Cav's Place

On November 18, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, after actually waking up on my own just a few seconds earlier. Then I had all of the usual stuff, with the sweet thing again being two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, and I left at 3:25 PM, wearing the full running gear. It was very cloudy and the reported temperature was 11-12°C, holding steady.
The time was 46:22.35, with sector times of 4:14.45, 4:58.37, 5:49 (5:48.72), 4:24 (4:23.84), 4:51 (4:50.97), 5:41.00, 4:14.06, 4:52.07, 5:34.31 and 1:45 (1:44.56), making for lap times of 15:01.54, 14:56 (14:55.81) and 14:40.44. I again initially just aimed to stay under 48 minutes, and the first sector seemed slower than it should have been, since I was pushing, so I pushed harder and the first lap’s time made me wonder about being faster, even thinking of getting under 47 minutes. That didn’t seem possible at the time, but after sector one of lap two I again pushed hard and the result were great sector times and a lap covered in less than 15 minutes, so I just went for it, giving everything in an attempt to get under 47 minutes. It still seemed unlikely at first, but the sector times were once again great, sector three really standing out, and the lap was clearly the fastest of the day, so at the end of it I knew that I should even be able to get under 46:30, which I managed by some margin. The total time is tied for fourth fastest if I just look at the seconds, but almost half a second faster than the other 46:22 if I take the exact time into account. And that lap three was the fourth fastest lap, and the fastest lap three, not just the three lap times before it, but also what at the time were the next five after it, all being obtained on lap one. And that sector three was also the fifth fastest sector three.
Some parts of the lane had been repaired and three areas were fenced off because of that, all of them being in front of stalls, and while there was some more room around one of them, the other two led to slowing because of women with babies in strollers, once on sector two of lap one, right on the long straight, and once on sector three of lap two. And on sector one of lap three I had to quickly avoid two kids who were wrestling and moved in my way when I was about to go around them. Otherwise, there were some windy areas, mainly that one at the start of sector three, which was getting worse with each lap, and on lap three I was also fighting the wind to some extent on the first straight. But at least there were no physical problems, as a time like that should prove.

After very quickly checking the nearby Mega Image on the way, I got back, eventually had lunch, changed and left again at 7:40 PM. I had reserved something for dad from a pharmacy before leaving, to make sure that I’ll find it, but I first went to Penny, getting what I wanted and also being fair and pointing out to the cashier that she had entered four bags of peas instead of five. Then I took some time to arrange the purchases in the backpack and a bag, putting them in a cabinet when I reached Kaufland and also washing my hands, albeit only with water, since there was no soap. But I didn’t enter Kaufland at that point, instead going to Mega Mall, to pick up that order from that pharmacy. I didn’t get a receipt, but that might have been my fault, since I asked whether I should take the paper that the cashier had scanned, but realized that it was for their own use and said that I didn’t need it before she could answer, which might have led her to believe that I was referring to the receipt which she might have been about to give me, especially since she then asked whether I wanted to leave and came with me when I said yes, to tell the guard to let me out, since in that location you need to scan a receipt in order to be able to leave on your own.
After a quick look in a bookstore, I went to that Carrefour, grabbing a muffin that was among the expiring products on my way to the bakery area. At that hour, the 50% discount was going to apply to those taken from the bakery area as well, but that one was in a little plastic bag and wouldn’t smear anything else, so I preferred it… Only to lose it after placing it among the bagged bread while grabbing some other bakery products, since an employee checked for discarded products as I was doing that and took it away. Still, after also getting a bag of almonds that were actually still on sale even though that sale should have ended, I once again grabbed a muffin that was among the expiring products. Maybe it wasn’t the same one, but it was still in one of those little bags, so it was what I wanted. Either way, an employee came to stand next to me while I was using the self-checkout, after I had entered the two other bakery products as one, in order to get the evening discount on my own, so when I wasn’t sure what to select for the bread and asked for her help, I also pretended to just notice that I had entered one instead of two for the other products and she corrected that and applied the discount, and then did the same for the bread, without commenting anything. Not that there was any difference between doing it that way and simply entering one instead of two.
Adding the new purchases in the cabinet after getting back to Kaufland took a little while, then I washed my hands again and it was close to 9:40 PM when I entered the store, but I still found a few products to grab from the bakery area. I also took two labels to a price checker, but those products had a regular discount those days and no additional one, so I didn’t take any of them. But I added a few beets and, since it had an evening discount, also a lettuce, and I was just looking through the non-refrigerated expiring products, which are close to the checkouts, when it was announced that the store had closed. Then, after having no problems with the self-checkout and retrieving what I had in the cabinet, I took my time to arrange everything. And I also had a quick look in that Mega Image, but didn’t find anything to get and also saw that the price of those snacks for dad had increased by exactly 30%, so I just wasted some time, also putting the bags in a cabinet and then retrieving them, though at least I entered with the backpack.
After getting back a little before 10:50 PM, I put the purchases in their place, with the exception of the bakery products, washed what I had to wash, ate some walnuts and the sweet pastry from Kaufland, and it was 12:05 AM when I went to the toilet and to shower. That wasn’t exactly comfortable, since the water temperature was dropping, but at least it made me finish faster, so I was back in the kitchen at 12:45 AM. However, I still had the lettuce to deal with, and also dealt with one of my breads, so I still ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:15 AM, finishing at 3:50 AM.

Moving on to the early hours of November 23, I once again started eating dinner at 3:15 AM, but still managed to finish at 3:40 AM. Then I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM, had the usual stuff, again with two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left at 3:10 PM, wearing the full running gear and one of those armbands. The reported temperature was 10-11°C and it held steady. It had rained and it was overcast and humid, so it was chilly on the way to the park, but once I started running it was fine.
The time was 46:41.98, with sector times of 4:15.92, 5:04 (5:03.78), 5:50 (5:49.50), 4:22.25, 4:55.03, 5:44.12, 4:16.00, 4:50 (4:49.60), 5:35 (5:34.97) and 1:50.81, making for lap times of 15:09.20, 15:01.40 and 14:41 (14.40.57). I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes at first, and the first sector didn’t quite seem good enough, so I pushed a little more, the first lap’s time being pretty much what I wanted. But, after being pleasantly surprised by sector two of lap two, I pushed even harder, and after the end of that lap it seemed that I was quite clearly going to stay under 47:30 and might just have a chance to even get under 47 minutes if I pushed really hard. So I did, managing great times on sectors two and three of lap three, and on the lap as a whole. In fact, the exact lap time was so close to the previous lap three time that I’m not even sure that it really was slower, the difference possibly being made by the exact moment when I pressed the button, and for sector three it was also a matter of tenths, also compared to the previous sector three of lap three. And sector two was even better, that time being the fourth fastest sector two if I just look at the seconds, albeit tied with several others, and the fifth fastest if I look at the exact time, only one of those others being faster, by a couple of tenths.
A certain pressing need appeared right from the start of lap two, if not the very end of lap one, and while it lessened on the first two sectors of lap three, it was worse when it returned, on sector three of lap three. Otherwise, the few drops that fell while I was on the first two sectors of lap two were barely noticeable, but the lane was pretty soaked, so I often avoided it, though there were moments when I stayed on it more than I’d have wanted to. As for people, there weren’t many and they didn’t cause notable problems, with the possible exception of two moments when I had to be more careful while weaving my way through.

