The Remaining Odds and Ends from the Winter of 2024-2025 – I
Since I’m yet to even touch the missing part from the previous post, which is in fact its most important, covering the February 19 run, it’s a good thing that I still have a personal “slot” left and can use it for something else that’s already written, namely the first of what will end up being two posts that will cover the remaining odds and ends from the winter of 2024-2025, starting on December 27, when I did the day’s squats and ate lunch, using the last piece of the bread which I had made back in March, or more exactly the last half of a piece, since I had used half of it earlier that month, and went out when it was almost 8:10 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, putting them, along with the two which I had picked up on the way, in the machine from Carrefour, the man who was using the only functioning one when I got there standing aside to allow me to do so sooner, saying that he had a lot. And they had posted a message asking people to stop taking the recyclables left in the bins, though I definitely don’t see how such a requirement may be justified. Either way, I then just cashed in that voucher, still needing to use a regular checkout in that location.
Since on the site the other Kaufland location was listed as closing at 10 PM, I meant to leave through the exit that led back to the park and go there first… But I ended up getting to the street instead and started walking in the direction of the one from Vitan before realizing it. At least I grabbed some more recyclables from there, but since I decided to stick to the original plan, I then had to go around, losing some time… And when I reached that Kaufland I saw that the closing time was listed as 11 PM there as well, so after putting those recyclables in the machine, washing my hands, hearing the announcement about bakery discounts of 50% while I did so, entering the store at 9:25 PM, and seeing that the only bakery products that I could get were three buns that I could use instead of bread, I considered walking right out and going to the other location instead… However, I grabbed those buns, to make sure that I had something, scanned a couple of labels, confirming that those products that didn’t have evening discounts listed really didn’t have them, and then decided to wait for 10 PM. And then I spotted some evening discounts on cheese and some sausages that I could get for dad, so I got some of each, along with some paper towels and some deeply discounted lemons that were among the spoiling products, and I was about to make my way to the self-checkout when I saw that those Moldovan grapes were deeply discounted and ended up deciding to stay there and pick more of them, only finally going to the self-checkout at 10:30 PM and using the voucher received for the recyclables, though there were no additional or increased discounts. And, even though it was already late, I then left the bags in that place where you can arrange the purchases and dashed to wash my hands again, since they were sticky, only walking out at 10:40 PM.
I then jogged to the other Kaufland, but my gloves were still in my pockets and one soon fell out, which I fortunately noticed, so I stopped to put them on, and at a later point I stopped once more in order to switch the bags around in my hands… And I thought that I had finally memorized the proper route, but instead of gaining a minute or so, I ended up missing a turn and losing far more, then barely managed to stay on my feet when I slipped in the other Kaufland’s parking lot, and I had just reached the top of the escalator when it was announced that the store was closing in five minutes. So I quickly put my things in a cabinet, once again tried to gain a few seconds by washing my hands in the room for disabled people but ended up losing them because there was no soap and I still had to go to the men’s room anyway, and ran in the store.
The employees from the bakery area seemed to be counting the products that were left, having removed the discount labels, but I spotted some of those nicer cheap buns among the others and asked about their price, and when the employee looked around and pointed me to the label with the regular price I said that I was going to scan it and rushed to do so, finding that they were discounted by 75%… And when I got back there she said that she needed that label in order to scan it and was wondering where it had vanished, but she seemed somewhat amused by it, not snapping at me, so I just put it back and grabbed the four buns of that kind that I saw there, waving away the larger bag which she had offered me and taking a small one to put them in instead. I only later wondered whether those buns had been recovered from somewhere else or dumped there in a way that might give me reasons for concern, since they normally tend to sell out pretty much as soon as they get discounted, but what was done was done, and I didn’t even really look to see whether anything else was available, running back to the vegetables and grabbing just a few that had deep evening discounts, the closing announcement coming while I was doing so… And those grapes had the same discount in that location as well, so it’d have been so much better if I wouldn’t have stayed in the other Kaufland for them. But all I could do at that point was rush to the self-checkouts.
