Cav's Place

When I mentioned having another quick post in mind, but avoiding it because it required more time, attention and, most importantly, skill, I was referring to one stating that, with how things are going, we’re getting to the point where we’d need a new and proper lockdown implemented worldwide, with only military and medical personnel normally allowed on the streets and systems, which should have been created and tested by now, to distribute the necessary goods and provide the necessary services to people, free of charge, in order to completely end this in a couple of months and also have a proper test run on the largest scale not only for the measures meant to quickly end any similar pandemics in the future, but also for parts of the economic system the world needs to move to. But, as I already mentioned, even scratching the surface of such a topic would require far more than I could offer even if I’d dedicate days to it, and now I’m just throwing this post here in an hour or so.
Under these circumstances, I’ll just stick to what’s going on here, where in late July the number of confirmed daily and weekly cases reached some three and a half times the highest levels seen while we were under the state of emergency and the much more important one of deaths exceeded the highest levels reported then around the same time. Worse, while the number of confirmed cases has remained quite steady, there are an increasing number of deaths and people in intensive care, both numbers reaching new records yesterday, which records I’m sure will soon be broken yet again, and the 14-day cumulative number of deaths per 100000 people is by far the highest in the European Union, double that of second-placed Bulgaria and four times that of third-placed Spain and Malta. And, back to those records, the fact that they were reported yesterday is even more notable because that was when the measures supposed to limit spreading the virus were relaxed even more, indoor restaurants and theaters also being allowed to open as of then, even if at reduced capacity, so I’m expecting another sharp increase in a week or two… Which will be just in time for the schools opening as well, on September 14, which will quite certainly lead to yet another increase, which should be seen just in time for the local elections, scheduled for September 27, by which time the collapse of the medical system will become even more probable, if not pretty much certain. Not that it was working well to begin with, or that it can properly cope even with the current situation, which keeps causing even more cracks to appear and leaving even more people suffering from any other ailments without the care they need.
Though such statements strike me as unwise even there, maybe Germany can keep going in this manner, having a medical system which has continued to cope with the situation in a manner that, all things considered, can be described as exemplary, and likely also a larger part of the population willing to be responsible, more individuals, groups, businesses, institutions and other organizations doing their part, despite the idiots striving to undermine all these efforts. Also, though this should be seen and used as the great opportunity it is to move away from classrooms and towards distance and individual, and also far more personalized, learning, maybe some other countries that are reopening schools despite the growing number of cases can also manage the situation, at least when it comes to those that are only seeing more confirmed cases with mild or no symptoms and which are followed by a full recovery, which may simply be a result of more and better testing, the number of serious cases and deaths holding relatively steady or even decreasing. But Romania is in no way in either of those situations, and yet the current decisions seem determined to make things much, much worse, the president again stating today that he was assured by those responsible that, as things currently stand, the situation can be managed sufficiently well to allow matters to progress as scheduled.
Remaining as “allergic” as usual to conspiracy theories and sticking to Hanlon’s razor, “never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity“, I’ll just say that this is criminal incompetence and negligence, and I’m accusing all those responsible for this state of affairs of those things, from authorities to businesses and interest groups, and to individuals who don’t actively demand better, not to mention those who actually push back against even what is still being done. And yes, I see that I was completely wrong when I thought that the current situation showed what we can do when we admit that a crisis exists. I guess the rule remains the same: “Analyze the problem, choose whichever strategy makes least sense and then do it.“

This will be another rushed addition, but these rushed additions have been making it a good year for this series. The posts are written in a hurry, including fewer bands, possibly less information about each, and with the picks being selected with far less care, often after listening to only a handful of songs, or in a few cases even without listening to any except those I linked to, but at least I keep adding them. And the fact that I’m no longer checking those groups, or anything else for that matter, for other bands I don’t yet know means I’m not adding to the list, so the number of bands simply forgotten on it is dropping. The number of those included in such posts is only very slowly increasing, but going through the list to see which of the rest released something this year means that I’m at least learning that bit of information about many, and in a few cases I also learned about name changes while I was at it.

