Though it’s still under the desk instead of back in its place inside it, last evening I finally worked up the courage to plug the computer back into the UPS and test it, letting it run on battery for ten minutes, and then seeing that it charged back up at a normal rate. Seeing it at 57% after the ten minutes gave me the impression that it drained a bit faster than before, but I can’t be sure, and the listed estimate used to be 24 minutes, if I remember correctly, and now it’s 25, and losing 43% after ten works out to 23:15, but it actually just dropped from 61% to 57% as I was under the desk to turn the power strip back on, so it’s probably pretty much the same… But I’m starting with the end, so while I’m here let me also mention that last evening dad made homemade pizza again and I had that for lunch, but then still cooked later in the evening, for the next days, then showered, getting back to the kitchen at almost 1:25 AM and starting to eat dinner at 3:05 AM.
And now I’ll go two months back, to the early hours of October 19, when the UPS again reported that the battery was disconnected as I was eating at night, again fixing itself after exactly ten seconds, and that was despite having passed a self-test since the first time that happened. So, before going to bed on the morning of October 25 I ordered the replacement battery from the same place I had replaced the battery and repaired the UPS at the first time, and a few minutes before noon I was woken up by the call confirming that it was ready to be picked up. I asked to make sure that it was that specific model, being told that it was just that one, and whether I could come two days later and also bring the old battery to be recycled, the answer to both questions being yes, but forgot to ask whether they still offered any discount for recycling the old battery.
Either way, I didn’t go back to bed after that, yet still didn’t do the laundry, forgetting that I had planned to take care of it that day, since I at least needed the running gear to be washed. Then again, I wouldn’t have had time for it anyway, spending a good part of that day transcribing the “interview” dad took of my grandmother so he’ll put her story together for her 100th birthday. Then I had lunch in the evening, napped for up to an hour late in the evening, when I took a break, and only got back to the kitchen after I was done, at 1:30 AM. And there was stuff to wash, of course, and the slice or crack on my right thumb was troubling, so I bandaged it more thoroughly and tried to spare it, making me even slower than I normally am. So I started eating dinner at 3:50 AM and got in bed at 5:30 AM.
On October 26, I was woken up by the UPS again beeping and reporting that the battery was disconnected. Though it again recovered after ten seconds and I had meant to sleep more, it was past 3:30 PM already, so it was late enough and I got up, again meaning to do the laundry. However, I decided to wait for dad to get back, to ask whether he had something else to put in… Only for him to say that it was a holiday and that the day also held a personal significance for him, which I won’t mention here, so if I really must, I should just put my things in the machine, but none of his. But I wasn’t going to run the machine just for the few things I had, so I eventually decided to leave it for another time and run the next day in the old running clothes, which I had been wearing inside.
With that morning run planned, I had a pretty strict schedule for that evening and night… Only for the power to fail at 10 PM. With my concerns about the UPS, that was a serious reason for concern, but it did its job perfectly, since I left the computer running for a full ten minutes, hoping that the power will be restored, before finally shutting it down. And the power returned around 11:10 PM and at 11:15 PM I got back to my room to turn the computer back on, and once it reported that the battery was fully charged again the UPS was surprisingly, and very likely wrongly, estimating that it could keep it running on battery for 36 minutes, 50% more than before.
That wasn’t the end of the problems, however, since the oven also turned itself off again that night. It had been hard to make it stay on when I placed the pumpkin in, needing to turn it up for that, and it turned itself off when I turned it down, so I initially left it at a high level when I tried again, but when I saw the temperature reach 230°C I again turned it down, waited for some 30 seconds and then went to the toilet… Only for it to quite obviously turn itself off pretty much as soon as I left, since I was there for a while and it had clearly been off for quite a long time when I got back. But at least, as it was fortunately always the case after that quite scary first time, it was fully off and there was no smell of gas. I was still worried, however, again opening the window and waving it around a little, then going to the living room to light a lighter and carefully approaching with it before finally turning it back on. And, just to add to the worries, when I got back to my room the UPS again reported that the battery was disconnected, again for the usual ten seconds. And I eventually turned the oven off again before the pumpkin was done, leaving it there and getting in bed at 4:30 AM.
