Bike riding

The thunderstorm covered my city at 5 PM and continued for about three hours. During the first couple of hours, it was quite strong and was accompanied by thunder and lightning, which reduced visibility all around. At that time, all the views from my window were completely white, and it wasn't possible to see anything. Anyway, it was interesting to me because it doesn't happen every day. So I took a break from my daily routine and spent some time by the window, watching the crazy weather conditions that had been missing over the last few days.

It's so strange when you're busy the whole day with your routine and don't need to worry about work, because I was fired. I shared some feelings about it and how it happened in this post. One thing I didn't expect, though, was how differently I would start experiencing time. During the last few days, I started forgetting the days of the week, and I didn't really think much about it. Before, when I had work, I automatically knew what day it was because my schedule naturally kept track of it for me. But today, I realized it's already Sunday, and I didn't even notice how fast the week flew by.

First, I need to share a story from this post about my oral irrigator. I tried to fix it with glue, but it didn't help. After a few uses, the same thing happened again: the top plug fell off while I was using it. This time, the jet pressure pushed it out and broke another plastic part of the plug. Now it absolutely can't stay in place properly anymore. So I need to use glue to put it back in place anyway.

It was a good idea to check the forecast and move my bike ride to immediately after lunch to avoid the thunderstorms. If I had waited a bit longer and planned a ride in the evening, I probably would have been caught in heavy rain or just barely missed it. Instead, I got to enjoy dry conditions on my new route and didn’t have to worry about the weather. By the time I was out riding, the sky was already starting to get a little cloudy, which confirmed that I had made the right decision.

I had no idea that my trip to Kazan could take so long, even though I started at 4 PM. Honestly, I thought I could go there, quickly finish my business, and head back. Unfortunately, it turned into a long trip that took all my energy, and I ended up feeling quite tired when I got home closer to midnight. On top of that, I still had some personal tasks to do, so it wasn’t until around 2 AM that I finally finished everything, just as the sunrise was starting and everything became bright. Because of that, my morning was a bit late as well; I only finished my morning routine at around 10 AM before starting on my tasks for the day.

Yesterday's post I shared was only about my Sabantuy celebration feelings, but I didn't share anything about my bike ride and skipped some interesting moments. Of course, I didn't miss my bike ride even though it was the Sabantuy celebration. So, in the evening, around 7 PM, I rode across the forest trail and was a bit surprised by what I saw during my ride since some obstacles had been destroyed and removed by an impatient person, so everyone who uses this trail could enjoy riding through the forest. But that enjoyable riding didn't last long. Today, when I hoped to ride the same route, all the obstacles had been restored, and some of them were quite hilarious.

The whole day I spent at my relatives' home and did nothing special. I just talked with them about random topics and joked with my cousins, nephews, and sisters for no particular reason. But it was much more fun to spend my time there than stay at home behind a laptop. Of course, it wasn't a spontaneous visit; I had been invited a few days earlier to celebrate our national holiday, "Sabantuy."

Usually, Tatars celebrate it after successfully finishing the sowing season. In recent years, it has taken place during the first week of June, and during the celebration, everyone can either participate in or watch interesting contests for both kids and adults. Also, the main competition is Tatar-style wrestling, "Köräş," which continues throughout the event.

During my bike ride, when I reached the suspended bridge and crossed it, I noticed a small sign with a restriction notice. The sign informed me that it was a private area and that walking or riding there was restricted. Luckily, the route itself wasn't blocked by any obstacles, so I continued my ride. But next time, I need to avoid this route and be much more respectful toward the owner of the field. After all, nobody wants some stranger passing through their property with a bike or, even worse, a motorcycle. So it's understandable, and I don't have any questions about that area. I also believe the restriction is reasonable, even though it creates some inconvenience.

Today my morning was great. I woke up at 7 AM even though I went to bed closer to 1 AM. By the time I actually fell asleep, it was around 1:30, maybe even a little later. So I'd say I got about 5 hours of sleep and still woke up on time without any worries. In my opinion, all of this was related to my work. On those days when I tried going to bed early, it didn't really help me wake up feeling cheerful. As for waking up on time, I won't even comment on that.

Now I am officially unemployed, but that doesn't mean I'll be spending my time free; I still have freelance projects. However, this day was quite calm. I spent the whole day at home, busy with my daily routine. Naturally, it felt unusual. I didn't need to join our morning meeting, check work chats, or fill in my work hours in a special Excel spreadsheet, which I had been doing every day for years. I also don't need to worry about work-related stress and other issues connected to my previous job anymore. Still, in the next few days, I need to collect some letters from the post office, sign them, and send them back. That should be my last task related to this work.

Everything happened in the morning. When I finished my morning routine, I noticed a message from Google Calendar. It said that I had a new meeting at 9 AM. It was really strange because I never had meetings that early during all my years at work. So I decided to check the participants to understand what was going on and why they had scheduled it so early.

But I already had some doubts that it could be a meeting about firing me, and honestly, it didn't surprise me. On the contrary, I was ready for it and had realized a few months ago that this situation was possible. Honestly, it wasn't painful for me. I accepted the news calmly and said goodbye to my colleagues on a good note.

When I started riding my bike closer to the meadow, I noticed something strange across the trail. It wasn't easy to understand what it was or recognize it at first. Initially, I thought it was just a cat because it was lying on the ground surrounded by grass and trying to hide from me. But when I rode closer, I realized it was a rabbit trying to escape from me. Fortunately, this time it took small pauses and looked around from time to time. During those moments, I had an opportunity to take a photo, even though it was still a bit far away.