After having lunch and some walnuts, I changed and left again when it was close to 7:20 PM, going to Obor. I first checked Auchan, getting tea and all of the snacks for dad that I found, four of one kind, none of the other being left, since Auchan hadn’t increased their price and it became the cheapest place to get them. Cabbage was also cheap, but it was quite bad, so even though I’d have wanted two, after looking through it I ended up just getting one.
Then I went to Carrefour, putting the purchases in a cabinet… And seeing that the price of the eggs sold by piece had increased sharply. I even checked at a self-checkout, since such a sharp increase was hard to believe, and since I didn’t even find any bio (organic) ones while looking through them, I decided against buying any. But I saw some expiring roes of a more expensive kind with a discount label for the cheaper kind, so I grabbed them, plus a bag of those snacks which I hadn’t found in Auchan, since they were only marginally more expensive in Carrefour and I wanted to eat the one bag of that kind that was left when I got back, so I wanted to replace it. On the other hand, no bakery discounts appeared after 9 PM.
After using the self-checkout, retrieving my things from the cabinet, putting everything back in one when I got to Kaufland and washing my hands, I entered Kaufland a little after 9:20 PM and grabbed a number of things from the bakery area, including two of those breads. I was also looking at the last remaining bun of one kind, but it had no discount label and when I asked an employee she said that it wasn’t discounted, so I obviously didn’t get it. But green onions did have an evening discount, so I grabbed a bundle, then also got some garlic and some regular onions… And then I saw that an employee had grabbed the remaining green onions and was bagging them and placing them among the spoiling products, with a 75% discount compared to the listed price, as in the one with the evening discount already applied, so I grabbed three of those and gave her the one that I already had. After that, I also grabbed a handful of scattered grapes, since those also had a good evening discount, but the store should have closed, so I didn’t try to look through all of them and get every single one that was still good. Even so, it was past 10:05 PM when I got to the self-checkout, being surprised that there had been no announcement about the store closing. And, after retrieving what I had in the cabinet and taking my time to arrange everything, it was 10:20 PM when I finally walked away.
I got back at 11:10 PM, put all of the purchases with the exception of the green onions in their place, ate a sweet pastry and those snacks, and it was past 12:10 AM when I went to the toilet and to wash. I did manage to get out just before 1 AM, but I had something else to do first, so I only actually got back to the kitchen a couple of minutes before 1:30 AM… And dad had cooked, so there was a lot to wash and clean, I also moved one of the dishes to a smaller pot and washed the large one, albeit not that well on the outside, and dealt with one of my breads as well, so it was 3:45 AM when I finally started eating dinner and 4:15 AM when I finished. I still got in bed at the usual time, but that was only because I didn’t floss and left a plate and a knife in the sink, taking care of all of that when I woke up to pee, just after 8:30 AM.

Since I already got to November 24, I’ll also add here that I went to pay the maintenance bill that evening, so dad won’t keep paying on-line, since there’s an additional fee for that. And then, despite not wearing a mask, I also went outside a little, checking the price of eggs at this nearby shop and seeing that it had increased even more, and then also having a look in Mega Image and grabbing an expiring pack of gum for dad.

In the early hours of November 28, I started eating dinner at 3:10 AM, but still managed to finish at 3:40 AM. On the other hand, the fridge started making weird noises, some loud cracking, before I went to bed, but that was probably caused by switching straight from running to defrosting, since everything seemed fine when I got up, at 1 PM, after the alarm rang. Then I had the usual stuff, again with two of those nicer biscuits, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left at 3:25 PM. The reported temperature was 5°C, holding steady, so I wore the running gear but also an old training shirt, not the one that I used to run in, and the gloves, and also the jacket on the way, tied around my waist as I ran.
The time was 47:24, with sector times of 4:18.17, 5:09 (5:08.85), 5:57.21, 4:29 (4:28.94), 5:09.00, 5:48.44, 4:19.03, 4:55 (4:54.53), 5:35 (5:34.88) and 1:45, making for lap times of 15:24.23, 15:26.38 and 14:49 (14:48.44). I didn’t list the exact time at the end and that for the final sector because I don’t have them, since I didn’t manage to press the button. I had kept my gloves on while running and that didn’t cause me to miss pressing the interval button, so even though I thought about removing them at the end of lap three, I decided against it and that caused that problem. I even slowed a little at the end, trying to make sure that I will manage to press that button, but I somehow still failed to do so. Still, I was looking at the time, so I’m quite sure that it was 47:24 and will leave it like that, without a question mark, even though there might be a chance that it was just a little less, if my eyes took a little longer to focus properly than I thought. Either way, I was initially thinking that getting under 48 minutes would be awesome, after planting trees two days earlier, being ready to even accept just staying under 50 minutes, and the first lap seemed to make the latter scenario more likely. But I tried to encourage myself to at least stay under 49 minutes, and sector two of lap two gave me hope… And sector three of lap two made me almost certain that I’ll get under 48:30 and even give a passing thought to getting under 48 minutes after all. That seemed very unlikely, but I pushed from the start of lap three, sector one seemed to just give me a small chance, and that chance suddenly grew a lot after sector two. But I kept pushing hard and, after a third great, and almost identical, sector three of lap three in a row, I realized that I might even squeeze under 47:30, which I managed to do quite safely.
About halfway through the run, I found myself thinking that I should have just been wearing the t-shirt at that point. But it’d have been too cold to do so on the first lap, and the cold was also making it somewhat hard to breathe, the problem mostly being notable on sector three of lap three and on the final sector, when I was pushing so hard. And it was also windy at times, though the forecast had stated that it was going to get worse as time passed and it actually seemed to lessen to some extent, which was quite a relief. Otherwise, there were few people and they didn’t cause notable problems, but I did have some physical ones, unsurprisingly. The slight pressing need that appeared from sector three of lap two wasn’t related to planting trees, and it wasn’t notable anyway, and the same probably goes for the pain that I felt in my abdomen early on, which got better after a while anyway. But there was some pain in my back as well, also from the start, and while that also got better in time, it never actually went away. And the pain that I felt in my right leg on the way to the park was quite clearly caused by the effort made two days earlier, though that actually went away soon after I started running, which was a nice surprise.