After that morning run, I jogged back, so I only wore the jacket, and also the mask, on the way to the park. Then I had watermelon, watched the press conference for the marathon, finally did another full backup, turned off the computer and UPS and removed them from the desk, removed the battery from the UPS, took the plastic and metal and the old battery and left again at 1:40 PM, dropping off the plastic and metal in the first bin and then going straight to pick up the replacement battery, deciding to not make the small detour to my bank’s branch from the mall from the park, thinking that I’ll certainly find another on the way even though I hadn’t checked before leaving. And I did find one, but it was closed for remodeling, and the announcement listed “nearby” locations that were quite far and in the opposite direction, none being ahead, and when I checked after getting back I saw that there are no other branches at all in that entire part of the city. And that place still only accepts payments by card, so I needed to deposit the money first and had no choice but to pick one of those locations and walk there and back, losing some 40 minutes because of it and only reaching my destination just after 3:25 PM. And the employees were still joking around, with each other but also at the expense of the customers, since when one asked me to come and pay another asked why and said something about the site stating that all sales were free that day, then apologized and supposedly realized that the free day was the next one. But I didn’t bite, just paying, checking the new battery against the old one, to make sure it was the exact same model even though the color was different, and taking both back, since I had asked whether there was any discount for leaving the old one and the guy just looked at me oddly.
I was walking away ten minutes after getting there and then went to Auchan, finding the bread I want from there, and also getting another for dad and another bottle of vinegar. Also saw beets and wanted some, but decided to wander around the store first, looking for anything else I’d want, and when I finally decided to go to the checkout I forgot all about the beets. And I paid by card, since I hadn’t had smaller bills and had deposited a fair bit more than necessary, and was out a few minutes before 5 PM. Also meant to go to the Carrefour from the park on the way back, but even though I didn’t cross and cut through the park in order to do so, as I approached I decided against it yet again, being back just before 5:45 PM.
Since in an earlier discussion he didn’t seem to know the difference, I showed dad the UPS and the battery… Only for him to lash out at me for replacing the battery without testing the old one first, telling me to tell him what he had to buy so I’ll be able to test batteries, which would have obviously just added to the expenses, and when I said that batteries are supposed to be replaced every two to three and a half years and that one was almost three and a half years old he kept saying that old products last longer and shouldn’t be replaced just because you’re told they should be, though that rule doesn’t apply to batteries. He was, however, right when he asked what if the problem was with the UPS itself, but since he dismissed the idea that the battery had to be replaced anyway, even after I told him that I had been told that not replacing the battery in time had damaged the UPS the first time around, and that doing so allowed me to see whether there was something wrong with the UPS as well or not, I pretty much cracked and told him to leave me the fuck alone, which made him angry as well, or angrier than he already was, I guess.
Either way, I then had lunch and put in the new battery, tested it quickly with the kitchen phone, blew and wiped the dust off the UPS a little, then cleaned the dust inside the computer, put it and the UPS back in the desk, turned them on, saw an even less likely estimated time on battery, 40 minutes, and then went to shower… Only to hear the UPS beep while I was on the toilet. And then it did it twice more, reporting that the battery was disconnected for those same ten seconds three times in 30 minutes. So I delayed the shower, telling dad that he had likely been right in saying that the problem was with the UPS and asking whether he could spare a power strip, then turned the computer off again, removed the UPS from the desk and put it under it, with the computer plugged straight into the power strip and just the monitor in the UPS, to still test it in that manner, after also blowing into the contacts and using a toothpick to try to clean them a little. And I also set the UPS to stop beeping, so those errors won’t bother me anymore.
Otherwise, I think I saw a bit of blood on the toilet paper, but at least there was none the next day. Either way, then I finally showered, though I guess I was so messed up that I grabbed the training suit I meant to put on and threw it in the laundry basket, then realized it, took it out, decided I wasn’t going to wear it after it was there, put it back, then changed my mind again and took it out one more time, putting it on after all. And I started eating dinner at 3:05 AM. But I’ll also mention here that cleaning the computer reduced the CPU temperature by over 10°C… But also caused a fan to be a bit noisy again, or to make the side panel vibrate. It used to do that, but at some point, long ago, I somehow managed to make it stop and hadn’t touched it since.
