Cav's Place

With the ruling coalition again attempting to change laws dealing with the justice system, the proposed changes including elements from the infamous OUG 13 that triggered the massive protests at the start of the year as well as new potential threats, a call for another significant protest was made. Sticking to this year’s “tradition”, the starting location was again Victory Square, in front of the Government, and the date and time were picked so it’ll again be on a Sunday evening, people being asked to start gathering at 6 PM. However, with the proposals now going through Parliament, a march was planned, starting at 7 PM, with the protest initially supposed to finish at 9 PM in Constitution Square, in front of the Parliament. There were, of course, hopes of large numbers, but at the same time the activists and groups making this call tried to keep expectations in check, to prevent disappointment.
Well, they shouldn’t have worried. Sure, it was nothing like February’s peak, but even considering the estimates coming from the media, which tended to be of around 20000 participants, it was still something which may have appeared impossible before the autumn of 2013, and the estimates of up to 40000 coming from some activists would make it seriously challenge the biggest protests that took place before this year. I really couldn’t make my own estimate, said before that if it’s over 10000 I won’t even try and it was definitely far more than that, but I can say that it took 40 minutes for the entire column to reach Constitution Square, since the first ones reached it at 8:34 PM and it was 9:12 PM when I could finally see the end, while standing a bit before the end of the road leading to the Square, so 20000 seems rather low. Maybe 30000, to be in between?
Now it can be said that people were there for different reasons again, and it’s not like the ruling coalition didn’t provide plenty lately, among them the planned massive and deeply troubling fiscal changes and the changes to laws that would grant law enforcement additional powers and replace some fines with possible significant jail time, including for behaviors that certainly make the changes appear to be intended to stifle protests. But most of the signs and slogans had to do with the original issue and the general perception of PSD and their allies as corrupt and at war with the justice system, plus of course the overall anger and opposition to them, regardless of reason. I for one was actually quite bothered by the apparent absence of those changes likely to stifle protests from the participants’ agenda and the explicit support shown by a fair number towards certain people and institutions which, while opposing PSD in this battle over the justice system, are far from faultless themselves. But as long as the result is a rekindled movement pushing back against this ruling coalition and their program as a whole, and also since there’s no support actually expressed for PNL, it tackles the immediate concern, the rest being things that can be handled after, or if, they’ll be stopped.

Moving on to what actually happened, I got there a bit late, reaching Victory Square at 6:15 PM and stopping on the sidewalk in front of the Government to set my camera down, so the long exposure needed won’t be a problem, and take the first of my pictures. I obviously couldn’t estimate how many people were there at that time from across the road, but there were definitely enough to promise a significant turnout, considering how early it still was, and many more kept arriving. As I was going all around, initially meaning to use the public toilet nearby before seeing there was a line already, I heard some saying they expected traffic to be stopped soon, which was what happened.
Since, after seeing that line, I went to use the toilet at a place nearby which I had used for this purpose during those massive protests as well, I don’t know exactly when traffic was stopped at least on two sides, but it had already happened at 6:35 PM, when I got back. Few were making use of it just at that moment, so the road was quite empty, but quite a crowd was already in the Square, making your way through at least parts of that area getting to be somewhat difficult. But I had to make my way through, and quite quickly, because I wanted to take pictures of as many signs as I could before the start of the march.
That didn’t give me much time, however, since people started moving just after 6:50 PM, so about ten minutes earlier than planned. Very slowly at first, seeming to just gather at the edge of the area, making me wonder whether the gendarmes will try to stop us from leaving, but I guess they just needed a moment to get in formation and coordinate with the Police to stop traffic, because otherwise they caused no problems. They were present in large numbers, including some on horseback, one of the horses sadly looking to be in a poor condition and struggling, but those visible were in light gear and they just did their job, ensuring the safety of both participants and traffic. Considering the number of protesters, trying anything would have been terribly unwise, but considering their behavior towards the few still gathering every evening in Victory Square in recent months and the rumors that they had orders to stop further protests, it wasn’t a given that they’ll be as nice as they were. Now it remains to be seen whether some will be served fines later, however.

