I was managing, just about, until I wasn’t. My flat had become a mess yet again. My office was, is, barely passable, but everything else now feels like a disaster zone. And how could one person ever have so much washing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday I went swimming. I forced myself to do it. Everything was getting that little bit harder. It even took ages to locate the app on my phone which brings up the QR code that I need to scan to enter. Just where is it? And then<\/em> which button is it? Brain fog, as I’ve had so many times before. On the way back from the pool it tipped it down and I got soaked to the skin on my bike. In some ways that felt good, because it was something physical \u2013 and immediate \u2013 to have to contend with, rather than everything going on in my head. That evening I went to the after-hours doctor to get my latest batch of pills. I decided to drive there, which was a mistake. For the last two and half years they’ve been located in the mall, or rather one of the vast edifices surrounding the mall, which means coping with a multi-storey car park if you drive there. How do I even get out of the car park to get to the doctor’s surgery? This lift will take me to somewhere else. It’s all far from obvious, especially when I’m like this. I couldn’t even see the doctor because he was rushed off to the ambulance. I’ll have to go back there later today, but I’ll take the bike this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Friday morning, after my first lesson, I took Kitty to the vet. She’d lost weight again. She doesn’t eat meals as such; she’s developed a habit of scooping out dry food from the bowl with her paw, half of which ends up on the floor. The vet was concerned, as am I; she asked me to make a food diary and to come back next Friday. They might give her some blood tests. I suppose these are like what I had \u2013 I really don’t know how these work for cats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Later on Friday I went swimming again. They have wristbands which you use to lock and unlock the lockers. You have to remember which locker you used. Brain fog can make that a challenge. When I got back to the changing room after my swim, I couldn’t remember at all<\/em> which locker I’d put my stuff in. Then it dawned on me. Shit<\/em>, I’d just left my bag on the bench, with my wallet, phone and keys inside. Thankfully everything was still there, but bloody hell. I coped with lessons that day, but just as I got out of that mental-health-disaster block in Dumbr\u0103vi\u021ba after the lesson with the boy on the eighth floor, I saw I’d got a text message from the bank. I’d had a propire<\/em>. This was a new word for me. It meant that my account had been blocked, not by the bank itself, but by ANAF, the tax people. It seems I owe 2257 lei (\u00a3350 or NZ$830) that I haven’t paid. I’m happy to pay it, but how do I pay it (or any other bills) now that my account has been blocked? My Revolut account has been blocked too; when I went in there it came up with a red warning triangle and that same amount \u2013 2257 lei. Will I have to pay twice. I literally have no idea how this works. I actually do have around 3000 lei in cash plus a small amount in foreign currency if need be, which is just as well. Last year I got debanked while I was in Poland. I’ll go to the ANAF office \u2013 a nightmarish place to navigate at the best of times \u2013 first thing tomorrow morning and ask what to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday I only had two lessons in Dumbr\u0103vi\u021ba. One was with that girl from Thailand. I went through her maths homework, much of which was impossible for her because she couldn’t read and understand the questions. I told her mother that she needs to speak to the teacher because this homework is doing her more harm than good. Outside their house is a weird dull yellow six-inch-high metal pole, or pipe, that I’ve always been careful to avoid driving over. It’s right in my natural path and its colour blends in with the grass. But yesterday I drove over it, completely forgetting it was there. Jeez, what was that? Oh yes. When I got to the park, where I had my lunch, I took a look at the car. It was fine. A beautiful day to be in the park too; it’s in the 10% of Dumbr\u0103vi\u021ba that I don’t actively despise. But heck, I really am teetering here. Then when I got back I felt like complete crap and realised I wasn’t coping at all. I’m starting to feel seriously isolated here. It’s been a bit of a problem ever since I moved into this flat in 2022. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Thursday the damn Scrabble league started up again. All way too hard. I’m playing one of my games against someone who was literally the US national champion in 2014. He works at Google. I’ve thrown everything at him but it almost certainly won’t be enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I’ve discovered a new podcast \u2013 maybe it’s not even new \u2013 by the people who used to do Fivethirtyeight before they got rid of it. I used to really like Fivethirtyeight. It was my favourite website during (and in the period before) Trump’s first term. So that’s nice. Especially when the midterms are only nine days away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking I might move back to New Zealand in 2028. Last night when I was lying in bed I thought, maybe 2027 would be better. When I spoke to Dad he said it’s a shame I don’t really have any connections in NZ anymore. That’s true, but I don’t have many in Romania either. In fact I had more five years ago than I had now. If I restricted myself only to places where I have connections, I wouldn’t live anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I was managing, just about, until I wasn’t. My flat had become a mess yet again. 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