I’m quite pleased to have managed to write about the three runs that I wanted to cover in this post before midnight, so just the remaining odds and ends from November 28, plus a few more things that I also decided to add here, in order to finish with November, were left to add when I edited this post, in the early hours of Tuesday, before going to bed. Of course, I still have odds and ends going back to September 9 that I’m yet to put in a post, and I wonder if I ever will… Not to mention the hospitalization from September of 2021, but I quite clearly will not write about that.

To return to November 28, after getting back I had a banana and lunch, did a load of laundry, just changed my pants and eventually went out again, at 8:05 PM, wearing the nicer jacket for the first time during this colder season. I first went to Park Lake, putting the money spent two days earlier from the card back into the account, withdrawing the difference and then depositing 100 RON, and then entering Carrefour and getting a few things, including two of those bags of bagels that were indeed two for the price of one even though there was no sign stating that in the store, so I mentioned it to the cashier and she checked first, showing me that the discount did apply.
After also checking Penny, putting my things in a cabinet, grabbing some hummus after checking the ingredients and not seeing anything that I’d want to avoid, retrieving my things, putting them once again in a cabinet when I reached Kaufland, and peeing and washing my hands, I entered Kaufland a couple of minutes before 9:30 PM. The bakery area was quite empty, however, and all the products that had good evening discounts listed were gone, plus that the price of some buns had increased so much that they had become too expensive even at half price, but I could grab a couple of things, and then I also got some more food for Liza, since it was on sale and dad’s stuffing her. Since it also had an evening discount, I initially also grabbed the last remaining bundle of green onions, even though it looked bad, but then I saw an evening discount for carrots as well and grabbed all of the better ones, plus a parsnip for dad, since that was also discounted, and at that point I decided to put that bundle of green onions back. Then I made my way to the self-checkout… And saw that the discount for bakery products was actually 75%, even though both the labels and the announcements which had been made were for 50%. If I’d have known, I’d have gotten some more things, maybe for my mother as well, but as it was, I finished using the machine a couple of minutes before closing time and rushed to retrieve my things from the cabinet and leave before they closed the main doors, only taking a little time to arrange the purchases in the bags after I got outside, using one of those tables, and walking away at 10:05 PM.
I got back a little after 10:40 PM, ate a bag of snacks and some more of the pancakes bought after planting trees, put all of the purchases with the exception of the carrots and the parsnip in their place, cleaned a part of what was in the kitchen, and finally went to the bathroom, to use the toilet and shower, just after 12:25 AM. It was past 1:10 AM when I was done, and then I finished putting the purchases in their place, washed what was in the kitchen, sliced the remaining two breads for dad, also moved and mixed something even though I didn’t really need to do so, and only started to work on the salad at 2:40 AM, so I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:55 AM and finishing at 4:35 AM. I got in bed at 5:30 AM.

The following night I started eating dinner at 3:20 AM and finished a couple of minutes before 4 AM. And the night after that I cleaned up after dad fried fish and made mamaliga, which resulted in starting to eat dinner at 3:25 AM and finishing at 4 AM, though it was past 5 AM when I moved and licked something greasy and unhealthy in order to finish cleaning and putting away what dad had left, and I got in bed at 5:30 AM… And when I woke up to pee, I wanted to quickly check that everything was fine on the computer, since I had turned the monitor off in a hurry before going to bed, and when I noticed something that made me curious, I meant to have a look in the registry… Only to somehow make the system reboot. I wasn’t looking at the monitor while bringing up the Start menu and typing regedit, and when I did look I saw that the Start menu was no longer up, and when I opened it again, I saw “egedit” in that text box, so I must have been holding some other key down when I typed the R, but I’m not sure what that was, since there doesn’t seem to be a direct shortcut for rebooting the system that includes the R key. Either way, I then had to wait for the system to restart and then check that it had done so properly and there were no problems.

Despite being published after it, The Crystal Keep takes place before Grim Work and some reviews also state that it’s better to start with it, so I did. Not that I expected much, in fact just having a quick look through what was available for free, searching for something that I could read quickly and finish before the end of the year, and deciding on it because it was shorter than the other two options I ended up with. But it did work out, being quite easy to read despite some paragraphs that struck me as being too long, and keeping me somewhat interested, without boring or annoying. It depicts only an adventure of a new chief of a barbarian clan, who rashly decides to take on a cult with only a few companions, but it does what it aims to do well enough, presenting the brutal struggle against overwhelming odds and not shying away from the graphic details.
It does tend to be too much for any reasonable suspension of disbelief, however, and I’m not just referring to the solid dose of hero’s luck. If the party would have been presented as having magical or otherwise supernatural abilities, it might have worked, but as it is, the level of fortitude, being able to keep fighting so well and for so long while just about ignoring all the injuries, the conditions, the lack of sustenance, is just too much. Fans of the genre would probably expect and enjoy this far more, and the action can definitely pull you along, but I found myself making a note that the story should have ended halfway through, badly, and what happened after that, starting with the trope of some of the bad guys discussing the plot for little reason other than to be overheard by the protagonists, made me feel a need to roll my eyes quite a number of times. And some of the crudeness, not to mention the single-minded lecherousness of one of the companions, did at times also go over the top.

Rating: 3/5

Just before getting to bed on the morning of November 4, I sliced the last bread that was still unsliced for dad and wanted to put it in the freezer, but it was hard to make it fit and, while trying to make room, a bag with some of mine fell and tore, one part of the bread ending up on the floor. Being frozen, I decided that I could wash it, then I microwaved it, then washed it more thoroughly and then microwaved it again, for a longer time, which led to going to bed at 5:20 AM.
After getting up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, I had all of the usual stuff… And then something strange happened while I was searching for something in the file that I use to make notes. It started skipping, maybe looking like Page Down kept being pressed, but bits of text were also often getting selected. So I minimized the window, opened a file in Notepad, saw no similar behavior, then opened a new Writer file as well, typed a little and again saw no similar behavior, but it continued when I switched back to that file. But it didn’t happen again after I closed it and opened it again, so I moved on, putting on the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights, also having a sweet pastry, and leaving just after 4:05 PM. The reported temperature was 18-19°C, supposed to drop by a couple of degrees by the time I finished. And I stopped on the first bench in the park to get something out of the right shoe.
The time was 46:54.67, with sector times of 4:14.04, 5:01.13, 5:46.31, 4:24.12, 4:57 (4:56.82), 5:44 (5:43.75), 4:23.40, 4:55 (4:54.47), 5:44.60 and 1:46.03, making for lap times of 15:01.48, 15:05 (15:04.69) and 15:02.47. I kept putting off really fixing the time for sector two of lap three in my mind after I was done, and didn’t calculate those after it at all since I remembered the actual times, but by the time I thought of it, after shopping, I wasn’t quite certain of the seconds of that one anymore. Still, I’m quite sure that what I wrote here, after thinking about it for a while, is correct, so I’m not using any question marks. Either way, I initially just aimed to stay under 48 minutes, but I pushed from the start and the first lap was good, then the second was better than expected, so after it I was thinking of 47:30 and pushed even more on lap three, realizing after two sectors that I’ll be close to 47 minutes if I could keep it up. The problem was that it was getting dark, so on sectors two and three of lap three I slowed to a walk for a couple of seconds, and I think that on sector two I actually stopped for a moment, to see the time. That made me worry that those seconds were going to make the difference between being over or under 47 minutes and I didn’t even check the time after the end of lap three, just giving it everything on the final sector, and it proved to be enough despite slipping on leaves in one spot, which was rather scary. Otherwise, there was hardly any wind, I felt fine and there were no notable problems, just some weaving and going the long way around, plus avoiding some wet areas of the lane.

