Cav's Place

On March 1, the last part of my sleep was awful. I dreamed of needing to go back to school and being absolutely hysterical, and when I finally woke up I was pretty much tied up in a knot, with a pounding headache, feeling exhausted and gasping for breath, so it was a while before I recovered enough to get up… And then I quickly got annoyed by dad, who said that he was going to throw away the small amount of food that he had left on his desk before going to bed, having left it there on purpose. But at least I started using the new slippers that day.
Either way, I went out just before 5:30 PM, checking Carrefour and Supeco and then reaching Auchan when it wasn’t even 7 PM, but all of that bread that I get for dad was already gone, and so was the cheaper packaged kind. But I found a better discount for something that I was considering getting from Penny and also a discount for something that I could get for dad, and I also grabbed some expiring eggs and, after checking the entire pile, I’d say the one worthwhile bag of spoiling oranges, which were cheaper and possibly also better than those grabbed from Kaufland two days earlier. And I added a “reward” for myself as well. I was also thinking of getting some water for dad and wondering how to carry it, but we had discussed that he might call and he did while I was there, at which point I asked and he said that he didn’t want any. And, after I also used the amount left on the store card at the self-checkout, as I was trying to arrange the purchases, dad called again, to say that he couldn’t find those treats for Liza at the Kaufland that he had gone to.
I then rushed to Penny, put the bag in a cabinet, got what I wanted and some treats for Liza from there, just to be sure that I’ll have some, and I again rounded down the total a little, but that was actually what the cashier asked for anyway. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, rushed to Kaufland and, even though it wasn’t even 8:30 PM, a discount of 70% for bakery products was announced as I was putting my things in a cabinet. So I ran to wash my hands, then ran into the store, finding just two breads left, and I had never gotten either kind before. But, after initially grabbing one, I decided to put it back and take the other, which ended up being the only bakery product that I got, despite scanning a few price labels. And, while only finding large bags is far more common, that evening only small ones were left, the solution appearing when I saw that someone had left some other bakery products in a medium bag, so I emptied it and then used it for that bread. After that, I got some carrots and potatoes, both having evening discounts, those treats for Liza and one more thing, and a bread for dad, even though the price was higher than what I’d normally look for. And then I waited for 9:45 PM, but none of the discounts increased. And the self-checkout didn’t accept dad’s bread as the correct product, so I had to call an employee, and then there was an error with printing the receipt, but it worked after I opened the printer part, saw that it wasn’t out of paper, closed it again and hit the retry button. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and took my time to arrange everything, using one of those tables that are outside, before walking away a few minutes after 10 PM.
I got back a little after 10:45 PM, with a total of almost 15 kg. I put everything except the oranges and carrots in their place, ate the worst orange and what I had grabbed as a “reward” from Auchan, with added honey, washed a few things, and went to wash just after 12:15 AM. I got back in the kitchen at 1:05 AM, also put the oranges and carrots in their place, and ate lunch between 1:50 AM and 2:35 AM, while washing what was left in the sink, dealing with my bread and working on the salad. And then I also moved and mixed something, and I started eating dinner at 3:15 AM, but it wasn’t even 3:40 AM when I finished.

I initially got in bed a couple of minutes after 5:15 AM, but dad was supposed to get back early and bring some things once again, so I expected to just rest a little and then get up and make room in the freezer… But I ended up waiting and waiting, getting ever more worried when I realized how much time was passing. Just before 6:40 AM, I got back on the computer to check my e-mail, but there nothing there. And dad finally came a little before 7 AM, and when I came out of my room to ask what happened and say that I was worried, he said that I should have realized that if he had been to mother he couldn’t have also gone to rehearsals and therefore couldn’t bring what he said he would… Which still left coming late in itself, after telling me that he’ll come early and with a car from work, but I had to stress that a few times before he finally at least muttered something about making a mistake by not telling me that his schedule had changed. And then he also gave Liza a pile of food and didn’t take it to his bedroom, where she stays when he sleeps, or put it in the fridge when she didn’t eat it all, and when she still hadn’t eaten it by the time he got back in the evening, he threw it away, not even setting it aside in order to give it to the cats that are outside the following day. And in the evening the back of the roof of my mouth was hurting again, and something was definitely swollen there, on the right side, though the pain was on both sides.

On March 3, dad shoved his phone in my face, on speaker, when I was in the kitchen and the cable provider called to offer an upgrade, so I obviously froze and started shaking. He eventually asked the caller something while I made vague gestures and he ended up accepting, then I told him that he messed me up and he said that he had needed my opinion, which I didn’t give anyway. And he was sent a code and before being called again I told him that I hope that they at least won’t remove what we still have on analog, and when that second call came I started waving at him and mouthed that he should ask about analog, but what he asked wasn’t what I meant and I couldn’t say more, panicked completely, ran away and crawled under the blanket for a little while. But I had to go out again, so I eventually crawled back out and closed the kitchen door while I had breakfast and tried to recover a little.
I left just before 2:20 PM, taking the recyclables, which I dropped off in a bin on the way, from which bin I also grabbed three of those bottles that I thought went towards the 10 RON voucher from Penny, though I later learned that they actually didn’t. And I also took 50 RON in coins with me, after having asked by e-mail the previous day and receiving confirmation that Carrefour’s change campaign was active again, and needing to make purchases of at least 50 RON in order to use the 5 RON gift card meant that I had to go on a day like that one, when 20% of the value of pet products purchased was going to be turned into a voucher, so I was going to stock up on food for Rocky, even if the resulting price, after using the voucher for something else, was still higher than the Kaufland deal that I had missed a week and a half earlier, and cat litter, which was actually discounted those days, and adding the voucher on top of that made for a really good deal. And I also took my card, since the self-checkouts from Park Lake only accept cards and I wanted to be able to split the purchases, to make it easier to use the vouchers before the deadline, without more interaction.
After telling the person from the information desk that I had those coins, she made a call and told me to go in and to the last checkout, so I went to the last manned one and said that I had been sent there to give the coins, but the cashier said that I couldn’t have been sent to him, made a call and someone else came and took me to a room that’s at the end of that area, which is apparently the central checkout, saying that it was where I had actually been told to go, though that wasn’t the case, and I definitely wouldn’t have thought of a room when told to go to a checkout. But I handed over the coins and after a little while I was asked for my name and to sign a document and was given the 50 RON bill in exchange and the gift card. Then I grabbed an expiring sweet pastry and went to the pet area, realizing only after making sure that what I wanted was still available that I hadn’t taken a cart, and I was going to need one… And I hadn’t deposited money either! So I hid that pastry and went to deposit money, then also stuffed those empty bottles, which I had entered with the first time, in a cabinet, though it didn’t lock… And a few seconds after walking back into the store, I realized that I still hadn’t taken a cart, so I went back to grab one, then got the cat food and litter and also retrieved the pastry.
I decided to split the purchases in four, and the first two parts were under 50 RON, so I paid in full, wanting to use that gift card for the third part. However, I selected to pay with a voucher instead of a gift card, since I wasn’t sure what it counted as, and after I scanned it the amount left to pay became zero and the machine seemed to stop working, so I called an employee and explained what happened, he tried something, then made a call, came back to say that there was an error and tried again. But that machine wouldn’t work anymore, so we moved to another and he helped me enter that third part of the purchases, saying that I first had to enter the amount that I wanted to pay by card and then use the gift card for the rest, which made me wonder what happens if you don’t know how much is on a gift card. But at least it worked, and then there were no more problems with part four… And I was about to leave when I realized that I had forgotten to scan that sweet pastry, so I turned around in order to do that as well, so the purchases were actually split in five, though this last part didn’t also produce a voucher.
After taking my time to check that everything was correct, I retrieved those bottles, also checked to make sure that the correct amount was left on my card, then finally found an empty cabinet that still had a key, and it was fortunate that the coin dispenser machine worked, since I had forgotten to take any coins above the 50 RON and in that location they still require a 0.50 RON coin in order to be able to lock a cabinet. It was a small cabinet, however, and I had meant to try to carry four bags of cat litter on the first trip, so I had to somehow stuff the remaining two and the food in it, but I somehow managed it… Only to then decide to try to carry some of the cat food as well, taking 26 cans and just leaving a box of 24, which made it easier to close the cabinet door again and actually balanced me, since I put those cans in the backpack with rope straps that I wore in the front. That way, it seemed surprisingly easy to get back here with what was a total of more than 29 kg. On the other hand, I had told dad that I was going to look for the newspapers in Park Lake and I only realized on the way back that I had forgotten. The nearby stand was open, but the neighbor was selling and I couldn’t get myself to ask her for them.
After just dropping everything off in the kitchen, I went back out and decided to also go to Auchan, to once again look for bread for dad, even though it was going to be hard to get back in time for the start of ski jumping. I was already on the way when I decided to pick the one from Titan, and I should have jogged, but I only did so a little, when I was approaching it. But at least I did find that bread there, and I bought ten, which definitely proved to be too many, but at that point I wanted to make sure that it won’t be a problem for a while. It was crowded, however, and as I looked for a self-checkout to use, I first stood behind someone who seemed to be almost done only to realize that the machine didn’t accept cash, and while I had enough left in my account to buy that bread, I wanted to leave exactly 10 RON, in order to then be able to withdraw them and not leave anything at the end of the day, so I lost a little more time while waiting to be able to use a machine that also accepted cash. Then I paid as I wanted, splitting between card and cash, just took a moment to arrange the bread a little better in a bag… And I was on my way back to Park Lake when I realized that I had forgotten to check for the newspapers in that shopping center as well.
Either way, after withdrawing those remaining 10 RON, I quickly entered Carrefour, with all of that bread, to see whether anything new had appeared among the expiring products. But there was nothing interesting, so I then retrieved the rest of the purchases from the cabinet… And finally remembered to check the newspaper store, only to be surprised to find it closed. And there was no sign stating that it was only for a few minutes, which may happen, and I couldn’t wait anyway, so I just got back here, finding it noticeably more difficult to carry what was a lower weight, 21 kg, since I was no longer balanced, everything from the cabinet being in the backpack and all of that bread being in a bag that I held in one hand. And this nearby stand was just closing when I passed by it again, but it was still the neighbor who was there, so I still couldn’t get myself to ask.
I got back a little before 6:40 PM, which meant missing the first 11 jumps. Then I threw the cat food and the cat litter that was for my mother, along with those bottles, on the balcony, put the cat litter that was for us in the small bathroom and spread the bread on the table, but I even kept my jacket on, because between the rounds of ski jumping I dashed back out and checked this nearby Mega Image, though I didn’t find anything interesting. Then I finally ate that sweet pastry and part of a pomegranate which dad had brought, and I actually arranged what I had initially just thrown on the balcony. And I even did the day’s squats, in the kitchen, and also timed them, seeing 2:07. Then I showered, rather in a hurry, after which I finished the pomegranate and ate a bag of peanuts that I already had while slicing five of dad’s breads and making mamaliga, with plenty of things added in it, and the salad. So what I ate that day probably added up to about 4000 calories, 1000 being just from those peanuts. I got in bed at 5:20 AM.