This time, I’ll start with Bendida, which is another band that released a full album this year, though again only back in March. Something I just noticed now is that, despite being Bulgarian, they seem to have a Romanian label, and they apparently also had a concert here to promote this album, but that doesn’t really matter, so I’ll move on to the pick from this recent album and go with Music of the Spheres. And since I actually took quite some time to select that one, I’ll get back to the easier method for the second pick, just looking at the few older videos they have and going with Land of Perun, which also includes male vocals and some harsher sounds but not growls or anything that really bothered me. They do have some songs with growls or sounds that are too harsh, however, and many sound rather unpolished and maybe also, for lack of a better term, uncertain, as if they weren’t quite sure what they wanted to do, but the potential is there and there are plenty of nice parts, and songs that are nice enough overall.

Another band that has an album released this year, this one back in February, is Ye Banished Privateers, and out of the few songs from it that are officially posted I’ll go with Elephants’ Dance as the first pick. As for the second, I’ll again reduce my options as much as I can and actually go with Annabel because I remember it and think it was actually how I first heard of them. It’s possible that both of these are exceptions, other songs that I happened to listen to, as far as I recall in the past as well, tending to be harsher, funny or both, and I didn’t care for the harsher ones while the funny ones tend to lose their appeal quickly, but these are nice enough, and I’d say particularly serious as well, and there are others like them. Not that the band’s sound or theme fit with what I add to these posts otherwise, or listen to in general, but they’re definitely good, I might even go as far as to say outstanding, at what they mean to do.

And the third band is FlowerLeaf, which just has one song that’s actually new, All My Life, released this year, so that must be my first pick. As for the second, I’ll go with Girl in Pearls. Some of the other songs seem to suffer more from a lack of polish and also that uncertainty that less experienced bands often struggle with, while on the other hand a couple are harsher, even including guest vocals for growls, but I quite like this second one, and a couple of others as well, actually spending some time to decide which of them to pick, so it’s another case of the potential clearly being there. And they also seem to want to make a point through the lyrics.

Saturday I started reading The Count of Monte Cristo and now I’m just shy of a third of the way through, on pace to finish it in less than three weeks, so I hope I’ll manage that and at least remain two books behind this year. I still believe I read it before, at my grandparents’, likely in my early teens, but maybe I didn’t. And, even if I did, I’m not sure how much I understood from it in that case and can’t say it seems familiar, and the fact that it would have been translated in Romanian then and in English now may also make it somewhat harder to make the connections after all this time, so it’s as if I’m reading it the first time anyway.

Sunday I finished that second sudoku magazine bought by dad, when he messed me up by doing it, so I should have bought that other one myself only now instead of back in June, and I’m in fact still to replace that old one with it on my desk… And then, Sunday night, I made those additions I was mentioning to my Games Played list.
Also, while I’m at games, I’ll add here that last night I got a third game, or in fact a third title, since it’s a pack of two games, for that giveaway I mentioned, along with Syberia II for myself, just because I happened to play the first and buying this one now resulted in completely draining the Paysafecard code I had, actually leaving 0.00 RON on it. And I actually plan to start it soon, maybe even next week, because it should be a game I’ll be able to finish relatively quickly, with a guide if needed, since I don’t exactly care for it anyway, and with it and Grim Fandango Remastered, which I should also finish eventually, relying more on the guide if it drags on too much otherwise, I’ll get to four this year, giving me a chance to get to that target of five, which would be pretty much impossible otherwise.