Though the UPS reported that the battery was disconnected again on the morning of October 29, clearly confirming that the problem wasn’t with the battery, I had the marathon to focus on, so I just hoped that there won’t be any more power issues and only sent an e-mail to ask about having it looked at in the early hours of November 2. And by the time I woke up I had a reply, so I held off going to the toilet a little longer in order to read it, after having held it in the night before as well, and that resulted in blood dripping into the toilet, though at least it stopped quickly.
Since I got to that date, I’ll also mention that the cardiology appointment made the second time I went to Coltea was for that day, but I just ignored it, not even canceling. Instead, I left at 3:15 PM to drop off the UPS… And got a bit lost as I tried a different route, not wanting to have to pick my way through the work being done on the sidewalk in that area again. However, before getting lost I spotted a small pastry place, meant to get closer for a look, quickly stopped when a dog started barking and ended up saying that I’ll get something on my way back when the guy opened the window to say that the dog was chained, though it was in fact behind a fence, and asked what I wanted. So, if the initial plan didn’t include returning the same way, I made use of the fact that I got lost to keep my word, getting back there and buying a pastry even though I had finally figured out which way I was supposed to go a bit earlier. But that guy made things quite awkward, since when he asked I said I didn’t want it heated, since it was going to be cold again long before I’ll get home, but he started heating it anyway, saying that he’ll just heat it a little bit when I repeated that I had said no… And then he put it on an envelope and handed it to me, so I asked what was I supposed to do with it like that and he placed it in it instead. The envelope, likely waxed, was actually a good substitute for a paper bag, but the size and the fact that it was cut on one side on top of being open meant I couldn’t really keep the pastry in it. Still, by that point I just wanted to get out of there, so when he also placed napkins in front of me and asked me to take one, I just did so and walked away, struggling to figure out how to make that pastry stay in the envelope on the way.
All of that meant that I reached my destination at 4:35 PM, and the schedule listed on the site states that the service area closes at 4:30 PM. But I had been told that somebody will be there to receive it even if I’ll be a little late, and either way that schedule is for the battery service, which I found is different from the UPS service when I walked in, pulled the UPS out of the backpack and got told to go back outside and take it to the place that has the big sign. So I did so, telling the guy who was there that I had sent an e-mail and he remembered, took the UPS, asked what brief description of the problem he should list on the documents and said he’ll call me. Considering the previous experience, leaving it there with the new battery inside was not something I was comfortable with, and I had asked in that e-mail whether I could take it there without it, but he said it’s recommended to bring the battery as well, so they’ll be tested together, and in the end that’s what I did… Though just before putting the UPS in the backpack I had marked the battery and also took a picture of the serial number, to be able to check when I’ll get it back.
By that point I really needed to pee, so I went to a nearby gas station to take care of that, and washing my hands meant that I could handle that pastry better after I got back outside, carefully wrapping it in that napkin before putting it back in the envelope. Then I went to Auchan, finding that some of the teas I’d normally get were on sale and buying some, as well as some of the things my mother had asked for. Couldn’t also get bread, however, none of the things they make there being available and that entire area being closed off by health inspectors, and I had in fact seen on the news that four of their stores had that area closed off after inspections, so I guess that was one of them. And the 0.50 RON coin I should have received as change got stuck in the machine, so I struggled to retrieve it until someone, not sure if a cashier or a guard, eventually asked whether it had something to give me and managed to pull it out with a pen after I told her what was happening.
