Cav's Place

At least I managed to get myself to shave in the early hours of November 10, but that meant going to the kitchen around 1:25 AM, and there were some things to wash as well, and I made a salad that was too big, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:20 AM and 4:05 AM. And I was increasingly worried about the blisters, probably canker sores, on the lower left side of my mouth, but at the time I was only aware of the small ones, on the inside of my lower lip and on that side of my tongue, which had been there for quite some time and seemed to be getting worse, noticing that the left side of my tongue tended to feel swollen after I ate and bothered me. I had popped the blister from my lower lip a few days before and it was better for a couple of days, but then it reformed, so before shaving I popped it again. And I’m sure that I had both burned and bitten myself badly in that area quite a few times, but I had no idea how recently or whether those problems appeared after that or the swelling was what caused me to bite myself in the first place.
Moving on, that was the first day when Carrefour’s campaign was taking place at Orhideea, so I had lunch and left at 4:20 PM, with dad’s metro card, which was again not being read, so I had to show it in order to pass, and 30 bottles, 12 of them straightened and eight granting two products. But I took the metro from this station, got off at Basarab and went to Kaufland first, leaving the bag with some of the bottles on the cabinets, since I didn’t see large ones at all, and just buying some cornmeal, which I put in the jacket’s inside pockets, since I had taken the warmer one. Then I retrieved that bag and walked to Carrefour.
The people who were handling the campaign in that location were different from those from the previous locations, and they were just adding more vegetables when I got there, so I waited a little, then asked whether I could put the bottles in the machine myself, which hadn’t been the case at the previous locations, and was told that I could. When one of the guys saw the straightened ones, he said that they may not be accepted, but I got it to work, and the machine also accepted a small one from that brand of beer that has those medium ones that keep getting refused by the machines, and I also put in four of those that granted two products. I received four Golden apples, weighing 559 grams, four carrots, weighing 398 grams, four onions, weighing 868 grams, four red potatoes, weighing 650 grams, four parsnip roots, weighing 727 grams, and five heads of garlic, weighing 197 grams, since the guy added one more.
After putting everything in the backpack, I entered the store with it, finding that the price of that bread that I get for dad had dropped even more, so I bought quite a lot, plus a few other things, those other products granting those vouchers those days. And those vouchers were also granted for frozen products, which hadn’t been listed on-line, but I didn’t get any of those, wanting to ask dad first. On the other hand, several products were being promoted in the store and I eventually took popcorn, but I didn’t eat it inside the store and also didn’t get a sample of yogurt, since that promoter wasn’t there and didn’t even return while I wandered around for a while longer, and I wasn’t sure that the one cup that was left there hadn’t been tasted by someone else or otherwise tainted. And the time I lost while waiting for that promoter meant that the one self-checkout that accepted cash which still worked when I first passed by it was also closed by the time I wanted to use it, so I had to use a regular checkout and the receipt that contained the voucher received for previous purchases that I used was taken away… And then I saw that green onions and radishes had appeared among what could be obtained in exchange for recyclables, and that was actually the only time when I saw either of those products, and it was obviously too late for me that day. So I arranged the purchases a little, washed my hands, and walked out, pulling down the mask once I was outside and eating that sample of popcorn on the way to the metro station, finishing before pulling out the card.
I got off at Titan and went to that Penny, putting the bags with the purchases from Carrefour in a cabinet but entering with the backpack. And I bought quite a number of things, including some expiring mozzarella that the cashier forgot to scan the discount code for, even though I had placed the expiring products with that label on top, so I let him know and he sorted it out. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and arranged everything, then rushed back, since dad called a little after I walked out and I had to give him back the metro card, so there was no more time to also enter a Mega Image and see whether I could buy a knife that I wanted.
I got back a couple of minutes after 8:30 PM, with almost 18 kg. Then I put a load of laundry in the washing machine, also put the other purchases, with the exception of the bread and the zacusca, in their place, ate something sweet and a bag of bagels, weighed what I received, washed some of what was to wash in the kitchen, did the day’s squats, wasted some time on the toilet, washed, watered the plants on the balcony, also put the zacusca in its place, in that cabinet from the balcony… And as I opened that cabinet, the light bulb that I had placed on the inside of the door fell and some flimsy components and wires broke, so I guess that dad had knocked it down while getting something else, probably making it end up on the edge of the shelf, only held there by the closed door, and never even noticed, since he obviously denied ever touching it. Either way, I then hung the clothes to dry, straightened more bottles, ate some baked pumpkin while cleaning up in the kitchen, sliced one of dad’s breads and put the others away, and finally ate dinner between 4:20 AM and 4:55 AM. I got in bed at 5:35 AM, after dad got back, and it took me a while to fall asleep.

