Cav's Place

After 500 days of the current stage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I was saying that I must hope that 1000 days will never be reached, because Russia and Putin’s regime will be defeated long before that point, unequivocally and in a manner that will ensure that they will stop being a threat. Of course, the chances of that happening were clearly low even then, but now, when the support received by Ukraine has dropped so drastically that Russia just secured a major victory, the war reaching 1000 days seems to be the best possible outcome, the alternative being a negotiated settlement that would offer Russia all of the territories it wants as well as the time to prepare for the next attack. And Putin having so successfully switched Russia to a war economy while retaining a fair amount of prosperity, and now acting with such impunity both in Russia and abroad, proves that he fancies his chances. And why wouldn’t he? And, as infuriating and disheartening as it is, why wouldn’t most Europeans agree?
I’ll keep saying that what’s generally called the West, most definitely NATO, and at least to some extent also the EU, could and absolutely should have stopped this from ever happening. Stopping it once it did start was much more difficult, costly and risky, but there might have still been some methods. And there definitely were, and still are, methods to effectively help Ukraine obtain that unequivocal victory that’s so necessary. However, even though every day that passes reduces the chances and increases the costs and risks even more, instead of getting serious about it at least now, pretty much all signs point to the contrary. Not that it’s a surprise, of course, since that’s how it has always been, and exactly why Putin does what he does, and why other powers, starting with China but not limited to them, are testing the waters and pressing more and more.
I wonder if there is a point when things will get bad enough to cause that seismic shift that’s so necessary, but I’m doubting it even more than I did before, the far more likely outcome being that the shift, when it will come, will be straight from apathy and the misguided optimism that leads to the illusion that things couldn’t really be that bad or at least that everything will eventually work out, somehow, to utter hopelessness and panic, completely missing that all important point in between where something that’d make a real difference would actually be done. After all, that’s how it usually is, whether we’re talking about regular people or those in positions of authority, and whether we’re talking about this or any other major problem or little everyday matters.

To start with the part about the games, before going to bed on the morning of February 9 I had gone ahead and entered a raffle for GreedFall: Gold Edition in The Community Giveaway on the GOG.com forums, since that’s how higher value games are now handed out… And I ended up winning the game, which is even more awkward because, on top of the fact that it’s donated by that same guy who donates so much, I’m very firmly and vocally opposing this new system. Either way, I was going to run that day and didn’t see a notification about the message with the code before leaving, so I only redeemed it the following day… When I once again ended up letting the water for the tea boil over and turn off the stove, since I went back to my room for a while. It smelled of gas, but the window was ajar and I knew that I had gone back there quickly, so after opening the window more for a few minutes I turned the stove back on. And that night, or more exactly in the morning, I went to bed at 5:30 AM… And after getting up I saw that another GOG.com user had simply sent me a code for Vampires Dawn 3: The Crimson Realm. I asked whether he was really sure, especially since it came right after winning that other game in such awkward circumstances, but when he said that he just wanted to give me a gift and asked me to take it, I did redeem it… And then I also downloaded the first two games, since they’re free and I had actually been thinking about getting them for some time. And the next day I installed and started the first one… Which may mean dropping Diggles yet again despite finally being close to the end, especially since I’ve been struggling with a particularly tedious moment. But, to return to February 11, there were no views recorded that day. And that night I ate in the kitchen, just managing to stick to the dinner schedule by doing so.

