Cav's Place

I can say that Thursday was my first attempt at interval training, at first aiming to push as hard as possible on sector one of lap one, sector two of lap two and sector three of lap three but realizing after that first sector that I’ll have nothing left on lap three if I do that and deciding to just alternate, the fast sector three also being on lap one, and then just struggle to make it to the end after sector two of lap two. The total time was just decent, 48:13, but sector times were 3:56, 5:01, 5:24, I think 4:35, most likely 4:42, probably 6:18, 4:42, 5:26, 6:20 and 1:49, making for lap times of 14:21, 15:35 and 16:28, so I have new records for each sector and also for one lap. Do have exact times as well, and I’m actually more certain of the hundredths than of the seconds on that second lap, so assuming the seconds are right, the exact times I saw were 48:13.71, with sector times of 3:56.20, 5:01.50, 5:23.87, 4:34.71, 4:42.35, 6:17.86, 4:41.98, 5:26.46, 6:19.45 and 1:49.33, making for lap times of 14:21.57, 15:34.92 and 16:27.89.
The issue is that I seem to remember something about 59 seconds at one point but it doesn’t fit with anything, the most likely total times between the end of sector one of lap two and the end of sector one of lap three may have caused me to get confused, as I recall them as 18:56, 23:38, 29:56 and 34:38, and I’m quite sure I didn’t calculate the time for sector three of lap two, being surprised that the total time was still under 30 minutes at that point and calculating just the time for lap two, and since that was 15:35 I ended up believing the time for that sector had been 5:35 and it obviously didn’t add up, making me even more confused. But I am quite certain of that sector two time, being a new record, and I guess I’m pretty sure of all of them in the end, but I’m just making a note of this confusion, just in case something did happen with my memory.
Either way, managed to avoid another cramp when I woke up that day, since a muscle was again about to react like that when I stretched but, after having it happen Tuesday and Wednesday, once on each leg, I managed to react just a bit faster and prevented it from happening again, which likely made quite a bit of difference during the run. Still felt a bit tired as I was starting to run, and hadn’t even eaten what I normally would before a run, but went out at 3:15 PM and it worked out quite well in the end, despite being quite exhausted after that last fast sector and just struggling to finish, resulting in that awful lap three. Probably had a couple more seconds in me on that sector two of lap two, actually, since I took a couple of steps after the start of the sector before going for it, then I think a tiny fly got right in my eye, and then a teen on a scooter actually looked straight at me as he was coming towards me, then turned his head away and turned around right in front of me, making me need to quickly avoid running into him. And since I mentioned that tiny fly, still felt something in my eye when I got back, and while I thought I washed it out at that time, when I again felt something there at night I had a look after washing well again and actually pulled a tiny fly out of there. Now I somehow doubt it was the same one, as I had noticed something flying around my room just before feeling something in my eye at night, but it was a weird moment either way.

The timed squats during this period were 2:31 yesterday, 2:34 on June 2 and I think 2:42 on June 1. And since I mentioned June 2, slept really poorly that morning. Woke up around 6:40 AM and took over an hour and a half, probably closer to two hours, to get back to sleep, but kept briefly drifting off during that time as well, yet had those dreams that made me think I was still awake yet one scary detail was different, so I was waking up again immediately and getting more and more frightened, and the sleep I did get after that period was quite restless as well. Also, speaking of sleep, two days later I was first woken up at exactly 11 AM by a call, but I didn’t answer and didn’t learn anything when I later tried to look up the number, so no idea what that was about.
Otherwise, since I’m at odds and ends, Thursday I noticed a couple of double middle clicks again, though those were the only obvious ones during this period, so it’s still not worth the trouble, and the risk, of taking it back to the store. On the other hand, on May 31 I did confirm that a process of G DATA Antivirus, AVKWCtl.exe, is responsible for those brief freezes happening every 15 minutes, but asking support didn’t produce any solution, whether for that or for the update issues I keep having. And also on May 31, but actually in its early hours, after eating at night, I saw someone ask for a cheap piece of additional content, costing $0.59, on the Community Gifting thread on the GOG.com forum and I had the equivalent of $1.08 left on the Paysafecard code still lying around, so I bought that for him and a copy of Heretic Kingdoms: The Inquisition for the Community Giveaway and cleared it out completely, the remaining balance being 0.00 RON. Had purchased that game for myself more than five years ago, for $2.99, and I’m yet to even install it, since the requirements state that it doesn’t work with integrated graphics and I didn’t even care to try to check whether that’s actually true.