On March 10, I left a little after 2:50 PM, with 50 more RON in coins and ten bottles that I thought would go towards that 10 RON voucher from Penny, though one was rather deformed and I meant to grab a spare up on the way, and I actually found one of that same kind. But when I put the bottles in the machine, I saw that it only recognized two as going towards that voucher, quite clearly the two small ones that weren’t deformed, since that battered one had also been small. But it at least also accepted that one, counting it as a regular bottle, so I kept one of the other small ones, bringing it back. I was annoyed, however, thinking that the machine had “eaten” 40% of the bottles needed to get one of those vouchers, so at night I sent the store a message about it. I never received a reply, but I eventually actually read the regulations and saw that only the 500 ml and 1.5 l bottles actually counted, even if the short description of the campaign states that the voucher’s offered for a total of 20 bottles from that brand, without any other details, asterisks or small print anywhere on that page.
Either way, I just bought one thing from Penny that day, putting it in the jacket’s pocket, and then I continued to Kaufland and grabbed a few things from there, including some spoiling mushrooms. I found two packs of such mushrooms, one being discounted by 45% and looking good, the other being discounted by 55% and looking quite bad, and I was still trying to decide between them when a couple, who seemed to be Ukrainians, also looked through the spoiling products and the woman grabbed the better mushrooms right after I set them back down, making the choice for me, which actually made me feel rather relieved.
I then continued to that mall and tried to get a recharge code from my provider’s store, but I was told that the printer wasn’t working. Then I put the purchases from Kaufland in a cabinet, though I forgot about that product from Penny, so I entered Carrefour with it still in that pocket. And, after deciding against getting the tomato paste that was on sale, since it said that it wasn’t made from Romanian tomatoes, I found bottles of tomato pulp that were apparently made from Romanian tomatoes and were also discounted, even though I hadn’t seen that in the catalog, so I got two of those instead, plus some other things, including garlic, which meant needing to try a few scales before finding one that didn’t add a little to the weight. I also got a discounted bread, but the base price listed on the label was higher than the one listed in the bakery area, so I asked an employee and she went to check and said that the price listed on that label was correct and the one from the bakery area was wrong, taking away that label. Then I asked another employee where to go in order to give the coins, went where I was told, knocked on the door, and the first employee who came said that she wasn’t sure whether the gift cards or the campaign were active, so she asked someone else and, since that person didn’t seem to know either, they eventually tried a gift card on a register and saw that it worked, after which I handed over the coins and received the bill in exchange and the gift card, only being asked for my name, without being given anything to sign. And at the self-checkout I used two of the four vouchers received for pet products, after which I still took some time to arrange the purchases even though I was rushing, finally walking away at 5:45 PM.
I got back at 6:05 PM, put the purchases in their place and had lunch, but it had started raining, so I waited it out and only went out again at 8:30 PM, first going to Carrefour Park Lake and finding some plates among the discounted products. There were four kinds of medium sized ones and only two price labels, so I took one plate from each of the two kinds that didn’t seem to have a price label to a price checker and was surprised to see a price that was half of the lower listed one, which already seemed good enough. So I checked carefully and picked a plate from each of those two kinds, and I used another one of those vouchers for them, the cashier taking away the receipt. Then I put the plates in the backpack and looked for my provider’s store, but after finding it I was told that the system that should provide the codes doesn’t work, it won’t even display them, so what I had been told about the printer had probably been a quick excuse. And when I asked how long it had been since it failed, I think the other guy who was there said two months, though I’m not sure that I heard him correctly. However, he then said that he thought that they had made it work in Internet Explorer, and after the first guy tried that but apparently still couldn’t get it to work, this second one tried as well and did manage to get and print a code, so I could finally get it. And then I also quickly checked two other stores.
I then rushed to Kaufland, holding the plates through the backpack, since I was worried that they’ll crack, so I was relieved to see that they were fine when I took them out and put them in a cabinet. Then I washed my hands and entered the store when it was almost 9:45 PM, just finding a bun that I could get, with a 75% evening discount, in an otherwise almost cleared bakery area. No green onions were left, which meant that I had none for the following week’s half marathon run, since I had also decided against getting any of the few small and rather wilted bundles that I had seen at the other location, earlier that day. But I saw what seemed like an evening discount for red onions, though the price was still a little higher than what it used to be when they had just a regular discount not long before, and they were listed as being from Romania, even though they looked different from what I know as Romanian red onions and similar to the ones from the other location, which had been listed as being from India, but I chose to believe the label and quickly got some, then rushed to also grab a few Red Delicious apples that also had an evening discount. I was still picking through them when the closing announcement came, so I quickly weighed them. And then the self-checkout machine didn’t accept that bun as the correct item, and the employee who was there called another one over when I pointed to it, and that one checked the bag, logged on to override the error, then stayed logged on and told me to scan the other purchases as well, and then just left without fully exiting that menu. But I did that on my own, so I could finish and pay before he came back to ask whether I had managed to sort it out. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged everything and walked away at 10:10 PM.
I also had a very quick look in that Profi, throwing the bag in a cabinet but keeping the backpack. Then I retrieved the bag and continued to Auchan, putting the bag in the backpack before entering the store, so I entered with everything, at 10:30 PM. I was also looking for socks, having seen some before that, while not quite what I’d want, were cheaper and could perhaps be acceptable, but they had rearranged, the clothing area was reduced, most of the men’s clothes seemed gone, and I had no time. So I just got a pack of water for dad and some expiring bio (organic) bagels, as a “reward”. The time printed on the receipt was just after 11 PM, but the announcement that the store had closed came as I was trying to arrange the purchases in the backpack and bags, and then a guard told me to get moving, so I just quickly figured out a way to be able to carry everything and left, stopping in order to actually arrange everything once I got outside and walking away a little after 11:05 PM.
It was almost 11:50 PM when I got back, with just about 17 kg. And, while this was admittedly before going to the toilet, I weighed almost 49 kg, which was highly unusual. Either way, I ate an apple, those bagels and about a third of a nice expiring sweet thing from Carrefour, talked to dad a little, took out the purchases, and it was couple of minutes before 1 AM when I went to the toilet… Which I ended up clogging again. But I was going to wash myself, after all, so after flushing a couple of times, since at least the water was still draining, I reached in with my bare hand and unclogged it. It was a couple of minutes after 2 AM when I got back in the kitchen, and there were some things to wash and some purchases to put in their place, so I finally started eating dinner at 3:35 AM, finishing at 4:10 AM and getting in bed at 5:20 AM.

On March 11, I pushed to finish The Vile Realm, which I had started on March 6, and even posted the quick review just before midnight, though I edited it a little after that. Otherwise, however, the day seemed to be one for shattering things, as the plate that had been used plenty of times to make pizza, and probably not only that, in both the regular and the electric oven, shattered when dad used it to bake a beet, and I had told him to do so, which made me feel really guilty, and I still can’t quite figure out why it happened. Either way, that meant that I had to get the shards out of the oven… And then I knocked over the mug that my toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss are in when I went to brush my teeth and it got chipped and cracked. It didn’t actually shatter that day, however, so I continued to use it until it did.

I just managed to get this far before midnight and I could have ended the post here, covering what was left from the first half of March, but with two more days to add in order to cover one more week, and seeing as I’m so far behind when it comes to odds and ends anyway, I decided to edit the post later in order to add those days as well. And in fact I just kept writing at first, adding the part about March 16 before going to the kitchen, though the part about March 20 was only added Tuesday evening.