Well, while it started later, the work on the building continued even on a Saturday, so I was woken up by drilling at 9:38 AM and minutes later decided to get up, to at least be able to use the metro card once again, since dad had said that he was going to need it after 2:30 PM. And, while he slept through the drilling as if it wasn’t even happening, he did wake up before I left, to use the toilet, and at that point he said that he only needed to be at Dristor at 2:50 PM, so I had even more time and we could meet there. So I left at 11:20 AM… Only to realize after a while, when I wanted to see how the garbage bag that I had placed over the large bag that contained some of the bottles was positioned, in case I’ll find more of those bottles that granted two products, that I had forgotten to take that large bag! So I ran back, retrieved that bag… And as I was walking away again I realized that I couldn’t remember whether I had locked the door again, so I rushed back one more time, confirming that I had, and actually, finally, left at 11:30 AM, with 32 bottles, once again including 12 straightened ones and eight that granted two products, but also the four remaining small ones and one medium one from that brand of beer and one other bottle that I wasn’t sure would be accepted. And I actually did spot one of those bottles just steps away from the spot where I was when I meant to check that bag and ended up turning around, so I grabbed it and put it in that bag. Then, despite rushing, after once again showing the card at the metro station and getting off at Basarab, I still checked Kaufland, leaving both the bag and the backpack on the cabinets, but I didn’t find anything to get, so I then retrieved them and continued to Carrefour.
Since I found no line when I got there and the guy said that it was a good thing that I came to recycle, I assumed that it had been quite dead until then, but towards the end he said that my timing had been perfect, because there had been huge lines earlier, people waiting for half an hour, and I came just after they cleared completely. But there weren’t many interesting products left to get, so I didn’t use any of those bottles that granted two products, though I at least managed to put in all of the straightened ones, even if a few required a couple of attempts, as well as that other one that I wasn’t sure of and the small ones from that brand of beer. The medium one still didn’t work, however, not even after several attempts and trying it right after another one that was easily accepted, as the guy told me to do. Either way, I ended up receiving four Golden apples, weighing 641 grams, four apples of another kind, maybe Idared, weighing 578 grams, four red potatoes, weighing 644 grams, four white potatoes, weighing 768 grams, and four carrots, weighing 624 grams.
After arranging everything in the backpack, I washed my hands and entered the store, with it. And those products were still being promoted, so that day I sampled three of them, ignoring the popcorn, since I had already had some of that the previous day and didn’t dare to ask for another sample. But I’d have liked to sample two more products, since they were being offered, yet in one case the promoter was not at her post and didn’t return while I wandered around a little longer, and the other one didn’t have samples laid out when I looked, and I’m not actually sure that she did offer samples and wasn’t there just to talk and hand out fliers, and I didn’t ask. But I did have some of that yogurt with cereals, the promoter saying that it was gluten-free “Greek” yogurt, so after eating the sample I said that I assumed that she meant that the cereals were gluten-free, since the yogurt can’t contain gluten. And that was all I did in that Carrefour that day, since I decided to leave buying the frozen peas for later and didn’t find anything else.
When I got back to the metro, there was nobody at that entrance, so I couldn’t show the card, but at least at that station you can get from one entrance to another without going back up, so I did so… And when I showed the card to the guy who was there, he said that his coworker could make a duplicate, for free, so I had that done and could then use that card normally, getting off at Dristor and going to that non-stop Mega Image to buy that knife, and also getting some bio (organic) eggs that I spotted among those sold by piece and an expiring sweet thing. I made a mistake when I calculated the total, thinking that it was 0.10 RON more, so when I thought that I was rounding down a little when I told the cashier how much it should be, I actually rounded up a little more, and I received the change according to what I said, but so be it, and I had found a 0.10 RON coin while I was there anyway. Then I arranged the purchases in the backpack and walked out, dad calling as I was on my way to check whether that new Penny had opened yet, finding that it still hadn’t. But I had told dad that we’ll meet there, so I picked up another one of those bottles, even if it was quite soiled, and waited for him there, to give him what was then a working metro card. And he also didn’t seem to know that you could request such duplicates, albeit only at certain stations and between certain hours.
After we went our separate ways, I went to Carrefour Park Lake, still holding that dirty bottle. And, after seeing that there were hardly any free cabinets, and none of those were large ones, I decided to enter with the backpack, but I didn’t want to put that bottle in it as it was, so I eventually put it in a small cabinet, without locking, since I had no 0.50 RON coin and didn’t care to use that machine just for that. And then, while I once again left the frozen peas for later, I bought a few expiring products, including an expiring piece of bread which I bought for myself and which I tried to hold carefully even if it was in a plastic bag, since I hadn’t washed my hands after holding that bottle. Either way, I also used the remaining voucher received for previous purchases that I could use at the time, the one received the previous day not being active yet… And then I saw that somebody had taken that bottle out, in order to use that cabinet, but they had just dropped it on the floor, so I took it back and, after removing the other purchases from the backpack, initially put it there after all, after which I put all of the purchases in a cabinet, since I had received a 0.50 RON coin as change. However, since I then went to pee and thoroughly wash my hands, I took that bottle back out and washed it before putting it back in the backpack, after which I washed my hands again.
Even if it had started raining properly by the time I walked back out, I continued to the Penny that’s before that Kaufland, leaving the backpack on the cabinets and then just retrieving it. Then I entered Kaufland with the backpack and bought a few things, being charged for what the olives were placed in, and at the self-checkout I tried to cover the real bar code of an expiring juice but somehow failed, so it scanned at the full price and I had to call over an employee. Then I added those purchases in the backpack and started to make my way back.
Well, I didn’t make my way back, because I ended up deciding to check the Penny from Titan as well, still looking for the cat food that was on sale… And then, since I had chosen a longer route anyway, deciding to check another Penny first, thinking that it was more or less directly south of that one. However, as time passed I realized that it’s actually much farther, past Auchan, so I eventually went to the one that’s next to Auchan instead, entering with the backpack and then just leaving again, after having wasted all that time, since I still couldn’t find any of that cat food left. However, plenty of it was left at the next one, which I checked as I made my way back from there, once again entering with the backpack, so I bought three bags, since that was what I could afford. So it was a good thing that I hadn’t bought those frozen peas that day, since I was then only left with just enough in bills for a carton of the eggs that I had seen the previous day at Titan, the price having been lower than the usual one and expiring relatively soon, but without actually being labeled as expiring products. However, when I got there, put the cat food in a cabinet, entered with the backpack, and checked, I saw that they were back to the full price, and the expiration date was farther away. But I did find two more expiring products that I could get and afford, so I bought those, then retrieved that cat food and arranged everything.
I had meant to be back by 7 PM, but I only managed to get back to Park Lake at that time, so I added the bags in that cabinet, washed my hands one more time and entered Carrefour again, since those promoters had been there as well earlier and I meant to eat some more samples, since I hadn’t taken any from there the first time around. However, none were left at that hour, and all but one stand had even been removed, so after searching for a little while I just walked back out and retrieved my things… And a woman came next to me as I did that, I hurried to empty the cabinet, in case she wanted to use it, and when she asked whether she could help I said that I could handle it, tried to hurry even more and pulled away, and the expiring bio (organic) yogurt fell, and it had been banged up to begin with. At least it didn’t crack, but I was panicking and hadn’t really recovered by the time I arranged everything and walked away, so I lost a little more time by using the wrong exit and having a longer way to go. And, while I saw another one of those bottles right on top of a full trash can just after walking out of that mall, a guy was standing right there, so I didn’t take it and therefore didn’t even get that little “compensation” for using that exit. Either way, I also had a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, leaving one bag next to the cabinets and putting another in one, without locking, then retrieving them.
I got back just before 7:40 PM, with just under 16 kg. Then I put the purchases in their place and placed what I received on the table, ate the one banana and drank that nice expiring juice which I had bought from Kaufland, washed the new knife and a few other things, waited for dad to get back, then went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and wash. After that, I weighed what I received and put those things in their place as well, had lunch, washed some more things and got to work on straightening bottles for the next day.
When dad came to the kitchen at one point, I told him that I was tired, and I was also struggling with a bottle which had been crushed differently and there didn’t seem to be any way to get the bottom straightened, so he asked to try and did so for a little while, but after also seeing that there was no way to straighten it with that metal rod that I use and his hands, he blew in it. I told him that I wouldn’t do that, considering how those bottles had been stored and for how long, but he didn’t care, so I then asked him not to, saying that it made me feel like I was jeopardizing him, possibly making him sick, but he blew me off and I just felt increasingly worse as he took the bottles that I still meant to straighten and blew in all of them, straightening them in seconds and telling me that he’ll do those and then I can do the rest. And yes, that is how it’s done if you want to do it quickly, but I wouldn’t do it that way and definitely didn’t want him to either, or at least not for any of those that I’ll benefit from, but when he got in my face I froze, just repeating that he shouldn’t do it, and he repeated that he didn’t care and then walked away… And I had a breakdown, closed the door, threw a bottle on the floor and was probably about to cry when he said something else, through the door, which caused me to switch to anger and throw the other bottles that he had blown in. Then I sat there a little longer before eventually putting those bottles away, finding others from the same brand and straightening those instead.
Either way, he went to take a bath while I finished cleaning and washing, also took a pill, just in case, sliced two more of those breads which I had bought for him the previous day, using the new knife and cutting myself, and even did the day’s squats. And by then I had sort of managed to get myself past the state which probably wouldn’t have allowed me to eat, so I worked on lunch. And I’d have cut myself a couple more times while working on the salad, but I fortunately ended up just cutting into a nail. And I did exchange a few words with dad after he finished his bath, and I ate dinner between 3:20 AM and 4 AM.

On November 12, I could finally sleep well, then I did the day’s squats and left just before 5:15 PM, with 32 bottles, 18 of them straightened and eight granting two products. I could once again use the metro card, so I took the metro, and there was a little line when I got to Carrefour, but the problem was a man who put in a whole lot of recyclables, one of the guys telling me when I asked that he was alone but put in 40 bottles that granted two products and demanded 80 products. He initially claimed that he was with someone who was in the store and made quite a fuss when he was asked to call that other person over, and after receiving the products he could receive on his own, he started wandering around and trying to find someone who’d agree to say that they were with him, and I heard one of the guys say that he had been there multiple times in one day as well, possibly even that day. And there weren’t many things to pick from to begin with and he also almost cleared the Golden apples and the carrots.
Under those circumstances, I didn’t use any of my bottles that granted two products, and one of the straightened ones wouldn’t be accepted. But I had enough spares, so I put in 20 and then asked for red apples, which might have been Jonathan that day, white potatoes and onions, so there should have been four of each, but when I opened the bag I noticed that, while they were admittedly small, the guy had given me five of those apples, weighing 586 grams, and six potatoes, weighing 401 grams. As for the four onions, they weighed 456 grams. Then I looked at the other side and saw just two Golden apples, one carrot, and two tiny cucumbers among the parsnip roots, so I asked for all of those, the apples weighing 287 grams, the carrot 62 grams and the cucumbers 59 grams, plus three parsnip roots, which weighed 360 grams. I reached for the cucumbers myself, but the guy told me to let him touch them, so I pulled my hand back… And then he said that he could add something else, asking whether I wanted some potatoes and I said that it could be anything, and when I got back I saw that he had added six red potatoes, albeit also small, weighing 517 grams, and I hadn’t even noticed that red potatoes were available until the end.
I was arranging everything in the backpack when they restocked, bringing a full cart of products, including many tomatoes and Golden apples, so I guess I got there at the worst time that day. But there was nothing to do about it at that point, so I washed my hands and entered the store, wondering whether those promoters would still be there. They weren’t, however, so I just bought the frozen peas and also another bag of frozen spinach for dad… And got annoyed because a couple with a full cart seemed to be almost done using the only self-checkout that accepted cash when I got there, but then the guy had trouble paying, trying by phone and by card, so they blocked the one machine that accepted cash even though they could have used any other one, and it took a while before the problem was sorted out.
After adding the purchases in the backpack, I walked to Kaufland, entering the store with it after using the toilet. I asked whether the 30% discount that applied to processed meat products those days also applied to some sausages that I’d have gotten for dad, but was told that it didn’t, so I didn’t. Then, after grabbing another product, I noticed that a few customers were already grabbing things from the bakery area even if there were no discount labels and there hadn’t been any announcement, and it was just after 7:30 PM, so I scanned a label and saw that the evening discounts did indeed apply, and the employee came out after that. However, she took her time with the discount labels, even simply leaving the sheets of paper there, so I was searching for what I was interested in on those papers when another customer asked about another product, at which point I told her that she could take the label and scan it at a price checker, and after she said that she wouldn’t bring it back if she’d do that, I took it and scanned it for her, confirming that the 50% discount applied to it as well. Either way, I just got some buns, also meaning to get one more, which was the last one of that kind, but scanning the label, finding that it wasn’t discounted, and putting it back. Then I grabbed one more thing that had a good evening discount and carrots, which had a great evening discount. I had waited to see whether I’d somehow see cabbage among what could be received in exchange for recyclables those days, as unlikely as it was, so I hadn’t bought any until then and there was none left in that Kaufland at that hour, but I decided that I was going to use boiled carrots for the salad, at that price. And I stayed around the fruits and vegetables until a few minutes past 8 PM, to see whether the discounts would increase even more, but they had increased before 8 PM and didn’t do so again at that point.
Dad called just as I got on the metro, and while I was thinking that we’ll meet at the station, he said that I’ll probably be back by the time he’ll leave. I doubted it, since I calculated that I should be back around 8:45 PM and he should have been gone by then, so I walked back from the metro station with the phone in my hand, since he had said that he’ll call when he’ll walk out, but I was back just before 8:45 PM and he was still here. And he had cooked, so there was a lot to wash and clean, plus that he had forgotten about the expiring meat which he should have split and left for me to arrange in the freezer, so after cleaning the litter box I split that meat, ate some baked pumpkin, and then went to shove a bag of trash down the overstuffed chute. Then I cleaned and washed some of what was in the kitchen, put the purchases, with the exception of the carrots, in their place, even somehow managing to stuff all of the frozen products in the freezer, and ate lunch, during which time I really quickly put together that week’s second post. Then I showered, weighed what I received and put those things in their place as well, sliced dad’s remaining breads and managed to also put those in the freezer, finished cleaning and most of the washing in the kitchen, had dinner between 4 AM and 5 AM, and got in bed at 5:30 AM. And I could sleep, the loud drilling only starting at 1:10 PM. On the other hand, while the blister on my inner lip didn’t return after I popped it the second time, there was a strange taste in my mouth and my tongue really bothered me, so I had a better look and that was when I noticed the huge blister that was under my tongue, on that same side, and which only finally healed a couple of weeks ago.

