Cav's Place

Since I went out this evening and now I’m watching the Nations’ League final, this is another post that was initially just a placeholder, limited to this first paragraph, but since the previous one ended when the start was given, I can at least mention that advancing to that sector meant for those aiming to finish in less than 1:45, even if I didn’t quite enter it, didn’t just help my start time, which was 48 seconds, but also made the first kilometer seem somewhat less crowded than it usually is, since the entrances were at the front of the sectors, so only a pretty small number of those from that sector and those supposedly aiming to finish in less than 1:20 started ahead of me. So my time on that first kilometer, which was 5:02, could have been even better. But I was quite pleased with 5:05 on the second kilometer, which includes that climb, on which I took it easy. And, just to show how long I held on to that wrapping from that expired energy bar that I ate just before the start, I’m pretty sure that it was after that climb when I finally threw it in a bin, because that was the first time I passed by some that were within easy reach and facing the street… Which, of course, is a problem under normal circumstances, since they should be easy to use for people who walk on the sidewalk, but it was good for me at that point, and I actually saw another runner who was close to me throw something in one as well. Either way, with that climb out of the way, I then tried to push more… Only to end up covering the third kilometer in that same 5:05, which made it clear that even staying under 1:50 was going to be difficult, seeing as that required averaging 5:10 per kilometer all the way to the end. Still, the following two kilometers, until the first refreshment point, were better, 4:54 and 4:57.
While I otherwise pushed on the sixth kilometer, it was still surprising to see that I covered it in 4:54 as well, since it started with a refreshment point and I also angrily threw the banana peel in front of the Russian embassy and flipped them off as I ran past. But, since I got to refreshment points, I’ll mention that I took a cup of that other drink and a banana piece at each of the regular ones, but ignored the only additional one, which was on the eighth kilometer and offered water and, if I remember correctly, Coca Cola, which struck me as a particularly bad idea. And I didn’t see any gels or bars or any other such things at any of the regular points, and there definitely was no additional one managed by the nutrition sponsor. And I’ll also mention here that after one of the refreshment points I meant to throw the empty cup in a bin but wasn’t right next to it and another runner passed me on that side just then, so I ended up hitting him with it and apologized. I think that it happened after the second, but there is also a chance that it was actually the last one, I couldn’t quite remember by the time I got back and wrote some notes. And now I’m thinking that it’s not entirely impossible that it was the third. The second seems the most likely and the third the least, but I only clearly remember that it was on the right side, and only the first one was on the left.

On May 10, after waking up in the afternoon, I finally finished The Dark Defiles, then tried to sleep some more, but despite staying in bed until a few minutes before 5:30 PM and being in that state that’s in between asleep and awake for most of those more than two hours, I really doubt that I caught any more actual sleep, or if I did then it couldn’t have been for more than mere seconds. Either way, later I had a lunch that probably wasn’t as big as in previous years, wrote the quick review, and at 10:50 PM I started working on dinner, also making the tea for the morning during that time. I ate dinner between 12:50 AM and 1:30 AM, with peanut butter on all of the bread but without beets in the salad, since I hadn’t found discounted ones and hadn’t bothered to buy any at full price. And during that time I also saw that no visits had been recorded on May 10. Either way, I then went to the toilet one more time and then got everything ready for the morning, also taking one of those pills against gas. I had initially meant to get in bed at 3:30 AM and it was close to that time when everything else was done, and I had said that if I won’t have time then I won’t shave, but in the end I decided to do that as well, after removing that part of the brush that was coming off, since I hadn’t gotten around to try to glue it back after finally finding that glue that I knew we still had. But at least I shaved really quickly, if admittedly not too well… And then I realized that I couldn’t remember what emergency contact number I had written on the back of the bib, and when I checked I saw that I had written mine instead of dad’s. But at least I could correct that without taking the bib off the t-shirt, and I finally got in bed at 3:55 AM.
