Cav's Place

A recent study showing that the rural population in the analyzed areas has been massively underestimated was reflected in the media as meaning that the world’s population could be billions higher than currently reported, this assessment seeming to have originated in The Independent and then snowballed from there. However, the study mainly focuses on how such wrong estimates affect decisions and are likely to lead to far fewer resources directed to rural areas than necessary, the effect on global population estimates barely being mentioned in passing, even in the press release. Plus that the study does state that more recent estimates appear to be far more accurate than those that the study is based on and that the findings from the studies areas can’t be applied globally.
Looking at it from that perspective, the main conclusion is just the one that the study’s authors also point out, that rural populations, especially in less developed areas, have been receiving far less resources and attention than necessary… Not that a study was needed to know that, since it’s something that pretty much goes without saying. And the fact that those populations haven’t been counted correctly and that the estimates have been lower than the real values is also a logical assumption. And, while these errors definitely can’t be applied globally, they have been proven to exist in some of the most populous regions, and it seems logical to assume that errors found in China or Brazil would be reflected in pretty much the whole rest of Asia and South America, as well as in Africa, and in fact that they are likely to be even worse in most of those areas.
However, since the study uses data for the 1975 to 2010 period and makes comparisons between the different datasets using data from 2000, and since such estimates have greatly improved recently, the improvements being particularly massive in those less developed regions, plus that the percentage of people living in rural areas keeps dropping anyway, any extrapolation of these results even when it comes to those particular regions, not to mention the world as a whole, is certain to be a gross exaggeration. It doesn’t mean that the world’s population isn’t underestimated, which remains probable, but that the error is much lower… Not that any additional number of people wouldn’t still be another pile of rocks on an already breaking camel’s back, and when those people are in the poor regions that will, and definitely should, see a massive improvement in living standards, which will also result in greater resource consumption, it spells even more problems in the future.
On the other hand, for those looking for any tiny sliver of a silver lining, it may actually be found by looking at the findings in another way. If those populations have been underestimated so massively in the past, it may mean that the population growth rate has slowed more than the current reports show. Once again, when the world has been terribly overpopulated for several decades and the rate of destruction and depletion is only at its current levels because the large majority of people have been living, and many still live, in awful conditions, a massive reduction of the population is the first necessary, albeit nowhere near sufficient in itself, condition to even having a future on this planet in the long term, not to mention actually repairing the damage done and also allowing the other species we share, or should be sharing, it with to live their lives and thrive. But if the rate of growth has, in fact, slowed more than reported, and if that happened most notably in the areas where the growth has been most pronounced and where consumption should also, entirely justifiably, increase the most, it may mean that things will worsen slightly more slowly than expected and the ultimate disaster will come slightly later… And that, for entirely natural causes, some more of us will be spared of living to see it.