Well, rushing didn’t really help, since there was no line, but I nevertheless ended up waiting, because the machine refused to accept the buns as the correct product and the one employee who could log on was scanning an old woman’s many purchases while the others just pointed me to him as I kept looking around. So I eventually wanted to see what was so wrong about their weight and used the scales from there, seeing that they had just one gram more than they should have had, which didn’t just mean that there was no reason for the machine to reject them, but also that the actual weight of the buns was probably marginally lower, since there was the paper bag as well… And as I turned away from the scales, I slipped, the floor having been washed, which I hadn’t noticed, and my shoes likely being wet as well. And that time I couldn’t stay on my feet, and while I soon started feeling a fair bit of pain, mainly from what seemed to be my backbone, it didn’t come right away, so at that point I picked myself up, brushed myself off, muttered something about a missing sign about the wet floor, and walked back to the machine which I had been using, noticing that an employee with a mop, who must have been the one who had washed the floor, was looking at me with a pretty concerned expression, but the one from the fruits and vegetables, who was making some purchases at that point, tried to make a joke of it, asking whether I had found something on the floor and then saying that it means I’ll get married that year, so I had to hurry to make it. On the other hand, another employee, who had just made her purchases when that happened, took the card from the one who could log on, who was still busy with that woman, and used it to override the error, finally allowing me to be done. And then I retrieved my things, arranged them to some extent, and walked out when it was almost 11:15 PM.
It was close to 11:45 PM when I got back, and then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put a few of the purchases in the fridge, washed what I had to wash in the kitchen, ate the last piece of baked pumpkin and a large doughnut, adding jam, and it was past 1:40 AM when I finally went to wash. I walked out of the bathroom just before 2:30 AM, but then I went back to mop up a little more, so I got to my room just after 2:30 AM and, after deciding to take care of one more thing, it was past 2:40 AM when I was finally back in the kitchen. And, after putting the remaining purchases in the fridge as well, I ate dinner between 4:15 AM and 5:05 AM, with the last several minutes spent getting what was stuck on the plate, and got in bed at 6:15 AM… And what seemed to be my backbone was really hurting, the pain that shot up when I sat on the bed making me topple over at first, and the area around my right kidney was painful as well. And, while that pain gradually faded over the next few days, I was still feeling a fair bit of it the following night, when I ended up eating dinner between 3:15 AM and 4:10 AM, after washing some things which I had left in the sink for a few days, since dad was bringing mother over before I was going to get up.
On December 30, after eating lunch and finishing Henry Halifax and the Tutori’s Cloak, I went out a little before 7 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol and those coins for Penny’s campaign, and I also had dad’s metro card, so I took the metro to Obor, noticing when I was walking out of the metro station that I had more to go than I thought to recover from that fall from Kaufland, since the pain from what I was still thinking was my backbone but probably had more to do with a muscle from that area didn’t let me take the stairs two at a time.
Either way, I first went to Auchan and put the recyclables, including one which I picked up on the way, in the machine. Then, while I didn’t find that bug spray that’s also for fleas in that location, I found bread that was discounted by 60% despite only expiring on January 2, so I got four for my parents, as well as the milk for mother, and ten of the bio (organic) eggs that I found among those sold by piece. I had placed the bread on a shelf while selecting those eggs and an employee spotted it, made a comment, and was about to take it back, so I said that it was mine and after saying that she kept finding products left like that and asking me to confirm that I was going to buy it, she brought me a cart, which I didn’t want but ended up using just to prevent any further issues. And then I also used the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout, arranged the purchases a little, and continued to Penny, grabbing another recyclable on the way, putting my things in a cabinet, and telling the guard that I had brought coins for their campaign… Only to yet again be told to come back in the morning, and when I said that I couldn’t come in the morning he said that he’ll be there and waiting for me at noon or 1-2 PM, as if that wouldn’t also be morning for me, because they needed the coins but nobody was available to deal with them at that point, and in order to make the point he showed me the lines and also said that their fridges broke and they had technicians there. So I once again just carried those coins around for no reason, and only wasted time by going there, since after a quick look in the store I retrieved my things and walked away.