It’s time for another one of these posts, obviously just for my own use, likely including as a way to stay at least somewhat motivated… Though, considering the times obtained last year, the effect may well be the opposite one. Either way, just as before, I didn’t copy the times for the shorter distances, so those are still in the first two such posts. And I still consider the Dream Trek Summer Edition as something different and not relevant for these purposes, so I’m still not including it here, even if I took part in it last year as well. On the other hand, with the new additions compared to the previous such post again being underlined and the usual notes being in the same format, between square brackets, with the first value representing the distance and the second the lap on which that particular time was achieved, only a few additional comments were needed. And the times still include only the seconds, ignoring the fact that I now usually have exact ones as well, especially for the 10 km runs, and those may change some things. And I still won’t link to the page where I list all the times and also have charts, since it’s still in the temporary location and still lacks many of the dates, the situation being pretty much the same as it was a year or two ago.

10 km (through the park)
Note: No change from last year.
1. 45:59
2. 46:09
3. 46:18
4-5. 46:22 (twice)
6. 46:24
7. 46:28
8. 46:31
9. 46:32
10. 46:37

16 km (through the park)
Note: No change from last year.
1. 1:14:53
2. 1:15:10
3. 1:15:37
4. 1:15:40
5. 1:16:09
6. 1:16:16
7. 1:16:17
8. 1:16:47
9. 1:16:48
10. 1:16:54

Half Marathon (21.1 km)
I. Bucharest Half Marathon real time
1. 1:43:13
2. 1:45:36
3. 1:49:26
4. 1:50:54
5. 1:51:54
6. 1:54:56
7. 2:02:38
II. Through the park
1. 1:42:20
2. 1:42:52
3. 1:42:54
4. 1:43:15
5. 1:43:23
6. 1:44:04
7. 1:44:29
8. 1:44:51
9. 1:45:50
10. 1:46:27

35.2 km (through the park)
1. 3:18:07
2. 3:23:09
3. 3:26:38
4. 3:42:43
5. 3:44:40

Marathon (42.2 km) – Bucharest Marathon real time
1. 4:02:14
2. 4:11:28
3. 4:14:40
4. 4:19:40

Lap around the park lake (3.2 km) [10-1 unless otherwise specified]
Note: All times from last year are still here, despite the one addition.
1. 14:21
2. 14:31
3. 14:38
4. 14:40 [10-3]
5-6. 14:41 (twice [10-3])
7. 14:43
8-9. 14:44 [16-1] (twice)
10-11. 14:46 (twice)

Lap sector one [10-1 unless otherwise specified]
Note: All times from one and two years ago are still here, despite the new additions.
1. 3:56
2-3. 4:03 (twice)
4-5. 4:06 (twice)
6-9. 4:07 (and a second, third and fourth time)
10-15. 4:08 [16-1] (and a second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth [*] time)
Note: [*] = The first sector was not affected, but see the post for more details.

Lap sector two
Note: All times from last year are still here, despite the two additions.
1. 4:32 [10-1]
2. 4:42 [10-2] (Slightly uncertain that I remembered it correctly.)
3. 4:49 [16-2]
4-12. 4:50 [10-1] (and a second [10-2], third [16-2], fourth [10-1], fifth [10-1], sixth [10-3], seventh [10-3], eighth [10-2] and ninth [10-2] time)

Lap sector three [10-3 unless otherwise specified]
Note: All times from last year are still here, despite the one addition.
1. 5:24 [10-1]
2. 5:25 [10-1]
3. 5:32
4. 5:33 [16-5]
5. 5:34
6-11. 5:35 (and a second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth [10-1] time)

Final sector on a 10 km run
Note: No change from last year, and all times from up to four years ago are still here, despite the new additions since then.
1. 1:40
2-3. 1:41 (twice)
4-8. 1:42 (and a second, third, fourth and fifth time)
9-20. 1:43 (and a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh and thelfth time)

Final section of a Half Marathon (21.1 km) run (through the park)
1. 9:42
2. 9:45
3. 9:52
4. 9:54
5. 10:00
6. 10:03
7. 10:04
8. 10:05
9-10. 10:10 (twice)

In the early moments of December 20, dad split some meat that we had to freeze and called me over to see how to fit it in the freezer, and he wanted to take everything out and see what we had that could be used for steak as well. So I did that and rearranged more or less like he wanted, managing to get almost everything back in, and he said that the vegetables that were left out could be left in the fridge until he’ll use them. I couldn’t leave them, however, so I spent probably another half an hour struggling to find a way to fit those in as well. Of course, some things started thawing during that time, most noticeably the bread, which was on the top shelf and which I hadn’t even taken out, and after washing and cleaning in the kitchen I also sliced dad’s remaining bread and dealt with mine and added those in as well, and it was concerning that what was in front, close to the freezer’s door, wasn’t exactly frozen even when I got up. But at least all of the meat was frozen solid, and everything was finally frozen again by evening. Either way, all of that meant that I only ate dinner between 4:05 AM and 4:30 AM, and got in bed at 5:25 AM, after also doing the day’s squats just before going to bed, since I was about to do that when dad called me over. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing consisting of another kind of nicer but expired biscuits, with added honey, and left at 3:35 PM, wearing the full running gear. The walk to the park was less uncomfortable than I feared, even though the reported temperature was 8-9°C, and about 7°C when I finished.
The time was 48:15.41, with sector times of 4:17.16, 5:05.60, 6:00.00, 4:31 (4:30.90), 5:04.16, 5:58 (5:57.28), 4:32 (4:31.91), 5:08.43, 5:49 (5:48.60) and 1:51.37, making for lap times of 15:22.76, 15:33 (15:32.34) and 15:29 (15:28.94). I was wondering whether I could get back under 48 minutes and pushed from the start, so that time on the first sector was a little disappointing, but at the same time it wasn’t bad, and after sector two I was quite sure that I’ll at least stay on the required pace, so under 15:20, on the first lap… Only to feel myself slowing on sector three and then see that I really had slowed, that time of exactly six minutes definitely being concerning and meaning that any chance of getting under 48 minutes was gone. So the new target became to at least be less slow than the previous time, and preferably stay under 48:30, and lap two gave me a chance, so I pushed again on lap three and, after not being quite content with the first two sectors, I gave it everything on the third and that sector time surprised me. It’s still a poor time, however.
I felt some warnings from my right knee at the beginning, but those quickly faded, only returning, faintly but from both knees, on sector three of lap three, when I was pushing. And I briefly needed to snap my back on what I think was sector two of lap two, but quickly managed to do so, and I think it was around that same time when something of a pressing need appeared, but it was faint and pretty much went away by the end of the lap. As for people, they only caused me to occasionally have to weave or go the long way around, but on sector three of lap three I had to briefly stop because of a little dog that was off the leash and uncertain which way to go, possibly because it had ended up some distance from its owners and was trying to go to them, and it got right in my way.