The plan for this post was to also include yesterday, when I planted trees and then took part in a pro-EU demonstration, but when I couldn’t even finish writing about this week’s run by midnight, the part about the problems I had during the run only being added Thursday evening, when I edited the post, it makes more sense to leave yesterday for another post, even if this quite clearly makes this a waste of a personal “slot”. Either way, to start with the early hours of March 10, I ended up eating dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:05 AM, with some more of that peanut butter expired for half a year on all of the bread. Then, after getting up after the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, I had the usual stuff, but the yogurt was a really nice “Greek” one, with 9% protein and 2% fat, and I also added raisins in dark chocolate in it, while all of the almonds were once again those baked ones with Himalayan salt, still leaving the last few unsalted ones for another time. And, for another sweet thing, I put honey and jam between some of those wheat things. And I left at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear and one armband, with the slip of paper with the emergency information in the pocket of my tights, but sticking to the old running shoes. The reported temperature was 21°C, dropping to 17-18°C by the time I finished.
The time was 1:47:23, with sector times of 4:26, 5:14, 6:05, 4:38, 5:10, 6:06, 4:45, 5:19, 6:11, 4:45, 5:20, 6:13, 4:50, 5:23, 6:16, 4:48, 5:28, 6:23, 1:55, 6:12 and 1:56, making for lap times of 15:45, 15:54, 16:15, 16:18, 16:29 and 16:39, plus 10:03 for that final portion. While I had a faint hope to do a little better, the realistic target seemed to be to just squeeze under 1:48, and the rough target times that I had at the start added up to that… But when I recalculated them, after the first lap, assuming that I’ll get 15 seconds slower on each of the next four laps and 30 seconds slower on lap six, I knew that a minute was added to the total but was somehow convinced that those new times would have still allowed me to squeeze under 1:48. So it’s a really good thing that, when I realized that I might have a chance to be a minute, and eventually a minute and a half, faster, I did my best to manage that, so I didn’t end up doing even worse than I initially thought I would without even realizing it.
Either way, I started at a controlled pace and was content with that time on the first sector, but then the goal became to cover the first lap in less than 15:45 and I failed to do so by fractions of a second, and going so much over six minutes on sector three of lap one was also a bad sign. So I recalculated those target times and, as a result, I was actually a little pleased with lap two and content with lap three, after which I started wondering whether I could actually be a minute faster, which I was convinced meant getting under 1:47. So the targets for the remaining laps became 16:20, 16:30 and 16:45 and it all worked out, though it was tight and I was concerned, so I pushed a little more on laps four and five… And then I pushed even more on lap six, wondering if I’ll be able to gain 30 more seconds by the end, which meant that I needed a few on that lap, seeing as the target for the final portion was 10:30 and I really didn’t see how I could get below 10:00 and recover all of that time there. And I obtained those seconds, so I really went for it on that final portion, wanting to know that, whether I’ll manage it or not, I did everything to gain those seconds, and being pleasantly surprised to find myself already safe before the final sector. However, as I said, I was certain that I was about to squeeze under 1:46:30, since I don’t look at the minutes while running, and by then it was starting to get darker anyway, so it was a very unpleasant surprise, if not even a shock, to see the actual time at the end. At least it’s better than a year ago, and also a little better than the initial target, but it’s not something that I can work with if I’m to think of this year’s half marathon…
That feeling that something wasn’t quite right which I had also noticed in the past after eating those wheat things was present that day as well, so I should probably give up on them, at least after finishing those I already have, but at that point I just had to deal with it, as well as with an overall feeling of heaviness in my abdomen that appeared from the very beginning and with the need to snap my back, which appeared soon after I started and never really went away, at least a part of the feeling from my abdomen likely being reflected from there. But the problems became more notable from lap three, my right knee giving warnings on sector one and my hands already starting to go numb by the end of sector two.
While I remember that there was one thing that I was making a mental note of on each sector for quite some time, by the time I got back I only clearly recalled those first two things, so past that point I’m not sure of the exact order and I likely forgot some details completely. I really don’t know what it was that I felt on sector three of lap three, but I believe that it was at the start of lap four when a certain pressing need appeared, and it gradually worsened, becoming rather concerning by the end of sector two of lap six before suddenly lessening, which was a relief. Then I once again no longer know what it was that I felt on sector two of lap four, but I believe that it was at the end of that lap when my left knee also starting giving some warnings and I tried to put more weight on the right leg again, which led to some pretty notable pain from that knee right away, so at the start of the following lap. Then again, while it seems too early if I think about it, it is also possible that these things happened a lap earlier. Either way, I tried to balance things after that, which eventually led to pretty much my entire right side hurting, a slight cramp even appearing on the inside of that elbow, and on lap six both ankles were starting to give some warnings as well. None of the problems, with the possible exception of that brief but quite acute jab in my right knee, were exactly bad on their own, but they were things to manage and kept adding up.
Otherwise, past a more or less normal amount of weaving and going the long way around, whether because of the damaged lane or because of people, it was definitely on a sector one when I hesitated and sidestepped quickly because a man tried to clear the lane when he saw me coming but I had already committed to the inside, but whether that was lap four or five, I can’t recall. But I do know that it was on sector two of the final portion when a girl and a woman, so probably her mother, cut across the lane without looking right in front of me and I barely avoided the girl, needing to slow to squeeze around her, at which point the mother muttered after me and the girl actually shouted at me to go to hell! On the other hand, on the first sector of that final portion I stopped for a couple of seconds to see the time, and on the second sector I slowed to a walk for another couple of seconds for that same reason.

On the way back, I decided to have a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, picking up a can with the deposit symbol just before getting there and then seeing a bag with more recyclables with the deposit symbol in the trash can that’s in front of the store, so I grabbed that as well and entered with it, but then I found the reason why it was there, which was that the recycling machine wasn’t working, so I left it in front of it while I had a very quick look in the store and then picked it back up. Then, since I took the last slice of the cake bought back in October out of the freezer, after keeping it there all this time, I decided to take all of my bread out as well, to see just what I had and rearrange it. And then I ate a bag of peanuts, so I got some 950 calories just from that, and that slice of cake, changed, albeit leaving the running t-shirt on, and left again at 8:30 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
Well, the machine from the nearby Penny was once again not working, so I put those recyclables in a cabinet, without locking it, and bought some things, though they were out of the frozen peas that I wanted to get for dad, and which were the main reason why I had decided to still go to Penny even though it was already quite late when I left. Either way, after arranging the purchases in the backpack and retrieving the recyclables, I continued to Kaufland, picking up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way and putting all of them in the machine from there, separating on two vouchers. That machine didn’t seem to like cans, since each of those required multiple attempts, and the Pepsi bottle that had no cap required me to pick up a discarded one and place it on it, but it eventually accepted everything. Then, after washing my hands, I entered the store, with the purchases from Penny, a few minutes after 9:30 PM, first grabbing a large paper towel roll that was discounted because the plastic bag was torn and then returning to the fruits and vegetables and getting two celery roots, a grapefruit and a bag of Mandarin oranges, all of these having evening discounts. And the announcement that the store had closed came while I was using the self-checkout machine, where I also used both of the vouchers received for the recyclables. Then I took my time to arrange the purchases and finally walked away at 10:10 PM, picking up two more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back, though the bottom of one was quite crushed and I did what I could to straighten it.
I got back at 10:40 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate an orange that I already had and lunch, washed the few things that were in the kitchen, did the day’s squats, and it was a little after 12:30 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. It was several minutes after 1:30 AM when I was done, and then I decided to also wash a pot and a lid, ending up eating dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:05 AM.

