Cav's Place

This will be worse than yet another rushed post from this series, because I couldn’t stay on-line and pick an older song for one of the bands this evening, so I had to edit the post before going to bed in order to list that second pick, at which point I also added the brief comments. So I’ll start with that band, which is Seven Kingdoms and which I’ve known about for many years but never got around to including in one of these posts. But now they just released a new EP, and my first pick will be its title song, The Square. As for the older song, I’ll go with Empty Eyes. Since they’re improving with time, I was tempted to go with something newer, but this seems more appropriate. And I must say that I don’t like those long instrumental bridges, and the songs pretty much have the same structure, but I can’t deny the quality, and for several years the vocals have been particularly solid.

Next comes Poema, which is a band from Ukraine that I recently stumbled into, and one thing that’s notable in itself is the fact that they’re not only still active, but all of their songs seem to have been released since the start of the war. However, I don’t have any link that I’d normally care to include for them, since they don’t seem to be on Metal Archives yet and otherwise just have a YouTube channel where they posted less than you’d expect for a new band and an Instagram page that at the time I’m writing this gives an error. But they recently released an actual video, for Circus of Death, so that will be my first pick. As for the second one, I’ll go with The Void. And these songs show that I’m definitely not just including them as a tiny show of support for Ukrainians, because they sound quite nice, and at least these particular ones even seem more polished than you’d expect, considering the circumstances.

As for the third band, that’s Dawn of Destiny and they’re about to release an album later this month. But they have already released a few songs from it, including my first pick, which is Alive. As for the second pick, I initially wanted to make it easy for myself and only check the few other songs officially posted by their current label, but when I saw that just one, To Hell, seems to have been officially posted by a previous label, I changed my mind and modified what I initially posted minutes later, making that my second pick, because it actually seems different from those newer songs in the sense that it’s not just the chorus that stands out, being better than the other parts of the songs. But, even when it comes to those newer songs, there’s no question about them being good enough to include in such a post.

As I was saying, if Trump’s side doesn’t lose, all of us, and the world as a whole, will. So we lost. And while some may continue to say that it was “only” yet another major battle out of a long string of them, still having any shred of a chance of a future that won’t seem pulled right out of the scariest dystopias or postapocalyptic works would take one hell of a fightback, using methods that the “good” side never accepted to touch in any way and probably won’t know how to properly employ even if, at least now that we’re already past the final hour, they’d be willing to do so. So, until and unless thoroughly proven wrong, my position is that this was the very final nail in the world’s coffin.
Not that there’d have been any reason to choose Harris, or Biden, or Democrats in general, other than to oppose Trump, and Republicans in general. At least ever since I started being able to find out what’s going on over there, the Democrats just stood for the status quo, business as usual while time runs out and a final day of reckoning for all of our choices draws ever nearer, never offering anyone who is actually looking for anything even remotely resembling the ever more necessary change any reason to vote for them other than to be against the others, who are clearly so much worse.
But it should have been painfully obvious to anyone with any shred of capacity and willingness to reason that this time around it was even worse than the usual difference between the two. I mean, that guy’s first term was bad enough, and now the world is caught up in so many crises, the environment is past the brink, Russia’s biting ever harder and China’s snarling and about to charge as well, Israel’s brazenly committing genocide, various others are also testing the limits, so a strong and positive US influence and actual intervention is more desperately needed globally than it’s been in decades… Yet what do US voters do? They choose that guy… And hand him full control of Congress as well. And it wasn’t a matter of external influence, of any trickery, or of some quirk of that messed up electoral system from over there; he was actually voted in, quite overwhelmingly, winning the popular vote as well, being directly supported by all those people… Which just follows the trend that’s also seen around here, with all of the victories of the far right and those from the mainstream normalizing and adopting such positions as well.
And no, there’s no way to justify this, so stop looking for excuses or other explanations. The plain and simple truth is that it’s what people in general typically do. As Pratchett put it, “The People tended to be small-minded and conservative and not very clever and were even distrustful of cleverness. And so the children of the revolution were faced with the age-old problem: it wasn’t that you had the wrong kind of government, which was obvious, but that you had the wrong kind of people.” Or, to also quote Babylon 5, “That does seem to be the rule, doesn’t it? Analyze the problem, choose whichever strategy makes least sense and then do it.” And this isn’t just one more of the practically infinite series of events that constantly prove this throughout humanity’s history, or even “just” a particularly powerful example. It’s true that some examples that are more obviously worse may be found, but considering the current state of the world and humanity’s current and foreseeable capacity for destruction, it may well be the one that actually marks the point of no return.
So, yeah… We’re done… But that doesn’t imply giving up. I was saying in that previous post that these US elections mark the beginning of the next stage of the fight, and while I’ll maintain that defeating Trump was absolutely necessary in order to still have any shred of a chance of success, that is not required in order to fight. Sometimes you fight because there’s nothing left to lose. Or because there’s nothing else left to do in the face of the oncoming disaster. Or just to know that you did what you could, and tried to be part of the solution to the bitter end. And, if anything, a lack of belief in success spares you of disappointment. It may make for little to take heart from and having less actual motivation than those who still, somehow, believe, but it also makes it practically impossible to make you completely lose heart. So, no matter the odds, keep fighting… Just know that the worst opponents aren’t the ones in power, who could be toppled the moment the people would set their mind to it, but just the people, or at least most of them, one way or another… And try to recognize how much of what causes that to be the case is in you as well.

