On family history, parenting, education, social issues and more
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.
A part of me catching up with life was attending four shows in three days, each of them initially planned to attend with different people
Friday evening was a Matchmaker at the Above the Law theater. I went with my mom because so far, that has been one of the few places that she liked, and that was so close to her home. I am unsure what she was unhappy with this time. I suspect that that’s because it was “too late,” although I do not know what she expected. She stayed silent all the time during the show and on our way home, and didn’t talk about it the next day.
I loved it! Absolutely amazing acting! My first impression was that they changed the plot significantly, but then I reread the original script and realized that it mostly remained untouched.
The acting was impeccable (as always), so it was an enjoyable evening regardless.
On Saturday, I had two events at the Joffrey Ballet, and since the Red Line still has the weekend closures, I spent a lot of time commuting 🙂 The first one was a subscriber appreciation event in the morning: a light brunch and an open rehearsal. I had attended one of these events previously, so this time, the reason to attend was to take my friend Y. with me. I didn’t have a chance to see her for several months, and asked for her understanding; she was patiently waiting. The first time I had the opportunity to take her out was that one; it was her first time, and she really enjoyed it (although I suspect she enjoyed seeing me the most :)). Unfortunately, she had to leave earlier because she misread my message about the event duration, but she loved what she saw.
Boris’s birthday was last Friday. Several years ago, he discovered that he and Helsinki share the same birthday, and since then, he refuses to be anywhere but Helsinki on that day. He had sent me several pictures, including those from the reception at City Hall. The Mayor’s office announced that the first 1,000 visitors will receive a piece of rhubarb pie and coffee. Boris was there at the reception start time, and he said that he hadn’t seen anybody left without it 🙂
But that’s not about the rhubarb pie. What I wanted to say is that I can’t even remotely express how thankful I am for everything Boris has done over these two and a half weeks. We had close to none one-on-one time, and almost until the very last day, all our one-on-one time was doing “one more thing” for the conference.
Boris made the room host kits (one of a million things which we had to do since we were running independently this year). He helped to finalize the badges format, and after multiple unsuccessful attempts, he set up printing at home, so that we could print the “last-minutes” and a whole bunch of blank badges. He came up with the volunteer sign-up design, for which I absolutely didn’t have extra mental cycles. Most importantly, he was just there for me. Listening. Hugging. Saying “we are on a roll” and “looks like it is happening.”
I am so fortunate that “we have it all.” So grateful that I never had to choose. So grateful that the most important person in my life knows that “work-life balance doesn’t exist.”
***
I am in the after-stage of the “post-conference syndrome”: I feel simultaneously that “nothing like this will ever happen again” and “who told you it was good?” I am afraid that people just do not have the heart to tell me that it was “not so good.” I hope that this shall pass 🙂
This week was a return “back to normal”, which was so intense that it was probably the “high end” normal. On Thursday, I was debating between two options: to attend the Open House for the Metropolitan Family (where I resigned from the community board a year ago) or to attend the ACM-hosted AI presentation at the Metropolitan Club.
I felt guilty about ignoring both groups, and was trying to measure my guilt. Finally, I decided that I would donate to the Metropolitan Family, and I will go to the ACM thing. They promised cocktails and light bites and DJ before the presentation, and I thought that’s something I deserve after several intense weeks. Also, I knew that our president would appreciate one more person from the board.
It ended up being a mistake, and the only good thing was the view (I never been to the Metropolitan club before, and it is locate on the 67 th floor of Sear’s Tower)
All the rest was mediocre at the most. And to be completely honest, I was so tired, that the best thing for me would be to go home right after work!
Chicago was under a tornado watch for two days, but surprisingly, the opening of the GMF season was not canceled. My neighbor and I were unsure until the very last moment, but at that very last moment, the storm was over, the rain stopped, and the Pritzker Pavilion was open for the concert attendees!
