Cav's Place

In the early hours of September 27, I went to the kitchen a little later than usual and there was a lot to wash after dad had cooked, and he had also left the cutting board close to the fire while cooking and a part of it got burned, though at least it was on the side that’s already more damaged and which I don’t use. On the other hand, I also forgot that I had placed some of the bread that I wanted to use before these runs within reach and took out most of my bread from the freezer and then put it back. So I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:25 AM, putting peanut butter on all of the bread, and it was past 3:50 AM when I finished, after also editing the previous week’s second post in order to finally add the rest of it. And then I quickly wrote the placeholder for that night’s post, adding the rest of it before starting to get ready for bed, and it was 5:30 AM when I finally did get in bed.
I set the alarm to ring at 2:30 PM, but as that hour approached I kept waking up, and while I had set my mind on staying in bed and waiting for the alarm, when dad got back I checked the time and when I saw that it was 2:18 PM I turned off the alarm and got up. My nose was rather stuffy, my left ear was quite clogged, I was definitely starting to feel something in my chest as well, and there was a slight feeling of weakness in general, so things definitely didn’t look good, but the plan was to run and I had to. And, even if it was September 27 and I had even said, or more exactly written, that I wasn’t going to, I did shave after all. Otherwise, I had the usual stuff, which these days includes those supplements, and the sweet thing consisted of two nicer biscuits of a different kind, which actually weren’t expired, with added honey. I left at 5:20 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 32-33°C at that point, and while I couldn’t check after finishing and didn’t even check the forecast for 7 PM before leaving, I looked at a couple of sites that also show previous values and saw that it should have been 28°C at that hour.
The time was 1:17:43, with sector times of 4:17, 5:00, 5:50, 4:26, 4:52, 5:51, 4:28, 5:02, 6:29, 4:29, 5:10, 5:57, 4:36, 5:17 and 5:59, making for lap times of 15:07, 15:09, 15:59, 15:36 and 15:52. This makes this the first time I covered 16 km in less than 1:18 since a year ago, when I began this same series of three runs in five days with one that was six seconds faster, and the actual running time was better this time around, since I lost over 30 seconds because of a shoelace. And it’s also the first time since May when I managed to stay under 16 minutes on each of the five laps. Not that such a time isn’t still poor after two weeks of taking all of the supplements and almost a month of taking the one for joints, as I’d have normally expected to be around 1:16, if the heat wouldn’t have allowed me to get near my personal best. But the cold made me not know what to expect, and at first I even wondered if I won’t even risk a new slowest time over this distance, in which case I considered trying to continue to a half marathon distance, even if it was going to get dark, if that won’t also risk resulting in a new slowest time. So I wasn’t sure what to think of this time… But I knew that I was going to pay for running, and pushing, with a cold.
I expected a poor first sector despite pushing a fair bit, yet when I saw the time I was quite pleased and kept pushing, to see what I was capable of, and I was perhaps even more pleased with the next two sectors and the lap as a whole. Then, after being rather pleased with sector one of lap two as well, I really sprinted on the long straight of sector two of lap two, which resulted in that great time on that sector… But I was thinking that I had done that unwisely early. However, after the times on sector three of lap two and the lap as a whole were nice as well, I wondered whether I could stay under 1:18 after all, the targets becoming 15:30 for lap three and 16 minutes for lap four, to allow for a little more on lap five if necessary, though I’d have liked to stay under 16 minutes on each lap. And the first two sectors of lap three meant that I had a pretty good chance to meet that lap’s target, assuming that I was still able to stay under six minutes on sector three… Only to lose all of that time because of that shoelace. So I then pushed hard, trying to limit the damage, and when I saw that the lap’s time was just under 16 minutes even under those circumstances, I told myself that I was going to move what had been the target for lap three to lap four, though over the course of sector one of lap four I decided that 15:45 might be enough to give me a chance. Either way, I kept pushing, and while the time on sector two of lap four was a little worse than I’d have hoped, the lap as a whole was right on the target for 1:18, so I could still afford to go a little over 16 minutes on lap five. But I didn’t want to, so I kept pushing, and while the first two sectors were just over the targets for a 16-minute lap, I managed to make up for it on sector three.
The biggest loss of time was obviously on sector three of lap three, when I noticed that my right shoelace was untied and I lost over 30 seconds, probably more like 35 seconds, to tie it again. And the one notable problem caused by people was on sector two of lap five, when a woman moved to the side that I was about to pass her on just when I was catching her, and while I don’t think that I actually stopped, I slowed a lot as I went around her on the grass. But otherwise, considering all of the damage and the fact that some areas were wet as well, the lane probably remained the main reason why I had to weave or go the long way around, and on sector two of lap three I was probably even helped a little by a faster runner, who likely made me push a little harder until the distance between us increased. As for physical issues, I was only on sector two of lap one when I felt that my nose and throat were getting irritated, though the feeling faded later, which seemed strange. On the other hand, I know that my right knee started giving some warnings on sector two of what I believe was lap two and I’m quite sure that it was at the start of a sector three when I began to feel something of a pressing need, and while by the time I finished I wasn’t certain whether that was on lap two or lap three, lap three seems more likely, since I don’t recall struggling with it for a long time and I remember that resting a little while retying that shoelace made both of those problems seem to go away until sector two of lap four, when multiple parts of both of my legs started giving warnings, the right knee started bothering me quite noticeably, and the pressing need also returned to some extent. But everything held until the end, and the heat didn’t bother me nearly as much as I feared either.

While the post was mostly already written, with the exception of the paragraph with the comments about the third run’s times, going out again today meant that I couldn’t go through it in the evening, and I didn’t want to throw it here without doing that first, and since I only managed to go through what’s above before leaving, it was initially basically another placeholder, scheduled to be posted at 11:59 PM and which I edited Tuesday evening only to add the parts about the rest of September 27 and the following day, mainly to show that I haven’t forgotten about this post. And I edited it again in order to add everything else in the early hours of Thursday, before going to bed.

