Looks like we are rolling! I had tons of positive feedback about the conference; there were many great talks, and it looks like there were no major hiccups (although we will know next week!)
Conference Day 1
Author: Hettie D.
My name is Henrietta (Hettie) Dombrovskaya. I was born in Saint-Petersburg, Russian (actually, back then – Leningrad, USSR) in 1963, and immigrated to the United States in 1996.
I love Saint Petersburg, the city I was born and raised in, and I think it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world. Similarly (but differently) I love Chicago, and can’t imagine myself moving somewhere else in the observable future.
I have three children, Igor, Vlad and Anna, all adults living on their own, and one (so far) granddaughter Nadia. I also believe that my children are the best thing that happened in my life.
As for my professional life, I am working in the field of Information Technologies. When I was twenty, I’ve declared that the databases are the coolest thing invented and that I want to do them for the rest of my life. Thirty plus years later, I still believe it’s true, and still, believe that the databases are the best. These two statements together imply that I think a person can have it all, and indeed, I think so! Keep reading my journals to find out how I did it.
iPhone Adventures
As I mentioned, I broke my iPhone screen on Sunday, and I was so busy with everything that I didn’t have time to figure out how and when I could repair it. I was so sure that I did not have coverage (after all, I knew all along that these iPhones are unbreakable!), that I only did a quick search on repair places. There was none close enough to my office that I wouldn’t have to take two hours off work, so I decided “to think about it tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow” finally arrived on Friday, when I could theoretically get off work slightly earlier. I finally asked Google the right question: not “locations of iPhone repair shops” but “how I can replace the broken screen”. And the answer was: click on this link to check whether you have coverage. I checked, and it turned out I did! Moreover, the screen could be replaced while I wait. Apple immediately listed available appointments, and the first available at the Michigan Avenue location was on Sunday at 1:45 PM. The next available at North Avenue was on Saturday, between 5:30 PM and 7 PM. I decided that I do not need to go to the Loop on Sunday, and booked 6:30 PM at North Avenue.
Turned out that was a mistake. There was track repair going on on the Red Line. I “knew” about it, but since I didn’t plan to go anywhere far over the weekend, I didn’t store this information in my operational memory. Also, I knew that the Loop was reachable via elevated tracks, just a slower ride. So it was literally me walking into the Jarvis station and realizing the train wouldn’t stop where I needed it. Also, I quickly realized that I have no time to figure out an alternative route, and the only way for me to get there was Uber, which had two major disadvantages in addition to having to pay for it: 1) it was slower than the L-train, especially on Saturday evening 2) I could not do anything productive during the ride, so it was wasting both time and money at the same time.
Finally, I arrived at the Apple Store at my appointment time (6:40 PM) and waited for a technician until 7 PM (as expected). But then he told me that, because it’s too late in the day, they can’t repair it while I wait, and I need to either leave the phone with them or come one more time. He assured me that if I come any other day before 4 PM, all parts will be ready and they will fix the phone while I wait.
I had to pay for another Uber ride to get home, because I didn’t want to spend an extra 15 minutes walking to the Brown line, and an extra 15 minutes waiting, first for the Brown line and then for the Red.
I didn’t want to come back on Sunday because it would still mean taking an Uber, and I decided to work from home on Monday, especially since it would be the last day Boris and I would be alone (I will have people staying with me during the conference).
Based on what I was told on Saturday, I headed to the Apple Store right after lunch. When I arrived, I was told that the wait time for repair would be three hours, “because we are busy,” and I still don’t understand why this couldn’t be scheduled. I can’t go anywhere without my phone because even my Ventra card isn’t physical anymore. And in any case, it’s 30 min in one direction.
It ended up being three and a half hours, and given where I am now with work, conference, and stuff, I am beyond mad. I had a couple of other maddening things today, all related to time wasted, so it’s very difficult for me to get into a calm mood.
A Long Bike Ride
On Sunday, Boris and I planned a long bike ride with a breakfast stop at Lea. For anyone else, Boris would be considered an Early Bird, but he still does not feel that a wake-up time of 4:30 AM is normal, so we compromise :).
We left the house at 5:40 AM with the goal of going as far south as we could, so we’d be back at Lea by 8 AM. There was a really strong wind from the south, so at some point, I regretted making these plans, but in the end, I was happy we went!
Below are some pictures from the Lake Front South; each time I go there, I do not want to go back north. I wish I could fly to Monroe Harbor each time I am going for a morning bike ride, and then bike south…
Caramel Apple
One more highlight from my Milwaukee trip. Anna promised me the best caramel apple shop ever, and she made sure to include that stop in our biking adventure.
They packed it, and I took it home, because it’s not the kind of apple you can eat on the go!
Pre-conference
Several times a day, I think I should write down everything that happens over just a couple of hours: how many conference-related messages I receive, what they are about, and how many responses I need to send out.
It couldn’t be further from “me doing it all alone,” nothing like that! Many people are helping me and handling huge portions of the work, including catering, sending sponsor information, sending messages to attendees, managing social media, and more!
Still… each time I look at the phone or open my laptop to write something personal, I see yet another thing I need to take care of, respond to, or plan.
The conference is just a week away, and I can’t believe it. And there are so many things to do – still!