Now when it seems that there’s a question whether Biden’s “garbage” remark was about Trump’s supporters in general or just about a specific one, I’d rather make things simple: What those who support Trump are is enemies. Period. And that also applies to a fair extent to anyone who doesn’t openly push back against the possibility of him becoming president of the USA once again. The reasons why such people might have such a stance and any other ways to characterize them are irrelevant. And, if anything, those of us who aren’t over there may be even more entitled to call on those who are to do more to stop him and lash out against those who don’t, not to mention those who actually support him, considering how much the outcome of these elections will influence the world in general and certain “hot” areas, which include the one I’m in, in particular, and how little we can really do about it ourselves. Anyone capable and, perhaps more importantly, willing to see reason would have done so long ago, so this is a matter where battle lines must be drawn. If that side doesn’t lose, all of us, and the world as a whole, will.
That’s not to say that Harris or the Democrats are a good option. They never were and I don’t see how they could ever be. As always, it’s a choice between bad and so, so much worse; between a bleak future and complete disaster. It’s a matter of choosing the next adversary, the next opponent of the efforts that must succeed if we, this world as a whole and all other species we share, or should be sharing, it with are to have any hope of a future that won’t seem pulled right out of postapocalyptic fiction. And from that point of view the choice is clear. Not that I’d accuse those voting for “third party” candidates; in general that’s what I firmly advocate for and in states where the outcome is sufficiently clear I’d do so now as well, but this time around the greater evil absolutely must be stopped at all costs, so at least in swing states, where every vote may matter, this sacrifice of values, voting for the lesser evil when other options may be available, may well be required.
But, of course, voting is not where it ends, but merely where this next stage begins. Those who are over there or otherwise have the right to vote in the US elections must vote against Trump, but all of us must work and fight to bring about the massive changes that are necessary, holding to account those in power, be it political, economic, social or of any other kind, here, there and everywhere, pressuring and forcing them to do what needs to be done, because they never will otherwise, or at least not until they’ll stop being able to do one of the things that humans are best at, which is making others, be it the environment, other species, or other people who are less powerful, less wealthy, less represented or otherwise just different from them, pay for their choices. As Greta Thunberg once again put it very well, nothing less will ever be acceptable.

On October 19, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, and my chest felt better but my throat was rather sore again. But I had to go to a protest in the park, so I shaved and left at 3 PM. I realized after walking out that I forgot to take a bag for the recyclables with the deposit symbol that I’ll happen to find, but that was that, since 3 PM was when the protest was actually supposed to start, so I jogged, getting there in less than ten minutes… At which point I realized that I had also forgotten the camera, just like at the previous protest which I had attended, back on November 29, 2023. And this time around I didn’t take any pictures at all. But after being greeted by that guy whom I kept meeting around this area during a certain period, I still had something to hide behind, since they had some “newspapers” there, one presenting some NGOs and their projects and actions as part of a gala, which I looked through and then put back, since there were only a few copies, and another presenting the problem with the park and what had happened until then, and they were handing out that one to everyone, so I took a copy and looked through it, both before and after the human chain, which was the main point of the protest. Otherwise, I just stood around and sort of listened to the speeches until we left to form the human chain.
The organizers knew that there weren’t enough participants to surround that entire area with a proper human chain, and while I thought that there were enough to surround it in a reasonable manner, with a little distance between people and also using all of the signs and banners to fill some of the gaps, the initial announcement was that we were going to form the chain normally, linking hands after taking our positions, and then walk around the area like that, until the head of the chain would reach the other end. So I walked away with the rest and kept going until I was past the corner, taking a spot a little later, when I was past the bus stop as well… And we only moved a little, then we stopped and I stayed there until we were told to get back, the organizers seeming happy that the chain had reached the metro station and scrapping the plan to keep moving all around that area.
After getting back to the area where we had initially gathered, we were asked to take some forms and fill in some memories from that part of the park, but I didn’t do that, not having anything relevant to write, so I just continued to read that newspaper during the speeches that followed and left a few minutes after 5 PM, when the protest was ending and others also started walking away. But then I got back in that area through a gap in the fence and looked around at the destruction caused by the supposed “owners”, also grabbing a few recyclables with the deposit symbol, including one of those oddly shaped bottles that I spotted behind that pastry place that’s next to the metro station… At which point several rats scattered in every direction… And that also made me hope that what I later spotted on that bottle was dirt and not shit, be it from rats or people. Either way, I couldn’t get out through the tiny gap in the fence that’s in that spot, realizing that I shouldn’t even bother to try when I was wearing the warmer jacket, so I wandered around a little more and eventually walked out of that area at the other metro exit, with the recyclables still in my hands.
