Ugh. Relatively little time has passed since my previous article The path of a switch in IT v2.0 . But even decided to dash off another one. Especially at a time like this. During the time that has passed since my last article, I managed to go on a business trip to Portugal (to work for the states from there 🤣), live there for a month and a half, feel the spirit of an unfamiliar and truly beautiful country and in particular one of the oldest cities in the world, Lisbon, feel the level there medicine, return home, get sick with corona, recover, wake up from explosions at half past four in the morning and find yourself in a war-torn country, change jobs and, by a strange coincidence, do not let your cuckoo go on a long flight. In short, it’s intense 😁 What can I tell you. The previous article was written with a touch of depression from which it was not so easy for me to escape. Still, it greatly undermines all aspects of life. But I overcame her. And it should be said that this dramatically affected the quality of life. All my sessions with a psychotherapist and work with a neurologist had their effect. I started paying more attention to my health and realized it was time. Although 30 is not a very old age, you can already clearly see that your health needs to be improved. So I started with examinations (and continue) and did all the vaccines that were on the calendar (people were shocked 🤣). Then I drew up a rough picture of what to do and now I’m going through cancer screening gradually. A useful thing if relatives died of cancer. Well, what am I talking about? Be sure to take care of your health. Programmers tend to see nothing but work and neglect themselves. I really don't recommend it. You will have to undergo unpleasant procedures. Very much in some places. And the older they are, the tougher and more expensive they will be. So I highly do not recommend it. Although I managed to come to my senses, I periodically feel the delights of medicine. Well, let's forget a little about medicine. I worked, I mean I worked, and I realized that it was starting me, and whatever was starting me, I was already pretty fed up with the current project. I pulled everything I could out of him, but my Indian colleagues still couldn’t find anything to pull out of me. It was held only by a team that was mostly in my city (the Indians were partly in India and partly in the US. And yes, it was the Indians. I’ll explain later😄). The project was related to e-commerce in the States and was even interesting for some time. But then the last normal technical lead left and a new one was put in his place. There were some hopes for improving the task stack, but it fell apart. We slipped more and more into routine support. When asked about the promised improvements, we only heard from TL “I’m totally with you guys, I’m working on it” (no). Also, more and more Indians began to be recruited from the customer’s side into the team. For both QA and DEV. Naturally, all this greatly reduced the quality of work. And the problem is not even that the quality of the specialists was lower (and it was terrible. Many of our trainees know more than these. They had to be taught how to enable incognito and use Postman), but that their incompetence prevented us from working. QA asked how to test tasks, they couldn’t do it, you went and tested with them, it worked, they created bugs that weren’t bugs, you had to waste time and close them with an explanation of why it wasn’t a bug. And if you have worked with an Indian, then you know that you need to explain in the most concise sentences. Because if you write a detailed comment, then they read the first line (if they read it at all) and, if they’re lucky, the last. Their developers, in turn, don’t even know how to write or fix something. What most often happens is that they supposedly work on a task for a week (no) about which they constantly report verbosely at stand-ups, and then it turns out that the pilot knows how to do it and they pin this unfortunate developer on you so that you explain to him how to write a service. And it’s easier for you to do it yourself than to explain it to your head, which doesn’t want to understand anything. No joke here. If it doesn't break, it will drop. It won't be understood. He’ll just come and bombard you with questions “how to do it.” I have never seen them open and Google. They are just waiting for you to do everything for them. Well, of course, if you start expressing dissatisfaction, then at stand-ups, the Indians begin to be indignant that you are not helping them complete the task (middle, fir-trees), that you do not have time to complete tasks (because the testers and devas have gobbled up all your time and energy) and the manure begins to bubble. That's actually why I call them Indians. They are the worst embodiment of Indians. Here is the TL who left, he was Indian. And all these are Indians. Oh, and one more remaining tester is also Indian. But he goes crazy already surrounded by these people. Anyone who has worked with Indians will understand me. Well, this all started to really bother me. But the time came when they needed a person in the same time zone with the customer, and it so happened that visas to the States were being issued for a very long time because of the corona. And getting a visa for me was no longer an option. Therefore, they offered to go and work for one and a half to three months in Latin American countries. And for a person who does not live by the sea, this might be a cool offer, but I refused. I was seduced by the words about spending the New Year on the beach by the ocean, but I understood what was behind it and decided that I wanted to be at home. The time has passed when I would go on any business trip. It’s also interesting to go to the States, to California, where the customer has an office. I would travel around America by car, see different states. I would spend New Year's with my wife in New York. But spending a month and a half in Latham was not appealing at all. They even offered me Mexico, which I refused even more harshly. It is very easy to disappear there and not be found. Well, I already started making plans for the New Year, to go to the Carpathians, to relax, but I was offered the island of Tenerife in Spain, Portugal, Iceland. And then I started thinking. Firstly, if they are already making such compromises, it means that the person is really needed, and it’s not nice to bully. And secondly, the countries are interesting. As a result, after discussing with my wife, we decided that Portugal is interesting. So we went to Lisbon. Many did not understand why they were sending me. They say this is a difference of a couple of hours with