Then, after putting on the mask on the way, I went to Carrefour and got what I wanted, including what seemed to be the last two bags of the corn puffs that were on sale, one of which I spotted thrown over the pile of another kind, plus some beer for dad, since those vouchers were also offered for beer those days. Then I got back just after 6 PM, ate one of the croissants bought from Carrefour, and when I came to my room to write the times in the file, I ended up also writing the other notes, so it took more time and I had left the door open, turning to look a few times and not seeing Liza around… Only for her to be on my bed the last time I looked, running away as soon as she saw me turning. And she had also gotten on my bed two days earlier and I had changed the sheets after that, so I couldn’t do so again so soon…
Either way, I changed and went out again at 7:30 PM, first getting what I wanted and some tea for dad from Penny. Then I arranged the purchases in the backpack and continued to Mega Mall, entering through the parking lot for the first time and then having a look in that Hervis and actually finding some discounted shoes that I tried on, even putting them back in the corner and considering coming back for them the next day, though I eventually gave up on that idea. The guard called after me when I walked out and asked me to open the jacket and the backpack, but Penny’s store brand could be seen on all of the purchases, so I entered with them in Carrefour as well, grabbing two breads for dad before 9 PM and then waiting for the sign announcing the 50% discount to be taken out. However, that didn’t happen, and the employees went in the back, one only coming back out when it was past 9:10 PM, at which point I asked whether the discount applied and she said that it did, just that it wasn’t listed, so I went to the self-checkout and just entered one bread, so I won’t need to call another employee. Then I continued to Kaufland, put the purchases in a cabinet, peed and washed my hands, though there was no soap, and entered the store a few minutes before 9:30 PM, seeing bakery discounts and getting a few things, including one that I noticed was in fact discounted after taking the label and scanning it, since it didn’t have a discount label. Then I also grabbed the other things I wanted with the exception of canned sardines, since none of those were left, also added a banana, was using the self-checkout when it was announced that the store had closed, and after retrieving my things from the cabinet and arranging everything, I finally walked out at 10:15 PM.
I got back at 10:45 PM, ate the banana, put the purchases in their place, washed what dad had left, eventually had lunch in the kitchen, finally went to shower at 12:35 AM… And the water temperature was dropping, so it became uncomfortable even though I was done in 20 minutes. But there were some more things to wash, I also sliced one of dad’s breads, and then the problem was that the piece of bread which I had thoroughly microwaved in the morning was too hard to slice, so I struggled to cut a little from the edges, where it wasn’t quite that hard, and eventually ate dinner in the kitchen, between 3:15 AM and 3:55 AM, nibbling, biting and swallowing the rest as it was.

On the morning of November 7, after slicing the last bread for dad, I ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:05 AM, but then I realized that I had forgotten to put seasonings in the salad, and also hadn’t taken the spoon that I use to finish it, so I rushed back to the kitchen and only really started eating at 3:10 AM, finishing at 4 AM. And I was making a note that my feet were burning again that day, the right one being worse, the feeling also going up on the leg to some extent, and it wasn’t just on that day. On the other hand, I kept putting off the squats until I forgot to do them at all.

On November 8, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, had all of the usual stuff, with a sweet pastry, with added honey, as the sweet thing, put another bandage on the cut finger and left at 4:05 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was 16°C at that point, and 15°C when I finished.
The time was 46:39.11, with sector times of 4:18.42, 4:59.37, 5:49 (5:48.53), 4:21 (4:20.97), 4:53.28, 5:43 (5:42.50), 4:15.35, 4:55 (4:54.69), 5:38.00 and 1:48.00, making for lap times of 15:06.32, 14:57 (14:56.75) and 14:48.04. And yes, those last two sector times are correct. I again initially just aimed to stay under 48 minutes and wasn’t pleased with the first sector, but the first lap was good in the end, so I was wondering about 47:30 and decided to try, pushing on lap two, and after that great sector two I wondered about getting under 47 minutes. It seemed unlikely, since I thought that I won’t get under 15 minutes on that lap and would therefore need to do so on lap three in order to manage that, but I pushed and ended up getting under 15 minutes on lap two after all. I still needed to push on lap three, however, and I did, and even though I felt like I couldn’t sustain the pace on the long straight of sector one, that was a great pace, resulting in great times and the fastest lap of the day, despite walking slowly for a couple of seconds on sector three, to see the hundredths. But the conditions were great, with that temperature and pretty much no wind to speak of, relatively few people that didn’t only mean no notable problems but I’d say even less weaving and going the long way around than what I’d consider normal, and no physical issues except a certain pressing need from sector three of lap one that got somewhat worse on lap two, though on lap three, when I pushed so hard, I can’t say that I noticed it anymore. I was a little wary of the leaves on the final sector, however, being careful to not slip again, and I also put my finger on the stopwatch’s button a few seconds before the end and noticed that the position caused me to slow a little.