Moving on to the runs, I heard some faint hammering when I woke up on the morning of February 9, just after 9 AM, to pee, but I could get back to sleep at that point… Only for drilling to start some time later, and while I still got some sleep, I was hearing it in my sleep and incorporating it into some very weird dreams, so that was some bad sleep, probably with plenty of interruptions. I went to pee again a little after 12:30 PM, and I’m pretty sure that I managed to get some more sleep, albeit still of poor quality, before the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, and I got up. The pain that I had started feeling the previous day in one spot on my right calf muscle remained, but I stuck to the plan, having the usual stuff, with a slice of panettone, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and leaving at 4:05 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 17°C, and 16°C when I finished.
The time was 47:55.16, with sector times of 4:12.63, 5:11.09, 5:58 (5:57.94), 4:28 (4:27.87), 5:01 (5:00.85), 5:56.09, 4:28.06, 5:04 (5:03.47), 5:43.63 and 1:54 (1:53.53), making for lap times of 15:21.66, 15:25 (15:24.81) and 15:15.16. I wanted to get back under 48 minutes and pushed from the start, but I probably slowed down a little when I realized that I was pushing too hard, so the first sector time was a couple of seconds better than I expected. Sector two was definitely worse, however, and sector three wasn’t good enough to keep me on that required pace over the first lap, so things looked bad. But the first two sectors of lap two were promising, and at the end of the lap I was wondering whether I might have a chance after all, even if that required lap three to be the fastest of the day. So I pushed hard from the start of it and, while it didn’t look good after two sectors, I just gave everything on sector three and was almost safe at the end of the lap. Considering how tired I was, I didn’t consider myself completely safe, but it was good enough, and that was despite not getting those final steps right and probably losing a second or so just at the end. I had to give everything in order to just barely manage a normal time, but at least it wasn’t worse.
Towards the end of sector two of lap one, I started feeling like I hadn’t left everything in the toilet, and I continued to feel like that over the course of sector three, but then the feeling faded. And on sector three of lap one I briefly stopped because of a dog that was running behind its master, off the leash, and got right in my way as I was about to pass her. But, otherwise, people only caused me to occasionally have to weave or go the long way around. There were also a couple of moments when I was trying to figure out how to get through a roadblock, but an opening appeared by the time I actually got there, so if I slowed at all because of that, it didn’t cause any notable loss of time. And what was interesting was that the right calf muscle didn’t bother me while running, the only warnings coming, on and off, from my left hip. But my nose was once again really irritated after the run.

I had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image on the way back, then ate a banana and lunch, did the day’s squats, changed, and left again at 7:25 PM, going back to the new Penny, since it was clear that I had ended up paying 1 RON less two days earlier, after the cashier handed back the larger bill which I had apparently counted as 1 RON but then didn’t ask for that remaining 1 RON and I only realized what happened after the fact. So I wanted to give her that 1 RON, if I saw her again, and I did, but I first had a look through the store, then walked out without buying anything, stopped after getting past the checkout, waited a little, since she had a line and was talking to a customer just then, and then just handed her that bill when there seemed to be an opening, saying that I had given her 1 RON less two days earlier, and she just took it and put it in the till. She didn’t say anything, but I had the impression that she had been looking at me quite intently as I walked past the checkout, so maybe she remembered and wanted to see what I’ll do.
Then I went to Carrefour and saw that the red cabbage was still discounted, even though that sale should have ended two days earlier, and while it was pretty bad, I found one that seemed good enough and bought it, then I put it in the backpack and entered with it when I quickly checked the Mega Image that’s next to the farmers’ market and Supeco… And when I walked out of Supeco I saw a beer can on the pavement, with the symbol indicating that a deposit had been paid for it clearly visible, so I grabbed it and walked with it in hand to Kaufland, putting it in the machine when I got there. Then I went to the toilet, hearing the announcement about bakery discounts of 50% as I was about to pee.
I entered the store, once again with the backpack, a little before 9 PM, and on the way to the bakery area I grabbed an expiring bread for dad, then took three buns and scanned the label for a kind of bread that was new but had ingredients that didn’t bother me, finding that it was also discounted even though it had no discount label, so I took one of those too, and a little later, after grabbing some biscuits that were discounted because they were rather crushed, I put back one of the buns and took a sweet pastry instead. And then I saw evening discounts appearing just as I was looking through the vegetables, so I got both white and red potatoes, plus onions, taking quite some time to dig through the onions and get good ones. And then I wanted to get some discounted grapes as well, but when I got there and tried to figure out which bag to put them in while also placing the other bags over something else, the one with the onions opened and the one with the red potatoes tore, and an employee had just washed the floor in that area and I ended up smearing the dirt from the potatoes on it. Gathering what had spilled and putting everything back into bags took some time, and I noticed that one of the red potatoes had rolled under the crates and I couldn’t retrieve it, so I went to grab another one and weighed them again, almost slipping on the wet floor on the way back, by which time that employee had driven that vehicle that washes the floor through there again, so I tried to step on my heels, to keep the floor as clean as possible and show that I didn’t disrespect his work. All of that left me with little time to pick through those scattered grapes, but I still got some, rushing to weigh them when I heard the closing announcement. Then I took some time to arrange everything before walking out.
I got back a little before 10:40 PM, with a little over 13 kg. Then I spread out the purchases, ate those biscuits, and quickly went to the toilet and to shower. After I was done, I put most of the purchases, as well as some of the things brought by dad, in their place, just leaving the bread, buns and sweet pastry out, and washed a few of the things that were in the kitchen, then I did something else that I had to do before going back there, talking to dad a little, washing and cleaning what was left, and also dealing with my bread and putting the other bakery products in their place. I also ate a bag of snacks during that time, only finally starting to eat dinner at 3:45 AM and otherwise being done a little before 4:40 AM, but then getting what was stuck on the plate while checking more things on-line, so it was just after 5 AM when I was completely done, and I got in bed at 5:55 AM.

