Cav's Place

Since I changed my mind about editing the previous personal post in order to add these parts there, I’ll start this one right after getting back after the run on May 16, when I ate what I could still use out of a banana brought by dad and finished the peanuts that were left, then changed and left again at 7:40 PM… And I was once again caught by the possible owner while taking a picture of a car, or more exactly two pictures of two cars. The contrast between a very expensive and new one and an old one that was so common in its time struck me, seeing them parked so close to each other, so I took those two pictures and meant to take a third, from the other side, but spotted a guy walking with determination towards me and he used a key from the distance to make an alarm beep, and while I’m not sure whether the beep came from the expensive car or not and didn’t turn to look, it seemed like a good idea to skip that third picture and walk away before he reached me.
Then I walked to Obor, first checking Carrefour, just getting two discounted breads for dad, though the price of those had also increased, and using the self-checkout, which at first rejected my bill, but worked on the second try. Then I put the bread in a cabinet once I got to Kaufland, peed and washed my hands, but saw no bakery discounts when I went in, even though it was 9:05 PM. So I looked around for a while, gave up on getting a 2 kg bag of spoiling oranges when someone else grabbed the better one out of the two that I had set aside while I was still looking through the rest, but then found a handful of regular onions, with an evening discount that took them to a price that might have been normal last year, under the crates of red ones, so I picked those that still seemed good enough. I was picking some potatoes, which had a deep evening discount, when bakery discounts were finally announced, so I rushed there and got a few things, including one of those breads, even though it was discounted by 49%, making it a tiny bit more expensive than it had been when I had decided against getting one on May 11. Also got another bread for dad, at full price, since it was still among the cheapest ones available even though its price had also increased, and it was almost 10 PM when I got to the self-checkout, the announcement that the store had closed coming while I was still waiting in line. And I also had to remove my bread from the scales to be able to continue, but was charged correctly. Then, after just quickly arranging the purchases before walking out, I took more time to arrange everything in the bags and backpack before walking away, at 10:15 PM. The backpack ended up being too heavy, however, those rope straps digging into me, so at one point I stopped to move the potatoes to the bag.
I was back here a little before 11:10 PM, ate the sweet pastry which I had bought for myself from Kaufland, drank a bottle of Coca Cola brought by dad, since I just had a little tea left, did a few other things, and it was almost 12:15 AM when I went to the toilet and to shower. I came out of the bathroom an hour later, but still had things to do, and also had to show dad where to go in order to donate those dishes, and he was moving slowly and paying even less attention than he usually does, since he was also watching a match, so it took a while before I finally got back to the kitchen… And I hadn’t even had lunch yet, so I first did that, only starting to eat at 2 AM, then finally got to work on dinner, which I started to eat at 3:20 AM, finishing at 4 AM.

As it often seems to happen after runs, I couldn’t sleep that morning. Did fall asleep at first, but soon woke up with that nasty feeling in both arms and legs and couldn’t get back to sleep. Eventually, just before 6:45 AM, I got back on the computer, played Diggles for a while, got back in bed at 8 AM… And the scenario repeated itself, falling asleep at first but waking up again after a little while. The reason was different, however, since I woke up after dad did and there was a little noise made by him, and also from above, and I was also worried and annoyed that he’ll throw away the cats’ food again. So I’m not sure if I even caught another little nap before he left, at almost 1:30 PM, and then, since there was some noise coming from outside as well, I definitely didn’t manage to fall asleep again until I finally cut my losses and got up, after another hour.
I was so tired, and feeling increasingly out of it as time passed, the fact that I didn’t have lunch either, waiting to make mamaliga after dad left again in the evening, definitely not helping. But at least I managed to nap a little more in the evening, albeit for under one hour, if not even under 45 minutes, and then really stuffed myself at night… Which meant needing to keep getting up to pee, and if at first I fell asleep quickly and then also got back to sleep right away, this also happening after dad got back, after getting up yet again, a little before 7:45 AM, with him still awake and typing loudly, and I think also eating, at least at one point, I couldn’t get back to sleep again and at 8:10 AM I got back on the computer for a while, getting back in bed a little before 9:20 AM.

Moving on to the next run, that was on May 24, but in the evening, being supposed to count as practice for this summer’s Dream Trek, so I didn’t set an alarm and it was almost 3:30 PM when I got up, though I had been awake for a while at that point. Then I changed into the full running gear right away and, after the apple, I decided to actually have lunch. After that, I put on the running belt as well, with some things in it, and ended up spending quite some time trying to figure out how I had managed to tighten it more than it’d normally allow, probably finding a slightly different way, which looks worse but might actually be better, being less likely to come undone. Then I also had a slice of cozonac, with added honey, and left a little after 7:40 PM, when the reported temperature was around 20°C, being supposed to drop by 1-2°C by the time I’ll finish. It was very cloudy, however, and it had drizzled a little.
The time was 46:22.76, with sector times of 4:03.17, 4:59.81, 5:44 (5:43.28), 4:21.22, 4:55 (4:54.78), 5:44 (5:43.88), 4:19 (4:18.91), 4:53.43, 5:43.28 and 1:41.00, making for lap times of 14:46.26, 15:00 (14:59.88) and 14:55.62. I’ll go with those numbers for sectors two and three of lap two, not even adding question marks, but by the time I wrote down the times, at night, I noticed that I had a problem there, since I was remembering a second more for sector two, and also thinking that the first two sectors of that lap added up to exactly 9:17, which didn’t add up, as I also remember thinking that sector three of lap two was fractions of a second slower than that of lap one. Whenever I ran through the numbers, including while showering, it seemed to add up correctly, but my mind either kept playing tricks until then or, more likely, it suddenly decided to do so when I finally wrote down the times. But I do seem to remember 02.26, for seconds and hundredths, and actually noticing that a digit was repeating, after that sector two. Not that it’s surprising that I have a problem there, because I couldn’t look at the time right away after that sector two, needing to keep my eyes on the people coming from the opposite direction, so I couldn’t see the time when the seconds were large, needing to wait for a spot with better light to have a look at the interval time, listed with small characters, at which point I saw the hundredths better, being at the end, and actually remember thinking that I risked just remembering those and not the more important seconds. Plus that after that sector I decided to stop memorizing both values, as in the exact time as well as just the seconds, and just memorize the exact time, which might have mixed some things up in my mind.
I was just aiming to stay under 48 minutes, but felt so good at first that I pushed from the start and, while towards the end of the long straight of sector one I couldn’t keep it up anymore, I was so fast until then that the result was a second 4:03 sector one… Which could have been 4:02 without some minor issues caused by people. Then I tried to stay under 15 minutes on the first lap, which I managed by some margin, making me think that I could slow down a fair bit and still stay under 48 minutes. It was only after sector two of lap two that I started thinking of staying under 47 minutes, which became the clear target after the end of the lap, and if after sector one of lap three I was thinking that I had to lose less compared to five minutes on sector two than I’d expect to gain compared to six minutes on sector three, I was surprised to see that I was already clear after sector two, and that it was actually the fastest sector two of the day. That made me think that I could take it easier on sector three, but at the same time I didn’t want to risk going over six minutes… And ended up with a sector three that precisely matched the exact time of the one on lap one and a time after three laps that gave me a chance to stay under 46:30, if I could push like crazy on the final sector. So that was what I did, not only managing to stay safely under 46:30 but also obtaining the second fastest final sector ever. I didn’t think that I still had that much in me! Either way, it was my third fastest time over this distance, and the exact times would make it another run with all laps under 15 minutes, but it won’t get listed as such, since if I just look at the seconds, I covered lap two in exactly 15 minutes.
That previous drizzle meant that parts of the lane were wet and difficult and the clouds meant that I had less light than I thought I’d have, so I finished just before sunset but had to look for spots where I could see the time better, maybe slowing just a tiny bit a few times because of that, and probably a little more on sector three of lap two, since I couldn’t look when it’d have been easier to see, as I already mentioned. But people weren’t really a problem in general, though they did cost me the chance to get that 4:02 on the first sector, since I had to slow a little on the long straight, being uncertain which way to go around some, and then had to go the long way around others in the last turn. Otherwise, however, the only mental note I made of an issue that went beyond just weaving or going the long way around was needing to avoid a kid on a bicycle on sector one of lap two, maybe stopping for just an instant to do so. On the other hand, there were some physical problems, usually appearing on sector two, feeling the need to snap my back and being unable to on lap one and lunch not seeming to be sitting well and my right knee also starting to give some warnings on lap two, though both of these problems gradually went away after that, while on lap three my left ankle gave a few warnings as well. But what made me worry for a moment was when, on sector one of lap three, my heart felt somewhat strange. But maybe that feeling was also caused by my back, and I tried to sort of snap it for a while, which seemed to do the trick even though I still couldn’t really do that properly.

