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.

At NYC, At The New Job, And My Life Just Took a Sharp Turn Again!

It does not feel real. Today is a week since I accepted the offer from EDB, just a week and Thanksgiving weekend in between, and two million things happening simultaneously. All the paperwork with the new company, cleaning the previous company laptop, getting ready for the conference, working on the program committee, with all the last-minute cancellations and talks substitutes, and – did you update your talk template?! – no, I didn’t, should I?!
Today is my first day, and that’s the day I flew to NYC – the first live conference since Jan 2020. I am in NYC for the conference, and I was at the EDB team dinner, and for the whole dinner, I was at one table with Robert Haas (not to mention Bruce). And the CTO walked to me and drank with me for the big day! It does not feel real – to be in the very heart of Postgres and to be there for real, not as an “honorary member.”
Yes, I know – a million things happened in the past week, and I didn’t blog about any of them, and my world had changed again – OMG, how did it change!!! It is more than happiness…

:)

Two reasons Boris could not come here for Thanksgiving were two Ph.D. defenses. One was in Saint Petersburg, and it’s already done, and the other one will be in Finland (not in Helsinki, but I forgot what’s the name of the city close by).

Today, he called me at 5 AM my time to show off in a tuxedo which they lent to him for the event. I do not think he ever wore a tuxedo in his life :).

Looked nice 🙂

A Slightly Dramatic Cookies Decoration

On Monday, we were decorating Christmas cookies in the ODS. It was a very dramatic story. First, since I was coming from home rather than the office, I was somewhat late (I can never calculate the time correctly). What was worse – when I transferred to the Blue line, I saw that I had to wait for 14 minutes until the next train. Unfortunately, the train got delayed even more and then more, and I ended up coming 50 minutes later than I planned.
The next thing I learned was that the oven was broken. It turned out that it was not broken entirely, it’s just that the door was not staying closed, so I had to watch it all the time. I had some baked cookies with me, which I baked at home, so we could start decorating them right away.
The cookies in the oven didn’t turn out very well either. That oven does not bake evenly even on its best days, so even when you use a small baking sheet, the further side is burned, and the from is undercooked, but with the broken door, it was even worse. I destroyed almost the entire first batch!
Then, one of the girls who really wanted to decorate was not there (I knew she had a class, so the fact that I came later left no chances. Many people were not interested and/or wanted to eat undecorated cookies right away 🙂

We ended up making some really nice ones, but I was so frustrated that I didn’t even take pictures! Oh well, next time!

Family Thanksgiving

I can’t finish this post for five days:), so it might give an impression that our Thanksgiving was canceled this year one more time. But we had a Thanksgiving after all, and it was a beautiful one! Until almost the very last moment, we were not sure whether we would get together because Kira didn’t feel well. Fortunately, she felt better Thursday morning, and the COVID test was negative so that the whole family could come.

Boris could not make it this year because several work things piled up, and Vlad almost never can make it. We ended up having a family zoom, but a big part of the family was at one place, unlike last year. It was also an opportunity to test the setup with my large movable screen – we moved it to the dining room for “giving thanks.”

Nadia had a great time playing with my friend’s 7-year-old daughter. They barricaded themselves in the sunroom and didn’t let adults in :). The adults enjoyed the conversation, and I was so glad that we had this gathering!

This giant Watermelon radish came in one of the CSA deliveries
And it is pink inside!
Continue reading “Family Thanksgiving” →

Christmas Is Back: Caroling At The Cloud Gate

This particular concert yesterday was not very interesting, but I am happy that the tradition returned, and I hope to come to one more concert!

The reflection of the city lights in the Bean is one of the most captivating pictures you can imagine!
Continue reading “Christmas Is Back: Caroling At The Cloud Gate” →

Christmas Is Back: Christkindle Market

That’s how many other people and I feel. Christmas is back. Almost all of the Chicago Christmas activities and attractions returned this season, and people are eager to participate.

One of my most favorite things is the Christkindle Market on Maley Plaza. It was online last year, and I am so happy that it is back this year, even though the prices are even higher!
I already went there three times: by myself, with the youth from ODS on Monday, and with mom and Igor today.

I bought a star for the shelter (because nobody can remember where are the stars I bought two years ago, and in any case, the residents are all new).


On another visit, I bought the roasted nuts – a large bag of three different kinds. I need to buy one more so that I could also send some to my friends who love them:).

And today, we all got the anniversary Christkringle mugs:

Yesterday, it ended up being too crowded, and it was hard to see things, so I need to make sure to take mom there one more time.

***

Today was filled with emotions, anxieties, ups, and downs.

Hopefully, all will be good now.

We will celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, and then – looks like yet another chapter of my life is about to start.

Fall/Winter CSA

I really liked it when on Sunday I managed to make breakfast with all ingredients coming from my local CSA deliveries. That’s because Urban Canopy cooperates with other local vendors to deliver the boxes which include eggs, mushrooms, and bread in addition to their vegetables. I could also use their chai instead of coffee, and then it will be everything… OK, next time 🙂

That’s hoe the box came – I ordered a chicken well!
And that’s a box from my other CSA – Nichols Farms

Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting

I forgot to write about the actual start of the holiday season: the Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony. For many years, I attended it regardless of the weather, first with the kids, then on my own. I stopped attending it after the tree was moved away from the Daley Plaza to Millennium Park. The first reason was that the tree should be close to the Christkindle Market; they belong together. Second, the new location is less convenient. You have to be in a specific place to see what’s going on by the tree, and the first year I observed that most people who gathered to see the tree were able to see nothing.

Then, it was the Laquan McDonald unrest. It was quite horrible when people were already marching towards the Loop, and Mayor Emmanuel was lighting the Christmas tree. It is no wonder that people started pulling the lights off the tree and doing other damage to it.

Because of all that, I stopped coming to the ceremony, but this year, everything was different!
After not having a ceremony last year, we had it live! Also, this time around, there was more space to watch, and also, several large screens were projecting what was going on on stage.
Igor took my mom to the event, and one of my friends joined us. As usual, mom was first complaining that it takes too long to get there, and she did not want to inconvenience anybody. Then, she complained that she could not see anything, and then she said that the show with Ded Morozes on the boats in Saint Petersburg was better. Nevertheless, she asked both Igor and me to send her the pictures, and she asked several times how the show was called and for how many years it was on, and then sent the pictures to all her friends.

Fireworks after the tree lighting

The Start Of The Season

I never started Christmas preparations that early. I hate doing Christmas stuff before Thanksgiving. However, this year, with the global crisis of everything, I had no choice but to start early.

I’ve already bought all the baking supplies and ordered all packaging materials. Christmas cards, holiday stamps, and holiday address labels arrived, and all charitable gifts are purchased and either already arrived or will arrive in the next couple of days.

Today, I packed two charitable gifts, baked the first 133 cookies, and wrote and prepared for mailing the first five international Christmas cards.

Now, I am officially in season!