I had two more cultural events last week: I went to see the Christmas Carol at Goodman and then to the Music of the Baroque holiday concert at the Alice Milar Chapel in Evanston.
The Goodman play is a holiday classic, and the concert is the one I wanted to attend for many years, but it was difficult to get to the location while I lived in Palatine.
I took mom with me for both things, and both times it ended badly. Some things can hopefully be corrected for the future, but with some, I do not really know what to do. Unfortunately, these two performances didn’t result in any holiday cheer.
Month: December 2021
Merry, Merry Chicago Concert
Yesterday, I was at the CSO holiday concert – what a delight! It was a last-minute decision; I was not sure I would fit it into my schedule comfortably. I decided just a couple of days before the concert, and I also invited one of my friends with her daughter. It was their first time for both of them in the CSO, and I like to take people to the CSO for the first time almost as much as I like to teach people to skate!
It was a very good concert, very festive, the one which helps to feel the holiday magic. I can recall a couple of more exciting shows, which would tell a story (like the one based on O’Henry’s The Gifts of the Magi or the one about the Christmas truce during WWI), but this one was still very good.
The best thing was that the CSO returned to the holiday tradition and presented “Christmas in Chicago” at the end (and as it ought to be, it was not on the program). I think it was in 2018 when they did not sing this song, and I was so upset with it that I ended up not going in 2019!
SO this year, the concert is back, and Christmas in Chicago is back!
And for those who for some reason never heard this song, here ae official lyrics:
Christmas in Chicago – lyrics
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Snowflakes fill the frosty air, skaters frolic on the square
And on State Street dazzling windows are a beautiful sight to see
Christmas in Chicago, as hearts fill with wonder
Lights sparkle all along Magnificent Mile
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
At Christmas all Chicago wears a smile
The City of Big Shoulders wears a robe of winter white
The lion statues wear their wreaths of green
Picasso’s sculpture wears a cheerful multicolored glow
Reflected from the city’s Christmas tree
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
We’ll make a trip to carol at the zoo in Lincoln Park
We’ll sing for kangaroo and chimpanzee
We’ll warm up with hot chocolate there and then we’ll go downtown
To Marshall Field’s and sit on Santa’s knee
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Sleigh bells ring on horsedrawn cabs near Water Tower Place
Church bells peal from steeples ’round the town
Salvation Army Santas add a joyful ring-a-ling
The Loop is filled with happy Christmas sounds
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Chicago’s kind of Christmas is a magic kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Yesterday, I was at the CSO holiday concert – what a delight! It was a last-minute decision; I was not sure I would fit it into my schedule comfortably. I decided just a couple of days before the concert, and I also invited one of my friends with her daughter. It was their first time for both of them in the CSO, and I like to take people to the CSO for the first time almost as much as I like to teach people to skate!
It was a very good concert, very festive, the one which helps to feel the holiday magic. I can recall a couple of more exciting shows, which would tell a story (like the one based on O’Henry’s The Gifts of the Magi or the one about the Christmas truce during WWI), but this one was still very good.
The best thing was that the CSO returned to the holiday tradition and presented “Christmas in Chicago” at the end (and as it ought to be, it was not on the program). I think it was in 2018 when they did not sing this song, and I was so upset with it that I ended up not going in 2019!
SO this year, the concert is back, and Christmas in Chicago is back!
And for those who for some reason never heard this song, here are official lyrics:
Christmas in Chicago – lyrics
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Snowflakes fill the frosty air, skaters frolic on the square
And on State Street dazzling windows are a beautiful sight to see
Christmas in Chicago, as hearts fill with wonder
Lights sparkle all along Magnificent Mile
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
At Christmas all Chicago wears a smile
The City of Big Shoulders wears a robe of winter white
The lion statues wear their wreaths of green
Picasso’s sculpture wears a cheerful multicolored glow
Reflected from the city’s Christmas tree
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
We’ll make a trip to carol at the zoo in Lincoln Park
We’ll sing for kangaroo and chimpanzee
We’ll warm up with hot chocolate there and then we’ll go downtown
To Marshall Field’s and sit on Santa’s knee
Christmas in Chicago is my kind of Christmas
It’s just what Christmas ought to be
Sleigh bells ring on horsedrawn cabs near Water Tower Place
Church bells peal from steeples ’round the town
Salvation Army Santas add a joyful ring-a-ling
The Loop is filled with happy Christmas sounds
Christmas in Chicago is music and laughter
And singing carols here at Orchestra Hall
I love Christmas in Chicago, that’s my kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all
Chicago’s kind of Christmas is a magic kind of Christmas
It’s like no other Christmas at all!
And that’s exactly how we felt!