Getting back to the chronological order, Monday evening I had another fucked up “talk” with dad. I was in the kitchen and he came to comment on a news piece, I started to argue against his stance and, as he keeps doing, he was just talking over me, repeating his position and arguing against any few words I could get out, which obviously weren’t my actual argument, so I had to react to the apparent misunderstanding and couldn’t even try to get the argument out anymore. So I said that if he just talks, without listening, I’ll shut up, and he asked if I only talk when the other allows me to, saying that if you have arguments you must talk over the other and state them like that, otherwise it means you have no arguments. I said no and as he walked away he repeated that fucked up concept, then said that in this world it’s not like in school, raising your hand and waiting your turn to speak, again saying that if you have arguments you say them over the other, otherwise it means you have none. I didn’t say anything else after that, and the only other thing I’ll say about it now is… Just… Wow…

But the main purpose of this post is to write about this week’s run, which was Tuesday, after actually managing to sleep quite well, getting back to sleep quickly after the few times I woke up. Was awake when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, but only for a few minutes, not even checking the time by then. So I had the usual stuff plus almonds, and two of those old oat biscuits with honey as something sweet, and drank most of the tea, meaning to leave at 4 PM. However, even though the forecast said it won’t rain and there shouldn’t be too much wind either, it was overcast, I heard thunder and a little before 4 PM it did start raining, and also got really windy. The reported temperature was still 30-31°C, but I wouldn’t say it felt like it when I nevertheless went out, at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear minus the cap, thinking that the wind would have likely taken it off and it didn’t seem needed when it was so cloudy. It wasn’t raining anymore at that point, but when I got to the park it started again, so I waited under a tree for it to stop and eventually started running at 4:40 PM, just as the last drops were falling and the sky seemed to be starting to clear.
Before the conditions changed and I also ended up starting later than intended, I was wondering whether to only run 16 km again or go for another half marathon distance, but under those circumstances I put the idea of that half marathon distance out of my mind and the time for 16 km was 1:18:48, with sector times of 4:27, 5:13, 6:05, 4:32, 5:12, 6:02, 4:32, 5:11, 5:56, 4:34, 5:10, 6:03, 4:36, 5:14 and 6:01, making for lap times of 15:45, 15:46, 15:39, 15:47 and 15:51. Did start carefully, also because it was wet and rather slippery in some areas, but when I saw how that first lap was going, I thought I was looking at struggling to stay under 1:21 again, even 1:20 seeming again out of the question. However, with lap three offering the best conditions, its time made me realize I should be able to stay under 1:20, making covering each lap in less than 16 minutes the next goal, which I also achieved. Pushed really hard on lap four for that, and when I saw the time at the end of it I decided to aim to stay under 1:19, which I also managed, but lap five being the slowest was rather disappointing, even if not surprising after all that effort made on lap four. So I guess I should consider this time as acceptable, especially considering what I was fearing when I started, but it’s nevertheless disappointing to not get back under 1:18, especially when it’s quite clear that I lost that time on the first two laps, in large part because of the conditions.
Speaking of those first two laps, the path was really clear then, but some of the few people who were there still managed to make me need to go the long way around and even take to the grass a couple of times. Some more people appeared later, but it wasn’t at all crowded. And the rain didn’t start again either, so the path was drying a little and getting less slippery as I went along, and while it was rather sunny during much of lap two, it became mostly cloudy again after that, and I can’t say I felt the heat. Did feel the wind on laps four and five, however. There was some on lap one as well, but on sector two of lap four it really picked up and remained noticeable all the way to the end, sector two of lap five again being pretty bad, and I guess pushing against it as much as I had to made various muscles and joints complain as well. I can’t seem to clearly remember whether it was the calf or the thigh, but a muscle in my left leg was hurting a little from the beginning, and while that got down to the level of a very faint warning on that lap three when I could really push, from that sector two of lap four my right knee and calf and my left ankle started giving me some serious warnings, which in case of the right knee and calf turned into pretty sharp pain two minutes from the end. That knee was still hurting the next day, though it’s better now, but there’s still a strange feeling around my left ankle. But, to get back to the run, on sector two of lap five I also started feeling like I needed to take a shit, though I had done so quite fine before leaving, so that was another thing to manage to the end.