Despite the earlier hour and the various noises coming from the upstairs neighbor, I managed to fall asleep after a while, but a couple of minutes before 5 AM I was awake again and rather needed to pee, so I did that and then managed to get back to sleep quickly. And when I woke up again I saw that it was 6:11 AM, and with the alarm being set to ring at 6:15 AM, I just turned it off and got up, then ate an imported bio (organic) apple, mixed one of those cheap yogurts, since I hadn’t bothered to buy anything better, with the cereals, raisins in dark chocolate and baked almonds with Himalayan salt which I had already placed in the bowl, and ate that as well, took all of the supplements, except the second pills of the iron, which I took with me, and that one for joints, which I left for later, basically wasted some time on the toilet, which I didn’t consider much of a problem after having gone after dinner, put a flimsy bag and the napkins, garlic, liquid magnesium, Smecta Go and expired bar and gel in the pocket of my tights, also ate two of those wheat things, with bio (organic) honey both between and on them, took a regular Smecta with some of the tea and one more of those pills against gas, and left just before 8 AM, wearing the full running gear and one armband, dad driving me to the metro station and giving me his metro card. The temperature was supposed to be about 12°C at 9 AM, which was the start time of the half marathon, and about 15°C at 11 AM.
I realized in the car that I still had a bag in the jacket’s pocket and meant to leave it with dad, but I forgot to do so and that ended up being a great thing later. Either way, I then took the metro, got off at Izvor, and reached Constitution Square just before 8:30 AM, having a quick look around the area but not seeing anything being given away that I could get, so after just doing a few stretching moves on my own, it wasn’t even 8:40 AM when I stuffed the jacket and phone in the bag and went to drop it off at the wardrobe, the line moving quickly and the volunteer seeing that I had pinned a piece of paper with my number on the bag, giving me a thumbs up and passing it on right away, without having to write the number on one of those labels that they were sticking to the straps. And then, after taking the last iron pill, I went to the toilets and picked what looked to be one of the shorter lines… Only for someone to spend a long time in the toilet that it was for, so the wait ended up being longer than it’d have been if I’d have picked pretty much any other line and making me have to rush to the starting area… And on the way I also saw that hardly anyone was waiting at the toilets that were closer to it, though the start time was approaching and I obviously can’t know how it’d have been if I’d have gone straight there.
Though the assigned sector still wasn’t printed on the bibs, the starting area was split into sectors and I had initially decided to take my correct place, in the one for times between 1:45:00 and 1:59:59, knowing that I was in no shape to get below 1:45. But I also knew that I needed every help I could get to even stay under 1:50 and a good start time might make all the difference, so when I actually got there I changed my mind and kept going, walking to the entrance to the sector meant for times between 1:20:00 and 1:44:59. And that’s actually the first time I saw such a sector, so far the sector for times below 1:45 coming right after the small one for the elite athletes, so it can still be said that I didn’t push my way into the first sector that amateurs can access… And I actually didn’t push my way into that sector either before the start, since a number of people were crowded at the entrance, with no room to actually enter, so I rushed to eat that expired energy bar while standing among them, just managing to finish it before the start, though I then held on to the wrapping for quite some time.

I’d normally consider stopping here, using a post to write only about what happened until the start, as a complete waste of a personal “slot”, but this time it’s different, because this post is more of a way to announce that, earlier this evening, close to eight months after the fact, almost five after posting what was initially just a placeholder, and four after making the previous additions, I finally, finally finished the second post about last year’s marathon, getting to the point when I crossed the finish line. Of course, after so long and with so few notes to go on, the result is relatively poor in specific details, and that’s even more frustrating when that’s my most important run and likely to be the best performance I’ll ever achieve in any “official” way. But at least it’s finally there, in some form, and if I’ll remember anything else or somehow find that I wrote or said something back then that I somehow failed to find again so far, I can always make more edits.

I can’t write about other runs until I somehow manage to write about this year’s half marathon, so I’ll just mention that on Thursday I ran a half marathon distance with a surprisingly good time, then jogged another kilometer and a half or so in the evening and got in bed at 6:15 AM in the morning… And a little after 11:50 AM I got up, after some brief drilling from upstairs. But I had actually woken up earlier, I’m not sure whether because of another brief moment of drilling or because dad had gotten up and was getting ready to leave, and I also don’t know what time it was when that happened and when, or even if, I got back to sleep after that. But just before 12:20 PM I did get back in bed, since there was no more drilling and the forecast listed rain and storms, and moments later it actually did start raining heavily, so I delayed the decision about what to do that day. But when I woke up again, just after 2:05 PM, I decided to have lunch, with part of a large bag of salty bagels instead of bread, and start getting ready to go to Bookfest if it won’t keep raining heavily even later, even if it likely meant being there until closing time and then being unable to go anywhere else… Only to see quite a storm around 4 PM and forecasts changing to list rain continuing for the next couple of hours, which made me pretty much give up on the idea of going… Only to change my mind again when I saw that, around 4:40 PM, only a light rain was left. And then dad also got back just as I was getting ready to leave, so I could take the metro card, leaving at 5:30 PM, with two bakery products that I was thinking of giving away and a small bag of trash that I dropped down the chute.