As for buying stuff, Monday I woke up at 8:55 AM and was out the door one hour later, since it was no longer raining after having been rather stormy at night and the forecast stated that the break was going to end around noon. Had the metro card, so went to the Kaufland and Carrefour at Obor and got what I meant to get from there, though for the first time I didn’t see discounted, expiring stuff at that Carrefour, probably because it was early and they hadn’t gone through the shelves yet. Did use that discount code received for taking an on-line survey for Carrefour though, so I saved 10 RON that way. And then I also got some cheap apples and cabbage from that market on the way back, and returned here at 12:50 PM, quite sweaty due to having taken my jacket and the rain not returning. Felt a few drops just as I was getting back, but nothing else and it actually got sunny right after that, the weather only changing again after dark. So I left the jacket here when I went right back out to go to Auchan as well, using their free bus both ways and returning again at 2:45 PM. There was no hot water again that day, and in fact I had to wait until after I woke up on Wednesday to shower, because the site stated that it should start working again at 6 PM on Tuesday but it was only starting to get warm when I was about to go to bed, having still been cold even an hour and a half or so earlier, when I brushed my teeth.
But to return to buying stuff, went out again yesterday, leaving just as the Nadal-Federer match was starting and getting back just in time to see the last few points, in the last game. The idea was to get some spray against mold, since I really need to spray in my room again. Probably should have done it back in April or so, but now I finally asked dad to help me move the desk and he said he’ll be able to, so next week we should do that, when we’ll find a day without rain, so I’ll be able to spend the day outside after spraying, that will also work for him. The thing is that the spray we tended to use seems to have been recalled recently, apparently due to a risk of something coming off and the solution spilling on the user, and if when I checked on-line and saw it listed as available at two Auchan stores I never went to before I thought that maybe they had a new shipment which they had just distributed there first, when I got to one of them that day I saw that they only had the other kind from that brand. And since I heard the guy stocking that area tell someone else that they just did the inventory but are waiting for the manager to get back from vacation before ordering new stuff, I guess that instead of those stores getting new shipments first, they may in fact be the last ones that get updated and the information I saw was outdated. On the other hand, it may be a matter of the picture on the site being wrong, since the price was the one listed for the product I was searching for and the site didn’t actually mention the exact name of the product, so I went by the picture.
Either way, despite the fact that the kind I found is mainly for bathrooms and I think has a lower concentration but is sold at the price I expected to pay for the other one, I did get one, but also two of another kind, which is much cheaper and has a higher listed concentration… And when I got back I saw another one, of yet another kind, in the place where we keep them, so I guess dad had purchased one as well before I went there, even though I told him I was going to do that. But the bathroom is in a dreadful state as well and I’m sure there are places with plenty of mold in other rooms too, so it’s not like we won’t need them. The problem is that we keep maintaining these conditions that make mold always appear, and it’s only getting worse with just dad here, since he doesn’t care about this and continuously behaves in ways which clearly create those conditions.

Before ending this, I’ll also mention that I took the book with me yesterday, reading a chapter each way on the metro, finishing after I got off both times, since I just had a couple of pages left. Then I finished it after getting back, and in the evening also posted the quick review, in both Romanian and English on Goodreads. And I will say that I feel quite betrayed by Alma, who praised these books while she read them to the point that I got it in my mind to buy them, instead of warning me away due to one of the lead characters having a child, that child also becoming her motivation and, spoiler warning, ending up being crucial to the plot. I mean, I’m a militant antinatalist, with overpopulation as my main cause and considering having children under the current circumstances as the worst single crime anyone may commit, and on the recommendation of a friend who conveniently “forgot” to point out these “little” details I end up buying a series of books about a fucking breeder and her spawn, which series is also very well anchored in the day to day reality of Romania, so not something I can pass off as happening in another world, another time, another place, but something that, fantasy elements aside, is taking place right here and right now! Not that the books themselves, or at least this one, would be anything more than average, but this lowers my opinion of them even more and makes me quite angry at everyone involved, myself included.

At least it reads quickly, and managed not to piss me off for reasons other than the obvious, but that’s because I no longer gave a fuck about the characters. Otherwise, any other positive aspects I may mention are minor things and/or also go both ways. For example, except some “miles” instead of kilometers at one point, I recognize that it’s well anchored in Romanian realities, but perhaps too well, not only because I don’t want obvious “reality” in what I read, it’s why I read fantasy after all, but also because some things used as explanations would confuse those who haven’t lived here, or merely tore themselves away from those aspects. Or I’d say nice touch with Nicol’s Romglish, but if it’d be another language I’d complain about the lack of translation, and that also applies to that coworker’s bits of Italian.
Speaking of Nicol, I “disqualified” her completely from chapter two, for the obvious reason, and the rating is so poor in good part because that becomes the main motivation and even theme, so I have some choice words for the person who praised the books until I got it in my mind to buy them instead of warning me away from them. Otherwise, day to day things are presented in detail but the relevant action is on fast forward, including instant romance. Then, perhaps it seems to sound strange to me also because it’s extremely unusual for me to read a book by a Romanian author, in Romanian, and the verb tenses that keep seeming out of place to me may have to do with a regionalism, but at least the typos and grammar errors are obvious and some are really jarring, which is the least you’d expect to no longer find in something that’s not only not self-published, but a second edition as well. And it’s Lenore, not Leonore. And Nightwish didn’t break up at all in 2005; they just kicked one person out. And, regardless of the spell, how do you screw, roughly too, when you’re so burned, considering that this changed only after that?