And now let me get to this week’s run, which was on February 15. Normally it’d have just been the last run before the theoretical start of the preparation for this year’s half marathon, but it actually ended up marking a special moment, since it was my 500th, at least according to how I count them, so including the Dream Treks, as well as those two untimed runs from way back when I started running, but not the three that were the very first ones, when I was just trying out the idea over short distances, before setting my mind on it and actually starting to run once per week… And I didn’t even have green onions for the salad made in that day’s early hours. But I had an old regular onion, which might have actually been the last one left out of those received from Carrefour’s campaign, and which had sprouted a fair bit but otherwise remained surprisingly good, so I used its sprouts and core, and put more of the old peanut butter on all of the slices of bread. And I got in bed at 5:25 AM. Then I got up when the alarm rang, finally getting back to the usual time of 2 PM, though I’m not sure how much I slept after getting up to pee just before 1 PM, possibly just briefly drifting off. Either way, I then had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being something taken after last year’s Dream Trek, with added honey, since those things are expiring within days and I had two of that kind and one that was different, so I wanted to test one of the two and plan to use the other one next month, when I’ll cover a half marathon distance, while I mean to use the different one two weeks before that, when I’ll run 16 km. But, to return to that day, I left at 4:30 PM, wearing the full running gear and that thing on my neck, the reported temperature being 11-12°C, holding steady.
The time was 47:40.51, with sector times of 4:09.20, 5:02.06, 5:57 (5:56.79), 4:27.53, 5:05 (5:04.43), 5:50.53, 4:26.38, 5:03.00, 5:49 (5:48.78) and 1:52 (1:51.81), making for lap times of 15:08.05, 15:22.49 and 15:18.16. The first sector was particularly frustrating, since I have several times of 4:08 that are tied for tenth fastest first sector and want a faster one in order to knock all of them out of the top ten, and while I only managed a 4:10 the last time I actually tried to do so, this time around I obtained that 4:09 not just without actually trying, but in fact while thinking that I was controlling my pace, so I apparently missed a rare moment when I could have obtained that better time, if I’d have just set my mind on it. And sector two’s time only proved that I hadn’t exhausted myself over the course of sector one. At that point I even wondered whether I could cover another lap in less than 15 minutes, but I didn’t really try to do that either and felt that I had slowed down a little on sector three, which proved to be the case, though the first lap’s time was pretty good even so. After that, I just settled back on the usual goal of staying under 48 minutes, which had been the initial goal for that run as well, and I was rather pleased with sector three of lap two, the lap’s time even making me briefly think about 47:30. However, that’d have required either lap three to be the day’s fastest or for its time to be close to the first lap’s while still leaving me with enough energy for a great final sector, and both of those options seemed highly unlikely, so I was just content to see that I was a little faster than I had been on the previous lap on each sector, and that at the end I was just a little faster than on January 18, and therefore the fastest I had been since November.
There were some warnings from my right knee from the start, and while they faded after that, if I paid attention I occasionally noticed them again, albeit faintly. And on sector one of lap two it felt as if I hadn’t left everything in the toilet, and even that what wanted to make its way out was rather liquid, but it wasn’t a serious problem and then the feeling faded, returning on sector three of lap three but being rather faint even then. Otherwise, the cold did make me feel a little stiff at times, and my hands were starting to go numb by the end, but it wasn’t a notable problem. And, while I obviously still had to weave and go the long way around at times, the one notable problem caused by people was on sector three of lap three, when I briefly stopped because a kid was cutting across the path while also dragging a toy and a guy who was coming from the opposite direction walked around the kid, blocking my way.