On the evening of March 16, I went to pay the maintenance bill, and a neighbor came out of his apartment at the same time and for the same reason, so I had to take the elevator with him. Then I left the receipt, grabbed what I still needed and went out at 8:15 PM, getting a few things from Carrefour, putting them in the backpack, entering that pharmacy with it, getting the teas for dad and having a quick look at what else was available despite being in a hurry. When I went to get an order ticket, another cashier came and asked whether I wanted something else as well or I was just there for the teas, and when I said that I just wanted the teas, she asked me to come with her to one of the other checkouts. Then I added the teas in the backpack and continued to Kaufland, washing my hands, entering the store, with everything, at 9:20 PM, and finally seeing an evening discount for that bread again, though the base price had indeed increased by about 15%. Still, I got two, even if many of the seeds seemed to have been scraped off. And then I got a few other things, also considering some of the grapes that also had an evening discount but eventually deciding against it, even though the crate with the remaining scattered ones had just been moved after being taken away from the shelf, the employee still gathering products from that area, and I therefore might have been able to still pick some. As it was, however, the closing announcement came while I was arranging the purchases, and then I went through the parking lot and found a cart with a coin in it, so I took it to others, connecting it with them and retrieving the coin.
I got back at 10:40 PM, with just over 13 kg… And dad annoyed me again, since he dug through the cabinet from the balcony, got some sweetened tomato paste that I had placed at the back for a reason, and used it in what he cooked, saying that he didn’t know that it was sweetened, even though the label said so, and that I had never told him that I won’t eat something made with it, even though I had in the past, probably more than once. And he also opened a jar with something that he had brought at one point, supposedly to figure out what it was, so it couldn’t be left outside anymore, and he of course blamed me for not putting labels and not telling him what was there, even though I had, at some point, and obviously ignored the fact that he could have asked before opening it and didn’t. And he also left everything scattered in that cabinet, so I had to go and rearrange. And what made it worse was that I had waited, not having lunch earlier in order to eat some of what I knew he was going to cook, and then I didn’t want it anymore, though in the end I had some after all, just that evening.
Otherwise, he went to take a bath first, so during that time I cleaned and washed some of what was in the kitchen, ate an apple, put some of the purchases in their place, and also grated a beet for him, so I won’t have even more to clean up after he’d do it. At 12:15 AM, after he was done, I went to the toilet and to wash as well, being done just before 1 AM. There was more to wash and clean, however, I also had the rest of the purchases to put in their place, I ate lunch as well, taking bites now and then, starting at 2 AM and finishing at or just after 2:40 AM, and I also dealt with one of my breads, so I finally started eating dinner at 3:45 AM, finishing at 4:30 AM, after getting back in the kitchen in order to put the little bit that was left out of what I had spread on the bread on a small plate.

On March 20, I left at 5:25 PM, with ten bottles, including two of those that actually went towards the 10 RON voucher from Penny, and a bag of trash, which I threw down the chute. And I had noticed that the chances of winning a 150 RON voucher were huge for those using the machine from the newer Penny, since there were only a few valid receipts per week, so I went there, couldn’t see the recycling machine when I glanced in from the door, still couldn’t find it after searching for it outside as well, but I finally did see it when I went back in, worried that I was going to need to ask. So I put in the bottles, and I actually did end up winning with that receipt! And then I bought the main things that I had gone there for, plus a bar that I grabbed as a “reward”, but I didn’t find the caramelized walnuts.
After going back to that newer shopping center, putting on the mask when I entered it, I saw that the Bebe Tei from there is a regular pharmacy, not a large location where you can take products yourself, and even though I stood around for a while, I couldn’t get myself to ask for what I wanted from there, so I eventually walked back out and, after sort of walking back and forth for a little while, I decided to also check that Penny that’s near Auchan, putting the purchases in a cabinet when I got there, even though it had no key, and finding those walnuts. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and moved the purchases into the backpack.
The next destination was Supeco, and I entered with everything. There was no cabbage, but I found the other products that I was looking for and some others that I also decided to get, including a bag of what were supposedly Gala apples found among the spoiling products, though I had some doubts that they actually were Gala. And I beeped dad, asking when he called back whether he wanted some more of that wine, adding some after he said that he did. There were two other products that I considered getting, but I decided against it after being unable to find the price labels, nor any price checker, and asking a cashier to check. However, the total for what I did buy was higher than what I had calculated, leaving aside the fact that I had been charged for the bag that those apples were in, so I pointed that out, initially thinking that the discount for the soy didn’t apply, but it had, and it’d have been smaller than the difference anyway. So I initially paid what I was told, then checked the receipt and saw that I had been overcharged for the canned mackerel and tuna, and another employee had come there, so I asked her about it and she gave the receipt to yet another one, who went to check and then wordlessly handed me 1 RON when he returned, also adding the coins when I pointed out that the difference was 1.20 RON. He didn’t answer when I asked why the price differed from the listed one, however. And a guard came over while I was arranging the purchases in the backpack and asked whether the receipt was for over 50 RON, asking for it when I said that it was, saying that they had a survey and he wanted to write down the number and will hand it back after that. He didn’t bring it back, however, only returning it after I finished arranging and went to him to ask for it. I also asked what survey that was, but he just said that it was an opinion survey, without actually asking me anything…
Since I had dad’s card, I then took the metro for just one stop, to also check the smaller Supeco, and I saw cabbage there, so I put the backpack in a cabinet and took the one that looked better, then I retrieved the backpack and, after once again struggling to make up my mind and crossing the road and then crossing back, I decided to take the metro to Obor, managing to rearrange everything while I was on the metro in a way that allowed me to fit the cabbage in the backpack as well.
It was past 9:05 PM when I arrived there, so I rushed, though I still meant to check that pharmacy as well. But it was closed for inventory, which worked out, since I obviously wouldn’t have had time to also go to Kaufland if I’d have done that, since after entering Carrefour, without bothering to use a cabinet, I saw a full crate of eggs sold by piece and spent as much time as I could afford looking through them, finding two bio (organic) ones. They were probably not the only ones, but I was running out of time, so I just got those two and then checked the expiring or spoiling products, grabbing a slice of cake and three bags of Fuji apples. The apples did look quite bad, but they were discounted by 70%, which also made them cheaper than those which I had grabbed from Supeco, and there were more of them there, so I shouldn’t have bought those. Either way, one of the bags was badly torn and the apples had scattered, so I searched for them through the crate, realizing that I had still missed one after weighing the bag, so I went back and eventually found that one as well. And I also grabbed an expiring bread for dad, dashing back to take one more after seeing the total at the self-checkout, since nobody was waiting in line after me. And I also used the voucher received two days earlier.
After throwing the rest of those purchases in a bag and putting the eggs in a pocket, I also rushed to Kaufland, spotting and grabbing another one of those bottles that went towards the 10 RON voucher from Penny on the way. And I took a moment to put that bag in a cabinet, but I entered with the eggs and the backpack. It was 9:53 PM at that point, so I really had to hurry, grabbing two bananas for dad, since they had an evening discount, and some yogurt for myself before rushing to the self-checkout after the closing announcement. Then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet and took some time to arrange what I was going to carry in bags, but it still wasn’t even 10:10 PM when I walked out, going back to the metro station. I arranged those purchases somewhat better while I was on the metro.
It was almost 10:40 PM when I got back, with 15.5 kg. I put some of the purchases in their place, washed and cleaned a little of what was in the kitchen, ate an apple and that slice of cake, and it was almost 12:25 AM when I went to the bathroom, though I somehow ended up just finishing a newspaper while sitting on the toilet, before washing. I was done a few minutes after 1 AM, but I had to finish putting the purchases in their place and washing and cleaning in the kitchen, and I also dealt with the bread which I had purchased for myself two days earlier. And, after deciding to have a can of mackerel and an old bun as lunch and to microwave them together, I ended up needing to clean the microwave as well, since the fish rather exploded in there, so it was past 2:30 AM when I started eating lunch, taking occasional bites while working on the salad and doing the other things that I still had to do. I finished that lunch when it was almost 3:15 AM, started eating dinner at 3:50 AM, finished it at 4:25 AM, and got in bed at 5:25 AM. My stomach seemed to disagree with something for a while, possibly with the fact that I had eaten some of the pieces of fish that had ended up on the inside of the microwave, even if I had tried to wash them a little first. And at the time I was also increasingly worried about the tooth ache that I was feeling on the lower right side, apparently where work was done just over six months earlier, and I had seen that the warranty for fillings had been reduced to six months at that clinic. But this problem seems to have sorted itself out since then, at least for now.

Yes, this is yet another post in this series that will seem awfully rushed, and it is when it comes to the actual writing, but I’ve spent a few hours over the past couple of days working on it, the problem being that most of that time was spent trying to decide on a second pick for one of the bands, since I didn’t make it easy for myself. But at least I finally did pick, so I can get on it and actually write something instead of just listening. And I’ll start by pointing out that, once again, none of the bands are actual new finds, but all of them do have new material.