I picked up one more recyclable on the way to Carrefour, but the machine from there wasn’t working, so I went to the information desk to let them know, but only got told that the person who had to deal with it had probably finished their shift, and I didn’t ask whether I could just receive the money for those two recyclables directly, just putting my things in a cabinet and walking in, finding some expiring products that I ended up taking, including one for myself. And, even though it wasn’t 9 PM yet and the closing time was 11 PM that day, I then saw that they were already making the bakery discounts, but only a few breads seemed to be left, on one of the tables, and while they were bagged, they had the full price listed, so I picked up a sweet pastry that was discounted and then waited, wandering around and occasionally going back there to check. But time was passing and even those breads had been taken from that table and not put back, so I eventually asked an employee whether any bread was left and she said that the only bread was on that table, so if there’s none left there, they’re out. So I then went to the self-checkout… And that expiring product that I was getting for myself refused to scan, and after I called over an employee and the same thing happened when he tried it, I said that in that case I didn’t want it and he took it away. And after paying I turned around to have one last look at the bakery area, then tried to walk out through the nearest exit… Only to have to walk back to the one that was closest to the machine which I had used, the guard telling me to do so when the receipt wouldn’t open the other gates. Then I retrieved my things and arranged them a little, and I picked up two more recyclables on the way to the metro station.
Since I knew that Kaufland location as being bad for evening discounts, I took the metro to Dristor, arranging the eggs in a way that was safer while on the metro and then walking to this Kaufland, putting the recyclables in the machine, putting my things once again in a cabinet, peeing, seeing another recyclable on the urinal and rushing back to put that in the machine as well, then adding the gloves in that cabinet, washing my hands, entering the store at 10:25 PM… And finding that I was a little too late, the bakery area being almost cleared and a woman with a cart full of bakery products being there. A few nicer buns were left, but there was no discount label, so I scanned the regular one and found that the price was a fair bit lower than that, but more than half and not listed as being discounted in any way, and it was too high anyway, so I just got one of the one kind of buns that was left and discounted, by 50%, which I ended up using instead of bread, along with one that I already had. Then I also grabbed some fruits and vegetables that had good evening discounts and some expiring germinated wheat that was also deeply discounted and I was on my way to the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came, though I made a detour to also have a quick look at the non-refrigerated expiring products first. Then I used both of the vouchers received for those recyclables, retrieved and arranged my things, and walked away at 11:10 PM.
I got back a little after 11:35 PM, and after cleaning the litter box, going to drop a bag of trash down the chute, putting a few purchases in their place, and spreading out the rest, I rushed to shower, getting in the bathroom a couple of minutes after midnight and being done in less than 20 minutes. However, despite getting back out of my room a little before 1 AM, I ended up eating dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:35 AM, since I first talked to dad a little, then put the remaining purchases in their place, ate a clementine and slice of cozonac with some added jam, and washed what was in the sink. And after realizing just as I got in bed that I had forgotten to take something out of the freezer for dad, going to do so and then struggling a little to put some other things back after that, it was past 5:20 AM when I actually got in bed.
On January 5, after eating lunch, doing the day’s squats, cleaning the litter box, and going to drop a bag of trash down the chute, I left when it was close to 4:55 PM, with the plastic and metal, which I dropped off in a recycling bin on the way, those coins for Penny, and the recyclables with the deposit symbol, picking up two more on the way to Carrefour and putting them all in the machine from there. Then I got some tarragon for dad and some expiring ayran for mother, still needing to use a regular checkout in that location and also using the voucher received for the recyclables when I paid.
After putting the purchases in the backpack, I continued to Penny, entering with the backpack and having a quick look before asking the cashier whether someone was there to take the coins that day. And, while she initially said that there wasn’t, after I mentioned that I had been told to come back another day the previous time as well and confirmed that I had them separated, she asked a coworker to handle it and that one asked how much I had, the amount seeming to also get their attention, so she walked away and apparently notified the one responsible while I was told to wait there, the guard coming a little later and taking me to the storage room. That made me ask in surprise whether I was supposed to go in there, after he opened the gate, and the employee who rushed to meet us waved him away, took the coins, and told me to go back and wait at the checkouts, which I did. And when she got back there she handed me the three vouchers and the bills and walked away immediately, so I didn’t have time to count the money while she was still there… But when I did I noticed that she had given me 5 RON more, which definitely cleared their previous “sins”, since at that point I had less than 1 RON left to recover from them.
Since I had dad’s metro card, I then took the metro and went to the store that I meant to get a dish drying rack from, to replace our old one, picking up two more recyclables on the way there, putting them and the gloves in a cabinet, entering with the backpack, getting that dish drying rack, and then retrieving my things and walking to Kaufland, since it closed at 8 PM on Sunday. And, after putting those recyclables in the machine from there and peeing and washing my hands, it was 6:55 PM when I entered the store.
