Cav's Place

Since I couldn’t get myself to write about the actual run in the previous personal post, I’m forcing myself to do so in this one by including the next run in it and writing that part first, so I will need to edit the post and complete this part as well over the coming days. But I am going to write something before midnight as well, somehow, beginning with the fact that I had 1:37 as the start time, but the official one was 1:39. Either way, I then had 5:32 for each of the first two kilometers, which was better than expected, especially in case of the first one, which I thought was going to take me some six minutes, considering how crowded it was and the fact that I tried to avoid weaving too much, so I won’t add to the distance.
I obviously pushed more once the crowd started to clear, but I had the distinct impression that the marker for three kilometers was placed too early, so I have serious doubts that I really covered that kilometer in 4:45, especially since I then appeared to have a significantly worse time on the following kilometer. I didn’t write down exactly what it was, I probably didn’t even remember by the time I got back, but I remember that much. Either way, it is still possible that the marker was placed correctly or at least that the error resulted in a difference of less than ten seconds, which would make the third kilometer the fastest one. Otherwise, the fastest would be the fifth, which I covered in 4:55, pushing in order to gain a few seconds before the refreshment point, where I slowed to a walk, grabbed a cup of water and one of that other drink, drinking a little of the water first, then pouring the rest into the other cup and drinking it like that, plus a piece of banana, which I ate after I resumed running. And that was the rule for the regular refreshment points, at least until I was in too much trouble.
What followed was a period of getting my head down and covering the distance, with my eyes on the 3:45 pacemakers, whom I had been closing on before that first refreshment point and then found myself needing to do so all over again. And, despite that bad slope from the end of the seventh kilometer, where I actually lost less time than I thought I would, I arrived at the second refreshment point, which was on the 11th kilometer, pretty much with them… Only to obviously fall back once again, so I pushed to catch up and covered the 12th kilometer in less than five minutes. And I think that it was the last time I managed that, because I remember thinking that the 13th kilometer should be the last fast one, the route and the accumulated effort making it quite clear that I was going to get slower after that, but probably finding that it wasn’t quite that fast because I moved from one side of the road to the other a few times over the course of it, most of the others staying on the side that I hadn’t chosen at first because it was shaded, so that probably cost me.
While the 14th kilometer wasn’t that fast overall, since it ended with that short but bad slope, when the route returns on Victoriei, it also included the corresponding slope that goes down, when the route turns off Victoriei, and I made full use of it in order to actually get ahead of the 3:45 pacemakers. Not for long, of course, since on top of how much that slope slowed me, I also dug one of the bars out of the running belt, but if the original plan had been to eat it on that slope, I ended up only losing even more time, since at that point I decided to leave it for later and just moved it to the pocket of my tights. And then there was another refreshment point in Cismigiu Park, and that was when I stopped being able to keep up with those pacemakers, so they pulled ahead and the distance kept increasing after that, and as I was returning on Elisabeta, back past the park and towards Victoriei, so I was climbing another slope that, while not steep, is quite long, they were starting to even get out of sight. And that was also when I started to realize that drinking two cups at each refreshment point wasn’t such a good idea, since I was starting to feel too full and some liquid was even coming back up.
In spite of that, I did the same thing at the following refreshment point, and while the problem didn’t worsen right away, I was thinking about it and decided to delay eating that bar one more time, albeit not for long, since the initial plan was to eat one more thing right after the halfway point and I then meant to eat it after 22 kilometers, also in order to get a better time at that point, remembering that I had managed to get there in less than two hours last year… And this time around I did significantly better, I believe managing to get there in just under 1:57, or something along those lines. It might have even been just under 1:56, I can’t really remember. Either way, the road does climb a little in that area once again, as the route gets back to Constitution Square, so after 22 kilometers I slowed and finally ate that bar… Which I found to be nauseatingly sweet, though I believe that the nausea wasn’t really caused by the bar.
I was surprised to see another refreshment point, albeit offering only water, when I got back to Constitution Square. At the time, I was wondering whether the organizers had given some thought to the question posted by someone who had asked whether they’ll follow the recommendations that apply when the temperatures are expected to exceed 25°C, which was the case for that day’s high, and offer at least water every 2.5 km, at least for the second half of the race, but now that I think about it, I realize that it was probably a point set up by the sponsor that offered the water, since the only other one that was in between the regular ones was set up by the nutrition sponsor. Either way, I did take a cup and drank it, which might have helped with the nausea but probably contributed to the fact that soon after that, as I was reaching 23 km, a certain pressing need started to appear. And that 23rd kilometer was also the first one that I covered in more than six minutes.
I got back under six minutes on the following kilometer, but went over six minutes once again on the 25th, which included another refreshment point. However, that pressing need, which had gone away soon after it had first appeared, didn’t return at that point, and that might not have been such a good thing, because it meant that I continued past that gas station that’s right at 26 kilometers, where I went to the toilet two years ago. In itself, that was just fine, so I returned and stayed under six minutes per kilometer until the 29th kilometer, which was the first one that I covered in more than six minutes without slowing in order to eat or drink. So I guess that my body was sending me a pretty clear message, but that pressing need hadn’t returned, so I just kept going when I then passed by that gas station once again, the route having turned on the 28th kilometer.
It wasn’t long after that when it became painfully, desperately obvious that doing so had been a big mistake. I was starting to feel the need for something that would help me a little more, and I was obviously slowing quite significantly, so at 30 kilometers I took the first liquid magnesium… And my belly rebelled, that pressing need returning suddenly and with a vengeance, which led to awful times on the next two kilometers. There was also a refreshment point on the 31st kilometer and, while I’m tempted to say that I kept doing what I had been doing, since that need had just reappeared and I was hoping to be able to withstand it, if not that it’ll even go away again, I’m not absolutely certain of it. Either way, I know that I didn’t even calculate the times for those two kilometers, but that I went over eight minutes on each of them… And I also passed by a couple of restaurants, thinking about dashing in to use a toilet but not doing it. And Radu and his group, who had been well behind me, also rushed past me at that point, I believe a little before returning to Unirii Boulevard, so at least a kilometer earlier than last year. And, while I then somehow managed to push a little more despite looking around ever more desperately for one of those more proper public toilets and delayed that moment until after I passed that marker, after 33 kilometers the 4:00 pacemakers overtook me as well.
There were some more restaurants on Burebista, but I passed by those as well, since at that point I was feeling somewhat less desperate and also had another gas station in mind, if necessary. And I did gradually recover to some extent, so by the time I reached that gas station, at the end of Decebal, I passed by it as well, especially since I wasn’t even certain that it had toilets. However, it was obvious that, if I wanted to have any chance to keep going, I had to avoid eating or drinking anything else, and that was also a part of the reason why I discarded the bars when I reached the spot where the nutrition sponsor was offering various products. I actually stopped there for a moment and initially reached for the bars, but I still had the one taken during the half marathon which I had taken with me, the one I had eaten being one which I had purchased, and I was obviously going to go back with it, and at that point I wasn’t thinking about taking some more for later use, so I just grabbed a gel and a vial of liquid magnesium… Unfortunately, I only had a better look at the gel after moving on, at which point I saw that it was one with high caffeine content, and while that, in itself, may be useful during such a run, especially when I’m running on next to no sleep, caffeine also has certain side effects that I definitely didn’t need at that point, or in fact at any point, so I put it away then and I’m not sure whether I’ll use it in a future “official” run either, so I may end up using it during the next long practice run.
Still, while I put that gel aside, at 35 km I did have the one which I had taken with me… With the obvious result, my body reacting pretty much instantly and making it absolutely clear that I wasn’t going to be able to even reach that gas station again, much less finish, without going to the toilet. But I was in this area that I know well, on Basarabia, and set my mind on going in a certain restaurant, ignoring a couple of others that are before it even if I had never been to any of them, including that one. However, when I saw that the marker for 36 kilometers was just after that restaurant, I wanted to reach it first, and then I obviously didn’t want to go back, not even a few steps, so I continued to the place where the route turned, which wasn’t far ahead, desperately clenching my butt, and I finally dashed into the restaurant on my way back.
As soon as I approached the door, I was asked whether I needed help, and if I just rushed past the person at the entrance, when I was asked again after stepping inside and having a quick look around, I asked about a toilet, apologizing and saying that I couldn’t make it anymore, and I was pointed to it, so I rushed there, hearing comments behind me along the lines that it’s not surprising, when you run so much. But the pleasant surprise, after holding it in so much and then letting loose in such an explosive manner, was that there was no blood. I was there for several minutes, however, since it just kept coming; there were a couple of moments when I thought that I had gotten rid of enough to be able to get back, only for more “blasts” to suddenly come when I meant to wipe. But I was eventually able to wipe, albeit obviously without taking the time to do it well, and get up, then quickly washed my hands and left. I apologized once again on my way out, but I probably shouldn’t show my face there again, since I have no idea what state I left that toilet in, since I just flushed and walked out, and that’s even without taking the smell into account…
Calculating from the moment when I stepped off the route to the moment when I got back on it, I lost pretty much exactly ten minutes, but I had really recovered, the result being that I returned below six minutes per kilometer and could just keep it up. Of course, there were two more refreshment points, in fact only some three kilometers apart, the one which should have been around 35 kilometers having probably been pushed farther back by that one set up by the nutrition sponsor… Or maybe not, since I think that it was more or less in the same place last year as well. Either way, it came soon after I resumed running, which was a really good thing for me, since I could actually make use of it, though I’m once again not entirely sure that I did the same thing I had been doing before the situation got bad. I believe so, but I do think that I had a piece of orange instead of one of banana at one of the points and I couldn’t say which one it was, and I’m not even absolutely certain that I did so at all or, in that case, whether it really was a piece of orange and not one of apple. Either way, the two kilometers that had refreshment points were obviously slower than the others, but not by much. And I had taken both vials of liquid magnesium with me, so when it seemed that some cramps were once again about to come, as I approached 39 kilometers, I could drink one more and still have one left for later use, since I had also taken that one from the point set up by the nutrition sponsor. And there was enough time for it to kick in before the end, so I covered the 42nd kilometer in 5:43, which is similar to what I managed last year. And then I had 1:03 for that final portion.

