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This is only my third book in English. A few years ago I would never have imagined that I would read books in English at all. To be honest, I have never really read books even in my native languages. I never read books in Tatar or Russian in my life. That’s why reading my third English book feels a bit surprising to me.
After waiting for almost a month, my first order finally arrived. I ordered the book from the online store Ozon. Even though it was a local shop, the book was delivered from abroad. I placed the order on February 9, and on March 11 I received a message saying that the book had arrived. Unfortunately, that was the same day I flew to Moscow. It was a bit disappointing because I couldn’t pick it up immediately, so the book had to wait for me. But when I finally received it, I felt really happy. I had been waiting for it for a long time.
I’ve already started reading it, and today during lunch I managed to read about thirty pages. Honestly, the book is very interesting and really pulled me into the process. The author shares his personal story about learning languages and explains how he started. At the same time, he gives practical advice and useful methods.
Honestly, it was a rough day. I felt like I wasted my time, and waking up late was unusual for me. I slept until 12 p.m.—I can’t even remember the last time I slept that long! I went to bed at 4 a.m., spending the night fixing bugs on my blog and waiting for suhoor. Now I realize it was a bad experience, and I definitely won’t do it again. Next time, I need to stick to a normal bedtime if I want to have a proper morning. My body and mind feel much better when I follow a regular sleep schedule. Staying up so late just makes me feel off and unproductive.
My day was quite busy. It was my last day in Moscow, but I decided not to attend the conference even though it was the final day. Instead, I slept until 9 AM and then started packing my things. The whole routine took around two hours and turned out to be a bit challenging. I had several presents with me, and it was difficult to pack them properly with the rest of my belongings. Because of that, my backpack ended up being overweight. Fortunately, nobody checked the weight at the airport, so everything went smoothly and I had no problems with it.
My day started at 8 a.m. When I woke up, my first thought was that I had overslept and missed my transfer to the congress center. For a few seconds I felt really stressed. Fortunately, it was just a wrong feeling, and when I realized that everything was fine, I felt huge relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I really didn’t want to take a taxi because it was expensive, and I didn’t want to spend extra money. Public transport was also not a great option because I would have needed three transfers. It was cheaper than a taxi, but still inconvenient.
I received this bag of memorable gifts today at the conference. It was a pleasant surprise because I didn’t expect to get anything special. Inside the bag there was my badge. The orange rope was for the organizers, and the blue one was for participants. There was also a special notebook, a pen, a circular plate celebrating Infostart’s 20 years, a paper birthday hat, and a special set of tools for cleaning devices. All of these items were packed inside a blue decorated bag
Even though I am currently in Moscow, I began my day with fasting. The fasting schedule here is slightly different from what I am used to. Suhoor was at 04:47 AM, and iftar was at 06:27 PM. Honestly, the different timing did not cause me any inconvenience. I managed to begin and complete my fast quite comfortably. However, I had to skip breakfast at the hotel in the morning and lunch during the conference. Naturally, my colleagues noticed this and asked why I was not eating with them. I took the opportunity to explain the significance of the month of Ramadan for Muslims.
Today I started my business trip to Moscow, and everything is going well. Yesterday I mentioned that I didn’t really want to go. That feeling was related to my unsuccessful day yesterday, but today everything turned out differently. I woke up feeling calm and surprisingly positive about the trip. The weather was also awesome. The temperature was warm, the sky was clear, and overall it felt like a real spring day. When I arrived in Moscow and left the airport, I noticed that the temperature there was also around +11 degrees.
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.
My old 320 GB HDD is now inside the new box. I originally took this hard drive from my old Asus EeePC from 2009
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.
I like his photos, even though he still uses an old PC with Windows XP and Photoshop 7. Despite this outdated technology, his photography techniques feel very modern, and his professional skills are clearly very strong.
Another interesting detail is his office. At first glance, it looks a bit messy. However, if you take a closer look, the place actually becomes quite fascinating. Everywhere you look, you can find interesting information, old photos, and many other small things that reflect his work and experience.
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.