I’ll start with Blackbriar, and with Arms of the Ocean, which is that song that I finally settled on after taking far too long to decide. It was obviously much easier with the newer song, My Soul’s Demise, but I then ended up going through everything else and finding that I had a similar pretty good opinion about several songs, but something also bothered me about pretty much all of them as well and nothing really stood out as great. But, while thinking about it when I was no longer at the computer, I gradually realized that Arms of the Ocean stuck better in my mind, and in the end it may be the better song overall. Either way, the vocals do seem too weak for the genre, and this may be what kept making me skip over them so far, despite knowing the band for quite a number of years and having thought about including them in such a post before, probably on at least a few different occasions. But that’s weak in the sense of not powerful, not in the sense of poor, in fact quite the opposite, and their sound is adapted to these vocals, resulting in a package that doesn’t only work quite well, but also stands out, is memorable. And now that they also signed with Nuclear Blast, they may even finally get an entry on Metal Archives, where they have apparently been blacklisted, whitelisted, and then blacklisted again. I wonder how much that weakness of the vocals has to do with that as well. But, again, far from being a flaw, if you listen to them for a while, those vocals become their defining trait and what will stick in your mind.

The second band is Autumn Bride, and the two picks are H.EART.H and The Path. The sound may be a little angrier than I’d like, but at least in case of H.EART.H that’s entirely understandable, considering the all too current and necessary message, and the particularly notable, powerful vocals fit this sort of sound. This is a solid, confident, powerful performance, so I hope they’ll keep doing what they do well.

As for the third band, that’s Beyond God, and Memories is probably what made me put them on the list in the first place. The other songs that I listened to aren’t at that level, and this also applies to the second pick, Coronation, which I only selected because I want to at least stick to my own rules and also pick a recent song, and at least this one doesn’t have growls and angry drums, though the meaning that I gather from the lyrics would otherwise make me really want to avoid promoting that sort of mindset. But I do remember Memories, and in fact it seemed so familiar when I listened to it again that I checked to see whether it’s not a cover, because I doubt that I had listened to it very recently, so it means that it left a good impression and I kept waiting for them to return to this level before including them in such a post… And now I guess that I decided to stop waiting and do it anyway.

I made the tea for the morning while working on the salad and started eating dinner at 1:15 AM, finishing a little after 1:50 AM. Then I took one of those pills against gas and the magnesium and potassium supplement, drinking a little of the tea, and got ready for the morning, once again needing plenty of time to pin the number on the t-shirt, though maybe not quite as much as I used to. And since I didn’t try to post anything about Eurovision that night, I got in bed at 3:15 AM. However, since I was still awake 20 minutes later, I went to pee one more time… Which still wasn’t enough, the need to pee waking me again at 5:53 AM. But the alarm was set to ring at 6 AM, so when I saw the time I decided to just get back in bed without going, and I might have actually just fallen asleep again when the alarm rang. Then I ate a large apple, a bio (organic) yogurt mixed with cereals, almonds and raisins in dark chocolate, and three of those wheat things, with honey and jam between them, and I also took the last of the supplements and another pill against gas and drank the remaining tea. Unsurprisingly, I hardly left anything in the toilet. And I left with dad just after 7:50 AM, wearing the full running gear and one of those armbands. At that point, the forecast listed 13-14°C at 9 AM, when the half marathon was going to start, and probably 17°C when I was going to finish. And dad drove me most of the way to the metro station, so I was there at 8 AM and, after getting off at Izvor, I reached Constitution Square at 8:20 AM, without putting on the mask which I had taken with me.
I “explored” a little at first, and while I was in the Sport Expo area I was handed a bar, though not one that I’d want to eat during the race. Then I saw baskets of fruits in the Mega Image tent and wondered whether you could take any, since nobody seemed to, so I took off my jacket and stood around, made a few stretching moves, and after quite some time I gathered the courage to just go for it, grabbing a banana and an apple, at which point someone else also came to take something, probably emboldened after seeing me. Either way, I ate the banana and it was past 8:40 AM when I went to leave the backpack at the wardrobe, ending up handing it to someone from the relay section, since the line for the half marathon section was longer and someone from the relay section was asking half marathon runners to leave their things there as well. And the girl who took it removed the sticker from it, even though this time around they did seem to stick, and placed it on the rope straps. Then I walked out of the Square, once again choosing to use the toilets that are closer to the starting area… And then finding the starting area already packed, and even though the signs that indicated the sectors had appeared again, there was still a single entrance, at the back, and at first I couldn’t even advance. But others were trying to make their way forward, so I did my best to follow while eating a protein bar which I had taken with me, and I managed to get just in front of the 1:50 pacemakers before the start. I had hoped to reach the 1:45 pacemakers, but I couldn’t… And in the end that proved to be my place anyway.