After doing the day’s squats and eating lunch, I changed, though I left the running t-shirt on, and left again a couple of minutes after 7:30 PM. After quickly checking that Mega Image on the way, I bought an expiring pudding from what used to be the nearest Penny, before this new one opened. After putting it in the backpack, I went to Carrefour, and it may be the first time when I entered that mall through the parking lot, so I didn’t have to go around Kaufland. Either way, I got two breads and a sweet pastry that were among the discounted products, but at the self-checkout a guy was almost pressing against me, seeming impatient to get his turn, and I rushed to grab the change and leave. I immediately noticed that something seemed wrong with the coins and actually thought that the machine might have once again “eaten” the 0.50 RON one, and when I glanced in my hand I quite clearly saw a 0.05 RON one that shouldn’t have been there, but I also thought that I did see one that seemed large enough to have been the 0.50 RON one after all. However, I didn’t actually have a good look and then I just put those coins in that small pocket, over the others. If I’d have kept them in my hand or put them in another pocket, there would have been no room for error on my part, but I did count what I had in that pocket as soon as I walked out of that area and found 0.45 RON less than there should have been and a single 0.50 RON coin, which should have already been there, so I’m pretty much certain that the machine gave me a 0.05 RON coin instead of a 0.50 RON one… So I made up for it two days later.
Either way, I added those purchases in the backpack and entered Kaufland with it, after washing my hands, a little after 9:05 PM, seeing some labels that listed discounts of 30% in the bakery area. However, when I scanned one I saw that the discount was of 50%, and then the employee came with new price labels… But she just left them there, so I scanned a few more, and when another person was asking about the price of the plain buns, I didn’t just say that I could check for her and did so, but then I even looked for the proper label among those left by the employee and placed it there. Then I stuck around until the employee finally placed the new price labels, but the two kinds of buns that I’d have normally been interested in remained as they were, one listing a discount of 30% and the other no discount at all, and I confirmed that after scanning the labels, so I ended up getting three of those plain buns. Then I also got two bananas, a bunch of parsnip roots and some beets, all having evening discounts, and in case of the beets it’s a good thing that I had seen the employee from that area take the crate with the remaining ones and put it on the stack that was probably meant to be for trash, so I knew that some were left, took down that crate, dug through it, and then put it back. Then I looked around a little more and made my way to the self-checkout just before 10 PM, but the closing announcement only came just as I was walking away, after arranging the purchases, and that was at 10:05 PM.
After putting the bag that hangs from my neck in a cabinet, I entered that Mega Image with the backpack, and as I meant to leave, without buying anything, I saw a 1 RON bill on the floor, just behind the last two guys who were standing in line, so I told them that they dropped it, but when one told the other that he had dropped it, that other one said that it wasn’t his… And I felt that it’d have been too awkward to just take it at that point, so I stepped away and the first guy told the second one to get it, and he did. Then I just asked the guard whether I could walk out past the other checkout, which was closed, and he waved me through, after which I retrieved that bag. And on the way back I looked for some recyclables with the deposit paid, wondering whether another opportunity to recover what Carrefour’s self-checkout machine had “eaten” would appear, but I didn’t find any. I thought that I spotted that symbol on a can and picked it up, but when I got to a place where the light was better, I saw that I had been wrong, so I just dropped it in a trash can.
I got back a little after 10:45 PM, ate a banana and that pudding, washed most of what was in the kitchen, put the purchases in their place, and went to shower just after 12:15 AM. The fact that the water was mostly cold made me hurry, so I was done 20 minutes later, then I finished washing and cleaning after dad in the kitchen, ate a large bag of corn puffs while working on dinner, also dealt with one of my breads and moved something for dad into a jar, and eventually decided to also eat dinner in the kitchen once again.

At least I managed to write about the actual runs, plus the part about the games, before midnight, despite being so exhausted that I was about to fall asleep in the chair, so I once again posted only those parts and then edited the post in order to add the parts about the rest of February 9 and 15 Tuesday evening. There would have definitely been enough “room” to also write about yesterday in this post, but it doesn’t seem right to add something entirely different at an even later time, so I guess I’ll leave that day for another time… Even though, with the exception of the one thing that’s the reason why I want to post about that day, it would all fall under odds and ends, so it wouldn’t really “fit” with what I still post here. But I guess I’ll find a way… Assuming that I’ll manage to get myself to keep writing anything at all.

