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It’s my favorite viewpoint on the hill just outside the city. The last time I was here was during winter, as I mentioned in this post
After yesterday’s trip to Kazan, I was pretty drained, so my day only really started around 10 AM. Even though I didn’t manage to finish my previous post yesterday, I stuck to my morning routine and made it my first priority to complete and publish it. After that, I was finally free, with no particular plans other than to rest and make the weekend feel productive in a calm way. The weather, however, had a different plan. The day started off sunny, which naturally gave the impression it would stay that way. But it gradually shifted into something much more autumn-like — overcast skies, a drop in temperature, and a slow rain that quietly turned the roads wet. I barely even noticed how quickly the conditions changed, but in the end, it didn’t affect my walk in a negative way at all.
I had a dentist appointment in Kazan at 5 PM, so I didn’t rush out early—I left sometime after lunch, around 3 PM. The day itself was pretty standard, nothing particularly memorable. I wrapped up a few personal tasks and spent some time watching podcasts, easing into my first weekend after the first full week at work. I didn’t plan much for Kazan either—just a quick stop at a hardware store and the visit to the dental clinic. Still, even with such a simple agenda, I didn’t make it back home until around 10, maybe even closer to 11 PM. Overall, though, the trip felt worth it. There’s something oddly satisfying about driving through streets you used to know so well—I used to be there almost every day four years ago—and that familiarity made the whole experience unexpectedly enjoyable.
Yesterday was a bit chaotic — my laptop, specifically Firefox, started acting up. Today, thankfully, everything’s stable again. But I wanted to continue this story because there were a few important moments worth sharing: how I managed to recover my tabs, and how that whole situation pushed me to build my own backup system. Honestly, I got pretty lucky. Being able to restore my tabs felt like a small miracle, and building my own backup solution turned into a surprisingly valuable experience. It’s one thing to try a new programming language once and forget it — it’s something else entirely to actually use it to solve a real problem.
Today didn’t feel pleasant from the beginning, even though I woke up on time and the weather was just adorably nice. I had a very strange dream that left me with confusing and hard-to-explain thoughts. I also had a headache, and my head felt like it was surrounded by fog. I think it was because of that dream, since I woke up multiple times during the night, and each time I fell asleep again, the same dream continued. It was ridiculously unusual and creepy, and even after waking up, those thoughts wouldn’t let me relax. I really didn’t want to experience something like that again.
When I woke up, though, it didn’t look promising at all—the sky was completely covered in clouds, the roads were still wet from earlier rain, and it just seemed like one of those dull, rainy days. But that guess didn’t hold for long. By the time it got closer to lunch, the weather shifted almost unexpectedly—the clouds disappeared, the sky turned a clear blue, and sunlight gradually filled the streets, making everything feel brighter and more alive. That change alone lifted my mood and made the second half of the day feel much more positive.
I captured that moment in the metrics system’s session recordings—he was reading my post about my VPN and some work issues
Yesterday I noticed a small but surprisingly meaningful moment in my blog’s metrics—something I forgot to mention at the time. It honestly caught me off guard in the best way and even made me smile. I hadn’t really expected that someone from another city would be reading my posts in Russian. That felt different. Of course, I’ve seen readers from other countries engaging with my English posts before, but this was the first time I became aware of a local reader. The metrics didn’t reveal anything more about this mystery visitor, but even that tiny hint was enough to make my day. It felt like a quiet confirmation that I’m on the right path and that what I’m writing actually reaches someone.
Since I got back, the weather in my city has been gloomy, and next week doesn’t look any better — just clouds and rain, almost like autumn showed up uninvited. I was really hoping to get back into riding my bike around the city, maybe even take a few routes through the forest, but that didn’t happen. Instead, I ended up spending the evening at home in front of my laptop, watching YouTube. It’s ironic, because during my trip I barely had time for screens, and now I’m right back to it. To be honest, that’s the last thing I want — I’d much rather be outside, walking, breathing fresh air, and enjoying warm, sunny days.
My trip to Seoul, South Korea turned out to be surprisingly smooth—maybe even easier than my experience in Japan. From the moment I arrived at the airport to getting into the city, everything just felt convenient and intuitive. Taking the bus was simple, paying with my debit card worked everywhere without any friction, and the metro system was easy to navigate without overthinking anything. I never found myself confused or making mistakes, which made the whole experience feel very comfortable. In some ways, it even reminded me of the best moments I’ve had traveling around Europe, where things just work the way you expect them to.
Today’s trip to Kazan turned out to be one of the most stressful travel days I’ve had in a while—two flights, tight timing, and a bit too much optimism on my part. I flew from Seoul to Tashkent and then onward to Kazan with Qanat Sharq (HH822) and Uzbekistan Airways (HY649). In hindsight, not researching the airlines—especially Qanat Sharq—and giving myself only a two-hour layover in Tashkent was a mistake. I’ve taken similar risks before and gotten away with it, so I guess I trusted the pattern a bit too much. This time, though, it nearly cost me my second flight and added unnecessary stress (and expenses) along the way.
The day started cloudy and kind of cold. The weather wasn’t great — around 22 degrees, with a cold wind hitting from time to time, which made it feel chillier than it actually was. Still, I didn’t cancel my plans to visit the last spots I had in mind from yesterday. Actually, I did the opposite — I started as early as possible and managed to finish everything before 6 PM.
Later, after dinner and on my way back to my accommodation, I kept walking around the streets of the district where I’d been staying all week. Funny enough, I had only properly stepped onto these streets yesterday. But today felt like the final walk — quiet, calm, just me wandering under the streetlights. There was something about the atmosphere that felt really unique, like one of those moments you know you’ll remember later.
I found this view of Namsan Seoul Tower near Myeongdong Shopping Street
It wasn’t the easiest day, though. Nothing unusual really happened, but I felt surprisingly tired almost the entire time. I started late, sometime after noon, after taking my time with sleep and my usual routine. Even so, by around 8 pm I was already heading back to my accommodation because the cold started creeping in and it just didn’t feel comfortable to stay out any longer. What’s interesting is that during the day it actually felt quite hot—I was walking around in just shorts and a t-shirt, and at one point I saw a building display showing 27°C. Still, many locals were dressed in jackets and long pants, while most tourists, like me, were clearly in summer mode. It made me wonder if I misjudged the weather a bit, especially once the temperature dropped in the evening.
Today ended up being a shopping day, so everything felt pretty calm, but also more expensive than I expected. Honestly, I hadn’t planned to spend that much money, but it all happened spontaneously, and I really wanted to keep updating my wardrobe. I ended up buying some essential clothes from brands that left Russia after February 2022, and since I can’t find them back home anymore, it felt like the right decision to get them now. Still, this led to another problem — how I’m going to bring everything back on the plane. I don’t have any checked luggage, and my backpack is already full and overweight, so now I have to figure out where to fit all these new clothes and somehow get them home without issues.