that I had to go for it, and doing so actually led to getting back under 16 minutes on lap four and thinking that I could even afford to have to retie a shoelace, as long as it won’t get knotted, and still stay under 1:20. But that meant that the goal became to get under 1:19:30, assuming that I won’t need to do that, and in the end I had a very clear margin. Not that this isn’t still a poor time, but I guess it’s what I can do at this point, and it was somewhat better than the initial target.
Other than a pretty normal amount of weaving and going the long way around, the first two laps were quite all right. But at the end of lap two I saw two cyclists, one of whom had a flat tire and was struggling to keep up with the other, and on sector one of lap three I overtook him. But the other wasn’t waiting too long, so the guy with the flat tire pushed and overtook me again, and on much of the long straight I stayed behind them and probably slowed a little as a result. Then, on sector two, I hesitated because of some kids on scooters and then stopped for a couple of seconds when a guy was carrying a kayak in from the lake, across the path. And on sector three I briefly stopped when I barely avoided a little girl who jumped on a scooter and started going across the path right in front of me, and right at the end of the lap I might have also hesitated when a guy seemed to try to get his kid to go a certain way and the kid was trying to escape. Then, on sector one of lap four, I stopped again, I think for a couple of seconds, while on the long straight of sector two of lap four I slowed no less than four times, for various reasons. I’m not sure about the next sector, but I might have hesitated at some point on that one as well. And on sector one of lap five I slowed for a few seconds and probably also briefly stopped because of a roadblock. But at least the only other issue was a certain pressing need that appeared from sector three of lap three, and it lessened after that, though there were a few more moments when I noticed it.

After the run, I went to Penny Titan, entering with the few recyclables picked up on the way, since the machine wasn’t working and just getting some canned fish that was on sale, though they had removed the sale labels and the regular price was listed at the shelf. And then I picked up some more recyclables and a label that also had the symbol on the way to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, getting there before 8:50 PM… Only to see that the machine wasn’t working there either, so I put my things in a cabinet that I didn’t lock and waited for the products that were discounted by 90% to be brought out. And there were a whole lot of them. Admittedly, there was a basket of bread and one of packaged salads, but there were plenty of things in the cart as well, including some nice juices and those pancakes of theirs. However, those regulars were also there, plus some other people, and those women really rushed in to grab as much as they could, and I think the guys also set their sights on the juices, so I couldn’t catch any, but I actually got to pick multiple packs of pancakes and selected two that looked the best, and then I added some melon pieces that one of those women put back, thinking that I was getting them for mother. And then I arranged the purchases, retrieved what I had in the cabinet, and on the way back I added something to the recyclables and checked Profi, Carrefour Express and the nearby Mega Image, always entering with everything, not buying anything else, putting the recyclables in the machine from Carrefour Express and just cashing in the voucher, and seeing bakery discounts at this Mega Image as well, which is highly unusual lately.
I got back at 9:55 PM. And mother called dad moments later, so I mentioned that I had those melon pieces for her and she said that she didn’t want them and I shouldn’t buy them anymore, since when they’re so discounted they’re starting to ferment. So I ended up setting aside a pack of pancakes for dad to take to her and eating those melon pieces myself, even if I struggled to do so, since I really don’t like it. Either way, I also washed what was in the kitchen, munched on some snacks, ate a sweet pastry that I already had, made mamaliga, did the day’s squats, and stuck to the dinner schedule, even if I “cheated” a little in order to be able to say that I took a first bite in by room before 3 AM. And a little after 3:45 AM I went to wash, trying to be quick and managing to finish in 25 minutes. I got in bed at 6:25 AM, after rubbing cream on my feet.

I only slept for about an hour before dad woke up to go to the bathroom and apparently decided to feed Liza, waking me, at which point I felt a bad itch on my abdomen, noticing that something had bitten me. The itch died down after I put some medicinal alcohol there, after going to pee, but I don’t think that I managed to get back to sleep at all before dad actually got up for good, feeding Liza again, and she also went to the litter box twice, so I got up, changed, cleaned the litter box, and then stayed up until some time after dad left, changing back and getting back in bed at 10 AM, but reading for quite a while, actually trying to get some more sleep from 11:20 AM, and adding some five hours before getting up for good just after 5:50 PM.