I felt so weak after the run, and rather like I had a fever. But I wasn’t coming back right away, so I went to a bench and meant to write down the times and a few notes about the issues, but a Kaufland catalog for the next period was there and when I started looking through it I noticed a lot of ants, so I moved away, browsing the catalog while walking, then leaving it on the next bench that I sat on, where I did write down what I meant to. And then, on the way to Carrefour, I noticed a fair in the park, so I had a look, the prices being as insane as you’d expect at such events. And when I actually did make my way to Carrefour I picked up a rather crushed and dirty plastic bottle with the deposit symbol, trying to straighten it with little success, but the recycling machine somehow accepted it… Yet it didn’t accept another one of the same brand which had been left there by someone, so I washed my hands and entered the store with that one, getting one sweet pastry that was among the expiring products, one large Gala apple that I mean to eat before the marathon, the last bag of some salty pretzels that I found, and some more of those cheap bagels, using the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid, once again needing to use a regular checkout, checking that the receipt included a voucher with 20% of the value of those pretzels and bagels, according to the deal that applied those days, and arranging the purchases.
I put that bottle in the recycling machine from Kaufland, then put my things in a cabinet, washed my hands, and entered the store at 9:10 PM, if I remember correctly. The bakery discounts were of 50% and they didn’t increase, so I grabbed two buns and one of the sweet pastries which had been much cheaper during the previous period, so the price, with the same 50% discount, was 80% higher than a few days earlier, when I hadn’t noticed that large regular discount and had also just bought one. And, after spotting one that was already in a bag, so it had probably been returned there or left somewhere by someone else, I scanned the label of the regular bread, seeing that the discount was actually slightly more than 50%, so I also took that bread for dad, and then went to a self-checkout and checked the price of a bread that I was interested in and which had no label whatsoever. But that bread had no evening discount, so I didn’t take any. And there were no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables either, except for some black radishes that looked really bad, so I didn’t get any, but I did get one bundle of green onions, since at least they still had plenty that evening, and there was a regular discount those days. And, after grabbing another small yogurt, waiting for 9:45 PM, and seeing that no other discounts appeared or increased, I made my way to the self-checkout, needing to call an employee when the machine didn’t accept the green onions as the correct product, and using the voucher received for that recyclable when I paid. And, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging everything, I spotted another plastic bottle with the deposit symbol, so I walked out a couple of minutes before 10 PM and then put that in the recycling machine as well, keeping the voucher for another time. And on the way back I grabbed a can with the deposit symbol.
I can’t quite recall whether I got back at 10:25 PM or 10:30 PM, though the latter seems more likely. Either way, after eating some watermelon I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, then put the purchases in their place and ate the sweet pastry from Carrefour, and by the time I washed all of the greasy things that were in the kitchen, I had gotten through another September 27… Not that I care to… Either way, I then also had lunch and took another pill, and it was 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. I was done a couple of minutes before 2 AM, then I sliced dad’s bread, took something else as well, and ate dinner between 3:30 AM and 4:15 AM, lighting the aromatherapy lamp again before starting to eat. My ears felt rather clogged after washing and the right one got worse after eating, when the right nostril suddenly got stuffy as well… And there were no visits recorded on September 27.

Well, sleeping was obviously a problem, as it always is after such an effort, even without the added complication of the cold, so I caught some brief naps until a little after 8 AM, eventually went to the bathroom around 8:15 AM, mainly to blow my nose, though I peed as well, just in case, then tossed and turned for a while longer before trying to blow and spit some more and getting back on the computer a little before 9:15 AM. But I did catch a little more sleep in the afternoon, and while Liza woke me after what was probably about one hour of sleep, if even that, by starting her “concert” after dad left for a while, and the symptoms were noticeably worse at that point, I eventually got back to sleep and things seemed better by the time I woke up again, at least as far as my nose and throat were concerned… But my energy levels weren’t good at all, and over the course of the day I was feeling that I wasn’t breathing properly.

Moving on to September 29, before eating dinner in that day’s early hours, once again with peanut butter on all of the bread, I put what I was going to take with me in the pocket of my tights, selected the apple that I was going to eat in the morning, made the tea and took another pill, and before going to bed I went to the toilet and took one more pill, all of those preparations being due to the fact that a bad storm was supposed to hit in the afternoon, so I set the alarm to ring at 10 AM, meaning that instead of catching up on some of that lost sleep, I added even more to the debt. And when I woke up a couple of minutes before 8 AM I once again had a runny nose and crap going down my throat and into my chest, so I went to blow and spit.
When the alarm rang and I got up, things seemed better once again, but when I went to blow and spit, there was a trace of blood as well, and it felt like something was bubbling around in the left side of my chest… And then I noticed that dad had taken some of the raisins in dark chocolate that I had selected to eat just before the marathon! I had noticed the previous evening that they seemed to have been moved, but I didn’t actually look inside the bag then, only doing so when I took the biscuits, at which point I saw that half of them were gone! So I was quite a mess… But I had to run, so I had the usual stuff, including the supplements, but the apple was a Gala one, and the sweet thing consisted of two of those nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey. And I did manage to leave some more in the toilet as well, and then I left at 12:10 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was about 21°C, holding steady or maybe increasing just marginally by the time I finished.
The time was 49:15.45, with sector times of 4:17.83, 5:13 (5:12.97), 6:05.18, 4:39 (4:38.91), 5:14 (5:13.78), 6:06.31, 4:37 (4:36.78), 5:16 (5:15.50), 5:55 (5:54.96) and 1:53.23, making for lap times of 15:35.98, 15:59.00 and 15:48 (15:47.24). Considering how I felt, I wondered if I could even stay under 50 minutes, yet the first sector was better than I thought it’d be, especially since I hadn’t pushed that hard on it… But then I felt myself getting slower, and the second sector’s time made it clear that my original assessment was correct and it was going to be hard to stay under 50 minutes, and after the end of the first lap I knew that I had to at least squeeze under 16 minutes on the second one if I was to have any chance. And I just barely managed that, recovering what I lost on the first sector on the next two, and I’m quite sure that I only did so thanks to another runner who became my target from sector two of lap two. But then I wondered whether I could stay under 16 minutes on lap three as well, and also get under 49:30, so I pushed harder, and even more so on sector three of lap three, with that other runner continuing to be my target until close to the end of the lap, when I overtook him, after having closed in over the course of that sector. And after the end of the lap I wondered whether I still had enough energy to squeeze under 49:15 as well, but I guess that I didn’t. So this was another bad time that was nevertheless less bad than I expected, under the circumstances…
On top of feeling tired from the beginning, my leg muscles hurt in a way that made it likely that the main cause was the way I stand when I blow and spit in the sink, but the bigger problem was that I was feeling like I wasn’t quite getting enough air, soon enough my chest started burning, and at least for the first half of the run I was occasionally getting lightheaded, so my lungs were obviously affected and I mainly felt something wrong with the right one. And towards the end of lap two I felt something different for a while, most likely heartburn. But over the course of lap three I was noticing that I was feeling better… Though on that lap I no longer noticed the wind either, and there had been some serious gusts on the first two laps, so I’m not sure whether it had actually died down, which may also explain feeling and breathing better to some extent, or I wasn’t noticing much of anything anymore. On the other hand, the lane was obviously still damaged in all sorts of ways, and there were even a couple of new spots that created a risk of tripping, and some areas were also wet, while on sector two of lap one, at the kayak dock, I hesitated when a roadblock formed ahead of me, though a guy stepped aside and let me through before I actually got there.
But I should say more about that runner that I mentioned above, who appeared ahead of me on sector two of lap two and initially seemed to just be another passing target, albeit a more relevant one, since he was only slightly slower and it took me a while to catch him. I don’t remember where I managed to pass him, whether it was on that same sector or the next, but I know that just a little later I almost stumbled when I stepped into a hole that was under the lane, and then I was more careful for a while, which allowed him to pass me again. And I also don’t know whether a pressing need made its presence known while I pushed to catch him the first time or when I tried to keep up after he passed me back, but it definitely appeared when he was just ahead of me and for a little while it seemed like it could become a problem, though it then lessened. Either way, being passed by me seemed to have also made him push harder and by the start of lap three I was wondering whether he’ll even still be in sight at the end of the lap, but then he stopped at the drinking fountain that’s just before the end of sector one and I passed him again… Only to immediately need to briefly stop when a little kid got in my way, and he passed me again after that. But I was pushing and he only managed to put a short distance between us over the course of sector two, and on sector three I pushed even harder, closed in and eventually passed him again before the end of the lap.