With the march itself being uneventful, we reached Romana Square at 7:20 PM and University Square at 7:50 PM. By then, I had finally managed to work my way through and get ahead of the column, to take some pictures of the front as well, though I had to drop back a little and then get back to the sidewalk, which I otherwise used much of the time as I tried to advance, and go around the gendarmes trying to maintain some order there, as one grabbed my arm and shoved me back when I rather unexpectedly found myself breaking free of the column and stepping ahead of the banners held at the front. No complaints about that, since it was my fault for not realizing it, as you really shouldn’t just walk through the head of the column.
It was a good thing I was ahead of the column well before University Square though, since for some reason I felt a certain pressing need again by then and could run to the toilet in the underground passage and get back out in time to see the column stop as people were asked to hold a moment of silence… Which also meant I could go before those toilets are temporarily closed for cleaning, which the listed schedule says happens at 8 PM, so going after the march got going again, some five minutes later, since a call was made to sing the anthem after the moment of silence, wouldn’t have been an option. Didn’t personally sing it though, instead using the time to look for something to climb on for a couple of crowd shots.
The thing is that I only had one unused pair of batteries, had put it in the camera from the beginning and the camera already turned off at some point during the march. I’m sure it was before reaching Unirii Square, which happened at 8:10 PM, but it may have already been before University Square, I’m not sure anymore. Either way, from that point forward I had to keep swapping between that pair and the three drained ones that I also had with me, squeezing just a little more out of each in order to eventually take dozens more pictures. I was worried that I’ll need to give up at some point, but in the end I could make it work, though two pictures, one taken in Constitution Square and another actually on the way back, after catching up to the person who had that last sign I had spotted, ended up as bad as they did after my camera turned itself off twice as I tried to take them somewhat more properly and then I couldn’t get myself to once again get close and try a third time right away.
But to return to the march, after passing Unirii Square and turning right, there was a section of road that was dark, those with loudspeakers asking participants to use their phones as lights because, they assumed, the mayor had ordered the lights turned off so the march won’t be visible. And in fact it is something that tends to happen, lights being turned off as a march either approaches or goes around the Parliament, but this time the area affected wasn’t large and Constitution Square, which was reached at 8:34 PM by the first ones and a minute later by the actual head of the column, was properly lit… Though the Square itself was closed off, work to prepare the Christmas fair having already started, so people had to go around that entire area in order to gather on the road on the other side, in front of the Parliament.
What actually took place there, I can’t say too much about, since I started making my way back right after making sure that the march will actually end there, wandering up and down the stream of people that kept arriving, looking for signs I had missed. That allowed me to know that it took the entire column 40 minutes to reach the Square, or more exactly the end of Unirii Boulevard, though, as I already stated above, and also to see that people started leaving quickly after reaching the Parliament. Admittedly, that place is huge, even the road itself, with the Square closed off as it was, offering room for huge numbers, but the crowd was quite rarefied when I finally made my way back to the other side and eventually left as well, at 9:25 PM. Did read that some gathered in front of the nearby Ministry of Justice after that though, the last ones leaving around, or at least not long after, 10 PM.

There would probably be a few more things to add, but this was rushed and already even messier due to being a mix between an actual protest report and a personal post, so there’s just one last thing I’ll mention and that’s that opposition politicians announced their support for the protest and, in particular in case of those from USR, the fact that they’ll attend. Some known activists were bothered by this, Claudiu lashing out in a post written the next day even though he and plenty of others are in the process of registering a party, but I for one only seriously frown at the reported presence of at least one leading member of PNL, though I can also understand the problems with the fact that former Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos and some others from his group also took part. USR members who used to be activists and who took part in plenty of protests before becoming politicians, on the other hand, have every right to be there as far as I’m concerned, even if I definitely agree that now they should first make use of the tools their new positions offer them.

This should have been written earlier, and the plan was to write it yesterday, but I really didn’t feel like it and there was a match to watch last evening too, so instead I pushed to finish Silverthorn and make the quick review for it this week’s first post and leave today for writing this, since I won’t be writing anything over the weekend. With 114 pages left, it was a bit of a push to finish that, but I would have just managed it before the start of the match if I wouldn’t have stopped to make myself popcorn then. As it was, I just glanced at the first half of the match and finished the book during it instead, and then I wrote most of that quick review at half time, making a few additions and corrections during the first part of the second half in order to be able to post it well before midnight.

Said I won’t be writing anything over the weekend because I signed up to volunteer at the Botanical Garden again, tomorrow, and then there’s a protest announced for Sunday evening that I intend to at least have a look at, participating if a reasonable number of people gather, and perhaps sort of wandering around the area even if they don’t or the gendarmes cause problems. So, on top of wanting to avoid a Sunday update, I won’t have time for one then anyway, while Saturday evening I hope I’ll be catching up on some sleep, since I’ll be going there in the morning on next to none, and after running today as well.