I went to that Carrefour after the run, putting on the mask after entering that mall, and just got two bags of microwave popcorn for dad. Then I made a small detour to a pharmacy on the way to Kaufland, looking for some teas for dad and another one of those nose sprays for myself, but they didn’t have one of the teas, so I just bought the other things… And the cashier struck me as being bothered by the fact that I had a mask. None of them were wearing one, but the one who was dealing with me asked what I wanted multiple times, saying that she wasn’t understanding, in particular when I was asking for the spray, until another one told her.
Once I got to Kaufland, I put the purchases in a cabinet and washed my hands, but could just grab a bun from the bakery area, since it was almost cleared of discounted products by then. However, there was discounted garlic, so I got some, as well as the single banana that still looked good enough from the pile of deeply discounted but otherwise bad ones, plus quite a few breads for dad. It was some five minutes before closing time when I had a look at the lines for the self-checkouts, but then went to have a quick look through the refrigerated expiring products, not finding anything interesting, before returning there, so I took my place in line moments before the announcement that the store had closed… And the lines were moving slowly, and the woman behind me kept trying to push her basket ahead of me, on one side or the other, so I was putting a foot in front of it whenever she did that, and eventually managed to make her stop doing it by moving in order to stand right in front of her when, after leaning to the side in order to grab some cat food of their brand, I found her alongside me, with the basket next to the person who was ahead. Either way, I had to take the garlic and the banana off the scales in order to be able to continue, but was charged correctly, then retrieved my things from the cabinet, took some time to arrange everything in the bags and was walking away at 10:20 PM.
After another small detour, to quickly check a Mega Image for discounted bakery products or cakes, leaving my things in a cabinet without locking the door for the brief time I spent inside, since I didn’t find anything interesting, I was back here at 10:55 PM. Then I ate that banana and an entire chocolate figurine we had, just that figurine containing some 50 grams of sugar… Also had the yogurt and cereals which I hadn’t eaten before leaving, without almonds, and put some of the purchases in their place before going to the bathroom, at 12:15 AM. I was only wasting time on the toilet, however, so after a while I gave up on that, showered and was finally out at 1:20 AM. In spite of that, and of still having things to wash and also slicing two of the breads for dad, I somehow managed to stick to the dinner schedule.

Moving on to May 27, when I turned the monitor on after waking up, my mouse wasn’t moving the pointer anymore, though clicks were registering, and I had used it just before going to bed, after all. Unplugging it and plugging it back in solved the issue, though I then also rebooted, for good measure, but it was strange, and an even more serious reason for concern, after the fact that it had also started double clicking quite frequently again. And the double clicking is now getting worse and there also seem to be moments when a left click doesn’t register, but at least that problem didn’t repeat itself so far, so that’s all I have to say about it at the moment. And, even though the part about that other order started before I went to bed on the morning of May 28 and it’s probably an abandoned matter for now, remaining to be seen whether the price will get low enough again for another attempt, so I could consider it over for the time being and include it here, I decided to yet again leave it for another time, so this section will just be about going out again that evening. After having cleaned the stove top the previous evening, which again only took me about an hour but nevertheless really tired me, the plan was to just rest that day, but the forecast for the following evening was listing storms and I didn’t want to risk it.
As such, I was out a couple of minutes after 7:30 PM, taking the paper, which I dropped off in a bin on the way. I didn’t put a mask on at first, and even entered another location of that pharmacy without it on, making that little detour to ask whether that tea which I hadn’t been able to get three days earlier was available there. And it was, so I got that, then went to the Carrefour from the park, finally putting the mask on when I got on the escalator but not bothering to use a cabinet, just going in with the teas in the backpack… And then back out, since I didn’t get anything.
I made another tiny detour on the way to the newer Kaufland, to that Mega Image, just going in and out, again with the teas in the backpack, since I just checked the expiring products and didn’t find anything interesting. I also had a quick look in the little store that’s next to that Mega Image, just out of curiosity, and then also checked Penny, again not bothering to use a cabinet… And again not buying anything, since I wanted cabbage but couldn’t find any, so I just looked around for a little while and then went back out.
I didn’t bother to use a cabinet for those teas at Kaufland either, so I washed my hands and went in, seeing some evening discounts even though it wasn’t 9 PM yet and getting some things from the bakery area, including the last bread of that kind. Even though that evening discount wasn’t particularly high at that moment, I also got a lettuce, then wandered around and grabbed a few other things. At 9:30 PM it was announced that the discount had increased to 75% for some bakery products, but the labels weren’t changed, so I waited for 9:45 PM before making my way to the self-checkout and it was only there that I found out that the increased discount didn’t apply to that bread or the sweet pastry I had bought, but did apply to the other things… And also that the discount for the lettuce had increased. But, before getting that far, I had to call an employee, since I started with the tarragon and after placing the second sachet on the scales the machine told me to scan it first, and removing it didn’t fix the problem, probably because it weighed so little, which tends to be a problem with spices. Either way, I finished scanning just when it was announced that the store had closed, so I walked out right away but then stopped for a moment in order to arrange the purchases in the backpack and bag, walking away at 10:05 PM.
After having a quick look, just from the door, in the nearby Mega Image, I was back a little after 10:45 PM. Then I ate that sweet pastry, but went to the toilet and showered before having lunch, so it was almost 12:55 AM when I started eating that and 20 minutes later when I finished. But I still just managed to stick to the dinner schedule, and that was despite also having that bread and the worse leaves of the lettuce to deal with.