the states. But I was fine there. I went to bed at 2-4 am and became convinced that I would not do this again. I talked a lot with customers and it was really interesting. I liked this kind of work. You are sitting in a nice apartment in the center of Lisbon. During the day you walk, enjoy the architecture, culture, climate, go to a cafe, and in the evening you start working and at the same time drink good port wine. On weekends, you rent a car and drive around the country. This is very cool. Cape Roca, the ocean, local cafes, fresh seafood and cool fruits, Pena Castle. This is very captivating. So, in principle, it was very pleasant. We even managed to visit a clinic in Lisbon). My wife developed a kidney stone that we didn’t know about, and we thought it was poisoning. The pain was severe, so they called an ambulance. To be honest, it's still stressful. An unfamiliar country, a different language, its own rules. But the ambulance arrived very quickly. And not five minutes had passed. The doctors examined and questioned. They didn't give me any medications. Which was surprising. Because our doctors immediately try to relieve the pain. And then they said that you can’t take anything or even drink water in order to get tested and see what’s wrong with your body. They took us to the clinic. Moreover, they advised me to go to a state clinic, because the doctor said that she preferred the level of work of a state clinic. We arrived and were put on a waiting list. They gave us a yellow bracelet and then we sat and waited in line. And what should be noted is that despite the fact that my wife felt bad, she and I understood why the system there was correct. Despite the fact that I had to wait about half an hour to see the doctor, everything was very smooth. The doctors did not fuss, everything was as it should be. They carried out all the tests, all the examinations, and prescribed treatment. And it was the night after Catholic Christmas. It was crazy what happened to the patients. We spent a total of all night in the clinic. But in the end everything was fine. After such an experience, you understand that after all, the Western healthcare system is very much the place to be. Plus everything was free since it was an emergency. In short, this is how we spent Christmas Eve in Lisbon 😄 But in general, I liked people’s lifestyle and I decided to try to adopt it. They work for life and not for survival. Closed cafes in the middle of the day are normal. Since they mainly wait for locals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the rest of the time they devote time to themselves. And that's cool. There are very relaxed people and a light atmosphere. During my business journey, I became the team lead for the backend team. In general, I was never eager for this position, but it just so happened. I decided to try to sell something good on the project. This, of course, cost a fair amount of nerves, since the processes were already in full swing. The Hindus crushed them with their stupidity as best they could. I had to act tough and criticize the PM, QA lead and his team, and Indian developers when communicating with customers. Fortunately, those Americans understand what’s what. I never pointed fingers, but I always brought problems to light and made it clear who was to blame for them. I did this for two reasons. The first is that if you don’t crush an Indian, he won’t start moving (a moment of racism)) Well, what else can I say if this is true). Second, they liked to hide their blabbed deadlines by exposing the fact that we were not on time for something. Well, actually, I decided to deprive them of this weapon and this dramatically improved the position of my team. It wasn't easy and took a lot of work and nerves, but I liked that my team was getting better. Once I even had to bring the QA lead to tears for this. She then asked for a personal call with me to ask why I was so unhappy. It's funny, but they really don't understand why we might not be happy. They sincerely don't understand. Well, after the conversation she left even more upset. So gradually the process began to improve. For my team. Because I was still a filter of idiocy that poured down on me like a waterfall. But we collaborated with a manager from my company and pushed for the splitting of our monolithic project with a bunch of legacy code into microservices. It was not fast, but nevertheless the design began. But before this, for two or three years all we heard from customers was that we would definitely rewrite the monolith. But then a couple of events happened. I returned from Portugal. My wife and I bought a three-room apartment in installments from a good developer, which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. This was the first event. The second happened two weeks after the corona. I recovered and we continued to plan repairs with the company we hired for this. And then on February 24th, we wake up at half past four in the morning from explosions. We didn't understand what was happening. My friends started calling me and saying that we were being bombed. While the explosions continued, the algorithm of actions in our heads simply did not work. We knew what needed to be done, but we couldn’t pull ourselves together. It was some kind of insurmountable primal fear that chilled my veins and prevented me from breathing normally. My wife started getting hysterical and I had to give her my tranquilizer that I take for anxiety and calm her down. At the same time, I tried to pull myself together and take some action. Every ten to fifteen minutes the whole house shook. We live near a civilian airport. My friends live near a military base. In general, due to the fact that the city is relatively small, explosions are felt in every corner of the city. And we were bombed everywhere. While we were trying to get together and decide what to do, evening came amid explosions. We decided to leave the country for Moldova. Fortunately, she is a couple of hours away from us. We teamed up with friends and six of us went in two cars. It was a wild panic for ten hours. Nobody wanted to leave. For some time we all even tried to work. Our companies created emergency video conferences to evacuate people and monitor the situation online. My company created it right at half past three. All CEOs were present. One of them was even in Odessa and also witnessed the bombing. And so we went. For you to understand, every other day I had to change my temporary driver’s license, issued for two years for novice drivers, to a permanent one. At the end of the next day, my license would no longer be valid and I would no longer be able to drive the car. But my task was to take my wife