Cav's Place

Something felt wrong with my left leg’s muscles, above and below the back of the knee, on September 9, but I still went out at 2:15 PM, first going to Auchan… And realizing on the way that I had forgotten dad’s store card. But I was mainly going to get bread for him and the card offered no direct benefits for that, so I kept going… Only to see just two of those breads when I got there, and the bags they were placed in were torn, which often happens, since they’re so flimsy. But another man asked about that bread and was told that they were just bringing more, and another employee indeed came with a full cart and filled that area, so I got six. Then, after wandering around and just grabbing another liquid soap, I spotted an actual self-checkout that was free and used it without problems, bypassing the long lines from the few other open checkouts.
After having a look in that Penny, putting the purchases in a cabinet and then just retrieving them again and walking away, having decided against getting what I had been thinking of, I continued to Supeco, where I just walked in with everything and bought a few things, even though I still didn’t find any of those candles with the number one. I even asked an employee about them, but she said that she had no idea when they’ll order more.
After spending some time arranging the purchases in my backpack, both inside and after walking out of Supeco, I also went to a Mega Image on the way back, putting the backpack in a cabinet but walking in with the bag with the bread. And I got more of that zacusca for dad, and at the checkout I retrieved the coin from the cabinet in order to have the needed amount, at which point the guard commented that they’re useful for something. I meant to say that it’d be useful if the coins wouldn’t be needed, but didn’t want to start a conversation… Only for the guard to do so anyway, asking what did I get that was so cheap, and then whether it was good and how did I eat it, so I just told him that it was mainly for my dad and got out of there.
I got back a couple of minutes before 6 PM, ate watermelon and lunch, and left again at 7:40 PM, taking the watermelon peel and throwing it in a bin. The traffic I saw on these streets was surprising, but it was explained when I reached the boulevard and saw that traffic was stopped on it, apparently because of clashes with the fans, since a football match was taking place there that evening. And, as I was about to get to Kaufland, a guy picked on me because I was wearing a mask, asking whether I had COVID and then saying that I must have it and cursing my bones to rot. But I just ignored him, checked some prices in Kaufland, hunted around for a few fallen or discarded onions that were better, since the few that were left in the crate were bad, and also picked what ended up being just over one kilogram of grapes. None were left on the shelves, and even the label had been taken away, but I found crates of grapes and plums in the spot where they tend to place them in that location after they take them away from the shelves, used the scales to check the price, telling an employee that I was only doing that when she asked what wasn’t I able to find, saw that they were discounted and went back to the crates to pick some of those that were still good. However, since I meant to get back later and thought that the discount might increase, I then hid the grapes and the onions, just buying a few other things at that moment and leaving them in a cabinet.
After grabbing one more thing for dad and pairs of bakery products from Carrefour, just managing to get what I wanted before the employees who had already started to clean that area took away what was left and entering each of those pairs as a single product at the self-checkout in order to get the evening discount without needing to call an employee, I returned to Kaufland, added those purchases in the cabinet, peed and washed my hands even though it was already 9:45 PM, rushed back in… And saw that the pretzels had an evening discount there as well. That hadn’t been the case when I had first looked, so I had grabbed two for my mother from Carrefour, at a price that was almost 50% higher, but under those circumstances I got four from there as well, plus the last piece of a sweet pastry. A woman picked up that one as I was getting a paper bag to put it in, but then she put it back down and I decided to take it anyway. Then I retrieved what I had hidden, added a Pepsi for dad, and went to the self-checkout, my turn coming when it was announced that the store had closed and the problem being that an employee came and stood next to me, so I was trying to rush and my brain wasn’t really functioning anymore, which led to fumbling while trying to pick everything back up. But I eventually managed it, then took some time to put what I could in the backpack before going to the cabinet, retrieving the other things, taking even more time to arrange everything but the grapes in the backpack, and walking out at 10:10 PM.
I got back at 10:40 PM, added some jam to a pastry purchased from Carrefour and ate that, and rushed to the toilet and to shower, relieved that there was no more blood. On the other hand, I was feeling bloated, and it got worse at night. And I had things to do after the shower, plus that I was occasionally talking to dad as well, so I ended up eating dinner between 3:10 AM and 3:50 AM. And the following night I cheated a little in order to be able to say that I started eating before 3 AM, but then only finished what I had in my room by 3:40 AM, actually finishing dinner when it was past 3:45 AM, since I went back to the kitchen to put jam on the last slices of bread.