After picking up a couple of recyclables, I took the metro to Aviatorilor… And then got confused, which keeps happening, so I yet again ended up going in wrong directions and back and forth, and going back to the metro station and checking both exits didn’t help in any way because I couldn’t find any map. But at least I saw another rainbow during that time. And, after walking back out from the same exit a full half an hour after the first time I had done that, I finally figured things out and jogged part of the way, finally walking in a few minutes before 7 PM, so pretty much exactly one hour after walking off the metro.
After peeing and washing my hands, I took a map of the place and wandered around, pretty much avoiding the large publishers and doing my best to check all of the places that I could have any sort of interest in… Which were fewer than in previous years, especially when it comes to books in English, which were only sold in a few places and none had anything that I was interested in. Admittedly, I didn’t mean to buy anything from there this year anyway, but I was unpleasantly surprised when I found that some of those that I had made purchases from before didn’t even attend and I kept thinking that I must have missed something, and that the fact that I didn’t spot names that I remembered in the list that was on the back of the map might have been caused by the fact that I had forgotten them and didn’t know what to look for, so I wished I’d have thought to take a pen with me, to cross out all of the areas that I had checked and see whether anything was left. But I eventually went to an area that was meant for children and used a marker that was left on one of the tables to cross out where I was sure that I had been, after which I went back to what was left… Only to realize that I had checked those places as well, but had simply forgotten the names. So the only thing I grabbed were two nice candies from the handful that were left on a table that was in the corner of one of the areas, and I walked out just after 8:50 PM, leaving that map at one of the information desks and only later realizing that it couldn’t have been given to someone else after I had used that marker on it.
I took it easy on the way back, also taking the time to pick up recyclables, but while I did mean to get back to Aviatorilor, it’s probably not surprising that I once again got confused… But that didn’t really bother me, so I realized pretty much right away that something was wrong but just kept going, and when it was clear that I was actually on my way to Victory Square it was pretty much a relief. And I actually reached that metro station 50 minutes after walking out of the fair, so it took me about ten minutes less than it had taken me to get there from Aviatorilor. And one thing that worked out well was that I was looking for some paper towels that are apparently only discounted in Carrefour Market, not the hypermarket as well, at least unless the fact that they’re listed in that catalog is an error, it wasn’t 10 PM yet, and I thought that there is one at Victory Square, but it’s on the other side, so I didn’t see it and forgot about that at that point, heading straight for the metro station… And now I realize that I was misremembering and that’s actually a Carrefour Express, so I’d have likely just wasted even more time if I’d have gone all around that area to get to it.
Either way, I then took the metro to Unirii and before reaching that Carrefour I gave one of the bakery products to a man who was begging in that area… And he asked whether I had 1 RON, so I frowned and walked away, but at least I did my part, giving something. And then I put my things in a cabinet, went to wash my hands, and just got a nice chocolate and two buns that had the 50% evening discount, the second one appearing there when I went back to the bakery area, since there had certainly been just one the first time around. And the discounted bakery products were bagged and labeled individually, just like at Obor, even though they hadn’t been doing that in that location before. On the other hand, while two sweet pastries that I’d have been interested in were also left, those weren’t bagged, and I asked the employee and she said that they weren’t discounted. And I didn’t find what I had mainly gone there for either, for my mother. But at least that chocolate meant that I could use the remaining voucher received for previous purchases at the self-checkout, and it resulted in receiving another one… And one of the employees came and looked in my bag while I was scanning. Either way, then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, arranged everything and went back to the metro station.
After getting off at Dristor, picking up some more recyclables and peeling the label off what was just the upper half of another, I also went to that non-stop Mega Image, putting my things in two cabinets and finding that some bakery products were discounted by 90% in that location as well, so the fact that those sweet pastries weren’t discounted at Carrefour worked out for the better. Admittedly, only a few products with that discount were left at that Mega Image, but I could get two of them… Or, more exactly, two bags, since one contained a sweet pastry, but the other contained three mini croissants… Yet it only had two labels on it, and the cashier scanned it like that, so I got one for free. Or got them with a 93% discount, if you prefer. However, I didn’t get a receipt, since the cashier seemed to have problems with the printer and I didn’t wait, just retrieving my things, arranging once again and making my way back, having a bag that was pretty much full of recyclables by the time I got here.