Giancarlo Guerrero is an outstanding conductor. I first heard him conduct Shostakovich, and his interpretation was so beyond conventional that I inadvertently fell into his style. He is bold, both in music and in words, and this concert was no exception. I am extremely saddened that this year, the year of America’s 250th birthday, the day I was anticipating for so many years and looking forward to celebrating with my children and grandchildren, is completely ruind by the person in the White House; that’s why I chose to be out of the country on this day, and that’s why I am hesitant to participate in any celebratory actions and activities. But Guerrero made all of us feel like that’s our party, and we, the people, are here to stand for our values and for our freedoms. It was so inspiring to watch him conduct the National Anthem and accenting “the land of the free.” Unforgettable,
Wednesday was the opening day of this exhibit, and I had a member preview ticket. I figured the exhibit wouldn’t be that large, and I could probably go there around my lunchtime. That worked well!
The exhibit was very informative. I was shocked to learn how many birds die every year during migration because the collide with the building glass! The exhibit provides valuable suggestions on what each homeowner can do to make it safer to igratory birds – I will definitely try not to leave the lights on when it’s not necessary!
And a literal “cherry on top” – Fannie May now serves gelato with all their signature creations!
On Wednesdays, I come to work very early to dial for my online personal training session. My personal trainer lives in LA, and that way, I allow him an extra hour of sleep :). I usually clip my access card to my waist when I get off the L-train, so I do not have to look for it when I am by our building. This Wednesday, everything was as usual, except that when I was by our building and reached for the card, I saw that the part connecting the card to the clip was broken, and the card was missing. I walked back, trying to figure out where that could happen, but didn’t see the card. Then I thought that it was rather dumb to look for it – it could fall off at any moment, even after I just left the train.
I texted my trainer that there was a high chance we would have to cancel, and entered the building through the Starbucks door. Our security issued a day pass for me, but it was pretty useless, because I couldn’t even get into elevator with it – they had to bus me up. And then I couldn’t get to the floor, because it was too early and there was nobody to open a door and let me it.
At that very moment, I suddenly remembered (and do not ask me why I didn’t think about it eaelier!) that my access card had an AirTag, and I attached it specifically for situations like that! I think part of the reason why I forgot about it was my continuous sleep deprivation, and another part was that I didn’t realize right away that my access card fall off with the AirTag. I looked at my phone and saw that the last time the card was seen was very close to the office. I ran out to the street, but the tag already moved. I tried to follow it, but the location was impresize, and I found myself going in circles. Finally, I was on the back side of Planned Parenthood building, and then the AirTag stopped issueing signals.
Disappointed, I headed back to the office, cursing myself for not checking the FindMy right away. I thought that this was finally may payoff fo the luck of winning two raffles. I got back into the building; now there were more people inside (I chased the AirTag signal for almost an hour!), so someone opened a door on our floor for me. I went to get breakfast, and saw our receptionist just walking it. I told her that I will need a new access card (which is a big deal, and I would need to pay a fine), and that I will stop by when she is back from her breakfast. I headed back to my desk, and before diving into work, I decided to open my personal email. I saw an email from the WordPress “Contact” page, to which I paid no attention at first (most times, these are people trying to sell something to me), but then decided to open. The email read: Hi, I have your access card!
…yea, it’s good to have a long and unsual name! There was nothing except for the name on the card! So a person who found it, got into trouble of Googling me, not just throwing the card away! She left her number, so I texted her immediately, and she said she would be able to come out of work for a minute, and told me where to find her. When I saw a person in the purple scrubs on the well-known corner, I knew it right away! I asked her: do you work at Planned Parenthood? And she said; yes! And I told her that I am escorting a couple times a week!
When I returned back to the office, nobody could believe me that someone found my card and returned it. One of my co-workers said: you are so lucky! You should try playing the lottery! I laughted: I just did!
At the PG DATA conference, we held a “Sponsor Passport” raffle: attendees could stamp their “passports” at each sponsor table, and those passports were then used as raffle tickets.