Then I also went to that Penny, finding no free cabinets with keys, so I had to just leave my things in an unlocked one while I got one more thing for my mother. But that wasn’t the end of it, since I decided to also go to the Carrefour from the park and then continue to Kaufland as well. So, after peeing again once I reached that Carrefour, I was relieved to find unsliced bread of the kind I get from there and grabbed one, paying by card and therefore being able to use the self-checkout. Then I checked the evening discounts in Kaufland, but it was too late to find anything I wanted, so I just grabbed one more thing for my mother and another bag of cat litter, since it was discounted, had no issues with the self-checkout, struggled to get the cat litter in the backpack and was out of there at 8:55 PM and back here at 9:30 PM. Then I had a quince and a pastry bought two days earlier and it was 3:15 AM when I started eating dinner, in the form of the vegetarian pizza bought two days earlier and a salad. Got in bed at 5:30 AM… And realized that my legs weren’t burning, and in fact hadn’t burned after the marathon either.
With no word from them until then, on the evening of November 10 I sent an e-mail to ask if there were any news about the UPS, since if it couldn’t be fixed or it’d cost too much I wanted to look for a replacement on Black Friday, that being on November 12 here. Then I baked pumpkin that night, but first put the seeds from the previous one in their place, so it was past 12:30 AM when I went to shower, almost 1:30 AM when I got back to the kitchen and 2 AM when I could start making the salad, after actually starting to bake the pumpkin. And the temperature was again too high in the oven, and when I turned it down it again turned itself off and wouldn’t stay on at a low enough level, so I had to make do with it as it was and eventually started eating dinner at 3:55 AM. It was 5:30 AM when I got in bed, after moving the pumpkin on a plate, so it won’t stick even worse to the tray, and putting it back in the oven, leaving it to cool there.
Back to the UPS, after waking up I saw a reply to that e-mail, being told that it could be fixed, but for a price that’s similar to that of the cheapest new ones available, and if you add the battery it’s close to what I paid for this one in the first place, admittedly with a Black Friday discount and seven years ago, what’s supposedly its replacement, this model being discontinued, being about 50% more now, and about two thirds more than the total I’d have ended up paying, and it didn’t have Black Friday discounts anywhere. So I mentioned that the amount was much higher than I expected, then timed my squats, for the first time in a long time, seeing 2:17 even if I was still being careful with that knee, a scab forming there after the fall. Also had lunch in the evening and popcorn later, then put the pumpkin seeds to dry and decided to also have a few walnuts, so it was 2:30 AM when I started making the salad, and I had spoiling stuff, mainly cucumbers, to deal with, so it was 4:05 AM when I started eating dinner, finishing at 5:15 AM and getting in bed at 5:45 AM.
It was after Black Friday, on November 13, when I received another reply, consisting of an offer to repair the UPS at cost, reducing the price by just over a third, in exchange for a review, specifically for the UPS service, not for the store itself. And I did have the past experience to write about, the UPS itself having been repaired quickly and cheaply and lasting close to three and a half more years before something failed again, so I could accept and do my part without lying, writing a 5-star review that night and not mentioning the mess with the battery, since that doesn’t actually have to do with the UPS being repaired, just adding that I hope to be able to say that their work is just as good in a few years.
Seeing as they import original components directly and considering the current problems with shipping and the time of the year, and the fact that when I mentioned this the guy confirmed that it might take a while, plus that if they really made no profit from this job they had no reason to not take their time with it, I expected to have to wait until January, but on December 10 I was woken up by the call letting me know that my UPS was ready to be picked up. But that was at 1:20 PM, and it was raining too, so I said I’ll probably get there the next day… Which was Saturday, so I was told it’d be better to wait until Monday, then asked for the required information so they’ll have the invoice ready, to speed things up. And then the guy called back a little later, saying he forgot to mention that they only accept payments by card, but I already knew that, and it should have been obvious, seeing as I had purchased that replacement battery. But at least that second call offered me the opportunity to ask whether I’ll get it back with the same battery, and he said I will and that nobody did anything to the battery. Then I got back in bed for another hour or so, though I doubt I fell asleep again.