Rating: 2/5

While not something to write home about, as they say, Eschalon I is a pretty nice game that was, for the most part, quite enjoyable. Despite its limitations, the most obvious being that speed can only be doubled or halved, I’m somewhat fond of this type of turn-based gameplay, there was enough to explore and do, and despite the relatively simple graphics and, for lack of a better term, structure, it was more immersive than it might seem at first glance, at least while exploring the wilderness. The music likely helps with that too.
Unfortunately, character attributes are rolled, which is awfully frustrating, and then I have to point out the annoying skill system, requiring the player to read a guide first, in order to know which skills have trainers and/or books available before putting any points into them, and which may be increased by equipment before putting too many, so the limited skill points won’t be wasted. Other issues directly affecting the gameplay would be the fact that maximum regeneration is limited to one point per turn, which doesn’t seem right, and I’d say also the way movement is handled. As for lesser annoyances, I’d list the fact that selecting spells to cast can get rather tedious once you have many and the limited container space, with only eight items per container, requiring storing items in multiple places, though at least you can do so close to places you can quick travel to. I could also mention that locks and traps are a matter of reloading until you get the right roll, but that’s all right.

Since this is the last personal post I can post at the moment while still sticking to the one remaining rule, I’ll have to put everything in it now and then maybe finally get around to throw that quick review for Eschalon here as the week’s second post. Could have gone to the book fair today instead of yesterday, instead of sitting here trying to write this, and could have even used dad’s metro card in this case, since he got back not long after I woke up anyway, but Tuesday the forecast listed storms starting Thursday afternoon, and even before I went to bed this morning it still listed them in the evening, yet it was only stormy last night, while today it was just sunny. But at least this way I can post this now and include everything in it.

To start with yesterday, with just over ten kilometers to walk to the book fair and it closing at 8 PM on that first day, as well as today and Sunday for that matter, I meant to leave no later than at 4 PM, yet it was 4:06 PM when I finally rushed out the door, actually taking my watch too, to make it easier to check the time on the way, since I had one more reason to really want to get there before 6 PM, the president launching his new book there at 6 PM, which made me think it might be somewhat harder to get in and wander around if I’ll arrive while he’ll be there. But I managed that well enough, getting in at 5:44 PM, and in fact he was late, walking in at 6:08 PM… Just when I was back at that entrance, after having taken my time glancing at that area, just to get back on the other side of that first group after 6 PM. And it was just that place in front of that entrance, on the side I had returned on, that had some stuff I could have been interested in, so I saw that, meant to start checking out what they had on the outside first, but then noticed all the cameras and reporters at the entrance and realized what was happening. Still tried to get behind them and have a look, but just then they all stepped back and I darted behind that partition, on which that store seemed to just have CDs and DVDs anyway, so not what I’d have been interested in. As a result, I was just starting to look at the books when the president and the others who were with him walked past.
After I finished looking, I marked the place on the map of the fair which I had taken at the entrance and decided to return there at the end, since I was sort of considering something, but on top of the fact that I really shouldn’t spend anything on anything not absolutely necessary now, a bug had been squashed with the single copy that was on display. Then I pretty much just wandered around, just looking at things despite obviously having no interest, and covering about a third of the area before I decided to head straight for the area at the other end, where most of the small stands are, since those tend to close early, and I did indeed see three or so already closed, with nobody there anymore, when I reached them, a few minutes after 7 PM, a few others putting things away and getting ready to close as well. However, it was in that area that I found a second point of interest, a store selling used books in English that actually took up a larger space than the others around it. Nothing particularly interesting there at that time, but I could have considered a few titles and the prices were good, so I marked that place on the map as well. Then continued the other way, to cover the remaining area, finding another potentially interesting place but it wasn’t even enough to mark it on the map, then getting to the place where the president had launched his book well after the event had ended and finding it quite deserted, and then needing to rush through the remaining area, in fact including some of the biggest publishers, since it was getting late. But, of course, I’d have no interest in what those publish anyway, so I just got back to that first store’s area at 7:50 PM, had another look, decided against getting anything and was out at 7:55 PM.
Didn’t care to push myself so hard on the way back, and also spent a couple of minutes at the toilet at the exit of Herastrau Park, first waiting for it to finish the cleaning cycle after the previous person and then just going in to wash my hands, since they felt rather sticky for some reason. So I was back at 9:45 PM, after over 20 km walked there and back, and probably around 25 in total, counting all that wandering around inside… And then, while making a salad, I “managed” to cut my finger in the top of the salt shaker as I was trying to unscrew it, and it’s actually quite a cut. But, either way, ate and then also showered at night, before going to bed.