Since bakery discounts of 50% were already listed, I grabbed three of those nicer cheap buns and one of those slightly sweet buns, then scanned a few labels, confirming that they were correct, so one kind of bread that I was interested in wasn’t discounted. So, despite needing bread and having some options, I then walked away and grabbed some radishes, with a great evening discount, and I initially also took two nice parsnip roots for dad, those being discounted by 50%. And a bakery employee did come out again and I heard her talk with a coworker about increasing some discounts and mentioning that she was going to do so for the walnut bread, and what would have been my other options were gone by then, so I took one even if I scanned the label again and the discount was still 50% at that point, plus that my hands were no longer clean… But my hands became a far lesser concern a little later, since I had used a label to hold the bag with the buns closed, but didn’t do the same for the one with the bread, and I wanted to get some of the kind of yogurt that I thought was discounted, saw that it was listed at full price, took one in order to scan it… And the bread fell from my hands, coming out of the bag and ending up on the floor. So I picked it up and put it back in the bag, but meant to throw it away, yet I held on to it for the time being, while I scanned that yogurt and then tried to see whether I could find it while checking the sales on the price checker, wondering whether I was misremembering something when I couldn’t. Then again, I couldn’t find the bars that I knew were three for the price of two either, and there had been no indication of that at the shelf either, but I did take three of those, yet gave up on the yogurt, only seeing after I got back that the same deal should have applied to it.
Either way, I then went back to the bakery area and scanned some labels again, seeing that, while the discount labels hadn’t been changed, the walnut bread was discounted by 70%, so I initially took the last one that was left as well, but after weighing it and seeing that it weighed some 10% less than it should, which was just too little to allow me to split it in three, I put that one back and decided to keep the first one after all, despite having ended up on the floor. And I took one other product as well, since it was also discounted by 70% at that point and I was thinking to use it instead of regular bread if I won’t find something else at Carrefour later. And then I had a look around and saw some deeply discounted sausages that I meant to get for dad, yet no employee was there and two were at another section of that area, where there was a line, so I asked whether I should get in that line as well but was told to wait for someone to get there. So I did, and when the last people from that other line also came to the sausages and the woman asked for half of those discounted ones, I muttered that I wanted the other half… Only for her to then say that she wanted all of them. So I walked away in a huff. Then, after making my way to the self-checkouts, I first checked whether the discount applied for those bars, then scanned the other products, though I decided to leave the parsnip roots, having seen that the discount hadn’t increased. And then, after also using the voucher received for the recyclables, I meant to wash that bread right there, the crust being hard enough to allow it. But a cleaner was in front of the bathrooms, so I gave up on that idea, retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged everything, and walked out just after the closing announcement, needing to use the emergency door.
I then took the metro to Obor, watching one pulling away just when I reached the top of the stairs when I had to change, at Dristor, and having to wait for the next one. But I had the time, and after picking up a few more recyclables on the way and putting them, along with one that I found there, in the machine from that Carrefour, and also trying several glass bottles which had been left there but being unable to get the machine to accept any of them, I put my things in a cabinet and entered the store a few minutes before 9 PM. The bakery discounts had already been made at that point, but a lot of products were left, including a kind of bread that I could get, so I took two of those, an apple pastry, and a sweet pastry of another kind, and then I went to the expiring products and got a deeply discounted cozonac, a bread for dad, a nicer yogurt for myself, and a bag of spoiling apples. A problem was that I had to use a regular checkout in that location as well, the self-checkouts that also accept cash already being closed when I got there, even though it was only around 9:35 PM, but at least the cashier didn’t charge me for the bag that those spoiling apples were in. And then, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and taking my time to arrange everything, I went back to the metro, finding the train already there when I reached the station and rushing down the stairs, the conductor probably noticing me and waiting. And I grabbed one more recyclable on my way back here.