On the morning of September 12, I got in bed at 5:20 AM, after being determined to also add the section about August 17 in the post about those odds and ends. And that day marked the first time when I read from The Steel Remains without just “using” it while I was unable to sleep or waiting at the family doctor’s office, though I still didn’t actually set time aside for reading, since I did that while backing up the system on the external HDD. Otherwise, I had to eat dinner earlier, since I was going to have the blood tests done in the morning, so I started a little after 12:15 AM and finished at 12:55 AM. Then I also shaved, and got in bed at 4 AM.

With the blood tests scheduled for September 13, I got up when the alarm rang, at 7 AM, did the day’s squats right away, peed in the container, took that, the book and the plastic and metal and a cardboard box, and left at 8:15 AM, dropping off the recyclables in a bin. However, I somehow ended up looking for that clinic on the wrong floor at first, so I lost a little time and I finally reached the correct floor a little after 8:40 AM. And it’s not like being on the wrong floor wasn’t perfectly obvious, since the one that clinic’s on is the only one from that building where the door to the hallway is locked, people needing to wait in front of it, in the small area between the stairs and the elevators, until someone from one of the clinics comes to invite the next person in. So I waited and read a little, until the guy from that clinic came to invite the next person, who was the woman who was ahead of me, at which point he said that I could go in as well and wait there, which I did. It seemed that others also walked in at that point, but I didn’t really pay attention, just reading a little more until I was called, just before 9 AM… At which point I noticed that the guy had quite a cold. But he did his part, drawing two vials of blood and also taking a vial from the urine, and I was done at 9:05 AM.
That left me with plenty of time to kill before the protest that I was going to attend that day, so I went to Carrefour Unirii and found the pack of Pepsi which I hadn’t found on September 9, so I got one of those as well for dad, even though it meant carrying that weight around for the rest of the day. Also found one bag of spoiling apples that were still more expensive than that kind was at Kaufland those days, but which were Romanian, while those from Kaufland were Polish, so I took it, along with a couple of other things… Only for that bag of apples to not scan at the checkout, so the cashier weighed it again, scanned that new label normally and applied the 50% discount manually, and she also didn’t charge me for the bag. Then, after taking some time to arrange everything in the backpack and a bag, I was walking away a little before 10:40 AM, though I stopped one more time on my way to the protest, to take off the mask and headphones, and also the cap, since I was wearing the torn one and there were going to be reporters there.
I reached the site of the protest right when it was supposed to begin, at 11 AM, though I had to wait for the light to turn green before being able to cross and actually join the others. But the protest actually started at 11:15 AM anyway, with about 15 regular participants plus some members of the organizing NGO, including some actors, making for a total of at most 30, or maybe around 30, since I’m not sure whether a couple of the reporters shouldn’t also be counted as participants. Either way, the chanting lasted less than 15 minutes, then some pictures were taken and we went to file a document at the Constitutional Court, each of us doing so individually and needing to use another entrance, which was some distance away, since that one was blocked due to work being done on the access road. And that generated some discussions, and confusion, because at first we were supposed to go in groups of three, then the gendarmes were saying that just one person will be allowed at a time, then the organizers managed to get them to agree to return to the original plan, but those from the first group said, when they returned, that the lady who was receiving those documents had asked all of us to come at once. However, the gendarmes refused to allow that, stressing that they were in charge of security… Yet when I finally made my way to that entrance, as part of the last group, I found some of the others still waiting, seven of us being there when the gendarmes called the next group, which at that point they said meant six. Since they weren’t willing to allow one more, that meant that just one person was left out, and one woman was on the phone at that moment, so she was that one. Either way, we filed that document, after we walked out a reporter took a picture of the group on those stairs, and that was the end of it.
The moment I returned to the original site of the protest, an organizer asked whether I had forgotten something there, but I hadn’t forgotten anything, I had intentionally left my backpack and bag next to their things. So I picked them back up and walked away at 12:10 PM, only putting the cap and the headphones back on a little later, when I stopped to do so. And I stopped one more time after entering Izvor Park, on a bench, to move two of the four Pepsi bottles to the backpack. Then I walked all the way to Kaufland Basarab, getting there around 1:15 PM and having a look at that confectionery, seeing that they still had those meringue cakes, before putting my things in a cabinet, peeing and washing my hands and face, finally putting the mask back on and entering the store.
