Visited the Armenian Holy Savior Cathedral, also known as Church of the Saintly Sisters, and it was awesome. So much history, beauty, and amusement.
It’s also known as Vank Cathedral, which means “monastery” or “convent” in the Armenian language.
Great experience. I’m currently in the city of Rasht, Gilan Province, north of Iran. Getting some peace of mind and rest.
I’ve been feeling a lot of pressure lately, both in my personal life and at work. Nothing feels right anymore. It seems like everything is off balance.
It’s not just me. The situation in the country keeps getting worse. The economy is declining quickly, the political news is always negative, and there’s a constant tension in the air. Every day, there are more rumors about war starting again. It’s exhausting.
We’re losing hope bit by bit, and the future feels unclear and uncertain. There’s no guarantee of a safe future right now. I hardly get any sleep at night. The only thing that keeps me going is knowing I’m surrounded by the people I love.
Sometimes I feel jealous. I see my friends overseas talking about starting new jobs, attending seminars, or taking trips to cities they love. Their biggest worry is choosing between good options or pursuing their passions. I’m genuinely happy for them, but deep down, I can’t help but think this should have been our life here too.
I tell my friends here that everything will be fine, that the future is bright and we’ll get through these tough times. But even I have doubts. I’m not sure about anything, but I try to stay calm, be kind, and keep hoping and working for a better future.
I really do my best. I want to make things right. I want to contribute to projects that matter to me, be active in the communities I love, be productive, help others, and share what I can. But what can I do when I’m feeling desperate myself? It can be terrifying at times.
Just to be clear, I’m not looking for anyone’s pity. I’ve written and deleted this post many times, but I need to get things off my chest. I remembered why I kept this blog up and running: to write what I can’t say out loud. I apologize if this caught you off guard, and I’m sorry if you’ve been a victim of my poor social skills.
This past week has been one of the busiest I’ve had in a long time. Things changed suddenly at work and I had to take on extra responsibilities. It wasn’t part of the plan, but when someone on the team has to step away, you do what’s needed.
The truth is, it wasn’t easy. There were ups and downs every day. Some moments I felt completely drained, wondering how to keep up with everything. Other times, I felt proud of figuring things out and keeping things moving. These situations really test your patience and your ability to stay focused when everything seems to be happening at once.
On top of the extra workload, I also had to support a co-worker who was going through a difficult time. It wasn’t just about covering his tasks—it was about being there for him, guiding him through some things, and making sure he didn’t feel alone in all of this. That part mattered as much as the work itself.
There was also a moment where things got heated in a discussion, and I had to step in to bring some balance and calm the situation down. It reminded me how important it is to keep the team together, especially when stress levels are high. Sometimes, the real challenge isn’t just finishing the work—it’s keeping people grounded and working together.
One thing I noticed is how much we can adapt when we have no choice. At first, it feels impossible, but then you start to find a rhythm. You learn new things, take on tasks you’ve never done before, and somehow manage to make it work. I think that’s one of the hidden benefits of challenges—they force you to grow in ways you wouldn’t if everything stayed comfortable.
Next week is going to be the same, so the marathon isn’t over yet. It’s going to be tough, and I know I’ll be tired, but I’m trying to see it as an opportunity. These moments can either break you or make you better. I’d rather take the second option. If nothing else, this whole experience is teaching me that I can handle more than I thought I could. And that’s something valuable to take forward.
In the end, it’s about perspective. Work will always have its hard days, but if we can use them to learn, they’re not wasted. That’s what I’m holding on to right now.
I’ve probably talked about this before, but it’s something I keep coming back to. When I was younger, I thought age was just a number. I figured I knew more and understood things better than a lot of older people. Turns out, I was wrong.
Now, even though I’m still pretty young, I get that older folks have a ton more experience than I do. They’ve been through things I haven’t, and they’ve learned stuff that I just can’t pick up without living more of life myself.
I used to think respect had to be earned, but now I feel like everyone deserves respect by default—unless they give me a reason not to.
Especially when it comes to my elders, I really should show respect. They most probably have wisdom and life lessons that I don’t, and even if they aren’t always perfect, I want to approach them with respect because there’s a lot I can learn from their experiences. Their choices come from real-life stuff, and listening to that can really help me out.
It’s been weeks and I’m finally back online. Been a weird experience being this much offline but I’m finally here. Too much to catch up. Thanks a lot to any and all of you who messaged me. I’m truly grateful for your companionship.
Cheers.
It’s now the eighth day of the direct war between Iran and Israel. For nearly five days, we’ve been living under a complete internet blackout. Today, a few VPNs have started working again, giving us limited access to the outside world and letting us reconnect with family and friends abroad.
My email is still unreachable, so if you’ve tried to contact me recently, I apologize for not responding. I’m safe, and so is my family — something we’re grateful for.
To those of you who reached out in the early days: thank you. Your messages, your care, and your words meant a great deal. I’ve read them while I’ve been able to, and they’ve reminded me how lucky I am to have such awesome people in my life.
Thanks a lot and best of luck.
I’m also trying to read more books instead of constantly checking the web. I used to read Wikipedia pages about topics I’m interested in, or watch some of my favorite shows on video platforms but now I try to carry a book with myself and read it. I used to read a lot but now I find less time in my schedule, mostly because of the internet. It’s time to log off more and read some good books I have in my reading list.
Oh, I’ll treat RSS feeds the same as books.
The ActivityPub plugin for WordPress keeps improving. Exciting updates and great features.
If you’re reading this through your RSS feed reader, you’re my good friend. After all ups and downs and mood changes, I could say you should have deleted this blog from your feed but if you didn’t, I want to know you more. Please message me.
I still have a lot of mixed feelings about this. Writing feels good but sharing and caring about this blog, or any other online presence, is hard for me. It makes me feel overexposed, makes me feel vulnerable, or even pointless. But I decided to continue writing and sharing, for my own mental health and benefit.
While this web site was down, I took the opportunity to do more digital detoxing. Deleted more and more online accounts, making the number under a hundred, and did some steps to achieve more security and privacy.
I did a mistake of publishing this blog on a personal domain for a while, and I regretted that decision, making my domain public opened doors to spam emails and attracted unwanted attention, and this conflicted with the need to keep the domain and email private. So I moved the private email to another domain, and the change is in process.
I also did some organizing to separate my online identities with ones I share publicly, and did my best to have the best possible approach towards it, respecting my privacy and security.
I tried to explore new things. Eating new food, trying new fashion, using technologies I haven’t tried, playing some board games, and enjoying awesome music. Simone, as generous as always, gifted me his music and I’ve been enjoying them on my last two road trips.
I also been watching two new series lately, bringing back family movie/series nights just like how it was 20 years ago. I still get the same feeling, and it’s very joyful.
It’s spring and we have been enjoying greengage for the last month. They are one of my favorite fruits, and I had a lot of them lately, more than I should have. Definitely worth it though. I waste a lot of money on stupid things but this one I’m not ashamed and I don’t regret it.
Work has been good. I’m learning a lot and my co-workers are super nice. I respect them a lot and they respect me. It’s still a new experience for me and I’m thankful for the opportunity I have. It has its ups and downs but it’s all for my own good, I believe.