I ran again on May 30, so I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM, and had the usual stuff plus almonds. The sweet thing was uncommon, however, since I decided to have an expired cereal and fruit bar, with added honey. Either way, I went out at 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 25°C, holding steady.
The time was 1:17:16, but I somehow forgot to check at the end of sector one of lap one, so I just know that the time for the first two sectors was 9:25.85. Based on the time I saw when I remembered to look and how long it took me to get there on lap two, the sector times were probably around 4:21 and 5:04, but that estimate can be off by a couple of seconds in either direction and I decided to not take it into account, just leaving that total. Then, from sector three of lap one, the times were 5:55 (5:54.94), 4:28 (4:27.53), 5:06.07, 5:55.40, 4:37.00, 5:13.00, 5:56.16, 4:31 (4:30.31), 5:13 (5:12.75), 5:58, 4:26, 4:54 and 5:39, making for lap times of 15:20.79, 15:29.00, 15:46.16, 15:42 and 14:59. There was no reason to check and memorize all the exact times until the time went past one hour and they were no longer displayed, but I guess I was overcompensating for missing that first one.
I was aiming to stay under 1:18 but felt rather tired when I started, so I didn’t want to push harder right away despite realizing that I was rather slow on that first sector. And things didn’t look that good after the first two sectors, the time for the first lap was barely all right, after two laps it seemed that I didn’t have enough of a buffer, and on lap three I felt the heat getting to me even if it wasn’t exactly hot, so I was thinking that I was heading towards 1:20 and getting ready to accept that, especially after losing ten seconds compared to the 1:18 pace on that third lap. But I pushed on lap four, wanting to at least still be on pace for 1:18 at the end of it, and what I managed meant that I needed an identical time on lap five in order to just make it. So I really went for it, even more so after sector one, and the result was amazing, getting under 15 minutes on lap five.
The lane was breaking up at the end of the last sector one straight, before the last turn, and that was also what my mind was actually on when I forgot to check the time at the end of the first sector. Otherwise, I almost stopped, or maybe actually did stop for an instant, on the long straight of sector two of lap two, because I tried to go left when another runner, who was also on the lane and coming from the opposite direction, moved in the same direction, and the person who was to the left of the lane moved closer to it, leaving me no room. And then, just as I was accelerating again at the end of that straight, I had to fight what was probably the worst gust of wind of the day, though it was usually windy in that spot, and I also felt the wind on the long sector one straight on the first two laps, and to some extent at the start of sector three as well. Back to sector two, it was also there, but on lap five and in the turn that’s before that long straight, when I slowed a lot, or again perhaps stopped for just an instant, when a cyclist came from the opposite direction, not just on the running lane but also holding a fishing pole and not even looking ahead! And I actually saw that guy again since then, behaving in the same manner… Back to that day, bugs or poplar fluff, or maybe even small leaves, kept getting into my eyes. And the heat was quite a problem, rather breaking me on lap three and making me wonder what I’ll do in the coming months if I couldn’t manage three good laps at 25°C.
What helped at the end was that it was cloudy on sector three of lap five, or possibly starting from some point on sector two, even though that last sector three was also windier. And two other runners helped as well. The first was a guy whom I ended up sort of racing for quite some time, after he first approached from behind towards the end of lap three, overtaking me and pulling ahead early on lap four. However, he stopped for a little while on what for me is sector three, resuming his run after I passed him, staying behind or alongside me until early on lap five, then overtaking me again, but not for long, since I quickly pulled level again and around the end of sector one or the start of sector two I overtook him again and soon after that he was no longer behind me, so he either stopped for good or went out of the park. But another runner appeared ahead of me just at the end and I pushed to overtake him too, just managing to do so before the end, that quite clearly being how I managed to just stay under 15 minutes on that last lap.

This, including this paragraph, is how far I got before midnight, so I edited the post later in order to also add the part about the rest of May 30, even if I only managed to do so Tuesday evening, since I wanted to finish the month in this post. However, I first wanted to add right here that yesterday I cleaned my room a little, apparently after a good three months, also changing the sheets and even washing the windows, albeit not that well and only on the inside in case of the one that doesn’t open. And last evening I also finally shaved my head again. Since it’s almost two years since the last time I mentioned doing so, I wonder if it’s really been that long or I did it one more time since then but didn’t mention it… Or mentioned it in a way that doesn’t show up on a quick search, since I doubt I wouldn’t mention something like this. But it had clearly been a long time, and I do recall thinking about doing it again but always deciding against it last summer, so maybe it really has been that long.

Returning to May 30, after getting back I saw that the notification that some pills ordered for dad were ready to be picked up had arrived just five minutes after I had left to run, so if I’d have known I’d have taken the order number and the money with me, that location of that pharmacy being on the way. As it was, seeing as that location closes at 7 PM and, while I was going to go out again that evening, I didn’t want to do so immediately, I left it for another time, and in fact dad went to pick them up after a few days. So I finished the tea, made another, had some walnuts… And jabbed the knife used to open them into my left hand, so the cut was small but quite deep.
It was 7:50 PM when I left again, going to Obor and first checking Carrefour, looking for eggs and finding bio (organic) ones among those sold by piece. They weren’t discounted, but since it hasn’t yet increased, even the full price of those eggs is now very good, and even more so when you can find bio (organic) ones among them, so I searched until I got the ten of those. Then I also saw 2 kg bags of oranges that were discounted by 50% because they were spoiling, but one didn’t look too bad, so I got it, along with four breads for dad, also discounted by 50%. Those breads weren’t in the self-serve part of the bakery area and no employee was there to give them to me, but after waiting for a while I reached over and managed to pick them up myself, though two of them required a bit of effort. Then I used the self-checkout, asking the guard about those oranges, at which point he called over the employee who was in that area she entered the discount, and also asked, quite surprised, if I had known the code for the eggs, and I said that I searched for it and asked whether she wanted to check that there were ten of them, but she said that she won’t count eggs. Oddly, she then asked whether I was all right, I don’t know why, but there were no problems.
Then I rushed to Kaufland, but first just to put those purchases in a cabinet, since I then rushed away again. It was already past 9:20 PM, so I jogged part of the way to that Penny, found what I was looking for, then rushed back to Kaufland, added the new purchases in the cabinet, washed my hands and finally went in when it was almost 9:45 PM. The bakery discounts were staying at 50%, but I grabbed a few things, then checked the expiring products, not finding anything interesting. However, one of the two packs of that yogurt that were left looked almost all right, so I grabbed it, then looked for other evening discounts, seeing that there had been nice ones for carrots and onions, but they were all gone at that point, so I just got the few decent potatoes that were left… And saw that their 1 kg bags of oranges were discounted by 60%, matching the price per kilogram of those spoiling ones from Carrefour, and they looked good, so I grabbed one of those as well. And I managed to do all of that before the announcement that the store had closed, which came just as I was making my way to the self-checkouts. There was a bit of a line, but I had no problems with the machine, then retrieved my things from the cabinet, at first just taking a little time to put everything in bags, obviously being careful with the eggs, before stopping again in order to actually arrange everything in the backpack and bags after walking out.
I was walking away from there at 10:15 PM, but I stopped again a little later, to arrange what I had in the bag a little differently, and then yet again, trying to find a safer way to hold the eggs… And almost dropping them instead. But I managed to catch the bag and finally got back here a little after 11:05 PM, just threw the yogurt and the eggs in the fridge, quickly went to take a shower, not going to the toilet first, to get out before midnight, then went to do something in my room… And burned the tips of both of my thumbs. Just a little in case of the left one, so that wasn’t a problem, but I even ended up with a little blister on the right one. Either way, I then got back to the kitchen, put some more of the purchases in their place, started eating lunch at 1 AM, finished after 15 minutes, then washed what I had to wash and also ate something sweet. However, even if I only started working on dinner after doing all of that, I still managed to stick to the schedule, and then even put the rest of the purchases in their place before going to bed.
Speaking of going to bed, I fell asleep well enough, but at 7:40 AM I woke up to pee and couldn’t get back to sleep. A little after 8:30 AM I gave up for the moment and got on the computer, and after half an hour went to the toilet, something rumbling in my abdomen, maybe caused by something brought by dad which I had eaten as part of that late lunch. It wasn’t the first time he brought that dish, made by someone he knows, and it tastes good, but I seem to remember that it always caused a lot of gas, and that time around it seemed to be more than that. Either way, dad woke up while I was on the toilet, and then loud noises starting coming from the neighbors, some work apparently being done, so I stayed up and only got back in bed a little after 1 PM. It was around 4:40 PM when I got up again, but I wonder if I even got two hours of sleep during that time.

If this wouldn’t have been the pattern all along, and if he wouldn’t have been such a firm supporter of the status quo and of the big players who profit from it at the expense of everyone and everything else all along, propped up solely by good PR and the fact that the notable alternatives that exist on the French political scene are even more terrible, the way Macron keeps fighting on Putin‘s side would be unbelievable by now. I mean, after humiliating himself by saying that Putin must not be humiliated, now, during his visit to Romania, he said that Ukraine must negotiate with Russia, which can only mean giving up even more of its territory, and possibly more than that, in exchange for the conflict becoming frozen for some more time, until Russia will regain its strength and push forward yet again.
On the other hand, we also have Stoltenberg, who instead of leading the fight against such dirty tactics is now saying that Turkey’s concerns over Sweden and Finland wanting to join NATO are legitimate, openly becoming an advocate of the tyrant within NATO that is Erdogan, who’s seizing the opportunity to resort to open blackmail in order to further his agenda.
Compared to those statements coming from those who, if they’d in any way care to rise to the demands of the positions they currently hold, would be expected to have completely opposite stances, the fact that the Pope has said that Russia was perhaps provoked into starting this war is barely worth mentioning. After all, while he also has good PR that may fool many, one shouldn’t really expect someone in his position to actually be on the right side when it really comes down to it.
But it must be pointed out that it’s not just these supposedly great leaders, who should be burying their heads in shame before Zelenskyy, who are the problem here. As always, the bigger problem are the people, who are already pushing in increasing numbers for an end to the conflict regardless of what Ukraine, and most likely not only Ukraine, will have to sacrifice for it, being less and less willing to pay the price of justice, once again returning to the typical defining traits of humanity, selfishness and shortsightedness. You’d think that at least such an obvious threat from an external enemy would bring some lasting unity, but in fact the more dangerous enemies are here, from the highest to the lowest levels of society.