An old man asked whether summer had arrived and he didn’t know when I passed by him on the way back, wearing just the running gear, and I said that I was coming after running ten kilometers, at which point he said that in that case he understood, but then added that running a lot or making a lot of effort isn’t recommended when you’re as thin as I am, if you want muscle mass you need good nutrition and other exercises, and that all marathon runners are so thin, so I said that I do run marathons too, and he eventually said that if I think that I’m fine as I am, all right, though he thought that being so thin was a thing for women, but maybe in this day and age it’s for men as well, then wished me well and happy holidays and I returned the wishes and we went our separate ways. And I also checked the nearby Mega Image, without a mask, and found plenty of spoiling products, keeping the bio (organic) yogurts in mind, as well as something for dad, but after getting back I didn’t go right back out to buy anything. So I had lunch, changed, albeit also leaving the running t-shirt on, and it was past 7:40 PM when I left again, taking 50 RON in coins.
I went to Obor, to Carrefour, asked at the information desk about the campaign with the coins, and that employee called the one who handled it and then sent me there. So I went in, handed over the coins and after a little while I was asked for my name and to sign and given the 50 RON bill and the 5 RON gift card, that employee also saying that she checked to make sure that it worked. The problem is that the campaign was supposed to last until today and I tried again today, with 50 RON more, and was told that it was over, and at some point an employee even mentioned something about those gift cards having been disabled, so on top of missing out on a second one even though, according to the regulations, I should have gotten it, let’s see if even that first one remains valid, and it may be quite some time before I’ll be able to really see that, since it should only work for purchases of at least 50 RON.
Getting back to that day, I then checked the bakery area and found that the bread was already discounted, though other products weren’t, so I bought two of the kind that I get from there, plus a few other expiring products, put everything in a bag and then in the backpack… And after a while I realized that I had forgotten to get garlic. But I kept going and, after checking to make sure that Kaufland did close at 11 PM when I passed by that location, I went to Penny, entering with the backpack and getting two things, then adding them in the backpack and leaving it in a cabinet at Kaufland, but only walking in to check the price of garlic there and then wanting to go back out, the problem being that the information desk, where you should normally ask to be allowed to leave without purchases, is not accessible from inside the store in that location, so I asked an employee from the self-checkout area how to exit without products and she said that I should leave the same way I entered… But those gates only open when someone wants to enter and there’s even a voice saying that it’s not an exit if you try to exit through there, so I ducked under one. Then I jogged, at times even ran, back to Carrefour, getting a little garlic and two sweet pastries, since those had also been discounted by then, being done minutes before closing.
I went back to Kaufland holding those purchases, added them in the cabinet, used the toilet, and entered the store again just before 10:10 PM. Then I took a bakery product, also scanning the label for a bun but finding that it really wasn’t discounted, and at the expiring products I saw several cartons of eggs, each of them containing at least one that was smashed and some more that were cracked, but they were deeply discounted and not wrapped, as they usually are at Kaufland, so I took my time to put ten good eggs in one of the cartons… Or sort of in it, since I had to tear off the place where the smashed egg had been, having no way to get all of it out of there, and then I put the tenth egg on top of the others and the carton in a bag. And then I also found something among the discounted meat products, but when I looked more closely I realized that the discount label was for another product and I couldn’t find the correct one, and I asked an employee who was nearby whether someone could place the correct label on it and she didn’t really answer, just saying that the label must have ended up stuck on it from something else, but when I asked whether that meant that I couldn’t take it, she hesitantly said that I could. Another employee was also there at the time, asking that one about some expiring yogurts, but she walked away just before the end of the conversation. And I did wonder what would happen if the machine would say that it’s not the correct product, detecting a different weight, but I nevertheless walked away with it, grabbed a few more things, and went to the self-checkout just before closing time.
Well, the machine obviously detected the different weight, so I called over the employee, who was the same one I had asked about the exit, and she looked closely and pointed out that the discount label was for something else. I said that I had taken it from the discounted products and she snapped at me that she saw where I had taken it from, though she obviously hadn’t, and walked away in a huff, with it. I asked if that meant that I couldn’t buy it and she said over her shoulder that of course it did… And that employee who had been asking about those expiring yogurts was at the next self-checkout and she said that she was the one I had talked to, correcting herself and saying that she had been there at the time when I said that she wasn’t, and then saying that her coworker had told me that the label had ended up stuck on that product from another and that I couldn’t take it, so I said that she was right about the first part, but that I had actually been told that I could take it, yet despite no longer being there at the end of that conversation, she still contradicted me, then walked away as well, so I snapped after her that she should ask her coworker, then finished scanning the other products, after which I took my time to arrange everything, walking away a little after 11:10 PM. I’m quite sure that they assumed that I was lying, maybe even that I had taken that label from something else and placed it on that product myself, and it is possible that the self-checkout employee had walked past me when I was picking those eggs and had seen that… But I think that the other employee was the one I dealt with in March of last year, when I accidentally walked out without paying for the bakery products and went back to do so when I realized it, losing several minutes because she didn’t do it right, so she should know better than to accuse me of trying to cheat.
Either way, after checking when this nearby Mega Image was going to open, in case dad wanted one of those other expiring products which I had noticed and one would still be there in the morning, I got back a few minutes before midnight, though after eating a banana and a really sweet thing that contained over 50 grams of sugar, I eventually went to drop a bag of trash down the chute. I also put the purchases in their place and went to wash at 1:25 AM, being done a little before 2:10 AM. Then I washed and cleaned in the kitchen and started eating dinner at 3:45 AM, being otherwise done just before 4:30 AM, but then spending ten more minutes getting the breadcrumbs that were stuck on the plate. I had used a part of a bread without added salt from Auchan and it got nicely crunchy and also tasted unexpectedly good after getting microwaved, but a lot of breadcrumbs and pieces of crust ended up stuck on the plate. On the other hand, that blister which had been under my tongue at least since the start of November seemed to have finally healed, after bursting almost a week earlier. And I got in bed at 5:20 AM.

On December 21, I started reading Utopia for Realists, and then I got in bed at 5:20 AM. I finished the book on December 23, also posting the quick review then, and then I washed the stove top that night, including the cover and those grates, and after also showering I was only back in the kitchen a couple of minutes before 2:30 AM, and there was more to wash and clean and put in the fridge after dad had cooked, so I ate dinner, consisting of some slices of pizza brought by dad and a salad that I tried to make way more quickly than I normally do, between 4:05 AM and 4:25 AM. Then I revised that quick review and grabbed another digital book, but found that I had to read it in the cloud reader, since it required an updated Kindle for PC, the message also stating that it required at least Windows 8. And I got in bed at 5:55 AM and there were no visits recorded on either December 23 or December 24. And something was bothering me in the upper left side of my mouth, which made me worry that it might be the tooth where I have the crown, but the problem seems to have gone away since then. Either way, in the early hours of December 25, I ate dinner between 3:10 AM and 3:30 AM, and then I started reading that book, finishing it on December 29, though I only wrote the quick review the following day.
Getting back, in the early hours of December 26, after just slicing bread after 1 AM and then going to take a shower, I cheated a little in order to be able to say that I started eating dinner before 3 AM, actually starting a few minutes later, and then dad also called me over, to exchange a few words, so it wasn’t bad that I finished eating dinner at 3:55 AM, especially since the last several minutes were spent getting the breadcrumbs off the plate… And then I had to rush to the toilet, something obviously disagreeing with me, but things gradually calmed down after that, and while a bit of a strange feeling remained after getting up and throughout the day as well, I didn’t even go again that day.

In the early hours of December 27, I was only starting to shave at 1 AM, so it’s not bad that I ate dinner between 3:15 AM and 3:55 AM, and I also had some of the old peanut butter on some of the slices of bread. And I somehow didn’t wake up when dad got back, but he brought some more things and also left a mess in the kitchen, so when I did wake up, just before 8 AM, and went to pee, I spent some time rearranging in the fridge and cleaning up a little in the kitchen, and then I dashed back out of bed twice, because I couldn’t remember whether I had done some things correctly. But I did eventually get back to sleep and got up after the alarm rang, at 1 PM. Then I had the usual stuff, the yogurt being an expired bio (organic) one, and the sweet thing consisted of a slice of some sort of cake brought by dad, I think made by that friend of my mother’s, though I still added honey. However, despite feeling like I had to go, I barely left a tiny bit in the toilet, and the previous problems made that even more of a concern. But I eventually had to cut my losses, and I left at 3:40 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 15-16°C, dropping by a few degrees by the time I finished.
The time was 48:46.16, with sector times of 4:15.66, 5:10 (5:09.35), I think 6:04.17, 4:38 (possibly 4:38.08), 5:04 (possibly 5:04.50), 6:02.19, 4:31 (4:30.43), 5:10 (5:09.75), 5:58.53 and 1:54 (1:53.50), making for lap times of I think 15:29.18, in which case it’d be 15:44.77, and 15:39 (15:38.71). I’m pretty sure about the time for sector three of lap one and therefore also for the lap, but after sector two of lap two I found myself thinking that I had 26 hundredths after sector one and 25 on sector one, so as if I had calculated it with one hundredth after lap one, and one hundredth was after sector two of lap one, but I also clearly remembered 18 hundredths, most likely at the end of the lap, so I was obviously confusing something. The times assume that I had miscalculated the hundredths for sector one of lap two, but I might have remembered those completely wrong. Either way, the seconds are correct, and the exact times don’t matter since there are no good times. In fact, at that point I even considered ignoring the exact times from then on, but I didn’t.
I felt that I couldn’t keep up that pace from the first sector, and my only chance would have been if it’d have been a great one on that sector, and it wasn’t, and then sector two was poor and I needed a good sector three to even have one lap on the pace for 48 minutes, yet I went well over six minutes on sector three, which made me wonder whether I’ll even stay under 49 minutes. And after that slow sector one of lap two, I pushed harder, and the next sector wasn’t that bad, but the third was still over six minutes, though by less than on lap one. So I kept pushing on lap three and sector one wasn’t bad, and sector two gave me a chance to be certain at the end of the lap that I’ll stay under 49 minutes, and a sector three that was the only decent one of the day at least assured me of that. My best hope, however, was to get under 48:45, and I didn’t even manage that. So it was another bad time.
The abdominal pain started towards the end of sector three of lap one, lessening on lap three but seeming to return to some extent on sector three of lap three. But more concerning was how my heart felt on sector two of lap one, which made me slow down a little and be careful, thinking that there had recently been a couple of times when I once again felt irregular heartbeats. And that feeling seemed to return on sector one of lap three, when I pushed more, though it then quickly went away, without actually getting to that point again. Otherwise, it was quite crowded and that did cause me to lose time, but mainly because of weaving and going the long way around, and also using the lane way more than I’d have wanted to, to be able to at least claim some right of way. I also squeezed through a few times, but what was surprising was that there was only one problem that was notable in itself, and I’m not certain whether it happened on sector two or three of lap three, but it was when I hesitated and probably briefly stopped when I was catching up to a group that was forming a roadblock, saw that there might have been a way to squeeze past, on the inside, shouted at them to make way, but the guy on that side seemed to block my way even more, if anything. Either way, the crowd isn’t an excuse for ending up so much over 48 minutes, and the weather definitely wasn’t either, being really good for running.