I got back at 12:05 AM, then ate an apple, the “proper” sweet pastry from Mega Image and the rest of that bag of bagels, washed what was in the kitchen, put the purchases in their place, and it was almost 1:40 AM when I went to wash and 2:10 AM when I was done. But then I spent some time in my room, only going back to the kitchen at 2:30 AM and eating dinner between 4:25 AM and 5:05 AM. And then, after cleaning up after Liza vomited, which was unsurprising since dad had brought her fresh grass, and rubbing cream on both my feet and my hands, I got in bed at 6:25 AM. I was so exhausted, and a stranger thing was that I kept feeling as if something was moving on me…

Considering that exhaustion, I didn’t want to get up to watch the Formula E race, scheduling it to be recorded instead, but I happened to wake up to pee before it finished, so after doing that I had a look and saw that it was lap 28 of 29, yet the recording was set to continue for another half an hour, so I wanted to stop it after the end of the race, even though the TV tuner’s software makes it tricky to stop scheduled recordings early and I made it even worse by closing it again, since I didn’t want to see the end of the race when I meant to watch the full recording later and it didn’t cross my mind to just look away, the result being that when I opened it again it asked whether I wanted to resume or restart watching the recording, so I tried both, closing it and opening it again after picking something, and not quite knowing how to stop the recording, until I messed everything up by just closing that prompt, which caused the program to hang and I forced it to close, then finally canceled the scheduled recording after I opened it again, but the result was that the recording was corrupted… And that also made me wonder whether anything else might have gotten messed up, so after checking the logs and seeing another one of those warnings about the display driver, which makes it likely that the TV tuner’s software had caused those previous ones as well, if I actually was at the computer at that point, I rebooted.
Well, when I checked things after it booted back up, I saw that the fan speeds were staying at 50%, or more exactly 49.8%, even though the CPU temperature was above 50°C, so they should have increased. And it’s possible that I had noticed that before, but since it was pretty cold before and the CPU temperature wasn’t an issue, I checked very rarely and didn’t really pay attention, but at that point I tried starting a couple of games, which took the temperature even close to 60°C, and nothing changed. And while at that point I decided that I had lost enough time and got back to sleep, in the afternoon I also turned the computer off and then back on, which tended to fix the issue on the old one, and also checked that the curves were still correct in BIOS, but the situation remained unchanged, or just about unchanged, since after that the fans were reported as being at 50.2%. Admittedly, whether shutting down actually means shutting down when it’s Windows 10 we’re talking about is a question, and I didn’t actually turn off power, but when this happens on both computers despite the very different hardware and even the different operating system version, I wonder if it’s not something caused by PowerChute, since that is a common thing between the two, it’s likely to interfere with power settings, and I only installed that on this computer in January, so when it was colder and, as far as I know, I had switched fully to MilkyWay@home, which doesn’t push temperatures up the way Asteroids@home does, so the issue might not have been obvious so far even if it had appeared back then. Plus that on the old computer it seemed to appear pretty randomly after reboots, even if Windows updates, while those still existed for Windows 7, did seem to make it way more likely. Either way, I haven’t done anything else about it so far, but with temperatures supposed to go well over 30°C next week, I’ll probably need to look into it more.
On the other hand, to get back to what this really started from, since today’s Formula E race was initially brought forward by two hours and then delayed, apparently at first by one and then by one and a half, and I definitely wasn’t going to risk anything again, I set the alarm to ring at 8 AM and found that what was on TV at the time was a recording of yesterday’s race, which at that point was on lap 10, so I got to watch just about two thirds of it after all. And then, seeing that further delay, I set the alarm to ring at 9:30 AM and got back in bed, actually managing to catch another little nap, then watching that race, and then getting back to sleep yet again.

On May 4, after doing the day’s squats and eating lunch, I initially walked out at 6:30 PM, going to vote. Then I came back to take the recyclables with the deposit symbol and the paper, walking out again when it was almost 6:55 PM, dropping off the paper in a recycling bin, putting the recyclables with the deposit symbol, including those picked up on the way and two more that I found right there, in the machine from Kaufland, taking two others that weren’t accepted, then finding two more in the bins that are in front of the entrance, going back to put those in as well, spotting one more when I got back to the machines and putting in all three, getting a second voucher.
