Advanced text

As usual, I woke up for suhoor, but this time things didn’t go as planned. I overslept and almost missed it. I only had about ten minutes left before the fasting time started, so everything felt rushed and I couldn’t finish my meal properly. I think this was the main reason why I had a headache and didn’t have enough energy during the day. Because of that, I felt sleepy, annoyed, and even a bit stressed at work. As a result, today’s fasting felt harder than usual, and overall the day felt quite unsuccessful.

First of all, the weather has been extremely cold during the last few days. I even received a warning message from emergency services saying that the temperature could drop to −35°C. Honestly, that sounds crazy to me. I have never seen −35°C in March before. It feels very unusual.

I clearly remember that one year ago, when I was leaving Russia around this time, the weather was already warm. I was wearing light clothes and walking comfortably outside. The snow was melting quickly and spring was already in the air. But this year it feels completely different. Winter still feels strong and doesn’t seem ready to leave. That surprised me and honestly made me a bit sad, because spring should already be close.

Today was the eighteenth day of Ramadan. My day was calm and peaceful. I spent the first half at home, completing some tasks. In the afternoon, I decided to drive around the neighborhood and take some sunset photos. The weather was harsh—-20°C with a freezing wind—but the sun was shining brightly all day. That sunshine was the main reason I went out; I couldn’t just stay at home watching it through the window. I wanted to feel the cold air and see how, even in early March, temperatures could still drop so low.

Finally, the weekend has arrived, and for the next three days I can rest. In general, next week should feel like a small vacation for me — at least I hope so. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, I will travel to Moscow, and second, the week will be shorter than usual. March 9 is a public holiday in my country, and I will also have a day off on March 11, which is the day I am supposed to go to Moscow.

However, that’s not all the news. I also received some pleasant news about my hotel room. In my previous post, I mentioned that I hoped to get a single room during my trip, and it seems that this wish has come true.

I already thought that spring had come. But I was wrong, because the temperature dropped to −15°C, and after several warm days the roads became extremely icy. I noticed it during my evening walk, so I was very careful because I didn't want to fall.

Even though the day was sunny, the weather conditions weren't comfortable. It felt like the middle of winter had come again. It was strange because just a few days ago everything looked like spring. The snow had started to melt, the temperature had gone up, and walking was much more comfortable, even though everything was dirty. But the unhappy winter returned again and reminded everyone that it was still too early for real spring.

Yesterday I almost lost it. I missed my lesson again and received my second warning. The situation was very typical: I fell asleep, and when I woke up, it was already too late. I opened my phone and realized that the day had already ended. The most frustrating part is that I only needed three minutes. Three minutes would have been enough to complete a quick lesson and protect my streak.

Now I only have two streak freezes left. If I miss one more day, I could lose everything — a streak of about 1,939 days. I started it in 2020, and it represents years of small daily efforts. Losing it would feel like losing a small piece of my past discipline.

Yesterday I forgot to mention my small Duolingo failure. It may not seem important, but for me it was. Since the beginning of the year, I had kept a perfect streak and really wanted to maintain it for the whole year. Unfortunately, I fell asleep again and forgot to complete my daily lesson. I woke up around 2 a.m. and realized what had happened, but it was already too late. I even tried to trick the app by changing the time on my phone and completing the lesson retroactively. It was a creative attempt, but Duolingo was smarter than me. Now I have one frozen day on my calendar — a small imperfection in what used to be a perfect record.

It wasn’t a bad day, but it wasn’t a great one either — somewhere in between. I felt healthier than yesterday, and overall the day felt more comfortable. I woke up easily for suhoor at 4 a.m., and then again at 8:30 a.m., which gave me enough time to start working and complete my morning routine without rushing.

As usual, I worked on my tasks, but throughout the day I kept hearing huge chunks of snow sliding off the roof. It’s quite unusual, and it has been happening for more than two days now. I don’t understand how so much snow managed to accumulate there. Every time it fell, it made a loud, almost frightening sound above my head, which made me feel slightly uneasy. As a result, small piles of snow have formed under the window, almost reaching its level.

I overslept until 9:05 a.m., and waking up was really hard. By the time I finished my morning routine, it was already 9:15, and I had missed the first fifteen minutes of work. That’s never happened to me before, so I felt pretty bad about it. I think waking up for suhoor at 3:50 a.m. affected me more than I expected. I felt exhausted the whole day. It really bothered me and made it harder to focus on my tasks. However, I’m not sure why I felt so off. Maybe it was the weather, or maybe I’m catching a cold. I started sneezing during the day and had a mild headache. Thankfully, it wasn’t too painful.

I noticed some really pleasant feelings while I was out for a walk, breathing in the fresh spring air. The smell was incredible — hard to describe, kind of like fresh-baked bread or maybe a cinnamon bun. That scent seemed to fill the whole street and left only good thoughts in my head. The weather was fairly warm, around +1°C, so everything was starting to melt. The sky was cloudy, and every now and then something fell from above — maybe rain, maybe a mix of snow. Luckily, it wasn’t heavy and didn’t bother me too much. Just a few drops hit my face and even made my jacket a little damp, but I could keep walking and enjoy the first spring day.

I didn’t manage to finish all my promises from yesterday’s post, but I did get all my main tasks done. I went to my bank, extended my debit cards, and got some certificates about my account. Then I visited my barber for a short haircut—it cost 700 rubles, about $9, and included a head wash. That was my main goal, and I got it done easily, no problems.

I didn’t have time to walk around or visit my favorite places. The weather wasn’t great—snow had melted, it was around 0 or maybe +1, and everything was full of puddles. So instead, I stayed warm and dry in my car while driving around.

This Friday felt like an ordinary workday on the surface, yet there was something different about it — something calm and almost peaceful. I followed my usual routine, but I felt unusually comfortable throughout the day. No one rushed me, no one interrupted me, and I was able to work at my own pace. It was genuinely pleasant to focus on my tasks without pressure and simply enjoy the process.