Both last week’s run and this week’s were on Friday, last week’s time being 48:51, with sector times of 4:33, 5:13, 5:55, 4:31, 5:10, 5:57, 4:37, 5:13, 5:49 and 1:53, making for lap times of 15:41, 15:38 and 15:39, while this week’s time was 47:51, so exactly one minute faster, sector times being 4:22, 5:08, 5:50, 4:17, 4:59, 5:50, 4:35, 5:05, 5:54 and 1:51, making for lap times of 15:20, 15:06 and 15:34. So, while last week was when I struggled, needing to push hard on the third lap’s third sector to stay under 49 minutes, today’s run was the second one under 48 minutes, though 25 seconds slower than the record, and it included a second lap that was just marginally slower than the fastest one and a first sector, actually of the second lap, that was actually a bit faster than the second fastest first sector, because I write down just the seconds but remembered the exact time of the first lap, as in including the hundredths of a second, at that moment and knew that I had covered that first sector in less than 4:17. And this of course means that it is possible that the second lap as a whole wasn’t actually slower than the fastest one. But, either way, I did lose a bit of time at the start of its third sector, when I thought that the training shirt, which was tied around my waist, was slipping off, so it most probably would have been the fastest without that.
Probably shouldn’t have taken that shirt out at all, as I just wore it when walking to the park and back, but with a reported temperature around 10°C and a cloudy sky, I didn’t want to risk it. Still, there was pretty much no wind today, so that definitely helped. What didn’t help, on the other hand, was the fact that the cloth on the inside of my right shoe, at the back, is getting torn off in a spot and that’s injuring my foot, not that I knew that until after I got back today. Just knew I had a blister there for a while and I felt it more when running, in fact even stopping for a couple of seconds at the start of last week’s run to try to arrange my sock a bit differently, which actually means that last week’s real lap times are even more equal than they appear. Today it felt like something was pushing against the scab I knew had formed there, so assumed it’ll either get torn off or pushed in, some blood will, shall we say, lubricate the area, and then it’ll hurt less, so just pushed through it and that was what happened, as when I checked after getting back I saw a fair amount of blood on my sock and also on my shoe, but also spotted that damage while looking for the blood. This issue makes today’s time even nicer, but I’ll need to figure out what to do about that shoe.

Back to last Friday, in the evening I went to the commemorative march marking two years since the Colectiv club fire, which was organized on Friday because a charity festival was again taking place on October 30, the organizers didn’t want to overlap the events again and October 30, 2015 was on a Friday. What was odd was that the event called people to gather in the park at Unirii Square from 7 PM and stated that three songs will be performed in Bucur Square, in front of the old Communist-era factory where the club used to be, by those bringing guitars, starting at 10:32 PM, which was when the fire started, but the announcements regarding traffic being stopped stated that people will gather between 6 PM and 7 PM, after which traffic will be stopped on the sections of road that the participants will march on, until 8 PM, and then in case a large enough crowd will gather the streets surrounding Bucur Square may also be blocked until 11 PM.
That part worked out all right though, not many being present at the starting location at 7 PM, when those who were there were commenting that there were more reporters than participants, but quite a crowd having gathered by the time the march started, at 7:30 PM, and probably more joining on the way, so I rather tend to agree with the organizers’ estimate of about 3000 participants, other estimates ranging between “hundreds” and about 4000. And the march had a pretty decent pace, so the head of the column was actually in Bucur Square at 8 PM.
People did start leaving shortly after that though, lighting some candles and then wandering off since nothing else was happening, so those who did bring guitars were told to gather close to the monument erected there at 9 PM and the first attempts to start singing were at 9:20 PM or so, when I heard a few estimates stating that only about 400 people were left. Still, the guitarists couldn’t quite manage to work together and they were just trying to sing various songs, not those they should have prepared, plus that one had brought a child along who just got in everyone’s way, so it was quite messy, but a few moments worked out all right and they kept going, eventually holding a moment of silence after 10:30 PM and then singing three songs after that, though those weren’t those which had been announced. Since I left after the third, at 11 PM, I don’t know whether anything else happened after that, but I’d say 150 to 200 people were still there at the time.
And since I got to what I did, took no pictures, it simply felt wrong somehow, and actually spent the time before the march reading, under the streetlight in front of the lift leading to the metro station, then continued during the march as well, until I finished the chapter, and then read some more after reaching Bucur Square, before the guitarists were asked to gather. But to get back to reading before the march started, that also meant I was right there for those who were just passing through and wondering what was going on, muttering under my breath when a few just wondered out loud and then gave wrong answers to themselves, and answering one woman who asked me directly. And I also answered two women who were foreign and asked first whether I knew English, which should have been easy to determine since I was reading a book in English, and then how to cross to the other side of the road, since there is admittedly a single crossing in that area, in the corner which is the opposite of the one where the crossing that lets one cross the road on the other side of the park is, so the confusion is understandable.

While I’m on this topic, I did go Monday as well, just to have a look and light a candle, since I hadn’t done that Friday and didn’t go to the concert either. Since there was no time to arrive at, I just waited for dad to get back, so I’ll have the metro card, and eventually got there at 9:15 PM, lighting said candle, taking a few pictures this time, and otherwise wandering around a bit for the 25 minutes I spent there. A TV station was using the area around the monument as their set for a talk show on the topic, so that area was cleared of other people, the otherwise relatively few who were present at the time being on the other side, some spelling “Coruptia ucide 65+” (“Corruption Kills 65+”) with candles. Unsurprisingly, recognized some of those taking part in the Victory Square protests in that group.