After the run, the plan was to go to Penny, and while just making a detour to the nearest one was the main idea, I had considered going to the one from Titan, which tends to be much better stocked, if the weather would still be all right, which it was. In fact, the storm still seemed far enough that for a moment I considered going to Carrefour first, and then to Penny Titan, but then I decided that I shouldn’t risk it and stuck to the original plan, even jogging to that Penny. And, while I considered turning around and going to the one from Titan after all when I saw that they were out of the pumpkins that were supposed to be on sale, when I checked and saw that at least they had what dad wanted, I decided to stay and get those things, and I’d have needed just a little more in order to get the total above 30 RON and be able to use the second voucher received from their coins campaign, so I added a bag of corn puffs of the kind that were also on sale, and which I actually prefer, as a small “reward”. And phones started giving the alert sound while I was in line, but there were no problems with that voucher and the weather was still fine for quite a while, the rain only starting some two hours later, and rain was in fact all we got in this part of the city. And I also had a very quick look in the nearby Mega Image, entering with everything, before getting back here.
When I got back, I asked dad what had gotten into him to take those raisins in dark chocolate, since they were clearly placed where I put what I keep specifically for running, and when had he done that, and he said that he had done it the previous night and admitted knowing that they were mine, but said that he just wanted something sweet, decided that he wanted those, not any of the other things from the fridge, and assumed that it’ll all be fine if he’ll get me another bag right away despite only eating a few, and while I ran he had actually gone out and bought two bags, at full price, which had actually just increased a fair bit.
Well, it was definitely not all right! I’ve been eating raisins in dark chocolate before the important runs all these years and they’re the one thing that I can carefully select, so I just “have” to pick the bag carefully, which I obviously didn’t do for those he bought, and then I look through them after I open the bag and select those that I somehow like more and save them for a major run, so I’ll use the rest while practicing and leave the “best” ones to eat before said major run, and with no more long runs left before the marathon, I couldn’t “properly” go through that selection process again even if would open a new bag. And I just “have” to eat some from that specific bag before practice runs, to “know” that they’re fine, and in case of the marathon in particular, it’s basically a given that those eaten before the long practice run and the marathon “must” be from the same bag, which was no longer possible because dad just randomly felt like eating a few without even asking! And when he said that he didn’t think that I’d be that set on such things and I asked if he didn’t find himself set on doing something in a certain way, especially before a major event, he admitted that he did, but again said that it’s not that specific. And then he once again said that after a certain age one needs to be told things more often, but when I reminded him that he had even admitted knowing that they were mine, and also how I had reacted when I was in the kitchen at one point and saw him poking through those things that I keep specifically for running, he said that if I get angry it all goes right past him, he never pays any attention to anything anyone tells him in anger. So, once again, he does whatever the fuck he pleases and I have to deal with it, and it’s my fault, one way or another!
Either way, after the argument I ate a banana and a sweet pastry, then had to rush to the toilet before washing, and after that I ate dinner and wrote the week’s second post, which I ended and posted as it was when dad wanted to get on-line again, even though I’d have wanted to add a little more. And at least I did get some sleep in the evening, after once again taking something, and after getting up I even did the day’s squats. On the other hand, while my nose seemed better, maybe even close to normal, considering the weather and the time of year, there was quite clearly something in my chest. And before going to bed I took one more pill. But another problem was that something started hurting in the left side of my abdomen while eating dinner, and while I definitely had gas and that might have been the reason, the fact that I continued to feel a little pain in that spot the following day was definitely concerning… But what was more of a concern was that something continued to feel wrong in my chest, possibly even more than before. Yet the other symptoms just about went away, so I just took one thing at night instead of two, and then I once again put peanut butter on all of the bread.