I guess it was only a matter of time until somebody did it, but it surprises me that it was the Norwegian team who cheated by manipulating their ski jumping equipment. Admittedly, it’s one of the biggest and most organized teams, so they were able to pull it off, and they’re also in the fight for top positions, so they have the motive, especially since they hosted the Nordic World Ski Championships and then obviously also wanted to do well in Raw Air, but I just wouldn’t have seen them as having the necessary mindset, and others seem to share that feeling. Not that it’s in any way certain that they were the only ones to at least attempt something like this, of course, but they actually pulled it off and then they were discovered, so the fact is undeniable, and I’m actually somewhat surprised that, at least so far, the only ones who are suspended are the head coach and equipment manager, who confessed, the assistant coach, and at this point five male ski jumpers, and in case of the jumpers the suspension is provisional. I mean, for something like that to be pulled off, pretty much everyone had to be in on it, which makes the attempts by the jumpers to say that they had no knowledge of what was going on quite laughable, and an even further embarrassment.
Still, those five include Norway’s top three jumpers, all of them currently in the top 15 and Johann Andre Forfang having still been in the fight for third place by the end of the season, so this should clarify some matters in both the individual and the country standings, though it also means less of a competition at the top in the season’s remaining rounds. But the bigger question is just when did they start doing this and what results were impacted, because that could also affect the results of others who are currently in the fight for a top position, including the championship battle between Tschofenig and Hoerl.
And then, on top of the stain that this puts on the sport, there’s the way the equipment control policy was changed as a result of this, with jumpers only allowed one suit until the end of the season, a second one only being made available “in case of irreparable damage”, and all suits will be kept by the FIS, only being made available to the jumpers half an hour before a jump and needing to be returned within 30 minutes of the jump… Which is what tends to happen, treating everyone as a criminal because a few are, making changes that harm those who follow the rules and likely have the worst impact on those of lesser means or abilities, who might want to use other opportunities to train, using their actual equipment, which will also be used in the major official competitions, or simply take the time to get more used to it and extract the most from it, and will now be unable to do so anymore. Admittedly, at the moment this decision is only supposed to apply until the end of the current season, but it seems highly unlikely that they won’t stick to it or something like it in the future as well.

I guess it’s time for another post in this series that’s not only rushed but also not exactly deserving of the title, because I’ve known of all three bands for a long time. But, even if only one of them has an actual new album, at least they all released some new material recently, so it is fair to include them in such a post, those new songs being the new finds, which I actually only found and listened to today.

I’ll start with Morlas Memoria, since they’re the ones with the new full album, from which I just found Lost Expedition, which will therefore be my first pick. It’s actually on a different account, but it claims to be official, so I hope it won’t end up vanishing. Either way, for the second pick, the older song, I’ll go with Mine of Pictures. While the vocals remain good, I prefer this older song over the new one, but without having listened to anything else from the new album, I can’t make any comments about any differences in their overall sound, and the few songs which had been officially posted in the past made me check quite a number of times to see whether they had anything new that would allow me to include them in such a post.

Next is Winter in Eden, who recently released an EP, from which they posted Silence, which is just a lovely song that I’d say marks yet another improvement for them, and quite a significant one, despite going through what seems to have been a break and changes. But they were improving even before, so the second pick will be another song that’s not exactly old, Social Fake, which comes from the album with the same name that was released in 2022 and some eight years after their early material. Not that what little I listened to from said early material was bad either, far from it, but I preferred that song to those earlier ones.

And then there’s Symfobia. Their recent release is a single song, Liar, but it’s a solid, powerful piece that their new vocalist contributes quite a lot to, and I’m not even bothered by the guitar solo, which is unusual. And it’s just that powerful sound that made me go with a contrasting one, From the Ashes, as the second pick, the choice being hard to make otherwise. So I’ll just say that they’re a good band that I’m glad seems to finally return and I hope they’ll finally release another album, or at least more songs, one way or another.

Well, shit. Since I had kept putting it off for so long anyway, I decided to wait until today to install February’s Windows updates, to get the uptime record to 40 days… But then I forgot to take a screenshot before rebooting. I do have one taken before going to bed in the morning, but that obviously shows less than 40 days. So I guess I’ll go with the logs, the difference between the start and shutting down entries being 40 days, one hour, seven minutes and just under 21 seconds. However, now that I checked, I see that there’s a difference between what’s logged and what was displayed the previous time, the logs making the uptime 36 days, 25 minutes and just under 23 seconds while I had 36 days and 26 minutes in the screenshot and 41 or 42 seconds more passed between taking it and the system actually rebooting. Not that those differences would really matter, but I wonder what causes them. And, either way, it’s awfully disappointing to not have a screenshot proving this new record, since it seems highly unlikely that I’ll beat it while updates will keep coming…
Actually, since I mentioned updates, what showed up when I searched in the start menu seemed different today, before installing those updates, as if some component had been updated and caused that change even though updates were paused. That’s definitely not unlikely, considering what Microsoft’s been doing, but at the same time I’m not certain that my mind isn’t playing tricks. But when I didn’t even finish writing what I actually meant to include in this post before midnight, leaving the part about March 3 and, mainly, 4 to be added later, anything else about that is a matter for another time, as is another little change that I noticed after rebooting to install the updates, which shouldn’t matter unless it’ll be a sign of a return of a problem I had on the old computer, which doesn’t seem to be the case so far. Either way, I only managed to edit the post the first time, to add the part about March 3, Wednesday afternoon, and it was Friday evening when I finally edited it again and also added the part about March 4.