Moving on, went out to buy a few things Monday and then again Wednesday, and Wednesday was actually interesting. Not for any good reasons, but at least one of them was funny, seeing as a bird apparently decided to use me as a toilet, not that I realized it until quite some time later. I mean, I felt something falling on my head as I was waiting at a traffic light, but passed my hand over my cap and didn’t feel like I had knocked anything away, so shrugged it off. Then shrugged it off again when, after crossing the street, I noticed I had something on my hand, thinking I must have had something in my pocket somehow, since I had put it there by then, even though I could see nothing when I looked in the pocket either. So it was quite some time later when I happened to glance at my right shoulder and spot the rest of the crap, at which point I took my cap off to see a bit still on it as well.
Was quite amused by it, and also somehow made a mental link to an old skit by a comedy group from here, so I spent the rest of the way struggling, at times not entirely successfully, not to laugh out loud. Must have looked quite weird, laughing to myself or struggling not to and with bird poop on me, plus that I had last shaved almost a week before. But I was going to the hypermarket in a mall that’s relatively nearby, so once I got there I went to the toilet, took my jacket off, cleaned it as well as I could in a sink, and washed my hands well as well. Little to do about the cap, as I couldn’t exactly try to wash that as well and then wear it while it was wet, but I rubbed a bit of water on that spot and then threw it in the laundry basket when I got back.
The second thing that happened wasn’t amusing though, as there was a power failure just as I was checking out. The hypermarket’s generator kicked in after a few seconds and I could check out, though the belts weren’t working anymore and the cashier struggled to scan the large pumpkin I had bought and pass it back to me on the other side, but the rest of the mall seemed to have more of a problem, being quite dark for one. More lights seemed to come on as I was going up on a non-functional escalator, or in fact a moving walkway, since it’s flat so people will be able to use it with the carts, but the escalators and the doors weren’t working, leading to quite a number of people gathering in confusion around the exits until somebody who knew the trick came to manually open the sliding doors that are inside the revolving ones.
Was worried about my computer, as the UPS still doesn’t have the data cable connected or the software installed on this one, so it couldn’t turn it off if the battery would get low, before actually running out, and got even more so after I got out and saw that the traffic lights weren’t working either, meaning that the problem was quite significant. And that did prove to be the case, as I saw reports stating that a large part of the city was affected, nothing having any power for about an hour. But by the time I got to the park I’m passing through on my way from that mall, I could see streetlights turning on, since it was starting to get dark, and then once I was out of it I saw lights at some windows too, which I guess means that this area wasn’t affected, or perhaps only very briefly, for a few seconds or at most up to a couple of minutes, as it tends to happen when there are problems nearby, and either way my computer was still running when I got back.

In between, Tuesday, I guess some girl from Brasov very bluntly hit on me on OkCupid, which I’m pretty sure marks the first time someone sent me a message with that sort of obvious intent. Hadn’t signed on there for about a year until I tried, and failed, to look for someone’s account rather recently, and then had just quickly logged on again one more time, I think on Sunday, before I got an e-mail announcing that I had a message. And then, after exchanging a few more, leading to me mentioning that the current version of my profile would these days be on Patook, she just asked how long has it been since I last had sex, also saying that for her it’s been eight or nine years. And I, of course, answered, giving the exact date as well. Then she asked if I’m open to the idea, I asked what idea, and she said that of us being in a relationship and having sex at some point. So I had fun just a bit more, starting my next reply by saying that I’m of course open to it for each of us, separately, but then got serious and said I am not and cannot be interested in her or in any other new person in that way, explaining exactly why. Since I got no other reply after that, guess that chased her away, and that finding my profile “riveting and compelling” didn’t refer to anything else.

One last thing I’ll mention before ending this post is that something weird happened as I was showering earlier. Dad had mentioned something about a meeting and 8 PM when saying when he should be back today and I wasn’t sure whether that meant he’ll be back at 8 PM or that’s when the meeting will start, or when it’ll end, or perhaps that he had a meeting nearby at 8 PM and he’ll drop by before leaving again to go there, and I assumed it was getting close to 8 PM when I’m sure I noticed more light through the window in the bathroom door and heard sounds which really didn’t seem to be something the cats could cause. So I assumed he did get back then, thinking nothing more of it until I finished my shower, got out of the bathroom and saw not only that he wasn’t home, but that there was no trace of him having stopped by. And when he eventually did arrive, around 10 PM, he said he hadn’t stopped by earlier, so I’m rather worried. Didn’t notice anything missing at a quick glance, I guess he didn’t either since I told him and he didn’t mention anything so far, and the door wasn’t forced, but something strange happened…