That long walk was actually right after another one I took the day before, when I also again noticed no visits recorded, in either view. Woke up around 11 AM then and at first meant to try to get back to sleep, but the noise from the HDD got my attention, decided to go to the toilet too, also put some meat left by dad in the kitchen on a plate, since blood was pooling under it, then since I heard those noises again I decided to check what was going on. Not that I figured anything out, but since I’m seeing a pretty clear pattern, looking at the HDD LED, I’m thinking it’s possible that it has to do with G DATA Antivirus, since ever since installing it there are frequent moments when the computer seems too busy to respond for a couple of seconds, and I noticed a spike in CPU use from one of its processes for no obvious reason when I happened to have Task Manager open at one point. It’s hard to check everything at once and at the right time to confirm it, but at the moment that seems most likely, so I’m trying not to worry about it. I’ll be getting rid of this when the trial expires anyway, since it’s not a good enough option this time around either, and I’ll see what happens then.
Getting back to that morning, since I was at the computer, I decided to install and start Regions of Ruin, which I had actually asked for after seeing it among the available games on the Community Giveaway on the GOG.com forum on May 26. Received the code that evening as well, before midnight, but it was well after midnight when I redeemed it, so I’ll say I actually got it on May 27, and I’m actually playing it a bit. Meant to read the first of those Romanian books this week, and have the quick review for it as the week’s second post, but guess I’ll be using that time, and likely more, to play this instead.
Either way, eventually decided to give sleep another chance and got back in bed at 12:35 PM, only managing to nap a bit before finally getting up at 2 PM. Then, around 3:55 PM, I went out for the second attempt to get that failed LED tube back to the store, taking the plastic out as well. And this time around I did get there well enough, at 5:15 PM, without getting lost again, and the matter was sorted out very quickly and simply. I mean, I obviously had the receipt with me and expected them to take it and tell me I should come back some time later, or at best that they’ll send a replacement some time later, but instead they replaced it on the spot and didn’t even look at the receipt. I went in, said I had a problem and was searching for the word to describe what happened to the tube when the guy who was there helpfully asked whether it had “deceased”, saying that it happens when I confirmed it. Then one of the women just took it away and a bit later just came back with another. Did hear the guy say that it was less than 10 RON, and indeed I saw that it was on sale for 9.50 RON ($2.23 or €2.00) at the time, but I wasn’t really listening to what they were saying to each other, so I’m not sure what he was replying to. So I was quite surprised, asked whether that was it, then just thanked them and came back, getting here just before 6:45 PM. And yes, it works just fine. Would sure be nice if all warranty problems would be handled like that… But, speaking of that, I still dread the prospect of needing to take my mouse to be fixed, since Saturday there were obvious double clicks on the middle button again. Really comes and goes though, so I’m still waiting at the moment.

I mentioned above that it was the second attempt to take that LED tube there because the first had been last Thursday and that went badly. After all, the rule is that the shortest route is the one you know, but I saw that I could walk about one kilometer less if I got off the metro three stops later and decided to try that, even if the amount of time the train needed to cover that distance meant that I’ll actually gain very little time, and the fact that doing so required taking one train instead of either of the two meant that I could even end up losing time, if I’d have had to wait for it. So I got off at that stop, but didn’t realize that it had three exits, two of them on the side I needed to walk out on, and the one I actually needed to use was hidden behind something when I looked around, so I used the other and after that it was obvious that my mental map could no longer apply, and by the time I finally got back there and saw which exit I should have taken, it was 5:25 PM and too late.
I left at 3:50 PM, taking out the plastic and metal, and since after reaching that station I didn’t see that other exit or the map, which was also hidden behind something, I just went straight out… And in the wrong direction. I mean, in what would have been the wrong direction if I’d have used the right exit, but as it was it actually would have allowed me to go the right way if I’d have realized it. However, when I noticed that I reached the exit from the other side, I realized I was going in the wrong direction and turned around on the spot, while if I’d have turned left I’d have ended up going the right way, only losing a few minutes. As it was, I just kept going until I finally reached a major intersection, which definitely seemed to be the one close to that bigger Carrefour, but I just ignored what I was seeing and kept following my mental map, getting a bit lost on the streets that I ended up on and eventually returning to confirm that I had indeed reached that intersection, and the metro station that’s there. I tried to check a map on my phone but obviously couldn’t get any to load, looked for signs but saw none that made sense, went to that metro station to look for a map of the city but there was none, and then, instead of taking the metro from there and getting back to cut my losses, I decided to walk back to the metro station I had gotten off at in the first place, to try to figure out what was really happening. And that did help, as otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do Tuesday.
What made things worse was that we still had no hot water, and I hadn’t showered after running, two days earlier, either, since that’s when it had been turned off, so I felt just soiled and said I’ll heat some while eating that night and wash that way if it won’t get back by then. However, in part because the pressure had returned as I ate and the site stated that it was “starting up”, and in part because my mother pissed me off by throwing out some glass jars and bottles which I was actually still trying to persuade myself to try to offer to someone, and which are either way among the things I just want to dispose of myself and in a particular way, just because I want to, and I didn’t feel like going through all that trouble anyway as a result, I decided to give up on that idea, hoping I’ll find hot water when I’ll wake up, possibly just to pee, and be able to shower properly then… Which still wasn’t the case. What we got, and paid, as hot water that following day was just a few degrees above the cold one, probably due to the pipes being insulated, but I nevertheless used it to quickly wash below the waist, my underarms and arms… Only to see that the problem was finally sorted out a few hours later. Didn’t wash again then though, instead doing so the next day.