I know that there was a small difference between what I had and the official time, but I didn’t even write down what I had, so whether it was one second or two, and whether it was more or less, I can’t say anymore. But it doesn’t really matter, what matters being that the official time was 4:16:18 and the recorded real time was 4:14:40. That’s my second worst time, only the first one, from 2018, being worse, and I was slower than last year even if you deduct those ten minutes, since last year was the only time when I didn’t have such problems. But, with that in mind, if you also take into account the fact that I lost at least six or seven minutes, and likely even more, over the course of the nearly seven kilometers that I covered while struggling not to shit myself, it would mean that I could have been faster than last year if I’d have somehow managed to avoid this problem one more time.
Since I didn’t avoid that problem, those calculations are pretty pointless… Though it is quite obvious that waiting so long and then having that gel and needing to go after all was the worst option, the best having probably been either to anticipate what was going to happen and dash into that gas station when I ran past it the second time or at least go into the first restaurant I passed by after things got really bad. Of course, I wouldn’t have maintained that sort of pace all the way to the end if I’d have gone several kilometers earlier, but I’d have certainly gained quite a few minutes overall. And just digging in and not eating or drinking anything else until the end might have also been a little better, since I’d have probably been slower by one or two minutes per kilometer, but I went some 5.5 kilometers before the end and it wouldn’t have been two minutes on each kilometer, to add up to more than the ten minutes I lost. But, of course, in that case I risked to still end up needing to go, in which case I’d have lost even more time.
What’s clear is that this was, at best, my next to last chance to reach that goal of having an official time of less than four hours for a marathon before I turn 40, and this assumes that the race won’t be pushed back next year as well, since at the moment the date is October 13. However, on top of not getting any younger, next year the Bucharest Marathon will host the World Masters Athletics Marathon Championship, so I’m thinking that start sectors will be reintroduced then, and there may even be a slight delay before the amateur runners will be allowed to start, behind the professional athletes. And these times would get me in sector D, if the thresholds will remain the same, or even worse if they’ll want to offer more space for the faster runners, so my start time will be quite a few minutes worse. And my target is unquestionably the official time, not just the real time, so I won’t just need to be faster than last year, but make up for those lost minutes on top of that… And I don’t see any of that happening.