To get back to how I actually meant to begin this post, I’ll mention that I started to read The Narrow Road Between Desires late on the evening of February 26. Then, in the early hours of February 27, after moving some cheese into a jar and then finally opening and trying to mix the last jar of peanut butter, expired for half a year and which had separated and hardened in the fridge, I ended up eating dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:20 AM, once again using a red onion in the salad, since I yet again didn’t have green onions, and putting some of that peanut butter on much of the bread. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, and had the usual stuff, opening the bag of baked almonds with Himalayan salt and leaving the last few unsalted ones for another time, while the sweet thing consisted of a slice of cozonac, with added honey. And I left at 4:15 PM, once again taking the better shoes and wearing the full running gear and the shirt from the training suit, plus that thing on my neck and the gloves, and the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran. The reported temperature was 3-4°C, and 3°C when I finished, so it held pretty steady.
The time was 1:21.18, with sector times of 4:25, 5:16, 6:09, 4:39 or 4:40, 5:18 or 5:17, 5:59, 4:38, 5:17, 6:13, 4:45, 5:14, 6:14, 4:41, 5:24 and 6:06, making for lap times of 15:50, 15:56, 16:08, 16:13 and 16:11. I didn’t expect that to happen so quickly, but it seems that my thumb was already numb by the time I tried to press the button at the end of sector one of lap two, since I failed to do so, and while I tried to look right away and the time I saw would result in the second values listed for sectors one and two of lap two, it does seem more probable that a second had already passed, making the first values more likely.
Either way, since this was the first time I ran more than ten kilometers since the marathon and the conditions were as they were, the initial target was just to make sure that it won’t be my worst time over this distance, and most preferably stay under 1:24, but I did also hope to cover the first lap in less than 16 minutes, and the first sector was faster than expected, which proved to be enough to achieve that goal. Then I hoped to cover laps two and three in about 16:30 and laps four and five in around 17 minutes, changing the target to 1:23, but I actually managed to stay under 16 minutes on lap two as well, in part thanks to another runner who seemed to try to race me for a part of sector three. So I then wondered whether I’ll also manage to stay under 1:22, and after lap three that seemed likely, if I wasn’t going to have notable problems. But I didn’t know how I was going to deal with laps four and five, after all that time, so I was quite pleasantly surprised with sectors two and three of lap four, and with the lap as a whole… And then I decided to really push on lap five, at first wondering if I could also squeeze under 1:21:30 and then, after a rather disappointing sector two, thinking that I might continue to a half marathon distance if I won’t. But really giving everything on the last sector ensured that I did manage it. It’s still a bad time, and the slowest since July of 2023, but it’s minutes better than I expected, so I’m more than content with it.
There were many places where I couldn’t use my normal route because of slush and snow and some where I had to pick my way past that, but the notable issues were a small portion of slush right after the start that I pretty much walked through each time, leading to a loss of time on each sector one, and what I guess I should by now call the former ship’s dock, on sector three, where I had to pick between ice, slush and water and also follow a certain route, and I might have done best on lap one, since on lap two a guy blocked that route, that other runner went on the inside, and I ended up slipping on the ice. I didn’t fall, but it caused me to be very careful and lose more time when I passed through that area on the following laps… And on lap five I also stepped in the water that I had managed to avoid until then.
In terms of physical issues, there were some warnings from my right knee towards the end of sector one of lap three, but then they went away. On the other hand, at the start of sector two of lap three there was a gust of wind that made me feel rather chilly, and a fog also started falling around that time, but it didn’t get thick, and by the end of the run I was actually sweaty, though I never felt that I had overheated, nor that I was cold again for that matter, so it was fine, the only other issue being a certain pressing need that appeared over the course of lap five, faintly at first but becoming quite notable on sector three. And the left shoe bothered me a little after I put it on, at the back, but everything seemed fine while running, though after getting back it did feel like it had rubbed me a little in that spot, and at night I also noticed that the right one had rubbed or pressed that large toe to some extent.
Otherwise, on sector two of lap five I stopped for a couple of seconds, to check the time, my eyes refusing to focus at first, but then I didn’t even look after that sector, just pushing to the end. As for that other runner that I mentioned, he appeared ahead of me at the end of sector two of lap two, jogging slowly, but once I overtook him he fell in behind me and tried to stay there, the intent becoming very obvious at the former ship’s dock, when he went through the slush while I went wide, trying to pick my way, which probably made him think that I was turning off the path, yet after I made it through that area and ended up more or less alongside him, possibly a step or so behind, he let me get back ahead and once again fell in right behind me. So I rather made a point of trying to shake him off after that, pushing harder, and he soon dropped away, but that definitely helped my time.