It wasn’t even 10:20 PM when I got back, and then I once again cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, put a few of the purchases in their place and spread out the rest, finished the fruit salad from mother and ate the apple pastry, and dealt with that walnut bread, washing it well and microwaving it for a total of seven minutes. After all, there were at least two occasions when some of my bread fell on the floor in front of the fridge and I ate it after washing and microwaving it for several minutes, and that area’s likely dirtier than the store’s floor, though on the other hand harmful substances may be used on the store’s floor. Either way, dad had cooked, so I also washed what was in the kitchen and cleaned a little, and it was a few minutes before 12:30 AM when I went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash… And my mouth started stinging while I was there, making me wonder whether getting what had been left on the plate after microwaving that bread might be the cause, but it might have also been caused by eating the hot apple pastry after the acidic fruits from the fruit salad. Either way, I was done at 1:15 AM, but then I checked some things, only getting back to the kitchen a little after 1:30 AM. And then I put the remaining purchases in their place, with the exception of that dish drying rack, tried to use part of a huge black radish for the salad, found that a good part of it was spoiled and needed quite some time to clean that out, dealt with one of the other two breads as well, and finally ate dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:25 AM. And the following night, after dealing with the radish leaves and also with the remaining bread, I ate dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:15 AM, and then I got in bed at 5:20 AM.
On January 7, after doing the day’s squats, needing to unclog the toilet once again, and eating lunch, I left at 8:35 PM, with a couple of recyclables with the deposit symbol and some more things that I took to Kaufland. That included some clothes and shoes that we were throwing away, but after putting those recyclables in the machine I couldn’t find the container for the clothes, so after putting the other things in what may be the proper bin I asked at the information desk… Only to be told that they no longer had that, so after going down to the parking lot and having a quick look there as well, I ended up putting that bag in a cabinet, without locking it. Then I washed my hands and entered the store when it was close to 9:10 PM, not finding anything interesting left in the bakery area but getting various vegetables, plus a handful of those Moldovan grapes, all with great evening discounts. I also grabbed a bag of lemons that was discounted by 90% because one of the three was very moldy, plus just two beets, since those had a much smaller evening discount. The scales listed higher prices for everything except the parsnip roots and I didn’t have time to check anything, rushing to the dairy area minutes before closing time… And not finding any of those cheap yogurts left. And I think that it was just after the closing announcement when I dashed back to the bakery area to grab an expiring bread for dad, and then also had a look at the non-refrigerated expiring products before getting to the self-checkout, confirming that those low prices did apply for everything and also using the voucher received for the recyclables. And then I retrieved that bag from the cabinet, took my time to arrange everything, and washed my hands again before walking out.
On the way back, I decided to check the non-stop Mega Image, walking in with the backpack but putting the other things in a cabinet, and I took a number of discounted products, including some cheese pieces that were discounted by 90%, so I took two packs, one of them for dad, even if they were imported, and one other product was also for dad. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything once again, and on the way back I grabbed a few recyclables.
It was almost 11:15 PM when I got back, then I cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, washed what was in the kitchen, put the purchases in their place, with the exception of the black radishes, ate half of the grapes and a cake which had been brought by dad, also peeling off the inner lining of the box so I could recycle the cardboard, and finally went to wash at 1:25 AM. I was done at 2:05 AM, then I put the black radishes in their place as well, and ate dinner between 3:40 AM and 4:15 AM.
On January 12, after doing what I said at the beginning of the second part of the post about the marathon, including writing the two-paragraph placeholder for that post and scheduling it to be posted at 11:59 PM, I left at 6:55 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol. The following day I learned that I should have held on to them, since Kaufland was once again, for just three days, doubling the amount offered for them, but I didn’t know that at the time, so I put them in the machine from Kaufland Popa Nan, where I decided to go to after walking out… Which was another bad choice, but I wanted to go to the Carrefour from Obor after that, with Kaufland closing at 8 PM on Sunday, and going to Kaufland Vitan would have meant a long walk, while going to the one from Pantelimon would have made me want to also check that Carrefour, which would have likely led to reaching the one from Obor too late to still find discounted bread, so I ended up deciding to check that one instead, and after washing my hands, entering the store a little before 7:30 PM, grabbing two of those nicer cheap buns and two sweet pastries, with the 50% evening discount, and scanning the label for the buns, just to be sure, I found that there were no evening discounts for fruits or vegetables… But at least that location still had some of those cheap yogurts, and that small discount still applied even though the full price was listed at the shelf, so I got two of those, also using the voucher received for the recyclables at the self-checkout. Then I put the purchases in the backpack and walked out a few minutes before 8 PM.