Maybe I should have skipped the week after the half marathon, especially after achieving the result I wanted, but I nevertheless decided to run on May 11. That was in part because my mother wanted to come then, which was obviously infuriating, since dad was away that week and she meant to not only reduce that alone time, but also split it, leaving even fewer consecutive days, so I wanted to at least be gone as much as possible on that first day and was also relying on the run to calm myself down to some extent. But she said that she was going to arrive at 1 PM, which was a problem, and after telling her that and also to not touch the things and areas that I deal with, we had a harsh exchange by e-mail, with her doing that aggressive whining, and she eventually said that she won’t come if she’s not wanted, as if that was news. That did make for a somewhat awkward moment, however, seeing as, knowing that she was going to come and could look through the mugs and glasses and cutlery and decide what to donate, I had asked the NGO that I had taken the dishes to whether they also wanted some of those things and they said that they did, so I had to pretty much drop the matter… Though dad went there after he got back, taking what he decided to donate and some more things my mother gave him, after he went there to pick up what she had set aside from there as well.
Back to May 11, since I had decided to run, I stuck to that plan, and the fact that my mother didn’t come meant that I could get up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM. Then I had the usual stuff, with the sweet thing being a slice of cozonac, with added honey. And no, I didn’t forget to mention almonds, but actually forgot to add them, only realizing it after I had finished the yogurt and cereals, and I didn’t care to just eat them on their own. Either way, I left just after 4:20 PM, wearing the full running gear, with some things in the pocket of my tights. The reported temperature was about 25°C, holding steady, but there were some threatening clouds, and some forecasts listed a risk of brief storms, though that fortunately didn’t materialize.
The time was 47:16.36, with sector times of 4:15.80, 4:57.06, 5:47 (5:46.34), 4:27.47, 4:55.09, 5:46 (5:45.66), 4:26.00, 5:02.41, 5:49 (5:48.50) and 1:52.03, making for lap times of 14:59.20, 15:08.22 and 15:17 (15:16.91). I just aimed to stay under 48 minutes and was thinking that sector one was close to a sustainable pace, the fact that I could do a fast sector two of lap one as well proving that. After those first two sectors, I wondered whether I wanted to try to complete the lap in less than 15 minutes and decided that I didn’t… Only to surprise myself by managing it anyway. However, the target remained to just stay under 48 minutes, the thought of staying under 47:30 only entering my mind after lap two, and after lap three it was clear that I was going to manage it, not needing to push on the final sector.
The wind was most noticeable early on sector three, around the start of that long turn, but it was only on lap two that I felt that I really had to fight it. Otherwise, the lane was still badly damaged in some areas, including quite a few spots on the long sector one straight and on that paved part in sector three, and one on the long sector two straight, and it was also soaked in a couple of areas. On the other hand, the number of people was manageable, so besides having to weave or go the long way around there were a couple of small issues, but not anything notable. And the warnings my right knee started giving on sector two of lap three lessened after that sector. Oh, and a guy asked me which lap that was when I was on sector two of lap two, and it took me a moment to “process” that, so I ended up shouting that it was the second after passing him.

After walking for just a few steps, to regain my breath, I ran, as in not just jogging, to that Carrefour, but I was mainly looking for some expiring yogurt and there was none, so I didn’t get anything, jogged for the first part of the way back as well, and then just walked. Then I ate the banana which I had grabbed after the half marathon, changed, and went back out a little before 7:25 PM.
After having a quick look in the newer bakery on the way, I went to the nearest Penny and got what I meant to get from there, then continued to Kaufland. However, I didn’t enter the store at that point, just dropping off the purchases in a cabinet and then going to Mega Mall and first checking that Hervis, actually trying on a GT-1000 10… And getting stopped by the guard when I wanted to leave, being asked to empty the jacket’s pockets, where I had empty bags and that old notebook. It’s possible that he had been told to check me, since he was talking to someone and saying that he wasn’t asleep. And the guard from Carrefour also came after me after I just went in and out of there as well, the only expiring yogurt being imported. I had even taken the bags and notebook out of the jacket’s pockets and held them in my hands, spread out, but he still asked me to show him the inside of my jacket…
I finally went back to Kaufland after that, washed my hands and grabbed some things, but decided against also getting some more of that bread, since the price had increased yet again, so even though it was discounted by 50% I left it for another time. I was mainly looking for the cabbage that was supposed to be on a limited sale as of that day, but saw none and when I asked an employee he said that they didn’t have it. So I just waited for 9:45 PM, in case any discounts would increase, which didn’t happen, then I used the self-checkout, having no problems with the machine but having an old woman start placing her things next to mine almost as soon as I started scanning. I told her that we should take care to not mix our things, as a way to tell her that she shouldn’t really do what she was doing, but she didn’t care… And that ended up being her loss, because two employees came and apparently had something to do with that machine, so after I was done they told her to go to another and she had to pick everything back up and move there. Either way, I then retrieved my things from the cabinet, arranged everything in the bags and walked away just before 10 PM, being back here at 10:30 PM.

On May 13, I left a little before 7:35 PM, but spent a couple of minutes checking the Kaufland catalog found in the mailbox before exiting the building, also opening the door for someone since the intercom didn’t seem to be doing so. I had also taken the recyclables, so I first went to drop them off in a bin and then used that slightly longer route to the metro station, and on the way I spotted an interesting car and was taking a picture when a guy walked past me and through the gate it was parked in front of. Since that’s a house, the car was probably either his or belonged to someone from his family, but he didn’t say anything.
Either way, I then took the metro, using dad’s card, and went to Obor, first going straight to Kaufland in order to look for that cabbage. When I still didn’t find any, I went right back out, bought the newspapers from a store from there, since dad wasn’t here but was likely to want to take the TV schedule to my mother after he’ll get back, then went to Carrefour, left the newspapers in a cabinet, and bought teas and an expiring cake, using the 10 RON voucher I had. Then I retrieved the newspapers, but somehow forgot about a small bag as I tried to arrange the purchases on my way out of that mall, apparently just letting it drop out of my hand, though I realized it before walking out, went back and found it on the floor.
Then I rushed back to the metro and went to the Kaufland from Basarab, since it’s next to a station and I still wanted to look for that cabbage. And the fact that the ad for that sale was right on the cabinets gave me some hope, so after trying several cabinets before finding one that worked and leaving my purchases in it, I went in and started looking… Only to still not find any. I did, however, find green onions, radishes and lettuce for next to nothing, so I got some of those, had no problems with the self-checkout and finished using the machine just before 10 PM. That confectionery that’s there was closed by then, but the cakes were left in the display case, and when I had a look I saw that they also had a “Meringue” cake! It wasn’t quite like what I remembered from when I was little, but it was close enough, and I’d been searching for a long time for that kind of cake and hadn’t seen anything like it anywhere else, so I wished that I’d have known about that place after the half marathon and kept it in mind, for the next time when I’ll have a reason to reward myself in such a manner and also have the metro card… And that moment came yesterday, so while I have no idea when I’ll get to write about that day otherwise, I will add here that the cake’s really good, and actually better than I expected.
Either way, after retrieving my things from the cabinet, I got back on the metro… And when I got back here I found that I should have paid more attention to that problem with the building’s door, since the lock seemed stuck and I struggled for a couple of minutes to unlock it, starting to fear that I might end up needing to wait for someone to come out and wondering about the odds of that happening at that hour. But it eventually worked and I was back a little before 10:40 PM. I ended up only getting in bed at 5:20 AM, however, though there was no particular reason for the delay.