I again saw plenty of nice expiring yogurts when I checked the nearby Mega Image on the way back, despite having no mask, but I didn’t even check the date, just keeping them in mind. Then I ate some glucose and another apple and left when it was almost 6:15 PM, taking the used batteries and a bag of trash, which I dropped down the chute, and also something that I left for a cat. I had dad’s metro card, and the idea was to take Utopia for Realists back to the Library, after checking the site and not seeing anything about that location being closed those days… But I forgot the book, running back when I realized it, so it was almost 6:25 PM when I really left and then jogged, and at times even ran, to the metro station, reaching that location a little after 6:50 PM… Only to find it dark and locked up, but without as much as a sign indicating what was going on. And I still had enough time to reach the other location from that area before 7 PM, so I rushed there and, while it was also closed, at least there was a sign, which stated that it was opening again on January 8. Seeing as the deadline to return that book is January 5, that couldn’t also be the case for the first location, but at that point I had no other information, and those two locations have yards, so you can’t return a book when they’re closed, like you can in the locations that have those slits in the door. So I looked again when I got back, finding out that the location where I have to return that book will open again on January 4, but that announcement was just in a post on their Facebook page, not on the site or even as the cover on that page, to be easily noticed, and there had been quite a few other posts after it.
Either way, when I got back to the metro station, the machine held the card, which was just a couple of days old, for a few seconds, which was a bad omen. Then I went to Carrefour Orhideea, grabbing the last two of those cheap breads for dad, some sausages, obviously also for him, and finding plenty of deeply discounted expiring products there as well, including bio (organic) yogurts, though not the “creamy” ones which I had seen at this Mega Image, so I just took one of those, thinking that the discount might increase to 90% over here, if I’ll get back before closing time and they expired the next day. But one of the two self-checkout machines that should have accepted cash was off and the other had a sign stating that it only accepted cards, and I was missing a 0.01 RON coin in order to have the exact change, so I wandered around a little more, looking for such a coin, and during that time I also asked at the information desk, which is also accessible from inside the store in that location, whether they had rechargeable batteries to give in exchange for used ones, but was told that they didn’t. And I didn’t find one of those coins either, so I eventually went to a regular checkout, gave what I had, and the cashier didn’t comment. Then I put everything in the backpack, returned to the metro station… And the card gave an error, and after the first attempt it wasn’t even the usual error anymore, the machine listing “unknown operator” instead, which was a new one. So I showed it to the person who was there, also mentioning that the previous card had also stopped working right after using it at Romana, which in fact happened when I borrowed that book, and she also checked the card and said that the error was indeed a strange one, then advised me to replace it when that service will be open and let me through.
After getting off at Dristor, I walked to Auchan, wanting to see where the recycling machines are, since they were offering 0.50 RON for each recyclable without the symbol as a discount for their own brand of clothes those days and I thought, correctly, that dad would want something. And, after finding them in the parking lot, I entered the store, with the purchases, and looked around, but I just got some water for dad. Then I took the other purchases out of the backpack and put the water there, being surprised that it fit, since I hadn’t taken the large one.
I wanted to go to Kaufland next, picking the one next to that Penny, though Penny would be closed by then, so just Kaufland was the target, but I tried the other route, which would actually be the slightly better one for going straight to Kaufland, but I crossed the road too late and didn’t realize it, so I kept going until I reached the river, which was definitely not where I should have been, and while, after turning around, I did manage to find a way through that allowed me to get to Kaufland without actually going all the way back first, I lost a fair bit of time. Then I put everything in a cabinet, used the toilet, and entered a few minutes before 10:30 PM, seeing that some interesting sweet pastries were left in the bakery area. But we have plenty of sweets these days, so I just got a bun, after scanning the label and confirming that the other kind of buns that I might have otherwise gotten didn’t have an evening discount. Then I also grabbed a handful of beets, which had an evening discount, and some germinated wheat, which was discounted by 90% because it was expiring that day. And, after retrieving my things and arranging everything, I walked out at 10:55 PM and had to really rush to reach this Mega Image before it closed, at 11:30 PM, and I couldn’t jog because of the weight. But I did make it, leaving the bags right in front of the cabinets and entering with the backpack… Only to see that I shouldn’t have bothered, since those yogurts expired the day after the next one and the discount was still 50%, so I retrieved those bags and walked out.
I got back a couple of minutes before 11:30 PM, with about 15.5 kg. Then I put some of the purchases in their place and went to shower a little after 12:20 AM. I was done just before 1 AM, then I gathered some of my clothes which were hung to dry, put the rest of the purchases, with the exception of dad’s bread, in their place, washed and cleaned what was in the kitchen, ate lunch, on and off, while working on dinner, starting a little before 3 AM and finishing at 3:45 AM, and then had dinner between 4 AM and 4:50 AM. I got in bed at 5:55 AM.

I managed to at least write about these two runs, plus the part about the days that were between them, during the evening, so, after initially posting it right away by accident, I scheduled the post to be posted with just this content at 11:59 PM, then edited it Tuesday evening, to add the parts about the rest of December 20 and 27.

Compared to the first two books, the way the writing style improved and how Marigold developed as a character continue to be impressive, but the epic story from the third book, while not forgotten, is pretty much set aside, this one once again depicting a heroic fantasy adventure. It’s not the one that Marigold initially signs up for, however, and while he rather accidentally happens to be there at the conclusion of the “main event”, his primary goal once it begins is simply to survive the night, preferably along with a few of those who happened to be around him at the time, the other battles and the push towards the source of the problem being left to others and “off camera” until the end. The high point comes halfway through, in chapters eight and ten, when the thrill and the desperation of the battle reach their peak while somehow still leaving room for a few moments of grim humor.
The main problem is that the chapters alternate between Marigold and Helman, and I could have really done without the latter. Sure, they present how and why things are happening and will probably have some relevance in future books, but that could have been achieved without constantly breaking up the action for that despicable, infuriating, nauseating depiction of “chaotic evil”, an utter moron incapable of seeing anything other than his most basic and selfish desires, bringing about a localized apocalypse without realizing much of anything even when it’s quite literally staring him right in the face, and constantly behaving in a manner that will trigger the entire gamut of negative reactions from anyone on this side, or in fact on either side, of unrequited love, or of abuse, or who simply has any shred of morality, ethics, empathy, or even simply sanity. Otherwise, I’d still mention Marigold’s unbelievable strength and fortitude, all of the hero’s luck and the fact that, after the end of the actual adventure, too much is spent on presenting the aftermath and most probably setting up the next book or books, but those are lesser problems.

