Life, Travels, and Daily English Posts
Today is Saturday, and it was my weekend, so I decided to spend the day at home because I wanted to complete my freelance work and just relax. Also, the surgery area in my mouth is still not strong enough, so I preferred to stay at home. While I was at home, I randomly turned on a video on YouTube and started doing my routine. First, I reread the instructions and the prescription from my dentist because I wanted to check what is normal and what is not, as well as review the restrictions, since I thought I might have skipped something. After that, I started my freelance work and took tasks from a banking website. The first task was a bit challenging and had been hanging over me since November 15, if I remember correctly, but today I finally finished it, and on Monday I will transfer the task. I hope my client will be happy because she has been waiting for it for a long time. The next task was not challenging; it mainly involved replacing texts and documents and fixing some JavaScript code in a few places, and I think it will take around two or three hours, which I will complete tomorrow.
This morning started a bit uncomfortably. When I woke up, walked to the bathroom, and started brushing my teeth, everything suddenly became red. I touched the place where I had surgery in my mouth with my toothbrush, and it started bleeding. I didn’t even touch it hard, but the bleeding was unforgettable, and my mouth looked as red as a vampire’s in movies. However, I didn’t feel any pain — it just bled. The bleeding didn’t last very long. After I finished brushing my teeth, it continued for about fifteen minutes and then stopped. During the day it didn’t bother me at all. Right now, I don’t feel pain or bleeding, but the surgical area itches a bit and is slightly swollen. It’s not noticeable, but I constantly want to scratch it. Overall, everything is okay — I didn’t even take any anesthetic pills, but I took antibiotics twice today.
Yesterday I already mentioned my surgery, but I had some doubts about it because I was worried about my blood test results. However, everything went super-duper well and without any pain. When I entered the clinic, I hung up my coat and waited. The surgery assistant came down and gave me two pills — an antibiotic and an anesthetic. After I took them, I waited for her to invite me in. After about five minutes she came back, and we went together to the surgery room. She had already prepared my X-ray images and other important things. When I lay down, she gave me black glasses, put a special surgery cap on my head, and pinned a protective apron around my neck. After that, she prepared my mouth and teeth and injected the anesthesia. She also explained everything that would happen.
During the whole day, the temperature outside stayed around –6 degrees, and there was a small blizzard. While I was working, I noticed through my window how the snow was falling slowly and trying to cover the ground. The wind was blowing around the roofs and carrying the snow between the houses. Eventually, the snow covered everything, and right now everything is white. It really looks like winter weather. I want to believe that the snow won’t melt and won’t make a mess on the ground. If the weather stays the same, I think I can go sledding down a hill on a tube. I already wanted to go sledding last year, but I couldn’t find time for it. This year I definitely must do this activity.
The weather temperature has continued to stay in minus degrees. And this morning, outside it was around –15 degrees. It's already cold, but if the wind blows, it will feel even colder. Also, today and yesterday were sunny days. And at night, while I was driving to my city, I saw a clear sky with the moon and stars. I think it's better than +5 and wet weather, because everything is frozen and dry. However, I have one problem with my car’s antifreeze for my front window — it just froze. Now I need to wait for a warm day or park the car in a warm garage. When I bought it, the bottle said –20 degrees, if I’m correct. But in real life, it froze at –10 degrees. Right now, I can’t use my car wipers, and yesterday I also couldn’t use them.
I had a very busy day from the moment I woke up until 9 PM. About my tasks, I already mentioned them yesterday. During the day, I managed to change my car tyres and got my day off approved for December 11. After my workday, I drove to Kazan. Changing the tyres and getting the day off were easy—I completed both without any problems. But going to Kazan was a bit difficult. I need to spend about 1.5 hours each way on the road and drive around 100 kilometers each direction. It’s not very long or very far, but it’s still a bit annoying. The road between my city and Kazan doesn’t have two lanes in each direction. So if someone in front of you is driving 70 km/h or if there is a truck, you also have to stay at the same speed and follow them. You can’t overtake because there are many no overtaking signs, and when overtaking is allowed, oncoming cars usually don’t give you a chance.