After the improvement and the greater scope of Magician: Master, Silverthorn marks a rather brutal return to immaturity in pretty much every aspect and, for the most part, a simple heroic fantasy adventure. It’s quite forced as a sequel at first, but eventually it finds its way and elements start to connect, albeit not necessarily in a smooth or, at times, even reasonable fashion, so it eventually grows and opens the way to another bigger story, but it does not contain it.
Expectations are very different today, or at least mine are, but, keeping them in check, I wasn’t exactly bothered by anything while reading it and it actually went faster and smoother than I expected. Taken for what it is, assuming teenage boys as the target audience once again, recognizing the fact that the fantasy genre has improved massively in the decades since it was written, and not expecting details that aren’t absolutely necessary to the action, carefully developed and developing characters, or significant depth or wisdom, there’s not much that can be said to be particularly wrong with it. That’s just far from being enough, however.

Rating: 3/5

Note: This is one of the books I took with me when I got thrown back to Bucharest, over 11 and a half years ago. A few months later, after learning that Andra returned to England, this time for good, I just stopped reading, and since I don’t reread books, those left became something of a small collection of connections to that period, not to be “used” by reading for as long as possible. Did read a few since, I remember three and there’s a chance that one or two more may be slipping my mind, but those were picked from those not registered on BookCrossing and I don’t think any of those I may be forgetting came after the last one of them that I marked as read, in 2011. So, after Magician: Apprentice was the first, this is the second one “used up” in such a manner in several years, and also the second one that’s also registered on Bookcrossing since way back then, which is also why the rating is out of ten instead of out of five.
I’ve been considering giving in when it comes to these for quite some time, even bought Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon back in 2014, to have this whole part of the cycle, but managed to keep holding off until now. But as more time passes, everything crumbles more and more, so here I am. Definitely not making it available on BookCrossing though.

Oddly, seeing as the two are actually a single book which was split for this extended edition, Magician: Master is noticeably better than Magician: Apprentice. The first few chapters are more or less the same, “immature” remaining perhaps the most accurate way to describe pretty much every aspect, but chapter four suddenly takes everything to a different, higher level. While reading it, it struck me as something which must have been written by an entirely different person, and a much more skilled one at that.
After that it goes up and down and dedicating more than two chapters to the aftermath makes for a rather anticlimactic finale, but there are a fair number of good sections in between and, on average, it remains a clear improvement. The genre even switches from heroic to epic fantasy, though the story remains focused on a few characters and some small areas, a short scene towards the end underlining just how small. The action is still terribly rushed, a whole lot is still skipped and details are still lacking, harming depth, immersion and character development, but somewhat more attention seems to be paid to the parts taking place in Kelewan and the overall impression is of one book that had everything not essential to the story itself cut out of it, while I was saying that Magician: Apprentice at times seemed more like a collection of connected short stories. A few bits of wisdom may even be said to have been thrown in as well.

Kept thinking of Betrayal at Krondor while reading this. In spite of technical limitations, made more notable by the fact that I played it several years after release, I definitely remember how well it managed to generate the feeling of immersion, and that I described it as “playing a book” when mentioning it to someone a decade or more later. Now I wonder how my impression of that outstanding game would have changed if I’d have played it after reading some of the relevant books… And if it’s not a case of a game being better than the books…

Rating: 8/10

I’ll start directly, with last week’s runs. Plural, because the forecast for this week was rather worrying while the weather was very good last week, so I ran both Wednesday and Friday. If anything, the temperature may have been a bit high on Wednesday, 28°C being reported when I went out, and I was also a bit tired after wandering around the two days before, but it worked out in the end. And the forecast for tomorrow seems good enough, even if there may be a bit more wind than I’d care for, so I should be running then as well, leaving me with one more run to add to the buffer that has to last me over the winter, covering any weeks I’ll have to skip then.
Back to last week’s runs, Wednesday’s time was 48:44, with sector times of 4:29, 5:12, 5:53, 4:26, 5:03, 5:57, 4:39, 5:09, 6:04 and 1:52, making for lap times of 15:34, 15:26 and 15:52. While Friday’s time was 48:29, with sector times of 4:30, 5:09, 5:58, 4:26, 5:04, 5:48, 4:32, 5:11, 6:01 and 1:50, making for lap times of 15:37, 15:18 and 15:44. So that makes for ten ten-kilometer runs in a row with times below 49 minutes, though Wednesday broke the streak of such runs with times below 48:30, leaving it at four. Quite poor final sectors both times though, but an excellent second lap on Friday, on the other hand, in good part thanks to that great sector three.