and friends abroad to a safe place. After 13 hours of wild panic, we set out. Along the way, we tried to buy food to eat in line, but the terminals simply did not work. It was almost impossible to pay by card. The ATMs were empty. Fortunately, I always had cash with me. We tried to go as quickly as possible. Along the way we saw a lot of military personnel. We reached the transit zone quite quickly, but then we came across a queue. The queue was huge. The three-lane road with two lanes towards the border was jammed into four lanes. People fled. This spectacle cannot be put into words. Thousands of terrified people fleeing the bombing to save their families. We went out and talked while the line moved slowly. Night, the sounds of engines either running or stopping, distant sounds of explosions and thousands of car lights, thousands of people leaving home and running from danger. This is a chilling sight. We spent the whole night like this. All this time I was driving, since I was the only one who knew how to drive in our car. The friend who was driving the second one was carrying his sister. To somehow cheer ourselves up, we went out into the frosty air and talked to people. Friends were sleeping in a warm car. Everyone is exhausted and tired. I was running low on my energy drink, which I opened to keep myself awake. I only drink them when absolutely necessary. They resuscitate me, but my heart begins to ache. But I had to drink because my eyes were already closing. We often saw people getting out of their cars and waking up sleeping drivers, because they were so tired that they didn’t hear the horn being honked at. So what? This is how I woke up my friend when he was in front of my car. He fell asleep and for about 10 seconds I signaled to him. Then he ran out and shook things up. You couldn't close your eyes even for a second. We spent the whole night like this. All this time we kept picking up with other friends standing somewhere in the same line. Back and front. Some had already managed to cross our checkpoint and were driving towards the Moldavian. The line moved very slowly. For some reason, the Moldovan border guards took a very long time to process the documents. They were simply not ready for such a wave. No one found fault with anyone, and on the contrary, they let everyone go. They were just not ready. Therefore, the line moved very slowly. Once every half hour we drove ten meters. Many people abandoned their cars on the side of the road and walked. Closer to eight in the morning (we arrived in the transit zone at eight in the evening) we already saw our checkpoint around the bend. But then information spread that the borders were closed to men. Which is logical. I asked our wives to cross the border where they would be met by our friends who had already crossed it. They would have had to walk several kilometers on their own, but they flatly refused to leave without us. And then we decided to return. This had to be done quickly, since the return lane was already occupied and it was barely possible to drive only along the side of the road, risking falling into a ditch. Somehow we taxied out and got out. Once we almost fell off the road into the reeds, because it was almost impossible to pass. The return journey took little time. The roads were empty. Driving back we saw many checkpoints and military personnel. We saw air defense crews, tanks and armored personnel carriers. I drove back almost without realizing what was happening. In principle, I barely remember how we went up to the apartment with our suitcases. At that time, the explosions stopped for a while and I was able to pass out. when I woke up, I contacted my company and they told me that for now we are not working until it is clear what is happening. So we made it until the weekend. For the most part we were glad that we were back home. We didn't want to leave. Over the weekend they began to impose a curfew that is still in effect. Morally we were unbearably depressed. And we decided to live with friends with whom we were trying to leave. It was easier with four of us, even in a one-room apartment. We slept on an air mattress, well, how we slept. Turned off. We spent most of our time in the shelter due to alarms and explosions. From the window we saw at night how the air defense works. We saw many lights rushing into the sky and heard many explosions. When we had no strength left to run to the shelter from the thirteenth floor, we began to go out into the common corridor. Just running back and forth with the elevators turned off was especially unbearable at night. So we slept on karemats. I won’t mention the nervous tension, but nights like this really hit me on the back. From time to time, everyone's nerves gave way. The girls had hysterics and were consoled, so to speak, by the whole village. They stayed like that for another month. During this month we have learned to live in a new reality. Got used to PTSD. We accepted that the war would not end quickly. They believed in our army. We believed in people and ourselves. We saw with our own eyes how people stand in line at military registration and enlistment offices to volunteer. At the same time, they were sent to territorial defense units. It was fun to watch how these groups were no longer accepted and people tried to pay bribes to get into them. When they still didn’t get there, they volunteered to dig sand on the beaches for fortifications. All people became like one cohesive team. We saw how our city bristled. When you see this, you understand that who the hell will take it. Here on every street they dream of holding the enemy by the throat. The redeployment of equipment and military personnel occurs constantly throughout the day. People bring food and water to the military and help with ammunition. The whole country donates its money and resources to purchase cool military ammunition and equipment. What can I say? It was necessary to raise one of many times 8 million dollars for a military drone. They assembled it in two days. Ordinary people chipped in a dollar, ten, whatever they could. And they are still chipping in. Our guys buy SUVs abroad, convert them and take them to the troops on the front line. People help refugees with housing, food, clothing, money. And we became part of this and also help. You begin to be truly proud of your country and nation. To truly love. During the time that we lived with friends, we began to work little by little, and then at full capacity. Basically, we only didn’t work for one week, and then we pulled ourselves together. They worked as best they could. During air raids and bombings they worked from cover. To somehow distract myself during non-working hours