The next run was on May 16, when I got up when the alarm rang, at 2 PM… And rushed to clean some of the mess left by dad in the kitchen, since he had gotten back that night. While it’d have been even better without the cats to take care of either, it had certainly been nice to not have all that mess to deal with while he was gone… Either way, I then had the usual stuff plus almonds, with the sweet thing again being a slice of cozonac, with added honey, and left a little before 4:15 PM, wearing the full running gear. The reported temperature was 26°C, holding steady.
The time was 1:17:25, with sector times of 4:23, 4:59, 5:52, 4:30, 4:58, 5:50, 4:29, 5:07, 5:47, 4:36, 5:14, 5:58, 4:38, 5:10 and 5:54, making for lap times of 15:14, 15:18, 15:23, 15:48 and 15:42. I aimed to stay under 1:18 and started with a controlled first sector, but it seemed a little slow when I saw the time, so I pushed a little on sector two and then actually wanted 15:15 for the lap, just managing to stay under that time by fractions of a second. I then aimed to still gain compared to the 1:18 pace on lap two and actually gained more than I hoped, but what probably made me keep pushing harder than I’d have otherwise done was that I was thinking of the previous 16 km run and not remembering the times correctly, thinking that I was three seconds behind after two laps, though I was actually nine seconds ahead. Either way, I wanted to gain those three seconds compared to the 1:18 pace on lap three, and when I saw that I had gained 13 I knew that I could afford even 16 minutes per lap from then on. But I wanted to be faster than I had been that previous time, so I did what I could on lap four and it seemed that I was safe at the end of it. However, just to be sure, I pushed a little more on lap five and after sector two I realized that I could get under 1:17:30, so I gave it everything on sector three and managed that as well. I must have been really exhausted though, since I thought that I’d be faster on that last sector.
While not a major problem, it was odd that there was a windy area later on sector three, not at the start of it, where it usually is windy. But I was starting to feel the heat, though it was fine in the shade, and the clouds that appeared towards the end of sector one of lap four and didn’t clear until I finished definitely helped. The poplar fluff remained annoying from start to end, however, and there were a few annoying bugs as well. As for physical issues, I noticed my hands starting to go numb quite early, and there were brief moments when a certain pressing need appeared, on sector two of laps three and four, but then it went away. And my right knee started to give some warnings from the end of sector one of lap three, and that hip joined it, along with a spot on the thigh, from sector two of lap five, but it was never bad. On the other hand, they had fixed the lane, patching those spots on the long straight of sector one with a somewhat harder mix, though the different materials and the way they were joined made it clear that it wasn’t going to last, plus that more damage was starting to appear. And on that paved part of sector three they gave up on this mix, pouring some kind of cement and painting it instead, though I have doubts about that as well, since it seems softer, like what’s used when something is being covered temporarily.
As for people, there weren’t many, but they caused a few notable issues. One was at the end of sector two and start of sector three of lap one, when some were almost creating a roadblock under the bridge, just moving away in haste when I shouted at them to make way, and when I got out from under the bridge another runner was just coming down the stairs, yet another was coming from the opposite direction, and a woman was just starting to walk across the path with an eager dog and a reluctant one. At first she wanted to hurry the reluctant dog, after seeing this last runner, then spotted me and the other guy coming from this direction and we all had a moment of trying to decide what to do, so I briefly stopped, but eventually we all got through. Then, though I couldn’t quite remember it even then, there might have been another brief stop on lap two, because of a misunderstanding. But there definitely was one more at the end of sector two of lap three, just as I was about to check the time. Someone was coming from the opposite direction, on the lane, I think on roller skates, if not on a scooter, a girl on roller skates was also coming, next to the lane, and another was walking, and we all met there and I had to stop for a moment and squeeze through.

The last paragraph above was actually added a little after midnight, since I had only gotten as far as the end of the one before it at that point, so that was what I had to post at first. And at least this does cover the two runs that I wanted to cover in this post, so I eventually decided to leave it like this, though the original plan was to edit it later in order to also add what I did after this run, and also a few things about the next day and the following morning.

I hadn’t seen the news about the official decision to implement ten-point tie-breaks in the final sets of all Grand Slam tournaments a month ago, when I was mentioning tennis as the first bad example while asking whether any sports are moving towards instead of away from endurance, nor even before the start of Roland Garros, so I still expected it to be the one remaining major tournament, but when I checked the results after the first day and saw a final set tie-break, I looked it up and, as soon as I read about that decision, it yet again confirmed what I was saying at the start of 2020.
Of course, few matches end up having long final sets, going past 6-6, but I normally only got interested enough to follow the tournaments where that was a possibility, so once I saw that the very idea was now completely and officially eliminated from the sport, I simply no longer cared. At all. Maybe I glanced over some of the results a couple more times over the course of the entire tournament, but only switched to watch some parts of a few matches when I was in the kitchen and there really wasn’t anything else to watch, otherwise preferring news or even motorsports or TV series that I don’t normally watch. The one exception was the Nadal-Djokovic match, but even that was somewhat of an accident, because I didn’t care enough to check when it was, only happening to see that it had just started when I was looking for something to watch while cooking, and staying there instead of continuing to search for once.
Yes, it’s a little late to post this now, and I meant to post it at the end of the tournament, Sunday, or maybe Monday at the latest, but without forcing myself to at least start writing that personal update before the start of the week, I knew that I’d still be putting it off even now, and then it’d have been weird to post something else until I actually finished that post, which only happened before I went to bed this morning, when I edited it to add the section about June 3. But it’s not like it matters anyway. It’s just a confirmation that a sport died from my point of view, but it had been dying for years because of this push in this direction, and the final nail in the coffin came months ago, along with that decision, Roland Garros only marking the moment when it actually came into effect.

I should probably be writing about the runs that I’m yet to write about, but I have some new books, and also read two that I borrowed from the Library, so I’ll write about the days that include the books instead. I’ll leave the parts that have to do with another order aside for now, however, since it remains to be seen how or if that will work out and I’d rather put all of it in a single section at a later point. But I will mention right here that dad again got back and turned on his computer while I was still connected today. And it wasn’t even a situation that somehow allowed him to say that he didn’t know that I was awake, since I was awake for a while, had been in the kitchen when he left, and then, when I didn’t go out of my room right away, he actually said that he got back and I told him to wait a little, since I was still doing something on-line. But after I did go back to the kitchen and spent maybe a minute glancing at something, I noticed that he was already at the computer, yet when I asked whether he at least waited when I told him to, he said he had and had just turned on the computer then. That was highly unlikely, seeing as he was already using it, but I just walked away, not starting another argument, deciding to just check the logs after he’ll leave… And I did, confirming that he had turned on his computer almost two minutes before I disconnected, so he ignored the fact that I had told him to wait, turned it on immediately after telling me that he was back, and then lied to my face once again.

