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.

Family History: Finding A Missing Relative

Like everyone, I knew about the Ellis Island archives, but I never thought I would need to search there, because I do not have any “ancestors” who arrived in America many years ago – it’s me, who came here! But here I was the other day, trying to find whether and when my great-grandmother’s brother came to America. I was pretty sure he did, because my second cousin told me that the family “was in touch” with him and then “lost touch”, shortly after the revolution, I would assume.

Given how many Jews were escaping Russia during the 1900s pogroms, and not knowing the year when my great-grand-uncle came to America, and not even being sure about the name, I didn’t have high expectations about success in the Ellis Island archives. Still, to my surprise, I got a result in five minutes, just typing a couple of possible name spelling variations. Funny that the guide to the search for your ancestors suggested you shouldn’t type the name that they adopted in the US. It states that all of this “using the name of the village as the last name” or “translating Italian names into English” are not more than legends, that the newcomers adopted their new names after arrival. So I first tried his legal name, and that’s when my first several tries didn’t yield any results. But the moment I typed the name, my cousin said my great-grand-uncle has adopted, I found him! Again, I was surprised that only one person checked all the boxes!

I have to figure out what “Dranden” is because no geographical location is identified by this name, so the officers were not that knowledgeable. Also, I ordered the print of the ship manifest page, because I can’t see all of the details in the frame they showed me on the website. The manifest mentions he came from Lithuania, and it is quite possible that he was on his way, but I still can’t figure out what place name was mutilated like this!

And one more discovery. I vaguely remembered that my uncle, who immigrated to the US independently from me, mentioned our relatives “who were here before us.” I contacted his widow, who told me that she knew about these relatives and even used to be in contact with them, but those were yet other relatives! The relatives from my father’s father’s side, and all the connections are well known, so I will try to get in touch with them as well!

I will tell more about them when I get to the other part of my family history!

My historical posts are being published in random order. Please refer to the page Hettie’s timeline to find where exactly each post belongs and what was before and after.

A Video Of Last Week’s Event

That’s the showcase I attended last week:

Raining

We tried to beat the rain twice today. The first time, we biked for about an hour and had to take the train to the city center, and then biked back home in the rain. I felt cheated because I was very serious about biking more today.

The rain stopped in the afternoon, and it even became sunny, and Boris said he would go for another bike ride, because there would be no more rain for two hours. We went, and we got so rained on, I can’t even describe it! Boris said it was much better than in the morning, because it was an adventure 😂. My biking clothes is still drying!

Best Summer Things

How could it be that I didn’t know about the existence of the cinnamon bun ice cream?!
Everybody takes pictures of the bees in the flower, right?!

Midsummer And Doing Nothing

Gorgeous days of doing nothing! I am still doing all related to my NFP and the 2026 conference, but that’s a fun part of whatever I am doing, and so small compared to my regular workload. All this aside, there can’t be a better way of putting yourself into “doing nothing” than being in Finland during Midsummer, when everyone around is doing nothing, and even most of the museums are closed.

And this sudden warmth, when 66F feels ten degrees warmer than in Chicago, even withth the wind, and even by the water. I would never think about going short-sleeved at 66F in Chicago! But here I was, taking off a light jacket and walking in a t-shirt.

I went to Regatta, knowing there would be a line, and it was, but I stayed in it for less than 15 minutes, got the best cinnamon bun in town, a dark roast coffee, and sat by the water. I wondered about “Beware of birds” on the terrace railing by the tables, but I didn’t wonder for long! It was not even a seagull, but just a sparrow, who swung by my cinnamon bun, which I held in my hand!!! I was just: what’s that soft thing that fell down from nowhere?! And he was gone! Sitting on the railing, showing with all its appearance that he had nothing to do with what had happened! I had to cover my bun with the paper bag flap between bites!

… And Vacations Started!

My flight was not cancelled, it departed on time, didn’t land in Reykjavik, and arrived in Helsinki on time. The food was served, and the luggage was not delayed. The extensive questioning on the Finnish border is a new norm, so I am learning how to pronounce Mechelininkatu the way the border control can understand, because now they are actually checking the addresses!

It was hopelessly raining yesterday, but today the sun is shining, and it feels much warmer than the actual temperatures, even with the wind (do not ask, I have no idea how they are doing in here!). We had a long bike ride (short by Boris’ standards, but whatever). I mean, I think I could go a little bit longer, but not twice as long.

We got back home, he made lunch (and yes, I am on my ten days “not cooking/not washing the dishes/not cleaning”), and went on “more biking.” And I am going over the conference stuff, which is although “normal,” still takes a lot of my time!

Time Magazine: The U.S. Elected Officials Who Have Been Arrested or Approached by Authorities While Protesting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown

The U.S. Elected Officials Who Have Been Arrested or Approached by Authorities While Protesting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown article does not mention Chicago Aldremen, so I can only imagine how many cases like that had happened around the country.

During his speech at the World Refugee Day rally in Chicago on Tuesday, Mayor Brandon Johnson said pretty much “We will do everything to defend our Constitution from President Trump.” Not exactly those words, but very close, which is both ironic and sad.

The Time Magazine article full text is below.

Continue reading “Time Magazine: The U.S. Elected Officials Who Have Been Arrested or Approached by Authorities While Protesting Trump’s Immigration Crackdown” →

Can You Take Me With You?

That was a funny one. I scheduled my AC check for today, because I was going to work from home anyway. The technician came when I was in the middle of my Zoom meeting with two of my colleagues, and by the time he was done with the inspection, we were wrapping up the meeting, and he heard me saying that I was leaving later that evening. He asked me where I was going, and I said – Finland, and started to explain that it will be cold (how cold? – it should be mid 70s this time of the year, but it is colder now, mid-upper 60 – well, that’s not that bad!). He asked whether I had family there, and I answered vaguely because explaining my family would lengthen this conversation way beyond the small talk. I described the white nights, the sun barely touching down, the lakes, the rocks, and the forest.

He listened with the great interest, and said: I have one last question: can you take me with you?

P.S. Having a goddaughter in Finland is a good way out of “Do you have a family there?” 😀

The First Beach Day Of The Season.

Yesterday, when I realized that it was after 10 PM and I was not packed yet, I scolded myself for going to the beach after work. But as it turned out, that was the right thing to do! Yes, I worked from home today, but it was raining all night, and after a little bit of the sunshine in the late morning, it started to rain again, and then the rain turned into a heavy thunderstorm, so no beach today!

It was my first and only beach day this season so far, and I can’t believe we are already in the second half of June! The lake was cold! No wonder, since the whole spring was very cold, and there was no chance for the water to warm up even a little bit. I plunged, jumped out, and plunged again, just because :), but I don’t know how all these kids could stay in the water for so long!

There were so many people on the beach! So many kids who should have been loud, but I was surprised by what a quiet scene it was! As if everyone were quietly taking in this first warm evening.

A ice cream vendor


A Day Before Vacation

My flight is on schedule (hurray!), but I just finished packing (sort of, because two things are still in the dryer, and for those who know me, that’s something unthinkable – my luggage is usually ready on a weekend before my trip). I am working from home tomorrow, but I am actually working until the very end of the workday – I have the last meeting scheduled from 3:30 to 4 PM. I have the air conditioning inspection in the morning, and I need to see my mom before departure, and we have a conference kick-off meeting for PG DATA.

And yes, I still need to finish packing! I am so tired that I think I will sleep for ten hours straight when I get to Helsinki.

To finish on a brighter (literally) note: I found time for Pride Nails! I mean, I had to do my nails before the trip, but also, I actually remembered that I wanted to do pride nails for the past three years!