For the last run in the series, the alarm was set to ring at 2:30 PM, but I woke up when dad left, a little before 2:15 PM, and initially thought that what I heard was when he unlocked the door, so after a moment I went out of my room to ask him something, and when I saw that he had already left I initially got back in bed… But I quickly realized that it was pointless, so I turned off the alarm and got up, though I took it easy and it was past 2:30 PM when I got out of my room again. And I still felt something in the left side of my abdomen, albeit in a lower spot than before, and what I felt when I pressed around that area seemed more like fluid than gas. But I had to run, and after eating another Gala apple I opened one of those bags of raisins in dark chocolate bought by dad, selected them to some extent and put some of the “worse” ones in the yogurt, before adding the cereals and the baked almonds with Himalayan salt, and I didn’t have another sweet thing after that. And I left at 5:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 20-21°C, and 17-18°C when I finished.
The time was 1:16:47, with sector times of 4:21, 5:07, 5:54, 4:26, 4:58, 5:51, 4:28, 5:01, 5:58, 4:28, 5:05, 5:53, 4:30, 5:02 and 5:45, making for lap times of 15:22, 15:15, 15:27, 15:26 and 15:17. After the previous run, I had very low expectations, thinking that I might hope to stay under 1:22, or maybe 1:21 at best, but having target times that added up to 1:24 as well, if necessary. Yet the first sector’s time was better than expected, especially since I couldn’t quite decide how much I wanted to push from the beginning, and when the next two sectors and the lap as a whole were quite good as well, I started wondering whether I could manage a better time after all, deciding to go for it and push as long as I’ll be able to, and I once again sprinted on the long straight of sector two of lap two, which resulted in a very good time on that sector. The question was how much had that exhausted me, but when sector three of lap two was faster than that of lap one, and the lap was also faster than the first one, it seemed like I would at least stay under 1:20. And over the course of lap three I started thinking about getting under 1:18, if I could stay under that 15:36 that’s the target lap time for that on that lap as well. And I did, so at the start of lap four I calculated that I needed to gain three more seconds over just staying under 16 minutes on the last two laps, yet when I saw, at the start of lap five, that just staying under 16 minutes would get me under 1:17:30 but that I had stayed under 15:30 on all of the previous laps, I wondered about squeezing under 1:17 as well, and after the first sector it seemed that I might just have a chance, so I really pushed, and even more so on the last sector, which ended up being the fastest sector three of the day. And this was finally a time that I could work with.
My right knee started giving warnings again after that sprint on the long straight of sector two of lap two, I felt them clearly right from the start of the following sector, and on the last two laps they got worse, probably at least occasionally going past the level of mere warnings. But that was pretty much the only physical issue that I noticed during the run, the most notable difference compared to two days earlier being my breathing, which wasn’t a problem anymore, as the times obviously show. On the other hand, that toenail did jab that toe again, but I only really noticed when I got back and saw the blood, only briefly thinking that something might be happening during the run, without being bothered by it in any way. And, with the exception of the damaged and wet areas of the lane, there weren’t more than a few other problems either, the one somewhat scary moment being at the start of lap four and also having to do with the lane, since I slipped on mud and some of it was left on my shoe, which also made the next few steps a little tricky. And later on that same sector I slowed in order to squeeze through a roadblock, but the only other somewhat notable problem caused by people was on sector three of either lap two or lap three, I couldn’t quite remember even at the end of the run, when I hesitated a little, but more to make a point than because I was actually startled, since a woman was about to get in my way because a little kid, probably hers, ran past me and she suddenly decided to go after it.

After getting back, I ate watermelon and a sweet pastry, changed, though I left the running t-shirt on, and left again at 8:20 PM, taking the paper, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, including one which hadn’t been accepted before, and I picked up one more on the way to Auchan and two more which were left in front of the recycling machine from there, which I used before entering the store with that bottle, which wasn’t accepted there either. I was mainly going there to get water for dad, and I had seen on the site that their anniversary sales were supposed to start the next day, so I didn’t initially mean to look for anything else, except perhaps a bag of corn puffs with powdered milk, as a small “reward”, but when I entered I saw that at least some of those sales had already started, and I quickly noticed that they included something else that dad wanted, so even though I had to hurry I did look around a little, though I didn’t get anything except a pack of water, a bag of those corn puffs and just one of those other things, using both the voucher received for the recyclables and the small amount that was on the store card at the self-checkout. And I initially tried to walk away with the purchases in a bag, hoping to save a little time, but that water was too heavy to hold in one hand, so after crossing the road I stopped on a bench and put everything in the large backpack.
When I got to Kaufland I once again saw that the large cabinets didn’t lock, but I could squeeze everything into one of the small ones, even if that meant taking the corn puffs and that other thing out of the backpack first. Then, after meaning to save a few seconds by using the toilets for disabled people but finding that there was no soap, I did go to the men’s room and washed my hands and face, since on the way to Auchan I had caught another spiderweb, and it was just after 9:45 PM when I entered the store, rushing to the bakery area and initially just grabbing two buns, since the price labels that were placed listed discounts of 50%… But then I saw the sheets of paper that listed discounts of 75% and took some more buns, including some that I meant to use instead of bread, and one of those breads with walnuts, initially thinking that someone else had taken the ones that I had seen and taking one that looked similar but was probably something else, then putting it back and grabbing one of those when I realized that I had been looking in the wrong place and spotted them again. But I scanned the label for a sweet pastry that didn’t have any evening discount listed and confirmed that it wasn’t discounted. And there were no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables either, but I did take some deeply discounted mushrooms that were among the spoiling products, then jogged to grab a small yogurt for myself and a bucket of “Greek” yogurt for my mother, since it had already been announced that the store had closed. And at the self-checkout I used the voucher which I had been left with after putting that last recyclable in the machine four days earlier, then took my time to arrange everything, walking away when it was past 10:10 PM and trying to put that bottle in the recycling machine from there as well. But it still wasn’t accepted, so I came back with it, and with one more which I picked up on the way.
I got back just after 10:45 PM, with 18 kg, and I only weighed 45 kg. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, left the bread and the buns on the table but put the other purchases in their place, ate lunch, with an entire large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, even did the day’s squats, took another pill, and it was almost 12:55 AM when I went to the bathroom, mostly wasting time on the toilet before washing. I was done just before 1:50 AM, but then I also gathered my clothes from the balcony and did a few more things, and when I put what I meant to cook the following evening to soak, I saw weevils in that bag as well, albeit far fewer and having done less damage, so they were probably the ones that had found that other source of food, which likely means that they’re in pretty much everything, since that was on the other side of the kitchen from the popcorn. Either way, I also dealt with the bread and those buns, having some of that bread at dinner, which I ate between 4:05 AM and 4:40 AM, with the last several minutes spent gathering what was stuck on the plate. I got in bed at 5:45 AM.