I was waiting for this moment a year ago, when international ski jumping competitions returned to Japan, but back then Noriaki Kasai took part in two qualifying sessions only to fail to make it through both times, the situation being particularly frustrating the first time around, when he was the first to miss out, by a mere 0.4 points. However, as expected, he tried again this year, and this time around he didn’t just make it through the qualifying round and reach an actual Ski Jumping World Cup round for the first time in four years, but he even reached the second round of the actual competition! His second jump was the worst of the round by quite some margin, so he dropped two places and finished last, a long way behind anyone else, but that still means scoring, even if just one point, and therefore appearing on the standings for the first time in five years… And no less than 34 years since the first time he earned World Cup points, though back then it was much harder to do so, points only being awarded to the top 15 instead of the top 30.
A second competition follows in just a few hours, and there may be some chances of witnessing yet another historical moment for the sport. Since the actual competition follows right after the qualifying round, and since this round takes place in the morning after the previous one took place in the afternoon, I consider Kasai’s chances of repeating today’s performance to be quite slim, since recovery gets harder and slower as the years pass, but he may surprise yet again. And even if he doesn’t, he’s already a living legend for the sport, and unless he’ll be stopped by a serious injury or illness, which I definitely hope won’t happen, he’ll probably keep competing at least in Japan for quite some time to come.

Since I already wrote about November 18, I’ll start this post about the last part of Carrefour’s campaign, when it moved to Vulcan, with November 19, when I did the day’s squats, had lunch, and left just before 6:40 PM, with 33 recyclables, including the three cans left from the previous day, the seven straightened bottles left from earlier, including that one that wouldn’t be accepted, and ten bottles that granted two products. I also meant to take some fish parts that dad said that he won’t eat and two pieces of shrimp which he had brought from work, apparently after someone had celebrated their birthday, and then left in the living room, in a napkin, wanting to leave all of those for some cats, but I forgot. Either way, I had dad’s metro card, so I went to Dristor, picking up some more bottles that granted two products on the way to and from the metro station.
Even if I hadn’t taken the used ones with me, I once again asked about rechargeable batteries, and was once again told that they didn’t have any, though they had supposedly made the order and were waiting to receive some. So I moved along, using eight of the bottles that granted two products, but the machine stopped after seven, so I waited for the guy to empty it, then put in ten more bottles, including that eighth one, and then used the other machine for the three cans. However, I then noticed that the first receipt only listed six bottles, so I guess the machine hadn’t counted the one it had stopped at, and I said that I’ll put in one more, so the total will be correct on the receipts, but since there were other people in line I also said that I’ll wait and do so after they’ll be done. Then I wrote my name and number on those receipts and said what I wanted, but after four product categories I moved and also had a look on the other side, ending up asking for potatoes from there even though those were quite small while those from the side that I had picked the other products from were quite large. Either way, I then returned to that first side and asked for apples as well, after which the girl said that those should have been the last products and I agreed… Only to realize that it wasn’t right after she gave me the bag, so I started counting the categories and the guy in charge noticed and asked whether I wasn’t given the right amount, telling her to unseal the bag after I said that I was trying to remember. I wasn’t sure how to react, not wanting to cause a fuss, but she unsealed the bag, counted the categories, and saw that I was, in fact, missing one, so I also asked for cucumbers and she put in seven, though they were small. And she had also put in five red onions, though those were also small.
I received four Bianca peppers, weighing 399 grams, four Kapia peppers, weighing 450 grams, four tomatoes, also weighing 450 grams, four potatoes, weighing 503 grams, four apples, maybe Idared, weighing 666 grams, five red onions, weighing 286 grams, and seven cucumbers, also weighing 286 grams. And, after arranging in the backpack, I found a moment to put in that extra bottle, after which I filled in my name and number on that receipt as well. Then I had a look in the store, but on top of not finding anything to buy, I somehow forgot to check the prices for what I received. Between what I later saw at Carrefour Unirii, what was listed for Vulcan when I looked on-line, after getting back, and checking the day before and the next, there’s next to no chance of not having the correct prices, the only remaining problem having to do with the apples that I couldn’t correctly identify, but the fact remains that I didn’t actually check that day, in that store.