Since the recycling machine from that Penny wasn’t working, I went to that Mega Image and put everything in the recycling machine from there, even that oddly shaped bottle being accepted, albeit after a lot of tries. Then, after spending quite some time to select some better onions, I saw just the tea that I was looking for among those that were discounted by 50%, so I took that and put most of the onions back, just keeping a few. And when I asked for the reason for that discount the cashier said that they were downsizing the tea area and wanted to get rid of what they’ll no longer sell… And she also said that I was actually getting two 50% discounts, so a total of 75%! But only one of the teas would scan like that and I had found and gotten two, so after trying a few times she scanned them separately, and then put the onions on a third receipt, and while I had given her the store card at first, the fact that she had broken everything up into three separate transactions obviously meant that it no longer applied for the onions, and it was required in order to receive the discount. But I was already confused at that point, since I had also used the voucher received for those recyclables and paying for everything separately required recalculating everything when my brain already wasn’t working, since I was interacting with the cashier, so I only realized the problem after paying for the onions as well. I did mention it at that point, and while the cashier said that it had to be a very small amount and I said that I’ll let it go on account of the discount for the tea being very good, I kept it in mind, meaning to make up for it later.
After putting the purchases in the backpack, I also checked that Penny, spotting a few recyclables next to the recycling machine but leaving them there, since they seemed to be of a kind that won’t be accepted and I didn’t have the bags to carry them in, and then entering with everything. And those pumpkins were once again supposed to be on sale, but just one was left and it was quite clearly bad, so I didn’t take it, just buying something for dad, which I then added in the backpack.
I then decided to also check Carrefour, but when I entered the park I saw that there was a fair there once again, and when I approached I saw one of those portable things, so I washed my hands there, then had a quick look through the fair before going to Carrefour, once again entering with everything and just buying one thing. And on the way back I gathered some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, still holding them in my hands until I reached the nearby Mega Image, where I put them in the recycling machine and just cashed in the voucher.
I got back at 7:40 PM, thinking that I’ll at least see the second half of the handball match, which was listed as starting at 7 PM in the TV schedule… But it had apparently started at 5 PM, so I had already missed it. Either way, I then left the tea out but put the few other purchases in their place, ate grapes and a couple of pieces of a nice but long expired chocolate, did the day’s squats, took a bath, and later cooked beans, which took a long time, since I tried to do it properly, throwing away the water three times, so after also taking a pill and moving something that dad had asked me to move, I finally ate a combined lunch and dinner between 4:10 AM and 5 AM and got in bed at 5:50 AM. After after getting up I still felt something in my chest and occasionally coughed. But in the evening I finished Eternal Knight, also writing the quick review.

Since I mentioned that previous protest and I should be adding something more in a post that basically wastes a personal “slot” even so, I had to edit the post at a later time in order to add that part as well, but finally finishing the previous post this afternoon and then wanting to cook means that the above is all I could write before midnight, scheduling it to show up like that at 11:59 PM, to have a first post of the week, which I edited Sunday afternoon in order to add the rest.

Yes, it does seem that the previous protest I attended was way back on November 29, 2023, and it was a small event that I’ll only briefly mention in this section that otherwise includes that day’s odds and ends, starting with the early hours, when I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4:10 AM and got in bed a couple of minutes after 5:15 AM. And the alarm was set to ring at 9 AM, but I was woken up by drilling at 8:50 AM and I needed to pee too badly to even stay in bed those remaining ten minutes, so I went to pee, but then I did wait for the alarm to ring, just to check once again that it does ring even if the phone’s on silent, since I had set it like that because I didn’t want to be woken up even earlier by a call and the organizers of the protest had stated that they were going to call those who sign up to participate. But there was no call… And then I lost time while trying to get the apples back in the fridge after taking a larger one to eat, eventually giving up and placing two on another shelf. So I meant to leave at 10:45 AM, but only did so ten minutes later.
To make matters worse, I realized after a while that, while one of the reasons for choosing to attend was to start getting used to taking the new camera with me when I went to events, I had forgotten it. And I had also forgotten to transfer the image with my the shopping list for the day on the phone. But turning back was obviously out of the question when I already risked being late, so I just kept going despite feeling disheartened, not jogging but rather marching, and reaching the Ministry of Economy a few minutes before noon, which was the announced start time of the protest, which also gave me enough time to replace my hat with the cap which I had taken with me, so I won’t once again wear something with a fossil fuel company’s logo at such a protest.
The point of the protest was to ask our government to vote against the EU’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act and demand focusing on obtaining a much greater share of those materials through recycling instead of mining, but I had briefly glanced at the proposals before leaving and my understanding was that the message of the protest was wrong, the problems with the proposals being different from the ones that the organizers were focusing on, which actually struck me as improvements compared to the previous form, and I mentioned that to the organizer who greeted me when I got there and asked whether we had talked on the phone, but she said that another person writes the messages and I didn’t talk to him, just taking my place in that small group as the protest started, a few minutes after noon. However, while I stood there and chanted along with the other participants, I didn’t hold the banner or any of the signs, and just took a few pictures with my phone.
After the protest ended, at 12:40 PM, I walked to Obor, and over the course of the day I entered multiple Mega Image and Profi locations, and also the Penny from Obor, putting the backpack and gloves in a cabinet and then retrieving them in case of those entered after leaving the Obor area, except the nearby Mega Image that I just took a couple of steps inside of, with everything, when I got here. But I only bought something from the first Mega Image, a nice expiring bar, which I ate right after stepping out.