After grabbing one thing while I was looking around, I saw that the price of the garlic was even lower than what was listed in the catalog, and it was also listed as being from Romania, so even though I had my doubts about that, I took my time to search through all the crates and got some that looked good and closer to how I’d expect Romanian garlic to look. Then, after seeing an unannounced discount for red cabbage and grabbing one even though it looked rather bad, I got the other things that I had gone there for, wandered around for a while, used the self-checkout without problems, and then also bought one of those cakes from that confectionery… Only for the person who was there to just put it on the glass at first. So I stared in surprise and she asked whether it was to go, finally packing it after I confirmed. I wonder what had made her think that I was going to eat it there, and how, since they don’t have tables inside and she hadn’t given me spoon, plus that I didn’t see her giving unpacked products to those who had been ahead of me.
I took my time to retrieve what I had in the cabinet and arrange in the bags, moving a little when an old woman came and seemed to want to get something from a cabinet that I had been blocking, but she was saying that she couldn’t remember the second cabinet which she had used and there were more cabinets with bags that looked the same. I had actually noticed that as well, but I told her to just try her code and see where it worked, which she did. But then a foreign guy said in English that he didn’t know how the cabinets worked, so I told him… Only for the first one he tried to not work, so I also tried it and confirmed that it wasn’t locking, told him that it was probably broken, tried another, saw that it did work and then left him to it, the problem being that it was just below mine, so I was waiting for him to finish before retrieving what I still had in that cabinet. He seemed uncomfortable with me standing next to him, however, so after a little while he left, saying something about his friends, then returned while I was still there, tried another cabinet, then clapped me on the shoulder and thanked me again as I was about to finally walk away. But I still wasn’t happy with how I had arranged all of those things, so I stopped again after a few steps, trying to do a better job, and then did so one more time once I was outside, finally walking away at 2:40 PM.
I still had a long way to go, however, and also decided to once again check the central location of the Library after all, after checking how to get there from Basarab before leaving and seeing that it involved a pretty small detour. And when I got there I found the door closed but not locked, a document left open on the computer, and nobody around, so I went into the room with books in English, left the bags near the door and started searching, having also taken with me the location of that book, which I had written down before the system failed… Which system is actually yet to recover even now! But that was just a waste of time, since that book wasn’t where it seemed that it had to be, I didn’t spot it while searching that section one more time either, and while I considered grabbing American Gods, to at least get something, I decided against it and eventually just left. I heard some voices on the hallway at one point, but nobody as much as glanced into that room and I once again didn’t see anybody around when I left.
I was walking away from there at 3:40 PM, but I also wanted one of those carrot and orange cakes from that place that’s right next to the Library, having seen several on my way there… But they all seemed to be gone when I went back. So I stared for a while, then tried to work up the courage to ask, but that tray was brought back and I could just ask for one. I did still also say that I was confused, since I had seen them there and then they were all gone, and the person who was there said that she had covered them, but the tray had been wrapped in cling film before as well, so I’m not sure what she actually did. Either way, moments after I finally walked away from that area I realized that, with the books in that room of the Library being separated according to the nationality of the author, if that code is used for all literature in English, I might have been searching in the wrong section, since I had just looked for the section with that code, without even checking whether it was for British or American literature. However, I was starting to feel the lack of sleep and, even though I briefly considered turning back and looking again, I decided against it.
I was back for the first time at 5:05 PM, having carried a good 16 kg and after walking a total of what seems to have been almost exactly 20 km, not including the distance covered while wandering around in Carrefour and Kaufland. And the weight of the purchases should have been pretty equal, about 6.5 kg, or at most a few hundred grams more from Kaufland, with the clothes, shoes, bags and what was in my pockets making up the rest, so I had carried most of that weight all the way from Carrefour Unirii. I was drenched in sweat, the back of the shirt and the areas around my underarms were soaked… And another problem was that the socks which I had been wearing that day were sliding down. Most do, ever since my feet were so swollen, but some, including that pair, which I threw away since then, won’t stay up at all, so that day I used two rubber bands on each sock, to hold them in place, and they had been too tight, so I occasionally had to stop and move those bands, when it was starting to hurt. In spite of that, however, after dropping off what I had brought, I left again and ran most of the way to Penny, to get one more thing for dad. Realizing that I had time to do so, I just walked on the way back, but I nevertheless added another three kilometers to the distance covered that day.
I was finally back for good just before 5:55 PM, put some things in their place, ate the cake and some watermelon, finally starting what ended up being the last one purchased in 2022 with the side that was going soft, which was obviously wilting inside but was still edible, and later also had the apple that looked the worst out of that bag, though the problems were once again only close to the surface. Otherwise, since dad’s note stated that he was going to get back around 7 PM, I kept waiting, but it was 8:40 PM when he finally sent an SMS stating that he’ll be back in about half an hour. So I thought that I’ll have time to go to the toilet and did so… Only for him to call while I was there, and he tried again after I ignored it the first time, so I just quickly wiped the worst of it and rushed back to my room to answer… But he hung up by the time I got there, and didn’t try a third time. And it was in fact just over an hour after that SMS when he finally arrived. Then I finally showered and had lunch, with a large bag of corn puffs instead of bread, and since I was also playing Fate of the World: Tipping Point while eating, just failing one more time, and hadn’t taken a fork either, I ate particularly slowly and it was just after 1 AM when I finished… Or, more exactly, when I finished eating in my room, since there was a little left, which I finished in the kitchen. Either way, I started eating dinner at 3:05 AM, but still finished at 3:40 AM.