I had a quick post on an entirely different topic in mind for today, but that not only deserves but actually requires much more time and attention, not to mention skill, while I might just get away with it when it comes to another addition to this series. So I continued to search for bands on the list that released new material this year and it wasn’t long before I found quite a few more, including a few with full albums, albeit still released no later than in March. It’ll again be rushed, with the picks being selected just out of what I could see posted officially at a quick glance, making a point of restricting the potential options as much as possible since I couldn’t stay on-line and listen to more, but it’ll have to do for now.

The first band I’ll list here is Emerald Mind and, while they don’t have a full album released this year, they do have two singles, and out of them I guess I’ll go with We Are One as the first pick. As for the second, I wanted one from one of their full albums, in which case they’re saving me a lot of time, because the only such song on their YouTube channel is Astronaut in Her Space, though you can listen to everything on their Bandcamp if you want. It’s those two recent songs that really got my attention now though, the vocals in particular, which vocals I’d say are notable in this second pick as well, so I’m pretty content with it even after actually listening to more of their songs while writing the rest of this post. Not exactly keen on the composition, the overall sound, this bothering me more on the other songs I listened to than on these ones, but there is definitely potential here.

Crimson Sun did release a full album this year, albeit back in January, and I’d go with The Beast Within off it as the first pick, perhaps in part to avoid picking songs with the same name from two different bands included in this post. As for an earlier one, I’ll go with Awaken. Must say that it’s not a sound I’m exactly keen on, but it may well be a subjective matter and it bothers me less on these two songs than on the others, and there are good elements as well. They wouldn’t be here, or on the list at all, otherwise.

And the last band I’ll add here is Xtasy. They also released a full album this year, back in March, and while my memory may be wrong, I actually think I only stumbled upon them around that time, if not even more recently. Either way, my pick from that album would be Welcome to My World, while for an older song I’ll go with It Is You. This second pick is a ballad and unusual for them, at least out of what I listened to, though I guess the first one is softer as well, so they may not accurately represent the general sound of the band, which seems to be in the general area of classic rock, but I’m picking according to my preferences, after all. They strike me as a more established band than the other two in this post, more professional and confident, and the vocals are definitely right for the genre.