Otherwise, I just pulled up that thing to cover my mouth and nose when I went to Auchan Obor and got shaving cream, also using what was on the store card when I paid. The person who was ahead of me at the self-checkout seemed to really struggle and an employee eventually came when he was done, and then she stayed there and wanted to check me out, which was unpleasant, and she also made a comment when I said that I wanted to use what was on the store card, plus that the machine didn’t automatically add the period after I first pressed zero, as it used to do, so it gave an error and that employee entered the value correctly before letting me pay the rest with cash.
I put my things in a cabinet when I got to Kaufland, though I just had that shaving cream in the backpack, then peed and washed my hands and finally put on the mask before entering the store. And I took pictures of the discounted prices for some products that dad might have been interested in, bought some things, arranged them in the backpack, and continued to Carrefour, where I once again put my things in a cabinet, got a few expiring products, plus some roes that were among those products and discounted even though they weren’t expiring soon at all, and two black radishes, since for some reason the black radishes had a lower price in that location than what they should have had in Carrefour those days. On the other hand, I had also found one of those apple pastries among the expiring products, but when I scanned it the machine said that an assistant will soon come, and when one did she said that it wasn’t recognized, so I gave up on it.
After adding everything in the backpack, I continued to Mega Mall, dad calling while I was on the way to ask why was there no room in the freezer for what he had brought even though I had taken his spinach out. And after reaching that Carrefour I had to wait for a cabinet to free up in order to put my things in it, and then I just bought a leek, the scales printing the label with the full price, but I scanned it and confirmed that it was actually discounted. An employee brought crates of expiring products while I was there and I waited to have a look at them, but there was nothing interesting.
I continued to that Kaufland with the leek in my hand, but no large cabinets with working locks were free, and in fact someone else even used the only remaining small one while I stepped away to have another look, since I hadn’t wanted to bend the leek in order to make it fit in that one. A woman who was also looking for a free cabinet said that there were some more behind me, but the three that are in front of the elevator and those that are in front of the bathrooms were also either full or not working, so I eventually bent the leek to stuff it in the backpack as well and entered with everything. And I found some expiring bread and got two for dad and one that I was going to use, to be able to just get back, without waiting for any evening discounts, especially since the only kind of bread that was left in the bakery area was one that had a regular discount those days, so it might not have had an additional one later anyway. But the discount labels hadn’t been applied over the bar codes for dad’s breads and I accidentally scanned one at full price at the self-checkout, so I had to call over an employee to remove that.
It wasn’t even 8:15 PM when I got back, after finding a coin from 1963 on the way! And that was after finding close to 2 RON in coins over the course of the day. Either way, I then easily found room in the freezer for what dad had brought, put the purchases in their place, ate an orange, also finally putting those in their place, since I had bought them two days earlier and hadn’t done so yet, and then ate lunch as well, did the day’s squats, and waited for dad, who only got back at 11:30 PM.
Since I only went to the bathroom after that, I made a point of telling dad, twice, that the bread which I had left on the kitchen table was mine, even if it was of a kind that I usually bought for him, and that his bread was in the freezer, and he had said yes… But when I came out of the bathroom I saw that he had taken a part of that bread, and what was left was partially on the kitchen counter… And when I rushed at him in a rage, he said that he had never heard me say anything about it! So we shouted at each other, he asked whether I wanted him to go out and buy me a bread, and that otherwise there’s nothing to do and no point in talking about it, I said that there never is any point in saying anything to him, he said that he didn’t know how I mumble things and that I had to really get his attention and ask whether he really heard me when I want him to listen, that it only means that he heard after he clearly, specifically, confirms it, that I had to have patience with him since he’s old, which was the first time he admitted that, and that he was also patient with me when I was little and I wouldn’t have gotten this far otherwise. So I said “if only” and that I wasn’t the one who had chosen for him to exist, and then I rushed to my room and sort of hugged myself and shivered…
It was 1:25 AM when I finally made my way back to the kitchen, but I nevertheless managed to stick to the dinner schedule. And dad took a bath late at night, so I had a little to clean up in the bathroom after him, though he had actually taken more care than he usually did until then. But he had also left some things in the living room, so I picked up after him from there as well, ending up getting in bed at 5:20 AM. And the following morning I got in bed at 5:25 AM, after being terribly slow in the kitchen and ending up eating dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:40 AM.

I should be writing about the marathon, especially since two weeks have already passed and I only have some rushed notes and the details are obviously slipping from my mind with every moment that passes. And, when it was such an achievement, I should want to write about that… But for quite a long time I just can’t get myself to write anymore, and today I definitely won’t get far anyway, so if I’d start that post I’d only cover what happened before the start, since that part is pretty much written already, and then most likely decide to stop there, without even meaning to edit the post later in order to add the rest, so I’d just waste a personal “slot” at a time when I burned through my buffer again and still not get to the actual run. As such, I’ll be writing about walking the route, and before midnight I only wrote the first four paragraphs of the part about October 3, editing the post in order to add the other five before going to bed in the morning. But in this case I finally edited the post again in order to add the part about October 4 in the early hours of Saturday, and Saturday afternoon I did so once more, adding the part about October 6 as well.