After eating lunch and changing, albeit leaving on the t-shirt and shirt, I went to pay the maintenance bill, came back to drop off the receipt and pick up the bag with the plastic and metal and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, and left at 8:45 PM, picking up one more recyclable with the deposit symbol as I rushed to Carrefour, dropping off the plastic and metal into two recycling bins from that mall, since some things were left in the bag at first and I only saw them after putting the recyclables with the deposit symbol in the machine, and then just cashing in that voucher.
After continuing to Kaufland, washing my hands and entering when it was close to 9:30 PM, I got some olives, being charged for the plastic box, plus two expiring bags of nice bagels, two of those cheap yogurts and a mozzarella that had a great regular discount those days, the price being the best I ever saw. And the lettuce had a great evening discount, so while the few that were left were small and quite wilted, I grabbed the one that was somewhat better and a few more leaves that were scattered in the crate and seemed usable, and then I also added two bananas, those having an evening discount as well, even if it wasn’t a good one. And after waiting in line at the self-checkouts for a little while, I remembered that some chocolate bars that dad likes also had a great discount those days, so I dashed to grab some, the closing announcement coming as I ran, and I didn’t even lose my place… Not that it helped much, because just one machine that accepted cash worked and, after waiting after two slow older women, the second one even used a card to pay, so the guy who was after her, and just ahead of me, pointed out that all the machines that only accepted cards were free and she blocked the only one accepting cash and I joined in as well, though the talk then steered towards how the stores discriminate against those using cash in this manner and I gave Carrefour as the bad example. Either way, that guy also had one arm in a cast and apologized for being slow, though it was entirely understandable… And then someone else who had been standing right next to me and eyeing the machine all that time asked whether I’ll allow them to scan their bananas, so I grudgingly waved them ahead… Only for them to scan and pay for the two bunches separately. So I was there for quite a while… But my turn eventually came and I also used the 10 RON voucher received the previous week.
I then checked that Mega Image as well, putting my things in a cabinet, but all of that lost time meant that I got there rather late, so I don’t know whether more products with the 90% discount had existed, but just some lollipops with vitamin C and propolis were left by that point, so I took one box of those, plus a pretzel for mother and one of those apple pastries, the bakery products being at half price, and then retrieved and arranged my things and picked up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back.
It was almost 11:15 PM when I got back, then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put the purchases in their place, ate a banana and the apple pastry, drank the just expired bio (organic) drink which I had picked up two days earlier, did the day’s squats, and it was almost 12:20 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, finally having proper hot water again and being done when it was almost 1:15 AM. Then I washed what was in the sink and ate one of those bags of nice pretzels while making the salad mostly out of the worse lettuce leaves, which were most of them, eating dinner between 3:20 AM and 3:55 AM.

On March 1 I finished the book, also writing the quick review. Then, on March 2, I left when it was almost 4:10 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up two more as I once again rushed to Mega Mall, entering through the parking lot, putting the recyclables in the machine and then getting some spoiling lemons, apples and bio (organic) oranges, plus a small flatbread and a sweet pastry that also had the 50% discount, obviously without charging myself for the bags that the apples and lemons were in and using both the voucher received for previous purchases that I had and the one received for the recyclables. And then, after arranging the purchases, I withdrew most of the money which I had pulled out of the investment fund over a month earlier, needing to use a second ATM for that, because the first one apparently didn’t have enough cash available. At least there was no line, but I wanted to get back in time for ski jumping, plus that the rain was supposed to return, so I then rushed to Kaufland, put my things in a cabinet, and while I didn’t find the potatoes that were on sale those days, even asking and being told that they were out of them, I found some cartons of eggs that were discounted by 65% without expiring soon. They weren’t refrigerated, but they also weren’t wrapped, so maybe they were yet to do that. Either way, each had a couple of missing or broken eggs, but I could obviously put together one whole one, buying it and another one of those cheap yogurts. Then I retrieved my things, added the new purchases and made my way back in a pretty heavy rain, only grabbing one more recyclable with the deposit symbol, though I’m sure that I could have found many more if I’d have taken the time to look, since a match was starting at 8 PM.
I got back at 6:25 PM, so I missed half of the first round of ski jumping, but at least I could watch the rest while eating what was still good out of the largest apple, which was also the most obviously spoiled one, and the sweet pastry, putting the eggs and the bun in the fridge, and doing the day’s squats. And then I went to wash, rushing so I won’t miss much of the match, then put the remaining purchases in the fridge, along with what dad had brought, rearranging in order to make room, eventually also ate lunch, and then, after watching the first part of the recorded broadcast of the ski jumping, which included most of what I had missed live, I also stuck to the dinner schedule.