Monday I got up at 12:29 PM and went out at 2:22 PM, which is a time that looks interesting enough to list so exactly. The first idea was to finally get that detergent from Penny, this being the first time I’d buy anything from there, and after also having a look in a Mega Image on the way and seeing a good price for some nice grapes, making a mental note to buy some later, I was back in about one hour, the 10 kg bag being pretty easy to carry when I had a sturdy bag and didn’t get anything else, so I could easily switch hands when needed. A somewhat strange thing was that the cashier was asking everyone whether they had the store’s card, which apparently doubled the points received for discounts for some plushies that can be turned into pillows, but in my case she didn’t ask, looked on the receipt, paused for a moment to multiply the number listed there by two and handed me that doubled amount of stickers, as if I had a card, which I obviously didn’t. Not like I’m going to use those points, so it doesn’t matter anyway, but I was wondering why and could only think of the fact that I had made sure that the bag of detergent had the bar code on top when I placed it on the belt, so she didn’t have to handle it in order to scan it, and also gave her 101 RON, to get 30 RON back as change.
Either way, left again about half an hour after getting back, first checking that place for a carrot cake again, being told they still didn’t have any, and then also going to that confectionery, asking about that cake when I still didn’t see any and being told they will make it again, but not until after next week, when they’ll be on vacation. So I continued on my way, first going to the bar where you could sign for Demos to take part in the local elections, that being the last day, getting there right at 5 PM and first going to the bathroom, to wash my hands and also give myself a bit of time, the bathroom being in another body of that building. Then I walked in and tried to look for the list of signatures while pretending to look around the place and check the menus. However, a waiter, or at least somebody working there, approached me almost immediately, asking whether he could help me and insisting when I first ignored him and then mumbled a weak “no” as I walked past him and inside, still looking for those lists. Had to get back out right away though, since he said I don’t have access to the bar, so I got back to the menus and pretended to actually read them more carefully while he just stood there and stared right at me, then had another look around and finally spotted the lists, which were just in front of the door and had been behind him when I walked inside, so I asked whether that was where one could sign for Demos and he confirmed. So I did it, mumbling something along the lines of “might as well, if I got here anyway”, though that was obviously the only reason I had gone there in the first place. Not that it helped them in any way, as they again gathered far fewer than necessary, but at least I did my part.
Since that bar was close to it, went to the Carrefour from Unirii after that, but wandered around a little at first, since Penny’s site lists a location in that area as well and I was thinking of getting some more onions. It also lists a location I should have passed by on the way to that pastry place, but Google Maps disagrees and it seems it’s correct, as I found neither, so I just went to that Carrefour, mainly to get bread… And ended up finding that kind of cat food I looked for Friday, at Carrefour’s price, this actually being the only kind from that brand that was available in the large bags there. So I grabbed two of those bags as well, since that time I had, unusually, taken a fair bit more money with me than I thought I’ll need, then left everything in one of their cabinets, since they finally changed those from there to use codes as well and I saw no reason to carry the stuff around in that case. The first one I tried didn’t work, and after I tried a couple of times the guard came to have a look as well and then told me to try another one, but the one he pointed me to was dirty, so I tried yet another, finding that it didn’t work either, and then one more, which finally did. Judging from the time on the receipt and how long I guess that took me, I’d say I was finally leaving at about 6 PM, heading towards the next planned destination, which was that pastry place from the Romana Square area that I had finally bought something from back in November, twice.