I wonder if Macron’s call to halt sales of arms used in Gaza may finally lead to the end of the rewards for Israel’s audacity. Not that the statement has much force, considering that, from what I see, France doesn’t actually send such arms to Israel, but it may mark the beginning of an actual shift in the attitude of “the West”. Then again, the shift should have been made no later than two and a half weeks ago, when the UN adopted the resolution demanding that Israel end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, withdrawing its military forces, immediately ceasing all new settlement activity, evacuating all settlers from the occupied land, dismantling parts of the separation wall constructed inside the occupied West Bank, returning land and other “immovable property”, as well as all assets seized since the occupation began in 1967, and all cultural property and assets taken from Palestinians and Palestinian institutions, allow all Palestinians displaced during the occupation to return to their place of origin, and make reparation for the damage caused by its occupation. But I’m not seeing anything actually happening as a result of that… And nothing actually happened even after Israel declared the UN Secretary-General persona non grata, even though such an act seems to me to be grounds for declaring the state that enacts it a rogue state!
Now I do get the fact that directly fighting terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah and even terrorist states like Iran when “the West” doesn’t dare to results in quite a lot of leniency and even rewards for actions and methods that would otherwise bring condemnation and sanctions, but there must be limits, and those limits have been crossed at least since 1967, and at least when it comes to Palestine they keep being crossed constantly, in terrible ways and with utter impunity ever since, not just during this past year. And now they’re being crossed in Liban as well. So when will “the West” finally say that enough is enough, and actually take the necessary actions, ending all support for the current Israeli regime, aiding the protesters and opposition to oust it, taking up their role as peacekeepers in the region, enforcing the two-state solution and doing everything else required in order to eventually pave the way to a just peace? And those who say that real peace in the region is nothing more than a dream or fantasy must realize that it hasn’t been attempted so far, the conditions for it haven’t been provided, and while the level of distrust and hatred makes a lasting peace unlikely in the foreseeable future, things will only get worse unless the seeds for it are sown now.

If I was glad to have been proven wrong about the outcome of Simona Halep’s appeal, the hard-fought defeat in the first match after her return revealed a level of fitness that was, unsurprisingly, not where it used to be, and the injury that forced her to retire from the next match proved that she tried too much, too soon. Not that the second tournament was too big, of course, Trophée Clarins being in the lowest category of WTA tournaments, but she should have most likely focused more on training and given herself more time to recover.
At least she has done that since then, but let’s see if it was enough, since her second attempt to return should have been at the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, starting on October 26, yet she has suddenly announced that she’ll also take part in the new WTA 125 tournament from the same location, which starts tomorrow… And a quick glance reveals an unusually strong list of participants for what should be a minor tournament, with a stated aim of “developing future women’s tennis stars, and [providing] an exciting new competitive opportunity for […] elite local women players, along with other “rising stars” from mainland China, Asia and internationally“. I mean, out of the 28 players who entered the main draw directly, only two are from Hong Kong, and one each from China, Japan and Thailand. And most are over 25, many over 30… And McCartney Kessler, as in Simona‘s opponent from her previous match, is among them, though they won’t be able to meet before the semifinals, her opponent in the first round being Arina Rodionova… Who seems to be playing her best tennis this year, becoming the oldest woman to make a first appearance in the top 100.

At least the real milestone, marking 20 years since she left, is next year, this only being the 20th September 27 if you also count the first one, so it may be less of a crime that at 4 AM I just managed to post a placeholder, limited to this paragraph, after spending the evening finally finishing the previous post. But it is, at the very least, terribly embarrassing, and the fact that what I’ll be adding are regular things, not what such a post should actually contain, makes it even worse. Not that there’s anything actually left to say in such a post after 19 years, of course, unless I’ll find out something new, which isn’t the case at this point.

As the title states, I’m going to run today, this being the first of the series of three runs in five days, one problem being that it’s going to be hot, with a high of 32°C, according to the forecast, and the other, and far bigger, one being that I have what I hope is just a cold. I suspect that I got it from dad, who has been coughing again for a while but claims that it’s “from the stomach” and that he doesn’t have anything, of course, but it might have been from anywhere else as well, and standing around all those people for so long while waiting to start on Saturday is also a probable source of infection, even if it was outdoors.
I really should have started wearing a mask again when going out some time ago, and also inside ever since dad started coughing, seeing as he doesn’t care, but I only wore it on Monday, inside, in order to protect my nose, which was still terribly irritated, and again yesterday, as in Thursday, so I won’t give anything to dad and, through him, to mother as well, in case he actually isn’t the source. And at least wearing the mask on Monday did help quite a lot, but by Tuesday evening my throat started bothering me a little, and by the time I got up on Wednesday it was definitely sore. And, with these runs now and just over two weeks before the marathon that’s the last chance to achieve my goal of running one in less than four hours before turning 40, I really can’t afford anything of the sort. But all I can hope for right now is that it’s just a common cold and it won’t affect my lungs, so I started taking some things right away, definitely having no intention of just letting my body fight it off, as I otherwise tend to do. Yet I’m already feeling something in my chest and have been coughing a little over the past couple of hours, so things don’t look good.
I guess that one option would have been to do things the other way around, walking the route this weekend and leaving this series of runs for later, since doing them a week or so before the marathon should also be fine, but walking for so long doesn’t seem like a better idea at this point either, plus that it’s supposed to rain quite a lot between Sunday evening and Monday afternoon, which was also why I chose to start this series of runs today instead of yesterday, even if today I’d have obviously preferred to avoid going out, or doing much of anything… Not that the forecast is certain, in fact it’s very uncertain and kept varying, but I now just have to hope that I’ll manage to finish the second run before the rain will start on Sunday and that things will be more or less fine by Tuesday, for the last run in the series. But, of course, the first concern is the cold, if that’s all it is…
Getting back to today, I’d have wanted to shave before going to bed, especially considering the heat, which is going to be even more uncomfortable if I’ll run like this, but I definitely have no more time for that now… And it’s not like I felt like it anyway. I mean, I never do, but it’s far worse on such a night. And isn’t it a tradition, at least here, to not shave while mourning? And what’s this night if not the commemoration of the one when I should have killed myself, when I likely died in any practical sense, and when any hope of having a future which might be in any way worth living definitely did? And for anyone daring to say or even think anything that’s anywhere along the lines of “it gets better”, no, it most obviously does not… And that’s all I could get myself to write, after taking quite a few minutes to push back the replies that I actually would have to anything of the sort. So I guess that I’ll just stop here, to manage to edit this and add everything before going to bed.

Once again, after actually managing to post the week’s first post in full, the second one initially ends up being just a placeholder, especially since I went out again today. But, even if it just contains four paragraphs, if you also count this one, at least this placeholder does include the relevant part about testing the new UPS one more time, the rest of that day just being a matter of odds and ends that I’m adding because that’s what I usually do, and I edited the post in order to add the rest of that part Monday evening. But then I had to edit it again in order to also add the part about yesterday, and I only managed to do that in the early hours of Friday.