On March 6, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and had the usual stuff, once again using only baked almonds with Himalayan salt and still leaving the last four unsalted ones for another time, and the sweet thing also once again consisting of a slice of cozonac, with added honey. And I left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear, but returning to the old running shoes and also having some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 20-21°C, dropping a little, probably by about 2°C, by the time I finished, though I couldn’t actually check at that point and dad forgot to, even though I had asked him to look.
The time was 48:50.30, with sector times of 4:15.20, 5:12 (5:11.94), 5:59.19, 4:34 (4:33.94), 5:10.43, 6:00 (5:59.85), 4:33.15, 5:15.00, 5:58.28 and 1:54 (1:53.32), making for lap times of 15:26.33, 15:44.22 and 15:46.43. The target was to get back under 48 minutes, but after the first sector was some five seconds slower than I thought it’d be, considering how much I had pushed, I realized that I was going to struggle to even get under 49 minutes, and the rest of the first lap did nothing to change my mind… And sector one of lap two made me even more concerned, so I then tried to stay as close as possible to what seemed to be my maximum sustainable pace at that point and hoped that it’d be enough to complete lap two in less than 15:45, which I just barely managed. That gave me a chance, but it meant that lap three couldn’t be more than a few seconds slower, so I pushed harder, intending to do so even more from sector two and then getting even more worried after seeing that sector’s time, which made me certain that I’ll go over six minutes on sector three of lap three and therefore still need at least a decent final sector in order to make it. But that wasn’t the case, so I did find myself already safe at the end of the lap… But, of course, just being safely under 49 minutes is a bad time, and the conditions weren’t an excuse anymore.
I had to do a fair amount of weaving and going the long way around, both because of the lane, which was even more damaged, after the snow and ice, and because of the fact that there were a fair number of people. And there were notable problems as well, starting on the long straight of sector one of lap one, when I hesitated and sort of sidestepped because of two kids who seemed to notice that I was coming just as they meant to start running, one doing what looked like a parody of a silly dance. Then, on sector one of lap two, I did a rather poor job of picking my way through several people and around a dog, which meant slowing a lot for a few seconds. And on the following sector I first took a few steps on the grass and slowed, albeit cutting a turn in the process, and then, on the long straight, hesitated because of another runner coming from the opposite direction, breaking my attempt to sprint. And there were two issues on sector one lap of three as well, the first appearing when I was catching another runner and tried to speed up in order to pass him before the woman with the stroller who was coming from the opposite direction would block that side, but I failed, ending up having to slow and hesitating, and the second being on the long straight, when I hesitated because of a dog that seemed lost and got in my way. As for physical issues, I felt the need to snap my back even before starting to run and being unable to do so was probably the cause of the pain that I felt in my upper abdomen while I ran. On the other hand, while the first hole that I stepped in wasn’t a problem, it was fortunate that my ankle held after twisting a fair bit when I stepped in the second. That was on lap three, but while I seem to remember that it was on sector three, there is also a chance it was actually on sector two.

After the run, I continued to Carrefour, picking up a few recyclables with the deposit symbol and a label that also had the deposit symbol and which I spotted on the sidewalk. But when I got to the machine, a guy seemed to be watching those who were using it, so I just put in those few recyclables which I had picked up, without looking in those bins, so I kept that label for the time being. And then I grabbed the cat food that I had gone there for, but while I remembered that both kinds had a discount for each second piece, I guess that the cans had been part of another campaign, which had ended sooner, since they had no sign mentioning that discount, and while those signs can easily fall, I checked by just scanning those cans at first, and when I saw that no discount applied I called over the employee and asked her to remove them, just buying the other kind, for which the discount did apply correctly, and also using the voucher received for the recyclables.
After arranging my things a little, I continued to Kaufland, my nose starting to feel rather irritated once I walked out of that mall. Either way, since I picked up a couple more recyclables with the deposit symbol, I put them in the machine from there, at which point I spotted a plastic bottle without the deposit symbol that was of the same size as the one from which I had that label, and while it wasn’t of the same brand, the machine accepted it once I placed that label on it, so I ended up with a second voucher. I had also picked up one of those oddly-shaped bottles from that bin, but after several failed attempts to make the machine accept it I gave up and put it and the cat food in a cabinet. Then I got toilet paper, a little cat food of a slightly better kind that was on sale there, some packaged parsnip roots for dad that were among the spoiling products, and an expiring sour cream for myself. The sour cream was of their store brand, but with 20% fat and only discounted by 30%, making it still marginally more expensive than the one with 12% fat at full price, and the following day I found the one with 12% fat with that same 30% discount as well, but I couldn’t have known that at the time. Either way, since all chocolate had a 30% discount those days if you used the store card, I also took a chocolate, at first only scanning it and entering the code for dad’s store app, which I had written on a slip of paper, then going back and scanning the other products after confirming that the discount applied correctly. Then, after also using the vouchers received for the recyclables, I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything, though I quickly realized that I couldn’t jog back with two bags and stopped to put one bag in the other before trying to pretty much run back, even if after a while I had to slow to a jog after all.
I got back just before the start of the match, put the purchases in their place, ate a banana, a small bag of bagels, a lunch that consisted of one of those mini breads and two boiled eggs that were the last of those bio (organic) ones that had the coloring of duck eggs, and a sweet pastry, did 200 squats, since I was one day behind, and then went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. However, despite being done early, around 11:30 PM, I then had some things to do in my room and it was some time after 1 AM when I got back to the kitchen, and there were things to wash as well, plus that I dealt with my bread that I was yet to deal with, also mixed that sour cream with the cheese that I already had, and used lettuce for the salad, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:20 AM and getting in bed at 5:20 AM.