In case someone doesn’t know, I am not a lottery person at all, and the only reason I placed my passport in the box was to set a good example for others. I was called to draw, and imagine my surprise when I handed Pat the first passport and he said: Hettie!
I thought it was a joke, but it was not: I won a $100 Amazon gift certificate! Even funnier, two other organizers won the prizes, and then one of our meetup members!
Yesterday, at PG Day Boston, they also had Sponsor Passports, and I participated again, joking about my PG DATA experience. A couple of people who attended both joked about the “staged wins.” You will never believe it, but I won a $100 Amazon gift card again! And again, my name was the first to be drawn.
I became somewhat nervous, thinking that this luck is for no good. How did it turn out? I will tell you tomorrow – too tired now!
My friend and former colleague was in charge of Pg Day Boston; it was the first event in that series, and I promised him I would come. Fortunately, there are plenty of direct flights to Boston from Chicago, but Boston is one hour ahead of us, and to make it a day trip and to get most of the conference, I had to take a 6 AM flight, which meant I had to be up at 3 AM. That was an extreme even for me, but remembering how I stayed in line three weeks ago, I decided to be on the safe side. I even pre-ordered Uber, which I almost never do.
Also, remembering that there was no food on my flight to Vancouver, and that the lounge does not open before 5 AM, I decided to upgrade to First Class. I arrived at the airport on time; the priority boarding didn’t reopen, so I stayed in the line with others, but chose a shorter line this time. Then, I waited for 25 min for the lounge to open. I got a cappuccino, a small yogurt cup, and a small cup of chai pudding, thinking I would have a proper breakfast on the plane, but they didn’t have any food, even in first class! There were drinks and some snacks, like crunchy bars, and that was it. Oh, well. First World problems:)
The conference took place on the 6th floor of the Boston Museum of Science. The great thing about it is that it is very close to the Logan Airport. Since my flight was ahead of schedule, and the ride was less than 15 minutes, I only missed a small part of the keynote. The most difficult part of the whole day was staying awake, alert, and social while being up since 3 AM. I mostly succeeded :). I had several great conversations, made some meaningful comments, and reconnected with several of my former EDB colleagues. I probably could have stayed for the whole social hour after the conference and been on time for my flight, but I chose to spend this extra hour in the airport lounge and have a proper meal. Even though it was rush hour, it still took 15 min to get to the airport (most of the way it was an underground tunnel). No lines at security, great food in the lounge, free in-flight internet (now the norm with AA), early arrival, and a quick taxi ride home (I know by now that taxi is faster on tbd way back, and not that expensive).
I spent zero time in Boston, as expected. I am thinking – it’s sort of funny how you can actually go for a day to Boston with no luggage, no packing; just a regular backpack I take to work. I am not sure whether it was a justified spending of time and money yet, but we’ll see. I mostly went to support Tom, but he appears to be fine anyway. There was enough EBD people, which made up for the lack of external audience, and overall, he is just more relaxed about the whole thing than I :). Besides, he won’t be doing these conferences anymore; there is a new team coming next year.
Anyway, I guess it was good that I went. The event was different from mine, and it’s OK.
Received it several days ago; that’s how it should be! I especially like the beach bus service 🙂
Happy Summer,
As the weather heats up and summer gets into full swing, we wanted to make sure you know about some improvements and changes that are coming to routes you tap onto regularly.
#124 Navy Pier: Last trip is at 11:55 PM on weekdays and Sundays, and midnight on Saturdays from 5/23/26 (Memorial Day weekend) through Labor Day, 9/7/2026.
#130 Museum Campus: No need to hassle with parking. Enjoy cultural and park activities by taking the #130 to the Adler Planetarium, Northerly Island, Shedd Aquarium, Field Museum, and Soldier Field.
June 7th through mid-August, daily beach service will operate directly to the lakefront and Chicago’s beaches on the following bus routes: [Weekend/holiday service will continue until Labor Day]
Hettie's Reflections 