I’ll start with October 3, when the plan was to walk the longer part of the route but still be back to watch the match, so I had set the alarm to ring at 1 PM… But I was woken up at 8:36 AM by the UPS beeping. The blackout only lasted for a little over three and a half minutes, so I could keep the computer on and got back in bed after going to pee, but that gave me something else to worry about and I only caught a few brief naps after that, taking a long time to get back to sleep, waking up again when dad was getting ready to leave, deciding to pee one more time, just in case, after Liza finished the “concert” she started after he left, seeing that it was 10:55 AM at the time, once again taking quite some time to get back to sleep, and being woken up at 12:10 PM by another blackout. That lasted less than a minute, so I didn’t even get out of bed, but if I managed to fall asleep again after that, it was for mere moments, since I was awake again for at least a few minutes when I decided to check the time again and saw that it was 12:31 PM, at which point I meant to get up… But I just felt too tired, so I curled up in bed a little longer, finally getting up and turning off the alarm 20 minutes later, at which point I also did the day’s squats, before having lunch. And it was almost 3:15 PM when I left.
I got on the route from here, but I didn’t walk all the way to Constitution Square, knowing that I was going to walk that last part when I’ll pick up the race kit, so after having a look at the place where the route turns, at about 3.5 km, I took it as walking that part, so I turned when I reached Unirii Square and continued to Victory Square, where I entered that Mega Image, since I had picked up a number of recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way and I wanted to put them in the recycling machine. However, when the person who was before me got to use it, it reported that the bin was full, and I stepped through the gate after her, meaning to ask someone to come if she won’t. But the cashier noticed the issue and called someone over without either of us actually saying anything and I couldn’t walk back out through that same gate, but at least the exit was just steps away and the guy who was after me in the line for the recycling machine didn’t just point me to it, but also invited me to get back ahead of him after the employee just shook the bin a little and then restarted the machine. And I could put everything in, though I had one of those bottles with an odd shape and that did require multiple tries. On the other hand, there were several recyclables with the deposit symbol next to the machine, in a basket, but I didn’t pick them up or try to put any of them in, since I had seen another person try most of them and they hadn’t been accepted and I didn’t exactly care to carry them around all day. So I then just cashed in the voucher and continued on my way.
If I hadn’t seen anything notable on the route until then, things changed moments later, when I found that work was being done on Kiseleff and only two lanes were still available, so we were going to have to use a single lane in each direction and I wondered where were the organizers going to find room for the relay changing point and the refreshment point from that area. And I can’t say that I found out during the race either, since I had more important things to focus on at the time, but they somehow managed it. Either way, even if I had some more recyclables with the deposit symbol by the time I got back to Victory Square, I obviously didn’t go back to that Mega Image, continuing on my way until I stopped to use one of the better toilets that are in front of The Palace Hall, after which I considered eating the pretzels which I had taken with me, since I had washed my hands… But I didn’t, just taking the bag out of the backpack and holding it until I found more recyclables with the deposit symbol, at which point I put it in a pocket. But what was more important was that, while I was still trying to decide whether to open that bag, I crossed the road before that short but steep climb and realized that I felt it much less by walking on that side.
The next important thing I noticed was after reaching Cismigiu Park, when I saw that the pavement had been fixed, and the authorities might have wanted to make sure that the area that was part of the marathon’s route was completed in time, since machines were parked and materials piled up right after the spot where the route turns, and the pavement was definitely not repaired past that point. And I stopped there for a few minutes, washing my hands at that drinking fountain and then looking around and fussing with the headphones while once again trying to decide whether to open that bag of pretzels. But since I had washed my hands only with water, I once again decided against it and just kept going, initially thinking that I might wash my hands more properly if the better toilet that I was going to pass by before leaving the park won’t be in use… But that toilet was out of order, which was one more thing that I kept in mind for the race.
I walked some eight more kilometers of the route after that point, but I wouldn’t say that I found anything else that was particularly noteworthy, so the next thing I’ll mention is that, just when I got back to the river, needing to walk a part which I had already walked that day one more time, I saw a bag with several plastic bottles left in front of a building’s entrance, but I didn’t check to see whether they had the deposit symbol and didn’t take it, though even just having another bag that I could use for such recyclables and which wasn’t already full would have helped, since I was struggling to fit what I had already found into the one that I was using. And, after crossing at the next crossing to walk along the river, before the spot where the route turns I stopped to spread all of them on a bench and arrange them better. And I stayed on the side with the river after the turn as well, only switching to the side with the park at the next crossing.
I entered the park at the last entrance before the corner, going to the start area and walking that small part of the route as well before continuing the way I was going, on that other part of the route that was going to be covered twice. And then I just kept going to the next spot where the route turns, where I spotted a Shop & Go that I was relieved to find had a working recycling machine, so I put everything in, though two bottles required multiple tries, and then just cashed in that voucher. And I didn’t find any more recyclables with the deposit symbol as I continued on the way back to Unirii Square, and there was a moment, after I had openly glanced in several garbage cans that I passed by, when a guy walked up next to me and seemed to ask whether I had heard him, but when I pretended not to he took out his phone and fell behind and I walked faster and stopped looking for recyclables for a while.