Either way, I then also wanted to go to that Kaufland, getting there close to 8:15 PM… Only to find the doors closed, and the listed closing time was 8 PM, which was strange, Kaufland normally closing at 9 PM on Sunday. So I turned around and, after hesitating a little, I decided to get back to that same metro station, getting there after also having a quick look in a Profi, entering with everything. However, when I switched lines at the next stop, I tripped on the escalator and it hurt a fair bit. There were some small scrapes, mainly on my right leg, but what was concerning was that the bone was also hurting a little.
Still, I meant to also check Carrefour Unirii, so I got off there, found another one of those bottles, and first went to the bathroom from that shopping center, also peeing while I was there and then washing the scrapes a little. Then I entered Carrefour with everything, grabbed an expiring cake, and then got back to the fruits and vegetables, checking the prices of the ones that I could find there as well and putting some disinfectant on the scrapes, since they still have those dispensers in that location. When I did that, I placed that cake and my phone on some tomatoes and my foot on the edge of that area, so not on any product or even any crate, but another customer stopped and asked how did I dare put my foot there and touch my wounds next to things that people will take to eat. I got defensive, trying to say that my foot hadn’t been on any product and that I had fallen on the escalator and wanted to use some disinfectant, but he was adamant. After staring at us for a few seconds, an employee also got involved, but he wasn’t sure what was going on and therefore didn’t really know what to say or do, so it was that guy who pretty much chased me away, saying that we should leave that area because it really was not all right and coming after me as I initially took a few steps towards the exit, though when I turned around and hurried in the direction of the checkouts he left me be. So I checked the expiring products from that area as well, then bought that cake… And after I calmed down a little I realized that the guy was right. After all, I was touching blood, which doesn’t look right even though I wasn’t touching any product while doing so and meant to disinfect my hands again after that. On the other hand, by chasing me away he stopped me from doing just that, so I did end up touching some products after touching blood, without disinfecting my hands first.
After returning to the metro station and adding the cake in the backpack while waiting for the train, I took the metro back to Dristor, and then I checked the Mega Image that closes at 11 PM, once again entering with everything. There were no bakery discounts, but I did find eggs with code one and bought five, adding them in the backpack after walking out. I considered checking the non-stop Mega Image as well, but after having a look from the door and not seeing any bakery discounts there either, I didn’t actually enter.
When I got back, at 11:20 PM, I saw that dad had taken that fish out, but not to where I’d have taken it, so I was thinking to go back out and move it if I could, but I then decided to leave it for the next day. However, the real problem hit me a moment later, when I found out that the hot water had turned off while I was out, and not just in the sense that it was cold, but that nothing was coming from that pipe. Dad hadn’t bothered to check the site until then, but he did when I asked him to and saw that the reported problem was that the heating station had no water to work with, the water company having a problem, even though we did have cold water and the heating station’s just behind the building. Either way, it was estimated that the problem should be fixed at 11:30 PM, so I gave up on the idea of heating water again and decided to wait. Then, before midnight, I added another paragraph to what little I had written before leaving and posted what was basically a placeholder for the post about the previous day… By which point that estimated time had changed to 3 AM. So I decided to wait and see, meaning to wash before going to bed if it actually will return then or, if not, perhaps not sleep at all and leave again very early, which would have also allowed me to use the metro card once again. Then I weighed what I received and tried to clean a little in the kitchen, though I couldn’t wash many things with cold water. The fact that I kept checking the hot water probably made me even slower than I usually am, so I only ate dinner between 4:20 AM and 5:20 AM… By which point the estimated time had changed to 7 AM.