Since I mentioned last week’s run, this week’s was Monday, and the time was 47:53, with sector times of 4:18, 4:55, 5:43, 4:24, 4:58, 5:55, 4:35, 5:13, 6:07 and 1:45, making for lap times of 14:56, 15:17 and 15:55. And since I have the exact times I saw as well, those were 47:53.27, with sector times of 4:18.13, 4:55.01, 5:43.68, 4:23.59, 4:58.22, 5:55.12, 4:34.56, 5:13.53, 6:06.43 and actually 1:45.00, making for lap times of 14:56.82, 15:16.93 and 15:54.52. That was an awful lap three, but to stay under 48 minutes when I pretty much just decided on the spot to run, unprepared and after having barely slept the previous day, I’ll take it. I mean, had just eaten an apple and something sweet, not the usual stuff I eat before a run, not even the tea I drank was what I tend to make when I run, but with dad saying he’ll only be able to give me his metro card, to take that LED tube to the store, the next day, the book fair starting Wednesday and storms supposed to start today, it seemed to be the only chance, so I decided on the toilet, when it was already past 4 PM, to go then, being out the door at 4:40 PM. Expected worse wind and more people, but there were just a few places where the wind was something of an issue, mainly on lap two and the first part of lap three, and there weren’t that many people either.

As for Sunday, with dad supposed to get back a bit before 7 AM and my mother still here at the time and, as usual, not sleeping, she was saying they’ll go vote right then, at 7 AM, as soon as the stations open… And while I somehow didn’t wake up when he came in, I did wake up when they left, and then they got back after a bit, he left again, I guess to buy something, she did something in the kitchen, then he got back and he was in the kitchen for a while, and by the time they both went to their rooms and it got quiet, it was after 8 AM and I hadn’t been able to get back to sleep. Wondered whether I should stay in bed and keep trying to sleep, but that seemed like just a waste of time at the moment, so by 8:30 AM I was up, took those bottles and cans I just came back with after finding what I needed and turning around before reaching Auchan a month earlier and a part of the others which had gathered since then, and left for Auchan a few minutes before 9 AM, also taking out some old magazines and a couple of cardboard boxes my mother had set aside.
Walked, and was there at 9:35 AM, but somebody was using the recycling machine, which at least was working. However, she had a lot of stuff and filled it, so she then had to call someone to empty it and wait, and after having waited around the corner until then, inside, at that point I went around, going out through another exit and returning to wait in a spot from where I could keep an eye on that spot without standing there behind her, to know when my turn will come, which only happened at 10:05 AM. Not that those machines give even what little they used to give, considering those changes in legislation, the discount received now dropping from 0.05 RON per bottle and 0.03 RON per can, as it used to be at Auchan, though elsewhere it seemed to be 0.04 RON each, to just 0.02 RON each.
Either way, just got some bread for these days, seeing that they had increased the price for that yet again, from 6 RON / kg to 6.80 RON / kg, then got back with the 10:55 AM free bus, and after dropping off the bread I took the rest of the paper out and went to vote as well, getting there at 11:20 AM and being back out just before 11:40 AM. It was odd to see a line, and just when I was getting there an older man told others he met at the gate that there was quite a line inside and he’ll try again later, and they turned around and left as well, and as I was waiting an older woman said she won’t wait like that and also left, but I just had to wait for some 15 minutes, so I definitely don’t see why that’d be a problem. It’s not like it was what some of those living abroad had to go through, with some even waiting for ten hours only to be sent away at the end of the day…