Going back a little, on the morning of March 3 I received an SMS letting me know that the active period of my prepaid plan was ending that day, which meant that it had been activated at some point even though I hadn’t recharged it… And that had happened before right at the end of the grace period, which was the case that day as well, the older message which I had saved but had since forgotten about indeed stating that the grace period ended on March 3! However, if at first I meant to go out again and recharge, since dad was home in the evening and he said that he had the money in the account, I asked him to pay for it on-line… Only for the payment to fail, possibly because of some requirements that his card didn’t meet, though the error didn’t offer any details. And then he went out to buy himself something, repeatedly asking, in his usual increasingly adamant and even aggressive way, if I didn’t want him to recharge it from this nearby store, even if that meant paying more, so I had to refuse time and time again, getting even more stressed and anxious as a result.
That still left me needing to sort the matter out in some way, so after initially trying to contact support on-line and waiting for several minutes, I called and could talk to someone right away, but that person insisted that my active period was ending that day, so the grace period was going to follow, and that I must have recharged recently in order to activate, which definitely didn’t happen… And she must have actually known that it didn’t, because in order to confirm my identity she asked how much I had recharged with the last time and I’m guessing that she could also see the date when she checked. Either way, she eventually said that I received an extension because of the amount of unused credit and at some point she mentioned in passing that the grace period would end on June 2, but when I specifically asked for that date she wouldn’t say it again. Still, when I eventually asked for a clear confirmation that I won’t lose the number if I won’t recharge that day, she asked me to wait and after a few minutes did confirm that, and also confirmed that the call was recorded.
That still left me somewhat worried, of course, so after midnight, and then again after 1 AM, I called myself from the landline, but the strange thing was that when I also checked the available credit it still showed up as active, despite continuing to state that it was active until March 3. And then, after getting in bed in the morning, I realized that, while they might allow me to keep the number for some time past the regular deadline, I might lose all of that stored credit, so at 5:30 AM I got back on the computer and tried to quickly look for some animal protection NGO that I could donate it to by SMS… But I could just find options to make monthly donations… And it didn’t matter anyway, because after ending up picking an environmental NGO and sending the message, I found that the credit was no longer active. Yet it was still stored, and when I checked again I did finally receive the message confirming that the grace period would end on June 2. Either way, that meant that it was past 5:35 AM when I actually got in bed.