Though I had been told that they’ll be ready on Friday, so on September 16, it was that very morning, and early, when I got the SMS announcing that my test results were already waiting. So, in spite of all the effort made the previous day and the fact that I had a dentist appointment that afternoon, to fix the lost filling, when I woke up the second time, just before 11:50 AM, I decided to rush to get them, just eating a banana, leaving at 12:30 PM and getting there at 12:55 PM. Several people were waiting in front of that locked door at that point, commenting about that annoying policy that only applies on that floor, and I ended up standing, since someone was even sitting on the stairs, but I had once again taken the book, so I read a couple more pages until someone else called and the guy from that clinic eventually came, taking the papers from the three of us who were waiting for results from there and then bringing said results, without us going in. And I stopped on my way down to glance over my results, noticing that they were surprisingly good, before walking out at 1:15 PM.
I was back at 1:40 PM, had breakfast, thoroughly flossed and brushed, also considered using some mouthwash but decided against it, in part because it had expired long ago and in part because I didn’t have the time, and left again a little after 2:55 PM. The appointment was for 3 PM, but it took me two minutes to get to the dentist, so it was fine. I had taken the mask with me, but hadn’t put it on, in case I’ll be called in right away. On the other hand, in case I’ll end up needing to wait, I had taken the book as well, and I took it out after sitting down, but I didn’t have time to read anything, being called in almost right away.
The doctor was a new one and at first she was treating me like a child, then seemed to gradually move towards seeing me as an adult, while towards the end she switched to formal speech, actually being completely set in it after she finished working, using the “polite” plural and pronouns, which I find really annoying. And another annoying thing was that dad called while I was there, so I rejected the call, since he clearly knew where I was… Only for him to call again a little later, when they were already working on the filling and I definitely couldn’t answer, so the assistant asked whether I’ll let her answer and I agreed, so she did that and he just hung up, later telling me that he hadn’t checked the time. Either way, they ended up having quite a meeting while working on my teeth, four or five people ending up in that room, talking about some of them graduating medical school, going on vacation… And, on top of replacing that filling, the dentist also fixed a cavity in the next tooth. And she was also saying that I really needed the tartar removed, insisted to make an appointment for that, but I said that I wanted to focus on the marathon and she said that she’ll let me do that if I’ll promise to make that appointment after it. But I sort of just shrugged, not promising anything, and I’m in fact yet to go back there, that prospect being scary enough even without considering the costs.
Speaking of costs, she said that removing the tartar was going to cost 350 RON… But the bigger shock at that moment was the price of those two fillings, which was 500 RON, and that was supposedly after she had given me a discount of 100 RON because she had done both in a single sitting. I pointed out that their site was listing 150-200 RON for fillings at that point, but she said that those were old prices and they hadn’t updated them, showing me the printed list that they had there. So I had quite a problem, only having 200 RON with me, but they accepted that amount at that moment and I said that I’ll bring the rest the next day. But I didn’t need to do that, since I told dad about it and he went there and paid the difference when he got back.
Either way, after a quick look in the nearby Mega Image, I got back at 4:05 PM and left again at 7:25 PM, deciding to first go to Auchan, just putting on the mask when I got there, finding a few things to get and using a self-checkout without problems. I had meant to go straight to that newer Kaufland after that, but I hadn’t checked that route again before leaving and the lack of sleep was really getting to me, so I decided to play it safe and first go to Park Lake, having a look in Carrefour but not finding anything to get. And then I ended up not going to Kaufland at all, starting to walk in that direction but deciding after a little while that I no longer wanted to risk it based just on the fact that the site still listed the closing time for that location as 11 PM, since there was a chance that it had actually changed back to 10 PM and they hadn’t updated it yet on the site, plus that I had also decided to make myself another mamaliga that night, so I turned around and got back just before 10:15 PM. Then I ate something sweet which dad had brought from mother and a couple of the plums which she had added in that box, went to the toilet and showered, and then made that mamaliga and cleaned everything that dad had left in the kitchen after cooking.

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.