Back to Wednesday, just after I came back after my run and was thinking of starting to make myself something to eat, dad also came in, a whole lot earlier than I thought he would, and asked me to help him catch the cats and put them in the cage so he’ll take them to the vet to have their claws trimmed, since they, and Liza in particular, definitely don’t want my parents to do that and they decided to stop trying and pay the vet for it after a few early attempts, when they had me catch and hold her while my mother tried to get it done, unless she ended up feeling too sorry for how she struggled and gave up, leaving me with scratches and bites without even getting to the end of the task that was the reason for said scratches and bites.
Either way, with Micky it seemed to go well enough, as he already had her in his arms when I got the cage down and then I just had to hold it vertically and take the door out so he could drop her in it. When he came back with her, since he takes them separately, and wanted to take Liza, on the other hand, things were quite different, leading to quite a long standoff between me and Liza and some pretty deep bites in my right index finger, plus a few smaller marks elsewhere on that hand, despite the fact that I wore kitchen gloves for protection.
She was in the top part of the closet in the small bathroom when he came back and he said he wanted to trick her with some snacks she’s addicted to, which is an addiction he readily feeds when mother’s not here, as I think I heard that she at least tries to limit her to one per day, while he said he gives her one whenever she seems to ask. But I thought he’ll take pity on her if he won’t manage to grab her and put her in on first try, which he did before, plus that I don’t want that addiction fed even more, so I said I’ll handle it and just closed the bathroom door in his face when he meant to come after me, saying you can’t grab her when she’s up there.
Admittedly, I was very optimistic when I thought I will be able to just grab her, as she tried to scratch me as soon as I showed up there, so I quickly went to the kitchen to grab the kitchen gloves, for protection, and eventually let him bring a chair for me to climb on, since I didn’t exactly feel comfortable standing on the washing machine. By that point, she was already somewhere between panic and rage even though I kept pulling back whenever she screamed like crazy or meant to scratch or bite, which was whenever I moved towards her in any way. Didn’t want to fight her or to just reach in and grab her forcefully, initially hoping she’ll pay less attention for a moment and offer me an opportunity and then meaning to tire her, but there seemed to be no chance of that, so after I had the chair I used some of the things that are up there to make her jump down while still keeping my hands away from her.
Once down, it was a matter of just grabbing her, little else to do, but I still tried to go about it somewhat more slowly while she was jumping around the little room, trying to find another place to hide. And since she kept screaming like crazy, I soon heard dad tell me through the door that I should just give up and we’ll try again some other time, which was the very thing I wanted to avoid. So I said that was it, she lost her last chance of not being handled roughly, and I just grabbed her and pinned her down, not giving up even after her teeth went through the glove and deep in my finger. I just took her bite as one more thing that helped me hold on to her and neither of us loosened our grip on the other until dad brought the cage and she could be put inside.
I didn’t even realize how bad the bite had been at first, just giving him the gloves when he said he’d better have some way to protect himself too and only noticing that I had left blood on the side of the table after taking the chair back to the kitchen after he left with her. And then I actually took a few pictures before washing the blood away, then a few more when the bite marks could clearly be seen, and then I put medicinal alcohol on it, trying to clean as well as I could, ignoring any pain or stinging. Then again, I can’t say that I even felt that much, probably being too angry to notice.
Either way, when dad came back with Liza, he said she was breathing heavily, and indeed she had her tongue out and was panting like a dog, and that the vet told him it could be a reaction from the substance placed behind her neck against parasites, since they both had that done as well since they were taken there. He seemed quite upset with me for not letting him try to trick her as he wanted to and my initial reaction was to lash out at him over how much they kiss her ass, but bit my tongue and even apologized, grudgingly but I might have masked that to a reasonable degree, when he went out again, to pick up the gloves he had forgotten there. I had reminded him of them when I told him I gave them with my blood inside, but then the vet called as well to let him know, and also to tell him again that it might be a reaction from that substance, especially if she was already in such a state, and to wash it off her, which he had already started to do, so that was done and paid for pointlessly as well.
Minutes after he went out the door again, my mother called me, asking how she is, as he had apparently called her to tell her how she was acting. By then, after “crying” after him just after he went out again and then panting very loudly as she climbed on the kitchen table behind me, Liza had gone to the living room, lying on the floor and being quiet, no longer panting, but hissing loudly and getting ready to fight if I tried to even approach the living room door. And she mostly stayed there until dad came back, though she did come whenever I played with the wrapping of one of those snacks which dad had opened for her, which I did a few times after the call, since my mother had asked me to keep an eye on her and even if she should find a way to get back earlier to take care of her, which was a question I answered only with silence, since any of the angry replies coming to me at the moment would have just caused trouble for no potential gain. Back to Liza, even if she did come when I played with that wrapping, she just froze at the kitchen door, hesitating for a long moment, looking between me and the snack, and eventually walking away each time. She didn’t even come to eat it when I wasn’t in the kitchen, only doing so after dad came back.
Right. That cat is an annoying spoiled brat and I treat her like I treated Don when Andra’s grandmother was bringing him along when she was coming, which is to say I want whoever’s guilty of spoiling her silly in this manner to deal with her and keep her the fuck away from me. If parents are away and I’m alone with them, I’ll clean the litter and give them food when needed, but otherwise, if we are to be in the same apartment, me and Liza should just ignore each other and not be in the same room. Andra’s three cats were those I recognized as mine, inasmuch as the term can apply, and especially Bubu was the one I had a connection with, but that doesn’t apply to these two. Now that she’s old and generally just wants to find a good spot and sleep, Micky can stay with me just fine as long as it’s not in my room, even if I had that very bad reaction to her when I got thrown back here and it seemed that she wanted to take Bubu’s place, but I don’t want Liza around. And she doesn’t want me around either, hissing and trying to scratch and bite if I get near, which she was doing even before this, so I guess we see eye to eye on this matter. If that means giving up any “cat lover” credentials, so be it, but my reaction and connection is to individuals, not species.
On that note, before ending this long section, I also want to mention that Liza’s been screaming like crazy ever since, especially at night. At first she wouldn’t stop until dad woke up and moved to mother’s bedroom, as he sleeps in the living room, to sleep with her there, and then after mother came back too she keeps following her even more than before, not letting her do anything, and at night she’ll scream her heart out and launch herself into the door after my mother closes the door there, making them wander around and eventually switch rooms when dad goes to sleep as well, until they find an arrangement that Liza’s sufficiently content with to keep quiet. And my mother still says that spoiled, domineering brat is the nicest and most loving cat ever…

