Baltaç District

Yesterday I already mentioned my surgery, but I had some doubts about it because I was worried about my blood test results. However, everything went super-duper well and without any pain. When I entered the clinic, I hung up my coat and waited. The surgery assistant came down and gave me two pills — an antibiotic and an anesthetic. After I took them, I waited for her to invite me in. After about five minutes she came back, and we went together to the surgery room. She had already prepared my X-ray images and other important things. When I lay down, she gave me black glasses, put a special surgery cap on my head, and pinned a protective apron around my neck. After that, she prepared my mouth and teeth and injected the anesthesia. She also explained everything that would happen.

During the whole day, the temperature outside stayed around –6 degrees, and there was a small blizzard. While I was working, I noticed through my window how the snow was falling slowly and trying to cover the ground. The wind was blowing around the roofs and carrying the snow between the houses. Eventually, the snow covered everything, and right now everything is white. It really looks like winter weather. I want to believe that the snow won’t melt and won’t make a mess on the ground. If the weather stays the same, I think I can go sledding down a hill on a tube. I already wanted to go sledding last year, but I couldn’t find time for it. This year I definitely must do this activity.

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 day started with bad weather conditions. All day there was something like a mix of rain and snow, and it is still falling right now while I’m writing this post. Because of that, everything became wet and dirty. I also planned to go for a walk today, but everything was ruined. I thought the temperature would be below zero and everything would be frozen, according to the weather forecast. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, so I spent my day in my warm home. However, it wasn’t bad. Even though I stayed home, I finished my routine. Today I worked on my freelance projects, practiced English, tried to find a service to change my car tyres but couldn’t because everything was closed, and also relaxed after a long work week without any worries.

Finally, the weather started improving. Today the outside temperature stayed at –1°C all day, and everything was dry and frozen. Even the sky was a bit clear — through the clouds I could see some blue colors and sunlight. At that moment, I felt that the world became brighter than on my other gray days. I hope I can forget about rainy days, because the weather should get colder. The forecast predicted minus temperatures and no rain. I even saw sunny days and snow in the forecast.

During the whole week, I noticed how my coworkers were posting in the company Telegram channel about the New Year gifts. So it made me check my order too. Honestly, I didn’t even know my order number, and I had to ask the responsible person. But first, I decided to check it myself on the delivery company’s website, because I remembered how it worked last year. And yes, I was right. When I logged in, I saw my order, and it had already been delivered yesterday. The delivery man even called me, but I didn’t answer. So I missed that moment, and today, near the end of my workday, I went there and picked up my order. It felt a bit unusual, because today is only December 4, and I already received my presents. Last year I got them around December 30, and at that time it brought more New Year mood. But overall, I’m very glad about my presents, and I’m thankful for them.

As usual, my day started with my morning routine. After I woke up, I looked outside through my window and then walked to the toilet and bathroom. Everything outside looked the same as always—no changes at all. I saw the cloudy sky, the dirty road, and the wind moving the branches of the trees. It felt a bit sad to see the same picture every day. After that, in the bathroom, I washed my hands and continued with my morning routine. Honestly, I was very lucky this morning because I found a new tube of toothpaste. My previous one was empty, and I had forgotten to buy a new one. While I brushed my teeth, cleaned my tongue, and washed my face, the time quickly got closer to the start of my work.

I got up at 6 AM, and it was still dark outside. As I was getting dressed, I looked out the window and noticed the lights in my neighbors’ homes and the shadows of people hurrying around as they prepared for work. I, however, had different plans, so I headed to Kazan early in the morning. When I passed through Arsk at around 7:15 AM, it was still quite dark, and I eventually reached my final destination at 8:35 AM. Since my appointment was at 9, I had about twenty-five minutes to spare. I went to check the clinic doors because I saw one girl working on a laptop inside and another walking around the rooms, but the door was locked. That’s when I realized they were still getting ready for the workday, so I waited outside. While I was waiting, I saw a young man and a girl go in, and I assumed they were staff, so I kept waiting. But then a woman and her small daughter walked inside, and at that moment I understood everything — I simply needed to press the button on the right side to open the door.

I woke up at 8:45 AM and, as usual, looked through the window. I hoped to see something unusual or different weather conditions, but everything was the same. I saw the wet, dirty road while cars quickly drove by, splashing dirty droplets around. I noticed people walking fast along the pedestrian paths with their collars lifted. After that, I went to the kitchen and checked outside again. I saw how the cleaning service men were lifting a bag of trash into their truck. They did it automatically, without using their hands, because their truck has a special system to lift trash. Some people were just walking toward the shops.

Today is the last day of November, and in my country people celebrate Mother’s Day. This day is not like other federal holidays when everyone has a day off or when concerts and events are organized everywhere. It’s just an ordinary day, and maybe somewhere there were concerts or events, but when I went for a walk, I noticed that everything was empty, without any signs of celebration. Because of that, I forgot about this day, and my mom reminded me about it. I don’t think it’s so terrible that I forgot, because it’s just a symbolic date, nothing special. I never really pay attention to holidays like this. But my mom still decided to notify me, and she even joked, “How could you forget about this holiday?” She didn’t say it seriously — it was more like a joke. By the way, if someone forgets my birthday, I also think, “Well, okay, it’s not a problem.” For me, all these dates are mostly symbolic and nothing more.

My morning started without water in the sink. When I got up and walked to the bathroom, I was surprised. When I tried to turn on the faucet, I didn’t see even a single drop of water. Everything was dry, and I only heard a loud sound. It felt like a betrayal, because those assholes decided to turn off the water. They didn’t even notify me — they just turned it off. And it was Saturday, when everyone has a day off. So I couldn’t do my morning routine and had to live the whole day without water. It was catastrophically bad. You can’t use the toilet properly, you can’t cook, you can’t do your daily routine or anything else. In short, it was just extremely inconvenient.