Going through the Old City and taking a look around but not making another detour to also actually search for that other supposed Penny location, I was at that pastry place at 6:35 PM, checking what was available, which didn’t include one thing I’d have specifically wanted, and the prices, which seem to have increased a little. There was another nearby place I had noticed that last time though, so before actually buying anything I went to have a look there as well, and also checked out the Mega Image in between, though they didn’t have those grapes there so I didn’t get anything. Neither of those selling in either of those two places were wearing masks, which bothered me, but I nevertheless returned to that pastry place and got three things, somehow messing up when adding the prices and giving the guy 1 RON more, which he promptly handed back. Then I also returned to that other place, just in time to see the employee arrange what little was left on one shelf. A piece of the carrot and orange pie I had settled on after that first look was among those few remaining products, so I got that, but she was out of pretzels. That left me with some money I still wanted to spend on such things and I didn’t care to just get pretzels from elsewhere, so I had a quick look at the prices of the other things she still had and asked for the one that matched what I had left, but after she put a piece in a bag she placed it on the scales and asked if I was aware that it’s priced by weight. Since it weighed some 220 grams, making it some 2.2 times that listed price, I said I wasn’t and no longer wanted it in that case, and she said that’s what usually happens, most people failing to notice that it’s priced differently from the rest. Either way, still wanting to spend that amount, I returned to that pastry place and asked for one more thing, which matched that amount, finding myself saying I did when the guy asked whether I wanted it heated, though it was obviously pointless.
After finally leaving that area at 7 PM, when I returned to Unirii I first went to the Mega Image from there, finding a small quantity of those grapes left and getting the better ones, along with some potatoes, garlic and four small yogurts, since I happened to notice that they were also on sale, four for the price of three, and decided to make do with this regular yogurt and leave my plan to go to Auchan again for a certain other kind for next week. Considering how they apply and list discounts, I took some time after leaving to check and make sure everything was fine, then returned to that Carrefour, I’d say a little before 8 PM, first adding my new purchases to what I already had in that cabinet and going back inside to also get cabbage and, after having another look at what was available in that area, also some expiring eggs. That cashier promptly handed back 1 RON as well, this time because I failed to notice that two such bills were stuck together, despite actually taking a few seconds to, I assumed, pry them all apart. Then I finally retrieved everything from that cabinet and, once outside, took quite a few minutes to arrange everything properly in the bags and backpack, actually starting on my way back at 8:25 PM.
Didn’t weigh what I carried, but I’d say it added up to about 11 kg, maybe a little more, and I hardly felt it anyway, everything being nicely separated and balanced. The one thing I did feel was that my shoes had rubbed my right heel, and I have no idea whether the cause are the regular ones or the running ones. It’s just a little issue at the moment, but if it becomes an actual problem I’ll need to see what I can do about it, especially if it’s caused by the running shoes. Either way, not including the distance covered in stores, it seems I walked some 18.5 km that day, including that first part of the trip, to get the detergent, and was finally back at 9:20 PM, eventually having that carrot and orange pie, which was excellent and made me decide to get more from there someday, and then the spinach pie bought from that pastry place with a bowl of beans late in the evening, finishing close to midnight. After that, only started eating dinner at 3:25 AM, and again only got to bed at 5:20 AM.

