Cav's Place

Once more, this ball of rock and metal that we keep trashing as if we and all other species that we share, or should be sharing, it with had plenty more to spare is pretty much in the same spot on its orbit as it was on the day I was born, and I guess it could be said that the one way in which I celebrated the moment was the little hobbit-like giveaway I made on the GOG.com forums. There was also an unfortunate consequence of that, but I’ll get to it towards the end of this post, in the part about yesterday that I’ll only added on October 22, since it wasn’t already written and I couldn’t write it today because my mother was here again, wanting to come and cook something, and I was in the kitchen with her until evening and then I had that giveaway to sort out, checked out some more things on the computer and, just before posting this, also shaved my head, because tomorrow I have to go and change my ID card, which expires today, and that implies having the picture taken as well… Or at least I hope I’ll manage to change it, because the earliest date that was available when I wanted to make an appointment for that on-line was December 23, so I guess it’s a matter of standing in line, with dad, since he also has to confirm that I live here, as the owner of the apartment, and hoping that our turn will come before the end of the schedule… And that we have everything that’s required, when I just learned that we lack a copy of my birth certificate, which he didn’t get around to making yet. Plus that I didn’t even get to look over the forms that should be filled. Not that I didn’t end up filling everything after getting there ten years ago.

But now let me get back to the morning of October 9, when I decided to try a hard fight on Lords of Xulima before going to bed, and when it seemed that I might even save some power points I got a little cocky and ended up losing a character, so I reloaded and tried again… And kept getting trashed until I said that I was going to make one final attempt… Which proved successful, but led to playing until 5:10 AM, making it clear that I was going to go to bed late. So I played a little more, finally getting in bed at 5:45 AM. But it was quiet again, and while I did wake up when dad left and then came back, I got back to sleep quickly both times and only got up a couple of minutes before 3 PM. And that evening I finally installed the Windows updates for September, everything seeming normal, including the usual errors.

On October 10, I was worried when I woke up to pee the first time, since it wasn’t even 8 AM and there were plenty of muffled noises coming from upstairs. But I guess the noise remained at that level and I could sleep just fine. So I got up after the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and after just warming what I had kept of the tea made two days earlier, when I meant to go out but eventually decided against it when the hot water went away, I had the usual stuff, with the yogurt being a bio (organic) one expired two days earlier and the sweet thing consisting of a bar, with plenty of added honey. On the other hand, I didn’t leave much in the toilet… And I raised the blinds and opened my window right after getting up and someone rang the doorbell soon after that, and at least one worker passed by in front of the window at a later point, possibly others as well, since I was usually keeping my back turned on purpose, so they knew that I was here, but I ignored them. Either way, I left at 4:30 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband and with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, just in case. The reported temperature was 20-21°C, and 18-19°C when I finished.
The time was 1:46:42, with sector times of 4:15, 5:08, 6:05, 4:37, 5:14, 6:01, 4:34, 5:15, 6:01, 4:41, 5:18, 6:12, 4:51, 5:23, 6:22, 4:49, 5:30, 6:17, 1:55, 6:19 and 1:55, making for lap times of 15:28, 15:52, 15:50, 16:11, 16:36 and 16:36, plus 10:09 for that final portion. I wanted to at least stay under 1:45 and probably pushed a little too hard from the beginning… But going well over six minutes on sector three of lap one made it clear that I had no chance, so I recalculated the target times, thinking that the realistic goal was to stay under 1:47… Only for that to also become questionable after going over the 4:35 that’d be the target for a 16-minute lap on sector one of lap two. At least I recovered on that lap’s third sector, when I pushed more, and things were pretty much the same on lap three, albeit without going over the target on the first sector and ending up a little bit less slow on the lap as a whole. And then it was a matter of damage limitation, the target remaining in doubt almost all the way to the end, especially after lap five was slower than I could afford it to be, so on lap six I kept telling myself that I had to shave a few seconds off that time. However, after gaining two seconds on its first sector, I lost seven on the second, so things looked bad and I had to push on the third sector, leaving the concerns about what I’ll have left for the final portion for later. And, while I failed to gain any time, I didn’t lose any either, covering lap six in the same time as lap five and thinking that I had a good chance if I’ll stay under two minutes on the first sector of that final portion. And I did that, after which I managed my pace, thinking that I should just make it if I’ll stay focused, and at the start of the final sector I realized that I might just squeeze under 1:46:45, pushing and managing that.
Of course, any time above 1:45 isn’t good enough, and this is particularly disappointing after the previous week’s run, when I thought that I’d have had a good chance to even squeeze under 1:43 if I’d have continued to a half marathon distance. And another reason why it’s disappointing, and why I wanted a good time, is that I ran such a distance at this point as a way to “honor” this year’s Bucharest Marathon, taking place two days later and which I didn’t attend for the first time since 2019, since it didn’t take place in 2020, and I had registered for that edition anyway.
Moving on to the issues, there were plenty of people, those who bothered me more being young cyclists, probably teenagers and some children, and some of those with dogs, but while that meant quite a lot of weaving and going the long way around and a few moments when I had to squeeze through or take a step or two off the path, I wouldn’t say that they caused any problem that was actually notable on its own. Otherwise, some areas were rather windy, but I managed to deal with it. As for physical issues, my right ankle gave some warnings on sector one of lap two and a pressing need appeared on the following sector, both going away after that, before I started feeling some warnings from a spot above my left heel on sector one of lap three, followed on the following sector by the need to snap my back, the pain reflected into my chest remaining an issue for a longer time and seeming to move to different areas, though it eventually went away as well. But at the end of sector two of lap four that pressing need returned and got to be quite notable for a while, though it eventually faded again, what I had to manage until the end beginning on sector three of lap five, when my hands were going numb and multiple parts of my legs started giving warnings and getting heavier.