Then, even though I hadn’t taken that voucher with me, I again went to Carrefour, put on the mask when I entered that mall, just got an expiring bread for dad… And ended up losing a couple of minutes when I tried to gain them by getting out through the parking lot, since the way out is a tunnel that’s only for cars, with no sidewalk and a sign forbidding pedestrians to go that way. I guess I could have hugged the wall, but I didn’t want to risk it and went back, then jogged past the park, until I reached the intersection and saw that I had enough time to be able to walk the rest of the way back.
After having lunch and some grapes, I changed and left again at 7:40 PM, deciding to go to Obor and reaching that mall at 8:20 PM, though I first quickly checked Carturesti and Decathlon, so it was 15 minutes later when I entered Carrefour… And I just got another expiring bread for dad, some bakery discount labels having already been placed when I got there and no others being added even though I wandered around until 9 PM. And, even though I did have it with me at that point, I forgot to use that voucher at the self-checkout. Then I grabbed one more thing for dad from Penny, entering with that bread in my hand and, as a curiosity, seeing a guy whom I had also seen while waiting in a long line in this other Kaufland on November 2. And then I saw a cart with coin in it in Kaufland’s parking lot and connected it to another in order to retrieve that coin, put that other product in my backpack and the bread in the bag hanging from my neck, not bothering to use a cabinet, washed my hands and entered the store just after 9:30 PM, getting a bunch of bakery products, though the discount stayed at 50%, and a couple of things for myself. One of those had the regular price listed on the label, not the one with the discount that was ending that day, but it still scanned correctly, at the discounted price. There were some things that I still couldn’t find but, after getting there just when it was announced that the store had closed, at least there were no problems with the self-checkout and, after arranging the purchases in the backpack and that bag, I was walking away at 10:10 PM.
I got back a few minutes before 11 PM, washed and cleaned a part of what was in the kitchen, put the purchases in their place, arranged some things in the fridge, finished the koliva brought by dad, and it was past 12:20 AM when I went to use the toilet and shower. I was back in the kitchen just over one hour later, but there were more things to wash and it was 3:15 AM when I started eating dinner and just after 4 AM when I finished. My mouse was having serious problems again, normal left clicks starting to become exceptions, since it often either double clicked or didn’t click at all, and the one store from Bucharest which had been listing the Kone XP as in stock was listing it as out of stock once again those days, so I was worried.

To add another gross piece of information, the following evening, after struggling for a while on the toilet, until the hard bits finally came out, I stopped after the big sausage that followed them and got up to flush… Only for it to already be too late, and flushing a couple more times didn’t make any difference, so I eventually had to reach in and unclog the toilet with my hand, with my pants down and while holding in the rest.

On November 14, I got up when the alarm rang, at 1:30 PM, had all of the usual stuff, with two of those nicer biscuits grabbed when I planted trees, with added honey, as the sweet thing, and left a little before 3:55 PM, wearing the full running gear. It was overcast and the reported temperature was 9°C, holding steady. I thought I’d freeze on the way to the park, without a jacket or anything else, but I was surprised that I didn’t, only my hands freezing a little, and not even those feeling completely frozen.
The time was 47:43.51, with sector times of 4:13.89, 5:05.00, 5:55 (5:54.84), 4:31 (4:30.28), 5:10.25, 5:49.41, 4:27.12, 4:58 (4:57.88), 5:45.06 and 1:50 (1:49.78), making for lap times of 15:13.73, 15:30 (15:29.94) and 15:10.06. I again aimed just to stay under 48 minutes and that time I didn’t manage much more than that, in fact being worried by sector two of lap two and pushing harder after that, and even more so on lap three, since that lap two time made me think that I could miss that target. But I regained my confidence after that good sector two of lap three, and then sector three settled it. Otherwise, there was hardly any wind and I had no real physical problems, but I’d have liked to be able to push harder, felt that the cold was making it just a little harder to breathe, and there might have been a slight feeling that I had more to leave in the toilet, though it wasn’t notable. And there were few people, but I caught a guy with a dog with a long leash right at the end of sector two of lap one, under the bridge. He was on one side and the dog was on the other, so the way was blocked, and I tried to slow a little but I was still going to catch them before clearing the bridge, and when I shouted at him to make way the dog stopped and turned, so I also had to stop suddenly and make my way around it, losing a couple of seconds. In addition, I probably slowed a little to see the time when it was getting dark, most notably on sector three of lap three.

My mouse was really next to unusable at that point, but over the following days it recovered almost completely, after I blew hard under the buttons, which initially made the wheel rather difficult to move and feel a bit sticky, but after a while that just fixed itself, and while there were a few more double clicks since then, they were rare, so at the moment it seems to work well enough. And that store also lists the Kone XP as in stock once again. Not that I’d want to buy it from there, but if it will become absolutely necessary, the option exists… At least as long as that listed status isn’t an error.
But, to get back to November 14, I had lunch after getting back, changed and went out again at 7:30 PM. After looking for garlic in Supeco but not finding any, I went to Park Lake, had a quick look in another store and then deposited 100 RON on my card, since I had no smaller bills, before withdrawing 90 RON, so I’ll just put back the 10 RON used two days earlier. The ATM that I used to make the deposit said that the operation couldn’t be completed when I tried to withdraw, but I moved to another and that worked. Then I went to Carrefour and just got a little garlic from there, not finding the almonds that were on sale, before continuing to Kaufland, just going in and out of that Penny, with the garlic in my pocket, before getting there.
Quite a sight “greeted” me when I went to pee, shit being pretty much everywhere, on and around the toilet, including on the walls, but the urinal was being used, so I did my business there, trying not to touch anything, washed my hands and walked in the store, with that garlic still in my pocket, a little before 9:25 PM. However, with the exception of one pastry that I didn’t care to get, the bakery area was cleared of discounted products, only doughnuts, which don’t get evening discounts, being left. And the other evening discounts weren’t great either, but I decided to make use of them and get some potatoes, a bundle of green onions and a banana… Only for the self-checkout to tell me to place the correct product on the scales when I selected the green onions, and it was a normal bundle, definitely not too large, so I had to call over an employee to override that error. But I still managed to finish before the store closed, the announcement coming just as I wanted to arrange the purchases in the backpack, so I rushed out while I could still use the main door and then arranged them outside. And then I wasted a little more time by having a quick look in that Mega Image on the way back, putting the backpack in a cabinet and then retrieving it, without finding anything to get.
I got back a little after 10:50 PM, ate that banana and a sweet pastry that I already had, washed what was in the kitchen, even did the day’s squats, and went to the bathroom right at midnight, to use the toilet and shower. I was back out a couple of minutes before 1 AM, but a few more things that I had to wash had appeared in the kitchen, I sliced the remaining unsliced bread for dad, also talked to him a little, and ended up starting to eat dinner at 3:05 AM, though I still finished at 3:40 AM.

And I guess I could stop here. The plan was to include all of November’s runs in this post, which would have made it a truly huge one, but I got halfway through the month before dad got back and I definitely won’t get anywhere near finishing by midnight, so I’ll leave the rest for another post. Still, just to also get this out of the way, I’ll also add here that, before going to bed on the morning of November 16, I finally added the Romanian translation to the Goodreads version of the review for Postcapitalism… “Only” close to five months after writing it.

