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Where Did All My Free Time Go?

 I don’t know what happened to all my free time.




A couple of months ago, I thought I was doing just fine. I was managing work, school, house chores, the dog, and even a little bit of knitting. Somehow, I was keeping everything under control.

Now it’s August, and I feel like a big mess.

I blame the news.

Nothing good in the news lately. Smart people say, “Don’t stress about things you cannot control.” But for me, it’s not the lack of control that stresses me. It’s the “worrying” about things that stresses me.

And there is plenty to worry about. 

Russia is getting ready for the election, if you can call the process of facilitating the election. Putin suddenly started traveling around the country, heading mostly toward the eastern part of the country farther away from Moscow and the danger. Apparently, he is trying to communicate that everything is fine and that he is still the president of this wonderful country.

On Tuesday, he visited the “Microfocus” research station. The station was developed by Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) and is located in Koltsovo, in the Novosibirsk Region.

And, of course, when Vladimir Putin arrived in Novosibirsk, the city was ready to meet a distinguished guest overnight. 

In the center of the city, they were hastily repaving sidewalks, laying grass, and repairing building facades. Residents were reportedly asked to stay indoors and away from windows. Before the visit, the city was rushed into repairs.

I couldn’t help wondering: Who should come to our city so that our roads will be repaired? 

Novosibirsk is a big city, 3 hours and 48 minutes (266 km) from Tomsk. It was founded in 1893 as a bridge-builders’ settlement for the Trans-Siberian Railway. Engineers chose this strategic location on the Ob River over neighboring Kolyvan, transforming the site into a massive transportation hub that eventually became the administrative center and “capital” of Siberia in the early 1920s.

At the same time, independent journalists are reporting about new drafting after the election, drone attacks in different parts of Russian territory, and problems with gasoline.By the way, my friend from Gelendzhik confirmed that at night they hear sirens and sometimes there is no gasoline at the stations.

…and after the election… Many years ago, in a different life I voted for the party called Яблоко (Yabloko).

Now The Supreme Court decided to cancel the registration of the Yabloko party for the State Duma elections. Yabloko is probably the only party openly associated with anti-war positions.

Yabloko has been accused of various things, including calls for extremism, supporting the LGBT community, and receiving foreign funding. Citizens went out to protest, but there seems to be very little they can do. Putin’s government will not allow one non-military, opposition-minded party to participate in the election.

And I find that very depressing.

Going back to my free time—or the lack of it—you know I am at school.

It’s not even anything big. It’s just a local community college, just an associate degree, and just two classes most semesters. Sometimes three.

And yet, somehow, it takes a lot out of me.

We don’t have a dog anymore. That was a very hard but necessary decision. You would think that without a dog, I would suddenly have hours of free time every day.

Nope.

I do have three ongoing knitting projects. Yes, three. I know that probably doesn’t help my situation, but I’m trying to convince myself that knitting counts as relaxation. During my first three semesters, I managed to knit, so I’m not sure what happened to that free time now.

We also have our gardens and a piece of land in Vermont where we go periodically. There is always something to do there.

And I spend an awful lot of time reading and finding articles for my discussion boards, writing posts, and responding to my schoolmates. Apparently, getting an associate degree means not only studying but also constantly writing about what you have studied.

I also have a sort of new volunteer job.

I help two young women practice speaking Russian. I wouldn’t really call it teaching because I’m not a teacher, and they have completely different goals and different levels of knowledge. Still, it takes some time.


So, when I look at my life on paper, I can actually see where my free time goes. But does it help? I need to fit in my own language practice—English and Portuguese—as well.

And, unfortunately, there is also the worrying about the news.

Maybe the problem isn’t that I have no free time.

Maybe I just have too many things I care


Resources:

https://www.riatomsk.ru/article/20260811/megasains-uskoritel-skif-tpu
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