and not constantly read the news, I learned new technologies and took courses. My current job was getting boring. I began to think about changing the project since I learned everything I could from it and pushed the transition to microservices. I've even started rewriting it. But I’m tired of the stream of idiocy pouring on me. Moreover, they recruited more and more Indians, although I pressed on recruiting our people. Well, in the end, I received an offer to undergo an interview for an interesting project related to geodesy. The company was European and there was no smell of Indians there. I passed the interview and received an offer very quickly. What was nice was that there was also a solid boost to the payment. In my current company, I was supposed to have an agreed upon good promotion in March, but because of the war it was delayed. I didn’t want to press him, since this was not the first time questions arose, but on the other hand, why did I have to lose my money that I honestly earn. I didn’t want to bother with this again, and therefore leaving for another project was even more pleasant in this situation. The new company agreed that I would leave in two weeks as expected. I immediately notified the management of my company. And then the running began) It so happened that I was the person with the most experience in backend development on the project. Of course, I brought along another developer with whom I had worked together before, but at that time he did not yet have all the expertise. Management from the custom side was frantically trying to figure out how to persuade me to stay and what to do if I left. They asked us to do knowledge transfers. Our new technical lead called me and asked why I decided to leave. Well, I once again told him everything I thought. He expressed it correctly, but without concealment or softening. Roughly speaking, he explained on his fingers that the entire team that he has assembled and is assembling, with the exception of ours, are completely incompetent and lazy people who seek to throw all the work and responsibility onto others. He left very sad. Then we called the management of my company. I also told them everything clearly. Well, I repeated everything when communicating with HR. At the same time, I maintained normal relations and in the future I can calmly return if I want. But the truth is only if the project is interesting). The new project turned out to be very interesting. It is written from scratch. New technologies and very interesting tasks. Lots of geography and geometry. I haven't had this much fun at work in a long time. So in this situation, so that the cuckoo does not fly away, this is a very positive moment. And the payment revolt is very pleasant considering that we have to do repairs and also pay dues for the apartment. In general, this moment is of course very interesting, since because of the war there is no certainty that a rocket will not fly into the house. And this is quite a probable thing. Moreover, this has already happened to a residential building nearby. At the time of the bombing I was traveling on business and had just gotten out of the car. And then I noticed rockets flying towards me. I managed to jump between the car and the wall of a house nearby, to the ground. There was no fear in my head. The only question was whether we would live longer or enough. And of course, I prayed that they wouldn’t fly towards the house where my wife stayed. But the rockets flew further and a moment later I heard explosions. The entire city shook from the blast waves. That day seven rockets were fired at us. several were shot down. But most of them made it. Some arrived at the airport, and one definitely deviated from the course or something, but it hit a residential building with direct fire. The house is located not far from the one in which we bought an apartment. And just flew past the walls of our friends’ house. Why we know for sure that it was direct fire is because there has long been a video on the Internet where you can see how a missile hits a house. There is no talk of any downing. You can see how it flies between the houses of our friends. This is really tough. So you won’t envy those who bought their apartments before the start of the war. My friends also bought it. But the house complex has frozen construction for now. Our section has already been handed over, but now it is not known when they will be handed over. But they have almost paid off the loan. In short, meh. But we do not despair. We know that we will win and the country will make a strong breakthrough in development. Maybe we will even work on projects that will make software for our country. It would be cool. Moreover, we are not going to leave it. The option of leaving is considered only if the country is captured. We will not live under a foreign state. We don't need this crap. But this will not happen, so we are making plans for life in our country. Now we have decided to rent a house outside the city to take a break from the loud sirens. Of course you can hear them there, and you can hear explosions, but the house has very thick walls and a good basement. There are sofas and beds in the basement. So you can sleep peacefully there. Fresh air again. In addition to PTSD, people now also experience severe oxygen deprivation. After work ends, there is very little time to be outside. And so we can sit on the terrace in the evening. Well, a nice option is the swimming pool. Since the sea is not available this year. Our shore is mined, and on top of that there are sea mines attached to it. There are already those who did not listen to the prohibitions and died. So we are still in a very good position. Unfortunately, not many can boast of this. We couldn’t have either, but our rental property prices dropped significantly and we managed to find a good house for a reasonable price. So we work, rest as much as possible, and sometimes sit in shelter while the sirens sound. And in the evenings now new entertainment has been added. We will track enemy reconnaissance drones and inform the military. So, it’s not easy to notice them on instruments due to their small size, but you can quite hear them, especially considering that nothing flies in the sky. Well, except for missiles. But they have a different sound. So, based on our tips, they even shoot down. Civic responsibility is important. So that's it. I don’t know if it will make sense to write more articles. Since this is no longer a success story, but stories about life and the improvement of this very success. Well, if there is something interesting about the work, just radically interesting, then I’ll write it down. As a result, I can again advise you to monitor your health. Physical and psychological. Both are very important. Improve your skills in any situation. This will increase the quality of knowledge and competitiveness in the market and will help you get distracted if there is something that you yourself cannot change. Don't be afraid to change something. Something new gives interest. Chat with friends. It is very important. In difficult situations, you can greatly support each other. So, live and prosper! And most importantly, have your head on your shoulders and your opinion. Its absence causes problems for everyone.