Tuesday night, I confirmed that my mouse is double clicking on the left button. Shit! I thought I noticed a double click around midnight, the button also feeling and sounding different that time, and there definitely seemed to be a few more double clicks right after that one, but only on text, hundreds of test clicks on other things seeming all right. However, just before going to bed, which I actually only did at 5:20 AM again, I tried again and got two obvious double clicks in ten test clicks. And Wednesday the double clicking was awfully frequent, like something just broke in it, so I even connected the spare mouse, to use when I can’t afford double clicks, also finally getting around to uninstalling the XTD‘s software, which I had just left there until then. Also sent e-mails to two places, asking whether they can replace microswitches in this model and whether the price would be worth it, one replying to say they don’t work with this brand anymore and the other saying that they’ll need to diagnose it first and then they’ll tell me the price, and if I don’t agree to pay it I’ll need to pay 70 RON for the fact that they diagnosed it. That seems like quite a risk, but since I don’t dare to try to open this one as well and getting another one of the exact same model isn’t an option anymore, I nevertheless need to consider it, at least until I’ll find the “Remastered” version at a low enough price. One store seems to allow purchasing extended warranty for that version though, which would be nice, since it’d quite certainly be needed.

As for yesterday, I had the alarm set to 2:30 PM, but dad left a bit after noon, then Liza started meowing, and after she stopped I went to pee, seeing 12:22 PM. Slept poorly after that, only managing very brief naps, waking up quickly time and time again even if it really was quiet, but at least I did get some more sleep until dad got back, at 2:20 PM, when I decided to also get up. Then I had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the yogurt being that “Greek” one picked up Friday from Kaufland, which had expired by then, and the sweet thing being the last sweet pastry out of those bought Monday, with added honey, and drank most of the tea. Had the full running gear on and didn’t stuff anything in the tights anymore, giving up on the idea of going anywhere else after the run, since I’d have gotten there at rush hour. Left at 4:30 PM, when it was quite windy, some threatening clouds were gathering and the reported temperature was 28°C, expected to drop by 1-2°C by the time I finished running.
The time was finally a good one again, quite extraordinary in fact, especially considering this series of poor and downright bad times managed over the past few months. Being able to run at what for me is a normal hour again, and after getting some more sleep, definitely made a great difference, and the fact that it was cloudy likely mattered as well, but even so, it’s amazing to see 46:49.18, with sector times of 4:09.40, 4:55.19, 5:39 (5:38.88), 4:16.06, 4:55.43, 5:45 (5:44.29), 4:24.67, 5:02 (5:01.98), 5:51 (5:50.35) and 1:53 (1:52.93), making for lap times of 14:43.47, 14:56 (14:55.78) and 15:17.00.
I pushed hard from the start, aiming for a pace I’d clearly be unable to maintain in order to see just what that meant, and after seeing that time on the first sector I decided to keep it up and try to finally get a lap under 15 minutes again, leaving the concerns about what I’ll have left for later. Did mean to settle into something more sustainable from lap two, only aiming to get back under 48 minutes at the end, but the time on sector one of lap two surprised me and I again decided to keep pushing after that, being really surprised when I saw under 15 minutes on lap two as well, which I didn’t think was possible at any point. My first reaction then was to think that I could approach 16 minutes on lap three and still stay even under 47:30, but then I started asking myself whether I might just manage 15:25, to give myself a decent chance to stay under 47 minutes, realizing after sector two that I had a really good chance and in the end managing it by quite some margin. Pushed like crazy on that last lap for it, getting to the point of not really being aware of much of anything around me or even seeing properly anymore, but it worked out.
In terms of problems, the wind remained one throughout the run, only lessening on sector two of lap one, though that was also the only sector when the clouds parted a little and it was sunny. On pretty much all other sectors, there were gusts that made me feel I was barely moving, though at the same time I did what I could to take advantage of the moments when I had the wind behind me, at least when I was aware of it. Otherwise, the park wasn’t crowded and there were even some areas that were almost empty, where I could just push, though in other places I had to do the usual weaving and going the long way around, even taking to the grass a couple of times. More notably, had to slow for a moment on the very first sector, to pick my way through three little girls on bicycles, one of them deciding to cut across the path just as I was approaching them and blocking the way I meant to use, and the end of sector two, under the bridge, was rather tricky on each lap, the worst moment being on lap two, when I actually had to briefly stop, people coming from opposite directions creating quite a roadblock and two girls stepping in front of me, one just clearing the way in time but the other blocking me for a moment. As for those threatening clouds, there were some occasional drops from sector three of lap two, evolving into a drizzle from sector three of lap three, but I managed to finish before it really became a light rain, which happened as I was on my way back from the park.

I’ll also add here that Micky again dashed into my room last night. I didn’t even notice her when I stepped outside, but I guess she was either waiting right in front of the door or right next to it and ran in the instant I opened it, between or squeezing around my legs, and I just saw her getting under the desk a few seconds later, obviously moving behind the computer, among the cables, when I approached. I quickly blocked her way through there though, and this time around she came out from under the desk when I did that, trying to squeeze herself around it on the other side and finding that there was no room, which meant I could then block her way back under the desk as well and she quickly left after that, having no other place to quickly hide in. And I didn’t notice any issues with the cables as a result, so I guess all’s well that ends well.
The particularly unpleasant thing about yesterday, however, was that we had no hot water. It had been out since Wednesday and was supposed to return at midnight, but when they list it like that it usually means it’ll return to the normal pressure at night, and obviously be paid as hot water if you use it, but be only a few degrees warmer than the cold water until morning, and that was the case last night as well. I did mean to have a quick shower before going to bed even so, but when I tried it, the last time being after 5:15 AM, it was too brown to seem usable, and even if the difference was of only a few degrees, I didn’t dare to go as far as to use the cold water, so I ended up going to bed, at 5:25 AM, without showering, despite the run. And there’s also the fact that I used that “hot” water to wash things at night, including some of the vegetables used for the salad, not noticing the color in the kitchen…

As for today, I meant to start reading something, which I keep meaning to do since last week, since I’m really falling behind, having so far only read five books this year. However, after sleeping without having showered after a run, and considering the current situation as well, I decided to first clean my room a little and change the sheets… And actually only did that in the evening, after first writing most of this post, only the first two paragraphs and the parts about the mouse and the run having been written yesterday, and even those getting some additions now. But I hope I’ll at least start reading something before the end of the week… Though at the moment I’m not even sure what I mean to start.