After grabbing a label with the deposit symbol on the way back, when I got in front of the building I also grabbed two recyclables, probably left by the workers… And then I hit my head against the scaffolding, albeit lightly. Then I ate the last five walnuts that were left in a bag for what was probably years and lunch, with some nicer bagels instead of bread, drank some of the last of those drinks I had been left with since the Dream Trek, expired for over two months, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again at 9:05 PM, just taking “my” recyclables with the deposit symbol, since my parents had once again brought a lot that had been emptied there but I had no time to deal with those as well. But then I saw a bag with more recyclables which had been left next to a garbage bin, quite clearly just to be taken by someone, so I took it as it was and put everything in the machine from the nearest Penny before getting what I wanted and using one of the vouchers received for the coins campaign as well as the one received for the recyclables.
After arranging the purchases a little, I continued to Kaufland… But I wasn’t sure that I had actually put the Penny store card back in my pocket, and when I stopped to check I spotted a 10 RON bill! So I took it, deciding to add half of the value to what I mean to give away. Then I put the purchases in a cabinet when I reached Kaufland and entered the store a few minutes before 10 PM, so it’s a good thing that they did get back to closing at 10:30 PM. On the other hand, the evening discounts weren’t good, but I nevertheless made use of one for a bundle of green onions, spotting a larger one among those that were left and also taking a bunch of torn tops that were just fine. And I also took some cornmeal and a shaving balm. And I’m pretty sure that the machine didn’t accept the green onions as the correct product and I had to call an employee over to override the error. Either way, I then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything properly, walking out a couple of minutes before 10:30 PM.
I picked up a couple of recyclables on the way to the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM… And I also caught a spiderweb, probably looking quite strange while trying to get rid of it and brush myself off in case the spider came along with it. Either way, I then put the bags in a cabinet, entering with the backpack and seeing that the only remaining bakery products that were discounted by 90% were some pretzels, so I took one for mother, without waiting for the receipt. And after adding that pretzel in the backpack and retrieving what I had in the cabinet I continued to that non-stop Mega Image, where I once again put the bags in a cabinet and entered with the backpack… But there were no bakery discounts whatsoever, just a few uninteresting products were discounted by 50%, and while I waited until after 11 PM, nobody seemed to intend to make more discounts. So I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, but happened to check another one as well and found a coin left in the lock and took it, so going there wasn’t a complete waste of time. And on the way back I gathered some more recyclables and then entered this nearby Mega Image a couple of minutes after 11:30 PM, leaving the bags next to the door, entering with the backpack, and getting two bags of bakery products that had the 90% discount, though the cashier rounded up the total by an amount that was more than the price of one of the buns from one of the bags, with that discount. Either way, I then retrieved my bags and got back here.
I’m quite sure I was at the door a little before 11:50 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, picking up another recyclable from the garbage room, after which I just left the cornmeal on the table until morning, since it was moist after having been next to the frozen spinach, and put the other purchases in their place, noticing that one of the buns was plain instead of with sesame. Either way, I also washed what was in the kitchen, did the day’s squats, put together and ate something sweet, thoroughly wiped the thing that dad had brought from mother and laid on the table, finished that drink, and went to the bathroom at 1:40 AM, to use the toilet and shower, with water that wasn’t exactly comfortable. I was done a little before 2:25 AM, and then I took out the last piece of that last walnut bread which I had purchased from Kaufland at the start of the year, before they stopped making evening discounts for bakery products, despite having dropped it on the store’s floor, and which had been left in the freezer since then and looked suspicious. I don’t know whether it was bad freezer burn or something had started to grow on it even there, so after washing it quite thoroughly I cut away those parts of the crust, then put it in the oven for a while. On the other hand, I found what looked like moldy areas inside a tomato that seemed fine on the outside. And I also took another one of those cold pills expired for over a year. And when I finally got to my room for dinner, which I ate between 4:30 AM and 5:20 AM, while writing notes about the day, I found that a piece of polystyrene stopped the blinds from being pulled all the way down. And my right eye bothered me and it was rather red when I checked before going to bed, at 6:45 AM.

I was rather worried when I got up to pee a little after 8:50 AM and once again heard plenty of muffled noises from upstairs, and even more so when a few louder ones soon followed. But I guess that things didn’t get worse, and in fact after a while it got quiet, so I could sleep. I did start waking up at ever shorter intervals in the afternoon, and a few times it was a while before I could catch the next brief nap, but it was past 4:10 PM when I got up, after some louder scraping noises once again came from above. And then I also took the bug net out a little and removed that piece of polystyrene that stopped the blinds from closing properly. On the other hand, while after I got up there was still some red around the edge of that eye and it still didn’t quite feel right, over the course of the day it got better. But a knuckle on my left hand kept itching… And that morning I ended up getting in bed at 5:30 AM.

When I had been mostly awake for a while and needed to pee again, I decided that I was going to do that and then get back in bed if it wasn’t even 2 PM yet… Only to see that it was 2:59 PM, so I got up, albeit taking it slowly, and after having lunch it was just after 7:20 PM when I left, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol and the plastic and metal, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, picking up another recyclable which had been left there and putting all of them in the machine from Kaufland.
Since the closing time had changed to 8:30 PM on Sunday, entering the store just before 8 PM meant that I still had some time, and I made use of evening discounts for regular and red onions, a lettuce, one Kapia pepper and two bananas. Then I also got some of those cheap yogurts, which actually had a small discount as well, and olives, and I meant to make use of the three for the price of two deal for canned products, getting canned mackerel, three in oil and three in tomato sauce. But they were all of their store brand and had the 15% discount if you used the store card, which normally applies on top of any regular discount, but it apparently overrides such special discounts, because at the self-checkout I saw that I wasn’t getting the price of two of the cans discounted, so I called an employee and she pointed out that the discounts won’t stack, removing the cans when I asked her to, though it took her a while to do so, apparently being initially confused by the fact that I had entered the number for each instead of scanning each can separately. Either way, the closing announcement came while I was at the machine, and after paying for the products I cashed in the voucher received for the recyclables.
I reached that Mega Image that closes at 10 PM several minutes before 9 PM, putting the few recyclables picked up on the way in the machine and the purchases in a cabinet and waiting for the 90% discount labels to be placed. But, while the bakery products were already bagged when I got there and the employee came to arrange them a few minutes later, she went in the back after those women who usually look for those products arrived, not coming out until they eventually gave up and left. And, after standing around for a couple more minutes, I cashed in that voucher, retrieved my bag from the cabinet, and walked out as well. However, after a little while I decided to go back, seeing that the 90% discount labels had been placed on the bakery products during those ten or so minutes, and it was still before 9:30 PM, so they had quite clearly waited for us to leave. Either way, I didn’t bother to use a cabinet anymore, put the two recyclables which I had picked up in the machine, and grabbed a few things, though the apple pastry which had been there before was gone by then, using that new voucher when I paid but not receiving a receipt. And on the way back I picked up some more recyclables, dashing into the nearby Mega Image to put them in the machine but not staying to cash in the voucher at that point.
I was back just before 9:55 PM, and while watching the match I put the purchases in their place, washed what was in the kitchen, ate a banana, a sweet pastry and a bag of snacks, and did the day’s squats. And just after the match was over I dashed back to the nearby Mega Image, bought a bakery product that had the 90% discount, once again without receiving the receipt, and cashed in that voucher received earlier. Then, after getting back, I cleaned the litter box and went to drop what I had gathered down the chute, and it was a few minutes after 12:30 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. I was done just before 1:25 AM, and then I also used the worse lettuce leaves in the salad and arranged some things in the kitchen, eating dinner between 4 AM and 4:40 AM. But I still went to bed at the usual time, and I slept just fine, only being woken up by drilling from upstairs just after 2:20 PM.