On December 13, I left a few minutes after 3 PM and made that detour I had decided against the first time around, having a quick look in the Carrefour from the park and then depositing the needed money at my bank’s branch from there, using one ATM for that and then deciding to use another to check the balance. Then I reached that place at 4:15 PM, seeing on the way that the branch which had been closed the first time around had opened, but of course I hadn’t wanted to risk it. Either way, a different guy was there, he gave me the invoice and told me to go and pay, but the cashier wasn’t there, so I waited a little… During which time one of the guys was telling something to the others about everyone knowing everyone else somewhere and said that in such places if you hear that a chick’s fucking you want to fuck her too, then apologized for his foul mouth when he was made aware that they had a customer, though I’d say that the sexism would have been the bigger issue. But at least that meant that everyone was suddenly all too aware that I was waiting there for a cashier who didn’t seem to be around, so another guy came and took the payment in her place, then I went back and received the UPS, one more guy having joined that first one and asking whether I wanted to test it. And I should have done so, as that’d have made me aware of the empty battery right away, but since I was thinking of the original problem I said that it appeared randomly, after a while, so a quick test wouldn’t tell me much and I’ll test it at home, and only wanted to get it in the backpack before leaving. I did quickly check to make sure that the same battery was inside, then just put the UPS directly in the backpack, though I had plastic bags I wanted to put it in first, since it had rained before I left and would drizzle more later.
Less than ten minutes after getting there, I was walking away, but then I stopped at the nearby Lidl, mainly looking for a place that was certainly dry, to be able to place the UPS in those bags after all. And, after struggling to do that for a while, I put the backpack in a cabinet and decided to have a look inside as well, even though I boycott Lidl, being by far the chain that relies the most on imported products, and obviously didn’t buy anything. Then I went to Auchan, receiving a call just as I was about to get there that turned out to be a wrong number, or more exactly someone who had been given a wrong number, since he checked that he dialed the number he meant to dial, but I obviously wasn’t the person who had given it to him. Either way, after peeing and washing my hands, I got a few things from Auchan and then went to that Penny as well, again trying to hand over the three Tetra Paks I had. After the cashier had rejected them the first time I tried, in another location, on December 2, I had read the terms and conditions, knew I should give them to the guard and was ready to argue if he’ll reject them as well, but he accepted them right away, calling someone to give me the ticket for the free product… And also using his coin for the cabinet I had stuffed my things in, as I was searching for the one I had and he told me to just leave the door unlocked since he was there to watch over things, but I said I didn’t want to, finally finding the coin only to see that he was faster than me… Not that I was going anywhere, since I still had to wait a little for that ticket. Then I got onions and some little bagels, and also took the free product, which was one of the only two remaining ones at that time.
Then I decided to also go to Carrefour and Kaufland again, choosing those two that are right next to each other. So I first checked Kaufland, put my things in a cabinet, got peppers for dad and found evening discounts, including for pumpkins, so I grabbed the one passable, albeit small, one I could find among the bad ones that were otherwise left. There was no discount label on some pastries my mother usually wants, however, so I asked whether those were also discounted and the employee said that if there’s no label there’s no discount, and as I was grabbing two of another kind another employee actually came to ask about those as well, being told that they were left to be discounted at 9 PM. So I wandered around until then, since it was just after 8:30 PM at that point, but all of those pastries were gone by the time I passed by that area again when it was close to 9 PM, so I slowly made my way to the self-checkout with what I had, having no issues with the machine but also seeing no additional discounts.
Carrefour was next, so I again put my things in a cabinet and checked the expiring products, getting bread for dad and something sweet for myself from there. But I also saw eggs and took a carton that seemed all right at a quick glance, but after stopping a few steps away to check it more thoroughly I found two cracked eggs, one of them badly, so I put it back and started checking another egg by egg without taking it from that area. I noticed that somebody was standing nearby as I did that, but didn’t pay much attention until I realized that he was actually watching me closely, at which point I glanced that way and realized that it was the employee working in that area, and one of the eggs from that carton might have also been cracked and I was too uncomfortable to even try to wipe what was on it and have a better look, and obviously couldn’t just switch it with a good one from another carton, so I left the whole carton there and wandered away, at which point the employee started rearranging the cartons. I wasn’t about to give up, however, returning after getting the raisins for my mother, finding that carton again and quickly replacing that egg as well as another one I hadn’t gotten to check the first time around, just to be sure, before the employee also got back… And he followed me when I again went a few steps away to have another look, asking what was I doing with the carton. So I said I was doing the same thing I had been doing before, checking it, and he told me to take it back to the refrigerated area, and that it’s discounted because it’s expiring, so if I don’t like it I should get some good ones, and also added that eggs keep disappearing. I didn’t bother to remind him that yes, the discount is because they’re expiring, not because they’re cracked, and obviously wasn’t going to respond to his thinly veiled accusation of stealing, just walking away with that carton, at which point he left me be.