Right after getting up on September 19, I did 200 squats, to be sure that I had caught up, since the 200 done the previous day had made up for skipping September 17, but all that I recalled about September 16 was that I had kept putting them off, and by the time I went to bed that morning I just couldn’t remember whether I had done them before going to the kitchen at night or got right on the computer after seeing that dad was going to bed and they went right out of my mind. Either way, after dad left I took the new UPS to the living room and plugged its data cable into his computer, without installing the software, though I couldn’t figure out what he had plugged into the extension cord that’s next to the desk, so I ended up using two other extension cords to just plug in the light bulb from the balcony into the UPS, to have at least that small power draw… And I confirmed that it’s not the UPS itself that’s the problem, since the data connection wasn’t lost in two and a quarter hours, until I turned the computer off, before leaving, which I did at 7:10 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol that dad had emptied and the can which I had returned with and straightened two days earlier.
I went to put those recyclables in the machine from the nearby Mega Image, though that straightened can wasn’t accepted, and the cashier said that they couldn’t do anything about it when I asked, so I just cashed in the voucher for the others. However, I had noticed a bag full of other recyclables left in front of the store when I walked in, and it was still there when I left, so I looked inside and took it when I found that all of the recyclables had the deposit symbol. I wasn’t about to go back in with it, but I just took it to Carrefour, even if that meant wandering around with it for a while, since I had found out that a run was taking place in the park two days later and it was free, so I had signed up and wanted to walk the part from the beginning and the end of the route, the rest of it consisting of one lap around the lake. And the way the route was listed on the map made no sense to me, the logical way being to switch the direction at the start, so I walked those two portions in both directions, just in case there had been a mistake. Then I finally used the recycling machine from Carrefour, which accepted everything from that bag and one of the three recyclables which I had found there, so after also leaving that bag there I walked away with the other two recyclables and that can, which wasn’t accepted there either. And I didn’t go to the information desk to ask for the money for those, entering the store with them after washing my hands and just getting some garlic and cashing in the voucher, since its value was higher than the price of the garlic. And I still had to use a regular checkout…
After putting the garlic in the backpack, I continued to Penny, noticing that the recycling machine wasn’t working, entering with everything, and seeing that green onions were listed among the vegetables that were at half price in the evening and quite a number of bundles were left, some of them looking like they might be worth it even if a good part of the tops were cut off. But I just walked back out at first, continuing to that Kaufland, putting those two remaining recyclables which I had picked up from Carrefour in the recycling machine from there, though that straightened can still wasn’t accepted, putting my things in a cabinet… And noticing a spider on the bottom of the bag where I had that straightened can, so I shook it off and then squashed it. Then I peed and washed my hands, entering the store at 9:10 PM and noticing that they were out of green onions, even though they are among the products that they guarantee will always be available, saying that if they’re not you can ask for a 10 RON voucher from the information desk. And, even though they’re often out of green onions before closing time and I never tried to ask for that voucher before, I really considered it that evening… But I still didn’t do it, just having a look at the bakery products, since the discount labels which had been placed listed discounts of 75%, but I also scanned a couple of labels from products that didn’t have those labels and I confirmed that the 75% discount applied to them as well. But I didn’t buy anything then, just walking back out through the entrance gates when someone else walked in, since nobody from the information desk was paying attention while I stood at the exit gate for a little while, rushing back to Penny and buying a bundle of green onions from there, which were indeed at half price. And I also got some more popcorn, wondering if it won’t end up full of weevils once again.
After rushing back to Kaufland and adding those purchases in the cabinet, I once again considered asking for that voucher, but still didn’t, and now that I actually read the terms and conditions I found that you have to ask for it after making purchases, since it’s granted on the basis of a receipt that must be no more than 30 minutes old, and after they check that the product you ask for isn’t available in storage either, and such a delay would have been quite a problem at that point, seeing as, after washing my hands again, it was a couple of minutes after 9:30 PM when I went back into the store. Then I scanned a few more labels from the bakery area and also used that price checker to check some ingredients, eventually taking two pastries that I thought were sweet, though one turned out to be just greasy… Either way, I then saw a 50% discount for some goat cheese and asked for a small piece, though when I received it and read the label I found that it only contained 50% goat milk, the other 50% being cow milk. There was another kind that might have actually been “proper” goat cheese, since it was discounted by more than 50% but remained significantly more expensive, but it was only because I had found that bag of recyclables with the deposit symbol that I even got that piece, so the other kind was out of the question and, with no evening discounts for fruits and vegetables, I just added a small yogurt and some pizza dough, then went to the self-checkouts and rushed straight to the machine that was freed when I got there, not noticing any line… Only for another man to yell that he had been in line, so I apologized and stepped away, waiting for another machine to be freed and then using the voucher received for those recyclables and typing in the code for dad’s digital store card, since I had decided to use it that time and the machine refused to scan the picture of the QR code.
The closing announcement came while I was in the checkout area, possibly while I was using the machine, though it might have been even before that, so after retrieving my things and arranging everything, I had to walk out through the emergency exit… At which point I saw that it was raining quite seriously. So checking that Profi on the way back, entering with everything, also served to get me out of the rain. And, while I still didn’t find any of those canned mushrooms that were supposed to be on sale for such a good price, I grabbed some expiring falafel, needing to use the manned checkout from the entrance, since at the exit I only saw self-checkouts that didn’t seem to accept cash. And when I walked back out, after adding that falafel in the backpack, the rain seemed to have stopped, though I eventually noticed that a light rain was still coming down.
I was back a couple of minutes after 11 PM. Then I put the purchases in their place, ate a few plums, a candy that dad had brought and lunch, and also took another pill, just in case, by which I don’t just mean that I had been in the rain, but mainly that dad obviously has something but, as usual, won’t even admit it. Either way, it was 12:45 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, and I was done just under an hour later, yet still managed to stick to the dinner schedule, somehow. And I’ll also mention here that no visits were recorded that day.