I then walked to Obor, putting the two recyclables which I had picked up on the way in the machine from that Carrefour, then peeing and washing my hands, and entering the store with the backpack. I initially grabbed two large expiring breads for dad, but after checking the bakery area, where the evening discounts had once again already been made before 9 PM, and taking a bread and a sweet pastry from there, I found that one nicer and three cheaper breads had appeared in that area, so I put those first two back and took all of those, along with some nicer roes, which were discounted by 75%. And, after using the voucher received for those recyclables at the self-checkout, I took my time to arrange the purchases.
I got back at 10:15 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, washed what was in the kitchen and also cleaned a little, put the purchases in their place, ate an orange and a sweet pastry that I already had, and went to wash a little after 12:20 AM, being done a couple of minutes after 1 AM. And then I managed to stick to the dinner schedule, albeit by “cheating” a little in order to be able to say that I started eating before 3 AM, and I forgot to add seasonings in the salad and didn’t bother to take it back to the kitchen and do so when I realized it. On the other hand, while the effects of falling in Kaufland were finally wearing off, which became obvious when I could take the stairs two at a time outside the mall from Obor, before I got back to sleep after getting up to pee in the morning I had that pain that probably comes from my back and radiates through my chest and neck and even mouth, and after getting up my right foot felt somewhat numb.
On January 14, after doing the day’s squats and eating lunch, I left at 7:50 PM, with the recyclables with the deposit symbol, including most of those which hadn’t been accepted before, to try them again if the reward was going to be doubled. And I had beeped dad before leaving and he called me shortly after I walked out and we arranged to meet at Dristor metro station, since he had a few more recyclables from mother that he handed to me. Then I went to Kaufland, finding one more recyclable on the way and being surprised that there were no lines at the machines. But only those two recyclables which I had been surprised to see rejected multiple times before were finally accepted, the others which hadn’t been accepted before continuing to be rejected, and that was obviously also the case for one sent by mother which didn’t have the symbol.
After putting the remaining recyclables in a cabinet and peeing and washing my hands, I entered the store at or just after 8:45 PM, if I remember correctly. The bakery discounts, of just over 50%, had already been placed, but nothing interesting was left, and they were also out of the cat food that was on sale. But the carrots had an evening discount, so I took some, plus a couple of things for dad and some more of those cheap yogurts for myself, since they had reappeared in that location as well and still had that small discount, though I had to scan one to see that, because the price label was for an entirely different product. And then I wandered around, waiting to see whether any discounts would increase, and I also scanned the label for that walnut bread, but nothing changed, so I eventually made my way to the self-checkouts, used the voucher received for the recyclables, typed the code for dad’s digital store card, since the picture of the QR code wouldn’t scan, and after retrieving those recyclables I asked at the information desk whether anything could be done about those that weren’t accepted. And when I was told to come back the next day, because the store was closing and the guy who handles that had already left, I asked for that 10 RON voucher, because they were out of green onions… Only to once again be told that they were out of them. However, unlike on November 15, at that other location, I was asked for my name and phone number and the employee wrote them down, saying that I’ll be contacted when they’ll get more.
On the way back, I checked the non-stop Mega Image, putting my things into two cabinets and getting an expiring product. There were no cashiers when I wanted to purchase it, so I asked the guard and he called one, but the discount label wouldn’t scan and the cashier was that one who obviously has a health problem, maybe Parkinson’s or something similar, and when she struggled to peel it off and said that it wasn’t really working I offered to try and managed it, then she put it on a flat piece of paper and it worked that way, and I was surprised to see a lower price than the listed one, the product itself apparently having a discount that applied at checkout, before the 50% one. Then I retrieved my things and got back, picking up a few more recyclables, both before and after checking that Mega Image.
I got back just before 11 PM. Then I put the purchases, with the exception of the carrots, in their place, ate an apple and a sweet pastry that I already had, washed what was in the kitchen, and went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash, just after 12:20 AM. I was done at 1:10 AM, and then I put the carrots in their place as well and started eating dinner at 3:10 AM, but still managed to finish at 3:40 AM.