Then I retrieved my things and was out of there at 9:55 PM, so it was too late to go around the stadium and had to use the longer route. But I had dad’s large backpack, so even though I was carrying 20 kg, it really didn’t feel like it and I got back at 10:20 PM. Then I grated some apples, with sugar, had a lunch that was bigger than intended since the food I had left was quite clearly spoiling and I had to finish it, finished that after 12:30 AM, went to shower at 12:45 AM and it was after 1:20 AM when I finished, but still had something else to do first, so it was actually 1:40 AM when I got back to the kitchen. And there was more to do there as well, so I started making the salad at 2:15 AM and started eating dinner at 3:25 AM. As for the UPS, didn’t even try to turn it on that night.
The original plan for this post also included writing about volunteering to make packages again, which I did on December 14, but it’d be a new longest ever post by far if I’d do that, and it’s again written over multiple days and edited to add the rest as it is, with what I managed to post before midnight stopping on November 2, in fact at that coin that got stuck in the machine at Auchan, the rest of that section being added some ten minutes later, the rest of what’s above this point being added some hours later, before I went to bed that morning, and this part being written and added Tuesday, since Monday I had no time to write.
True, what’s above got as far as getting back the repaired UPS, but since five more days passed until I actually used it again for the computer, I’ll add the rest here as well, and that rest does start in the early hours of December 15, so I’ll get some other things out of the way as well and include everything from the moment I got back on the evening of December 14, a few minutes before 8 PM. Kept myself busy, putting things in their place and taking care of other matters I had been putting off until dad left, and then decided to also take the pumpkin seeds I had set to dry and munch on the somewhat nicer corn puffs I had grabbed from Carrefour on the way back while selecting which of those to put along with the others, eating those that seemed split or starting to sprout and discarding the empty husks, since I hadn’t done that before setting them to dry. And I took my time, and the fact that I kept ignoring a certain pressing need I had been feeling all day and which only got worse after getting back eventually bit me, since I think it was just after 11:30 PM when what I thought was just gas proved to be more than that and I had to drop everything and rush to the bathroom, fortunately finding that just a trace had ended up on my underwear. So I cleaned up, then put the remaining seeds on a smaller plate and took it to my room, where it still is even now, quickly washed the underwear in question and went back to the bathroom to do things properly, though little else seemed to be coming, and then shower. I was finally out again at 1:10 AM, but first checked some things on-line and only got back to the kitchen at 1:35 AM, then took care of some other things and first meant to finally start making the salad at 2:10 AM.
Well, that’s where the part about the UPS comes in, since I decided to plug it in and test it quickly, meaning to then let it charge while I’ll work on dinner. However, when I plugged the kitchen TV into it and then unplugged it, it immediately turned off, beeping in a way that, after checking the manual, I found meant that the battery was empty. So I connected it to the computer and saw that it was indeed reporting that the battery was at 1%, which quickly dropped to 0% and stayed there for the half an hour or so I spent looking and checking, turning the service on and off a number of times, so I won’t risk having it turn my computer off for some reason. Then, wanting to check whether the problem was with the battery or with the UPS itself, I put the old one in and saw that it reported it was at 17%. It had been fully charged when I removed it, but being old and having been disconnected since then, having it discharge on its own wasn’t surprising, so I let it charge while making the salad, checking an hour later and seeing that it was at 39%, so it was charging exactly at the rate it was supposed to. So I put the new battery in again and finally started eating dinner at 3:55 AM, finishing at 5:20 AM. At that point, an hour and 40 minutes after being put back in, the new battery was reporting 17%. Then I also did a partial backup, just in case, finally got in bed when it was almost 5:50 AM… And immediately got back up, hearing something pop, going to check and finding that the light bulb dad insists on leaving on in the hallway burned out, so I removed it and put it in a bag before getting back to bed.