My day started with bad weather conditions. All day there was something like a mix of rain and snow, and it is still falling right now while I’m writing this post. Because of that, everything became wet and dirty. I also planned to go for a walk today, but everything was ruined. I thought the temperature would be below zero and everything would be frozen, according to the weather forecast. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so I spent my day in my warm home. However, it wasn’t bad. Even though I stayed home, I finished my routine. Today I worked on my freelance projects, practiced English, tried to find a service to change my car tyres but couldn’t because everything was closed, and also relaxed after a long work week without any worries.
My morning started at 6 AM again. I had many tasks to do in Kazan. I already mentioned these tasks in my previous post. When I woke up, I did my usual morning routine, except for breakfast. I needed to get a blood test, and for that I wasn’t allowed to eat, drink, or take any pills. If you take any medication, you must inform them. After my routine, I went to Kazan and reached at 8:40 AM. It was already light outside, but when I left my home it was still dark. The first place I visited was the clinic for my blood test. I chose the private clinic Medel because I had used their services before, so it was familiar to me. I wrote the list of tests below. Everything during the blood test was easy and painless. They took blood from a vein, and I didn’t even feel when the medical staff inserted the needle. Now I need to wait for my results and give them to my dentist’s office. However, there is a small problem: when I asked if they could send the results to my email, they said unfortunately no. So I need to go to Kazan again on Monday after 5 PM to pick up the results in person.
Finally, the weather started improving. Today the outside temperature stayed at –1°C all day, and everything was dry and frozen. Even the sky was a bit clear — through the clouds I could see some blue colors and sunlight. At that moment, I felt that the world became brighter than on my other gray days. I hope I can forget about rainy days, because the weather should get colder. The forecast predicted minus temperatures and no rain. I even saw sunny days and snow in the forecast.
During the whole week, I noticed how my coworkers were posting in the company Telegram channel about the New Year gifts. So it made me check my order too. Honestly, I didn’t even know my order number, and I had to ask the responsible person. But first, I decided to check it myself on the delivery company’s website, because I remembered how it worked last year. And yes, I was right. When I logged in, I saw my order, and it had already been delivered yesterday. The delivery man even called me, but I didn’t answer. So I missed that moment, and today, near the end of my workday, I went there and picked up my order. It felt a bit unusual, because today is only December 4, and I already received my presents. Last year I got them around December 30, and at that time it brought more New Year mood. But overall, I’m very glad about my presents, and I’m thankful for them.
As usual, my day started with my morning routine. After I woke up, I looked outside through my window and then walked to the toilet and bathroom. Everything outside looked the same as always—no changes at all. I saw the cloudy sky, the dirty road, and the wind moving the branches of the trees. It felt a bit sad to see the same picture every day. After that, in the bathroom, I washed my hands and continued with my morning routine. Honestly, I was very lucky this morning because I found a new tube of toothpaste. My previous one was empty, and I had forgotten to buy a new one. While I brushed my teeth, cleaned my tongue, and washed my face, the time quickly got closer to the start of my work.
I got up at 6 AM, and it was still dark outside. As I was getting dressed, I looked out the window and noticed the lights in my neighbors’ homes and the shadows of people hurrying around as they prepared for work. I, however, had different plans, so I headed to Kazan early in the morning. When I passed through Arsk at around 7:15 AM, it was still quite dark, and I eventually reached my final destination at 8:35 AM. Since my appointment was at 9, I had about twenty-five minutes to spare. I went to check the clinic doors because I saw one girl working on a laptop inside and another walking around the rooms, but the door was locked. That’s when I realized they were still getting ready for the workday, so I waited outside. While I was waiting, I saw a young man and a girl go in, and I assumed they were staff, so I kept waiting. But then a woman and her small daughter walked inside, and at that moment I understood everything — I simply needed to press the button on the right side to open the door.