Moving on to yesterday, the problem was that the regulations for that run stated that participants could sign up on-line between September 16 and 20 or on location that morning, between 8 AM and 12 PM, but all had to pick up their numbers that morning, yet it wasn’t specified whether that had to be done between those same hours or after, just before the start, the start times being between 1 PM and 3 PM, 30 minutes apart, depending on the category, with the possibility of delays, and I was among the “veterans”, being over 35, and those were going to be the last to start. So I had sent a question about this, and also about the beginning and the end of the route, but I hadn’t received any reply, and while I didn’t check again when I woke up a little after 8:30 AM and just went to pee, nor a little after 9:30 AM, when I woke up again and just checked the time, when I woke up yet again, a little before 10 AM, I did check, but there was still no reply, and that remained the case when I looked one more time, after the alarm rang, at 10:30 AM. So I got up, made the tea, ate an apple, put on the running tights and the t-shirt from last year’s marathon, after having decided pretty much on the spot to wear a different one and selecting that one after a quick look, and left at 11:20 AM.
I got there just after 11:30 AM and found that the numbers were indeed handed out at that point, but when the guy who was before me wanted to confirm the start time of 3 PM, since he was in the same category, he was told that the organizers had said that everyone should be there at 1 PM because they may rush the starts, and the reason seemed to be the low number of participants, since they seemed to just be handing out the numbers in order and assigning the names to them on the spot and, after handing over the form which I had filled and signed ahead of time, I received number 109 despite being there close to the end of the registration period. But I obviously wasn’t going to stay there, so I then made my way back, receiving some coffee from a promoter at the park exit.
I was back just before 11:50 AM, leaving that coffee for dad to take to mother and deciding to get back to the park well before 2 PM, in case they’ll lump together more of the categories and end up with three starts instead of five. That seemed like the worst that could happen, since mixing the people with disabilities and the children with the rest struck me as impossible, but if they were going to do it and I was going to miss the start then so be it, since getting back to the park by 1 PM was clearly impossible. I mean, even this meant rushing the preparations, and after eating the yogurt with cereals and baked almonds with Himalayan salt mixed in, it proved to be too early to leave everything in the toilet and I couldn’t lose even more time, so I put on the number, the simple fact that they had punched holes in the corners making it so much easier to do that, took the supplements, with the obvious exception of the second pill for the iron and the one for joints, and left a little after 1:20 PM, with a few things in the pocket of my tights, including a bar that I was going to eat there. And I also took a candle, which I lit at the church, for a reason that’s probably not my story to tell, so I won’t. Either way, the fact that the reported temperature was about 25°C at that point is irrelevant, but it shouldn’t have changed much, the forecast listing about 26°C later, though I didn’t even check again after getting back.
Well, when I got there I went to the tent where they were offering various things to the participants and took and ate a banana, after asking whether I could take something, being told that I could take anything I wanted but meaning to return and take more things after the run… And then I ended up wasting a lot of time, and nobody even seemed to know anything about the actual start times… But saying that, instead of the schedule being rushed, there had been delays. And when I asked for specifics, those from that tent sent me to the registration tent, even though that area was closed off at that point, someone from there sending me to the tents from the start area, the gendarmes who seemed to be guarding the gazebo where some of the organizers or volunteers seemed to be saying that they couldn’t even hear what was said on the stage and therefore didn’t even know which category had started already, someone from one of the tents from the start area just reading the listed schedule and saying that the “veterans” were supposed to start at 3 PM but also mentioning the delays, and someone who asked whether she could help me when she saw me wandering around the organizers’ tents and probably looking quite confused saying that the delay had been caused by most of those who had registered on-line arriving right around noon to pick up their numbers, so there were in fact quite a lot of participants and the first category started half an hour later than scheduled, because it took that long to hand out those numbers, but gesturing vaguely back towards the registration area when I asked for specifics, and when I said that I had been there and had been sent to the start area she agreed that there was some confusion, explaining that a single person handled those matters and asking me to wait a little before rushing away… But I stood there for several minutes and she didn’t return, so I eventually wandered away.
Since the next category was announced as the “seniors”, which meant those between 19 and 35, I worried that they had changed the order and the “veterans” had started first, especially after the first person who finished really didn’t seem disabled, having managed an outstanding time and appearing to see, despite wearing dark glasses. But I did eventually exchange a few words with a couple of other participants and learned that the disabled people were indeed the first category, and some time later those in wheelchairs or who were obviously blind and accompanied during the run started appearing, making things clear. So, after holding it in my hand for a while and then meaning to put it back in my pocket, I changed my mind and ate that bar quite early, since I noticed that it had started to melt… And then I just stood around and wasted a lot of time. Since plenty of recyclables with the deposit symbol were obviously being discarded in that area and I had seen some people, including some of those that I regularly see checking the garbage cans from the park, start grabbing them, at one point I considered grabbing some and taking them to Carrefour, but I didn’t, just continuing to waste time and stay around all those people, which was likely another bad idea even if it was outdoors, until the other categories started and the “veterans”, which were indeed the last ones, were finally next, at which point I went to pee, washed my hands at one of those portable things, and then joined the crowd when we were asked to get ready, initially on the sides of the starting area, to leave a space down the middle for the last ones from the previous categories, which were yet to finish.
I’m not sure when the start was finally given, but it was well past 3 PM, probably closer to 3:30 PM, and with both categories of “veterans” starting together, and with these categories having the most participants anyway, there were quite a lot of people and I hadn’t placed myself among the first few lines, plus that I was right at the edge, and that starting portion was quite narrow, so it wasn’t easy to advance at first, and after I had to quickly avoid slamming into someone, or more exactly into the chair that they were sitting on and had pushed back and onto the path, I was even more wary of taking risks, so while others were finding ways to squeeze through or around, taking to the grass and pushing past, I found myself rather stuck behind a much slower woman for much, if not most, of those first 300 meters or so, only finally making my way through when we were about to reach the path around the lake. And then I quickly went past a few others and found myself in a strangely empty space, between groups. But the group that was ahead began to slowly scatter within seconds and I pretty quickly made my way through those that were falling behind, so it wasn’t long until there were just three people ahead of me that I thought I still had a chance to catch. That wasn’t easy, and I had to keep reminding myself that I was only running a little more than one lap, so I could push harder than I’d ever consider pushing on the first lap of a regular run, but I eventually managed it, gradually closing in, staying behind each of them for a little while and then gritting my teeth for a burst of speed.
