The Conference Is In Progress, And I Don’t Have Time For Anything Else!
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.
Prague At Night
Flying To Prague
The last time I flew business class across the Atlantic was when I worked at Pepsi Americas and had that long business trip to several European countries. Interestingly, it was also American Airlines—lots of very nice food and an option to sleep horizontally for several hours.
A Week In Review
Time will tell whether it was a good idea to try to accomplish the impossible. For the whole week, I would go to bed about midnight (except for Saturday, when it ended up being 1 AM Sunday)and wake up at my usual time, which is between 4-30 and 4-45 AM.
At work, having been in the office for only four days between two weeks of time off, I had endless meetings and then worked after hours trying to do some actual work. I was planning my presents, ordering things, writing the cards, etc. In addition, I had many problems with my conference website, sending tons of emails trying to correct them and meeting with the Talk Selection Committee. I had to prepare a million things for the upcoming PG Conf EU week and manage several 2024 conference submissions.
I took Friday off, and I decided not to go to the Corporate Christmas Party because otherwise, there was no way for me to bake my Christmas cookies. I want to be very clear here: this was not a sacrifice on my side; these are my priorities, and I would be way unhappier if I didn’t do cookies this year.
Lena also took Friday off and left work earlier on Thursday to drive to Chicago so that we could start baking early Friday morning.
I do not recall whether I mentioned it, but this year, due to all of the time constraints, I decided to utilize the Tree Santa company for my Christmas tree delivery because I knew I wouldn’t have time to go and choose it. Since Friday was literally the only day I was at home, I also scheduled the tree delivery for Friday.
It turned out the tree was too thick to fit into my tree stand, so they had to give me one of theirs, and it was not as nice as mine. As for the tree itself, it was fine, but the shape was not as I liked it (too thick in the middle), and the top was “tripled,” and Lena and I spent a lot of time trying to put the star on it.
At 5 PM, we called it a day and went to the Christkindle Market and then to Millennium Park to see the Chicago Christmas Tree and listen to the carolers.
Continue reading “A Week In Review”Guaranteed
The two-year pilot program, which provided guaranteed cash payments for its participants, ends in December.
Here is a WBEZ episode that recaps the results of the program. The most important aspects highlighted by author and scholar Eve Ewing are the following:
More flexibility. A lot of other assistance programs dictate how funds can be spent. Guaranteed income programs let people use the money however they want.
An investment in public safety. Ewing says when people return from jail or prison and have alternative forms of income, that decreases the likelihood they’ll resort to violent crime.
One word: Dignity. Ewing says guaranteed income challenges the notion of “deservingness,” and that the right to safety, education and housing should not be decided by economic status.
We Are Baking!
MTT
This abbreviation is how a famous conductor, Michael Tilson Thomas, is referred to (and I believe he introduced it:)). I heard him conduct many times, and I greatly enjoyed his spark and liveliness, and even his habit of talking between musical pieces.
Last year, MTT returned to conducting after an extremely difficult battle with brain cancer, and on Tuesday, I attended his concert for the first time after his return. He is very frail, and it is very difficult to recognize him. He was helped on the stage. Yet, his performance was spectacular, and the audience gave him a standing ovation. Most importantly, he was visibly happy being in the environment, which has been the essence of his life for a half-century.
Copying from his website (that’s not like he looks now, but I will always remember him this way)
Dear Friends,
My return to performing these last months has been very special. The 20 concerts with the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco Symphony were heartwarming. Making music with these great artists and for so many friends in the audience felt like coming home, like coming back to life. I couldn’t have been happier.
It takes strength to meet the demands of the music and to collaborate on the highest level with the remarkable musicians who so generously welcomed me. I now see that it is time for me to consider what level of work and responsibilities I can sustain in the future.
I have not publicly discussed my medical diagnosis. I have Glioblastoma Multiforme, a type of aggressive brain cancer. I had an operation to remove what was visible and had radiation and chemotherapy. Currently the cancer is in check. But the future is uncertain as Glioblastoma is a stealthy adversary. Its recurrence is, unfortunately, the rule rather than the exception.
I’m taking stock of my life and will be reducing my administrative responsibilities. I have decided that, after 34 years, I will be stepping down as the Artistic Director of the New World Symphony. This organization, which I co-founded with Lin and Ted Arison, has been and will continue to be a vital and ever-growing resource for musicians. I’m proud of what we have accomplished and very proud of our 1,200 alumni. I will soon assume the role of Artistic Director Laureate and will dedicate myself to working with the NWS Fellows and Alumni on adventurous projects that have long been close to my heart.
I look forward to my work the remainder of this season with orchestras in the United States and Europe and to the many musical collaborations planned for next season. I intend to stick around for a bit. Creating and collaborating to make great music is what it’s all about for me. Every moment on stage with my colleagues is memorable. I want to thank all who have been supportive during this time, especially my husband Joshua Robison. He has always been by my side and is, as ever, my hero.
I will continue to compose, to write, and to mull over your thoughts and mine. I’m planning more time to wonder, wander, cook, and spend time with loved ones – two legged and four. Life is precious.
I send affection and gratitude.
Michael TT
Your Future Self
I recently read the book Your Future Self by Hal Hershfield. Although, in the end, the book didn’t impress me that much, I liked the main idea of it. The author states that we often base important decisions on our relationships with our “future selves.” When you think about yourself in the future, ten, twenty, or even thirty years from now, can you imagine your future self as a person? Do you think about that person as a stranger or as “you”? Can you imagine what your future self will enjoy doing? Multiple psychological experiments demonstrated that if an individual thinks about their future self as the same person, they usually make important decisions about their life choice considering their future benefits. To put it in more straightforward words, a person who identifies themself with a “future self” would be more inclined to contribute to their 401(k) and exercise regularly. This example is rather primitive, but you get the idea.
Although, as I said, the book overall didn’t impress me (there are many repetitions, and the author does not go into more complex behavioral examples), I was thinking a lot about that concept. It was new to me, and naturally, I wanted to apply it to myself.
Although my life taught me that I should never presume that things will go a certain way, and although I am always ready for surprises, I definitely think about the future me as “me,” and I care about this person, and I do not expect that they would like some tedious tasks more than I like them now, or that they won’t like to do things I am currently doing. And that’s probably why I spend time on planning for the retirement and potential long-term care and I like having a very detailed plan for my retirement years. However, there are some other aspects of the “future self”, which many Goodreads reviews mention: it’s not only about your financial and physical well-being, but also what kind of a person you will be, and whether you will hold to the same values. Right now, when I think about my retirement, I think about how much more volunteering I will be able to do, and how many new things I would try. Nobody can guarantee that this idea will stay with me, but as of that moment, I definitely associated myself with my future self.
Recently, I often think about “what will happen after,” not tragically, but simply thinking about it more realistically: one day it will happen. One day, I won’t wake up (an optimistic scenario). And yes, I think about leaving money for charities, but not because “I will be recognized, ” but because I truly believe in the causes. I thought about it a lot recenlty: I do not need to have a name on a brick, because it won’t matter when I die. I am not sure whether I expressed my phots clear enough, but it really won’t matter. The only thing matters is what we are doing the right thing now, when you are still alive and can do it.
Priceless!
Forwarded by a friend:
While I Was Away…
I didn’t even think that I ordered that much on Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but that’s what I found when I returned…
Hettie's Reflections 