In the early hours of October 14, time once again got away from me and I ended up eating dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:45 AM. But I still went to bed at the usual time and, while I was woken up by noise around 8:15 AM and then kept awake for a while, the workers seeming to have returned to this side of the building, I think it might not have been 9 AM yet when the particular kind of noise that was keeping me awake died down and I got back to sleep. There were still some noises that occasionally woke me up or entered my dreams, but I wouldn’t call the sleep particularly agitated and I always got right back to sleep after waking up, so I got up after the alarm rang, at 2 PM. Then I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing consisting of two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, just wasted time on the toilet despite feeling that I had to go after eating the yogurt, and left at 4:30 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 14-15°C, holding steady.
The time was 48:28.82, with sector times of 4:24.73, 5:08 (5:07.81), 6:02 (6:01.59), 4:35 (4:34.97), 5:10.63, 5:58 (5:57.37), 4:27.66, 5:04 (5:03.34), 5:53.16 and 1:47.56, making for lap times of 15:34.13, 15:43 (15:42.97) and 15:24.16. I was hoping to stay under 49 minutes, but thought that I may end up having to accept to only stay under 50 instead. And when I was pretty sure after the first two sectors that I’ll squeeze under 15:30 on the first lap but ended up not only missing that target, but also going over six minutes on the third sector, staying under 49 minutes seemed to be getting out of reach. However, if the first two sectors of lap two seemed to confirm that impression, staying under six minutes on sector three of lap two and averaging less than the 15:40 that’s the lap time target for 49 minutes over the first two laps made me think that I might still have a chance. It seemed unlikely, but I didn’t want to fail without really trying, so I went for it on lap three, and after two sectors I felt relatively safe and was initially inclined to be more cautious. But after a moment I wondered whether I could somehow squeeze under 48:30, and while I really didn’t see how, I just gave everything, continuing to do so on the final sector despite being certain that there was no way to get under 1:50 on it… Yet I somehow did, and while just squeezing under 48:30 is still a poor time, I’ll take it at this point.
What makes it somewhat worse is that there were very few problems to speak of. I felt a need to snap my back from sector three of lap one and didn’t do much about it, so the feeling only faded on lap three, while on sector three of lap two I started getting some warnings from my right calf muscle, though those weren’t really an issue. And then there was a pretty normal amount of weaving and going the long way around, with no notable issues caused by either people or the conditions.

After doing the day’s squats and eating lunch, I saw that somebody had sent me a code for a game on GOG.com, as a birthday gift, after seeing my giveaway, but it was a game with a higher regional price in the EU and that user is also from an EU country, so I felt responsible for the purchase of something that I’m fighting against and said so, not wanting to redeem it. Either way, I then changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and went out again at 7:45 PM, taking just one recyclable with the deposit symbol, which had been emptied by dad, and rushing to Auchan, where I put that recyclable in the machine and found just one of the nice breads that’s on sale left, even that being among others of a different kind, which was probably why it had been left at that hour. But I also added two regular breads for dad, those having the 50% evening discount, and some eggs, finding a lot of those sold by piece. Then I also used the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid, arranged the purchases, and rushed to Kaufland, picking up a few recyclables on the way.
I was about to piss myself by the time I got there, even undoing my belt while walking past the Lidl that’s close to that Kaufland, to reduce the pressure a little. But I still put the recyclables in the machine and the purchases in a cabinet before going to the toilet… And finding the men’s closed for cleaning! But the room for disabled people was free, so I used it, then grabbed a catalog and had a look through it before entering the store when it was past 9:35 PM and spotting a 50% discount on some chickpea spaghetti, though they weren’t expiring. They were awfully expensive even so, but I decided to take one after all. And a little later, I guess at 9:45 PM, some nice lettuce got an evening discount of 90%, just one being left and looking just fine, so I took it. And then I saw discounts for two kinds of sausages and wanted to get some for dad, but things got even better when the two men who were ahead of me asked for all of the large pieces of something else that were left and the employees seemed to know them and one came to make an additional discount for that product, telling them to wait a while before going to the checkout, so it’ll enter the system. And they wanted all of those sausages as well, but while one employee was dealing with them, another asked what I wanted and gave me some first, so when those sausages also received an additional discount, quite clearly for the benefit of those men who were taking all of them, it applied for me as well. Either way, I also added two of those cheap yogurts, which still had a small discount, and three cans of something for which the deal did apply, so I got one for free. The closing announcement came while I was using the self-checkout, and after using the voucher received for the recyclables, retrieving what I had in the cabinet, and having to leave through the emergency exit, I took my time to arrange everything.
After reaching that non-stop Mega Image, I put the bag with the breads in a cabinet and then added that lettuce there, taking it out of the bag that I had carried it in, so I’ll still have a bag for what I’ll get from there. And it was before 10:50 PM, maybe even closer to 10:45 PM, when I entered the store, seeing that the bakery products were just getting bagged… But after wandering around for a little while I realized that I didn’t have that bag anymore and had absolutely no idea what I had done with it, and I couldn’t find it despite trying to retrace my steps and even walking back out when the entrance door opened for someone else and checking that cabinet and the area around the cabinets. Either way, I initially just took two buns when the 90% bakery discounts were made, then snatched one of those “salad mixes” when the cart with the other products with that discount was brought. It seemed to once again be mostly quinoa, with a little chicken, a few other vegetables, and probably a few raisins, but I didn’t really know and mainly meant to give it away. However, after grabbing another bakery product that was still left by then, retrieving and arranging my things, and stopping just after walking out to drain the dirty liquid I noticed in the bag that the lettuce was in, a guy came to ask me for money and I completely ignored him. I mean, I definitely wasn’t going to give money, and he didn’t seem like the kind who’d care for that food, plus that I didn’t exactly want to give anything whatsoever to someone who approached people to ask like that. But I couldn’t spot homeless people on the way back, so I ended up keeping that thing. And I picked up some more recyclables.
I got back at 12:05 AM, straightened a crushed can that I had picked up, cleaned the litter box, and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute. And after dad separated the sausages I rearranged things in the freezer, taking something that he wanted out and putting the sausages in. Then I put the rest of the purchases in their place, ate an apple and a slice of cake brought by dad from my grandmother’s birthday, and it was past 1:50 AM when I went to wash, the water temperature seeming to drop after a while. I’m not sure when I was done, but I was in the kitchen again by 2:30 AM despite spending a few minutes in my room before going back there. And then I washed what was in the kitchen, also used the few worse leaves of that lettuce, and ate dinner between 4:50 AM and 5:45 AM, while checking things on-line. I got in bed at 6:50 AM, after making it clear to that guy that I’m refusing the gift and suggesting asking for a refund. But he didn’t, being rather upset over it and sending it to The Community Giveaway instead, so I still felt guilty because that purchase was made and both of us ended up upset… Which is the normal outcome in case someone decides to surprise me like that, so no news there. And I’ll add here that I was woken up by someone knocking at the door for quite a few minutes, only checking the time after they seemed to have gone away and seeing 9:55 AM at that point. But then I could get back to sleep, and managed to do so again after dad brought mother, so I only got up in the afternoon.