Liza woke me in the morning, I think roughly around 11:30 AM, by throwing up, but I only found a small spot, so I kept thinking that I missed the “main” one… And then it took me a long time to get back to sleep, and I woke up again what seemed like moments after I finally did, and after I fell asleep again I was roughly woken up by a loud bang coming from outside, likely a firecracker, and after that I eventually got up. And I went out again just after 4:45 PM, taking a wheeled bag and the recyclables with the deposit symbol which I had picked up on the way back the previous evening, plus one more which had been emptied by dad, and I picked up a few more on the way to Mega Mall, where I asked about a tea at one pharmacy, being told that they didn’t have it in that location, and then put my things in a cabinet and checked Carrefour, without getting anything. And then I picked up one more recyclable and entered another pharmacy with it in my hand, not finding what I wanted from there either and then retrieving my things.
But the main reasons for going out again were to put those recyclables in the machine from Kaufland and get a little more on the last day of their campaign, which I did after waiting in line for some 20 minutes, and get two of the large bags of laundry detergent that had a great discount starting that day, so I then put the wheeled bag in a cabinet, washed my hands, just with water, since there was no soap, and entered the store… But they were already out of that detergent, and I even asked the employee from that area and he said that it sold out very quickly and couldn’t say when they’ll get more, but since the sale went on for a week, he assured me that they will get resupplied eventually. So I just grabbed some canned sardines, not finding anything else, and the self-checkout didn’t accept one of them, so I had to call over an employee to override the error, and then I used the voucher received for the recyclables. But, after scanning the receipt at the gate, I decided to use the scales from that area to see what was wrong with that can, finding that it had 12 grams more than the others, which was interesting, and I wondered whether it was the one which I had grabbed from the regular place on the shelf, which was the last one of its kind left there, the rest being at the end of a shelf, close to the entrance. Either way, since I had already scanned my receipt, scanning it again wouldn’t open the gate, so I let another customer scan his and walked out alongside him, then retrieved that bag, which I carried around for no reason, and made my way back.
After that wasted time and effort when I was going to run the following day, I got back just after 7:35 PM, then cleaned the litter box and went to drop a bag of trash down the chute, ate a few plums and a sweet pastry that I already had, washed what was in the kitchen after dad had cooked, ate lunch as well, also did the day’s squats, then went to use the toilet and wash… And after I was done I got angry when I checked the bread drawer and found that dad had left a part of a bread there until it was all moldy, even though I had kept reminding him that it was older and he should eat it before the one which he had brought, and then asked whether he had really eaten all of his bread that was already out when he had asked me to take one more out of the freezer for him, which he had almost finished by then while apparently still leaving that one there. And, of course, he again blamed me, saying that if it was at the back he wasn’t going to see it, and that I had probably placed something else there and pushed it behind, even though the very fact that it was left there until it got moldy, plus that two bags with breadcrumbs in them were just thrown there at that point, not being emptied and folded, was proof that I hadn’t checked that drawer in a while.
On January 18, I wanted to be at Kaufland when it opened, to see whether that gave me a chance to find that laundry detergent that was supposed to have such a good price, so while I spent a few moments in bed in the morning, just to mark the end of one day and the start of another, I didn’t actually go to bed and the one hour or so of sleep that I managed to get out of the over three hours spent in bed during the evening was all I got before leaving, at 6:40 AM, once again taking that wheeled bag.
I reached Kaufland Vitan minutes after it opened and finally found that detergent, that part of the shelf being full and a few more bags being in front of it, so I grabbed a hand cart, those from Kaufland being more than good enough for this, and put two bags in it and that wheeled bag on top of them. As as I was walking away from that area, an employee commented something, I believe asking why had I taken the bags off the shelf instead of taking some of those that were in front of it, but I’m not exactly sure, since I had music playing. Either way, I then also found what seemed to be the last two packs of their “light” mozzarella, which was also on sale, and took one, along with an expiring product that I also wanted to put on the pizza that I was planning to make that evening. Then the self-checkout machine said that I had picked a product off the scales after placing the second bag of detergent and having it be initially accepted, but an employee noticed before I could say anything and logged on right away to override the error, and then I also used the voucher which I had been left with two days earlier. I also tried to use the 10 RON bill which I had noticed had a torn piece, but the machine wouldn’t accept it. And, once I put the detergent in the wheeled bag, I realized that there was no way for it to zip back up with those bags in it, so after initially walking out of the checkout area with it wide open, I figured out a way to use its clasps and zippers to at least keep the flap from going all the way back and dragging on the floor and pavement. It still made an older woman stop me on the street and mean to warn me that my bag had opened, but she realized mid-sentence that it was like that on purpose and moved on.