What’s Going On At Work
I do not have any time off in December, and I even found out today that December 31 will be a workday. Well, hopefully, I will be able to accomplish something! Although I didn’t do any billable hours yet, there are so many things to do! I still need to install tons of tools on my laptop, learn about proprietary products and go over many hours of training.
I believe that all ethic training combined took around twenty hours. But after all that happened to me this fall, I will never complain about things like that, nor I would ever call such training “stupid.” Now I know how important it is to have a policy in place.
The policy training courses are not very complicated; it just takes time. But I do not even know how to proceed with all the products training. It feels like another sixty hours, at least!
Meanwhile, I shadowed one of the consultants, and I was surprised to see that I could add value to his analysis. These are the two main trends in how I feel about work now: overwhelmed by the amount of learning I still have to do and the surprising impact I can make. It’s not like any other job I had before, and I am still trying to put in words what’s the difference.
It’s for the first time in my life that I work in a truly worldwide company. I never know at which part of the world my tech support ticket will be picked up, and I know that it does not happen because the labor in the other parts of the world is cheaper. It happens because talent is everywhere. That’s the company with no juniors; each individual is outstanding. It’s an honor to be a part of that team.
And More Christmas!
Presents and cards keep coming! I received cookies from my friends in Indiana and chocolates from Sweden.
People’s Connections
The last several days were filled with visits and conversations, making me feel very good. Yesterday, Anna and her family visited me, and the highlight of the day was going skating at Millennium Park. I told Nadia a long time ago that I would teach her to skate, and we pretty much did it yesterday! She was able to glide for a bit, and she got the feeling of skating rather than walking on ice. I am sure that next time she is on the skating rink, she will skate on her own.
We also had a short visit to the Art Institue and saw the Neapolitan Creche, and then we came back to my house, and Anna made dinner for everybody. Initially, we didn’t plan to eat at home, but we ended up having lunch and dinner at my house. Lunch was a takeout, and then Anna made an awesome paste dinner. I rarely make pasta for myself because it is challenging to make pasta for one :). So it was all good.
I received two presents with my Saturday mail: one from my very dear friend in Chicago and one from my friends in Ireland.
ODS Christmas Party
This year, the Night Ministry decided against the large Christmas party as we used to have in the Church – for the residents of all different programs. However, each program had its own party.
I can’t really tell whether I like it more or less this way (to be honest, I think the food was not of the best quality and variety in comparison with the previous years). But it was still fun, and my cookies were very much appreciated, although the residents kept asking when I will come to make Mom’s soup 🙂
New Christmas Ornament
My Christmas ornaments come from all over the world, and I have a story about each ornament on my tree. Lena’s mother is an artist in Saint-Petersburg. She makes jewelry and stunning Christmas ornaments; I have several ornaments that she painted – Lena gifts one for me almost each Christmas. Now, I follower both her and her mother on Instagram, and I saw this ornament with the squirrel and commented that I love it most.
Well, I got it :). Others on this Instagram post are the ones from previous years.
A Weekend Filled With Holiday Activities
Last weekend, when Lena visited me, we went to the Christkindle Market. Lena didn’t have an opportunity to visit it for many years! It turned out that she didn’t even know that Chicago’s official Christmas tree was moved to Millennium Park!
By then, I visited the marked four of five times, and there was no problem getting in, but there was a huge line to enter that time! The line circled Daley Center twice, and although it was moving pretty fast, it took us 35 minutes to get inside.
Inside, the market was packed! However, it turned out that people didn’t really look around – there were food stands with no lines at all, so we were able to get our drinks (I brought the mug which I got during one of my previous visits, and Lena got a new one), and then food – this time, I chose a “kilometer” sausage.
The Cookies Travel The World
I do not understand anything about the international mail this year! Although Boris suggested some ideas which might be legit. He says that the international mail is most likely sorted in the local post office right away. Then if there is not that much mail to a specific destination, they might wait longer (to fill a container?) before sending it to the distribution center. It makes sense, and it explains a lot. But now, all of my eight international parcels mailed on the same day are at different stages of their travel.
The parcel to the UK was delivered on Monday. The parcel to Germany arrived on Tuesday, but it was not delivered since a person was not at home. The parcel to Ireland just left ORD yesterday. The parcel to New Zealand was sent to New York (?!), and today it was in Japan (?!). Others either didn’t leave the US yet, or their movements were not reported.
Waiting for the updates:)
And More Cookies!
Usually, I take a lot of pictures when Lena and I are baking and decorating cookies, but this time, we were way too busy. Last year, before the vaccine, I baked all the cookies by myself, and it was great that this year was different!
We baked 910 cookies total! As of now, I shipped 14 boxes and gifted six, and I still have plenty of cookies 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 