And the problem is not even that the quality of the specialists was lower (and it was terrible. Many of our trainees know more than these. They had to be taught how to enable incognito and use Postman), but that their incompetence prevented us from working. QA asked how to test tasks, they couldn’t do it, you went and tested with them, it worked, they created bugs that weren’t bugs, you had to waste time and close them with an explanation of why it wasn’t a bug. And if you have worked with an Indian, then you know that you need to explain in the most concise sentences. Because if you write a detailed comment, then they read the first line (if they read it at all) and, if they’re lucky, the last. Their developers, in turn, don’t even know how to write or fix something. What most often happens is that they supposedly work on a task for a week (no) about which they constantly report verbosely at stand-ups, and then it turns out that the pilot knows how to do it and they pin this unfortunate developer on you so that you explain to him how to write a service. And it’s easier for you to do it yourself than to explain it to your head, which doesn’t want to understand anything. No joke here. If it doesn't break, it will drop. It won't be understood. He’ll just come and bombard you with questions “how to do it.” I have never seen them open and Google. They are just waiting for you to do everything for them. Well, of course, if you start expressing dissatisfaction, then at stand-ups, the Indians begin to be indignant that you are not helping them complete the task (middle, fir-trees), that you do not have time to complete tasks (because the testers and devas have gobbled up all your time and energy) and the manure begins to bubble. That's actually why I call them Indians. They are the worst embodiment of Indians. Here is the TL who left, he was Indian. And all these are Indians. Oh, and one more remaining tester is also Indian. But he goes crazy already surrounded by these people. Anyone who has worked with Indians will understand me. Well, this all started to really bother me. But the time came when they needed a person in the same time zone with the customer, and it so happened that visas to the States were being issued for a very long time because of the corona. And getting a visa for me was no longer an option. Therefore, they offered to go and work for one and a half to three months in Latin American countries. And for a person who does not live by the sea, this might be a cool offer, but I refused. I was seduced by the words about spending the New Year on the beach by the ocean, but I understood what was behind it and decided that I wanted to be at home. The time has passed when I would go on any business trip. It’s also interesting to go to the States, to California, where the customer has an office. I would travel around America by car, see different states. I would spend New Year's with my wife in New York. But spending a month and a half in Latham was not appealing at all. They even offered me Mexico, which I refused even more harshly. It is very easy to disappear there and not be found. Well, I already started making plans for the New Year, to go to the Carpathians, to relax, but I was offered the island of Tenerife in Spain, Portugal, Iceland. And then I started thinking. Firstly, if they are already making such compromises, it means that the person is really needed, and it’s not nice to bully. And secondly, the countries are interesting. As a result, after discussing with my wife, we decided that Portugal is interesting. So we went to Lisbon. Many did not understand why they were sending me. They say this is a difference of a couple of hours with the states. But I was fine there. I went to bed at 2-4 am and became convinced that I would not do this again. I talked a lot with customers and it was really interesting. I liked this kind of work. You are sitting in a nice apartment in the center of Lisbon. During the day you walk, enjoy the architecture, culture, climate, go to a cafe, and in the evening you start working and at the same time drink good port wine. On weekends, you rent a car and drive around the country. This is very cool. Cape Roca, the ocean, local cafes, fresh seafood and cool fruits, Pena Castle. This is very captivating. So, in principle, it was very pleasant. 
We even managed to visit a clinic in Lisbon). My wife developed a kidney stone that we didn’t know about, and we thought it was poisoning. The pain was severe, so they called an ambulance. To be honest, it's still stressful. An unfamiliar country, a different language, its own rules. But the ambulance arrived very quickly. And not five minutes had passed. The doctors examined and questioned. They didn't give me any medications. Which was surprising. Because our doctors immediately try to relieve the pain. And then they said that you can’t take anything or even drink water in order to get tested and see what’s wrong with your body. They took us to the clinic. Moreover, they advised me to go to a state clinic, because the doctor said that she preferred the level of work of a state clinic. We arrived and were put on a waiting list. They gave us a yellow bracelet and then we sat and waited in line. And what should be noted is that despite the fact that my wife felt bad, she and I understood why the system there was correct. Despite the fact that I had to wait about half an hour to see the doctor, everything was very smooth. The doctors did not fuss, everything was as it should be. They carried out all the tests, all the examinations, and prescribed treatment. And it was the night after Catholic Christmas. It was crazy what happened to the patients. We spent a total of all night in the clinic. But in the end everything was fine. After such an experience, you understand that after all, the Western healthcare system is very much the place to be. Plus everything was free since it was an emergency. In short, this is how we spent Christmas Eve in Lisbon 😄 But in general, I liked people’s lifestyle and I decided to try to adopt it. They work for life and not for survival. Closed