Before midnight, I only had the first three paragraphs of what’s above, though I also already had the entire part about October 27 as well, as I already mentioned. So I then had to somehow get myself to add the rest as well, even if it’s not just hard to think about those moments, but also quite hard to be sure of the details, or to recall some of them at all, seeing as I don’t have that many notes, and in fact, past a few things about the early part of the race, pretty much all I have is an e-mail I sent to my mother on the evening after the race. But I finally managed to get myself to write the rest of it, editing the post in order to add the rest Saturday evening.

Despite obviously not deserving any break, Carrefour’s campaign meant that I really couldn’t run on the week that followed the marathon, at least not unless I wanted to do so while being exhausted and end up even more depressed because of the result. As such, I only ran again on October 27, when I woke up seconds before the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and got up after it did. Then I had the usual stuff, but once again replaced three almonds with apricot pits, and the sweet thing was a slice of something brought by dad, with added honey. It was probably some chec and had apparently been sent by my mother, but it was bought, not made by her or by that friend of hers. Either way, I left at 4:40 PM, wearing the full running gear, getting back to the old running shoes. The reported temperature was 23°C, but it was overcast and I think I even felt a few drops, and by the end of the run it was about 21°C.
The time was 47:10.54, with sector times of 4:21.26, 4:58.66, 5:49 (5:48.65), 4:22 (4:21.82), 4:59 (4:58.87), 5:44.22, 4:23.06, 4:59.13, 5:44 (5:43.75) and 1:51.12, making for lap times of 15:08.57, 15:05 (15:04.91) and 15:06 (15:05.94). I started at a somewhat controlled pace and the first sector was a little faster than I thought it’d be. Then I pushed, reaching a pace that I didn’t think I was going to maintain even over the course of sector two, and when I saw what pace that was, it was no surprise. However, I did maintain it, the times continuing to be good and, in fact, very steady, with the first lap ending up being the slowest. But I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes and over the course of the first two laps I kept thinking that it was going to be difficult, only starting to wonder whether 47:30 was possible after finishing lap two. It still seemed really unlikely, but after two sectors I was thinking that I’ll even be safe at the end of the lap. And I wasn’t just safe, but at that point I knew that I should even get under 47:15, which I clearly did. Maybe with a clear track I might have even had a chance to squeeze under 47 minutes, but I’m not sure, since I don’t think that I had any more to give and probably didn’t lose more than ten seconds because of people. But add the fact that I possibly lost a little in order to check the time and maybe it would add up. Either way, at that point it was my best time over this distance since March.
Other than some weaving and going the long way around, whether because of people or in order to avoid some wet or too uneven parts of the lane, over the course of the first two laps I only slowed once, on sector two of lap one, because of a woman with two dogs, one of them and its leash blocking the lane. However, on lap three it suddenly got more crowded and I slowed three or four times only on its first sector, and a few more times after that as well. And then, at the start of the final sector, on the stairs, I had to go to one side and then the other, and then on the outside on the curved part. But the overcast sky definitely made it seem cooler than the reported temperature, and there was hardly any wind to speak of, so that really helped. However, that same overcast sky made it rather dark and I probably slowed a few times in order to see the time properly. But what was really important was that there were no physical problems and I could just keep going.

On the way back, I had a look in the nearby Mega Image, then finished the watermelon. I had wanted to keep a little of it until the end of the month, or at least until October 30, when I was going to run again, but it was going too soft and souring. And the pasta was also clearly going bad, so I finished that as well. Then I did the day’s squats in the bathroom, before washing, and after that I made the salad and ate dinner earlier.

Note: There doesn’t seem to be an English edition, so I listed the Romanian title above and then translated it to English. The original French title is “Bon Pour La Casse: Les déraisons de l’obsolescence programmée”.

The small size of this book makes it clear that it doesn’t go in depth, but it does a good enough job of pointing out not just the problems generated by planned obsolescence, which are all too obvious, but also that the concepts and practices that it’s based on are hardly new, some having existed throughout human civilization and only becoming worse and more widespread as more methods became available to those who stood to gain from them and the general public became more complicit. It also stresses the undeniably harmful role of marketing and advertising in general, points out the impossibility of endless growth and that environmental limits will soon put a stop to humanity’s current production and consumption patterns, and eventually, in the conclusion, presents some solutions.
However, I’m actually tempted to say that the author tried too hard to be balanced when presenting the matter from the point of view of the economy, and even let those economic considerations cloud the attempt to discuss the ethical aspects of these practices, to the point that I found that entire section more or less meaningless. There was also far too little emphasis on the environmental aspects, at least in my view. But perhaps the biggest problem is that the proposed solutions come too late, are presented too briefly and, despite complaining that some of the quoted works and authors don’t go far enough with their proposals, may be guilty of the same thing. Yes, at the end it is stated that the solutions will need to be imposed through regulations and require overhauling the economy and even society, reducing consumption most preferably without reducing the standard or quality of life, but some of the specifics are only briefly mentioned at the very end and the intermediate steps that are presented in more detail tend to bother me, especially when it comes to renting.