I got back for the first time at 8:30 AM, put one of the bags of detergent next to the washing machine and left the other in the wheeled bag, left dad a note about it and also to say that I was going to Obor as well, and left again a little before 8:50 AM, after initially stepping out a few minutes earlier and then realizing that I had meant to also take the recyclables with the deposit symbol and hadn’t, so I turned around to grab those.
Since I had dad’s metro card, I took the metro to Obor, having a look through the farmers’ market before putting the recyclables in Carrefour’s machine, entering the store, and finding a whole pile of those fluffy flatbreads among the expiring products, and that was just what I was looking for, wanting one to use as base for that pizza. And I got two more things from the expiring products, one for dad and one as a “reward” for myself, and then some frozen spinach and peas, also for dad, since I had seen two days earlier, at Carrefour Unirii, that there were going to be vouchers with 20% of the value of all frozen products, among other things, those days, and that was confirmed there as well, even though that category was missing from those listed on the site.
Well, when I used a price checker, the spinach scanned at a higher price than what was listed, so I asked an employee about it, but she just used her phone to scan it, told me the higher price, mentioned that the lower one might require their app, and when I said that nothing of the sort was listed she said that she didn’t work in that area and sent me to the information desk from the store… Which was unmanned at the time, so I took a picture of that price label and then stood around until I saw another employee, who actually seemed to be checking products, and asked her about it, and she told me to ask to receive the listed price at the checkout, saying that an employee from the frozen foods will need to be called to approve the price change, and she wasn’t one. So I scanned one bag at the self-checkout and then called over an employee and told her what I had been told, and when she said that it’d be simpler if I’d have just taken a picture of the price label I showed it to her and, after initially saying that it was for a bag with a lower quantity but then realizing that it was the correct one after I pointed it out to her, she logged on and applied a discount that made the price match what was listed, scanning one bag four times, since I told her that I had four but she said that it had to be done for each of them separately. But, after also using the voucher received for those recyclables, I stopped before walking out of the checkout area and checked everything, since I was messed up after needing to interact so much, and it was a good thing that I did, because I found that I only had three bags of spinach, having no idea what happened to the fourth, though I assume that I didn’t take one back after handing it to one of the employees. So I just dashed back and took another bag before walking out.
Then, after going back to the farmers’ market and getting some apples that didn’t look too good and weren’t exactly cheap, but which were from that man that I kept meaning to get some from someday, since all of his labels state that they haven’t been sprayed with anything, and then stopping to put everything except that flatbread in the backpack, I also went to Auchan, entering with everything and getting some tea for myself and some expiring bread for dad, only realizing as I scanned it at the self-checkout that one had apparently taken some hits, some of the slices being in pieces. But I took it as it was, then arranged the purchases a little and went back to the metro.
I got back a little before 11:35 AM, put the purchases in their place, ate one of those apples which I had purchased and the expiring “reward”, then had the washing machine do a load of laundry while I washed, after which I hung those clothes to dry and then took a nap, setting the alarm to wake me for the first handball match, also starting the washing machine on a second load of laundry, and making popcorn, to eat during the second match, when I also hung the second load of laundry to dry. And later, after posting that day’s post, I did make pizza, which became the combined lunch and dinner, which I ate leisurely, between 2:20 AM and 3:40 AM. One piece fell from my hand on the cloth that I put on my desk when I eat, and while that should be reasonably clean, I’d normally wash anything that falls there before eating it, but when that does happen it’s usually with something from the salad, in which case it’s pretty easy to wash, while in this case I just picked that piece back up immediately and ate it without any attempt to clean it. On the other hand, before starting to eat the pizza I also took some supplement that’s supposed to help immunity that I still had in my room, even if it was expired for almost one year. And, despite meaning to go to bed at least a little bit earlier, I decided to read a few more things on-line first and ended up getting in bed at 5:25 AM. And I’ll also mention here that no visits were recorded on January 17, 18 or 19.