Maybe I should have tried to keep advancing after the start was given, gaining some more seconds, but I didn’t, waiting until those who were ahead of me could get moving and going with the crowd, which led to a start time that was 1:14 on my stopwatch, the official one being 1:15. That was still better than last year, but I couldn’t quite remember what my start time had been at that very moment and, either way, it seemed too much, and at the time I thought that my target should be 4:54 per kilometer if I was to once again have an official time below 1:45, though that actually included a small buffer, the actual time needed being exactly 4:55, assuming just under 30 seconds on that final portion. Not that I actually thought that I could manage something like that again, plus that it had been announced that there were going to be two supply points, at five and 12 kilometers, where bars and gels and other such products were going to be available, and if enough would be left by the time I reached those points, I was planning to sacrifice some time in order to get some supplies for the marathon.
I still wanted to at least do well enough on the first part, however, meaning to stay on target for the first ten kilometers, so until we’ll pass by the finish, since once again the ten kilometer and half marathon races were mixed, so at that point the ten kilometer runners finished while the rest of us went around the finish line. And the first kilometer really surprised me, since it was hard to make it through the crowd and I expected to be noticeably slower, but in fact the time was exactly 4:54. And on the second kilometer I limited the loss caused by that bad climb quite well, covering it in 5:00. And then I could start gaining time, covering the next three kilometers in 4:53, 4:48 and 4:43, respectively, getting ever closer to the 1:45 pacemakers and actually catching them just before that first 180° turn, on Kiseleff. However, I took that turn quite poorly and some of the people from that group passed me again, and one of them stepped on my foot a little, so I was among them when I reached that first refreshment point, which was immediately after the marker for five kilometers.
At each refreshment point, I took a piece of banana and one cup of water and one of that other drink, but even drinking caused me to lose more that first time, since I struggled to finish the first cup before getting the second and couldn’t really do so despite slowing a lot, so I wasn’t sure what to do and lost a few more seconds before finally deciding to pour what was left in the first cup into the second. And that announced supply point indeed followed immediately, and I was surprised to see all of the different products and, while I more or less knew what that sponsor had and what I wanted, I definitely hadn’t checked their products well enough to be able to identify and grab those things in such a hurry. Then again, it’s also possible that the better products were only available at the second supply point, since I don’t recall seeing gels, liquid magnesium or even salt bars at that first one. I might have missed them, of course, since those pacemakers were pulling ahead again and I was trying to limit the loss of time, but what I clearly saw were jelly bars and what I tend to call their regular bars, so I grabbed one of each, without even trying to pick a specific kind. However, I then ended up losing quite a number of seconds while struggling to stuff those bars into the pocket of my tights and zip the pocket once again, since I had the other protein bar, the gel and the Smecta Go which I had taken with me in there as well, and that was despite thinking that it’d have probably been better to just hold them in my hand for the next few kilometers, until that steep climb, when I meant to slow to a walk and eat a bar anyway. And the added weight made my tights feel uncomfortable for a while. Despite all of that, pushing after I finally did get back to running meant that I still limited the loss of time reasonably well, covering that sixth kilometer in 5:08.
I was probably pushing a little too hard at that point and knew it, but at the same time I wanted to get ahead of the 1:45 pacemakers as soon as possible, in order to afford to lose time on that steep climb and at the second refreshment point and still not be behind them at ten kilometers. And I did get ahead of them before the first relay changing point, which was at about 6.5 kilometers, though I can’t remember whether I somehow managed to do so even before reaching six kilometers or not. Either way, since one of those pacemakers had pulled a little ahead of the rest and I recognized him as that guy whom I tend to consider as the “second in command” of that group that organizes that night run, when I passed and greeted him I meant to say that they’ll catch and pass me again after ten kilometers and I’ll likely finish closer to the 1:50 pacemakers than to them. But I didn’t, and that estimate proved too optimistic anyway. Still, at that point I could push and did so, the seventh kilometer being my best, covered in 4:42, while the eighth was covered in 4:43. It included going down a slope, however, so I was starting to slow more than that mere second might appear to indicate. But I was relatively content with covering the ninth kilometer in 5:04, since it included that short but steep climb and I also ate a bar, though I did lose an additional amount of time in order to dig one out of my pocket and it ended up being the jelly bar, so I just ate it even though I had meant to keep that one for the marathon. If I’d have just kept those two bars in my hand until then, it’d have been no problem to eat the right one, I wouldn’t have had to take any out and would have just had to stuff one in, so I’d have lost significantly less time as well… Though I’m not sure how holding them would have affected my times until that point.
The next kilometer, also covered in 5:04, was the tenth, and it included going down that slope that’s at the end of Victoriei, which definitely helped, but also the second refreshment point, which obviously meant another loss of time, even though just drinking what I could from the first cup until I could get the second and then immediately pouring what was left into it meant that I reduced that loss a little. It wasn’t enough to prevent the 1:45 pacemakers from overtaking me again, but I dug into what reserves I still had and was just at the head of the group when we went past the finish, so at ten kilometers. And if at first I meant to switch to damage limitation mode and let them pull ahead after going around Constitution Square, especially since the next 5.5 kilometers or so were going to be against the wind, I found that I could stay at the head of the group a little longer and decided to do so until a little after 11 kilometers, to only fall back with ten kilometers left. And the fact that they slowed a little definitely helped, since I stayed at the head of the group despite covering that 11th kilometer in 5:12. And after dropping to the back of the group at what should have been 11.1 kilometers, I realized that I could stay there a while longer and should actually try to do so, because they were shielding me from that headwind, so I was still there at the end of the 12th kilometer, which I covered in 5:11.
That second supply point came immediately after the marker for 12 kilometers. It was on its own, refreshment points being roughly every five kilometers, and it seemed larger than the first one, and I also saw gels and liquid magnesium, and there’s a part of one of the tables that I didn’t see at all, since I quickly grabbed a bar and a gel from the first table, then sort of avoided the guy who was standing in front of the second table and holding something out because I had seen liquid magnesium there and definitely wanted one for the marathon, so I grabbed one of those and then moved on, not even noticing what was in that guy’s hand or on the other part of that table. And I only realized after I actually looked at what I had grabbed that the bar wasn’t only another regular one, but in fact the exact same kind as the one which I had grabbed at the first such point as well, and which I still had. And then I lost quite some time because I once again struggled to stuff everything into the pocket of my tights, which added enough weight on that side to make me feel quite uncomfortable, unbalanced and thinking that my tights were really going to slip down, despite being tied pretty tightly. I considered moving a bar to that small pouch that’s meant for keys, but I wasn’t sure I’ll be able to and didn’t want to lose even more time, so I just dealt with the situation from then on, and I’m sure that the discomfort had an effect of my times as well. Either way, I covered that 13th kilometer in 5:31, which came as quite a shock even though it should have been expected if you think about it, considering the previous kilometer’s time. The bigger problem, however, was that it meant that I lost contact with the 1:45 group, so I had no more protection from that headwind, and the times that followed definitely showed that.
True, the next kilometer, covered in 5:40, included climbing the slope on Decebal, which is slight but pretty long, and also eating the gel grabbed from that supply point, which also meant digging it out of the pocket. So I should have once again held it in my hand instead of stuffing it there and then needing to dig it back out, but I had wondered whether to eat it then or after the next refreshment point, and possibly even after the 180° turn, only deciding to eat it then when I noticed that I was having a harder time with that slope and the wind than I thought I would, so I pretty much walked while eating it, resting a little. And then I lost some more time with the next refreshment point, so the next kilometer was even slower, being covered in 5:43.
I knew that I was losing a lot of time, but I didn’t really calculate what it added up to until that turn, which actually came where it did before and not at that slightly earlier point that was marked on the map. Either way, after that turn I saw how close behind me the 1:50 group was and realized that I was doing much worse than I thought, and after passing the marker for 16 kilometers, having covered that kilometer in 5:34, I actually calculated… And I realized that I was looking at 1:52! So I tried to dig into what little reserves I still had, and the fact that the wind was behind me after that turn obviously helped quite a bit as well, so the next two kilometers were covered in 5:17 and 5:24, respectively, and most of the difference was probably because of the headwind that once again appeared around Alba Iulia Square. It still meant that I had no chance to even stay under 1:50 as official time, but I meant to give it absolutely everything and try to at least avoid being overtaken by the 1:50 group, since the pacemakers run according to the real time and their start time had been slightly worse than mine, after all. It was an awfully disappointing goal to have, but it was the only one left at that point, and I had serious doubts that even that was realistic.
The last refreshment point was just before the marker for 19 kilometers, so covering that kilometer in what was probably 5:44 should have been expected, but it meant that the 1:50 group was right on my heels and the situation seemed hopeless, though the fact that the marker was just after the refreshment point instead of just before it made me wonder whether it hadn’t been moved a little. I do believe that the line painted on the pavement was there as well, which should have confirmed the correct placement of the sign, but I was trying to drink and eat as efficiently as possible and not paying enough attention to be absolutely sure. In fact, I only noticed the sign when I passed by it, and my hands being full meant that I also failed to press the button on the stopwatch, so the time is calculated according to what I saw, which means it I might have actually reached the marker a second earlier… Not that it makes much of a difference. And it still means that the next kilometer was surprisingly fast, being covered in 4:58 if the time I saw was the correct one, so it couldn’t have been more than five minutes even if I looked a little late when I passed 19 kilometers. However, while I did push like crazy on that kilometer, giving everything and deciding that I’ll see what I’ll do over the final kilometer when I’ll get there, this surprisingly fast time for this point in the race once again makes me think that the marker for 19 kilometers might have been moved a little.
Either way, pushing that hard carried a price, my legs were heavy and the time for the 21st kilometer was 5:44, with no doubts about where the painted markers were. Admittedly, there was also a point when I looked behind me and saw that I had put what I thought was a pretty safe distance between me and the 1:50 group over that 20th kilometer and I might have relaxed a little too much, but as I reached Constitution Square once again I suddenly noticed the first of the 1:50 pacemakers out of the corner of my eye and realized that I was about to be passed by them. It was shocking, as until that very moment I thought that I was somehow going to at least manage to stay safely ahead of them, not even really believing that I could do so poorly as to fail to do so when they had just about caught me at that last refreshment point, even though my pace had been much worse than theirs for so long. But that was the reality, and my last chance was an absolutely desperate dash to the finish line even though I felt completely drained. And that resulted in covering that final stretch in 28 seconds and at least managing to stay just ahead of the 1:50 pacemakers. However, the time listed on my stopwatch was 1:50:39, and the official one was 1:50:41, so there is another second missing, on top of the one from the beginning, which may mean that I actually covered those final meters in 29 seconds. Either way, the official real time was 1:49:26, which is over six minutes worse than last year’s…

I couldn’t even get this far before midnight, editing in order to add the last two paragraphs above a little later. Then I edited the post again, Tuesday afternoon, in order to add the rest of this paragraph and the following section. And the rest, starting from that fair from Unirii Park, was added before I went to bed Wednesday morning. And I should also point out that the entire part about the actual race was written from memory, three weeks after the fact, the only notes that I was able to make before then consisting of the times for each kilometer and mentioning whether it included a refreshment or supply point or a slope or if I ate.