To finally move on, Saturday an event took place in support of legalizing civil partnerships, mainly as a way to legally recognize same-sex relationships, but for heterosexual couples looking for an alternative to marriage as well. And I went to express my support, even if I didn’t have any sign and didn’t really do anything other than wander around, take a bunch of pictures, and eventually just sit down at the edge of the area and read for a while. That caused me to miss the opportunity for the group picture, since it was only about 4 PM and the event was supposed to last until 5 PM, so I didn’t expect that to happen then, but they ended it early, since plenty had already left by then.
To quickly describe what happened as well, mock civil partnerships were officiated on the spot, and the event description states that all members of the Chamber of Deputies will receive a notification regarding the number of partnerships officiated. And participants were also asked to write what love means for them, the pieces of paper with the answers being displayed on one side of the area, on ropes tied between some trees. Did keep meaning to write an answer to that as well, but gave up on the thought each time, so I didn’t even do that.
An interesting moment was when a bride and groom appeared, the bride showing up first and standing around somewhat awkwardly for a bit. I believe they intended to take some pictures in the area where the event was taking place, but upon seeing what was happening they just quickly took a few at the metro entrance and left, despite being invited to join and even having the Wedding March played for them. And, even though this event wasn’t about marriages, but in part actually about those who want alternatives to marriage even if they could get married, that pretty much just highlighted the problem, as they could do what they had just done while many of the participants aren’t allowed to.

After leaving from there at 4:20 PM, I first went to Cismigiu Park and read there for about half an hour, then just quickly checked out a small gallery that was nearby and could be visited for free starting at 5 PM. Not much there and nothing to interest me, but I know the photographer from protests, she maintains this “aura” of not quite living in this world, and I had noticed that Alexandra had also liked her page recently, so I took pictures and sent them to her, just in case she was interested.
Then I got back to reading on the way back, not only on the metro but also after stepping off, actually walking almost all the way back with my nose in the book. And I read some more after getting back as well, which got me on track to finish Magician: Apprentice Sunday and therefore make the quick review for it last week’s second post after all. Was actually quite surprised by that, since I wasn’t even sure I’ll read at all that day, but between taking the book with me and getting back way earlier than I thought, leaving that gallery so quickly and giving up on the idea of going somewhere else after that, I ended up getting far enough to easily finish on Sunday.
The problem was that Saturday night, not long before going to bed, I started feeling like I used to feel back when I was little and my parents were rushing me to a doctor every couple of weeks or so, as I felt my heart keep stopping and was all messed up, though I was told there was nothing physically wrong. In other words, I was about to have a panic attack, and the timing was bad too, since fighting it off just enough to avoid ending up like that again would have been hard enough without needing to be calm enough to go to bed in about an hour too. But I eventually managed it, somehow, though it still felt like it was going to return the next day, obviously even more so when I posted that quick review on Bookcrossing as well, since that book’s registered there… And Andra was probably notified of it, if she still uses the e-mail she has listed there and hasn’t blocked everything from that site, since I used it to try to reach her a few times, long ago.