After putting those two recyclables that weren’t accepted in a cabinet and washing my hands, I entered the store at 7:35 PM, seeing that the evening discount for lettuce was just 50% and only a few small and wilting ones were left in the regular spot, but when I spotted a somewhat better one which had been left by someone elsewhere, I took it, along with the box of pleurotus mushrooms that looked better, even if it was only discounted by 30%, two cheap yogurts, some wafers for dad, and a can of cat food, so I’ll be able to use both of the vouchers received that day as well as the one which I had been left with from earlier, which I did. And, while I was still in line at the self-checkouts when the closing announcement came, I then still took my time to arrange everything, and also retrieved those two recyclables from the cabinet.
What was frustrating was that, on the way to Carrefour, I passed by another store that had a large sign stating that they offered 20% more for the recyclables with the deposit symbol, without requiring an app or anything else and allowing the vouchers to be simply cashed in as well, so I had lost a fair amount by not knowing that earlier. Either way, I entered to see whether those two would be accepted by their machine, and when they weren’t I continued on my way, trying them at Carrefour as well, with the same result, and then handing them in at the information desk, to get the money that way. Then I entered the store with everything and just got a discounted sweet pastry… And saw that their lettuce was nice and so large that it’d have probably ended up being cheaper if you calculated the price for the same weight, but I had already purchased that one from Kaufland and that was that.
On the way back, I found 1 RON, staring after the woman who was walking ahead of me for a moment, wondering whether she had dropped it, but not recalling her doing anything that might have resulted in that and deciding to pick it up, but also to add half of the amount to what I meant to eventually give away. And then I completely forgot that I had decided to take all of the recyclables with the deposit symbol to that store while they’ll offer that additional amount and put those which I had picked up on the way back from Carrefour in the machine from the nearby Mega Image and cashed in the voucher… And then I still ended up coming back with one, since I picked it up after walking out of there. But at least I took everything to that store since then, even some cans which hadn’t been accepted elsewhere before being accepted, the only thing that wasn’t so far being one of those small oddly-shaped bottles that Kaufland’s machines tend to “eat”.
I got back a couple of minutes after 9:30 PM, ate an apple and the sweet pastry, and went to wash quickly, to be done before the race… And I had told dad right away that I was going to go to the bathroom quickly, but when I was done he said that I hadn’t and he used the other toilet and then poured water in it from a pot. Either way, I then also ate some nicer bagels… And found that dad had put those pots back while they were still wet, so I had to take them back out and dry them. And I also sorted the recyclables that he had brought and put them on the balcony, washed what was in the kitchen, and used the worse lettuce leaves for the salad, along with a couple of better ones that I shouldn’t have added, ending up eating dinner between 3:50 AM and 4:30 AM.

On May 9, after getting in bed at 5:20 AM, noise from the upstairs neighbor woke me at 11:05 AM, but it stopped quickly and I managed to get right back to sleep even though dad also got up then and started getting ready to leave, sleeping until 1:05 PM and then spending some 40 more minutes in bed before getting up. Then I ate a milk and rice dessert brought by dad the previous evening and which was expired for a week and did seem somewhat suspicious, since I definitely couldn’t leave it there even longer, did the day’s squats, ate lunch as well, and then ended up just wasting some time that I didn’t have on the toilet. I felt something while eating and wanted to get it out of the way, but when I got there, nothing happened, so I eventually cut my losses… And the feeling returned pretty much as soon as I stood back up, but I couldn’t wait anymore, so I cleaned the litter box and left a little after 4:30 PM.
I jogged to Constitution Square, which saved some time, so on the way I checked Carrefour Unirii, just getting some corn puffs, thinking that I might want to munch something later, and putting them in the backpack, a Profi Go, entering with the corn puffs and getting some expiring falafel, not receiving the receipt, and a Mega Image, entering with everything, the falafel in my hand, and having the guard tell me to go pay when I was walking out, so I showed it to him more clearly and told him that it was from Profi and the cashier laughed. Either way, I then picked up the kit for the half marathon, everything going smoothly, and after checking the contents and being really pleased to see two vials of liquid magnesium, I put everything, including the purchases, in that bag, and then managed to put it in mine, since if I’m to call that a bag then that backpack with rope straps that I keep using is the exact same thing.
The reason for rushing was that a march was also taking place that evening, starting from University Square, and while I had found what should have been a slightly shorter route before leaving, it was once again proven that the shortest route is the one you know, since I got confused and lost some time by walking back and forth. But I could afford it, so I also had a quick look in another store on the way, entering with everything, even took the time to check out the World Press Photo exhibition that was at the statues, then peed and washed my hands at the toilets from the passage, and after being surprised by the long line at the store with flags and other such things from there, I came out on the other side, where the people had gathered, just after 7 PM.