Yes, I was disappointed after failing to reach my goal in 2016 and 2019 as well, while in 2021 I was slower than I had been before, but in this latter case it was entirely expected, considering how I felt, and the time was actually much better than I thought it’d be, so I was pleased with the result, while in 2016 it was my first official run and in 2019 that target was extremely ambitious for that moment and all of my calculations had shown that I won’t be able to make it. This time around, however, when I was thinking that I’ll end up closer to 1:50 than to 1:45, I was thinking of 1:48, or maybe, after factoring in the loss of time caused by getting those supplies for the marathon, just failing to stay under 1:48 as real time and therefore having an official time approaching 1:49:30. But that was the worst case scenario, and remained so until I saw how close the 1:50 pacemakers were, after that turn, and while the final result wasn’t as bad as what I calculated after that moment, I didn’t really believe those calculations, thinking that once I started pushing harder, I’ll somehow recover much of that lost time, and staying well ahead of those pacemakers won’t really be a problem. So it’s not just that I was a little over a minute slower than that worst case scenario, but that I was shocked by it, simply not believing that things could go so badly until the last moment. And when my typical mindset is to expect the worst, that shows just how terrible the result really was.
But, to return to that day’s events, I’m pretty sure that I had already received the medal but definitely hadn’t yet reached the finishers’ area when I spotted a box with some apples and I think one last orange, and I took an apple and the orange. Then, in the finishers’ area, I first went to the water, drinking a cup and grabbing a bottle, then also drank a cup of that other drink, of the kind that I hadn’t seen during the race, though it’s likely that only the flavor differed. Then I took two pieces of orange, one at a time, and ate them, and as I sat down to peel the second piece, a guy asked whether I was fine and I said that I was, and after he said that I’ll have cramps if I sit and I once again said that I was fine, I realized that I really was, perhaps too fine. Either way, I had spotted an apple that had fallen from the tables where fruits were sliced and since it was still there after I finished the orange pieces, I grabbed it as well, then I drank another cup of that other drink and grabbed another water bottle before finally leaving that area and going to retrieve my bag from the wardrobe.
When the person who started looking for my bag didn’t seem to be able to find it, I was starting to worry, but someone else joined her after a while and it was eventually found. I had tied those rope straps around the opening before handing it over and they were untied when I got it back, but nothing else seemed to have happened, so maybe they had just untied it so it’ll be easier to hang, though I usually tie the bag in that manner and don’t recall getting it back untied before. But two guys were behind me while I was waiting and one asked the other whether he was fine, and when the other said that he was, the first said that it’s not fine if you’re fine after a race, since it means that you didn’t give everything, which obviously reminded me of the fact that I had sort of thought the same thing after that other guy asked whether I was fine. Either way, I then put on the jacket and took out the other things that I was going to need, including the old camera, which I had taken with me, and moved everything else into my backpack, which had also been in the bag, also adding what I had grabbed.
After struggling to use one of those portable things in order to wash my hands a little, I saw that protein milk and protein yogurt were being offered in the Zuzu Fit area, so I took one of each. Then, after just walking past the areas where there were contests or raffles, I went to the place that offered hot dogs and took one, then went to the Mega Image area in order to sit down and eat it. I also checked what was still available in those baskets, and those from that side only had one kind of apples left, but someone else was telling another person that they still had the other kind of apples, as well as bananas, on the other side, so after I finished eating I went there and grabbed another banana and an apple of that other kind, and also what seemed to be the last pear.
That left just one more thing to do, having a picture taken, and I had seen something about one of the sponsors taking pictures in their area and the place where that should happen was obvious, but the message which I had seen seemed to indicate that pictures were taken automatically, at random intervals, and when I had passed by that spot, girls wearing that company’s t-shirts formed a tight human wall around the camera, so making use of that didn’t seem to be an option and I still had to ask someone, which meant needing to work up the courage to do so… And when I finally managed to get myself to go for it, the person I had meant to go to was just about to walk away and ignored me. And I knew that I was going to lose that courage if I won’t try again quickly, so I quickly picked another “target”, hovered around while they talked, and when I saw that they were also about to leave I rather butted in and asked the guy. And after he agreed I told him that the camera’s old and may not save correctly, asking him to take two pictures and then faking a smile. And, after the woman who was with him offered to hold my jacket and I gave it to her, he actually took three pictures, though all were in the same orientation and from farther away than I’d have liked… And I forgot about that smudge, later seeing that it was pretty much right on my face on all of the shots, so it didn’t really matter which one I chose to keep.
Since my brain had pretty much disconnected when I had to interact with someone, it was only after that guy walked away that I realized that I had looked sort of “through” him when he took the pictures and hadn’t memorized his number despite meaning to, just to know who took my picture. So I tried to follow in order to have another look, but didn’t want to be too obvious about it either, so I kept some distance and, after initially also following into the Sport Expo area, I turned around, went back out and waited a short distance away from the entrance, some abdominal cramps and a certain pressing need that suddenly appeared just then meaning that I couldn’t have really moved for a few moments even if I’d have wanted to, at least not without fearing a certain accident… However, when that guy did appear again, he was holding something in front of his number and I still couldn’t see it from where I was. I did see the number of the woman who was with him, and that allowed me to quickly identify him as well once the pictures from the race were up, but at that point I didn’t know whether it’d be enough, so I was still following a short distance behind them when I walked out of Constitution Square, at 11:45 AM. But wanting to be even less obvious about it led to trying to use a slightly different route, the plan being to catch up to them if they’ll cross the road or end up alongside them but on the other side of that green space if they won’t. But the actual result was that I just lost them, so after hesitating for a moment I crossed the road, looked a little more from the other side, then sort of stood around for a while, watching as the last runners came past that area and trying to decide what to do next.

Since I once again found that fair in Unirii Park when I got there, I had a look around, paying closer attention to a stand where socks were being sold. Also checked one with paintings for some reason, but then I returned to that one with the socks and asked about them, being told that a single cotton pair was left, and it was cheap, but the size was too large. The rest were made of bamboo fiber and I had actually considered trying some of those already, after seeing some in stores, but at first I once again walked away… Only to stop a short distance away, think about it a little longer and then return and buy three pairs, since the third was at half price in that case, resulting in a reasonable price per pair. And I bought them even though only dark colors were left, and on top of the fact that I just don’t like dark colors, it also means that it’ll be next to impossible to tell which are mine and which are dad’s after washing. Maybe, if I’m really careful, I’ll be able to tell the dark gray ones apart from his, but instead of at least picking three pairs like that, for some reason I picked two of those and a dark blue one, which I still don’t know how I’ll manage to tell apart from some of his. I guess the material feels somewhat different, but the risk of mixing them is very high, and it’s quite clear that sooner or later he’ll assume that they’re his and take them even if I will be able to tell them apart when I take them out of the washing machine and try to hang them to dry separately.
Either way, I then went to pee at that McDonald’s, after which I put on the mask and went to Carrefour, entering with everything and, on top of just wasting time, since I didn’t find anything to get, also ending up in an awkward situation, since I had taken everything out of my jacket’s pockets before walking back out, expecting the guard to want to check, but that time around he did want to check the backpack as well and the fruits, the protein milk and yogurt, the bars, all of those things could have been taken from there, so I tried to be as calm and confident as possible when I told him that I was coming from the half marathon and had plenty of things in the backpack which I had grabbed from there, pointing to the number and saying that it should prove that I was there, and the medal was next to it as well. Of course, the fact that I had been there didn’t mean that I couldn’t have taken those things from the store, especially when the protein milk and yogurt and the banana were right at the top, but after pulling those out for a moment and having a look, he put them back and let me go. The fact that I also pointed to the bag where I had those socks and said that “some socks” were in there might have had something to do with it as well, if he assumed that those were the socks worn during the race, but I only realized that later.
After that, I took the metro to Obor, and dad called after I got off, while I was on my way to the farmers’ market, obviously not understanding how I was feeling or why would I be affected in that manner and ending the conversation rather in a huff when I guess that I was looking for a shoulder to lean on, not that I could ever hope for anything of the sort from him. So I had to somehow pull myself together again and decided to have a look through the farmers’ market after all, looking for cheap apples and finding a crate in the indoor area that seemed to contain apples that’d normally be cheap but which were nevertheless better than the other cheap apples that I had seen. No price was listed, however, so after I finished looking around I got back there and asked, and when I was told that they were just 1 RON / kg I put some in a bag, asked how much it weighed and, even though I saw 2.339 kg on the scales, I was told that it’ll just be 2 RON. And they turned out to be very tasty, and only a few were actually spoiling, and my mother also asked for some since then, so I really should have bought more. Either way, I then also had a quick look for those cheap perfumes for dad, asking about the price in one place but not getting any, since it was slightly higher than it had been before.
I did put everything in a cabinet when I got to that Carrefour, then peed one more time before entering the store… And just wasting some more time, so I then retrieved what I had in the cabinet and only put the apples back in one when I reached Kaufland, entering with the backpack, but still not finding anything to get, so I just retrieved the apples and continued to Penny, where I once again put everything in a cabinet and at least bought some sweets, most of them for dad, finding a way to squeeze them into the backpack after retrieving what I had in the cabinet.
I then got back to the metro station, picking up another one of those bottles that went towards that 10 RON voucher from Penny on the way, and deciding to go to Pallady next, to also check that Auchan. And at least they have cabinets at that location, so I once again put my things in one, but the expiring products no longer had higher discounts than at other locations and the regular ones are usually too low to be worth getting such products from Auchan, and I didn’t find anything else to get either, so I retrieved my things from the cabinet, once again put them in one when I got to that Kaufland as well, and only got some yogurt from there, meaning that this entire trip was one more waste of time, since I could have bought that yogurt from that other Kaufland, and maybe I could have found something if I’d have checked the Auchan from Obor instead of rushing back to the metro in order to make this other trip. Either way, I added the yogurt in the cabinet and peed one more time, then retrieved everything, arranged, and went back to the metro station… Only to be so tired and distracted that I somehow failed to notice the metro in the station! The board only listed the one for the other direction as being about to arrive and after seeing that I just sort of stood there, largely unaware of what was going on around me and only realizing that there were trains on both sides when there were two announcements about doors closing. So I wasted yet more time, waiting for the next one.

I got back at 6:40 PM, though after cleaning the litter box I went to throw a bag of trash down the chute. Then I put everything except the apples in their place, went to the toilet, showered, ate a pretzel and a large bag of corn puffs, and wrote the part of the post about Eurovision that I managed to post before midnight, but I was too depressed to do anything else or even have a proper lunch, much less dinner, so at night I just ate an apple, probably the one picked off the pavement in the finishers’ area, and also finally washed what had been left in the kitchen. I was shaking… But at least I also managed to get all the apples in the fridge. And I’ll also add here that the following night I ate dinner between 3:05 AM and 3:40 AM.

I’m not sure how much was lost in the Romanian translation of this book, but it’d have also been translated if I’d have read it in English and the sensationalist English title, “Our House Is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis”, makes me have doubts about the rest of that translation anyway, even more so when the original title, “Scenes from the Heart”, preserved in the Romanian edition, fits so well. Because this book is so deeply personal, so incredibly open, so painfully honest, that every word must be from the heart, and this is what makes it worth reading.
True, it makes a great difference if the personal parts are particularly familiar, perhaps even more so if only the problems are, in which case the admission that having the social status, contacts and wealth required to access the solutions needed for such individuals and families to remain more or less functional is such a rare privilege can feel somewhat soothing. And I see that some are bothered by this mix of personal matters and activism, and of neurodivergence and the climate crisis. But, again, the truth is that it’s those personal parts that make this book truly remarkable.
Sure, some of the environmental parts, mainly those stressing the severity of the crisis and pointing out the problems, on every level, as well as how false and even dangerous the popular “solutions” are, can be well written and compelling, but others, mainly those presenting other solutions that are, at least in theory, readily available and expressing a belief that the tide may be turning, are less so. And, either way, a book focusing solely on those matters would have been preaching to the choir. Plus that a book that’s based on data quickly becomes outdated. And I must also mention how infuriating it is when Greta makes a point of arguing against those who dare to fight an even harder battle by raising the overpopulation problem, and doing so in a manner that’s so similar to that used by those who dismiss the climate crisis.