While the purchases were a few days ago, I’ll start with May 19, when I had to get to the central location of the Library, which is just about at Romana Square, before it closed, at 4 PM, or most preferably before 3:45 PM, since I seem to recall that you can’t borrow in the last 15 minutes, so I got up when the alarm rang, at 1 PM… But only left at 2:45 PM, so I had less than an hour to get there and therefore ran almost all the way. Didn’t put on the mask, nor the headphones, and almost everything, including the jacket, bags and the backpack that I usually take, was in the other one, since my mother had fixed it a while back.
It wasn’t even 3:25 PM when I got there, thinking that I’ll pretty much just be in and out, since I had reserved the book I had finally decided to borrow the day before. But the catalog had stopped being accessible seconds after I had made that reservation, and it wasn’t just a problem with the public catalog, the guy who asked whether he could help me with anything saying that the system was down and he couldn’t see what I had reserved, nor where it should be. The fact that he needed the system for this last part struck me as odd, since librarians should know where books should be according to the system used to arrange them, but it’s also possible that he was a volunteer. Either way, since the book’s in English, he at least knew which room it should be in, so we both went in there and started searching, but he assumed that it was a fiction book, never even asking, and therefore kept searching through that section while I was looking through others, though I couldn’t find biographies, where it seemed most likely to be. It was only after I told him that it was written by an environmental activist that he realized he was looking in the wrong place, but even though I also mentioned that it should probably be among biographies he said that it should be in the natural sciences section, where I had already looked, and neither went nor pointed me towards biographies, just seeming rather at a loss. But I had spotted and grabbed two other books by then, so I said that I’ll take those and leave that one for another time, and he just wrote my pass number and the titles on a slip of paper, not even telling me when they were due. And when I mentioned that the system seems to keep failing, he agreed and said that it was because of hardware problems and lack of funds… And the catalog is still down even now.
I walked out of there at 3:35 PM, only putting the books in the backpack and the headphones on after I was outside. Then I went to Obor, managing to use that route that Google Maps claims to be the shortest without getting confused at all and entering the part of the market where those stores are a little before 4:25 PM, after putting on the mask as I approached that area. I mainly wanted cat litter, but first had a quick look around and spotted another place that had those awfully cheap “perfumes” that dad uses for an even lower price than the one I had bought him two from before, so after getting the two bags of cat litter I went back there and got him two more, albeit both of them of the same kind, since that guy just had one of the two kinds that dad had told me to look for. Then I looked around a little more, but didn’t get anything else, the two places that had some cheese that I was looking for keeping it in poor conditions, outside of the refrigerated area, in one case actually on a shelf, the cheese itself also looking bad in that case, while in the other place I saw flies on and around it. So I eventually made my way to the exit, stopping before going back outside in order to try to put one of the bags of cat litter in the backpack, but after struggling with it for a while I had to give up and just put it in the sturdier bag I had, probably in order to feel that I at least did something in that time, since the bags of cat litter have handles and, after all, I was holding the other one like that.
After a quick look through the outdoor part of the farmers’ market, I went to Carrefour, used that machine to exchange a bill for coins in order to put my things in a cabinet, and just had a look in there as well, without getting anything. Then, after initially opening that cabinet, I just put that sturdier bag in there as well and closed it again, leaving everything in it while I also went to Kaufland and bought a few things. Then I went right back to the farmers’ market, but to the indoor part, and while I thought that things would be more expensive there than outside, I found one person who had cabbage at a good price and a few who had cheap apples, so I bought a cabbage and apples from two places.
After returning to the mall and retrieving my things from the cabinet, I sat on a bench and spent quite some time struggling to arrange everything in the bags and backpacks, finally walking out of there just after 7:25 PM, stopping to start the music again… And having a guy ask what was I doing with that mask on. I ignored him at first, but he came closer and started speaking louder and gesturing, probably noticing the headphones, telling me that it’s done with the mask, it’s not used anymore, so I said that it’s no longer required, not forbidden. He agreed with that and stepped back to the other guys he was with, but then asked why was I wearing it, whether it was because I was afraid of COVID, seeming to lose interest and leaving me alone after I said “not necessarily”.
Then I walked back, just stopping twice in order to arrange the regular backpack, which I had in the front, with a bag of cat litter in it, since those rope straps were digging into my shoulders. Also crouched down the two times when I had to stop at stoplights, but those moments harmed instead of helping, that backpack’s position getting messed up when I stood back up. Still, it wasn’t even 8:20 PM when I got back, having carried 21.5 kg. Then I put away what I had brought, made and ate some grated apples with sugar, and then made mamaliga again and stuffed myself at night.

I started What If? on May 23 and finished it on May 27, when I also wrote the quick review. As for Attached, I started it on June 1 and finished it yesterday, just barely managing to post what was a very rushed first draft of the quick review before midnight, that being necessary in order to have a first post of the week, and then editing it heavily at night. And this seems to have taken me to 200 reviews, even if the vast majority are just this kind of quick ones, and 250 books marked as read on Goodreads.

Skipping to this Thursday, June 2, the alarm was set to ring at 1 PM, but I was up at 12:45 PM, after sleeping badly. I had felt strange while eating dinner, ear ringing and pressure also appearing suddenly at that time, then had a hard time falling asleep, happened to wake up a little before 7:30 AM, found myself having to deal with something having to do with the other order, then peed and tried to go back to sleep, woke up again at some point after dad did, then napped a bit more, woke up yet again at 11:35 AM, peed one more time, just in case, again took a long time to get back to sleep… Something I ate also didn’t seem to sit well, there was rumbling in my abdomen and a strange taste in my mouth, and I just managed to have another brief nap before waking up one more time and getting up. And, after an apple and another piece of the pie dad had brought from my mother, I decided to also have lunch, considering how much I was going to walk. I still felt strange, my ears were still ringing, I felt pressure not just there but also in my head, and a headache seemed to be coming, but Bookfest was taking place again and I was going to go, walking all the way.
I left at 3:10 PM, having tried to learn the slightly shorter route recommended by Google Maps and also having a screenshot with the part after Victory Square. The route to Victory Square was also different than the one I usually use, but I didn’t think that I’d have problems with that part and that was proven correct, as was the fact that it was indeed slightly shorter as well, since I got there in an hour and ten minutes without jogging. And, while I then did check that screenshot a few times, I actually think that I’d have likely managed to go all the way even without it, since it just served to prove that what I thought was probably the way to go whenever I was uncertain actually was. Then again, being able to confirm in such a manner calmed me down each time, so it’s possible that I’d have started panicking at some point without it, and then things could have gone quite badly. As it was, probably the only other thing to mention would be that I very briefly checked a little store I passed by at one point, even if I didn’t have a mask on. And yes, I was feeling much better by then, despite the heat and the long walk, that strange feeling having actually started to go away soon after I went out.
Since I had taken tea with me, I drank part of it once I got there, before entering, and went in a little after 5:05 PM, though I then needed a few minutes to put on the mask, which didn’t seem to want to sit properly at first. After managing to deal with that, I started wandering around, ignoring all the stands that I wasn’t interested in but ending up checking out one much sooner than I thought I would, since I had never heard of them but noticed that they had fantasy books by Romanian authors and ended up reading some back covers, even though I’m yet to see any evidence that Romanian authors can write the kind of fantasy that I’d be interested in. It may also have to do with the very idea of reading fantasy in Romanian, which goes way beyond the issues I have with reading in Romanian in general, the language simply seeming to be entirely wrong for the genre, making any attempt sound like a children’s story, and what I saw then only reinforced that opinion, so I quickly moved on and found the first stand that I was actually looking for… Only to find that it wasn’t what I was looking for anymore. While they’re in English, that publisher just seems to have educational and speciality books and some classics, yet they always seemed to have a partnership with an on-line store from here, and that store was bringing some interesting books, but this time around there was no sign of that partnership anymore, so it just seemed to be that publisher and their books, in a much smaller stand. I did mean to ask whether there was any fantasy that I was missing, but even though I also got back there later, I couldn’t get myself to say anything, and it didn’t seem like it’d be worth the effort anyway. And since I already knew that the store that I used to prefer to buy from didn’t participate this year for some reason, my hopes of finding anything interesting were dashed.
That changed when I spotted another publisher that I had never heard of, but which had books in English. There were also some children’s books, in Romanian, but the vast majority were in English and the large majority of those were in boxes, separated according to price, and those from one shelf also had the same price, and those were really low prices, so I had a good look and kept the place in mind. And then I found a second place to keep in mind, but that had nothing to do with books, since I’m referring to a woman who was selling sweets, and I considered buying something from her before leaving. On the other hand, the stand of the publisher that I know as focusing on fantasy by Romanian authors just served to reinforce that opinion that I already mentioned even more. I’d have still spent some more time there, reading some more back covers, maybe even a few pages, but it was a tiny stand and the guy who was there stood up as soon as I approached and likely meant to say something. He didn’t, possibly because I had the headphones on, and the music was actually loud, to drown out the noise, plus that I made a point of not even glancing towards him, and the fact that I was among the very few who had a mask might have played a role as well, but I was feeling his eyes on me and he was standing right next to me, I couldn’t even reach some of the books because of that, so I just checked a couple and left.
As I continued on my way, I saw a place where they were serving people, apparently at the end of a book launch. They had plenty of sweets, some small pretzels, and even bottles of wine, and some people were gathering and just grabbing something. The few plastic plates ran out quickly, before I could get myself to take one, but I spotted those mini meringues that I used to like and hadn’t had in a long time, albeit an even smaller version, and that made me get the courage to reach in and grab one. Then I took a napkin, to at least wipe my hands a little, and after that it was easier, so I grabbed a few more things, and also had a quick look at their books even if I had no interest, feeling that I should at least do that much before walking away. And a little later I spotted one more place where they had some candy and was thinking of grabbing some of those as well, but I really had no interest in their books, so I passed by that stall several times but eventually gave up, since it didn’t seem like I’ll be able to take any without doing so right under someone’s eyes. However, I eventually grabbed a few more things from that first place, when I got back there while making sure that I had covered the entire area and checked everything, and the older woman who had seemed to just be there to take food the first time around was gathering what was left and she immediately invited me to take more. Whether that invitation was honest or rather ironic, I’m not sure, and I also don’t know whether she was actually working for them or had simply stayed after most of the others had left and was perhaps about to take what was left for herself, in which case maybe sharing with someone else would have actually made her feel better about it. But I just said that I had taken enough, repeating that when she told me to at least take a napkin and quickly walking away.
After I was sure that I had really checked everything and there was nothing else that I’d be interested in, I returned to those who had the cheap books in English and had another thorough look, first spotting a book which I had somehow missed the first time and picking it up, then also taking the one which had somewhat grabbed my attention what I had first looked. After I finished looking through all the others, I read the back covers and the first page of those two, then also glanced at a few random pages, and eventually decided to put that second one back, since it seemed less likely to be something that I’d enjoy and it was also hardcover and a little less cheap than the other one. I thought that I had memorized the title, in order to look it up later, just in case, but that was apparently not the case, since I can’t find it when I search for the title that I seem to recall or any similar one.
I did actually purchase the other one, however, albeit after first going with it to the guy and asking if he knew whether it was from a series. If it’d have had the cover that now shows up for the Goodreads entry, I’d have ignored it, as I ignored others that were clearly part of a series and not the first, but while there was a list of other books by that author, split into three groups, and it was the second in its group, only one of the groups was actually listed as a series, and there was no indication that it was a sequel anywhere else, so I was uncertain… And remained so even after asking, since he said that he had no idea and couldn’t check, saying that they don’t have those books in a database when I tried to press, and I couldn’t get myself to ask whether he could check on-line, on his phone. Still, I said that, at that price, I’ll risk it, he asked which box I had gotten it from, I told him and bought it, refusing the bag he offered but asking whether I could take a piece of candy, since he had some as well, then saying that I’ll take two and doing so after he said that of course I could.
After stuffing the candy in a pocket, I stopped a few steps away, to put the book first in the bag that I had taken just for this purpose and then in the backpack, and then made my way to the exit, albeit first stopping at the information desk, since I was still surprised that I hadn’t seen another publisher which I had expected to find, so I wanted to check the list of participants to make sure that they really weren’t there. But they really weren’t, so I was out at 6:55 PM, then ate that candy and, before leaving that area, also finished the tea.