I was quite relieved to see that Donald Trump wasn’t rewarded with the Nobel Peace Prize for, basically, being antithesis to what the prize should represent, declaring war on humanity and the entire planet, cultivating ties with the warmongering strongman leaders of the world, and emboldening aggressors only to then make a publicity stunt out of the attempt to mediate the conflicts that were worsened, if not even generated, by his own earlier actions. Considering the unrelenting pressure he generated, the decision required a fair amount of courage, though it is also possible that this very pressure was just what led to it, making picking him all but impossible. If that is the case, the danger of him being picked in the future still remains, but at least for now the matter was dealt with.
On the other hand, I have serious doubts about the actual choice. There were worthy options among those listed as potential favorites a day before the decision, the UNRWA and the ICC likely also sending a pretty strong message if they’d have been picked, and if a specific person was desired then I wouldn’t say that Yulia Navalnaya would have been a bad choice. Yet the choice was a name that seems to have come from nowhere, who is connected and, quite obviously, indebted to Trump, and whose actions and stances, while largely justified under the current circumstances, may be questionable from the point of view of promoting peace. While the actual list of nominees is confidential, my admittedly personal and not in the least professional opinion is that there’d have been dozens of more suitable choices… Possibly even including Melania Trump, obviously mainly as a slap in the face and for shock value, but perhaps not entirely without some merits, some known, some probably less so, since it is likely that she played a part in reining in some of Donald Trump’s worst excesses and planned abuses.
I guess one possible justification for the pick is that it’s meant to encourage efforts aimed at preventing another war, or at least a serious military intervention, since at the moment there is a very real threat of it in Venezuela. But, even so, it doesn’t seem right for this to take precedence over the efforts truly meant to end, or in many cases at least mitigate the effects of, the actual wars, massacres and violent oppression currently taking place in what seem to be ever more ways in many parts of the world, or those aimed at bringing those responsible for them to justice. But, again, that’s just my personal opinion… And I may be reading too much into it and it’s possible that the choice was just a way to shrug off Trump’s pressure and give people something else to talk about while avoiding what are currently seen as the particularly hot topics from this point of view. That’d obviously go completely against what the prize should represent, but since it’s people who make the choice, it’s an entirely plausible scenario.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The recently revealed vulnerability of the Unity game engine, which had apparently existed since 2017 but doesn’t seem to have been exploited yet, just underlines another problem caused by so many games using these generic engines. Admittedly, I’m surprised by how rare security vulnerabilities seem to be, and I actually don’t recall seeing anything about any other notable ones, but when something like this affects tens of thousands of games, if not even more, it just takes one, and someone quick to exploit it, especially since games, at least legally-owned ones, aren’t something that people generally take into account as a potential entry point for malware, and some may do things as part of their normal operation that trigger behavioral alerts from security software, at least in case of stricter settings, so people may be more likely to dismiss such alerts than they’d be in case of other software.
Considering the number of games that use the affected versions and how many of them may well be abandoned by their developers or delisted from stores, or how many are small indies or freeware titles that weren’t obtained from stores in the first place, if each affected game would need to be patched by the developer, this would be a complete disaster. Fortunately, the remediation guide and tool can be used to patch installed games directly in many cases, the exceptions being games that use anti-tamper or anti-cheat solutions, which will obviously detect that something was changed, and the fact that the tool wasn’t released for Linux, which is a highly questionable decision from where I’m standing. It still means that installers that aren’t patched by the developers or stores will remain vulnerable and people will need to remember to patch them manually if they’ll install them at a later time, but it should work… Unless the game is one of those that’s broken by the patch, since the guide mentions the possibility. And, since the patch requires a connection, there may also be serious questions about what data is gathered and sent.
Of course, the real risk generated by this vulnerabilty for a regular user is likely to be low, at least for legally-obtained games, and at least in terms of privacy Unity is a threat in itself, when working as intended. Plus that, as is the case with pretty much all generic game engines, it’s not optimized and results in outrageously high system requirements and poor performance compared to what the graphics and features of the games that use it should actually require, and that’s in fact the first reason why the use of such engines has such a negative impact on gaming in general, at least for those with weaker computers. Admittedly, it has a major positive impact on the number of games that are created, considering all the small indie, even solitary, developers who couldn’t create their own engine, or who’d need to redirect many of the resources that they can now put into creating the game itself if they would need to do that, so the overall impact on gaming is open for debate… But I for one would prefer engines to still be mostly custom, maybe shared between several games by the same developer, maybe occasionally licensed on a case by case basis to a few others, but not this one-size-fits-all thing that also leads to one-problem-affects-all, whatever that problem may be.

On September 19, after making and eating mamaliga at night, I obviously kept waking up to pee, but the workers were quiet, my back was also much better, and I strangely slept even as dad was getting ready to leave, only waking up again a little before 10:30 AM, after he had already left, at which point I saw something that made me get on the computer and send him an e-mail, and while waiting for a reply I played a little more Lords of Xulima. Then, after seeing his reply, a few minutes after 11 AM, I got back in bed, and if at first it was hard to get back to sleep, I eventually did, only getting up at 4:40 PM, though I’m pretty sure that I last woke up at 3:50 PM, my attempt to get back to sleep one more time after that failing completely. Then, after eating quite a lot of watermelon and lunch and doing the day’s squats, I left at 8:35 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, which I put in the machine from that new Carrefour Express. One wasn’t accepted and when I cashed in the voucher I asked whether they could give me the coin for that as well, but the cashier said that she couldn’t unless she had a factory to change it so the machine would accept it, shrugging when I said that at the large Carrefour stores you can hand in what’s not accepted. Either way, I then continued to the large Carrefour, finding that some Asian festival was taking place in the area around the stadium and I had to go around, after actually trying to go through but being stopped by a guard who told me that I couldn’t.
After putting the few recyclables picked up on the way, along with the one which hadn’t been accepted earlier, in the machine, I entered Carrefour at 9:10 PM, getting the cat food, cabbage and sour cream that I had gone there for plus some beer for dad that was at half price. Then, after needing to go to an employee and ask her to approve the sale of the beer, since they were all gathered in one place and chatting, I used the voucher received for purchasing the new TV and the one received for the recyclables and then saw that I did just have enough time to check Kaufland as well, so I rushed there, putting the purchases in a cabinet and entering the store just before 9:45 PM. And, while not as great as other times, there were some interesting evening discounts, so I quickly took some carrots, red onions, and white bell peppers, and then spent the remaining few minutes picking some grapes, having just started to weigh the products when the closing announcement came. But I still dashed to have a very quick look at those discounted products that are close to the checkouts, and then ended up asking the employee to help the woman who was using one of the only two working self-checkouts that accepted cash and clearly needed help. But I could eventually use the other machine, then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and rushed to that Mega Image as well, putting everything in a cabinet when I got there and grabbing some bakery products and the roes that were the only other product left that was also discounted by 90%. Then, after waiting in line for quite a while there as well, I retrieved my things, walked out, and then stopped at a bench to arrange everything. And on the way back I picked up some more recyclables, plus a label taken off a crushed one, and also had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, the guard asking me to leave the bags when I entered with everything.
It was close to 11:30 PM when I got back, with over 13 kg, and when I spread out the purchases I saw that the carrots had sliced not only the bag that they were in, but the one that I had put that in as well, so I was surprised to find that I hadn’t lost any, nor anything else from that bag. Either way, I then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate an apple, put some of the purchases in their place, making the cat food fit taking quite a while, looked through jams and moved a few into the fridge, put together something sweet and ate that as well, and went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, when it was past 1:40 AM. I was done a few minutes before 2:30 AM, and then I washed what was in the kitchen, put the remaining purchases in their place, and ate dinner between 4:25 AM and 5 AM. I got in bed at 6:25 AM.