I was thinking of checking the times for what would have normally been sectors two and three and/or for the lap, as in between the moment when I reached the path around the lake and the one when I passed by that spot the second time, before turning towards the finishing portion, but I didn’t, just having a quick look after passing the last of those three runners… And all that I remember is that I saw a little over 12 minutes at that point, possibly less than 12:10, but I’m not even sure of that and I definitely don’t know anything more specific. But that makes sense, since I definitely passed that guy before the peacock enclosure, if not even just before that straight, which would make it a little over one kilometer before the end. And I was quite certain that I won’t advance any more than that unless somebody was going to have worse problems than me with that bad climb… Yet the next guy who was ahead of me just stopped right after what would normally be the starting area for one of my regular runs, and shortly after turning towards the finishing portion and therefore starting that climb I passed a woman who had slowed to a walk. Two more guys were ahead, but they dealt better with that climb, and while I reduced the distance a little after the end of it, on the portion that goes down, I was way too far to have any chance to catch them, my main goal being to avoid being caught by that guy whom I had passed before the peacocks, since he was just a couple of steps behind me when I turned to look, at the start of that climb.
Well, the next person ended up finishing 18 seconds behind me, so I guess that he couldn’t deal with that climb. And I was pleasantly surprised by my time, since I initially thought that I’ll be aiming for about 18 minutes but saw 16:49 on my stopwatch and then 16:51 in the official results, which were also displayed on the spot, on a screen. On the other hand, I was unpleasantly surprised by my position, especially since I had kept gaining positions around the lake and never saw more than a handful of runners ahead of me after getting through the rest of that group and setting my sights on those three that I eventually passed, so while I knew that the winners must have been some five minutes faster, I fully expected to be in the top 30 in my category, men between 35 and 49, since that was how the results were displayed, and probably somewhere around the 50th place among all of those who had started at the same time, so all of those 35 and over. But I found myself the 45th in my category, and when I got back I saw that there had been a total of 65, or 66 if you include the guy who didn’t finish, so I was in the bottom third, and putting together the results says that I had been the 73rd among those 35 and over, and that was out of 164, or 165 if you include the guy who didn’t finish. And I might have managed to gain a few more seconds if I’d have been more confident from the beginning, and some more if I’d have taken more risks on that starting portion, but the very best possible result would have likely been gaining one or maybe at most two positions overall, and I don’t see how I could have gained any position in my category, the 44th having finished 17 seconds ahead… And my nose was awfully irritated after the run.
But let me get back to what happened right after I finished, when I was pointed to a table where I received the t-shirt and a bottle of water, but while I seemed to remember reading in the regulations that the t-shirt was offered when the number, with the timing chip, was returned, they didn’t ask for it, and I didn’t see others handing back the number either, so I didn’t take it off at that point. Then, after going to the screen and waiting until I saw my position, I pulled out the bag that I had taken for this purpose and meant to start picking up some recyclables with the deposit symbol… But when I picked up the first ones, which were scattered behind a bench, some other participants who were nearby thanked me for cleaning up and handed me their bottles as well, which made me feel really awkward, so I thanked them while they were thanking me, muttered something about taking them if I could, and when one guy told me to also empty and take two that were next to a tree, I hurried away, saying that somebody might still want those, since they were mostly full. And then I just quickly glanced in a few garbage cans as I hesitantly made my way back to the tent where they were handing out various things, but I might not have seen anything else, because I seem to remember just having six bottles when I got there.
Either way, after grabbing two apples, a Lipton and a Gatorade, I sat down for a little while, near a teenager who asked me to take something for him too, I think initially a Gatorade and then at least a Pepsi, since they weren’t offering any of those to minors, but I refused, and when he insisted things got quite awkward, the fact that a man had also just asked whether I had a spare bag and I told him that I didn’t making it even worse. And then someone else grabbed something for that teen and the people who were there shouted at him to at least go away, because they were going to get in trouble if he’ll be seen drinking next to them. But, after I took a banana as well and had what was perhaps too obvious of a look at the closed boxes of candies, without anybody asking whether I wanted any, I walked away, finally took off the number and washed my hands at one of those portable things from the other side of that area… At which point I found myself next to that teen again, who proceeded to complain that I hadn’t grabbed anything for him. But I just ignored him and returned to the starting area, albeit on the other side, so I won’t pass by those people again, and I grabbed a few more recyclables with the deposit symbol from the top of a couple of trash cans. And then, even though I like some of the songs of the singer who was on the stage then and I had some interest in one that was going to sing later as well, I hesitantly made my way to Carrefour, not wanting to stick around much longer.
At least I looked for some more recyclables with the deposit symbol on the way, getting less apprehensive about making it obvious as I went along, so I had 18 when I entered that mall, found some more around the recycling machine, and ended up putting in 23 and walking away with three that weren’t accepted. And I found a couple more in the bin that’s right in front of the entrance to Carrefour, I believe after getting back there, though I’m not absolutely sure of that. Either way, I then put everything in a cabinet, taking everything out of the bag that didn’t hold those remaining recyclables, since it was the only other one I had, went to wash my hands, and bought what I wanted, using the voucher received for those recyclables and correctly receiving one with 30% of the value of the purchases on the receipt, since all of the products were covered by that deal those days.
After retrieving what I had in the cabinet and managing to arrange everything into that bag, I made my way back, picking up some more recyclables with the deposit symbol, including a crushed can that I tried to partially straighten in my hand, and using the recycling machine from the nearby Mega Image, which accepted all but two of the three which hadn’t been accepted at Carrefour, so it even accepted that can that was still pretty crushed. And then I just cashed in that voucher and got back here. Somebody had dumped quite a number of recyclables with the deposit symbol in the trash can from the entrance by the time I walked back out, but I didn’t pick up any of them, having doubts that I could get the one plastic bottle to be accepted, the label being torn in a way that seemed to affect the edge of the bar code, and the rest seemed to be the sort of thing that usually isn’t accepted, and they were also glass bottles, so they were going to be rather heavy.
I got back just before 5:25 PM. Then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate watermelon, left the croissants which I had purchased from Carrefour on the table but put all of the other things in their place, did the day’s squats, ate a small bag of salty peanuts, and then I went to the toilet and washed. After that, I ate that pastry from Kaufland that I thought was a sweet but ended up being just greasy, and after finishing and posting that day’s post I made mamaliga, but what I mixed in there sure made it taste weird, so I hoped that it was at least safe to eat, including in the long term… And I had also used some of that very old milk from the freezer, which was probably why some of it got stuck to the bottom of the cast iron pot. And my nose continued to be terribly irritated, so at night I finally used that aromatherapy lamp again, just in case it would help a little… Not that it did. Either way, I went to bed at 5:25 AM.