When I reached Unirii Square again, I walked off the route and to Carrefour, grabbing two expiring products and two bags of spoiling apples, and after washing my hands I also took an apple pastry that had the 50% evening discount… But the nice surprise came when I used the self-checkout. Only one of the two machines that accept cash was available when I got there, an employee feeding cash into the other one, but she finished while I was still in line, so I moved there, scanned the products, without charging myself for the bags that those spoiling apples were in, also used a voucher that I had received for previous purchases, paid the rest with cash, and should have received 0.12 RON as change… Yet the machine just dumped what looked like all the coins it had into the change tray, and more came after I took a handful and threw them in a bag, so I then let the employee know, laughing along with the Asian women who were after me in line, who also took a picture, but neither they nor the employee understood what was going on, so they came after me with handfuls of coins, gesturing that I should take what I guess they thought was my change, while the employee said that if the machine gave my change in coins I should be able to take them to the information desk and exchange them for bills. But I eventually got the message across, so the employee went to the machine and those women also walked back with the coins, but I don’t know what happened next, since I walked away at that point, stopping before walking back out to arrange the purchases in the bag and try to put all of those coins in the small pocket of my pants, though after getting back I found that some had ended up in the bag with the spoiling Gala apples, which was torn.
I had tried to keep one hand clean after washing my hands and taking that apple pastry, and while all of that confusion made me uncertain that I had managed to do so, after walking out I finally did eat those pretzels. And after returning to the route I stopped at a bench to move the purchases into the backpack and also put those coins in a small bag, which I then added in the backpack. And by then it was very late, the match being about to start, and I was going to walk that part of the route the following day as well, so I started jogging. I soon realized that keeping the jacket on was a bad idea, but I only took it off at Alba Iulia Square, after going most of the way around, when I saw some cans left on a table and stopped to check whether they had the deposit symbol, picking them up when I saw that they did. And that made me lose even more time that I didn’t have, so I really ran after that point.
I got back a couple of minutes before 10:30 PM, put the expiring purchases in the fridge, made tea, since I hadn’t done so before leaving, ate watermelon and some other pretzels, the salty ones… But the idea would have been to munch on those pretzels while watching the second half of the match, yet the image went black a little over 20 minutes into it, the problem seeming to affect all the stations owned by that corporation, and their site was giving an error as well, things staying that way until the end of the match, so I ended up listening to the final part on the radio. And when I counted the coins I found that I had taken 11.36 RON, so 11.24 RON more than what should have been my change, though that included one of the special 0.50 RON coins released over the years, which was in fact one that I didn’t have until then, so I set that one aside and kept it. Either way, I think it was somewhere around 12:40 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, being done a little after 1:30 AM. Then I also put the apples in their place, ate the apple pastry, drank the tea, and ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:50 AM.

The following day, I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, but after searching for the peanuts with pepper that I wanted to take with me, I ended up leaving a little after 5:15 PM, with the three recyclables with the deposit symbol that I came back with the previous evening, and I continued to gather more on the way. On the other hand, since I had already walked this part of the route, I initially kept going on this street, to reach the gas station and check whether that company’s stations have toilets… But when the cashier asked whether she could help me when I stepped in, I turned around and walked back out right away, without checking. And then I continued to take the slightly shorter way, and when I did get back on the route I stayed on the wrong side all the way to the National Library, where the marathon’s route turns away from Unirii Boulevard, since that was where the part that I actually had to walk that day started. And I tried to sort of glance in the places that I passed by without actually entering, trying to figure out whether they had toilets that I might be able to use during the race, but it didn’t exactly help. On the other hand, I saw that some work was still being done in a few spots from that part of the route, along the river, but the closed off places were in the middle of the road, covered a far smaller area than in previous years, and weren’t going to create any problems, especially since only those who actually took part in the marathon were going to reach that area. And I gathered quite a lot of recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back to the National Library, after turning where the route does.
After running back from Unirii Square the previous evening and then walking in the wrong direction earlier that day, after getting back to Unirii Boulevard I properly walked that part of the route as well, still sort of glancing around for toilets that I might be able to use but still not really seeing anything that I could be certain of. Then, when I reached Alba Iulia Square, I entered that Mega Image but made the really bad choice to not use the recycling machine, so I put the recyclables which I had gathered into two cabinets and then retrieved them after just having a quick look through the store, but those cabinets require using a coin in order to lock them and I only clearly remember recovering the first one, and what happened later makes what I did with the second unclear. Either way, I then kept sort of glancing around as I passed by the places that are on that other part of the route which I had skipped the previous evening, on Burebista, after which I also quickly checked that Profi, entering with everything. And then I went to Penny, since those treats for Liza were on sale those days, so I started putting the recyclables in the recycling machine, the cashier quickly called someone to sort it out when it reported that it was full, that person did so while I had a quick look in the store, and then I went back and put in the remaining recyclables as well, with the exception of a can that wasn’t accepted, getting a second voucher, before going back in and grabbing some of those treats, not finding anything else.