After going to the kitchen a few minutes late, slicing two of dad’s breads, finishing cleaning and washing after him in the kitchen, with cold water, since we had no hot water those days, and then making too much salad and using parts of a cabbage that made it take even longer, in the early hours of October 17 I ended up eating dinner between 4:05 AM and 4:55 AM and getting in bed at 5:45 AM. Then, after getting up, I had lunch and left at 4:25 PM. I thought that it was the first day when Carrefour’s campaign was taking place in a location from Bucharest, at Baneasa, and I had 32 plastic bottles split between the large backpack and a bag, having taken 20 that should be easily accepted, eight of those granting two products, two that I wanted to check whether they’ll be accepted, and two more that I just threw in there after the rest. And I had the metro card and also realized that it was much better to get off at Aurel Vlaicu, so I only had to walk half the distance, but still picked up one more of those bottles that granted two products on the way to the metro station and another one after getting off.
I know that I was in that mall’s parking lot when I checked the time and saw 5:53 PM, but I was wondering whether the place where I had to give the bottles was outside, so I looked around and at least a couple more minutes, if not a little more than that, passed before I entered. Then I found that place, inside the store, just next to the entrance, had a look and decided that I was going to give eight of those bottles, thinking that each two products that I’ll get in exchange for one of those will count as a single product, as it was before, so I could get eight products from two of the categories. However, after giving the 20 bottles that I was allowed to give in one day, including those eight and not including either of those that I wanted to try, since the machine didn’t accept them, the girl who was there being surprised in case of the beer bottle, I was told that I could get 28 products, but from at least seven categories, so the limit of four of one kind still applied, only the total increasing. But that wasn’t a problem, and I got four Golden apples, weighing 727 grams, four apples of some other kind, possibly Jonaprince, weighing 651 grams, four Kapia peppers, weighing 518 grams, four eggplants, weighing 1.162 kg, four tomatoes, weighing 859 grams, four red onions, weighing 248 grams, and four kohlrabies, weighing 792 grams, and I also entered the raffle… But then I was told that the following day was the last one at that location, the first having been the previous one, and also that the next location will be Colentina, which should have been the last one, in late November. And on top of checking the regulations the previous evening, so after the campaign had already started at Baneasa, and seeing no change, I had also sent a message to Carrefour’s Facebook page to ask whether there were any changes and was pointed to the regulations and told that there was no indication that there were going to be any!
I was quite confused at that point, and if what I had just been told was true, it meant that I had lost one day, but there was nothing that I could do about it then, so I put my things in a cabinet and entered the store again, having a look, taking pictures in order to get the prices for what I received and try to identify the apples, and just getting an expiring mix of fruits. Then I washed my hands, took my mask partially off, washed my face a little as well, went to sit at one of the tables that are outside of that mall and ate that mix. Then I put my mask back on, returned inside and peed, the janitor opening the door while I was in the stall, though she then waited outside of the bathroom even while I washed my hands. Then I retrieved my things from the cabinet and arranged everything, walking out just after 7:35 PM and grabbing two more of those bottles after getting off the metro at this station.
I got back at almost 9:15 PM and set the water to boil, but when I saw that it seemed to start boiling sooner than I expected, I turned off the stove and went to the toilet, then turned it back on and also warmed the tea. One pot took longer to start boiling, but after I poured the other two in the bathtub, I refilled them and, while I was waiting for them to start boiling again, I ate a part of the cake sent by my mother. Then, after washing, I ate a bag of snacks while spending a little time on the computer, then I got the plastic bottles that I was going to take the next day ready. I initially planned to also take the glass bottles that weren’t going to be accepted in this campaign to a recycling center that I was going to pass by, since I thought that I was going to have to walk all the way, but after gathering all of them, I changed my mind. Then I weighed what I received and put those products in their place, struggling to find room, did the day’s squats, sliced three more of dad’s breads and struggled to make them fit in the freezer, also took another Paracetamol, just in case, and decided to start taking the plain vitamin C that I still had, and finally ate dinner between 4 AM and 4:45 AM. I got in bed at 5:35 AM, after dad got back and we exchanged a few words.

It was a little before 9 AM when I was woken up by noise from outside, the work on the building having apparently really started, the roof getting scraped and everything sliding down a chute that hung all the way down and ending up right under my window. I tried to curl in a ball and cover my ears and did manage to get some more sleep, but in the form of brief and agitated naps, with messed up dreams. And I was startled once again when I heard dad put his key in the door, so I checked the time, saw 12:54 PM, and rushed to ask him something, at which point he also said that he planned to be back by 5 PM, in which case he could leave me the metro card again. I had to know ahead of time, however, seeing as, if he was going to be late and I’ll have to walk, I was going to have to leave before 4 PM. But either scenario allowed me to stay in bed a little longer, so I moved the alarm, which was set to ring at 1 PM, to 1:30 PM. There was no way to get back to sleep, however, and when I checked the time again and saw 1:19 PM, I turned off the alarm, got up, opened the window… And had to close it again after a little while, since my room was filling with dust. I opened it again after they seemed to have finished with that mess.
I had asked Carrefour for the correct, updated schedule for Bucharest by e-mail as well, specifying what had happened and the conflicting information I had received and asking for the answer to actually be written in the reply, not sent as a link, but the reply just pointed me to the regulations, not even mentioning the other file which had appeared, which stated that the campaign had indeed started at Baneasa on October 16, but would still remain there until October 19, and that everything else remained unchanged. And when I asked again, I was asked where had I found that additional file and for a phone number, so I pointed them to that file, but said that I wanted an answer that I could show to those who are there and I couldn’t do that with a phone conversation. On the other hand, on Facebook, where I had also explained what had happened, the guy at least admitted that the campaign had started earlier at Baneasa, but seemed to know nothing more than what was written in that new file, asking who had told me about any other changes. And, of course, dad also forgot to call, so I beeped him off the landline when I was about to leave and he called back and said that he was on his way back, so I had time to also have lunch after all, and then left, with the metro card, at 4:40 PM. I once again had 32 bottles, which included eight that granted two products, including the four found the previous day, and the ten other good ones which I had also brought back the previous day, obviously leaving behind those two that weren’t going to be accepted.
Despite taking the metro and therefore once again only walking half the distance, I found four more of those bottles, and all of them towards the end, the first when I was approaching that mall, the second in its parking lot, and two more right at the top of a garbage can that I passed by just before entering, so somebody hadn’t bothered to take a few steps and exchange them for four fruits or vegetables. I entered Carrefour at 6:10 PM and asked for clarification, also showing what was listed in that new file, and a guy who was there asked me to show him where I had found it, handing me his phone, and they were quite baffled when they saw it with their own eyes, saying that somebody would have told them if it was true. So, while that guy seemed to be discussing it with someone else, I gave the 20 bottles, but only including the four that granted two products which I had found, since there weren’t more categories that I was interested in, and I got four Golden apples, weighing 745 grams, four apples of another kind, I’m not really sure what, maybe Idared, but other possibilities are Jonaprince or even Jonathan, weighing 702 grams, four Kapia peppers, weighing 366 grams, four Bianca peppers, weighing 360 grams, four squashes, weighing 1.332 kg, and four tomatoes, weighing 911 grams. Then I wandered around the store for a while, once again taking pictures of prices and apples, actually having the new camera with me that day, but I didn’t find anything to buy. And that guy was there when I was about to leave, but by the time I worked up the courage to go and ask whether they had learned anything new, he had left, so I wasted a little more time, but when he still hadn’t returned, I asked one of the girls and she said that their information was correct, not what it said in that file, so that was the last day in that location, while between October 20 and 22 it’ll be at Colentina and Colosseum, in parallel.
I walked out just after 7:05 PM, but got off the metro at Obor and went to Auchan, since 25% of the price of canned products and spices was returned on the store card those days, up to a maximum of 12 products per card. And I entered with the backpack, where I had everything, since all of the cabinets either were locked or couldn’t be. However, after buying 12 products, I found that only 5% was returned for the cinnamon, which is what’s normally returned for products of their own brand, the additional 25% only being returned for the other products, so I asked about it and the employee, who was the same one who had previously insisted that 2.51 was lower than 2.26, at first kept pointing to the other products and telling me that I had received the 25%, and when I kept insisting that I was asking about the cinnamon, she said that the deal doesn’t have to apply to all of the products. So I went back and took pictures of the announcements that were placed all over that part of the store, and during this time the deal was once again announced through the speakers as well, so I rushed back to her and asked whether she had heard that announcement, and she finally used her headset to tell someone that a customer kept pestering her and won’t go away without an answer, and then told me that the cinnamon in question is listed as a “mirodenie”, not a “condiment”, and I’m using the Romanian terms because both translate to “spice”, the difference being that “mirodenie” refers specifically to plants that add flavor while “condiment” is generic, but may be said to mainly refer to “spicy” things. Either way, it was very cheap, much cheaper than another brand would have been even after deducting the 25%, so I left it as it was at that point and went back to the metro. And I also quickly checked the nearby Mega Image when I got here, putting the bag with the purchases from Auchan in a cabinet that didn’t lock and then retrieving it.
It was close to 9:40 PM when I got back, with 12.5 kg, but quite a few of those were just from Auchan. Then I set the first set of pots to boil, ate a piece of cake from my mother, put a few of the purchases in their place, and got on the toilet after I poured those pots in the bathtub, since dad was here and he brought the second set while I was washing my head over the side of the tub, with cold water. Then, after bathing, I weighed what I had received and put those products in their place, ate some grapes, and had dinner between 3:25 AM and 4:15 AM, during which time I also sent Carrefour another message on Facebook, to explain the situation and once again ask for exact information, and wrote some quick notes about the day. After also doing the day’s squats, I got in bed at 5:25 AM. And I’ll also add here that I checked Auchan’s site and saw that they had four brands of ground cinnamon and, oddly enough, the deal applied to the two that were more expensive, but not to the two cheaper ones, so I also sent a message about it, also complaining about that employee’s attitude and mentioning that it wasn’t the first time I had been on the receiving end of it, and it was weeks later when I received a reply, saying that their deals are always listed in the store, which clearly wasn’t the case then, since we were talking about the same kind of product and the same area of the store where all of those signs were, but also letting me know that the employee in question had been required to repeat her customer service training.