Rating: 4/5

In the early hours of May 10, I went to the kitchen earlier and hoped to be able to start eating dinner at 2 AM, but it was 2:15 AM when I did, after also talking a little to dad and then forgetting to make the tea while working on the salad or slicing bread and therefore setting the water to boil when it was already late, which added some time. And I was struggling to hold off a breakdown while working on the salad and slicing bread, and the fact that dad was awake and around definitely didn’t help. But I somehow managed it, at least to some extent, and when I did start eating I had some of the old peanut butter, to see whether it was still good. It had hardened, but otherwise seemed fine, the other thing that I put on the bread that night being more of a concern, since I had kept it for far too long and it was starting to have a strange taste, and the gas that appeared right away and the way my stomach felt after eating indicated that it had probably been right at the limit of causing worse problems. Either way, I finished eating at 2:50 AM and gave up on the idea of shaving, but even so it was 4:35 AM when I got in bed, after taking way too long to get everything ready for the morning, even more so after deciding to go straight to Auchan after the run, to get bread for dad, so I had to stuff bags and money in the pocket of my tights, though I didn’t also take a mask.
The alarm was set to ring at 8:15 AM, but I woke up at 8 AM, when the computer did the daily backup, and decided to do the tiny exercise routine at that point, though I then waited for the alarm, possibly even falling asleep again just before it rang. Then I got up and had the usual stuff, the apple being the last of the Fuji ones that I still had, even if it was smaller, and the sweet thing consisting of two of those wheat things, one with honey and the other with jam. I also took all of the supplements, including the double dose of iron that I was just switching to that day, for the last five days before the race… And I guess it pretty much counted as taking a double dose of the one with potassium and magnesium too, since I had taken the previous day’s shortly before going to bed. Either way, I unsurprisingly didn’t leave much of anything in the toilet and went out at 9:45 AM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights, and an undershirt. The reported temperature was 11-12°C, increasing a little after that but possibly by just 1°C by the time I finished.
The time was 48:17.07, with sector times of 4:12.85, 5:16 (5:15.19), 5:59 (5:58.97), 4:33.12, 5:05.53, 5:56 (5:55.85), 4:31 (4:30.59), 5:02.56, 5:50 (5:49.38) and 1:53.03, making for lap times of 15:27.01, 15:34.50 and 15:23 (15:22.53). The first sector was five seconds slower than it should have been, since I pushed hard from the start, and while the one problem caused by people and the soggy lane might have caused most of that loss of time, there were no such explanations for that bad sector two and I realized that even the chance of staying under 48 minutes was slipping away, and when I barely stayed under six minutes on sector three despite trying to recover that lost time, the target became to just stay under 49 minutes. Still, after sector two and three of lap two were less bad, I thought of 48:30 and tried to push. It seemed like I had a shot after sector one of lap three, even more so after sector two, and I kept pushing in order to be safe at the end of the lap, and since I was I didn’t really push on the final sector anymore. But the result remains poor even in itself, and when it comes to such final practice runs, if you exclude the one that came before the 2021 half marathon, when I was yet to do much about the anemia and swollen feet, then this is the worst one since the very first one, from 2017…
There weren’t many people, so there was some weaving and going the long way around, but the only notable issue was right on the first sector, when I caught two guys with three dogs just when we were all coming out from under the bridge and had to make my way around them, slowing to some extent. On the other hand, the lane was soggy in plenty of places, so I avoided what I could, and there was more damage as well, including a badly damaged spot on sector three, though they seemed to have fixed the spot that was early on sector two. Otherwise, some pain that was likely reflected from my back appeared soon after I started running and I tried to snap my back, but it diminished only slowly. And later I started feeling that the back of my left thigh tended to contract, possibly because I was still sparing that ankle. And there was some wind as well, but the main problem was that I just couldn’t go any faster.

After the run, I first had a look in Supeco and then also checked the expiring products from that Mega Image, then I picked up another one of those bottles that go towards that 10 RON voucher from Penny and continued to Auchan, leaving that bottle outside when I got there. After washing my hands, I got bread for dad, having no problems with the self-checkout until I was done, at which point it said that assistance was required. But I was already done and the receipt was printed, so I caught the eye of an employee, just to let her know that something was going on, and walked away, taking a moment to arrange the bread a little better after leaving the checkout area and then also retrieving that bottle before continuing to Penny. But I didn’t find anything to get from there, so I just put my things in a cabinet and then retrieved them, putting them once again in a cabinet when I got to Kaufland. From there, I got a coconut that was among the spoiling products and some yogurt, having no problems with the self-checkout and then retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging everything. By then, it had gotten cloudy and chillier, but I had nothing to do about that, so I also checked that non-stop Mega Image, just putting my things in a cabinet and then retrieving them, and then also went to Carrefour, once again putting everything in a cabinet and getting a couple of things, then retrieving what I had in the cabinet and arranging.
So I went to all of those places without a mask, and I’ve done something similar again since then, in large part because so few people still wear one, and most of those who do are old, so instead of acting as a layer of protection when it came to interacting with people, which noticeably reduced my anxiety during these past three years, wearing one now seems to no longer be socially acceptable and makes me stand out, so it tends to worsen the stress and anxiety… At a time when my mental state is so bad anyway.
Either way, I got back just before 3 PM, had lunch, and then I struggled and finally managed to make another call that has to do with what I can’t get myself to write about. But it was as pointless as anything else I’ve tried to do about it, before or since… And it made me eat a box of caramelized walnuts before leaving again. I had meant to eat it after I’ll get back again, in the evening, but I felt the need for it after that call. On the other hand, at least I also did the day’s squats.
I left again at 7:35 PM, wearing a mask and taking the metro, since dad said that he wanted to drive to and from work, so I had his metro card. I just went to Obor, but I checked four Mega Image locations and one Shop & Go from that area, getting a few Kapia peppers that were among the spoiling products in the second Mega Image, without being charged for the bag. They were imported, but I hadn’t seen Romanian ones anywhere and in that location they were listed as being from Greece, so at least from the EU, and I chose to believe the label even though in all other Mega Image locations it said that they were from Turkey. Either way, I stuffed that bag in a pocket and entered the other locations with it, and in the last Mega Image I found chili peppers among the spoiling products and meant to get a bag for dad. However, I couldn’t find them on the shelf, so I didn’t know the price and also thought that there was a chance to find an evening discount for them at Kaufland, and that Mega Image closes later, so I put the bag that seemed to contain the best ones at the bottom of the pile and walked out.
I also checked Penny, and the guard stopped me when I was leaving and asked me to unzip my jacket, so I did that and showed him what I had in the inside pockets, but he still patted me for a moment before saying that it was fine. He never checked the pocket where I had those Kapia peppers, however. Either way, it seemed that the trash hadn’t been gathered at all in that area and at first I meant to gather ten bottles and put them in that machine, but after picking up the two that went towards that other voucher, I only spotted two others that were clean and would certainly be accepted and easy to get, without digging through trash or being right next to occupied benches, so I just kept those two that went towards that voucher and walked away, ending up wasting a little more time by going to the next crossing and then walking back from there.
Carrefour was next, and I put the Kapia peppers and the bottles in a cabinet, then I got an expiring product for dad and also meant to get two beers for him, since there should have been a discount for the second one. However, they seemed to have changed their schedule for sales and the ones that I knew of had apparently ended the previous day, since I didn’t see any label announcing that discount anymore and when I went to the self-checkout, after paying for the other product separately, I scanned the beers and no discount applied, so I motioned to the guy who was at the computer to clear the transaction and walked out, retrieving my things from the cabinet and stuffing the purchases in my pockets, so I just put those bottles back in a cabinet when I got to Kaufland, not caring for the fact that it didn’t lock. Then I washed my hands and entered the store when it was past 9:40 PM, maybe closer to 9:45 PM, and just got a couple of things, rushing to the self-checkout when it was announced that the store had closed and needing to call an employee to override the error when the machine said that the kohlrabi was not the correct product. Then I took my time to put the purchases from there and the bottles from the cabinet in the backpack, ripping the leaves off the kohlrabi in order to make all of it fit in a bag and throwing away the naked stem parts, before stopping once again after walking out, to also add what I had in my pockets and arrange everything better. And I saw a cart with a coin in it in the parking lot when I walked away, so I connected it to others and retrieved the coin.
I then returned to that Mega Image, entering with the backpack and finding that bag of chili peppers still where I had placed it, even though the others that I had placed over it had been moved. I still couldn’t find a price label, however, so I asked at the checkout, then bought it, once again not being charged for the bag. Then I rather rushed back to the metro, just grabbing another one of those bottles that go towards that voucher off the street, just as I was crossing to the station, so I only added the chili peppers, along with that bottle, in the backpack as I was waiting for the metro, arranging everything once again after doing so.
I got back right at 11 PM, though after cleaning the litter box I went to drop a bag of trash down the chute. I’m not sure how I had managed to remain somewhat functional until then, after that call and the resulting hopelessness and despair, but at that point I was so out of it, nearly stunned… But a little after 12:10 AM I went to take a bath, being done an hour later. Then I also sliced three breads for dad and washed and cleaned what I could out of what was in the kitchen, finally starting to eat dinner at 3:35 AM. I finished at 4 AM and got in bed at 5:20 AM.