Rating: 3/5

Since I had 46 kg on October 14 and felt that the pasta which I had eaten after getting up was too little, I had another small serving with dinner, which otherwise consisted of peanut butter on the slices of bread and a large salad, made before midnight, when I also made the tea for the morning. I also managed to remember to use that vitamin tea for the tea I drank that day, though I had forgotten to do the same for one of the two made the previous day. Either way, I then had something else to do, so I ate between 12:30 AM and 1:25 AM, and then I also took one of those pills against gas… And dad took a bath and then got on-line without a word, and I only checked the router, noticed it and disconnected at 1:21 AM. So it was obviously a lie when it was past 1:30 AM when I went back out of my room, asked how long had he been connected and he said five minutes, but how much of one became clear when I asked to check his computer’s logs and saw that it had been turned on at 12:54 AM, so we were both connected for almost half an hour, during which time I had been logged on in places that I really, really don’t want to even visit when we’re both connected. And of course it was supposedly my fault for not unplugging his cable before getting on-line. For fuck’s sake!
I wasted a fair bit of time talking to him, but I had shaved in the evening and put some of the things that I was going to take with me in the backpack, so I then finished getting ready. I also put what I was going to mix with the yogurt, and also the two bio (organic) rice things with dark chocolate and coconut taken after the Dream Trek that I was going to have as the other sweet thing, into a bowl, to also have them ready for the morning. Otherwise, I added what I meant to take, but decided to take the bar from Penny instead of a better one to eat just before the start of the race. And I saw that in 2021 I wore the number above the running belt, so I placed it like that again, solving the problem I faced last year. I finally got in bed at 3:30 AM, without getting back on-line. I’m tempted to say that I’d have easily been in bed at 3 AM without dad around, and he had returned that evening after having left the previous morning, but maybe I’d have “managed” to waste that time in other ways in that case.

I fell asleep surprisingly quickly, saw 5:44 AM when I woke up and went to pee, just in case, then fell back to sleep almost immediately and got up after the alarm rang, at 6:30 AM. Since I poured the cereals with seeds, the almonds and the raisins in dark chocolate from that bowl into the yogurt, which was that really nice “Greek” one bought just for this, fat-free and with 9.5% protein, some of the cereals and seeds scattered on the counter and I wasted a little time to wash and eat them. And then I put half of the large Gala apple on them when I got to my room and when I picked it back up some more fell on the cloth that I put on my desk when I eat here, and I just wiped them in my hand and ate them, even though I otherwise wash any food that falls on that cloth before eating it. I gave up on the idea of also having some baked pumpkin, but obviously took all of the supplements, including both pills of the one for joints. Unsurprisingly, I just wasted time on the toilet. Then I also ate those two rice things, even though they’re listed as having a fair amount of saturated fat, adding bio (organic) honey. I also took a Smecta, with most of the tea, and left, with dad, just before 8:30 AM. I wore the full running gear and one armband, but the socks that I wanted to wear weren’t fully dry yet, so I put on another one of those new pairs. The forecast was listing about 15°C at the time of the start, though one site listed about 12°C, and 24-25°C when I expected to finish, though I obviously couldn’t actually check at that point.
A little after we drove away, I realized that I had forgotten to take a mask, so I was left without one all day. Either way, dad just drove me to that spot that’s close to the metro station, since I had his metro card, so I then took the metro to Izvor and then jogged part of the way to Constitution Square, getting there at 8:55 AM. I didn’t bother with warming up at all, just having a quick look through the Sport Expo area and then going to the Mega Image area, grabbing and eating a banana, later also grabbing and eating a cookie, and also taking two apples. Then I saw that they were offering protein yogurts at the Zuzu Fit tent, but at that hour they might have only been for those who had finished the ten kilometer race, so I asked, taking one when I was told that I could do so, even though that meant keeping it in the heat all day, so I eventually ended up putting it in a mamaliga made a few days later.
It was almost 9:20 AM when I went to leave the bag at the wardrobe, then peed and jogged part of the way to the start area, which I guess also counted as warming up to some extent. There still were no sectors, however, even though even the announcer had warned the participants to only enter the sector they’re assigned to when calling for us to start heading towards the start location, so I had to enter from the back and try to make my way forward, eating that bar from Penny during that time. And the announcer initially gave the start a good two minutes early, so people were confused, but he eventually gave it at the right time. I think that I was just ahead of the 4:00 pacemakers at that point, but I’m not entirely sure, so it’s possible that I was in fact only ahead of the 4:15 ones.

I managed to write what’s before and after this point, so before and after the actual race, before a match that I want to watch this evening, and I could be on-line at that time, so I decided to schedule this to be posted in that form at 11:59 PM and was wondering whether I was going to leave it like this or add the part about the actual race as well at a later point. I definitely wanted to also add that part, which was the reason why I scheduled this to be posted at 11:59 PM instead of right away, and I need to write about it before I’ll write about the following runs, but it’s still so hard to write about this, plus that I have few notes, writing those having also been too hard while things were still fresh in my mind, and by now we’re talking about something that happened six weeks ago. But I just couldn’t get myself to do it, so Friday evening I changed the post’s title and left it as it is.