Well, that was when the problem appeared, since I forgot to also give the store card to the cashier when I got to the checkout and she didn’t ask for it, and that discount required it, so I didn’t get the discounted price but only noticed it after giving the vouchers to the cashier and placing on the counter an amount that should have left her to give me exactly 0.50 RON as change, since she asked for a larger amount after scanning those vouchers. So I realized what happened and asked her to remove the products and just give me the money for the vouchers, then scan the treats again, along with the store card… Only for her to say, repeatedly, that it couldn’t be done, because she had already scanned the vouchers and she couldn’t scan them again when I’ll pay. Not that I was asking her to do that, but she just kept saying that it couldn’t happen and expected me to pay the full price, asking whether I expected her to pay the difference instead and saying that it wasn’t her fault that I hadn’t given her the card while I said that she hadn’t asked. And she just stared at me without a word when I asked to talk to someone higher up, and when I said that I hadn’t been in that location in a long time because I kept having problems there she said that it wasn’t surprising, if I don’t offer the store card. But I wasn’t budging, she was the only cashier available, the line was growing, and she eventually said that she’ll pay for the difference, took the money which I had placed on the counter, without giving me those 0.50 RON that would have been the correct change, and handed me the receipt. So both of us ended up losing money, and time, and getting angry, instead of things being sorted out either by doing what I had asked or by first entering the products as paid, then doing a return at that full price and then scanning them again, along with the store card.
After standing there a moment longer and staring daggers at her, I stormed out and slammed that remaining can against a bench, after which I think I put the treats in the backpack. It’s also possible that I held them in my hand and only added them in the backpack later, but I definitely entered that Mega Image with them, along with that remaining can, after that recycling machine also rejected it. And I grabbed an expiring pack of biscuits and some cheese that was among the expiring products, apparently because the bar code had been wiped off almost completely, since it wasn’t actually expiring. But what was even more interesting about that cheese was that it was priced by weight and the discount label was from another kind of cheese but the price worked out to exactly a quarter of that piece’s actual price, so the employee who had placed that label had managed to find a product, and in fact another cheese, that had a regular price that was exactly half of what it should have been for that piece of cheese and then created a label with a 50% discount for that product and placed it on that cheese instead, working around the limitations of their system to create that 75% discount for that piece. And the cashier was actually surprised when I handed it to her, saying that she didn’t think that cheese could be discounted in that manner, but she then just scanned the products and took the money without any problems. And then I added the purchases in the backpack, and I know that when I walked away I had the empty bags and those peanuts in the jacket’s pockets, but I’m not sure whether I took them out at that point or had already done so after storming out of Penny.
If Penny, Profi and the two Mega Image locations had been on the route, I then went completely off it and made my way to Kaufland, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol and putting them in the recycling machine when I got there, though that can still wasn’t accepted, so I put it in a cabinet, but after washing my hands I entered with the backpack, as well as with those peanuts, all of the products being store brands from other stores. And I got two breads for dad and some buns that I could use instead of bread for myself, the bakery discounts being of 75%, after which I was surprised to see a 50% discount on some nice pasta that wasn’t expiring, so I took one of those as well, even if it was imported. And then I got some carrots, even if the price remained rather high despite the evening discount, and grapes, fibbers and onions, all of which had great evening discounts, and I believe that the closing announcement came while I was still looking through the onions. Either way, I used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout, then retrieved that can and took my time to arrange everything, after which I washed my hands again, initially thinking that I’ll save a little time by entering the room for disabled people but then going to the men’s when I once again found no soap there. And it was past 10:20 PM when I finally walked out.
I then went back to the spot where I had walked off the route, struggling for a little while to open that bag of peanuts and then eating them, making sure to keep one hand clean as I picked up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol. And when I reached this gas station that’s right on the route I crossed the road and actually checked to make sure that it does have toilets, after which I had a quick look in that Mega Image as well, entering with everything. And then I crossed back and continued along the route, though I stopped when I reached the spot where I had gotten on the route the previous day, leaving the part that goes past that point for later. And when I got here I checked the nearby Mega Image as well, once again entering with everything.
I got back at 11:40 PM, after which I cleaned the litter box and went to drop that little bag of trash down the chute, put that cheese in the fridge and spread out the other purchases, eventually washed a few of the things that were in the kitchen and ate a lot of watermelon… And I realized that I was actually 1 RON short, not just 0.50 RON, but I remembered taking out a 0.50 RON coin at that Penny and trying to decide whether to hand it over, in order to get a 1 RON bill as change, and since things got so messy after that, I had no idea whether I had left that coin there as well or had in fact forgotten one in that second cabinet from that first Mega Image. But I was determined to recover that amount from Penny either way, considering that cashier’s behavior, and I still am, since I’m yet to do so. But, to return to that night, I also did the day’s squats, and it was a few minutes after 1 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash… And while washing I noticed that what’s usually a small lump at the back of my head, which I’m pretty sure is one of those additional lymph nodes that I ended up with because of that infection that I had while I was little, was much larger, so after I was done, when it was almost 2:10 AM, I checked it out more closely and asked dad to have a look as well. But it wasn’t like there was anything to do about it at that point, so I then put the other purchases in their place as well, put together something sweet and ate it, washed what was in the kitchen, with the exception of the pots and the lids, and finally ate dinner between 4:50 AM and 5:30 AM. I got in bed at 6:35 AM, without getting on-line… And after “managing” to bump my head against dad’s door, though at least I did so lightly.