On October 19, when I woke up a little before noon, when dad was in the kitchen, I checked for replies from Carrefour and the e-mail stated that the correct dates were those from the new file, but on Facebook I was told that they’ll check and get back to me, and hadn’t until then, so I sent another message, saying that by then they could just ask someone from Baneasa to have a look and see what’s happening, and after that I did get a reply, saying that what those from Baneasa had told me was indeed correct, so the campaign wasn’t at Baneasa anymore and will move to those two other locations between October 20 and 22, and I was also given all of the other dates, which remained unchanged, along with apologies for the situation. And that update was removed from the site, but while I was told that they’ll upload the correct one soon, some time later the same file was uploaded once again! Either way, after another nap and some more time spent in bed after waking up, I eventually decided to go to Auchan Titan, leaving at 6:55 PM and looking for what I hadn’t found at Obor, since it was the last day when I could get that 25% and I had two products left, since the deal hadn’t applied to the cinnamon.
I initially meant to just walk there and then see whether I’ll have time for anything else and still get back in time to pay the maintenance bill, but once I was out I decided to run to Carrefour first, pulling down the mask after a little while. But that proved to just be a waste of time, so I rushed out and ran to Auchan, taking off the jacket after a while and holding it in my hand until I got there and put it back on. Then, after a quick look at a place that sells socks, I entered Auchan and saw some sweet pastries that were two for the price of one if you used the store card, and the ingredients seemed fine, so I got two of those, and also two whole wheat breads with seeds, since the price was even lower than that of their regular whole wheat bread after it got reduced. Since I recently saw that bread at twice that price, it was probably 50% off that day, though I didn’t see that listed anywhere. Either way, I accidentally dropped one of those breads while looking through them, and the tip was out of the bag and it hit the floor, and I just wiped it and put it back, feeling rather embarrassed. Then I looked for those larger bags of pepper, the site stating that they were in stock at that location, but I couldn’t find any and when I asked an employee he also said that there were none left. So I just got some tarragon for dad, used a self-checkout and ran back, which gave me enough time to check both Penny locations that are on the way, each time throwing the bag in a cabinet but not locking it. I got an expiring hummus from the second location, put it in the jacket’s inside pocket, then removed the jacket before walking out, once again holding it in my hand while I jogged back.
When I entered the building, I wanted to put the jacket back on, thinking that it might make me look a little less disheveled when I went to pay that bill, but as I unwrapped it from my arm, that hummus fell on the floor. But at least it didn’t break and splatter, so I put it in another pocket, paid the bill and got back a few minutes after 9 PM. And the hot water had returned, so I meant to do 200 squats before washing and did them in the bathroom, but I lost count and probably did 210. Either way, I then made mamaliga, with many things in it, including that protein yogurt taken before the marathon, since I wouldn’t have dared to eat it otherwise, after it had been in the heat all day.

On October 20, I got up after the alarm rang, at noon, and left at 2:50 PM, with 28 bottles, as in 20 regular ones, including three small glass ones, and the eight granting two products that I had just carried around two days earlier. Most were small, so they all fit in the large backpack. And I also took the paper, dropping it off in a recycling bin on the way to Mega Mall, since I went there first, putting the backpack in a cabinet, taking a cart and getting the seven bags of cat litter that I meant to get. I could have gotten less, since I had to use the voucher received for the new kitchen TV and seven would have been required for the total to exceed its value if I wouldn’t have gotten anything else, and I grabbed a number of expiring and spoiling products, but I stuck to that original plan, since that cat litter was discounted and those vouchers with 20% of the value were also offered for all pet products those days, so it was the perfect moment to stock up. Then, after retrieving my backpack, I somehow managed to stuff all of the purchases in that cabinet and continued to Colentina, grabbing more of those bottles on the way.
I got there just before 5:25 PM and the same people who had been at Baneasa were there as well, and the girl who gave me the products was particularly nice, so I gave eight of those bottles that granted two products and got four Golden apples, weighing 547 grams, four eggplants, weighing 1.181 kg, four squashes, weighing 1.674 kg, five Bianca peppers, weighing 807 grams, since that girl dropped the fifth one into the bag with a smile, four beets, weighing 2.168 kg, since she picked large ones and actually dug for a particular one and said that she was giving me that one that she particularly liked because she knew me by then, four celery roots, weighing 2.167 kg, and four apples of other kinds, which weighed 825 grams but seemed different, two or three likely being Red Delicious and one or two probably being either Gala or Jonaprince, and I didn’t weigh them separately. And the guy who had asked me to point him to that file had also arrived by the time I was done, and he thanked me for sorting things out and when I told him that they had uploaded the same file instead of a corrected one, he checked the site and saw that they had finally uploaded the correct file by then.
After putting what I had received in a cabinet, which was a little tricky, since the location for this campaign was just in front of the cabinets, some of them being completely blocked and others only accessible by reaching over a table, I entered the store and meant to buy some underwear, since those vouchers were also offered for “men’s textiles” those days and the kind of boxers that I’ve been wearing since shortly after I started running were actually available in that location, which isn’t the case pretty much anywhere else. However, I first bought two of the four, wanting to make sure, and when the receipt came out I saw that it didn’t contain any voucher, so I called over an employee and she told me that “textiles” meant “things like t-shirts” and didn’t include underwear, and when I said that in that case I wanted to return them, she said that they don’t normally accept returns for underwear. But I hadn’t even walked out of the store, and obviously hadn’t tried them on, so I insisted and she told me to go to the information desk and see what will happen. So I set the underwear aside and tried to scan the expiring bread which I had also meant to get… Only for the full price to scan as well, the sticker with the discounted price only partially covering the regular bar code, and I couldn’t get myself to call that employee over yet again, so I just walked away from that self-checkout, leaving the bread but taking all four of those boxers with me even though I had just paid for two. And that obviously caused some confusion at the information desk, when I tried to explain what had happened and handed all of them over along with the receipt that was just for two, but they eventually refunded me for the two that I had paid for and took all four back. Then I retrieved my things, put everything except the bag with the remaining bottles that granted two products in the backpack, used the toilet, and walked out at or just after 6:45 PM.
On the way back to Mega Mall, I quickly checked a Profi and also that Mega Image from Pantelimon, which had reopened by then, just putting the bag with those bottles in a cabinet each time, without locking, and then retrieving it. Then I retrieved the other purchases and two of the bags of cat litter from the cabinet that I had left them in and made my way back, grabbing another one of those bottles on the way and arriving here when it was almost 8:50 PM, with 25.5 kg, though 12.5 of them were only from Mega Mall. Then I dropped everything off, put the expiring mozzarella and pastries in the fridge, took what I had received out of the backpack, since I needed it as well, and went out again just after 9:05 PM, with a wheeled bag that I had asked dad to leave for me. And I managed to stuff four of the remaining five bags of cat litter into that wheeled bag, then I put it in another cabinet, leaving the last bag in the first one, and grabbed a few more expiring products, one of them even adding a small voucher on the receipt. Then I retrieved everything and made my way back once again.
I was back for good at 10:25 PM, with just 8 kg on me but pulling 23 kg, though that was easy. Then I tried to move the cable box to the kitchen TV, to be able to watch the qualifying for the race there, since the station broadcasting it is not available on analog… Only for dad, who was taking a bath, to call me to help, because he had flooded the bathroom once again! It wasn’t nearly as bad as the first time and he claimed that he hadn’t fallen asleep again, but that he was rubbing his legs and hadn’t noticed the water level, even though the water would have had to keep flowing for quite a few minutes after reaching what would clearly be a “danger” level before so much of it would have ended up on the floor. Either way, I rushed to mop up as well as I could, then washed the slippers, once again needing to resort to using the old ones, threw the yogurt in the fridge, and decided to take my shower before qualifying, though I first arranged a little more in the bathroom and finished just when Q1 was ending. Then I put the remaining purchases in their place and just split what I had received into two bags, one for what we were going to keep and one for what should be taken to my mother, leaving weighing for another time. I also prepared the bottles for the next day, cleaned and washed what was in the kitchen, ate some of the supposedly spoiling grapes which I had grabbed from Carrefour the first time, finding that they were pretty much flawless, and also that other thing which I had grabbed on the last trip, and had lunch between 3 AM and 3:35 AM, while working on dinner. I ate dinner between 4:20 AM and 4:45 AM and initially got in bed at 5:40 AM, but then I remembered that I wanted to use some hand cream, especially since my right thumb was once again really cracked, so I got back up to do that.

This is how far I got before midnight, but I clearly had to include this first “series” in a single post, so I edited the post Tuesday evening in order to also add the parts about October 21 and 22.