I then did my best to take some pictures, but I only had my phone to work with and somewhat less time to do so than I thought, the posted schedule asking people to start gathering from 6 PM but initially stating that the march would start at 7:30 PM, and while I had noticed before leaving that they had changed that to between 7 PM and 7:30 PM, I was more inclined to expect delays, yet the march actually started just after 7:15 PM. And the number of participants and the fact that I’m so out of practice when it comes to such things meant that I didn’t look for picture opportunities as much as I used to back in the day, so after a while I took a place near the front and stayed there the rest of the way, the one thing to point out being that, while the event was taking place on Europe Day and meant to show support for the EU and European values and freedoms and oppose the far right in general, the organizers trying to avoid turning it into an obvious political event, people soon started chanting in support of Nicusor Dan, so Angi kept trying to stop that, at first by simply asking, then by leading other chants when those started, and finally by asking people what were they going to do when Nicusor will disappoint them and whether they’ll also associate that with the EU and join the anti-European crowd because of it… Which actually seemed to work, those chants no longer swelling in that manner the rest of the way to Victory Square, which the head of the column reached just before 8:15 PM. And some more people were already there at that point, there was a large stage as well, and the event continued there for a couple more hours, the organizers estimating 40000 to 50000 participants, while other sources seemed to limit themselves to stating that there were at least 20000. But I couldn’t stay, so I took a few more pictures as I made my way back through the column and walked away at 8:25 PM.
I then jogged to Obor, entering that mall just after 8:50 PM, putting my things in a cabinet and getting two packs of nicer biscuits that had the 50% discount because they were crushed, not because they were expiring, just one head of garlic, at full price, which had even increased by 10%, and two sweet pastries, since the bakery discounts had been made. Then I retrieved my things and mostly jogged to Kaufland as well, putting everything in a cabinet, entering the store a couple of minutes before 9:30 PM, and since there was nothing else to get, I just bought two packs of that same kind of biscuits as those crushed ones, but whole, as they had what I thought was a great regular discount at Kaufland those days. However, I saw, and bought, similar biscuits with better discounts not long after that, and even the boxes of those biscuits are now having great discounts, the price per pack ending up being marginally lower even than what I paid for those crushed ones, so I shouldn’t have bought any of those, nor the two other packs that I got from Kaufland a few days later… Not that I could have known that at the time, of course. But, to return to that evening, I then retrieved everything and walked out a couple of minutes before 10 PM, and on the way back I gathered some more recyclables and also had a quick look in a non-stop Profi, entering with the backpack but putting the bags in a cabinet and then just retrieving them.
I got back at 10:55 PM, cleaned the litter box and went to drop that bag of trash down the chute, dad locking me outside just then and then saying that he hadn’t noticed that I walked out, though it was obvious and if I hadn’t walked out then it meant that I was about to and he still shouldn’t have locked the door just yet. Either way, I then washed something that he wanted to use and had started washing on his own, obviously messing things up, and started the washing machine, despite the late hour, to add the t-shirt from the race kit along with everything else. And I also washed a couple of other things in the kitchen, ate the one fruit that I still had and wasn’t an apple, I think a Mandarin orange, one of the sweet pastries, and a little of some salty snacks, and went to wash just after 12:50 AM. I was done a few minutes after 1:30 AM, but then I talked to dad for some 15 minutes and hung the laundry to dry, only getting back to the kitchen at 2:30 AM, and I had more things to wash there. And I also took a pill, which was expired “only” since September, just in case, and ate the rest of those salty snacks, finally eating dinner between 4:20 AM and 5 AM and getting in bed at 6 AM.

On May 18, the alarm was set to ring at 9 AM, to watch the Formula E race, but I woke up to pee at 8:45 AM, so I did that and then turned off the alarm and stayed up, reading a little more of the book before the start and, in fact, through most of the race. Then, after cutting my fingernails, arranging all of the recyclables with the deposit symbol into bags, including taking two cans which hadn’t been accepted before but which did seem to be accepted at that store that offers 20% more, and doing the day’s squats, I decided to shave as well, after which I put two of the bags of recyclables into the large backpack. But first I went to vote, then came back and grabbed all of those recyclables, leaving again just before 1:45 PM.