The next morning, things didn’t look good when I knew that dad wasn’t going to leave, at least in the first part of the day, and the noise he made woke me up twice and kept me awake for a little while. But then he apparently stayed in the living room and closed the door and I could sleep until 2:35 PM without waking up again. And then I took another brief nap, getting up a few minutes after 3 PM. And then I had an early lunch, did the day’s squats, cleaned up quite a lot after dad, cleaned the litter box as well, and left at 7:20 PM, with a bag of trash that I dropped down the chute and the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
After picking up one more recyclable, I put them in the machine from Penny and then just cashed in the voucher before continuing to Carrefour, taking a label off a crushed recyclable, and getting some expiring products. And then I passed by that Kaufland, having no more time for it, and went back to the Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, entering it just after 8:55 PM, putting the purchases in a cabinet, and getting a few small baguettes that were discounted by 90%, after handing the store card to the cashier so he could scan it for another customer as well.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet, I continued to Kaufland Basarabia, grabbing two more recyclables and putting them in the machine from there, finding that they had installed one of those large recycling places in that location as well. Then I put the purchases in a cabinet, peed and washed my hands, and was relieved to see that some green onions were left and had a great evening discount when I entered the store. So I quickly grabbed some buns that I meant to use as bread, even if they were only discounted by 40% and I already had those small baguettes, and then went back there, grabbing the one better bundle of green onions along with one of the small ones, and using this as an excuse to also take the cut tops that were in the crate. And then I also made use of great evening discounts for radishes and lettuces, added a handful of potatoes, even if that discount was probably only a normal one, and some spoiling pears for mother, and then I grabbed a few other things and as many pieces of discounted processed meat products as I could select until closing time approached, since I wanted to have a look at the non-refrigerated expiring products as well. And I was doing that when an employee told me that the store was closing, so I just held on to one deeply discounted product, even if it was imported, and got to the self-checkout just as the closing announcement came, also using the voucher received for the recyclables. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, walked out through the emergency exit, and took my time to spread out the purchases on one of the tables and arrange everything, walking away just after 10:45 PM.
Since only one cabinet with a key was free at that non-stop Mega Image, I put two bags in it and the third in another one, which I couldn’t lock, and entered the store just before 11 PM, wandering around for a while and eventually deciding to stop wasting time when it didn’t seem like any products that were discounted by 90% were going to be brought, and even if I was some distance away at the time, I had also noticed a guy ask an employee who had just walked out of that back room something, appearing to get a negative response, and making his way to the checkout, seeming rather disappointed. So I just grabbed a sweet pastry for mother, with the 50% evening discount, and noticed a regular 45% discount for some large chocolate bars, if you used the store card, so I decided to buy one of those as well. And then I retrieved my things and grabbed a few more recyclables on the way back.
I got back right at midnight. Then I put the unusable radish and lettuce leaves and the bad parts from the green onion tops into a small bag of trash, going to drop it down the chute after also cleaning the litter box again, ate a small apple, put the purchases in their place, washed what was in the kitchen, and went to wash at 2 AM. I was done a little after 2:40 AM, and then I put jam in some pancakes and ate them, used the small handful of radish leaves that could be used and the worse lettuce leaves for the salad, also dealt with those buns from Kaufland, using some of them as bread, and ate dinner between 5:40 AM and 6:20 AM, forgetting to put seasonings in the salad and not going back to do so when I realized it. I got in bed at 7:20 AM.

I got just about three hours of sleep before getting woken up by noise made by dad, and then I stayed up for some two hours, reading for a while and spending some time on the computer, which included seeing that participation to the Dream Trek was apparently based on a QR code and sending it by e-mail to dad, so he could print it at mother’s, though I also sent the organizers a message to say that I hoped I won’t be left out without it, or without a smartphone or being connected on the road for some other reason. And then I got back in bed, waking up to pee three times but always getting right back to sleep and adding some four and a half more hours before getting up for good, just before 6 PM.
After a little time on the computer, I used the last of the vitamin tea and made pasta, also using the worse leaves from that celery, which I still hadn’t dealt with. And when I went back to the kitchen at night I washed the remaining leaves and finally put them in the freezer, and at dinner I finished that expired bio (organic) peanut butter. And there was a reply from the organizers of the Dream Trek, saying that there was no need to print that QR code, though I already had it printed by dad and I was going to take a slip of paper with me to jot things down anyway, so I was going to take that one, just in case. Either way, I also shaved at night, and then I decided that I might as well wait for the match to finish, getting in bed at 5:35 AM.

After the first time I was woken up, when dad went to the toilet and Liza to the litter box, I peed as well and then got back to sleep, but when I got woken up again as dad was getting ready to leave I remained awake for a while, which meant that, while I had set it to be recorded, I was awake when the Formula E race started, and in fact for a good part of it, since after dad left I went to pee again and arranged a few things, and then it took me a while to get back to sleep. And a little after 11:50 AM I was woken up by a beep from the UPS, though the issue apparently lasted too little for it to actually record what had happened. But since I was awake again, I got on the computer to check the recording… And saw that the race had lasted longer than it should have and I didn’t have the last few laps, so I’ll need to either record or watch the end of a replay for those. Either way, after having another look at the Dream Trek’s route and peeing once more, I got back in bed at 12:20 PM… But it was still hard to get back to sleep, and in fact I’m not sure if I had fallen asleep at all in the just under one hour before the landline rang, at which point I decided to pee again. At least I eventually got back to sleep after that, but around 2:15 PM I was awake again, and after peeing once more I decided to move the alarm, which I had initially set to ring at 3:30 PM, to 4 PM, and caught a few more brief naps. But when I checked the time again and saw 3:37 PM, I decided to turn off the alarm and get up, actually doing so ten minutes later.
After making the tea and eating a bio (organic) apple, even if it was imported, I tried to rush to make salad and ate lunch between 5:05 PM and 5:35 PM, so the only time I finished later was last year, but last year I had also eaten the yogurt and cereals after the apple. And this time around I decided that I wasn’t going to take a quick shower after going to the toilet, so I moved straight to splitting what I was going to take with me between the running belt and the pocket of my tights, once again taking the t-shirt from the marathon of 2024, since it’s brighter, and one armband. Otherwise, I ate a “creamy” yogurt with 4.5% protein and 10% fat, with cereals and almonds, put honey on a pancake and ate that as well, put a Smecta in the tea and drank most of it, putting the rest in a small plastic bottle kept just for this purpose and taking it with me, also took a pill against gas, and sprayed myself with some bug repellent. And now I’m posting this and mean to leave at 8:15 PM. The forecast lists around 25°C at 9 PM and a low of 20-21°C.