I’m quite sure that this is the first time I play a game made in RPG Maker VX Ace, and in fact I think that I never played any made in any version other than 2000 before, which is also the one that I used when I tried to make a game, way back. I did also make an attempt in RPG Maker XP, but that was mainly limited to working on the database and trying and failing to learn the scripting, so it doesn’t really count. As a result, while it’s pretty obvious that some of the game’s problems and limitations are the result of the engine that was used, I can’t be certain in every case, and I definitely don’t know how many could be eliminated, or at least mitigated to a greater extent, by scripting.

But let’s start with the positive aspects that RPG Maker brings to the games created in it, beginning with a certain level of familiarity. Yes, there are some titles that break that mold, but in the vast majority of cases there’s no need to learn not just the basics, but also most common gameplay systems and features, and this style of gameplay remains in use after all this time because, for the most part, it just works, at least for this type of game. And, while The Stuff Fairy Tales Are Made Of does do some things differently, and those differences actually tend to be its strong points, the general rules still apply, so you can pretty much jump right in, with no need for a tutorial or trial and error. Still, a plain text file with some basic instructions exists in the game folder, for those who need it.
But I mentioned differences, and it may be said that those include the fact that the main character, Paul, is a scholar, not an adventurer, and that he learns magic from scrolls instead of at certain levels, automatically. And it may also be said that there’s a general emphasis on learning, which is also reflected in the journal, which isn’t just an otherwise fundamental feature of RPGs that, at least to my knowledge, is far less common than it should be in RPG Maker games, but which, in this case, also includes information about enemies and bosses alongside quests. And sometimes you can learn about an enemy before encountering any, or learn their weak spot, if they have one, before killing ten, which is how that information and the possibility to use the corresponding ability normally appears.
The ability to learn and target an enemy’s weak spot also makes Paul more useful in combat even before learning or without using magic. But, while boss fights are different and also show that a fair bit of care and effort was put into them, when it comes to regular battles, the difficulty is rather low, the game not aiming to be challenging in that manner. That may bother some, but for me it was a positive aspect and, coupled with the low MP cost of Adele’s healing and the fact that you can save anywhere, which I still say should be mandatory for games simply in order to respect the player’s time, before getting into debates about difficulty, meant that I never even made use of Paul’s ability to make a space safe to rest. That doesn’t work everywhere, but sometimes it’s an additional option for those who find themselves in a tight spot, want to recover before a tougher battle or merely want to save the time needed to get back to a designated resting spot.
Successfully escaping combat is also pretty much a certainty, but there’s a section of the game where it’s necessary to do so each and every time, and another where it’s highly recommended. Both of these fall under differences from the typical formula and they’re implemented well, the first such section, when the game plays more like an adventure game, probably deserving a special mention, both because of the manner in which the effect was implemented and because of the little discussions you can have with various NPCs during that period. And that’s not the only twist in the story. Admittedly, the others shouldn’t really surprise anyone, but they’re welcome nevertheless.

One less common aspect that I’m uncertain about, on the other hand, is making potions. Yes, gathering ingredients for potions that, in most cases, can’t be obtained otherwise can be a nice enough change of pace for a while, and it may make the difference in boss fights, but the implementation leaves plenty to be desired. For one, there’s no journal section for the potions, so you need to memorize or write down the necessary ingredients on your own. Then, contrary to what you might expect, you can’t make potions yourself, but need to rely on NPCs. Worst, however, is the tedious process of gathering those ingredients, as they tend to only appear in one place and in low quantities, some require resting before reappearing, others have a rather low chance of dropping from particular enemies or fishing…
Also, while I’m at problems with the game’s less common features, there seem to be some bugs when it comes to the bestiary entries for some enemies that you learn about before encountering, or encounter but escape from, without killing, since in some cases the entries appear even in those situations, for example after learning about chimeras, and in others they don’t, for example after learning about skeletons or fleeing from man-eating plants. And, while I seem to have read something indicating that for some reason this is intentional, I’d also consider it a bug that if you use a scroll for a spell that Paul already knows, the message that you learned a spell still appears and the scroll is otherwise wasted. But the bigger problem when it comes to this aspect is the missed opportunity of providing the other characters with a more realistic method of learning their skills and spells, since the typical system of gaining abilities when certain levels are reached, automatically, applies to everything except Paul’s magic.
And since I got to typical RPG Maker systems, I must mention the fact that you need to select combat actions at the start of the round for all party members, so you can’t react to what happens during a round and can even perform actions on targets that you really wouldn’t want to perform them on, since if the chosen target is no longer available, the chosen action will be performed on the first one that is available. Past that, I wonder whether the fact that status effect durations replace each other, so an effect can have its duration lowered if it’s applied again before expiring, is also enforced by RPG Maker, or at least by this version of it, or there would be a way to avoid it and the developer failed to make use of it. And the same goes for the fact that the remaining duration of status effects is only displayed for enemies, not also for party members, and that only two status effects are displayed for party members, while more can be displayed for enemies. On the other hand, the fact that Mana Barrier doesn’t seem to work, not preventing status ailments from affecting the party, is clearly a bug.
Otherwise, a significant part of the time spent playing this game will be spent in a castle with one hundred floors, which is not optional. Yes, the floors are small and there are a few secrets that allow skipping far ahead, but using them may mean missing out on useful items and good sources of experience, and the whole thing feels like the developer wanted to check a box somewhere and having to spend several hours grinding away in that dungeon before you can finally move on really breaks up the game. In addition, while some attention to detail can be seen, there are also moments when the developer seems to have gotten about as bored as the player is likely to get and seeing the same room models just keep being reused after a while only makes it worse, the fact that the characters point out multiple times that they’re repeating not making much of a difference. And, while they do reduce the area that needs to be covered and the number of places that need to be checked if you don’t want to miss any secrets or loot, I still found inaccessible rooms frustrating and kept thinking that a way in probably existed but I was failing to find it.
Past that, some of the graphical assets struck me as rather poor, some objects looking rather weird, especially in interiors, and some enemies facing forward instead of right, appearing to be intended to be used for a battle system with the other view. But I’d call that a minor issue, and the low difficulty and easy healing also makes the fact that so many enemies poison and for a pretty long time you’re not able to cure poison by magic less of a problem than it’d otherwise be, though it remains annoying. Other than that, I’m not sure whether going farther north, after defeating Death, is counterintuitive in a poor or actually rather smart way. And I’m also uncertain what to think about having a priest who can revive but not heal or cure anything. And then there are some even smaller issues that I’ll nevertheless mention here, such as skipping straight to the dialogue for completing the quest from Rabstein’s hunter if I did so without actually receiving it first, the inn at the docks not offering an option to rest, or the word “possession” in the store interface, which actually made me think that it was some ability that I didn’t know how to access before realizing that the number of items owned was displayed there.

