On family history, parenting, education, social issues and more
On a more cheerful topic, on Saturday, after our visit to the Art Institute, we went to Millennium Park and took a detour to the Lurie Garden. I never checked it out in spring, and it turned out that the spring prairie was it full bloom! I was running from one flower patch to another and couldn’t get enough of it. I have nothing else to say, just pictures:)
Another Russia-related Kafkian story. I knew my Russian passport was to expire in 2024, but in January, June seemed far away, and then life happened. Three or four weeks ago (not like life stopped happening, but I suddenly remembered that I was about to create a huge problem) I realized that I needed to apply for a new passport immediately: if I did not have a new passport before the old one expires, I would have to go through the “citizenship verification process.” That could take several months, and only then could I apply for a passport.
I went to the Russian Consulate in New York website and filled in the application. Then I needed to make an in-person appointment (they are not accepting applications by mail.) I started to look for an available slot, and it turned out that the first available was in mid-August. I took it, but I knew this was two months after my passport expiration, so I also signed up for a queue to receive the offers for the spots that could be released and offered to people in the queue.
Now, check out what were the conditions to stay in this queue:
Although I tried very hard, it was impossible for me to keep monitoring all of these conditions while doing my day job and the conference, so eventually, I was kicked out. Not knowing what to do, I emailed the Consulate, asking them what I could do and what would happen if I did not get an appointment before my passport expired.
To my surprise, they replied in a couple of hours with the following: Right now, there are several openings on the following days (days listed). Do not get into a queue; go to the portal and reserve your spot. I did as they said and booked an appointment for May 2. I hope that it will go well, although there is a whole bunch of things I need to prepare, including cash for the services (they are not allowed to use banking systems at the moment) and a stamped return envelope. But at least I have an appointment!
P.S. If anybody wonders why on Earth I need a Russian passport, here is why. 1) Even if I choose to denounce my Russian citizenship, I have to have a current passport; otherwise, I can’t legally do this. 2) I do not want to pay the Russian government the fees that I have to pay for citizenship 3) If I don’t have a passport and don’t properly denounce the citizenship, I can’t get a visa to Russia either.
To be continued.
Mom’s bank blocked her again. It took us a lot of time and effort to unblock her account last time. Everything worked for a while, and I checked her balance occasionally. Then, one day (I wanted to change the card used to reload her Russian phone because the card used before had no money left), the bank blocked us.
I remembered what we did last time, so I came to her and had her call the bank using her Russian phone (I asked Boris to add money there). She called, and the operator asked her to verify her name, date of birth, passport number, and where and when it was issued. She gave them all the information. Then, the operator asked her what her secret word was, and she could not remember (of course!). Then the operator said that since she couldn’t remember, she couldn’t unlock her account, so she would text a link to reset the secret.
I can never understand what the point was because my mom had called from the correct number, and she had already verified the information, so what difference would it make to receive a text to the same number? But needless to say, the text never arrived. The account is still blocked, and I have no idea what to do next.
I imagine that they probably can’t believe that my mom is still alive at 89, but this does not mean they have to block her account every two months. I hate to spend time on this, especially when there is no resolution.
It looks like I am rolling into a season of morning biking. I hope that there will be no more freezing temperatures in the morning and I will be able to bike before work most days.
Full disclosure – these pictures and videos were taken on Sunday, a little bit later than I bike before work. I am not catching sunrises yet when I bike before 6 AM. Almost there, though.
When I was almost done, a lady started to walk towards me. She apologized for getting into my frame, but I told her that I was already done and that it was just her silhouette, which was very cinematic.
Anna and her Family visited me this weekend. They arrived on Friday night. On Saturday morning, we had a little kids’ concert, then we went to the Art Institute and Millennium Park and had dinner at my house.
I think it was one of the best Chicago weekends we had so far. This time, Kira actually sat and listened to the concert and was engaged all the time. Also, it was almost the first time when she wanted to see the exhibits before rushing to Ryan’s center. The projects that they had at Ryan’s center this time were probably the best we ever made: creating your own miniature rooms.