Well, just under four hours later I was woken up by that loud drilling from above, which seems to be the rule on Saturday. And dad started looking for his car key, so I helped him look for a while, though he was the one to eventually find it, in a small pocket of his backpack that I wasn’t aware of, since I had otherwise looked through it. Then, after he left, I started writing the review for Dungeons of Dreadrock, getting back in bed at 1 PM, when the noise died down to some scraping, which continued as I tried and failed to actually get back to sleep. At 3 PM, when the alarm rang and I got up to watch the Formula 1 qualifying and a friendly handball match, I initially thought that I hadn’t managed to catch as much as a little nap, but I guess that I probably did nap just a little bit, since it didn’t feel like I was awake for two whole hours. And the drilling resumed not long after I got back up… At least I managed to take a proper nap in the evening.
On the other hand, dad utterly infuriated me at night. He once again gave Liza a lot more food just before going to bed, doing so just as I woke up from that nap, so I initially left Liza’s plate in his bedroom, and later moved the food out of it, washed it, then put the food back and returned the plate there. But she still hadn’t touched it by the time I went to wash what I had used while eating dinner in my room and dad went to the bathroom at the same time, so I went there while he was in the bathroom, turned on the light and put the plate under her nose, so she started eating. I took it away and meant to leave when dad was done in the bathroom, so I won’t bother him, but he complained that I had turned on the light and supposedly woke Liza when he had supposedly gotten out of bed slowly just to avoid that, the fact that she actually was awake when I walked in being irrelevant, of course. And then he called the fact that I was bothered that he may end up throwing away that bit of food “shit”… And I really lost it. Went to the kitchen, waited for a few moments, holding that plate, then flew off the handle, banging things, though I managed to avoid breaking any, and then pacing back and forth and snorting for quite a while before going out on the still demolished balcony, with that plate, meaning to throw the food for some of the cats that are outside. But since none walked by just then and it was too dirty all around to just throw the food down, I eventually walked back in, put that plate back in dad’s room for a while, cleaned the litter box, tried to calm down to some extent, got ready for bed, and then, since the food was still there, I put it and one of those treats which he had left on the living room floor in something else and in the fridge, getting in bed at 5:20 AM.

The alarm was set to ring at 1:55 PM, to watch the race, but after waking up just over an hour earlier and going to pee, I couldn’t get back to sleep, so a few minutes before that time I got up and turned off the alarm. Then I finished and posted the review for Dungeons of Dreadrock, did the day’s squats, and left at 7 PM, with the regular recyclables, which I dropped off in a recycling bin, some expired cat food, which I left for some stray cats I saw close to that recycling bin, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up some more on the way to Kaufland.
Going there was a complete waste of time, since the machine didn’t work, and after putting those recyclables in a cabinet, washing my hands, and entering the store at 7:40 PM, I didn’t see any interesting evening discounts and, while I initially picked up one product which I considered buying, I was uncertain and when I saw that a single self-checkout that accepted cash was working and there were people with many products using it, I eventually decided that it wasn’t worth the wait. So I just left it somewhere on the way back to the entrance and walked out, being about to use the entrance gate, which had just opened for someone else, when the information desk employee asked what did I want and what did I have in my hand, so I showed her the empty bag which I had just taken out of my pocket, just to make it obvious that I wasn’t hiding anything there. And the closing announcement came just as I was walking away.
At least the machine from Carrefour worked, even accepting a recyclable which had been left next to it, though it didn’t accept one which had been emptied by dad and, obviously, one which I had picked up and was mostly full, since I’d say that somebody tried to prank whoever picked it up because the cap seemed glued on and I couldn’t open it to empty it. So I put those two in a cabinet, but I forgot that I wanted to check the price of their cheap yogurt and didn’t find anything else to get, so I just cashed in the voucher and followed some other people out of the checkout area, so I wouldn’t have to go back to the entrance,
After retrieving those recyclables from the cabinet, I picked up some more and went to that Mega Image that closes at 10 PM, getting there pretty early but being unable to use that time to put in those recyclables, since the machine was having issues, the people who were ahead of me struggling to put in what they had, and the 90% bakery discount labels started being placed before my turn came, so I went there and took an apple pastry, though it was torn in two, and a plain bun. And those discounts were actually made rather early, because by 9 PM I was already waiting for the carts with the other products discounted by 90% to be brought, and when that happened I grabbed two things from there as well. And after waiting in line for a while I decided to go back and grab another one of those bug repellents for my parents as well.
I still had those recyclables when I walked out, the man who had been behind me when I went to take discounted products still struggling to put in everything he had and complaining loudly about the situation. So, after stopping to put the few other purchases, not including the bun and the apple pastry, in the backpack and passing by the Shop & Go from that area, I decided to try that Profi Go… Only to see that, while the display seemed to indicate that it was functional, the machine from there had a sheet of paper taped on it, not allowing anything to be put in, so I walked back out and entered this nearby Mega Image as well, seeing that the machine did work… But the guard told me that it was going to turn off at 10 PM, and when I told her that it wasn’t even 9:40 PM yet she pointed to the large bags that the guy who was using it had and said that she wasn’t even sure that he’ll finish in time. So, after having a quick look inside, I decided to continue to the next Shop & Go. But the machine from there didn’t seem to be working either, an employee struggling with it but seeming unable to get rid of the message that the glass container was full even though it wasn’t, which seemed to be the main problem at the one from that first Mega Image as well. So I eventually came back with all of the recyclables gathered after leaving Carrefour, plus those two which hadn’t been accepted there.
I was back a little after 9:50 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box, eating two of the plums sent by mother before going to drop a bag of trash down the chute, after which I also ate the apple pastry and put the purchases in their place. I went to wash at 11:10 PM and was done just before 11:40 PM, but it was past 1:10 AM when I went back out of my room and 2 AM when I took the first bite of lunch, which consisted of some slices of pizza brought by dad and which he had taken out of the box he had brought them in and placed on a plate, and the edge of one of the slices was also missing, so I wondered about that missing edge and just how clean his hands had been when he had moved the slices. Either way, it was 2:40 AM when I finished that lunch, and I also moved something that he wanted to take to mother into a jar that I thoroughly washed first, ending up eating dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:10 AM. And when I flossed before going to bed I definitely confirmed that the filling which was only replaced in June is loose again, and that area bled when I then brushed my teeth, waiting for the bleeding to stop leading to getting in bed at 5:20 AM again.

When I got up to pee, a little before 8:30 AM, I heard voices outside and also had some pretty bad acid reflux, but I managed to get back to sleep right away and could sleep until the workers returned from their break, which I guess was around 1 PM again. I guess I might have woken up because of various smaller noises before then as well, but in that case I also fell asleep again almost immediately, since what I was actually aware of was when things started falling on the scaffolding and possibly even on my external blinds, so they were obviously tearing down or scraping something above, and I remained curled up under the sheet for quite a long time before checking the time, seeing 1:53 PM, and deciding to get up, albeit after lying there a little longer and then taking it very easy, so it was 2:15 PM when I got on the computer, staying there until 5 PM, when the workers were done. On the other hand, when I got up there was a heaviness in my abdomen and some little blisters on my tongue, plus some remaining acid reflux, albeit not as bad as it had been in the morning, so I had serious doubts about that pizza, or perhaps more exactly about dad handling it with dirty hands and/or somebody having either bitten off or having had dirty hands when they had torn off that missing edge. Either way, in the evening I started reading Blood Communion, and eventually my digestive system seemed to calm down as well.