After waking up multiple times, and at one point being kept awake by some brief drilling, I decided to get up when I woke up yet again and saw that it was 11:10 AM. However, I took my time, so I only actually got out of bed when the alarm rang, at 11:30 AM… And then I confirmed that the middle button of my mouse started double clicking, so I wonder if the setting that should mitigate this by introducing a delay before accepting a second click only applies to the two main buttons. Either way, I wanted to put what I had available into some more state bonds that day, so I left at 1:40 PM, with the money and the recyclables with the deposit symbol.
While I didn’t really need what was left in my account that day, I still stopped at a branch of my bank on the way to the Sector 3 Treasury, first using an ATM that allowed depositing but not withdrawing, to deposit the little amount that was needed in order to be able to withdraw everything after that, and then moving to a second machine to make the withdrawal. Then, after reaching the Treasury, I went straight up, but when I told the clerk that I wanted to buy state bonds she looked me up and said that I didn’t have anything, and when I showed her the document proving that I had an account there she said that I had the account, but there was nothing in it. So I repeated that I wanted to buy, not withdraw, and she said that in that case I had to go back down and deposit the money first. So I did that, but instead of going straight to the room where I knew such operations were done before, I asked the guard to confirm that I had to go there and he pointed me to a different place instead, and since a couple of other people were waiting there at that point I stepped aside and counted the money again… Only for the guard to smirk and point me to the place where nobody was in line when I was done… But before I could take those few steps, the clerk from that place said that depositing money for state bonds was, in fact, done in that other room, so I just wasted some time because of that guard. But at least I could then deposit the money, after which I went back up and purchased those state bonds, walking out at 2:25 PM, so I was still done before 2:30 PM, which I understood to be the time by which such operations had to be done in order to be registered on the same day. Not that it mattered, since it wasn’t the last day, so I’d have had two more hours, until closing time.
I then continued to the Kaufland from that area, putting the recyclables in the machine and just getting some chocolate bars for dad, also using the voucher received for the recyclables, before continuing on the planned route, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol and putting them in the machine from Kaufland Pantelimon when I got there. However, one of those oddly-shaped bottles wasn’t being accepted and after quite a lot of attempts the machine just “ate” it, so I decided to make up for that amount by taking something. But I didn’t do so from that location, where I entered with those chocolate bars and got a lot of deeply discounted pieces of processed meat products for my parents, the self-checkout machine accepting the first few but then “deciding” that one wasn’t the correct product, and when I told the employee who came over when I called for one that I had a lot she logged on and scanned all of the rest. Then, after also using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid, I arranged the purchases and continued to that mall, arranging some more in my provider’s store from there, while waiting for my turn, and then recharging, the employee barely even shrugging when I said that it didn’t work when I tried to pay on-line and since then it said that a charge was still processing. Either way, I then picked up another recyclable with the deposit symbol and put it and the purchases in a cabinet, retrieving everything after just buying two bakery products that were among the expiring ones.
After initially starting to walk back, I changed my mind and turned around, going to Obor as well, and since I was there early enough I first went to the farmers’ market and got more of those tasty apples from the same place that I had bought some from on February 21. Nobody was manning the stall when I got there and started putting apples in a bag and the man who had sold me those apples the previous time showed up later and just glanced at me, the first to come being a woman who asked me what the price was for those apples, and if I initially said 2 RON / kg, I then had another look at the label and corrected myself, noticing that it was actually 2.50 RON / kg, though it was written in a way that made it hard to notice that. So, while it’s possible that the price had increased since then, plus that writing the price in that manner isn’t exactly fair, that makes me think that I was probably wrong when I thought that I had been cheated that previous time, so I didn’t mention it. Either way, after I asked that woman to see how much what I had placed in the bag weighed, she asked me to add two more apples so the total would be 6 RON, and then she added one more, the total weight ending up close to 2.6 kg, so I actually received a little more than what I paid for. The thing is that I had considered buying the entire pile, only asking how much what I had already picked weighed in order to decide whether I could do that, but when I saw that the price was actually higher than I thought and I was also asked for just the amount I had in small bills, I gave up on that idea.
From there, I continued straight to Penny, putting my things in a cabinet and getting a few things, then retrieving what I had in the cabinet, picking up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol and putting them in the machine from that Kaufland. And then I meant to rearrange the purchases and free up the larger bag before putting everything in a cabinet from there, but a guy showed up and hurried me along quite aggressively, wanting me to step away so he’ll be able to retrieve what he had in another cabinet, so I just left everything there as it was, went to pee and wash my hands, and then entered the store, without going back to the cabinet first… And that ended up being a problem, because evening discounts for fruits and vegetables appeared and increased while I was there, so I grabbed some things and hid most of them, hoping that the discounts would increase even more later, and that larger bag would have been very useful at that point. But I eventually managed even without it, and at that point I just bought some of those Moldovan grapes, since they were already discounted by 90%, and two nicer pieces of processed meat products that were among the discounted ones… And which I shouldn’t have bought, since by the time I actually used even one of them I had found better or cheaper ones, which I had no reason to get anymore, not that I could have known that at the time. Either way, the self-checkout machine didn’t accept one of those products as the correct one, so I had to call over an employee to override the error. And then, after also using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid, I left the purchases outside of the bathroom while I quickly washed my hands again, after digging through those grapes, and then added them in the cabinet, at which point I finally rearranged everything and retrieved that larger bag.
Since I wanted to have time to return, I then started jogging to Carrefour… Only to stop after mere seconds, because a couple of coins fell out of my pocket. And after retrieving them I spotted something else in that area, probably some sort of brooch with a bent pin, which was probably why it had been lost or discarded. It might have been purchased from the stall that was right at the entrance to Kaufland, but I didn’t turn around at that point and by the time I got back it was closed, so I’m not sure. Either way, at that point I just picked it up as well and then continued on my way, rushing but not jogging anymore, and after reaching Carrefour I bought two breads and four sweet pastries, all having the 50% evening discount, plus a little garlic and one of the few small bundles of green onions that was left. The self-checkout machine asked me to make sure that I scanned everything correctly when I entered that I had two pieces of the first pastry, and then probably meant to do so again when I entered two for the breads as well, which led to it stopping and stating that an employee will soon come, and one did without me having to call, just clearing the error without even saying anything.
After returning to Kaufland, I added the new purchases in the cabinet, left that found thing at the information desk, just saying in passing that I had found it outside, and went back in, starting to select some potatoes, which also had a good evening discount at that point, before deciding to retrieve what I had hidden. Then I selected some more potatoes and also took two of those cheap yogurts, meaning to only pay for one. I had also taken a bread for dad, the regular price seeming surprisingly good, but I must have dropped it somewhere by the time I got to the self-checkout. Either way, I was using the machine when the closing announcement came and the price of the radishes had dropped even more by then, so that was the one benefit of having hidden those products. And I did steal one of those yogurts, making up for that “eaten” recyclable from the other location and most of the small amount which should have been on another voucher that I should have received quite some time before and apparently didn’t. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and took my time to arrange everything, though after walking out I stopped and arranged some more, finally walking away at 10:15 PM, one thing that caught my attention being a dog that was around at that point… And then it caught my attention even more when, moments later, it returned and brought two others with it, and they followed me for a little while, making me think that they had probably smelled all of those meat products, though they eventually crossed the road and walked away. And on the way back I took my time to pick up more recyclables with the deposit symbol.
It was almost 11:10 PM when I got back, so after just about nine and a half hours of wandering around, and I was carrying some 15.5 kg, if not closer to 16 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, and put the purchases, with the exception of the bread and sweet pastries, in their place, or at least in a temporary place in the fridge in case of the vegetables, since making everything that had to go in the freezer fit in there had already taken quite a while, though it actually worked out better than I thought. Either way, after eating some of the grapes, it was 12:45 AM when I went to wash and close to 1:25 AM when I was done. And then I cut my toenails, washed what was in the kitchen, and managed to also put the sweet pastries in the fridge. And, after having given up on the plan to make a sort of pizza again, the lunch that I ate, on and off, between 2:30 AM and 3:50 AM, while also working on dinner and dealing with one of my breads, took the form of the large bag of bagels from Penny and the fried fish brought by dad at some point, which meant a total of more than 1700 calories, just the bagels having over 1000. And then I also took the last of those supplements for immunity that had expired long ago, just in case it’d help in any way, and ate dinner between 4:05 AM and 4:55 AM. I went to bed at 6:10 AM.