cafes in the middle of the day are normal. Since they mainly wait for locals for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and the rest of the time they devote time to themselves. And that's cool. There are very relaxed people and a light atmosphere. During my business journey, I became the team lead for the backend team. In general, I was never eager for this position, but it just so happened. I decided to try to sell something good on the project. This, of course, cost a fair amount of nerves, since the processes were already in full swing. The Hindus crushed them with their stupidity as best they could. I had to act tough and criticize the PM, QA lead and his team, and Indian developers when communicating with customers. Fortunately, those Americans understand what’s what. I never pointed fingers, but I always brought problems to light and made it clear who was to blame for them. I did this for two reasons. The first is that if you don’t crush an Indian, he won’t start moving (a moment of racism)) Well, what else can I say if this is true). Second, they liked to hide their blabbed deadlines by exposing the fact that we were not on time for something. Well, actually, I decided to deprive them of this weapon and this dramatically improved the position of my team. It wasn't easy and took a lot of work and nerves, but I liked that my team was getting better. Once I even had to bring the QA lead to tears for this. She then asked for a personal call with me to ask why I was so unhappy. It's funny, but they really don't understand why we might not be happy. They sincerely don't understand. Well, after the conversation she left even more upset. So gradually the process began to improve. For my team. Because I was still a filter of idiocy that poured down on me like a waterfall. But we collaborated with a manager from my company and pushed for the splitting of our monolithic project with a bunch of legacy code into microservices. It was not fast, but nevertheless the design began. But before this, for two or three years all we heard from customers was that we would definitely rewrite the monolith. But then a couple of events happened. I returned from Portugal. My wife and I bought a three-room apartment in installments from a good developer, which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. which we planned to do even before leaving, and then I fell ill with corona. The funny thing is that I became infected in the evening of one day, the next day I had a scheduled third vaccination, which I took because I didn’t know that I had already been infected, and by the evening I was gone. Let them say that omicron is a mild form, but for me it was like a herd of elephants for three days. It was very difficult. I have never taken a sick leave for five days before. For three days I was simply incompetent, and then I was gone for another week and a half. And I was vaccinated twice before. But as the doctor explained to me, it was a mild course. So those who say that corona is like a cold, guys, go throw your head in the dung. I have often had colds and severe ones, and I know what they are like. And corona is not a cold at all. Even when you are vaccinated and follow basic safety measures. By the way, to the measures. Before and after getting sick, my wife and I always wore masks indoors. Although, due to the behavior of the people around me, I really wanted to come sick to some three and walk around without a mask. True, this one fig wouldn’t help. People still think that they don’t need to wear a mask because it doesn’t protect them from anything. But wearing it to protect others is beyond our people’s minds. By the way, this is a striking difference between our people and the Portuguese. Even the children wear masks there. Moreover, about 50-60% of people wear masks even on the street. At the same time, they operate absolutely all establishments. No problem. And the mortality rate is low. And there is no problem with morbidity. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. And they vaccinate systematically. But it is so. Lyrics. 
This was the first event. The second happened two weeks after the corona. I recovered and we continued to plan repairs with the company we hired for this. And then on February 24th, we wake up at half past four in the morning from explosions. We didn't understand what was happening. My friends started calling me and saying that we were being bombed. While the explosions continued, the algorithm of actions in our heads simply did not work. We knew what needed to be done, but we couldn’t pull ourselves together. It was some kind of insurmountable primal fear that chilled my veins and prevented me from breathing normally. My wife started getting hysterical and I had to give her my tranquilizer that I take for anxiety and calm her down. At the same time, I tried to pull myself together and take some action. Every ten to fifteen minutes the whole house shook. We live near a civilian airport. My friends live near a military base. In general, due to the fact that the city is relatively small, explosions are felt in every corner of the city. And we were bombed everywhere. While we were trying to get together and decide what to do, evening came amid explosions. We decided to leave the country for Moldova. Fortunately, she is a couple of hours away from us. We teamed up with friends and six of us went in two cars. It was a wild panic for ten hours. Nobody wanted to leave. For some time we all even tried to work. Our companies created emergency video conferences to evacuate people and monitor the situation online. My company created it right at half past three. All CEOs were present. One of them was even in Odessa and also witnessed the bombing. And so we went. For you to understand, every other day I had to change my temporary driver’s license, issued for two years for novice drivers, to a permanent one. At the end of the next day, my license would no longer be valid and I would no longer be able to drive the car. But my task was to take my wife and friends abroad to a safe place. After 13 hours of wild panic, we set out. Along the way, we tried to buy food to eat in line, but the terminals simply did not work. It was almost impossible to pay by card. The ATMs were empty. Fortunately, I always had cash with me. We tried to go as quickly as possible. Along the way we saw a lot of military personnel. We reached the transit zone quite quickly, but then we came across a queue. The queue was huge. The three-lane road with two lanes towards the border was jammed into four lanes. People fled. This spectacle cannot be put into words. Thousands of terrified people fleeing the bombing to save