On October 6, I shaved, did the day’s squats, saved some more of the weevil-infested popcorn, ate lunch as well, scheduled the placeholder for that day’s post to be posted at 11:59 PM, and went out at 7:15 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol that I came back with two days earlier. And I grabbed just one more while walking the remaining part of the route from this area in one direction. But walking this part of the route was basically something that I was going to do on the way to some stores and back, so when I reached the point where the route turns, I kept going, entering Penny with those recyclables, since the recycling machine wasn’t working, having a quick look and then continuing to Kaufland Basarabia and grabbing two more recyclables with the deposit symbol when I got there.
Well, the recycling machine wasn’t working there either, there was also a line of people waiting for the problem to be sorted out, and the store closes at 9 PM on Sunday, so I didn’t wait along with them, putting the recyclables in a cabinet, peeing and washing my hands, and entering the store a few minutes after 8 PM. I saw a sweet pastry that seemed nice, but it didn’t have a discount label and when I scanned the regular label the price checker said that it was an unknown product, despite the fact that I could find the entry for the product and check the ingredients, so I went to a self-checkout and used that to check the price, finding that it did have the 50% evening discount after all. However, I also confirmed that the other sweet pastry which I was considering only had the 30% discount that was listed for it. So I took one of those pastries that did have the 50% discount and a plain bun that had that same discount, the plain ones being the only cheap buns left, a bundle of green onions and a lettuce with root, both of which had evening discounts, some of the cheese that was on sale those days, and some expiring things for dad. And, after scanning the label of that other sweet pastry again and seeing that the discount remained at 30%, at the self-checkout I used the 10 RON voucher received on September 24, when I yet again hadn’t found green onions and decided to take them up on their offer to give such vouchers when they run out of a product that’s supposedly guaranteed to be available at all times. And then, though I had just finished using the machine when the closing announcement came, I took my time to arrange the purchases, so after retrieving what I had in the cabinet I had to leave through the emergency exit, after also pointing two other people to it when I saw that they were going to the regular exit.
I then continued to that Carrefour, and since I didn’t know where the recycling machine was in that location and couldn’t find it on my own, I eventually asked at the information desk, then went there and put in my recyclables, after which I grabbed some more which had been left there, and one of them was even accepted, so I ended up with a second voucher. And, seeing as I knew that you can normally hand recyclables with the deposit symbol that aren’t accepted by the machine at the information desk in Carrefour, I then tried to do so, but while the employee confirmed that it can normally be done, she said that she had no storage space that evening, so I held on to them and entered the store with everything. A little later I realized that I hadn’t looked for the toilets to wash my hands after digging around for those recyclables which I had picked up, so I meant to walk back out of the store and do so, but a guard kept his eyes on me as I approached the exit and I had all of those purchases, so I gave up on that idea and got some potatoes and some expiring products with my hands as they were. And then I used the vouchers received for the recyclables when I paid, the fact that Carrefour took over Cora not changing the fact that using a regular checkout is still needed in order to use cash in that location.
After arranging the purchases and walking out, I picked up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, checked a Mega Image that I saw closed at 11 PM, putting the bags in cabinet and then just retrieving them, and then entered a Profi that was also still open, meaning to get the money for those recyclables there, since the sign on the door stated that they take them manually. So, after initially leaving my things at the entrance after the guard told me to do so and having a quick look at the expiring products, I picked everything back up and asked about the recyclables, but the cashier said that it was too late, so I’m thinking that, even if they don’t use recycling machines, the system is set up like the recycling machines from Mega Image, for example, which turn off at 10 PM in all locations. Either way, I picked up a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way back, and I also checked a non-stop Mega Image, putting the bags in a cabinet but entering with the backpack… And after walking out the first time I realized that I had forgotten to look for something that was supposed to be on sale, so I went right back in. But those products were too expensive even on sale, so I just walked back out, retrieved my things and made my way back, also walking this part of the route in the other direction in the process.
It was close to 11:10 PM when I got back… And I was really just about to piss myself, so I took care of that problem before cleaning the litter box and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute. Then I talked to dad a little, put the purchases in their place, with the exception of the green onions and the lettuce, ate an apple and that sweet pastry, and it was almost 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash… At which point I noticed another reason for concern, a bloody spot in a certain place, which was something that I recalled seeing way back when I had that yeast infection. But at least that spot at the back of my head wasn’t swollen in that unusual way anymore, and the issue noticed that night also went away after a few days. Either way, it was almost 1:40 AM when I was done, and then I cut my toenails, sliced dad’s breads, dealt with those buns which I had bought two days earlier, had plenty of things to wash in the kitchen, took a pill, also used some of the lettuce and green onions for the salad, and finally ate dinner between 4:45 AM and 5:30 AM, with the last several minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 6:35 AM.