On the morning of September 23, I surprisingly managed to stay asleep until almost 11:10 AM, not even waking up when dad left. And at that point, when I went to pee, the noise seemed rather distant and I could get back to sleep right away, sleeping for another hour and a half before waking up again, then peeing once more, just in case, and managing to catch another little nap before things started falling around my window, and some of the scraping and hammering seemed to come from upstairs as well. But I had set the alarm to ring at 2 PM and it’s possible that I caught another brief and agitated nap or two before that happened and I got up. Then I had the usual stuff, which included the last of those baked almonds with Himalayan salt which had expired at the beginning of May, to which I added one apricot pit. But when I went to the bathroom, the light flashed and then wouldn’t turn on anymore, so I replaced it with the one from the small bathroom, leaving replacing that with the old one that I kept as a spare for later… And while I was replacing that light, somebody rang the doorbell, and since the workers were right outside the apartment when I wanted to get back to the kitchen, I assumed that it had been them, and the fact that they were there made me avoid going back to the kitchen to eat those two nicer biscuits, with added honey, and drink most of the tea until they moved away and were pretty much done for the day, so I ended up only leaving at 5:05 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband. The reported temperature was 27-28°C, and a couple of degrees less when I finished.
The time was 1:19:16, with sector times of 4:29, 5:11, 6:02, 4:35, 5:06, 6:00, 4:36, 5:12, 6:03, 4:38, 5:18, 6:13, 4:43, 5:16 and 5:54, making for lap times of 15:42, 15:41, 15:51, 16:09 and 15:53. With this being the first run over ten kilometers since the Dream Trek, or since a week before that if I’m referring to an actual continuous run, I was thinking that I’ll be content to just stay under 1:20 and started at a controlled pace, the first sector’s time being pretty much what I expected. The second sector was just a little slower than I thought it’d be, however, and while I hoped to squeeze under six minutes on the third sector, I definitely didn’t want to push so early, so I took that time as it was. But then I didn’t think that I could afford to be slower on the second lap, and while its second sector recovered almost everything I had lost on its first, sector three of lap two was still far too early to push, so I was sure that I was going to be slower after all… Yet I did just enough to be a second faster on lap two than on lap one, which made me feel much better about my chances of staying under 1:20, and staying safely under 16 minutes on lap three as well improved my confidence even further, to the point that I wondered whether I’ll even manage to stay under 16 minutes on each lap. That might have even been possible if I’d have really pushed on sector three of lap four, but by that point I was starting to think about squeezing under 1:19:30 and pushing before sector two of lap five seemed like it could cause me a net loss, so I “sacrificed” lap four and stuck to that plan, doing enough on sector two of lap five to give myself a good chance and then giving everything on the last sector and ending up very safely under 1:19:30. Not that this isn’t still a pretty bad time in itself, but I’m content with it under these circumstances.
What does make it worse is that there’s actually surprisingly little to say in terms of issues, especially after the first sector, since a pretty serious gust of wind hit me almost as soon as I started running and, far more concerning, right after that first sector’s long straight I felt what seemed like a warning coming from my heart. But neither of those problems repeated itself after that, and the only thing I’d mention about lap two was also right after the beginning of it, when the spray from the fountains that are on the lake was carried onto the path and there was a moment, before the bridge, when I found it rather hard to breathe because of it. Other than that, a pressing need appeared towards the end of sector two of lap three, worsening over the course of the next two sectors, but then it became more manageable, even if it remained noticeable all the way to the end. As for problems caused by people, other than a pretty normal amount of weaving and going the long way around, on sector one of lap four I slowed in order to squeeze through a roadblock, while on sector one of lap five I briefly stopped because of a little boy who came out from behind his parents and almost ran into my legs.

I did a few quick stretching moves before walking out of the park, and I also picked up a few recyclables, putting them in the machine from the nearby Mega Image but not staying to cash in the voucher at that point. And then I picked up two more recyclables, one of them without a label but being the right size for the label that I still had, and after getting back, piercing that cap that seemed to have been glued on and emptying that bottle, I decided to try to open it again and found that it opened right away, which was really weird. Either way, I then cleaned the litter box, ate a lot of watermelon, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, also changed the light from the small bathroom and found the receipt for the burned out one, since it’s still under warranty, and it was past 8:40 PM when I left again, with a bag of trash that I dropped down the chute and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up one more on the way to Kaufland.
When I got there, I saw another recyclable next to the door of a car that was parked next to the entrance to the underground parking lot, and a couple more scattered on the ground, but someone was in the car and a woman was outside, so I initially put what I had in the machine, then saw that the car was gone and went back to pick up that recyclable that was still on the pavement, though I left the others, since that woman was still there, with her back turned. And, after putting that recyclable in the machine as well, I entered the store just before 9:15 PM and made use of evening discounts to get carrots, tomatoes, and Kapia peppers. I also added two of those cheap yogurts, and when I heard a good discount for sausages being announced I meant to get some of those as well, for dad, but when I got there I was told that they had just sold all of them. So, after waiting for 9:45 PM without seeing any new or increased discounts, I cashed in the voucher received for the other recyclables and used the one received for that last one when I paid. I was arranging the purchases when the closing announcement came, walking out a couple of minutes after 10 PM… And seeing a lot of smoke, so I was looking around, trying to see where the fire was, only learning after I got back that it was actually 3.5 km away, at a storage facility, and people were advised to stay inside with the windows closed because of the toxic smoke.
Not that I could have done much about that at that point, but since I wasn’t even aware of it, I continued to that Mega Image that closes at 11 PM, picking up another recyclable on the way, entering the store with everything, and just wasting some time, because the bakery products weren’t even bagged yet and the employees didn’t seem to be about to make any discounts, so after waiting around for a little while I continued to the non-stop Mega Image as well, picking up one more recyclable on the way and once again entering with everything. But I was apparently too late for the discounted bakery products, since I saw someone who had a few, but none of those that were left were discounted. And while an employee was checking the other products and applying the 90% discount to those that were just about to expire, a man was standing next to him and taking everything. So I looked for something else, spotting some cooked food that was expiring the following day and discounted by 50%… And as I was trying to work up the courage to ask whether that discount will also increase, dad called to say that he had forgotten his keys at mother and was just getting off the metro. So I had to get back and open the door, which made me manage to ask not one but two employees about that discount, since I couldn’t spot the one who had been applying those labels right away but did see him again before walking out. But both told me that the discount won’t increase that evening, so I left without buying anything from there either, showing the guard the recyclables and an empty bag when she asked what I had in the bag and in my pocket, the purchases being in the backpack, which she didn’t ask about.
Despite jogging back, I still picked up a couple of recyclables on the way, and after meeting dad in front of the building I grabbed a couple more that were left here. And, after letting dad in, I went back out, to have a look in the nearby Mega Image as well, grabbing two bakery products that did have the 90% discount. I also saw some nicer packaged bread that I’d have bought for dad, but it was discounted by 50% and when I asked the employee who had placed the 90% discount labels on the bakery products he said that the bread will stay at 50%, so I didn’t get it.
I got back for good at 11:10 PM, asked dad if he’d cook something, and eventually dug out some bio (organic) “burger” patties from the freezer and cleaned the grill for him to use for them, and when they were close to being done I added the two remaining slices of the pizza he had brought, though those got rather stuck on the grill and it then took a while to get them off. But first I ate a sweet pastry, put some of the purchases in their place, cut some of the watermelon for him to take to mother, then ate lunch, consisting of the pizza slices and one of the patties, and did the day’s squats. It was past 1:45 AM when I went to shower, that dull pain in that area of my head once again being more notable, not that it had ever fully gone away after I had first noticed it. And the water was quite cold until I was just about done, when it suddenly ended up being around body temperature and seemed to keep warming up. But I didn’t linger, being done just after 2:10 AM. Then I washed what was in the kitchen, including the grill, put the remaining purchases in their place, took the last of those expired vitamin C and zinc supplements, and ate dinner between 4:35 AM and 5:20 AM. I got in bed at 6:35 AM.

