Qazan

My trip started at 11:30 AM, after I successfully started my car engine. Before that, I spent about ten to fifteen minutes installing the car battery. The day before, I had brought it inside my house to keep it warm. Since I don’t have a battery charger, that was the maximum I could do. Fortunately, it worked: the engine started without any issues. Overall, these small actions paid off and made me happy, because I managed to leave on time and complete all my tasks.

I also want to share a few observations about the weather. While I was working on the car, the temperature was still around minus 26 degrees. However, the sun felt almost like a spring sun — bright and surprisingly warm. It didn’t bother me at all; on the contrary, I felt quite comfortable while tightening the battery terminals and other mechanisms.

I got out of bed at 10 a.m., although I actually woke up around 9. I had gone to bed only at 2 a.m., maybe even later, so in the morning I felt a bit weak and didn’t really want to get up. I stayed in bed for a while, scrolling through Reddit and listening to someone speaking loudly in another room. I also reread my post from yesterday, reviewed my blog, and planned some changes. I want to implement these updates during the New Year holidays and fix a few bugs in the mobile version. In general, I spent the morning — or rather the first part of the day — in bed, then did my morning routine and had lunch. It was a simple, quiet, and even slightly cozy start to the day, a bit unusual for me.

The day was very busy and a bit difficult. I spent almost the entire day in Kazan—from 12 PM until 9 PM. However, I left home around 10 AM. I woke up at about 9 AM, which was quite late for me, so I had only one hour for my morning routine, and that wasn’t enough. I had many routine tasks that morning and couldn’t finish them without rushing. I started by brushing my teeth, which is always the first thing I do after waking up. Then I shaved my face because my beard had grown quite a lot, and I hadn’t shaved recently. After that, I took a shower and had breakfast. Since I had to visit the dentist after breakfast, I brushed my teeth again. All of this took more than an hour, so I ended up being late. I had planned to hit the road as early as possible, but everything turned out the opposite way. I finally left home at about 10:15.

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 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.

Today the weather was sunny, and it was a busy day. After my morning meeting, I couldn’t start my work tasks. Instead of working on my tasks, I worked on my own personal tasks. I can explain what happened, but first, I want to say what I did with my blog. I finished the text for my “About Me” page and will publish it soon. Second, I started exploring the Google Maps API because I want to update a map to show my flight routes. I hope it will be very interesting and interactive.

Today my morning started at 10 AM because yesterday I was very tired. So today I decided to sleep a little longer and regain some energy. I also had special plans for this day. I wanted to update a few pages of my blog and spend the whole day at home. I honestly don’t even remember the last time I spent my weekend at home. I just wanted to stay inside, relax slowly, and enjoy the weekend without any worries. Everything went exactly as I planned, and I spent my day peacefully.

This morning started very early because I went to my village. I drove my relatives there, and they continued on to another village with my uncle. I can’t name each of my relatives’ villages, but I can say they are in the Kukmor district. They went because there was a Muslim memorial meal (we have a tradition called “koren ashy”), where a mullah or sometimes an abystay (a respected elder woman) comes to recite Quranic prayers (dua). Our relatives spent the whole day there, but my sister, aunt, and I stayed at home.

This day started with checking visa appointments. When I woke up, I immediately checked all chats about the Spain visa to see what had happened and whether there was any news about appointments or other updates. It’s very important for me, so I keep waiting for new appointments. I also checked a Telegram chatbot that tracks appointments and shows which ones are available. After that, I manually checked the visa site for Kazan city, and I kept checking it throughout the day. However, today there were no available appointments in other cities either. The Telegram bot only sent messages about empty appointments in St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Minsk.

Today the weather surprised me because it was sunny all day. But the temperature was a little low, around 13 degrees. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, since the weather app predicted rainy and cold days for the next few days. However, today turned out to be the opposite of what was predicted. That’s why I tried to walk during my lunch break as much as possible.

Today the weather was rainy and cloudy. The temperature was even lower than usual. The forecast for the next few days also predicts rainy and cold weather. But even though the weather was bad, I decided to go to the photo office to take pictures for my visa, because I need to prepare all my documents and try to get an appointment. However, I’m not sure if I can get an appointment or not. Still, I need to try if I want to go to Europe.

Yesterday I wrote about how I hoped for a sunny day, and that’s exactly what happened. The whole day was sunny and warm. During my lunch break, I went for a walk and enjoyed the sunshine. I couldn’t have imagined such an awesome day, especially after so many rainy and windy days. That’s why many people were dressed in just T-shirts, carrying a light coat in their hands. I didn’t measure the temperature outside, but it felt very warm — almost like a summer day.