Under those circumstances, I didn’t go to bed, and a little before 7 AM I did the squats that counted for November 20 and then checked again, seeing that the estimated time had changed yet again, to noon. So I just got ready and went out again at 8:15 AM, with 21 bottles, though those included that one that wasn’t accepted, so there were exactly 20 which should have been good, since it was the last day and taking more was pointless, and those included the eight remaining ones that granted two products and a straightened one that I had found on the balcony. And I first went behind the building, finding where dad had left that fish and that it was gone, so I picked up the plastic thing that it had been in and added it to the recyclables, which I had also taken, dropping them off in a recycling bin on the way to Dristor.
The starting hour for the campaign was 9 AM and people had obviously arrived right away, seeing as there was quite a line when I got there, so I first went to pee, getting in line just after 9:20 AM… And only two or three more people joined behind me until 10 AM or so, a few more coming after that, until my turn finally came, at 10:10 AM or so. Since dad had said that he had to leave at 11 AM, that was already late, and then the machine also caused problems, stopping after the first two bottles, allowing me to continue after the guy in charge worked on it a little, but repeatedly refusing the bottles that granted two products, so that guy helped me put them in until it worked, even if one or two required multiple tries, and when it also refused that bottle which had been refused before and I wanted to discard it, he managed to make it accept it as well, so I was left with one bottle. Then I wrote my name and number on the receipts and said what I wanted, receiving four tomatoes, weighing 470 grams, four potatoes, weighing 793 grams, four Bianca peppers, weighing 369 grams, four Kapia peppers, weighing 581 grams, four red onions, weighing 196 grams, four Red Delicious apples, weighing 994 grams, and four apples of another kind, possibly Idared, weighing 890 grams.
By the time I put the bags in the backpack, it was past 10:15 AM, so I didn’t enter the store at all, not even to check the prices of those products. That meant that I only actually checked in that location on the first day, for what I had received then, but I had to hurry, and at times I even jogged on the way back to the metro station. All of that effort would have been for nothing if the conductor wouldn’t have been so nice, since I rushed as much as I could down the escalator only for the doors of the metro to close right in front of me, but then they opened again and I could get on. Not that I really needed to hurry so much, seeing as dad called and said that he’ll actually leave around 11:15 AM, but since I told him that we’ll meet at this metro station, I found myself with a little time to spare and decided to rush to the bigger Mega Image, also having a quick look in a confectionery on the way.
Since I was in a hurry, I entered with the backpack, and my gloves were also in my pockets, having taken them since the temperature had been around or even just under 0°C in the morning… And that ended up making me lose a fair amount of time. I grabbed a nice expiring bar and another egg with code one, telling dad that I’ll be at the metro station in about five minutes when he called again while I was there, but the cashier reprimanded me for bringing things into the store, and while when she pointed to my pockets I just pulled out the gloves, she also asked the guard to check my backpack… And he was acting as if he didn’t understand what she meant, giving me the impression that he was trying to make it clear that he disagreed with her request, since he asked another customer about his bag, made her repeat herself, and continued with that behavior even after I told him a couple of times that she was referring to me. And after he finally asked whether he could check my backpack and I told him to go ahead and took it off, he just put his hand in it without even opening the strap and gave her a nasty look while fumbling around a little. But that just made the whole thing take even longer, and putting the backpack back on took me some more time that I didn’t have, so I then ran back to the metro station, continuing to run even after dad called again while I was on my way and told me to stop running, since he was just going past the church. In the end, I got back to the metro station before he did, then gave him the metro card.
I then continued to Obor, though I decided to use the route that’s shorter if you start from here, but obviously longer from where I was at that point. And on the way I pulled my mask down a little and ate that bar. Then I checked that bookstore, then stuffed the backpack and the egg in a cabinet and went to Carrefour, finding discounted bread and some discounted sweet pastries and putting them in the bag that hangs from my neck before retrieving what I had in the cabinet and continuing to Kaufland, where I once again meant to put the backpack in a cabinet. However, when I wanted to lift it, I grabbed it by the strap that holds it closed and it came loose, getting pulled out of the clamp. I later figured out that it had probably been sewed there as well and that seam tore, so it’s a good thing that it was that one and not the one from the other end, but at that time I couldn’t quite figure out what happened, though I eventually managed to put it back through the clamp in a way that held it closed as it was, and it’s still like that even now, since I didn’t sew that again. Either way, I then put the backpack and the egg in that cabinet, went to pee again, and entered with the bag, getting a cleaning product that I found among the discounted ones, some yogurt, and a box of two meringue tarts with ingredients that seemed fine and which had a deep discount, so the price was really nice. They expired the next day, but I didn’t mind that. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged everything and continued to Penny, where I left my things on the cabinets and just bought some soy, adding it in the bag that hangs from my neck after retrieving my things, since I didn’t want to open the backpack again.
I got back a few minutes before 3:30 PM, ate one of the tarts, and then used the toilet and washed, the hot water having returned. After that, I also ate a small apple, made the tea for the day, and then got some four hours of sleep, or maybe a little more than that. I think that I also took a pill, just in case, but I’m not entirely certain, and if I did, I definitely don’t know whether it was before or after the nap. Either way, at night I ate another apple, washed and cleaned as much as I could in the kitchen, dealt with my bread, and ended up rearranging things in the freezer a little after noticing that the things that were at the front were thawing again. Dad had searched for something in there earlier, taking things out in order to do so, but when I told him about the problem he just said that it must be too full, since he obviously did nothing wrong. Admittedly, I had checked after he put everything back and the door had seemed to close properly, but something was obviously wrong. Either way, despite only putting what I received that day on the balcony, leaving weighing those products for the next day, I only started taking occasional bites from lunch at 2 AM and it was past 3:35 AM when I finished, and I ate dinner between 4:30 AM and 5:25 AM, and finally got in bed at 6:35 AM. And the following night I ate dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:30 AM, and got in bed at 5:25 AM.