The first time I timed my squats again after running the half marathon was on May 18, 2:31, and it was 2:33 on May 20, while on May 19 there was a replay just when I finished and I had to estimate, but it should have been about 2:31 again, give or take a second. But the first run after the race was on May 17, since I didn’t deserve to take a week off, and the time was 48:16, with sector times of 4:17, 5:00, 5:48, 4:27, 5:06, 6:02, 4:34, 5:06, 6:04 and 1:52, making for lap times of 15:05, 15:35 and 15:44. As for this week’s run, that was yesterday, the time being 47:41, with sector times of 4:21, 4:57, 5:40, 4:27, 4:59, 5:51, 4:33, 5:04, 5:53 and 1:56, making for lap times of 14:58, 15:17 and 15:30. And since I again have all exact times as well, last week they were 48:16.35, with sector times of 4:17.52, 4:59.61, 5:48.18, 4:27.05, 5:06.05, 6:01.62, 4:34.03, 5:06.15, 6:04.44 and 1:51.70, making for lap times of 15:05.31, 15:34.72 and 15:44.62, while this week they were 47:41.55, with sector times of 4:21.18, 4:57.33, 5:40.35, 4:26.93, 4:58.55, 5:51.44, 4:32.83, 5:04.23, 5:52.98 and 1:55.73, making for lap times of 14:58.86, 15:16.92 and 15:30.04.
It was hard to find a window to run last week, between the rain and wind, but when I went to bed Friday morning the forecast had that day’s storm ending at 4 PM. However, when I woke up it said it’ll be between 3:30 PM and 7 PM, so I meant to try to go before it’ll start… Yet it started earlier, the storm itself not lasting long but rain starting again before I got ready, so I only went out around 6:40 PM, wearing the running t-shirt and undershirt but the regular shoes, since it was wet and there were puddles to go around, and some mud and leaves in some places too. Saw someone wearing the t-shirt from this year’s half marathon heading out of the park as I was going in and thought I actually recognized him from the race, and then on sector two of lap two there were two others wearing that t-shirt and running in the same direction, first a woman that I overtook easily and then a man who overtook me just as easily. There weren’t many people otherwise, but the puddles caused some problems, as a single person could be enough to block the way, or at least the better way, around one. There was also a bit of a silly dance with a cyclist on that same sector two of lap two, as he and a runner were coming towards me, the runner being faster and about to overtake him on his left, so I went to my left, his right, but he went the same way and even said “right”, which prompted me to ask whose right as I made my way around. Leg muscles felt like they were just barely holding off cramps from the beginning and even more of them ended up unhappy as I ran, had a few warnings from my right knee as well, and liver started hurting quite a bit from lap two, I think from that same sector two, and only started getting better on sector two of lap three. Also noticed what looks like quite a bloody blister on my left big toe after I got back.
Yesterday I meant to wake at most at noon and go out to run at most at 1:45 PM, but kept waking, and when I saw almost 11 AM I said I might as well get up. It still was 1:30 PM when I went out though, since I took it easy, and it was odd to see that one of the lights in the bathroom no longer worked when I went there just before leaving, since it had worked earlier. Dad said it just turned off as he was brushing his teeth, and today I confirmed that just that LED tube no longer works, so I’ll have to take it back, since I do have a three-year warranty on them after all and they were purchased less than a year ago. But to return to the run, it was really windy, yet the forecast said it won’t get any better these days, and as of Friday it’ll rain again too, so I went then, even though there were places where I felt like I could barely advance against the wind. I think lap two’s first sector was the worst from this point of view, but there were a few different places on the first sector, as well as areas mainly towards the end of sectors two and three, which were a problem on each lap, so I did a fair bit better than I thought I would. And there were a few more seconds to be found, since I really lost focus on the last sector. Unfortunately, also noticed that my right foot really damages my shoes, obviously being a bit smaller than my left and rubbing against the back, and I could spot tears starting to form in two places inside the right running shoe, even though I only purchased them last August.

Got back from yesterday’s run at 2:45 PM, but went right back out to buy one little expiring thing from the supermarket across the road, getting back at 2:55 PM… And leaving again just over half an hour later. Would have probably been exactly half an hour later, but dad asked me to take a few pictures of him, since he had to send some somewhere. Either way, meant to attend a protest organized by an NGO as the Informal Meeting of Ministers for Environment was taking place in Bucharest, at the Palace of Parliament, and I walked there and back. The protest was intended to draw attention to the clearing of Romania’s forests and demand their protection to be placed high on the agenda, and it actually started Sunday, with what was the main event, a street artist painting a giant deer head and other participants adding their own drawings and messages in the area, people being asked to also come Monday and Tuesday in order to maintain a visible presence during the meeting itself. If Monday’s schedule was morning to evening, Tuesday there was a break between the morning and afternoon hours, so it was for this last “session”, set to take place between 4 PM and 7 PM, that I went, since I hadn’t attended any of the others.
I was somehow left with the idea that the location was Constitution Square, so I went there first, then got to the actual location, the entrance of Izvor Park that’s across the road from the Palace of Parliament, at 4:30 PM. However, while I saw something about over one hundred people attending Sunday and a few pictures showing at least a few, and a large banner, Monday as well, I can’t say I saw anyone then. After having a first look, did go to the toilet that’s quite across the park, having to wait for someone else too and getting back some 15 minutes later, but then I sat on a bench until 5:10 PM and then took pictures of the drawings and messages, which I actually only then noticed extended on the sidewalk way past that entrance area, until 5:30 PM, when I left, and during that time there really didn’t seem to be anyone else around who was there for that reason, or at least certainly no more than one person, since there was one woman sitting close to the entrance and talking on the phone. I guess it is possible that at least a few people arrived after 6 PM, and I would have stayed longer if I’d have brought a book, which I actually thought of doing, but since I didn’t, it was already becoming awkward, not to mention a waste of time, as even so I only got back at 6:45 PM… And still haven’t showered, after running and spending those additional hours outside, since there’s no hot water again as of yesterday. But at least I saw the street art, as the authorities, after first demanding it to be cleaned up after the protest, eventually agreed to allow it to remain until the elements will erase it.