The plan was that dad would wake me to lock the door behind him, since he didn’t want to take my keys and leave me locked inside, and several minutes before 8 AM, so after I had only slept for about an hour, he did that, at which point I also cleaned the litter box to give him a small bag of trash to take. And, while I was back in bed just before 8 AM, I couldn’t get back to sleep right away, some faint noises started soon after, and around 8:45 AM they weren’t that faint anymore, so I got on the computer, and while the noise wasn’t exactly bad either, I only got back in bed at 11:50 AM, when I hoped that the workers would take their break. And they did, after a few minutes of worse noise, when they probably rushed to finish something, but it still took me a while to fall asleep again, and after they finished their break and the noise woke me again, I only managed to take a couple of brief and agitated naps, despite only crawling up from under the sheet some time after 4 PM. And then I read some more of the book, only actually getting up when it was close to 5:15 PM and the workers were gone, so I could raise the blinds and move around. And I didn’t get back in bed again that evening.

At least I did get some pretty good sleep on September 25… Which was very much a surprise, since dad had said that someone was supposed to come in the morning and measure the windows, so he should have woken me up some time before that, but I found myself only waking up after he left and finding a note saying that he had left earlier because they had also arrived earlier, which I found baffling, since measuring windows would have also required entering my room. But in the evening he explained that nobody came for the windows, but just to ask him to sign that he agrees to the work being done. Not that sleeping through that wasn’t a surprise just as well. But the workers’ break was supposed to start soon after I woke up, so I got back in bed and slept for some two more hours before the noise woke me, after a total of some eight hours of sleep. So I didn’t make up for the previous day, but at least I didn’t add even more to the sleep debt for once. And the microwave popcorn I made and ate during the evening’s match, which was admittedly of a different kind than the one used the previous time and expired “only” since December of 2023, actually seemed perfectly fine.
I wanted to check some Mega Image stores after the match, so I left at 9:55 PM, picking up a few recyclables and jogging to the one from Mihai Bravu, which I had found closes at 11 PM but had never checked for those 90% discounts until then. And the wind was quite a problem, chilling me and threatening to blow the cap off my head if I stopped holding on to it… Which did happen at one point. But I did get there in time to see those labels being placed on the bakery products and that time I managed to grab the two apple pastries that were there, reaching over as the man who had been waiting asked the employee about them. And then I waited around for quite a while, first because there were many bakery products left and that employee was going through them slowly, but also because I had seen some other interesting products that expired the next day and were discounted by 50%, so I wondered whether she’ll get to them next. And she eventually did seem to be going there, but then a guard came and called her over, apparently in order to take some products she had asked to be saved for her, and it was getting too late, so I just bought those pastries, without waiting for the receipt. Then, after putting the pastries in the backpack and picking up a couple more recyclables, I continued to the non-stop Mega Image that’s close to the metro station, put the recyclables in a cabinet that I didn’t lock, entered with the backpack, but found the bakery area already cleared and nothing else with the 90% discount. And after retrieving the recyclables and picking up a couple more on the way back, I entered this nearby Mega Image at 11:02 PM but only found some bagels that I wasn’t interested in left in the bakery area, and what was strange was that there were crates and piles of products everywhere and the employees were gathered outside, though none told me that they had closed early or tried to stop me from entering.
I was back a little after 11:05 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, did the day’s squats, ate one apple pastry and put the other one in the fridge, and it was past 12:10 AM when I went to shower, being done just over 40 minutes later… And that time I didn’t notice that pain in that part of my head anymore. But then I spent some time on the computer, going back to the kitchen at 1:25 AM. And I also swept the floor and I’m not sure when I took the first bite of lunch, but quite some time passed before the second and I only finished eating it at 3:25 AM, then ate dinner between 3:30 AM and 4 AM.

Several minutes before 8:30 AM, I was already woken up by pretty bad noise, but it didn’t stay that bad and I could get back to sleep, and while I still woke up occasionally and, perhaps somewhat oddly, it was harder to get back to sleep after going to pee and exchanging a few words with dad during the workers’ break, I eventually managed to take another nap after that as well and it was 1:53 PM when I got up for good, when what sounded like metal cutters started making an awful noise. Then I ate lunch, did the day’s squats, and left at 6:05 PM, with a bag of trash that I dropped down the chute… Only for a piece gathered from the litter box to fall on the floor, and I wasn’t going to leave shit there, so it’s fortunate that something else fell along with it and I could use that to pick it up and drop it down the chute as well. Either way, I also had the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and even though I rushed to Obor I picked up some more on the way, plus a label taken off a crushed one.
After putting the recyclables in the machine from Auchan, I used the voucher when I paid for the paper towels that I bought from there, and after putting those in the large backpack I continued to Carrefour, picking up another recyclable on the way and putting it in the machine from there. I also took a label off a crushed one that was left there and put it on another one that didn’t have the deposit symbol, but that machine refused to read that bar code and someone else came to use it before I could try to put that label that I already had on that bottle instead, so I dropped that bottle that didn’t have the symbol in a bin and walked away. Then, after peeing and washing my hands, I entered the store and bought some snacks, vouchers with 30% of the value being offered for that product category, among others, those days. And I also used the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid and added the purchases in the large backpack.
I started jogging after walking out of that mall, but when I passed by a Profi I stopped for a quick look, entering with everything, and then I picked up a few more recyclables, including one that didn’t have the deposit symbol, on which I placed that label that wasn’t read before. And after that I didn’t jog anymore, initially meaning to just get to that Mega Image that closes at 10 PM in time for the 90% discounts. However, when I reached Mega Mall I decided to check that Carrefour as well, noticing two recyclables in the first bins I passed by inside the mall… But a guard told me that I wasn’t allowed to do that as soon as I picked up the first one, though after I put it back he told me to take that one, but that if I’ll continue searching he’ll invite me to leave the mall. So I grabbed that one again and then rushed straight to the machine, putting everything in, only being left with that label that still wasn’t read, so I replaced it with the other one, which worked. And in that Carrefour I found what I hadn’t found at Obor, a certain kind of snacks and more of the cat food that was on sale, thinking that I had enough for how much I wanted to take but realizing at the self-checkout that I hadn’t factored in the deposit for the expiring beers which I had also grabbed for dad, so I left some of the cat food there, the fact that I had noticed the problem before scanning it meaning that I didn’t need to call over an employee. Either way, I also used the voucher received for those recyclables and then put the new purchases in the backpack with rope straps. However, there was no way to run with two backpacks, and it was close to 9 PM by then anyway, so I came straight back, trying to jog, albeit very lightly, after finding that the area around the stadium was closed and needing to go back and around. And I picked up two more recyclables.
I was back for the first time at 9:35 PM. Then I put the purchases in their place, ate an apple and some expired salty pretzels while watching what was left of a match, and after it was over, a few minutes before 11 PM, I went back out and to the nearby Mega Image, seeing that the bakery discounts of 90% had already been made and taking some things from there, plus some onions that were discounted by 50%. And, on top of not being charged for the bag that those onions were placed in, at the checkout I noticed that their price was slightly lower than what was listed on the discount label, though I later saw that it was, correctly, half of what was listed on the regular label that was under it. On the other hand, the guard, who was sitting inside the bakery area while I was trying to decide what to get, was coughing really badly, and so was the guy who was behind me at the checkout. Either way, I also finally used that voucher received for the recyclables put in the machine from there after the run.
After getting back for good, I just dropped off the purchases and rushed to wash, since dad was going to get back later and I knew that he was going to want to wash as well. And after I was done I put the last purchases in their place and then spent some time on the computer, getting back in the kitchen at 1:10 AM and then eating a sweet pastry that I already had, washing some things, taking one of those cold pills that expired a year before, moving the contents of a can which had expired three weeks before into a jar, and ending up eating dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:45 AM, so at 4 AM I only managed to post a placeholder for that day’s post.