After waking up I checked again and saw 49%, almost 11 hours after the new battery was put back in, getting to 50% for a moment but then dropping back to 49%. So I tried to see if it held at all, plugging the monitor into the UPS and then unplugging the UPS, seeing it drop to 37% right away. After plugging the UPS back in after less than a minute, I sent the guy an e-mail explaining the issues and asking whether they had given it back to me with the battery completely drained and whether that could have reduced its capacity. Then I saw the battery recharge at a normal rate to 49%, but then it stopped again, still reporting 49% some two more hours later, so I put the old one in again. And that old one was listed as being at 49% as well at first, though it was at 39% when I removed it, as I said, and it didn’t seem to be a case of the UPS remembering the value it had reported before the switch, as in that case it should have eventually dropped before going back up, but instead it immediately started charging more and sustained that normal rate all the way to 100%.
Otherwise, dad had told me that he had an interview to take that day and will need me to transcribe it right away, but he came much later than he said he would and had two interviews, the second almost twice as long as the first, so I’d have had no chance to transcribe all of that before the following evening, which was when he needed it, but he said he only needed the first one and the first part of the second until then, so about 55 minutes, and while I didn’t think I’ll manage even that at first, my plan for the following day including a run, I got right on it and actually finished the first interview at 1:25 AM. But when I got to the kitchen I obviously first had to clean up after him, and also talked to him a little, so I started eating dinner at 3:30 AM and it was after 5:05 AM when I finished, transcribing about half of that first part of the second interview as I ate. Got in bed at 5:25 AM, making a note of the fact that my legs were again quite swollen and the skin seemed to be flaking off them, assuming that’s dry skin and not something else. And they were clearly burning again, and have been since then, but that area of my back where I have that bone spur is also burning at times, and now that I think of it I guess it’s been doing that for a while, so maybe the doctors from Coltea were right when they told me, when I was discharged, that the burning is caused by my spine.
Moving on to the early hours of December 17, right before going to bed I put the new battery back in, seeing it start at 70% even though, as I said, it had been at 49% when I took it out. But that did seem to be a case of a wrong initial value, because I went to bed at 5:20 AM but, after having made mamaliga that night, I kept waking up to pee, so I checked about an hour and a half later and saw it at 66%, and a little over an hour after that, at 8 AM, it was at 63%. However, around 3 PM, when I checked again after getting up, the battery was at 98%, so I sent another reply to that guy, who had admitted that it might have been fully discharged during testing, to say that I thought batteries lose their capacity if allowed to get below 50%, so they probably shouldn’t be fully discharged while testing either. But he had also told me to let it fully charge and then test it, and bring it to them if it won’t work or if it won’t stay at 100% after getting there, so after it did finally reach 100%, I did test it, first putting it through a stress test, with the speakers and a hand mixer that has 250W listed on it. The fact that it held was good, but it drained very quickly, getting to 62% in two minutes even though I was varying the mixer’s speed, so it wasn’t at maximum all the time. Still, who knows how much that mixer actually uses, 250W possibly being the power generated, and the battery did finally recharge to 100% at a normal rate after that, and the next day I finally worked up the courage to plug the computer in it again and do the relevant test, which I wrote about at the beginning of this post.
It was before I did that relevant test that the guy replied again, to tell me not to worry because only repeated discharges cause problems, but of course it was the fact that the results of my test were so normal that finally calmed me down to some extent. After all, with battery problems both times I had the UPS repaired there, I have no reason to trust them when it comes to batteries. But that previous experience still makes me trust them when it comes to the actual repairs, so let’s hope it’ll last at least as long this time around as well… Though it is seven years old now, so if it’ll fail again, especially if it’ll be in some different way, I won’t have real reasons to blame them for it, or at least not without evidence that would be next to impossible for me to find either way. And I’ll also mention here that fortunately, and quite unusually, there were no power failures, not even brief ones, during the 52 days that my computer spent unprotected by the UPS, the last one being the one mentioned in this post, the day before before I picked up the new battery and then ended up unplugging the computer from the UPS.