their families. We went out and talked while the line moved slowly. Night, the sounds of engines either running or stopping, distant sounds of explosions and thousands of car lights, thousands of people leaving home and running from danger. This is a chilling sight. We spent the whole night like this. All this time I was driving, since I was the only one who knew how to drive in our car. The friend who was driving the second one was carrying his sister. To somehow cheer ourselves up, we went out into the frosty air and talked to people. Friends were sleeping in a warm car. Everyone is exhausted and tired. I was running low on my energy drink, which I opened to keep myself awake. I only drink them when absolutely necessary. They resuscitate me, but my heart begins to ache. But I had to drink because my eyes were already closing. We often saw people getting out of their cars and waking up sleeping drivers, because they were so tired that they didn’t hear the horn being honked at. So what? This is how I woke up my friend when he was in front of my car. He fell asleep and for about 10 seconds I signaled to him. Then he ran out and shook things up. You couldn't close your eyes even for a second. We spent the whole night like this. All this time we kept picking up with other friends standing somewhere in the same line. Back and front. Some had already managed to cross our checkpoint and were driving towards the Moldavian. The line moved very slowly. For some reason, the Moldovan border guards took a very long time to process the documents. They were simply not ready for such a wave. No one found fault with anyone, and on the contrary, they let everyone go. They were just not ready. Therefore, the line moved very slowly. Once every half hour we drove ten meters. Many people abandoned their cars on the side of the road and walked. 
Closer to eight in the morning (we arrived in the transit zone at eight in the evening) we already saw our checkpoint around the bend. But then information spread that the borders were closed to men. Which is logical. I asked our wives to cross the border where they would be met by our friends who had already crossed it. They would have had to walk several kilometers on their own, but they flatly refused to leave without us. And then we decided to return. This had to be done quickly, since the return lane was already occupied and it was barely possible to drive only along the side of the road, risking falling into a ditch. Somehow we taxied out and got out. Once we almost fell off the road into the reeds, because it was almost impossible to pass. The return journey took little time. The roads were empty. Driving back we saw many checkpoints and military personnel. We saw air defense crews, tanks and armored personnel carriers. I drove back almost without realizing what was happening. In principle, I barely remember how we went up to the apartment with our suitcases. At that time, the explosions stopped for a while and I was able to pass out. when I woke up, I contacted my company and they told me that for now we are not working until it is clear what is happening. So we made it until the weekend. For the most part we were glad that we were back home. We didn't want to leave. Over the weekend they began to impose a curfew that is still in effect. Morally we were unbearably depressed. And we decided to live with friends with whom we were trying to leave. It was easier with four of us, even in a one-room apartment. We slept on an air mattress, well, how we slept. Turned off. We spent most of our time in the shelter due to alarms and explosions. From the window we saw at night how the air defense works. We saw many lights rushing into the sky and heard many explosions. When we had no strength left to run to the shelter from the thirteenth floor, we began to go out into the common corridor. Just running back and forth with the elevators turned off was especially unbearable at night. So we slept on karemats. I won’t mention the nervous tension, but nights like this really hit me on the back. From time to time, everyone's nerves gave way. The girls had hysterics and were consoled, so to speak, by the whole village. They stayed like that for another month. During this month we have learned to live in a new reality. Got used to PTSD. We accepted that the war would not end quickly. They believed in our army. We believed in people and ourselves. We saw with our own eyes how people stand in line at military registration and enlistment offices to volunteer. At the same time, they were sent to territorial defense units. It was fun to watch how these groups were no longer accepted and people tried to pay bribes to get into them. When they still didn’t get there, they volunteered to dig sand on the beaches for fortifications. All people became like one cohesive team. We saw how our city bristled. When you see this, you understand that who the hell will take it. Here on every street they dream of holding the enemy by the throat. The redeployment of equipment and military personnel occurs constantly throughout the day. People bring food and water to the military and help with ammunition. The whole country donates its money and resources to purchase cool military ammunition and equipment. What can I say? It was necessary to raise one of many times 8 million dollars for a military drone. They assembled it in two days. Ordinary people chipped in a dollar, ten, whatever they could. And they are still chipping in. Our guys buy SUVs abroad, convert them and take them to the troops on the front line. People help refugees with housing, food, clothing, money. And we became part of this and also help. You begin to be truly proud of your country and nation. To truly love. During the time that we lived with friends, we began to work little by little, and then at full capacity. Basically, we only didn’t work for one week, and then we pulled ourselves together. They worked as best they could. During air raids and bombings they worked from cover. To somehow distract myself during non-working hours and not constantly read the news, I learned new technologies and took courses. My current job was getting boring. I began to think about changing the project since I learned everything I could from it and pushed the transition to microservices. I've even started rewriting it. But I’m tired of the stream of idiocy pouring on me. Moreover, they recruited more and more Indians, although I pressed on recruiting our people. Well, in the end, I received an offer to undergo an interview for an interesting project related to geodesy. The company was European and there was no smell of Indians there. I passed the interview and received an offer very