On the topic of reading those books from back then, despite being unimpressed with the first one, I moved on to Magician: Master right away and I’m currently on track to finish Sunday. Not sure if I’ll manage to read anything tomorrow, since I mean to go somewhere in the evening as well, after running in the afternoon, but I should just manage it either way, even if it may require a bit of a push over the weekend. And it is noticeably better than the first, somewhat oddly, considering the fact that it’s in fact a single book, only split in two in this extended edition. So the quick review for that should be this week’s second post.

Otherwise, wandered around to buy a few more things both Monday and yesterday, though I shouldn’t have rushed, because I just noticed today that the offers I thought ended yesterday actually last until next Wednesday. And going again yesterday meant my mother asked me to grab some more cat food and some milk for something she baked today, which caused me to get into some money I had set aside for a pizza and something sweet I mean to get after I’ll take part in the autumn cleaning at the Botanical Garden as well. But I didn’t get one thing I meant to get for myself and found some cheap milk, which meant I still at least have enough of that for the pizza, assuming they didn’t increase the price. And, either way, that’s not needed now and I’ll be getting more from them these days, so it’s not a problem in itself, but only in the sense of it not going exactly according to plan.
And since I mentioned the autumn cleaning, yes, I mean to take part in the cleaning of the Botanical Garden again. Probably still just once, and the plan was to pick either next Saturday or next Sunday, so one of the days of what should have been the second weekend, but now it’ll be the first one at best, since it was supposed to start this weekend but the forecast made them push it back a week and it remains to be seen if the weather will be good enough to start even then.
While on this topic, as I was coming back last evening, carrying a pretty large pumpkin along with a smaller one and a couple of other things, I thought I saw the woman who pretty much brought me into the mix back in spring. Knew I recognized the face, and the hair, but wasn’t sure who she was until some time after passing by her. Not that I’m actually sure even now, but sure seemed like her, even though it would be a rather strange coincidence and it may therefore be a case of my mind making a connection, since I’m thinking about this now again, even if the person I saw was just someone who happened to look a little bit like her. On the other hand, I know enough faces by now to no longer be surprised when I just happen to spot one somewhere.

But I really should be finishing this, so let me also mention the fact that I’m now using the spare mouse again and have been doing so since last week. The Kone XTD was double clicking badly again, so I plugged this back in and used it for a day, then used the main one again for a while, then put it aside and have just been using this since the end of last week.
It’s obviously quite an issue to no longer just click a mouse button for Alt+Tab, or to open Notepad, Calculator or Task Manager, or to show the desktop, or to no longer have horizontal scrolling available when needed, plus that it’s smaller and far less comfortable, the sensor is far from accurate and the wheel doesn’t feel right either, and occasionally scrolls twice when moved only once. There have also been a few moments when it just stopped responding for a few seconds, three of them on that first day and just one since, and I remember that happening when I used it before as well, but I have no idea whether that’s because there’s a problem with it or because of that USB port or because I have two mice connected and this is the second one and I don’t care to try to figure it out. It’s just a very cheap toy, after all, and I’m comparing it to one of the best mice out there, and very likely the very best one for me personally.
Just wish the Kone XTD would have been more reliable, or that I could repair it, because buying a new one will be quite a problem, considering how terribly expensive it is. Still, I’ll try to get back to it soon enough and see what can be done. Maybe the problem will just fix itself again for a while, as it has done before. And, if not, it seems that they just released something called KONE AIMO, which at least has the same number of buttons again, unlike the Kone EMP, even if it still doesn’t mark a return of that button above the wheel that I really want, adding even more useless lighting isn’t earning it any points from me, and it also uses their new driver instead of this one which I at least know to be very stable and compatible with everything. But, even if I’d really rather not buy a new one, it may be an option, depending on price, since I see the EMP being significantly less expensive than the XTD here and the AIMO apparently being released at the same price as the EMP.

One last thing: I mentioned the bad weather this week, and in fact the day when the weather was actually bad and not just not quite good enough for me to care to run was Tuesday, and that’s when a tree fell on my parents’ car, making a hole in the roof and shattering the rear window. A pole also fell and people say different things, some claiming the pole fell first and the cables dragged down the tree and others saying the tree fell first and the cables dragged down the pole, and that will make quite a difference in terms of who should cover the damage, but the point is that at the moment the car just has some plastic put on it. But it can still be used if actually needed even before repairs and it was a piece of junk which probably shouldn’t have even been on public roads for quite some time already… And I have a serious problem with having a car in itself, especially if it’s not an electric one, so I’m just shrugging and passing it off as a little thing to add at the end of a post. They’re quite troubled by it, on the other hand.