Anna said right away that she wanted to make her own project, too, not just helping the girls, so I ended up helping everyone:). It was a very fun project, indeed. Anna told Nadia that adults rarely do crafts, and Nadia asked why. We had to admit that there are no good reasons not to do them (and, in fact, some adults do quite a bit!).
Here is the music room Anna crafted (with a little bit of my help :))
Some other people’s crafts:
I said this twice on Friday: I never do what I “have to,” I always do what I want to do. The first time I said it was when Anna was planning to take the train to Chicago, and I realized I would need to go home first and then back to the Loop. A couple hours later, I repeated the same thing to my mom when she said that I was very busy and that I should skip some things, including coming to see her so often. That one was funny because when it happens that I do not stop by her for three days in a row, she says that she hasn’t seen me for such a long time! I told her the same thing: when I can’t, I don’t, but if I stop by, it means I can and I want.
Interestingly, that’s true. I keep repeating it, and I am surprised myself to realize how true it is. And just to prove my point, when on Friday I felt that I was really tired and could not work productively, I packed and left at 3 PM:)
On Thursday, I visited the conference venue and talked to the event manager about the conference details. When I returned to the office, I sent a Telegram message to K., who is our Chair of the Talks Selection Committee and my good friend. She is seven time zones ahead of me, but I knew that she was waiting to hear the results of my meeting so that she could finalize the schedule. I asked her whether she could talk so that I could fill her in.
She replied that she was out with her husband for their anniversary dinner and that she didn’t think he would take it well. I apologized and put all of the details into an email, but I thought: my husband would take it well! I even asked Boris the next day :). He said that he would probably make fun of me, but he would definitely understand and wouldn’t hold it against me.
I know that that’s against all psychology, all work-life balance basics, and contrary to how happy families should function. But that’s how it works for us:)
A couple of days ago, I finally met with my former colleague – iI can’t say that we lost touch, but it had been a while since we met in person. We made plans multiple times, but it took a while for these plans to materialize. We finally met this week, and we had a lot to talk about, both professionally and personally. While we shared what had happened to both of us during the past several years, he said: I always admired how you can be passionate about several things at once. I can be passionate about my job; I know how good it feels, but the moment I start to be passionate about something else, a political cause or a personal project, my job becomes “just a job.” I do not know how you can do what you do – care about multiple things at the same time.
It was an interesting observation – I never thought about it, or rather it never occurred to me that this is an exceptional quality, but I started to think about it, and I had to agree – many people I know have only one big passion in their lives. And then, they can’t understand why I am not 100% focused on a project that I am doing together with them, because they can’t imagine that for me, it’s one of many things I am doing.
I am not saying that I am right, and doing multiple things instead of focusing on one cause and supporting it with all resources might not be the best idea. It just reflects who I am. I have a difficult time saying “no” to new potential experiences and opportunities to make the world a better place. And I do not want to sound pathetic 🙂
I have some friends who do not believe that you can make a budget by carefully planning your expenses and not wasting money. They believe that the only way to improve your situation is to find a higher-paying job. Another group of my friends is the opposite: they know how to budget wisely and know that revising your expenses is the most important part of improving your financial situation. The way they are able to save amazes me!
Of course, not enough money is not enough money, and to what extent you can improve your situation is a relative thing. There are plenty of people around me who just don’t have enough. The question remains whether you are making the most with the money you have.
When I had already purchased my new place and hadn’t sold my old place yet, and also had to invest a lot into fixing my new home, I did exactly what this article suggests: I had a low-spending couple of months. Without drastically reducing my quality of life, I was able to cut my expenses by 40%. So I believe there is a lot of truth in what they are saying here.
Continue reading “TIME: A Low-Spending-Month”Foto, travel, St.Petersburg, Stokholm, Tallin
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