After finishing and receiving the medal, I managed to pose for a photographer. Then I made my way to the area for finishers, drank a large cup of water and took a bottle, drank a cup of the other drink, then ate a piece of orange and took two pieces of apple and one of banana, but I struggled with them, everything seemed to have a strange taste, and I’m not sure whether I even ate one of the pieces of apple before walking out of that area. I might have drank another cup of that other drink, but I’m not sure of that either. Either way, I took another bottle of water, then left that area and managed to eat the apple pieces, or the remaining one in case I had already eaten one by then, but the banana piece really seemed to have a bad taste and, even though it was almost certainly just fine and the problem was with me, I spat some of it in a garbage can. Then I took and drank a cup of protein milk from the Zuzu Fit tent, and also took another protein yogurt from there, eating that one on the spot.
After retrieving my things from the wardrobe and moving everything into the backpack which I had taken with me, I went to that area that’s just before the finish, pulling out the new camera, which I had taken with me, and standing around until I finally managed to work up the courage to ask someone to take a picture. By that point, it was past 2:30 PM and nothing seemed to be left in the Mega Image area, and the way I felt had made me just pass by it after walking out of the finishers’ area, even though some things had still been there at that time. On the other hand, I did receive something from Rom after actually asking one of the girls, since they had otherwise ignored me when they were handing out those products, both in the finishers’ area and at their tent. I also asked the people from Snickers what was going on, but when they said that I had to go in their tent and sing something in order to get a bar, I passed. Then I went behind the fence of the Sport Expo area, behind the wardrobe, and changed out of the t-shirt, arranging my things and finally walking out of Constitution Square at 2:55 PM.
The initial plan had been to first go Carrefour Unirii, but I instead went to Izvor and took the metro to Carrefour Orhideea, where I entered with everything after peeing and washing my hands, and I think also my face. I just bought some bread for dad, and the self-checkout kept spitting the money back out, the bills having been folded somewhat strangely, but it eventually worked. Then I went back to the metro station and let the trains determine where I was going to go next, and since the first one that came wasn’t the one that went straight to Pallady, I got off at Unirii and also checked that Carrefour after all, putting my things in cabinet. But I just wasted some time, since I didn’t find anything to get, so I then retrieved my things and returned to the metro station, and dad called while I was on the metro, on my way to Pallady, where I first went to Auchan, once again putting my things in a cabinet, also using the toilet one more time, and buying a number of things. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged everything, and continued to that Kaufland, needing to try several cabinets until I found one that locked. And I used the toilet yet again, and since that location still didn’t seem to have any soap, that time I did use the disinfectant from that bottle when I washed. But there were quite a number of good evening discounts for fruits and vegetables, so I got a number of things, and also two expiring products, then I waited for 8 PM before going to the self-checkout, after which I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged a little more, washed my hands once again, since they were sticky, especially after digging through those deeply discounted grapes, and went back to the metro.
I got back just before 8:50 PM, with 15.5 kg. Then, after only throwing that protein yogurt which had been in the heat all day in the fridge, I finished the tea, only left a little in the toilet and took a quick shower, with water that was only warm at first and mostly cold by the time I finished, so it’s a good thing I hurried, catching that last moment before we were left without hot water for a while. I then ate an almonds, peanuts and raisins mix and threw that quick second post of the week, just to say that I had one, after which I made another tea and eventually also made a pizza. I was really down, after that poor time, but I managed to get myself to make it and it turned out quite good… The problem being that the dough had no baking paper on it and I didn’t use any or even put flour or grease or anything else on the glass baking tray, so I would have been able to start eating only a little after 3 AM, but ended up struggling for half an hour to scrape some of the pizza off the tray, until I gave up, also worried that I’ll badly damage the tray, and put the tray in the fridge, hoping to be able to scrape off what was left on it at a later time. As such, I started eating in my room at 3:45 AM, though I had eaten a little in the kitchen, while scraping. I finished a couple of minutes before 5 AM, and then took a Paracetamol, just in case, cleaned the mess I had left in the kitchen, and got in bed at 5:40 AM.

I usually have some difficulties when I want the bands included in a post from this series to have something in common, but this time the fact that they’re all from the United States is entirely accidental, and I only noticed it when I marked all three of them as included. And it’s also a coincidence that the second and third are very old additions to the list that now have recent releases that allow me to include them in such a post, but those old songs that caught my attention back then remain the reason why I want to do so. Otherwise, this is another rushed post, but it’d be highly unusual if such a post wasn’t rushed…

Everdawn initially caught my attention with The Last Eden, which isn’t just a good song, but also has a message that can’t be stressed enough. On the other hand, Century Black has such a catchy chorus that I was quite stuck on it earlier this week, when I happened to stumble into it. I have admittedly only listened to these songs and two others, but what I heard tells me that they’re a solid band that can be considered established by now, so I’m expecting more good things from them in the future.

Upon Wings is different, however, in the sense that what they’re doing now is very different from what they did several years ago, and the change is definitely in a bad direction, at least from my point of view. I mean, if I have to pick a recent song, I guess I’ll go with Distant Memory, because it bothers me less than the others. But compare that to The Dream, which is their first release and a pretty simple but soft and sweet song. It’s like we’re talking about entirely different bands and I’d really like it if they’d go back to that early sound.

As for Theatre of Night, plenty of their songs, including the large majority of the recent ones, are Christmas songs, which I ignored, but The Killing was also posted this year and it’s not just not a Christmas song, but also has vocals, which is not the case for the songs that caught my attention back when I first stumbled into the band… And the number of views seems to indicate that I’m among the very, very few to do so. Either way, while it’s quite unusual for me, the second pick will be one of their early instrumental songs, Uthgar’s Last Stand. They also have softer and sadder songs which are worth listening to, and I guess that I’d have normally been more interested in those, but this, one of their first releases, just struck me as being better overall.

I’ll start this post with Friday, when I woke up as dad was about to leave and then had to be here when the technicians came, a little later, to install the CI+ card in the new kitchen TV… And the one who actually did the work, after asking to use the bathroom, said that there should be 60 free to air digital channels, and some did play before the card was finally activated, which took quite a long time. So I also mentioned not being able to see any digital channels with the TV tuner that remains unused and that I had been told by their support people that all digital channels require a CI+ card, and even showed him the box, and he said that I should see those 60 channels with it… So maybe I should try again, but unless I’ll have some other reason to turn off the computer, I probably won’t, seeing as dad never did split the cable, to allow me to use both tuners at once, and when moving it from one to the other froze my computer before, I won’t do it again.