On October 21, I meant to leave later, but when I woke up at 10:15 AM to pee, I decided to get up and get ready, hoping to even be back in time to watch the handball match. So it was just after 12:30 PM when I left, with 30 bottles, ten of them granting two products, and I went straight to Carrefour Colentina, picking up a few more of those bottles on the way, and also spotting a recycling center that’s right on this slightly shorter route to Obor and offers a little more for glass than the one which I had initially meant to take the glass to.
I got there at 2:05 PM, then went to the toilet and put on the mask, since I had taken it with me without putting it on until then. However, after having a look at the available products, I wasn’t even sure that I was interested in six categories, so I was still trying to decide whether to give all the 20 regular bottles or 16 of those and four of those granting two products, and that caused me to lose count, and the machine displayed the number with quite a delay, so I saw 15 and gave one more to the girl, but that was actually the 17th, so I could just give three more of the others, ending up with just three products from the sixth category, which ended up being potatoes. So I got four Golden apples, weighing 622 grams, four beets, weighing 597 grams, four long red onions, weighing 244 grams, four regular onions, weighing 578 grams, three potatoes, weighing 363 grams, and four apples of another kind, weighing 681 grams, but I have no notes about those, so they could have been any of the kinds that I tend to confuse, meaning Idared, Jonathan, Jonaprince or Gala.
After putting everything in the backpack, I went into the store and bought some things, all of them from categories that those vouchers were also offered for those days. I had the impression that there was a single functional self-checkout that also accepted cash and a couple with a full cart was using it, so I waited behind them, but after a while the man told me to go to another one, and when I said that they only accepted cards he said that wasn’t true, so I had another look and saw that he was right, and also found a 0.50 RON coin when I moved to another machine. And I used the 10 RON voucher which I had received for doing their survey as well. On the other hand, I also meant to buy some peanuts, but despite checking on-line before leaving and seeing them clearly listed among the “salty snacks” that those vouchers were offered for, they were unsalted, so I had some doubts, and the employee who was assisting in that area was the same one who had been there the previous day and I didn’t want to end up calling her over for a similar problem once again, so I left them there. Then I took some time to arrange the purchases in a bag, added it in the backpack, and walked out a little after 3:15 PM.
I think I picked up two more of those bottles by the time I got back here, but “managed” to miss something much bigger, since I meant to also check that Profi and somehow just walked past it without realizing it. But I did check the Penny from Obor, just putting the bag with those bottles which I had picked up in a cabinet, buying some things… And ending up paying the exact amount by accident, even though the cashier would have accepted less. I had taken coins out of my pocket, but when I saw the total I wanted to give her another 1 RON bill, leaving just 0.15 RON in coins, yet when she saw the coins she asked whether I wanted to get rid of them and said that if I had 1 RON in coins she’ll take that and it’ll be enough. Well, I didn’t want to get rid of them, but hadn’t planned to be asked to and pretty much froze, just managing to mumble that I thought I had 0.90 RON when she said that she thought I had 1 RON. And she said that 0.90 RON would also be fine, but despite going through the motions that made it appear that I was counting, I just couldn’t, so it was only later, after calming down to some extent, that I realized that I had somehow, completely by accident, given her exactly the 1.15 RON that I should have paid, even though she’d have been willing to accept 0.25 RON less. Either way, when I went to the cabinets the guard also asked to check my backpack, which made me even more anxious, but even though it was obviously full, he said that he didn’t want me to open it, just patting it, and when I said that I had products from Carrefour in it and had the receipt, obviously referring to the purchases, he said that it was fine and moved away. And at that point I realized that I hadn’t taken the receipt for what I had just purchased, but couldn’t get myself to turn around and ask for it.
Between being asked for something I hadn’t prepared for, not knowing how much I had actually paid, not having the receipt to be able to check in case I’ll forget what the total should have been, and the thought that the guard probably suspected me of something, I was pretty much a complete mess at that point and fitting the new purchases into the backpack was a real struggle, so I’m not really sure what I did or how I walked out of there, being pretty much in a daze that only started to gradually clear after crossing the road. So I eventually stopped on some stairs and took my time to check that I actually had everything in the backpack, probably getting in the way of others and looking pretty weird, both while checking and after that, as I struggled to get the heavy backpack back on without having a high enough surface to place it on first.
Even without all of that, it wasn’t certain that I’d have gotten back by 5 PM, when the match started, but all of that lost time and the weight and the heat, that day’s high being 32°C, that didn’t allow me to recover it meant that I was only about to enter the park at that hour. So I decided that I might as well make the little detour to the nearby Mega Image as well, leaving just that bag next to the cabinets, retrieving it on my way out, and getting two more jars of peanut butter, since the discount for the second one made the price per unit even lower than what it had been when I had purchased the first one. And I’m yet to open any of them even now, so I shouldn’t have bought that first one, but there was no way to know at that time.
It was close to 5:25 PM when I got back, with over 15 kg, so I guess I had 14 kg before Mega Image and just eight before Penny. Either way, after cleaning the litter box and putting watermelon in a plate, I took out a bag of trash, dropping it down the chute. Then I ate the watermelon and most of one of the new bags of corn puffs and did the day’s squats, in the kitchen, before going to the toilet and washing. Then I finished the corn puffs and ate a sweet pastry while weighing and arranging what I had received, including the products from the previous day. After that, I rushed to post the week’s first post, and at night, after straightening some bottles, I made pizza, eating between 4:05 AM and 5:05 AM. I got in bed at 5:40 AM.

If I felt that I was able to do it, I meant to leave early on October 22 as well, so when I woke up just before 10 AM, I took some time to think about it and eventually did get up when it was almost 10:20 AM. Then I had lunch, did the day’s squats, and left when it was almost 12:45 PM, with 30 recyclables, including some straightened plastic bottles, 14 bottles that granted two products, two glass bottles and a can. However, I somehow ended up turning right on Pantelimon instead of crossing and then going left, losing some time before I realized it, at which point I crossed and jogged back to where I should have been. Either way, I picked up a few more of those bottles on the way, the first one actually before leaving the building, since I checked the garbage room that’s on this floor and spotted it there.
I got there a little after 2:20 PM, washed my hands and put on the mask, since I had once again kept it off on the way, but different people were handling the campaign that day, or at least at that hour. That made me anxious, and when the guy asked whether I was there to recycle while I was still trying to decide what to get, I started giving him the recyclables, trying a glass bottle and a can, at which point he put the can in the other machine and said that plastic bottles go in one and cans in the other, and then also trying some straightened bottles, at which point he said that they should be as straight as possible, but they worked. However, while there were many different products that I’d have been interested in and I could have easily picked nine categories, I ended up giving him six regular plastic bottles, on top of the glass one and the can, so I could only add 12 of those that granted two products and therefore select eight categories, ending up with four Golden apples, weighing 604 grams, four beets, weighing 811 grams, four Bianca peppers, weighing 429 grams, four parsley roots, weighing 270 grams, four carrots, weighing 368 grams, four potatoes, weighing 1.289 kg, four regular onions, weighing 529 grams, and four apples of other kinds, weighing a total of 647 grams, and I once again didn’t weigh them separately even though three were quite clearly Jonathan and one might have been Gala, but I’m not entirely sure about that.
Since the machine stopped after the first three items, so the guy had to sort it out and then continue, and another receipt was just for the can, I ended up with three, and that seemed to confuse the woman who took them and asked what I wanted, since she asked for the first category, put those products in a bag, then used another bag for the second category, and then told me to pick 14 more products. So I pointed out that I should have a total of 32 products, eight categories, and had just told her two categories, so I had 24 products, six categories, left, and after a moment she agreed. I also asked why was she using separate bags and she said that they had plenty, so I said that they may want to avoid wasting paper, especially in a campaign that was intended as an environmental one, and she did put all of the remaining products into the third bag. However, when she finished placing another category of products in the bag and I hesitated a moment before telling her the next one, she asked whether I wanted cucumbers, probably because nobody was asking for those, being so small, and that broke my concentration and after rejecting her suggestion I found myself saying that I wanted carrots instead, since they were next to the cucumbers, and forgot that I had meant to ask for long red onions at that point, ending up skipping over them completely. As for the apples, I pointed to the crate with Golden and that with what seemed to be Gala, but I think she grabbed those last four apples from another crate, and they probably tend to confuse and mix the apples just as well, so I ended up with what I said above. And when it came to the four beets, after grabbing two large ones she paused and searched for two small ones.
Either way, after putting everything, including the remaining bottles, in the backpack, I entered the store with it and bought a few things, all but one of them once again being from categories that those vouchers were offered for those days. And yes, I did get some of those peanuts that day as well. Then I struggled for quite a while to put the new purchases in the backpack with rope straps which I had also taken with me, after which I tried to wear it under the large one, but it wasn’t working, and I had those remaining bottles that granted two products in the large backpack even though it’d have been useful to hold that bag in my hands, to be able to quickly add any others that I might find on the way back in it, so I removed them and put the purchases in the large backpack as well. I’d have saved a fair bit of time if I’d have done that right away, but as it was, I once again walked out a little after 3:15 PM, exactly at the same time as the previous day.
At least I didn’t miss that Profi again, but after throwing the bag with those bottles in a cabinet that didn’t lock, which seemed to be the case for all of them in that location, and entering with the backpack, I didn’t find anything to get, so moments later I retrieved it and walked out. Then I also checked the Penny from Obor, putting both that bag and the backpack on the cabinets but then once again just retrieving them and walking out. And I entered that Carrefour as well, trying to find a large cabinet to put the backpack in but eventually just putting the bag in a small one and entering with the backpack, since the only unlocked large cabinet couldn’t be locked. And, after somehow missing that until then, I noticed that the price of the small bags of frozen spinach was good, much better than that of the large ones, and those vouchers were also offered for all frozen products those days, so I got some of those for dad. Then I retrieved that bag and the fact that I held it separately did end up being useful, since I found a couple more of those bottles on the way back. Otherwise, it was pretty hot that day as well, considering the date, but “only” up to 29°C, so not as bad as the previous day.
I got back just after 5:10 PM, rearranged things in the freezer in order to somehow make the spinach fit in there as well, and then made popcorn and ate some of it and watermelon before going to the toilet and to wash. I almost finished the popcorn while spending some time on-line and trying to get myself to write that week’s second post, but it was late in the evening when I actually finished the last little bits of popcorn, also eating two little sweet things at that point. I also weighed what I had received, washed what was to wash in the kitchen, somehow found a way to make everything fit in the fridge, and had dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:35 AM. I got in bed at 5:25 AM.