This is as far as I got at first, and seeing as the plan was to make mamaliga again tonight, I’d have actually wanted to stop earlier, but it’d have been quite pointless to post this without at least getting to the end of the part about the book fair. And I’ll also mention here that, as I was walking away from the computer, I accidentally hit the plastic thing that’s I guess supposed to strengthen the corner of my bed and the middle part of it snapped off. But it was probably cracked for a long time, and I doubt it makes much of a difference anyway. So, to get back to the post, I’ll add that I wrote most of the rest of the part about June 2 before going to bed and, after waking up at one point during the morning, decided to finish and post it instead of getting right back to bed. As for the part about June 3, I just managed to finish that as well and post it before going to bed Wednesday morning, at which point I also finally changed the time of the post to 11:59 PM. I should also mention, however, that this last part is probably less complete and accurate than I’d like, since I didn’t really have notes about that day either.

Since we needed toilet paper, the kind we use was on sale at Kaufland and dad had been unable to find any the day before, the next destination was Kaufland, the question being which one. But the original plan was to first try the one from Tei, which is right next to the first location of that pharmacy, if I’ll leave the fair at 7 PM or earlier, since I don’t normally get there and could also get the tea that was left to get for dad and toothpaste and dental floss for myself without making a special trip to another location of Tei, so that was where I went, using another route which I had tried to memorize and had also taken a screenshot of. And I again managed to get there just fine, even though that route included areas which I had never reached before, at least as far as I recall. It was somewhat uncomfortable, however, since I didn’t take the old shoes anymore, despite having to walk such a long distance, and my feet were getting rubbed in some areas, so in Herastrau I sat down on a bench and tried to see what was going on, removing some lint from one shoe, in the spot causing the worst problem, actually seeming to help a fair bit, though some problems remained. And before exiting Herastrau I also had a quick look at an event that I happened to pass by, wondering what was going on.
It was a few minutes before 8 PM when I reached the pharmacy, and I decided to put my backpack in a cabinet even though I just had that book in there, so nothing that could be seen as having been taken from there… And that proved to be a problem, because I forgot that I had also thrown the money in the backpack, so I grabbed the teas and toothpaste and dental floss, then realized that I didn’t have the money on me and had to leave the items on a shelf, walk out, get the money from the cabinet, go back in, retrieve the items, then finally purchase them, retrieve my backpack, stuff them in there and continue on my way.
Still, that didn’t take long, and I was in that Kaufland a little before 8:25 PM, after once again putting the backpack in a cabinet… And realizing that a digit had already been pressed, so the code for the lock started with a digit that I didn’t know and I kept trying until I found it, then locked it again and entered, noticing that some evening discounts seemed to already apply. I had no time for them, however, starting to search for that toilet paper right away… And not finding it, nor even an empty area where it should have been. So I searched all around, in case it was in a different place, but all I could find was a torn pack of 16 in a basket where employees were probably gathering such items. The packs of eight were the ones on sale, but I nevertheless took that one in order to check its price… Only to notice that the tear was right on the bar code, so it couldn’t be scanned, which was likely why it had been left there. But as I was looking for a scanner, there was an announcement just about the discount for that toilet paper, so after trying and failing to check the price of that pack of 16 I looked for an employee and asked about that toilet paper that was just announced, but she said that they probably ran out, and when I said that I didn’t even find an empty spot she said that her coworkers had probably filled it with something else. And that exchange repeated itself when I asked a second employee as well, so I didn’t look for anything else to buy and didn’t lose any more time, walking out… And finding that the problem with the lock had somehow caused me to enter a wrong code when I locked it again, so I needed a moment to figure out what I had entered, and then took a little more time to try to arrange the purchases from the pharmacy a little better in the backpack.
Nevertheless, around 8:45 PM I was starting on my way to Obor. It was too late to just walk there, however, and those purchases were digging into my back, making running too uncomfortable, so after taking the backpack off and just walking with it in my hand for a little while, I found a spot to set it down and actually arrange its contents properly, allowing me to put it back on and jog most of the way to that Kaufland. That route was also one which I had never used before, but I had actually prepared for it, including by taking a screenshot, long ago, and I again managed to get there well enough. There was one spot where I initially missed a turn, but realized that something was wrong almost immediately and got back on the intended route after checking the screenshot, and either way I noticed later that I’d have ended up in the same place even if I’d have taken that turn at the end of that road.
That way, it was only a little after 9:10 PM when I reached that Kaufland, then I once again put the backpack in a cabinet, peed and washed my hands, and once again first went to look for that toilet paper. And I did find the spot where it should have been, but that was all I found, since it was empty, and when I asked an employee whether it could be found anywhere else she said no. I also pointed out that the sale had only started the day before, but she said that yes, it had started the day before, and it runs out right away, considering the price. So I just got a few other things, since it was far too late to try to reach one more location that evening, and was just retrieving the backpack from the cabinet at 10 PM, a guy asking me for the time right at that point and the announcement that the store had closed coming seconds after I looked and told him that it was exactly 10 PM.
After arranging the purchases, I walked out a few minutes later… Only for dad to then send me an SMS to ask me to get some of that cheese that he keeps giving Micky. It was 10:07 PM when I received it, obviously too late, and an SMS also meant that I couldn’t react, so at first I just meant to ignore it, but then I decided to make a tiny detour to a Mega Image that stayed open later, putting the bag, but not also the backpack, in a cabinet and checking the price of the cheapest cheese of that kind, since that was what dad had bought before anyway. And it actually turned out to be cheaper than the cheapest kind that I had seen in Kaufland, so I bought a pack. Also took the time to take out the exact change in coins, albeit not also the exact amount in bills, but the cashier pushed the four 0.01 RON coins back towards me, saying that she had nothing to do with those, and looked at me expectantly until I said that in that case I should give her a little more, adding a 0.05 RON coin, to round up a little. And the three 1 RON bills that she gave me as change included one that was completely torn in two and put back together with sticky tape. It was a good job, however, and I didn’t even notice before walking away, at which point I couldn’t get myself to get back and say something about it anymore.
I was finally back at 11:15 PM, after having walked what Google Maps says were 21.5 km, not including wandering around at Bookfest and through stores, so around 25 km seems like a fair estimate for the total, out of which I jogged perhaps some two kilometers or so. Then I put the purchases in their place and, if I remember correctly, just had an orange before going to shower, then managed to stick to the dinner schedule. It was almost 5:20 AM when I finally went to bed, however. But at least my blood pressure seemed fine, since the way I had felt made me check it after getting back and, if that device works properly, it was 116/77.