But the main point of this post is yesterday, when I did plant trees again after all, despite thinking that I won’t dare to do so again after losing the camera. I hoped to eat dinner earlier, but after talking to dad, looking for some things for him, finding room in the fridge for some more things that he had brought and partially cleaning up after him, it was just a couple of minutes before 1 AM when I finished shaving, and then I got ready for the morning and also sliced another one of his breads, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:10 AM and 3:45 AM, putting some of the old peanut butter on most of the slices of bread. I kept meaning to have some of the new one these days, especially since this one supposedly expires later than it despite being older, but it has been open for quite a long time and hardened, so I stuck to it. Otherwise, I put raisins in dark chocolate and the cereals in a bowl and placed it in the fridge, so in the morning I’ll just add some of the expiring kefir which I had picked up instead of yogurt. And, even though I was going to go in these house clothes, I did change into pajamas, to mark that it was a different day, and got in bed when it was past at 4:45 AM.
I got a little sleep before the alarm rang, at 5:45 AM, and I got up, leaving a few minutes before 7 AM, but the backpack was in my hand and I struggled to put it on, so it was exactly 7 AM when I actually walked away. I obviously had dad’s metro card, and was wearing the thick training suit that I wear inside, a t-shirt underneath, the hoodie, two pairs of socks, that thing that goes on my neck, pulled up to also cover my mouth and nose after getting in the metro station, and the better jacket. I did have a mask with me, but never put it on, since I didn’t see anyone else with one on the bus and didn’t see that much point in taking it out later, seeing as any damage was probably already done, since a few people coughed on the bus and I heard some talk about a child who was clearly sick. Either way, especially considering the weather, I really didn’t dare to take the new camera, so I took the old one. And I also took the regular shoes and new socks, since I wasn’t going to be able to change my clothes but would be able to at least change those after we’ll be done. And I also grabbed a bag of trash, which I dropped in a bin on the way to the metro station.
I should have jogged at least a little, since I didn’t and reached the platform some 30 seconds after the train had left, and then I waited a good eight minutes for the next one… Which also waited for one minute at Obor, so I was getting quite worried, since the e-mail had stated that the buses were going to leave at 7:30 AM. And at least one, if not two, were already on their way as I rushed to that parking lot from Victory Square, but I did get there right at 7:30 AM and more buses were waiting. So I looked around and a coordinator asked whether I was there for the planting, and when I confirmed she said that they were trying to get the buses going as they filled up and they had a few more places in the one behind her, so I should enter it, which I did. And she noticed my hat and pointed it out, announcing quite loudly that it’s how you see someone who goes to their plantings many times. Either way, the bus left a little after 7:35 AM, with a few seats still free, including the one next to mine, fortunately.

But Carrefour’s campaign is still ongoing, the last day being tomorrow, so this post was basically only a placeholder at first, seeing as I only managed to get this far before midnight. But finally managed to finish it in the early hours of Friday, just before going to bed, so that was when I added the rest of it… Only to then realize that I hadn’t included exactly what I received from Carrefour, so I made one more edit, Saturday afternoon, in order to add that as well.