quickly. What was nice was that there was also a solid boost to the payment. In my current company, I was supposed to have an agreed upon good promotion in March, but because of the war it was delayed. I didn’t want to press him, since this was not the first time questions arose, but on the other hand, why did I have to lose my money that I honestly earn. I didn’t want to bother with this again, and therefore leaving for another project was even more pleasant in this situation. The new company agreed that I would leave in two weeks as expected. I immediately notified the management of my company. And then the running began) It so happened that I was the person with the most experience in backend development on the project. Of course, I brought along another developer with whom I had worked together before, but at that time he did not yet have all the expertise. Management from the custom side was frantically trying to figure out how to persuade me to stay and what to do if I left. They asked us to do knowledge transfers. Our new technical lead called me and asked why I decided to leave. Well, I once again told him everything I thought. He expressed it correctly, but without concealment or softening. Roughly speaking, he explained on his fingers that the entire team that he has assembled and is assembling, with the exception of ours, are completely incompetent and lazy people who seek to throw all the work and responsibility onto others. He left very sad. Then we called the management of my company. I also told them everything clearly. Well, I repeated everything when communicating with HR. At the same time, I maintained normal relations and in the future I can calmly return if I want. But the truth is only if the project is interesting). The new project turned out to be very interesting. It is written from scratch. New technologies and very interesting tasks. Lots of geography and geometry. I haven't had this much fun at work in a long time. So in this situation, so that the cuckoo does not fly away, this is a very positive moment. And the payment revolt is very pleasant considering that we have to do repairs and also pay dues for the apartment. In general, this moment is of course very interesting, since because of the war there is no certainty that a rocket will not fly into the house. And this is quite a probable thing. Moreover, this has already happened to a residential building nearby. At the time of the bombing I was traveling on business and had just gotten out of the car. And then I noticed rockets flying towards me. I managed to jump between the car and the wall of a house nearby, to the ground. There was no fear in my head. The only question was whether we would live longer or enough. And of course, I prayed that they wouldn’t fly towards the house where my wife stayed. But the rockets flew further and a moment later I heard explosions. The entire city shook from the blast waves. That day seven rockets were fired at us. several were shot down. But most of them made it. Some arrived at the airport, and one definitely deviated from the course or something, but it hit a residential building with direct fire. The house is located not far from the one in which we bought an apartment. And just flew past the walls of our friends’ house. Why we know for sure that it was direct fire is because there has long been a video on the Internet where you can see how a missile hits a house. There is no talk of any downing. You can see how it flies between the houses of our friends. This is really tough. So you won’t envy those who bought their apartments before the start of the war. My friends also bought it. But the house complex has frozen construction for now. Our section has already been handed over, but now it is not known when they will be handed over. But they have almost paid off the loan. In short, meh. But we do not despair. We know that we will win and the country will make a strong breakthrough in development. Maybe we will even work on projects that will make software for our country. It would be cool. Moreover, we are not going to leave it. The option of leaving is considered only if the country is captured. We will not live under a foreign state. We don't need this crap. But this will not happen, so we are making plans for life in our country. Now we have decided to rent a house outside the city to take a break from the loud sirens. Of course you can hear them there, and you can hear explosions, but the house has very thick walls and a good basement. There are sofas and beds in the basement. So you can sleep peacefully there. Fresh air again. In addition to PTSD, people now also experience severe oxygen deprivation. After work ends, there is very little time to be outside. And so we can sit on the terrace in the evening. Well, a nice option is the swimming pool. Since the sea is not available this year. Our shore is mined, and on top of that there are sea mines attached to it. There are already those who did not listen to the prohibitions and died. So we are still in a very good position. Unfortunately, not many can boast of this. We couldn’t have either, but our rental property prices dropped significantly and we managed to find a good house for a reasonable price. So we work, rest as much as possible, and sometimes sit in shelter while the sirens sound. And in the evenings now new entertainment has been added. We will track enemy reconnaissance drones and inform the military. So, it’s not easy to notice them on instruments due to their small size, but you can quite hear them, especially considering that nothing flies in the sky. Well, except for missiles. But they have a different sound. So, based on our tips, they even shoot down. Civic responsibility is important. 
So that's it. I don’t know if it will make sense to write more articles. Since this is no longer a success story, but stories about life and the improvement of this very success. Well, if there is something interesting about the work, just radically interesting, then I’ll write it down. As a result, I can again advise you to monitor your health. Physical and psychological. Both are very important. Improve your skills in any situation. This will increase the quality of knowledge and competitiveness in the market and will help you get distracted if there is something that you yourself cannot change. Don't be afraid to change something. Something new gives interest. Chat with friends. It is very important. In difficult situations, you can greatly support each other. So, live and prosper! And most importantly, have your head on your shoulders and your opinion. Its absence causes problems for everyone. 
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