The protest that I actually did attend was Sunday’s march for parks and green spaces in this sector. As I mentioned before, when another protest took place there but I didn’t attend, the movement was triggered by a playground and other street furniture being cleared from a park which was also no longer listed as a green space where construction is not permitted, likely as a step towards granting the one who ended up being given ownership of the area a permit for a building to be built there. Those living nearby reacted immediately and they actually seem quite well organized, and that reaction is starting to show signs of evolving into a more active and visible movement for parks and green spaces in Bucharest’s Sector 3 in general, which that day took the form of this march, starting from there and ending at the Sector 3 city hall. Organizers seemed surprised at the turnout, but I counted about 130 people the second time we stopped, and about 120 the next time, a few perhaps giving up on the way, and those numbers didn’t seem surprising to me.
I set the alarm at 9 AM but woke up on my own at 8:58 AM, and after still not really knowing what to wear when I went to bed, the organizers asking for something green, I decided to keep the shirt and cap I normally wear these days but add two things received at races on my arms. One of them, from this year’s half marathon race kit but not worn then, had the name of a fossil fuel company on it, but I could quickly cover it with tape and, after also taking the newspapers and magazines which had gathered to drop off, still managed to be at the door around 10:05 AM, and there just before 10:30 AM, which was the announced start time. However, it was then that I realized that I hadn’t taken the camera, so had to make do with my phone. Still took quite a number of pictures, but the quality is poor as a result.
At first I heard the organizers say that they intended the march to start at 11 AM, but it only did at 11:30 AM. So I wandered around, received a badge, refused I think two bottles of water, and then sort of kept wandering around during the march as well, all the children and older people meaning that we moved slowly and stopped three times, two of the stops being part of the schedule and intended to display the signs and banners properly where they’ll be seen, but the third being added just so those who needed to could rest again, in the shade. We were finally reaching the destination at 1:10 PM and, after gathering for a few more pictures with the signs and banners, which were mainly provided by the organizers, those who wanted, mainly children, could again write with chalk on the pavement and also, I’d say much more appropriately, with markers on the blank part of the signs brought by the members of USR-PLUS who also attended. One of the best known activists when it comes to dealing with the city’s environmental problems also showed up around that time, surprising me by greeting me and asking how I was when he saw me next to him, then saying that he had another issue to deal with that morning and that was why he only managed to get there at the end. I eventually left just after 1:35 PM, when only a handful of people were still there, talking, after the signs and other materials had been gathered, but was only back one hour later, since I first went to that Kaufland and found plenty of discounted, expiring yogurt, one 400 g cup actually only expiring on May 25 and a whole crate of small ones expiring on May 23, so I bought enough for this period, and one more little thing.
Still on the topic of that march, however, I sort of meant to leave it out, this being a personal post, but now that I’m here and already mentioned them, I’ll add that quite a number of members of USR-PLUS were present. That included USR’s president at first, but after some complaints about having politicians there, I think mainly from one person, he left before we actually started the march. The rest, among which I recognized at least a senator and two members of the local council, didn’t seem targeted in the same manner and remained from start to end, forming their message out of those large signs whenever we stopped. Said signs did have their logo, but on the back, where there were pictures of parks from cities in other countries, and they only turned them over to show that side at one point at the first stop, to show them to the drone that was filming, and one point at the end, when they asked one or two photographers to take some pictures of them holding them like that, otherwise seeming to really try to avoid giving people reasons to say that this was a political event. Did see an USR-PLUS badge in someone’s chest at one point, before the march started, but that might have just been a supporter. There was also the fact that they had people distributing their campaign paper for this sector in the spot where the first stop was, but that doesn’t have to mean anything, as they tend to have people at that park’s entrances during campaigns, and for example another party had people handing out campaign materials when we passed in front of that mall from that area.