A trip that lasted just under two hours might have been a good time to finally read something again, but I didn’t risk taking a book when it was going to rain, and after a while I started feeling carsick even without trying to read. The fact that I had that thing pulled up to cover my mouth and nose and also tried to rest, with my eyes closed and my head on my arm, sort of leaning against the window, probably had something to do with that, however, so after a while I started pulling that thing down and also tried to look in the distance more, the nausea eventually going away after I pretty much gave up on resting and also kept that thing mostly down. Otherwise, I wrote my name and signed when the list reached me, and that was pretty much the only thing that happened during the trip.
We got there a few minutes after 9:30 AM and seeing the number of buses and people who were already there made me quickly take the first of the pictures I took that day. Then I went to the tent where the kits for volunteers were being handed out and placed myself in what seemed to be the line, but after a while one of the organizers said that those who had already filled the form should take the kits directly, so the line was actually for filling the forms, which explained why it was moving so slowly. So I then received the gloves, apron and bottle and moved on to also get tea, biscuits and a banana, staying there until my turn came even though by then there were repeated calls to gather for the speech. Then I drank the tea and ate the banana and biscuits during the speech, and after it I went back to the tents, to also receive the rain poncho, since the announced rain started during the speech, and also for a cup of apple juice and another pack of biscuits, since there didn’t seem to be any sandwiches or anything else. I’m pretty sure that I also put on the gloves during the speech, wearing the ones offered there over a pair of latex gloves which I had taken with me, but I took them off and then put them back on at least once, and probably twice, before getting to work, since the apron was easy, but then I struggled for several minutes to put on that poncho, and then, either before or after eating that second pack of biscuits, I also went to pee, which was not easy when I had to get past the poncho, apron, jacket, hoodie and shirt to untie my pants and then tie them again.
Add the fact that the old camera kept telling me to change the batteries even though they were new, so taking a few more pictures took way more time than it should have, and it was a few minutes after 10:30 PM when I’d have finally started working. And I guess I could have tried, since the first area that the volunteers were assigned to had the holes already dug, but I nevertheless wanted a spade and by then they had been taken by others, so I had to look around and when I spotted some tools at the other end of the area I just rushed there and grabbed one without having a good look, realizing only when I was just about to start planting the first sapling that I had actually picked up something that was more like a shovel. So I took that back and looked around some more, until I spotted a couple of spades that didn’t seem to be used and grabbed one after asking the people who were working close to them whether they were theirs and being told that they weren’t.
All of that took some ten more minutes, so it was almost 10:45 AM when I finally got to work, and by then saplings had already been planted in many of those holes that were already dug, so after planting six it seemed that I had to move away from that area and start digging. It is possible that some more holes were left, maybe closer to the top of the hill, but I had moved around a little in order to find even those six and had lost way too much time earlier, so I didn’t wander around to search, wanting to actually get some work done. So I moved just past the limit of that area, digging the holes and planting two saplings.
When I decided to move, my intention had been to plant at least six more saplings before even thinking about a break, so I won’t end up with more saplings planted in holes that were already dug, especially when the total was clearly going to be embarrassingly low. However, after those two, I was honestly about to give up. The cold was manageable, and either the rain or the wind might have been as well, but put it all together, along with the mud that I was getting covered in and the slope that was increasingly slippery, and I just couldn’t handle it anymore. And many others had walked away as well. I’m inclined to say that the area assigned to schools was pretty much empty, though I’m not entirely certain, and I couldn’t see the area assigned to military personnel, which was on the other side of the hill, but there were far fewer people in the area assigned to employees of the companies that took part, apparently with the exception of one that had given up on the idea entirely because of the weather, and the one assigned to volunteers was pretty much emptying. In fact, the few others who were also planting in that area when I had moved there had left by the time I planted those two saplings, and the one guy who came next to me seemed to quickly give up on the idea, asking whether I thought that I had any chance and briefly trying to give me a hand when I struggled to find a way to keep that rain poncho from being blown by the wind in ways that made it even harder to work, then standing around a little and eventually walking away.
What allowed me to continue was seeing someone who had the apron over the poncho and realizing that it was the way to do it. Removing both and putting them back on took a while, especially since I initially tried to put them over the backpack, to continue to protect it from the rain, but the apron wasn’t going to fit, so I had to give up and put the backpack back on after the poncho and apron. I’m quite sure that all of that still took me less than it had taken me to put that poncho on the first time, however, and after doing so I knew that I could work a little longer. But I had already taken a break, so I extended it a little and climbed the hill in order to take a few more pictures, also checking the time at that point and seeing that it was 11:50 AM, before going back down and planting two more saplings, by which point another man was next to me and we exchanged a few words. The fact that he greeted me in a manner that sounded stiff and formal as soon as he got there and then maintained that manner of speech made me wonder whether he wasn’t part of the military personnel, though he wasn’t in uniform. Either way, I mentioned that people seemed to have cleared away and he said that lunch was supposed to be served later but most were there and some had even left already, and advised me to go to the other end of that area if I wanted to continue, because it was easier to dig there. So, after having a look at the buckets of saplings and wondering whether to move them and keep going down, as I had done for those four saplings, or start going left, I decided to do neither and follow his advice instead, planting two more saplings at the other end of that area.
The event was called “Plant Fest” and it had been presented as something of a festival, with music, good food, even beer, and despite the conditions a DJ had tried to be cheerful and energetic for a while, so when things went quiet, it should have been a clear sign, but I focused on what I was doing and didn’t really pay attention until the coordinator came and announced that those of us who were still working had to stop and help bring the tools that were left in the area to the road. It was 12:30 PM at that point and I was just finishing planting that second sapling from that spot, so the sixth that I planted while also digging the hole, and the 12th in total. It was embarrassingly little for a day of planting, but when someone else said that they wanted to keep working, the coordinator said that those who came by bus had to leave soon, so I had to stop, just grabbing a few discarded spades on my way down and dropping them on the side of the road, along with mine.
After throwing the gloves, including those latex ones, next to the toilets, where I saw others as well, I peed again and washed my hands as well as I could, which wasn’t too well, seeing as I had to use one of those portable things. However, I then saw water being released from a tanker truck and people using it to try to get the worst of the mud off themselves, so I washed my hands a little more with it, and also briefly tried to at least get some of the mud off the jacket’s sleeves, only later wondering whether that water was meant to be used to fill those portable things or had already been used, possibly in even worse ways. But what was done was done, so I took my place in the line for lunch, which was apparently only supposed to be a hamburger. Whether that had been the plan all along or the plans for a proper lunch had to be scrapped, I don’t know, but what was clear was that the tables, benches and possible tents where people should have had lunch had been taken away by then, obviously because of the conditions. On the other hand, beer was actually being offered in another place, and some were actually having some, which I found quite baffling, considering the cold and rain. Even the women who were in front of me took some, and when one of them had a look at me she said that she thought that she was full of mud, but she can’t even compare to me, and that it showed who had really worked. I didn’t say much, feeling that I hadn’t done much at all, but did have another look at myself and saw how full of mud I was all over.
I already felt too dirty to eat, and that made the feeling even worse, so I hoped that they’ll at least have some disinfectant at the lunch tent, while those who were behind me were saying that they hoped they’ll at least have paper towels, because they saw others just hold their burgers and they’d rather not. However, once I advanced enough to be able to look, I saw nothing of the sort, so I took out the paper handkerchiefs which I had taken with me and used a couple of them to wipe my hands a little, since it was all that I could do at that point. And then I held my hands over an empty grill while waiting, to warm up a little… The problem being that the wait was caused by the fact that they were out of bread, those who were there saying that there had been more people than they thought, even though after the event the organizers stated that about 2300 people had confirmed their participation, but only some 1360 actually came, which was hardly surprising, considering that weather. Either way, while it was said that they had sent for more bread, the solution eventually was to just give the rest of us the patty and cheese, possibly more of each, without bread, so I just took two of those “breadless burgers”. I went to the other table before eating them, finally seeing paper towels there and wiping my hands again, but there seemed to be a muddy smudge on one of the pieces already, and I felt a pretty bad taste.
They still had boxes of biscuits at that other table and were trying to get rid of them, asking people to take them, so I did take one when it was handed to me, albeit after asking for confirmation that I was really being given a whole box, not that it was the first time that happened. Then I finally got rid of the soiled apron and rain poncho, throwing them in one of the garbage bags, along with many others, and got another cup of apple juice before rushing away, already being among the last ones left. And I peed again after that, seeing some more toilets on the way to the buses and knowing that the ride back would have been impossible otherwise, after that cold. But that meant that I lost even more time and I’m not sure that any volunteers were still behind me by the time I was done, though a few girls were just ahead of me and searching for a bus, and they asked one of the organizers who passed by and he told them to ask the driver of the bus that was just pulling up in that area, but also assured them that nobody’ll be left behind, even if it meant taking us in their own cars. So I asked them whether we were the last ones and they said that they thought so, and then we walked to that bus, but as soon as he noticed us the driver said that he’ll be there for another hour or so and that we should try the other bus that was already at the road, though the girls had said that they had already tried that one and had been told to go back. However, at that point I spotted the bus that I had been on pulling up as well and rushed to it, the driver asking which bus I had arrived on and muttering that we were there while he had been told to wait somewhere else when I said that I had been on that one.
Actually getting in that bus took a little longer, since the driver said that he won’t have us in it as we were, so we had to use the middle door and put on the disposable shoe covers that were available there. Now, I had taken bags with me that I meant to use for that purpose, but I hadn’t used them, realizing that it’d have been completely impossible to keep my footing with them, and I had also taken the regular shoes, but I couldn’t change into them outside, in the mud, so I did as I was told, sitting on the stairs of the bus and putting on those covers while a guy who was already inside held my backpack… And the moment I stood back up, my pants fell down, obviously because I hadn’t tied them properly after peeing that last time. That guy commented that they held just long enough and I quickly pulled them back up, but I guess everyone got a look at my underwear, so I kept my eyes down and took a seat, relieved that the bus was emptier than it had been on the way there, and once again nobody sat next to me.
I was on the bus at 1:15 PM and a few minutes later it drove away. Then I took out the regular shoes and changed into them, putting the soiled ones in the bag they had been in. I also took out the “shopping backpack” and the garbage bag which I had also taken with me, stuffing the garbage bag in one of the jacket’s pockets and putting the soiled shoes and the regular backpack into the large one. And then I did my best to hold down the food, the nausea being worse than it had been on the way there and the taste left in my mouth after that “lunch” which had probably been “spiced” with some mud and who knows what else being quite foul. But I did manage it, and also didn’t need to pee again, though others did, so the driver stopped for a while at a gas station. And after we entered Bucharest we slowed to a crawl because of traffic, so I meant to get off at a metro station, but while I saw others getting ready and eventually getting off, I didn’t even ask where we were, being certain that we hadn’t yet arrived at the metro station that I had noticed we had passed by when we left. However, when a couple more people got ready to leave at a later point, I asked one of them whether they were getting off at that metro station… Only to be told that we had passed it, and he said that he was going to get off later than the woman who was ahead of him, so he let me go ahead and I got off with her, asking where we were and saying that I just wanted to get to a metro station, so she told me to come with her and took me to one, though she then continued walking past it. I still didn’t put on the mask, however, just keeping that thing pulled up.