Unlike previous Saturdays, on September 27 it was quiet and I could sleep. I did wake up after dad did, around 9:30 AM, and remained awake until he left, just after 10:20 AM, but since I didn’t need to pee I only got up to do so, just in case, at that point, and then I got back to sleep. I’m not sure for how long, since I was awake and just curled up under the sheet, lost in memories and daydreams and what ifs, for very long before finally dragging myself out of bed close to 3:40 PM, but I should have slept a pretty normal number of hours. On the other hand, after getting back to reading after finishing the post, it was almost 1:30 AM when I went back to the kitchen, and I also dealt with my bread and moved dad’s leftovers into a bowl, and while I “cheated” by taking a bite of dinner in my room just before 3 AM, I then once again saw time get away from me and also ended up moving the slices of bread to another plate and getting what was stuck on the one used to microwave them, so it was 3:25 AM when I actually started to eat and, despite doing my best to wolf everything down quickly, 3:45 AM when I finished.

After waking up around 9:30 AM, I couldn’t get back to sleep despite staying in bed until dad left, the fact that it was getting too cold to just cover myself with that sheet obviously not helping. Either way, at 10:55 AM I got on the computer for a while, before reading some more. It was noon when I tried to get back to sleep once again… But I still couldn’t, barely napping a little before getting up to pee again a couple of minutes after 2 PM. At least I managed to take more of a nap after that, but it was still a pretty short one, since it took me a while to fall asleep and I was once again awake for some time before checking, seeing 3:21 PM, and deciding to get up. And then I counted and sorted coins for Penny’s campaign, but by the time I finished the book and ate lunch, it was way too late to even make another attempt to go there and ask whether they still had vouchers, so I just took the few recyclables with the deposit symbol when I left, just after 7:15 PM, picking up a few more on the way to Kaufland despite jogging. But the machines were in use by people with large bags and it was late already, so I didn’t wait.
After putting those recyclables in a cabinet, I entered the store at 7:35 PM and made use of good evening discounts to get a lettuce with root and potatoes, and I saw some sausages that also had an evening discount, so I bought a few of those as well, for dad, plus some of those treats for Liza and just two cans of cat food for my mother’s cats, since there was a 30% discount for all pet food but I couldn’t remember just what kind she most recently said that they were eating and the kinds that were more readily available didn’t seem right. Either way, I was in line at the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came, but the people who were using one of the machines ahead of me took their time bagging their purchases, and the guy did so in front of the scanner, which led to the bag being scanned and needing to wait for the employee from that area to clear it before I could use the machine. And after retrieving those recyclables I stepped through the first set of doors and took some time to arrange my purchases, only walking out at 8:15 PM.
Then I rushed to Carrefour, putting the recyclables in the machine, being left with a can that was too crushed to be accepted, entering with everything, getting some of their cheap yogurt and some pizza dough and also using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid. And then I rearranged the purchases a little and rushed out, leaving that mall when it was past 8:40 PM and starting to jog after a while, since I wanted to reach that Mega Image that closes at 10 PM in time for the discounts of 90%. But I probably didn’t gain much by jogging, since I did so slowly and was occasionally slowing back to a walk, and since I had placed those yogurts in the backpack, I was worried that they’ll get damaged as I jogged.
At least it wasn’t even 8:55 PM when I reached that Mega Image and those discounts weren’t yet made, so I put the bags in a cabinet, entered with the backpack, had a quick look at the expiring products that had lower discounts, and was checking the cabbage when I saw that the cart with the products with the 90% discount had been brought before the bakery discounts were made, so I rushed there, but a couple of other people had already grabbed some things and I only took a bottle of apple and pear juice before rushing back to the bakery area, where those discount labels were being placed… And I apparently just missed out on what I’d have been interested in from there as well, so I just took a bun, after which I added a cabbage, what seemed to be the last of those bug repellents for my parents, and an expiring bio (organic) yogurt that was only discounted by 50%… And when I wanted to arrange the purchases, I found that the edge of one of the yogurts had sliced through the cover of another one, which fortunately hadn’t spilled but which I was definitely wary about eating under those conditions. But there wasn’t that much to do about it at that point, so I put it in a separate bag and tried to hold it straight on the way back. And since I had picked up a few more recyclables by the time I got here, I wanted to use the machine from the nearby Mega Image, but it wasn’t working.
I got back at 9:50 PM, though I had spotted a couple of bakery products that I was interested in when I had checked the nearby Mega Image and meant to go back there at 11 PM, to see whether they’ll still be there and discounted by 90%. So I put the purchases in their place, ate a few plums, washed what was in the kitchen, and went back out when it was almost 10:55 PM… But there were no discounts of 90% at that point and none seemed about to be made, the employee who had been making them before being busy cleaning and the cashier saying that she wanted to smoke at one point and asking why were there people still in the store… And that pretty much meant just me at that point, so I took a hint and walked out, going a small distance away and waiting for her to finish smoking and go back in, at which point I tried to have a quick look from a distance at the top of the bakery area, which was all I could see without even reaching the door, since the guard was there and I’d have felt awkward to just look yet again. And none of the products that I could see in that area were even bagged, so I just came back.
I was finally back for good just after 11:15 PM, and then I cleaned the litter box, went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, straightened that can as much as I could, and rushed to finish and post what ended up being a first form of the quick review for the book. It was just past 12:20 AM when I went to wash and almost 1 AM when I was done, but I managed to stick to the dinner schedule despite exchanging a few words with dad, which included agreeing that the yogurt with that sliced cover was going to get used in what he wanted to cook, fixing something sweet and eating it, having a few more things to wash, and using the worse lettuce leaves for the salad. And after eating I changed the wording of that review quite significantly.

The workers were obviously back in the morning, but the sort of noise they were making allowed me to keep taking naps, albeit interrupted and agitated ones, filled with scary, realistic dreams, plus what was probably a more proper one during their break. But I couldn’t stay in bed quite as long as I otherwise would, so just before 2:10 PM I got up… And dad changed his mind about how he wanted to cook and wasn’t going to use that yogurt after all, so I ate it. But I ended up being served with an excuse to yet again delay my plans to go out again, take those coins and try to get myself to ask about that campaign when the hot water became quite cold and the site stated that the problem would remain all day, as they were trying to rebalance the system after starting work that will last all week nearby. And, either way, dad cooking meant that I basically spent all day in the kitchen, cleaning after him and arranging things… And seeing as this week’s run was the following day but I still only have the quick notes about it, I’ll stop here. And this is a new longest post anyway, easily beating the one from two weeks ago, since it has 8402 words, or 8412 if you include the title.