Overall, The Stuff Fairy Tales Are Made Of does some things differently, and those tend to be its better aspects, while many of its problems, with the notable exception of the sheer size and repetitiveness of that dungeon, probably have to do with the engine and, at least in my view, are mitigated to a fair extent by its rather low difficulty. That some of those less common features weren’t developed even further is a missed opportunity, but I’d say that, even so, it’s pretty good for a free RPG Maker game.

I had forgotten to check, but Monday I received an e-mail from Declic asking for volunteers to help that other NGO make packages again, in the same location. The first day was Tuesday, but after going out on Monday and coming back with 21 kg, albeit using the metro, it didn’t seem like a good idea to just get a few hours of sleep and then work in that manner the next day, so at night I filled the form and stated that I’ll be there Wednesday and Thursday, from 1 PM. But just as I was about to walk out the door Thursday I received an SMS, also from Declic, letting me know that they no longer needed volunteers, having finished, so this post will just be about Wednesday, when I even managed to get in bed a little before 4:30 AM, so I got a little more sleep before the alarm rang, at 10:30 AM. Then I rushed to clean what dad had left in the kitchen and got annoyed that he had left some goat milk with oats in the living room after getting back in the morning, and when he also woke up and said that the milk was sour, I told him that I’ll get myself something nice and ask him for the money that day, if he can afford to throw food away like that, especially since I had repeatedly reminded him about it.
Either way, I left at 12:05 PM and rushed, which seemed to be just about good enough even though I never jogged, since I was at that gate a couple of minutes after 1 PM, and that was after going the long way around, as you’re apparently supposed to, without even attempting to use that other route again, and also being stopped by the guard at that entrance and asked for my ID card, which had never happened before, so I didn’t even have my ID card with me and it’s a good thing that I quite recently managed to finally learn my ID card number as well, since he then asked for my name and ID series and number. However, that brief delay was followed be a longer one, since when I reached that gate I didn’t see anyone in that large warehouse where the packages used to be put together, so I went to the guard at the barrier, waited for him to finish with the other people who were there for other reasons, then asked him where to go and he came to show me, and also called Anastasia to ask her to open the gate. He had initially asked me to do so, but I told him that I didn’t have active credit, so he did it, even though simply shouting might have been enough, since the entrance to the warehouse that was used that day was right next to the fence, on the left. And the few others whom I had seen while trying to work up the courage to go to that guard were in front of that gate at that point as well, so we walked in together, at 1:10 PM.
Those others seemed to be a first group from another NGO, and the explanations Anastasia gave as we gathered around her were mostly for them, since as soon as she saw me she said that I work well and should help those making the packages for old people, while those from that NGO were to help with those that were going to be sent to Ukraine. However, after they went to work and I asked her to confirm that I should go to that other area of the warehouse, she changed her mind and told me to help those who were putting a part of the goods for Ukraine into bags, repeating that I work well, though I said that I wasn’t so sure about that… And I was even less certain after the guy whom I was supposed to help told me what to do, since he went through the process too quickly, the lists stuck to the walls were incomplete, and his method also struck me as more likely to lead to mistakes than the one he mentioned in passing was used by the woman who was doing the same thing.
Maybe I didn’t exactly leave a good impression when, after putting together a first bag while just following and copying him, I went to the table with things to drink and munch on, getting a tea in a small cup, since I couldn’t see any unused large ones left, a few small pretzels and a couple of biscuits, but after that I did mean to get to work… Only to prick a finger with a cutter almost right away, since I first wanted to cut open some boxes. And, while I initially wanted to continue, when I saw that I was bleeding I asked where I could wash and was told that disinfectant and band aids were also on that table, so I went back there, actually found them on a box, used them and then could finally start to actually work. I’d have wanted some latex gloves, especially after that problem, but I only saw a few used and discarded ones, so I just continued like that.
Well, when I say that I continued, I mean that I continued working, but not that I actually did what Anastasia had told me to do, since I think I was just on the second bag that I was putting together on my own, obviously still hesitating and checking everything repeatedly, to make sure that I wasn’t making mistakes while trying to find a rhythm, when that guy pointed out that the sugar had to be placed in a plastic bag first, in case the paper one would tear, and the ones which had already been bagged were about to finish, so he asked whether I could do that instead, since he had found his rhythm and didn’t want to have to keep breaking it for that. And that was actually a relief, since it took the responsibility of putting the correct number of each product into the bags off my shoulders, so I pretty much stayed there and bagged sugar, occasionally rushing to open some boxes or packages when I saw that it was needed, so the others won’t need to break their rhythm in order to do so… Even though that woman who was also putting products into those bags took away the cutter as soon as she saw me using it again, saying that she didn’t want me to cut myself again, so I just used my keys and hands, even if it took a little longer.
The problem was that two more groups from that NGO also arrived, and there were far too many people for me, and they were talking and moving too much and I found myself about to cry and shaking for reasons other than the cold. Soon enough it was bad enough that I was thinking to say that I had to go, or at least to take a break and find a place to hide and try to calm down a little, but what was obviously a very bad thing for what we had to do ended up being a good thing for me, since those newcomers seemed to have just rushed in with their own ideas about what should be done. One woman had attracted my attention as well, from the beginning, when she walked past me with a box with several pieces of each of the products while I was putting together those first couple of bags and said that they weren’t for taking when I reached in to take some, assuming that she was trying to create a few places to “resupply” more easily, and I later noticed that she was putting four times the required number of each product into a bag, obviously only being able to fit some of the products in there, and when I pointed that out she said that there were four boxes, even though putting the products into the boxes was a job that others had, and those of us from that side should just prepare the bag for them, so they’ll have the products from those categories for one box in one bag. By that point, people were saying that bags with the wrong products kept appearing, one brought back one bag and said that it was completely unusable, so I took a break from what I was doing to fix it, and eventually Anastasia asked those who were preparing the bags to stop and just leave that other woman to do it, while those on the other side were asked to stop moving the boxes, since they were cracking, and leave that to two guys.
It’s possible that the bag that I mentioned above was actually brought after I got back to work, but the announcement was made just when I was back at that table, having decided to take a break at 2:35 PM, so I reused the teabag, since I had set that small cup aside on top of a tall stack of boxes, to have another hot tea, that time in a large cup, after spotting a stack, munched on some more things and saw that some bananas had also appeared, so I had one of those as well. That break lasted for 15 minutes, during which time I was pretty much alone, so I calmed down to some extent, and holding that hot tea also helped my freezing hands… But the pizza was brought soon after I got back to work, so I finished what I was doing at the time, which might have been fixing that bag that I already mentioned, and at 3:05 PM I went back there, starting by somewhat hesitatingly taking one slice and ending up eating a total of eight, of various kinds. Put together, I think that meant two thirds of a pizza, though there is a chance that it actually meant one whole pizza. And I munched on some more sweets as well, and also had another large tea, though it was mostly hot water, since I yet again reused that teabag, only throwing it away after that. I was feeling rather bad for eating so much, and the fact that many others were crowded in that area definitely wasn’t helping, but I also felt that I had done my part, possibly even more so because I had done the tedious sort of work that others didn’t really care to do, and I was going to keep doing that, while plenty of the others had messed things up, and they were also leaving right after lunch. I actually heard someone comment that they came, ate and left, but I found myself thinking that it’d have been better if that’d have been all they did.
Either way, I got back to work at 3:25 PM and even though, at one point, that guy who had asked me to bag the sugar asked whether I wanted him to replace me for a while, in case I had gotten bored, I said that I didn’t and continued to bag the sugar and occasionally open boxes or packs until 4:35 PM, when I went to pee. An older man who had arrived later and ended up putting products into those bags asked about a toilet and Anastasia said that she’ll take him there because she also had to go, and she had an injured leg and was in a wheelchair, so she broke any awkwardness by asking him whether he’ll go with her to the bathroom in an amusing voice. Someone else asked how was she going to climb the stairs, but she said that there was another bathroom and will use her crutches, so I said that I had to go as well, took her crutches, since that man was pushing the wheelchair, and went with them, learning where what Anastasia said was the bathroom for truck drivers was, since that didn’t require climbing stairs. However, since she had left the remote for the gate with someone else, when we came back that man told me to shout at them to open the gate as he pushed her to it, which caused my anxiety to spike once again and I had to try several times until someone finally heard me, by which point I was feeling really embarrassed, that man had shouted at me to be louder more than once and had just started to walk towards me, and I think that Anastasia was about to call as well.
It was 4:50 PM when I got back to work one more time, after munching a few more sweets and having another tea, using a new teabag but finding that the water was just lukewarm, so it didn’t exactly help after the wind had made me freeze even worse while I was outside. Maybe that was one reason why I moved around a little more, paying more attention to the boxes and packs that needed to be opened and, eventually, also keeping an eye on what products were running out, so there was a moment when someone pointed out that more sugar will need to be bagged soon and I rushed back there… And ended up bagging much more than necessary, since multiple other products were running out and at 5:50 PM we were told to stop, at which point I started cleaning. After a little while I took another break, having another tea, using the same teabag and once again with lukewarm water, eating the last remaining banana and munching on some more sweets, in fact only leaving one or two biscuits in the box and one wafer in the pack that was opened, but then I continued to gather boxes and bags and discarded pieces until it seemed that nothing was left.
At that point, I asked Anastasia how much was still left to do and, after asking someone else how much had been loaded on the truck, she said that we should both count what was still there… And I ended up making it harder for her instead of helping, since I only understood what I should have actually counted after she moved on to the bags, so at first I was saying different numbers and she had to count the boxes again. But the conclusion was that only four bags still had to be filled, though the other question was how many of the others were incomplete and we also talked a little about which products had finished earlier and which were still available in large quantities. I only later realized that I never asked about the other packages, for old people, but since she didn’t say that she won’t need me to come again the next day, I assumed that there was still plenty of work to do.
I can’t really be sure, but at that moment it seemed that a woman who had arrived late was the only other actual volunteer who was still there, the others being from the NGO, plus a couple of Romstal employees who were taking away the recyclables. And when that woman said that she was going to leave and will take the bus, one of the employees offered to take her there and I went with them, leaving that warehouse just before 6:40 PM. But I assumed that the guy was going to drive us to the road, yet he just walked with us to a gate, which was closed at the time but which the guard opened for us, then pointed to the bus stop and walked back. And we had left that warehouse through the other exit, being taken to another gate and another road, so I had no idea where we were and it was rather fortunate that she had to take the bus in the other direction, so she needed the station that was on the other side of the road and said that she didn’t want to wait in the dark, so we kept walking together, looking for the next stop, and ended up at the road that I knew.