Carrefour’s campaign had moved to Vulcan that day, so that was my next destination, but I first needed some recyclables, since I obviously hadn’t taken them with me. And I was picky, just taking those that weren’t only in easy reach, clean and in the proper shape, but also small, so they’ll all easily fit into that garbage bag. I also avoided glass bottles, not wanting to add to the weight either. So, after glancing through some recycling bins in the metro stations and grabbing what I could after returning to the surface, I thought that I was still a little short when I approached that shopping center, so I made an exception and took a rather dirty plastic bottle that was behind a car.
Despite having a look through a part of the parking lot, I didn’t spot any more recyclables there, so when I entered I thought that I had exactly 20, but those included two of those that would grant two products, and I didn’t want to use them unless something really interesting was available, and when I had a look as I passed by that spot, I didn’t see anything of the sort. So I first went to the bathroom, and after peeing I tried to count what I had, seeming to come to that same number. Then I washed that bottle and thoroughly washed my hands, after which I walked back out and searched for more recyclables, being quite surprised that the area was so clean and, despite also looking under bushes and even reaching into garbage cans, I didn’t find any more before entering that Kaufland.
I put that bag in a cabinet, but entered the store with the backpack, and since I forgot about the 30% discount that applied to canned products those days and I didn’t find anything else to get, I walked out without buying anything… At which point the employee from the information desk called after me and asked to see the contents of the backpack, so I took it off and opened it, but instead of looking inside herself, she called over a security guard and said that he was going to “help” me. He was quite nice, however, only briefly having a look and, after I said that I looked like I did because I was coming straight from planting trees and that the shoes I had worn there were in the bag I had in the backpack, he quickly said that it was fine and he had seen me enter with that backpack. On the other hand, when I then had a look at that confectionery and picked up a coin I spotted on the floor, a man took my arm, gestured towards the pastries and asked whether I wanted something warm, probably assuming that I was homeless, which was hardly surprising. But I said that I didn’t and pulled away, then retrieved the bag, searched that area a little more and eventually decided to go to the other exit, spotting several more recyclables as soon as I approached it, so I picked up three, including a glass bottle, to be sure that I also had a spare.
Well, it would appear that I had miscounted, even when I actually tried to count what I had, in the bathroom, because once I returned to Carrefour and put in the 20 recyclables that I was allowed to put in on one day, I found myself left with six, so four if you exclude those two that I didn’t want to use that day, meaning that I had wasted probably up to an hour for no reason, since I already had enough when I reached that shopping center. Either way, I apologized for how I looked to the girl who was there while writing my name and phone number on the receipt, explaining that I was coming from planting trees. I got four potatoes, weighing 865 grams, four onions, weighing 623 grams, four cucumbers, weighing 215 grams, four apples from one crate, weighing 633 grams and probably being Idared, and four apples from another crate, weighing 491 grams and possibly being Gala or Fuji, which would be nice, but I’m not certain and I can confuse those with Jonaprince or sometimes even smaller Idareds or, less likely but not impossible, Jonathan. Either way, after putting what I received in the backpack, I was just looking for something that dad had told me to get when he called. Then I bought those things… And on my way out I saw that Bianca peppers and red onions had appeared among what could be taken in exchange for recyclables, so I had once again arrived a little too early. But that was that, so I made my way back to the metro.
I got back at 7:20 PM, after checking the garbage room and grabbing another one of those bottles, and also having a look in the garbage room from the floor above. Then, after washing, I washed the mud off those old shoes, seeing another tear as I did that, so I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to use them for any more such events. Then I made popcorn and watched the match, also taking a pill, just in case. And after that I weighed what I received and put those things in their place, washed and cleaned what I could in the kitchen, the place being a disaster after dad had fried fish and made mamaliga, and started eating dinner at 3:10 AM, finishing a little before 4 AM.