Month: December 2023

Between Christmas And New Year

I like this time of the year. I might not be celebrating the New Year as many of the ex-Soviet people do, but I am not one who exclaims, “What’s so special about this day?!” I do look at what I’ve done in the year that is about to be over, and I like it when I hear the year-end podcasts and interviews on the radio. No matter how arbitrary the date is, I like the idea of looking back and seeing what went well and what didn’t, what I can do to correct the course, and what all of us can do to make the world a better place.

That being said, a couple of Time Magazine articles that caught my attention during this holiday week:

Why New Year resolutions fail – I was always curious just about that, and this article gives an interesting perspective (and I added several books to my reading list)

Thirteen ways the world got better in 2023 – A very important reading for obvious reasons. The article lists important breakthroughs in fighting climate change, advances in medicine, and crime reduction.

9 mental health resolutions – The one I never thought of is “develop empathy for someone different from you.” One thing that always puzzles me is “time for yourself.” I think that whatever I am doing is “time for myself,” because I am doing what I want to do, and you will have hard time convincing me otherwise!

And finally, the essay about a new year resolution that resonates with me (most likely because it’s for my age group).

Since there is more than one article today, I am not copying the whole text, so if any of my readers from Russia have difficulties accessing them, please let me know, I will make separate posts for each of them.

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I spent more than an hour trying to say something, but I am giving up: I do not have enough words (or proper words) to describe how I feel. So let me say just that: this year, I am most thankful for Boris being here and helping me in all possible ways: with Postgres things and with personal things, and with everything, giving me the support that helped me to move along and avoid burnout. I won’t be where I am now without him, and my gratitude has no limit 🙂

“Trying to be Barbie…” Talk

There was one more talk at the PG Conf EU, which I wanted to mention. I am not posting in my professional blog simply because I already saw at least a dozen posts about it, and I have nothing to add. But since not all of the readers of this blog follow me on professional platforms, I thought it’s worth sharing here.

My friends and peers, two fantastic women whom I genuinely admire, Laetitia Avrot and Karen Jex, delivered a talk, “Trying to be Barbie in Ken’s Mojo Dojo Casa House.” Unfortunately, the conference organizers put this talk in parallel with another very important talk, so the attendance was lower than it should have been, but there was still a big crowd attending, and Laetitia and Karen received a standing ovation. The recording of the presentation is not available yet, but both slides and the talk transcript are available. I am posting both links here, so that anybody interested could download, see and share.

The slides.

Transcript

Some pictures:

Unfortunately, there were some reactions from some attendees to the effect that “why can’t we have just database talks at the database conference, and why should we instead focus on the gender of a few people?” I believe the response on the social media was perfect: “a few” is exactly why.

The War Is Not Over

Just a day before that happened, I talked to my friend who was in Chicago for the Christmas break. We were very happy to get together and talk about everything in our lives, but not all of the conversation topics were happy. She expressed her frustration, which I seconded, with people around us being “fatigued” with the war and “moving forward.” The conversation she had with her colleagues really struck me. She related that when the holiday season started, many people asked her whether she was going home for the holidays, and when she replied that she couldn’t because her country was at war, people looked startled: which war? with Ukraine? Isn’t it over yet? I can only imagine how she felt, but I couldn’t agree more: one of the biggest frustrations at the end of the year was that the war was largely forgotten.

And then came the airstrikes.

Yes, for the past two days, each news broadcast starts with the Ukrainian war news. I wish there would be a different reason for that. Those lives that were taken won’t be back. But maybe, hopefully, these horrible events would make people think. I hope that what happened was a clear reminder for those who think that this war will never affect their lives. I hope that more aid for Ukraine is coming (and I am going to make it a part of my end-of-the-year donations as well). Aggressors never stop. They should be stopped. Using as much force as needed.

Our Talk at PG Conf EU

Our PG Conf Talk: So, You Want To Have a PG Day In Your City?

Pictures From Prague December 14

Another night of walking around the city (and no, I didn’t miss December 13, I just never left the hotel on that day!)

Did They Have These Wreaths Before?

I do not recall this decoration, and in any case, I find it very amusing 🙂

My Cookies Story – 2023

As I already mentioned multiple times, this holiday season was challenging, and I knew what was coming in advance. First, when it was just the conference, I planned to bake cookies on the first December weekend, and I asked Lena to mark her calendar. But then Anna’s surgery was scheduled for November 28, and that weekend was not an option anymore.

Christmas cookies are very important to me. It’s not like “just because I promised” or because somebody forced me; it’s just that I really enjoy both baking and gifting; that’s why I wanted to find a way to make the cookies happen. I decided to take December 8 off, and Lena agreed to do the same.

I purchased all ingredients well in advance. I worked on my Christmas messages to friends. One of my European friends agreed to mail my cards to my friends in Russia from her country, so I prepared ten cards, printed the addresses, and attached them to the envelopes.

Continue reading “My Cookies Story – 2023” →

:)

A Final Push

Earlier in December, Springer informed us that we would receive the second edition proof on December 26, and we would have until December 31 to submit corrections. I sighed, but – well, what can we do? I am not going to take time off anyway!

Then, early in the morning on December 20, we received another email: Good news! Your proof is ready earlier! Please review and submit your corrections by December 26.

… and that’s all about how I spent my Christmas day!

🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️