And now I should have moved on to the day of the half marathon, but I just can’t get myself to write about that either. I definitely mean to write about it, just like I mean to write about April 8, so it won’t end up like the period spent in the hospital… But I did so badly that it feels like a trauma, so I just can’t, at least for now. But wasting a personal post on a single day that’s not such an important event is unacceptable, so I guess I’ll also add Thursday here, since that’s when I went to Bookfest.
I initially meant to leave at 4 PM, switching to 4:30 PM after learning that dad didn’t need the metro card, but then he started getting ready to cook and would have messed things up even more if I wouldn’t have helped with something, so it was past 5:05 PM when I finally did leave, after first going to drop a bag of trash down the chute, then returning in order to also grab the recyclables. I still made the small detour needed in order to drop them off in a recycling bin, however, not walking all the way to the metro station with them again. And I once again didn’t wear a mask when I’d have done so before, taking one with me but not putting it on for that metro ride or even at the fair, which I reached a little after 6:20 PM, after getting off at Aviatorilor and trying a different route that was supposed to be a little shorter but getting confused and losing some time instead.
I entered the hall through the last door, looked left and the second publisher I saw was the one that I knew focused on Romanian science fiction and fantasy, so I started looking, hesitating a little before the person who was there gestured for me to enter that small stand, at which point I did. But I still had the music on and definitely didn’t mean to interact in any way, yet she got up and asked what should she tell me about, insisting despite the fact that I said that I was just looking, asking whether I preferred science fiction or fantasy and then what kind of fantasy, and when she continued, getting into specifics, I turned off the music and rather grudgingly paid more attention, eventually asking about the price of the series that she recommended and then saying that I’ll look around and maybe return later. And I did keep that series in mind and might have ended up buying it if I’d have found something else to add that was cheap enough to get close to the maximum amount that I meant to spend, without going over it, but I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t, because I checked some reviews after getting back and saw that the author wrote science fiction before, the stories take place in the same universe and some important details tend to require reading those other books, which I’d otherwise have no interest in.
Either way, I then tried to make a plan and looked all around, finding a Leftist publisher, which I kept in mind just in case, and two other Romanian fantasy publishers that I didn’t know about, plus some fantasy books in another place that I only checked at the very end, since it was right in front of that first stand and that first interaction had messed me up quite badly, so I had a very hard time persuading myself to get back in that area. But, to return to those other fantasy publishers, I don’t care about reading fantasy in Romanian, and when it’s actually written by Romanian authors it seems even worse, but I look in part because I wonder whether anything would change my impression and in part because I just want the genre to develop and be more successful here as well. And loud music was playing in the stand of the first of those two new publishers, so I knew that conversation was not expected and I was indeed allowed to check out books without anyone saying anything. Things might have been different if I’d have actually entered the stand of that second new fantasy publisher that I found, and the prices, which contrasted with those from the other one, which struck me as unreasonably high even with the discounts, did make me want to do so, but two authors were there at the time, the few other people who had gathered meaning that the small space was filled anyway, and what I saw gave me the impression that they focused on paranormal romance, so I passed by the stand a few times but didn’t actually pick up any of the books. And when I checked after getting back I confirmed that impression about their focus, though not all of their books fit in that genre and I actually saw at least one that seemed interesting, if not two, and the discounted price would have made it worth the risk.
Back to the fair, I did avoid Seneca, as in those who also make and send those packages that I tend to volunteer to help put together, until the manager seemed to have left, since she’d have probably recognized me, but otherwise it was a relief that I was pretty much ignored by everyone except that first person and an author who was at the stand of some other publisher that I was just checking without actually being interested, who came to me, pointed out her book and asked whether I wanted her to tell me about it, at which point I just said that I didn’t and walked away. Even when I quite thoroughly checked the books in English that were available at the place that I got something from last year, the two people who were there didn’t say anything even when I had to stand right next to one of them in order to check a certain section. I didn’t find anything to buy from there this time around, however.
Still, I did end up buying two books. They’re in Romanian and nonfiction, and the first, An Immense World, came from a publisher that seems to have quite a few other potentially interesting titles. They’re just titles that I’d want to read, not necessarily also own, especially since they’re translated in Romanian, but I did end up buying that one, and then I went back to Seneca, since the manager didn’t seem to be there anymore, and got Scenes from the Heart. After deciding to try checking the Library once again after getting back, I saw that the catalog was finally back on-line and this second book is also available in one location, but I mainly purchased it in order to support them, since they actually have a collection of environmental books, print on recycled paper, plant trees for those books, and also use a part of the sales for those other programs that they have.
The fair was supposed to close at 8 PM that day and that time was approaching as I made those purchases, so I was rather rushing, but I walked out at 7:55 PM without hearing any sort of announcement, and I also can’t say that I noticed anyone gathering their things and getting ready to close. On the other hand, I finally did put on the mask just before getting back to the metro station, going to Carrefour Orhideea and actually taking the metro all the way instead of getting off at Basarab and then walking, which might be slightly faster even if I use the right exit… But I used the wrong one, being confused by the fact that I wasn’t coming from the direction that I pretty much always come from when I get there by metro, and then had to wait more at the stoplights. And going there proved to be a complete waste of time anyway. At least I entered with the backpack, and confirmed that they do still make that bread in that location, even though they don’t seem to make it at Unirii anymore, and I’m not sure about Park Lake either, finding two left even at that hour, but when we couldn’t even fit the bread that we already had in the freezer, I didn’t get any, and I didn’t find anything else either.
I then walked to Kaufland, using the toilet and then once again entering with the backpack, since I just had those books in it. It was 9:20 PM at that point and nothing that I cared to get was left in the bakery area, but some green onions were left and they had an evening discount, and on top of the actual bundles there was also a pile of cut tops in the next crate, so I initially grabbed three bundles and those tops, but in the end I put two of the bundles back, just buying one, in order to justify also getting those tops… Not that anyone said anything. Either way, I also got some cheese and the one bag of spoiling bananas, even if they were discounted only by a little over 50% and the base price was quite high, since I opened it and they seemed to be quite good when I looked… Though when I ate one after getting back I saw that it had been a wrong impression and I probably shouldn’t have bought them. And the fact that I did also led to needing to wait for an employee, since I went to the self-checkout just before closing time but was still waiting for someone to get to me when the announcement came, since those bananas wouldn’t scan. And the employee who finally came after a while asked me to read the code, since she couldn’t see it, and after logging on and entering it she also added the charge for the bag. I’m pretty sure that it’s the first time when I get charged for a bag that I’m forced to use in this manner at Kaufland, but I just frowned and paid, then arranged the purchases in the backpack and went back to the metro, ending up waiting ten minutes and not even using them to protect the books a little better, only thinking to put them in one more bag and arrange things a little differently in the backpack while on the metro. But that seems to have been good enough, the brine from the cheese not getting to them.
I got back a little after 10:45 PM, once again went to drop a bag of trash down the chute after cleaning the litter box… And I realized that it was going to be a long night when I saw how much I had to clean after dad had cooked. So I ate what was still usable from a banana, something sweet and some yogurt with oats while taking care of a part of the washing and cleaning, then I went to drop another bag of trash down the chute and finally went to shower when it was 1:35 AM. I was done just over half an hour later, but I still had plenty to do, so I eventually ate dinner between 4 AM and 4:45 AM.

At least I managed to post what’s above before midnight, but this next part should probably also be in this post, so I edited it about half an hour later in order to add that things might have been different if I’d have rushed to go to bed that morning. Probably not, since I doubt that they’d have noticed the problem soon enough, but at least I wouldn’t have been affected by what made me write the previous post just then. As it was, however, I decided to check some more things, including HonestGamers, saw two comments on my review for Blades of Heaven, which was the most recent one that was listed, and clicking to see them led to having my password stolen, in plain text! I only realized that the next day, but knowing that the account had probably been compromised made me change that password right away, being relieved that seeing those posts about the site having been hacked had made me wary enough to avoid using any that might lead to other relevant accounts being compromised as well. And then I sent them a message about it and finally got in bed at 6:10 AM.
When I did realize what had really happened and how easy it is to harvest passwords from that site, I sent another message, that one somewhat angrier, and took my time to make sure that nothing else could be compromised, which mostly implied checking accounts that I hadn’t used in years, reactivating one despite not meaning to, deleting one that I was sure I had already deleted and finding that a few others had been deleted, either for inactivity or after changes to the sites, so there should be nothing left that uses any form of that password or any that someone who has it might be likely to figure out.
And since I already got to that next day, I’ll also mention here that I ate dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:20 AM and then I got in bed a couple of minutes after 5:15 AM. And this morning I finally managed to stick to the dinner schedule once again, but I ended up getting in bed at 5:20 AM, and after getting up to pee a little after 8:30 AM it was really hard to get back to sleep, my mind constantly getting back to what I can’t get myself to write about, so I only slept for a couple more hours after that, despite staying in bed until 1:30 PM or so.