What I managed to post before midnight ended before the first break, and in fact even the end of that paragraph was added a couple of minutes later, with the paragraph about that first break and lunch, along with a couple of additions to what I had already posted, being added before I went to bed in the morning. That left a lot to add at a later time, but at least I finally managed to do so Thursday evening.

To continue, I reached Auchan at 7:10 PM, only finally putting on the mask which I had taken with me after going to the bathroom, then getting a few things for dad and having no problems with the self-checkout. And on the way back I also went to Carrefour, buying a bio (organic) “Greek” yogurt, which was what I had in mind when I had told dad that I was going to get myself something nice if he could afford to throw food away in that manner, and also some peanuts.
I got back at 8:50 PM, cleaned what was in the kitchen and removed the bad parts from a pretty spoiled quince for dad, ate the peanuts, and eventually went to the toilet and washed. I came out of the bathroom around 12:30 AM, but then I took it easy and ended up starting to eat dinner just after 3 AM, though I still finished at 3:40 AM.
In between, however, dad pissed me off even more. I had seen a t-shirt that looked like my good ones, which I’m yet to wear, in the living room while talking to him that evening, saying at that point that I also had t-shirts that looked like that, but moving on… Until I realized that the clothes hanger that it was on was the one that my t-shirts were on, checked the wardrobe before going to the bathroom and saw that they weren’t there. And when I asked, he said that he thought that they were my mother’s, and he had taken some clothes to her the previous day… And he had worn one of those t-shirts! And then he just said that it’s what happens if we don’t talk about clothes… Not that he ever remembers which are mine, regardless of how many times I tell him, but when I pointed that out he said that if I keep reminding him then there’s a chance that someday he’ll remember, while if I don’t, there’s none. But, in that particular case, he was looking for the clothes that mother had asked for before I went to wash two days earlier, I helped him look for something, he was still going through clothes when I came out of the bathroom, taking pictures and showing them to mother, to make sure that those were the ones she was asking for, but he never mentioned t-shirts to either of us, since if he’d have told her about them, she’d have told him that they weren’t hers… But then he apparently just decided to wear a t-shirt that he supposedly thought was hers when he went to her, didn’t tell her about it, didn’t show it to her, didn’t leave it there for her, but just came back with it on and then threw it in a pile, never mentioning it to anyone! And when I asked him, after coming out of the bathroom, to explain the mental process that led to that behavior, he cheerfully said that it just proves that he didn’t think, just acted on impulse, as he usually does.