I managed to finish the part about these two days and post it before midnight, but before being able to say that I finally finished writing about this campaign I also have to put together everything that I received and estimate the total value, even if this time around the fact that I didn’t properly identify some of the apples means that it won’t be that accurate. And it was only Wednesday evening when I made the first edit to this post, to add the number and weight of what I clearly know I received, so including the Golden apples but none of the other kinds. And I finally added the rest in the early hours of Saturday. I just hope that I did everything correctly, because I really don’t see myself going through it all again and checking.

At the end of it all, assuming that I calculated correctly, I received a total of 38 potatoes, weighing 6.058 kg, 34 Golden apples, weighing 5.438 kg, 32 tomatoes, weighing 4.815 kg, 30 Kapia peppers, weighing 3.302 kg, 29 Bianca peppers, weighing 3.426 kg, 28 cucumbers, or 29 if you count that double one as two, weighing 1.39 kg, 24 onions, weighing 3.84 kg, 21 red onions, weighing 1.141 kg, 20 beets, weighing 5.578 kg, 14 red potatoes, weighing 1.811 kg, 13 carrots, weighing 1.452 kg, 12 squashes, weighing 4.036 kg, 12 eggplants, weighing 3.208 kg, nine heads of garlic, weighing 584 grams, seven parsnip roots, weighing 1.087 kg, four celery roots, weighing 2.167 kg, four kohlrabies, weighing 792 grams, four parsley roots, weighing 270 grams, four long red onions, weighing 244 grams, as well as four chili peppers, weighing 176 grams. Out of those, ten cucumbers, seven potatoes, six red potatoes, four tomatoes, two Kapia peppers, one Bianca pepper, one red onion and one head of garlic were added on top of what I should have actually received.
And then there are those other apples, which are the problem. The totals are simple: 53 of them, including one that was added on top of what I should have received, weighing a total of 8.908 kg. Out of those, I also know that eight, weighing 1.558 kg, were Red Delicious. Two or three others were probably Red Delicious as well, but I was never certain about that third one and I didn’t weigh them separately, since they were mixed with at least one that was probably Gala or Jonaprince. And, past that, I’m guessing more and more. 16, weighing 2.767 kg, were probably Idared. Four more, weighing 702 grams, seemed more likely to also be Idared, but I was wondering whether they might have been Jonaprince or Jonathan instead. On the other hand, five, weighing 586 grams, were probably Jonathan, and there were three more that were quite certainly Jonathan, but one that seemed to be Gala was mixed with them and I didn’t weigh them separately. And four, weighing 491 grams, might have been Gala or even Fuji, but I was uncertain about that. Four others, weighing 651 grams, seemed more likely to be Jonaprince. And I didn’t make any notes about four more, weighing 681 grams, so whether those were Idared, Jonathan, Jonaprince or Gala, I have absolutely no idea.
Considering those uncertainties, the total value can’t be perfectly accurate either. Still, assuming that I didn’t make mistakes, it comes to the surprisingly high amount of about 335 RON, with a small margin for error, no more than a few RON. Of course, that value is calculated according to Carrefour’s prices for each product on the day that I received it and plenty were certainly cheaper in other places on those same days, but this is how I’ve been calculating this and it’s the fair way to do it, since it’s their campaign and they gave away those products.

Since Alterium is the new band that I was referring to in October, in the 54th post from this series, and they’re scheduled to release their first album in less than a month, I’ll start directly and say that my two picks are Drag Me to Hell and Siren’s Call. The fact that the songs are so polished should come as no surprise, seeing as the band may be new, but its members are experienced, and some of them even worked together before, in Kalidia, so it may be a matter of picking up from where they just left off. I’ll be glad of it if that is the case, but I’m expecting more good things from Alterium either way.

The next band is Roses Unread and they’re much older, but they did release one song half a year ago, Down and Out, so that will be my first pick, while the second one is The Ugly Truth. Years earlier, I see that they released full albums that at this point they seem to try to bury, but this counts as something older than the most recent releases, so it’s good enough, and the sound is also good enough. It is harsher, and quite clearly rock, so not what I’d normally go for, but it caught my attention anyway, and I’m tempted to say that fans of the genre will enjoy it more.

As for the last band, Project Arcadia, this is an actual new find, and the one I picked to include in this post out of several bands that for some reason YouTube decided to recommend to me lately and which had more in common than the fact that they have male vocals, and that’s the fact that they recently returned after a long hiatus. In Project Arcadia’s case, we’re talking about some ten years, and they also don’t seem to care about posting most of their old material, so I’ll just go with Shadows of the Night for one of my picks, while Rusty Cage is the one I picked out of the new songs. Once again, it’s not what I’d immediately go for, but there is enough here that I can appreciate, and such stories, of once again becoming active after such a long time, are nice in themselves.