Memorial Day Weekend
I am in the final stretch of the conference prep, and there is not a 30-minute stretch when I wouldn’t need to do something conference-related, mostly answering never-ending emails and telegram messages. Boris arrived Friday evening and immediately jumped in to help me, for which I am immensely thankful. We spent Saturday on preparing the room host kits, ordering what else was left to order, and so on. In addition, I am not yet ready with my own presentation slides for the conference, and I realized I didn’t send the Prairie Postgres flyers to FedEx for printing.
Boris said that FedEx’s cutting of the badges (I printed a sample) was not good enough, and volunteered to print and cut them all. I believe it’s way more work, but I didn’t object.
The two non-conference related activities on Saturday included a med-length bike ride, and finally assembling the new coat rack:
Our plans for Sunday and Monday were the following: we had three tickets for Hillary Hahn matinee recital at the CSO (for Nadia, Anna and myself) and then we were all going to go to Milwaukee to visit (Boris haven’t been to Anna’s new house yet).
Nadia studies violin by Hilary Hahn’s books, and we tried to attend a recital last year, and it was cancelled; we finally made it this time.
This day was not without calamities: it was raining all morning, and I slipped on the Jarvis station steps. Twice. First time was OK, but the second time I 1) ripped my pants (I know it’s fashionable, but I do not like it!), 2) broke four nails, and 3) broke the iPhone screen, which I thought was unbreakable.
I called Boris from the train and asked him to put an extra pair of pants into my backpack, which he was going to bring to me after the concert, and I had to live with all the rest. (I went to do my nails yesterday, and I still need to find time to repair the screen!)
The concert was awesome, and dinner at Ryo Sushi was great as always, and we also went to Amorino, which probably was a mistake because the wait time ended up being 35 minutes.
Then we went to Union Station, boarded on time, but the departure was delayed due to technical issues, and we arrived in Milwaukee with a 1-hour-and-15-minute delay!
Still, the next day was great! Boris and I had chosen the bikes (Anna collected bikes from several friends so that we could choose the ones we were most comfortable with), and we set off for a 30-mile ride! My only regret is that I couldn’t take pictures along the way, and I hope to take them on my future visits.
I hope we will do it again!
Flying Back And What’s Next
I took a red-eye flight from Vancouver on Thursday night. It was not because I wanted to save one hotel night for my company, but because it was the only way to get home before Boris’ arrival on Friday afternoon.tio It’s not fun to depart at midnight, but even more so when I realized that there was no One World Lounge in that part of the airport. Same as in Montreal, they have domestic departures. international departures and US departures, which are none of the above :).
On top of that, the flight was delayed for over an hour, so by the time we finally departed, it was already 3 AM in Chicago, and we landed at about 7 AM local time, so I spent the whole day sleep walking, and still had to do some work at work, because I was out for four days
When I went to see my mom in the middle of the day, she didn’t have any pity for me, and just said “well sometimes, I can’t sleep at night”🤷🏻♀️. Somehow, I managed to do some work, ordered some food, went to Jewel Osco to buy the rest. unpacked, and even did a workout (because sitting in the airport for five hours doesn’t help the motion deprivation), and I also baked a creamcheese-rhubarb pie, and as always these days, sent a whole bunch of cconference- related ommunications, and all of this before Boris arrived.
And what’s next? Next is a final pre-conference stretch, which I will hopefully survive!
Sweets – At The Conference And Around The Town
That was a very sweet conference :). During my free half-day on Monday, I walked to locate the venue and found it right by Gastown (the original settlement that made Vancouver, now a historic site). That’s where the Steam Clock is, and that’s also where I found an amazing coffee shop that sold gelato and all kinds of desserts. Since it was just a 2-minute walk from the conference venue, I went there multiple times, sent several people over there, and also brought several desserts to the conference.
I also shared with others a pear-haselnut tart, a raspberry-chocolate tart, and a strawberry cheesecake.
Pictures From The Conference
This year, I felt way more “in the right place” than in Montreal last year. I do not know whether to blame the conference or myself :). Below are the pictures from the conference social media or taken by other people.
Vancouver
I saw very little in Vancouver, but I liked what I saw. I liked the look and feel. I liked the bike lanes and the number of people biking to work early in the morning. I like that the traffic lights have a very short duration – that makes you less likely to try to cross on the red light. Somehow 60F which would feel chilly in Chicago, felt nice and warm in Vancouver. I would never dream to be outside in a t-shirt when it was just a little bit over 60 F in Chicago, but here it seemed fine. Moreover, I caught myself thinking that it felt more pleasan than 80F in Chicago on the day of my departure.
This half-day on Monday, when I wandered around, turned in different directions to explore the streets, and stopped at tiny coffee shops to sample desserts and gelato, was really magical. I felt it very clearly that being absolutely alone was the only way to completely relax, and that was a new feeling. I am OK attending events alone, and going placea alone, but in the past, I slways regretted when I visited a new place, and Boris was not with me to share these discoveries. This week in Vancouver, I felt differently; it felt increadibly good not needing to coordinate my moves with anybody. I saw an art gallery which was open; walked in, walked to the ticketing desk, read the current exhibits descriptions, changed my mind and walked out; all of this without checking on how a person next to me felt… and it was priceless.
Hettie's Reflections 