The toilet paper was still a problem, but since we weren’t going to actually run out at least until Saturday and dad said that he won’t need the metro card on either of the two days, I planned to rest on Friday and go out again on Saturday, checking as many Kaufland locations as I could reach by metro, if necessary. But waiting one more day was going to make it even harder to find any, so I allowed for the possibility of going out again right away if I was going to happen to wake up Friday morning, so after just a few hours of sleep, and not feel completely crushed. And that was exactly what happened, since I woke up a little after 8:30 AM, felt like I could go, got up and started getting ready… And a little later I again had to deal with something having to do with that other order. Then I took the recyclables and what I take to Kaufland and left a couple of minutes after 11 AM, dropping off the recyclables in a bin on the way and those other things after reaching the first Kaufland.
I had quite a plan, having looked up even some Kaufland locations that I had never been to before, because they’re close, or relatively close, to metro stations, so I could reach them that day if I had to… But I fortunately didn’t need to, finding that toilet paper in the first one, which I walked to, so I didn’t need the metro card for that part of the day at all. It’s likely that it had been restocked in the morning, because seven packs were left, I took three and an older woman was just taking the rest when I got back there after wandering around a little. I had thought about getting more, but couldn’t quite make up my mind, so I decided to give others the opportunity to get the rest before making a decision, and that woman made things simpler… And she also indirectly let me know that the price of bananas was at a level that I’d normally associate with an evening discount, because after I first got in line I decided to walk away and have a look at another area where expiring products are, and at that point she passed by me, talking on the phone and telling someone that she had bought toilet paper and bananas, specifying the price of both. So I went to grab some bananas as well, since they were very good, and many of them green, then went back to the self-checkouts… Only to see that the sour cream that I had also picked up had a slightly higher price than the listed one. I normally use price checkers, but that time I didn’t, and I also didn’t complain at that point, just paying… And also somehow forgetting to take the coins given as change, despite even having another look around, trying to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything. At least it was a small amount, and it made me actively search for coins and probably recover it after that, but it’s probably an indication of how tired I was.
Since it was still so early, I used the other route to get back, to also check the Carrefour from the park, putting the purchases in a cabinet, peeing and washing my hands, but not finding anything to buy, so I then retrieved those purchases, got back here a little before 1:25 PM… And left again at 1:40 PM. That was because I had four more books to pick up, after ordering them before going to bed in the morning. I started by searching for the book I had purchased, finding that it was in fact part of a series, and the second one in it, but also that a used books store from here that has a lot of books in English has a copy of the first, so I ordered that, but also one more, after looking through what they had for a low enough price and deciding that it seemed interesting enough. And, since I was at it, these two books were cheaper there and they also offer the option to pick up orders for free, I also ordered The Tower of Fools and The Blacktongue Thief, the latter being a book I had found interesting enough after checking Goodreads recommendations recently, from Nautilus… A full decade after the last time I bought something from there.
I did consider returning to Carrefour first, if dad was interested in something I had seen among the expiring products, but he said he wasn’t, so I went straight to this metro station, since I had his metro card and had walked so much the day before… And, just as I was crossing the road to get there, I spotted a 1 RON bill on the street, which made up for anything lost in Kaufland a few times over. Then I took the metro to Victory Square, walked to Nautilus, picked up the order and also had a look at some of the other books that were there. Yes, the space was just as cramped as I remembered it, but just one person was working there and he left me alone after I said that I wanted to have a look, and of course my social anxiety is much more under control than it was ten years ago, and the headphones and mask also help quite a lot, so while I didn’t feel comfortable, it wasn’t nearly as bad as what I was writing back then.
After returning to the metro station, I went to Unirii, going to that Carrefour as well… And on the way I noticed that the place that I had bought some sweets from back in November was closed, I hope not for good, since I’d like to get something else from there someday, either when I’ll really want to reward myself for something or when my parents will want sweets again, maybe for their birthdays. Either way, in that location I knew that I can usually find that bread, unsliced, and that was indeed the case, so after taking three and checking their weight I settled on one, then also found two bio (organic) eggs that weren’t cracked among those sold by piece and took those as well, along with some roes and some cheese with sour cream.
Well, that last product was a problem, because its listed price was lower than what it had been in the other location, and while sometimes price differences do exist between different locations, it wasn’t actually the case there, since I used a price checker and saw that higher price. But they do say that, if the listed price is lower, they will return the difference, so I looked for an employee, told her what the problem was and she confirmed that in that case I’ll be charged that lower price. Then I spotted another, who was actually just in that area, as I was on my way to the checkout, and she was more hesitant, first saying that they’ll fix the price label, then asking whether I had their app, but eventually, and halfheartedly, also saying that I should be offered the listed price. So I also took a picture of the price label, picked the checkout that’s right in front of the sign announcing that they’ll return the difference, and told the cashier that I’ll need to make use of that, showing her the picture, which seemed to be enough, as she didn’t call anyone to check. However, when I had calculated the total, I had somehow only added one egg instead of two, and had only taken out the exact amount, so when she told me the actual total I had to get some more money, and the bills were in the backpack and the coins in a small bag, making me feel even more embarrassed for holding up the line. And I also handed her a rusty 0.10 RON coin that I had found on the floor in Park Lake, before entering that Carrefour, and she asked whether I thought that the next customer would accept that, so I asked whether she wanted another and she said she would, if I had one, pointedly adding that she had given me that difference.
I then took quite some time to arrange the purchases in the backpack, just leaving the bread in that bag that I can hang from my neck, and then also went to that used books store. The notification that I could pick up that order as well had arrived after I left, so I hadn’t seen it, but decided to just go there and ask, getting everything done that day. It was somewhat odd that one of the girls who was there stopped me when I was about to leave and asked to see the receipt they had just given me, saying that she needed the number, which I assumed would be recorded by the system, but I just showed it to her and then walked out, stopping at the first bench and taking quite some time to check that there were no missing pages and rearrange everything in the backpack yet again, in order to make all the books fit, along with the purchases, with the exception of that bread.
I got back here a little before 5:30 PM, but since dad said that he wanted to cook that day and hadn’t even started, I ended up only having lunch in the evening, just before he left, and everything I had to do in the kitchen led to only starting to eat dinner a little after 3:30 AM, and it was an hour later when I finished, since I decided to at least take it easy, since sticking to the schedule was out of the question. And I’ll also mention here that there were no visits recorded in either view on June 3.