The machine from that store stopped after just three recyclables, though I could continue after the employee shook the bag and the box a little, getting a second voucher after I finished putting in dad’s and then continuing with mine, until the machine once again reported that it was full and the employee came and replaced the bag, though she said that emptying the box for glass takes a while and after asking whether I had many glass bottles left, she just shook it again, and that seemed to have been enough to allow me to finish, being left with one can that wasn’t accepted, though those other two were. So I ended up with four vouchers, which I then cashed in, another employee dealing with that and placing the money for each of them on the counter, including putting the regular amount and the additional one separately, so the result was quite a pile of small bills and coins that I ended up miscounting, though before I could try to count again she replaced them with the total amount, in larger bills as much as possible, which made it simple for both of us to count again.
After that, I had a look through the farmers’ market, looking for usable cheap apples but not seeing any, and then went to Carrefour, getting one of those mini breads that was among the discounted products and some chips that were two for the price of one and also generated a voucher with 30% of the value, so I initially only scanned the chips, to confirm that everything was correct, and then scanned and paid for the mini bread separately, after which I put the purchases in the backpack and picked up a few more recyclables on the way back.
I was back again just after 3:50 PM, so I had time to clean the litter box and go to drop that bag down the chute before the start of the Formula 1 race, during which I made the tea and ate lunch, with a large bag of corn puffs instead of bread. And I left again at 6:40 PM, going to Obor… But I was thinking that dad might be getting back around that time and found myself walking to the metro station instead of starting on that slightly shorter route to Obor, and when I realized it I didn’t turn around, even if that seems to have been slightly faster, since continuing from where I was, taking the street that goes past the hospital and finally getting on that route once I got behind the park, seems to have meant walking some 400 meters more. So I might have just made it to Kaufland in time to escape the worst of it without that, but as it was, the period of heavy rain and wind caught me some minutes away. Either way, dad called before that rain came, since he had gotten back and I had left him a note, and told me to get more chips and some Pepsi, since those vouchers with 30% of the value were offered for that as well.
So I was soaked by the time I reached Kaufland, and after putting the few recyclables which I had picked up on the way in a cabinet, I had to go to the women’s to at least find water to wash my hands, since there was no soap either at the men’s or there, the room for disabled people was locked, possibly being occupied, and if some water came when I initially tried to wash at the men’s, after checking the other places for soap I found that even that seemed to have stopped there! Either way, it was past 7:35 PM when I entered the store, and after getting some things I was using the self-checkout when the closing announcement came. Then I retrieved those recyclables and arranged the purchases… And I walked out just in time to see the rainbow, so at least there was a nice thing about that rain which had caught me earlier.
Either way, I then went to Carrefour, putting my things in a cabinet, peeing and washing my hands properly, and then getting what dad had asked for, the cat food that was also among the products that were two for the price of one those days, that actually being the only time when I found it, and an expiring product. And then I saw that the bakery discounts had been made and took a sweet pastry and four breads. But I was obviously also thinking about the election results, and it was quite a relief when an employee told the exit poll results to another, excitedly and out loud, and the difference did seem to be sufficient even if the votes from abroad were likely to lower it a little, so I also exchanged a few words with her about that. And then I retrieved what I had in the cabinet, took some time to arrange everything, and picked up some more recyclables on the way back.
I got back just before 10:25 PM, then put the purchases in their place, registered for next year’s half marathon, dad making the payment, wrote a quick reaction to the presidential election results, ate an apple and that sweet pastry, washed what was in the kitchen, minus pots and plastic boxes, and went to wash myself just before 1 AM, being done 40 minutes later. Then I washed some more things in the kitchen, dealt with one of my breads, also moved some olives into a jar, and ate dinner between 3:45 AM and 4:35 AM. I got in bed at 5:55 AM.

The plan for May 19 was to read quite a lot, but I was just completely exhausted, so after reading only some 20 pages in the afternoon, in the evening I got back in bed, staying there for some three hours and sleeping for probably about one and a half. And then, despite going to the kitchen even before 12:30 AM, I ended up spending half an hour gathering after dad, mostly from the living room, and then I washed more things in the kitchen, including pots and a lid that was quite soiled, dealt with another one of my breads, and made salad out of lettuce and green onions, ending up eating dinner between 3:35 AM and 4:25 AM and getting in bed at 5:20 AM.