To return to May 17, it was actually someone doing a political survey who called and woke me up, and that time I answered. Oddly, in the part about how much you trust certain political figures, there were three names she asked whether I knew, saying she didn’t know them and that was why she was asking, and while I really didn’t know the last one at all, I had heard of the first two and, while that was just about all I could say about the first, I should have really known the second… And she should have known him even better, seeing as, on top of being quite well known as a politician, he seems to be the founder of the firm she said she worked for, so I wonder whether that was an attempt to trick me into not answering and avoid adding bad opinions about him. If it was, she was successful, since being asked like that made me fail to connect the name with the person just then.
Either way, there were two moments when she seemed to want to steer me towards giving answers in favor of PRO Romania, this time definitely failing, and otherwise seemed to agree with my hostile position towards PSD and my disappointment at the likely outcome of this week’s elections. And then, though I again felt like crap for having to lie about my “job”, in the sense of giving the answer written in the documents instead of saying I don’t have one, the education question made for an interesting exchange. She listed the options and just middle school wasn’t among them, so I said that it could be a bit tricky, since in my case it’s just that, and she assumed I was embarrassed by it, asking why was I ashamed, whether I thought that mattered, saying that one’s mind is what matters and we had a great conversation while there were people with multiple college degrees that she talked to that could barely put two words together, and then at the end again told me to not complain or feel bad about that, as if I did…

A bit later, while waiting for that storm to pass, I finally uninstalled Emsisoft Anti-Malware and installed the Windows updates, including last month’s, which I hadn’t installed until then. And then, when it started raining again, I downloaded the installer for G DATA Antivirus, which is the first one I decided to test now that I’m again looking for options, and tried to run it… Only to have it complain that there was a compatibility problem with some redistributables, which I tried to uninstall through it but it said it failed. So I closed it and uninstalled what I thought it was referring to, the Visual C++ 2012 which I figured out had been installed by Ember and therefore no longer needed, but when I tried to start it again after that it said changes to my system required a reboot, though I hadn’t been asked for one after uninstalling that. It also had a checkbox to allow it to reboot then, stating that if checked the setup will start again after the reboot, but I unchecked that, closed it again and rebooted manually… Only to have the setup try to start anyway, and for some reason fail to do so, leading to me starting it manually anyway.
Well, it still said that the redistributable in question was there, and it’s just now that I realize that it was right. Guess I’ll have to apologize for the couple of messages claiming otherwise sent to support, and I actually just took a break from writing this to do so, since I was convinced it was referring to that C++ redistributable, while I just now noticed an entry for Visual Studio 2012, so it’s possible that I misread what it was saying, multiple times, because this one is indeed signed by AVG, as that message stated, and was installed back when I tested that, fitting with what I was told by support, that such conflicts are caused by traces left after uninstalling other security products. So I guess it is possible that the fact that my computer became unresponsive at the end of the installation, after I decided to go through with it despite the warning, was indeed caused by a conflict with it… Though I still rather doubt that.
Either way, the installation seemed to have completed, or at least the progress bar filled completely, but then the part of the screen where that window was became first black, then white, and when I hit Alt+Tab I found a prompt from Comodo Firewall that was also not responding. So I guess a conflict with that is also possible, but the HIPS should allow everything, G DATA being a trusted vendor, and so far it did, and I had allowed it to connect while it was installing otherwise, and one’s connection may even fail, so it shouldn’t cause the computer to become unresponsive if it can no longer connect when it finishes installing. Yet after trying to switch back to the setup, I got the message that it had stopped working, and when I clicked to close it I got that dreaded little window saying Microsoft Windows is not responding. But the HDD activity was telling me a full system scan was taking place, so that could still happen even though everything else was blocked, this latter part being confirmed when I later saw computation errors for the SETI@home work units being processed at the time. As such, I waited for over one full hour, the different noises telling me it was progressing through the partitions in the expected order, yet my system didn’t recover after it seemed to have finished, and if until then I could at least still move the mouse, when I hit Ctrl+Alt+Del it froze completely, requiring a hard reset. The G DATA setup tried to start again after that, but I didn’t allow it, and it seemed to have installed and work. However, it said I had no valid license and couldn’t update, and there was no way to activate a trial license.
I’m thinking that activating a trial license is something you can do at the end of the installation process, after my system froze, so I never got to that point. And it took a while to get a reply to the e-mail I sent then asking what to do, since they seem to have no support over the weekend, but Monday morning I did get a trial code and entered it after midnight, thinking that I may get one more day if I do it like that. Interestingly, the guy who replied has a quite obviously Romanian name, but I sent the message to the English support address and I’m obviously sticking to English and so is he. That first reply, and the one after it, did seem quite canned, even if they were obviously written by a real person, but this one I just saw now seemed better, and they do come quickly, I guess except over the weekend, as it was just today that I replied to that second reply received Monday. I’m not happy with some of the things I’m told though, since I asked about some functions, so at this point it doesn’t look like it’s an option this time around either, despite the fact that there are still quite a few things I like about it, as it was four years ago as well. But we’ll see…