As I was saying, since Israel still wasn’t banned alongside Russia and Belarus, I’ll once again replace what used to be my usual posts about Eurovision with one about FalastinVision which, just like last year, I’m writing a week after the show. This time around, I didn’t even try to watch any of it, just looking for the results after listening to the finalists on the site, and I’ll once again write a little comment about each entry, since there are just 16 of them. Not that they shouldn’t have just allowed all of the entries in the final, since there seem to have only been 20 of them, plus that I’d have definitely put all of the four that didn’t make it in the final instead of some of those that did make it. But the voters obviously had other preferences and criteria, and here I’m just presenting mine and trying to rank the entries accordingly, with the actual position added between parentheses, in the listed order even in case of the entries that were tied on points. But I didn’t try to actually score, so the ranking is just an attempt to order the entries at this moment and if you’d ask me again at a later point quite a few positions are very likely to change. And yes, I will admit that the fact that the top two artists are the same ones as last year was a way to make things somewhat easier for myself, the top four songs in my classification all standing out in some way.

1. (10.) Dúo Pepe y Mary – MESSAGE is once again the sort of thing that should be here. A good song overall, with nice vocals and lyrics that, while not in English, sound good enough in Spanish and are supportive without containing anything questionable. My choice isn’t as clear as last year, but I once again find myself drawn to the entry by these two.
2. (4.) LN Upstairs – Sumud is once again recorded at home and in poor quality, but I guess that I still won’t really hold that against it when I’m once again impressed by the voice and the overall sound. Such a nice, soft piece, and the lyrics are fitting as well.
3. (1.) Iranians for Palestine – Human, Where Are You? is a great entry and an entirely understandable pick. Good sound that includes elements from that area, which I’m personally not keen on but which obviously fit here, powerful video, and lyrics that also seem good, at least according to the translation, since the fact that they’re not in English is a problem. I raised an eyebrow at the band name, but there doesn’t seem to be anything questionable. And it’s one of the most professional entries here.
4. (11.) New Nobility -Rebel – Let’s Make a Better World actually sounds nice, and unexpected in a good way. Maybe it’s too positive, considering the circumstances, but that’s also refreshing, and the fact remains that it’s a pretty good song in itself.
5. (6.) LOREM – We Won has digitized vocals, at least in part, which is a problem for me, but it nevertheless sounds nice, you can actually sing along to this one, and it’s unusual in a good way for this competition, perhaps even in terms of message.
6. (12.) UGOXME – Little Boy surprised me. It’s not something I expected to hear here and the sound is quite nice, though the altered vocals definitely count against it. And the lyrics are general, also applying to the artist’s situation in Ukraine, for example, so I’d call it repurposed, but it’s still quite fine.
7. (2.) JC BIGFOOT – Your Silence Is Complicity is barely melodic, and with a bad voice at that, but the lyrics are in English, clear and on point, delivering a really good message, which should count for quite a lot in such a competition.
8. (8.) Frida – Mamma, vad gjorde du för Gaza? isn’t rap, I guess, but there’s little actual music there, so it’s still all about the lyrics, which aren’t in English. The translation says that they’re fine, but that’s about all I can say.
9. (5.) Annie G. Silva – Vento is in Portuguese and I always found that language ugly, and the sound also seems rather typical for something coming from there, which is another thing that I never liked. The voice is so and so, and I guess that overall it’s not bad for its genre, but I find myself just passing right over it.
10. (16.) Proletarian Poetry – Darkness is completely electronic, digitized, and while there’s obviously no rule against it, I don’t think that something like this should be here, even if the sound isn’t bad in itself.
11. (3.) Anton Berner – Befria Palestina is more rap that’s not in English. The translation seems all right, and the sound isn’t bad for the genre, maybe with the exception of the ending, but that’s about all I can say.
12. (14.) MzumO – Al Aqsa is another piece of rap. Definitely not crap, actually sounding quite nice for the genre, but there are a whole lot of lyrics that are once again not in English and any point is likely to get lost, even the translation being confusing and probably having mistakes. And what’s the point of rap that can’t deliver a message?
13. (13.) Maria Lumiere – Let Me Burn is just an atmospheric piece with next to nothing in terms of lyrics. Can be soothing, but otherwise it’s basically forgettable and I’m wondering why it’s even here.
14. (9.) Half Light – From the Wounds Emerges… Resistance! is growled, which would have been enough to chase me away even if I will admit that the vocals aren’t bad for the genre. But then there’s the idea behind the song as well, which I can understand under these circumstances, but nevertheless can’t support.
15. (15.) 10kr – We Forget Facts But Not Feelings is, basically, a piece of crap. In terms of sound, there are a few that are worse, but the vocals are also digitized, which is another negative aspect, and it’s just too harsh for such an event, even under these circumstances.
16. (7.) ASAT – A Star in the Sky sounds like complete crap. How could anybody vote for this is beyond me. No voice, utterly crappy sound; people simply shouldn’t have to listen to something like this.