I stopped at Amorino before the show – I have not been there for a while, and they have new flavors!
Today: Howard and Evanston Community Center Program showcase (I am on the Community Board and miss almost half of the board meetings, so I felt like I should show up). The event was way bigger than last year’s one, and more upscale, so one more time I felt inadequate in jeans and a t-shirt, but I guess it was just me.
The event went really well; I noticed an older gentleman in the Knox vest and asked him whether he was Knox, and he sure was, so we had a very lively conversation with him and his wife. This worldwide Knox brotherhood never ceases to amaze me.
Igor happened to be there while things were happening, so I heard the news from him first-hand. The next day, it was all over the news. And then yesterday, the California National Guard deployment. Just one thing I want to say: I am glad that people are not silent anymore. It takes courage not to be silent.
Yesterday, I went to see The First Homosexual Exhibit at 659 Wrightwood. Now I can’t remember where I learned about this exhibit; the usual suspect is WBEZ.
The place is seriously guarded, and all tickets should be purchased online in advance (I won’t be surprised if they run background checks before issuing tickets – they don’t show up in your inbox instantaneously).
I planned to go with a friend who cancelled a couple of days before, but I didn’t find anyone to offer tickets, so I went by myself.
The exhibit is extremely interesting, and gianormous! I didn’t expect it to be so intense, and didn’t allocate enough time. They have curators in every room, and elaborate descriptions for almost every piece in the exhibit. I came earlier than my ticket said, and they said it’s fine. I thought I would be done in an hour, but more than an hour later, I realized that I had seen only half of the exhibit. At the end, I had to rush, and unfortunately, I won’t have another chance to see the rest, since I will be out of town for the second half of June.
I ordered a catalog, which should arrive in the beginning of July. I mostly wanted it to retain the loads of information. In the beginning, I tried to take pictures of almost everything, until I realized it was not possible 🙂
Below are two pictures of the space, which is absolutely amaizing.
And just t little bit of the exhibit itself, to give an idea.
…. and over 300 pieces, each with the load of information!
For those who are planning to go, plan on staying for 2.5 hours or so.
I was there last night, and I didn’t realize it was not only the Joffrey’s opening night but also the first performance of this ballet on that side of the pond. It was unimaginably good, but so looong, it was torture on a weeknight! They should have at least started at 7 PM, not 7-30!
I read a rave review in the Tribune this morning. First, I wanted to post some quotes, but the article resonates with my impression so much (up to the choice of words!), that I will simply copy it at the bottom of this post.
Ninety-five minutes of sitting still and holding my breath! This play, by and large, exceeded my expectations!
If you are wondering how much this play is related to the famous H.G. Wells book, the answer is – very little! Yes, it’s about the Marician invasion on Earth, but the action takes place in the US, and even more specifically in Illinois, at some fictional point in time. There are definite hints that the action takes place in the past, but at the same time, it’s a sharp satire on nowadays media, television, reporting, politicians, and what else. All the characters are unmistakably recognizable, so you can’t stop laughing (or crying)!
I am ashamed to say that I didn’t know anything about the book “It Takes Chutzpah” until I saw the advertisement for the library event. And I should be even more ashamed that I didn’t know who Senator Wyden was.
The only reason I made a note about this event was the mention of Governor Pritzker being a part of this conversation. I checked out what this book was about, asserting the topic and the fact that the Governor thought it’s worth reading prompted me to get a book and mark my calendar.
I put aside the book I was listening to at that time, and started to listen to the Senator Wyden ‘s book. When I learned which initiatives and legistlations he championed, I became really ashamed, and thought that my knowledge of the Senators is tilted towards the Midwest :).
I came to the library about 30 minutes before the event start, and there was a line (these events are not ticketed).
When they let us in, I hurried up to get the good seat. What I should have done was to get a copy of that book in the hallway by the auditorium, but it didn’t occur to me that they could bo sold out – which happened to be the case! I didn’t need the paper book for myself, but since I already read it, I thought that I wanted Igor to have it, especially when I could get a signed copy.
The event was livestreamed, and if you have 40 minutes to spare, I think it’s totally worth it.
As for the books, a person right before me in the line, got the last copy! For me and everyone behind in in the line, they offered an option to sign an insert which they will paste into the book when it will arrive, so I hope to have one which I signed for Igor in a week or so.
Also, you know how I always ruin the photos having my eyes closed?! This time, when they took a photo of me with the Senator, I was OK, but his eyes were closed!!! No luck!
A last-minute decision to go to the Last Call – Africa Fashion event at the Field Museum was a good one! Not only did I finally see the Africa Fashion exhibit, but I also enjoyed the outfits displayed by other participants. I was one of three or so white guests among 300+ total, and I wore jeans and a white blouse, which made me feel completely inadequate. If not for my friend I called to join me the day before, I would probably feel miserable, but there she was, with her eyes shining, proudly displaying her Ghana costume.
The exhibit (which closes on June 29) is absolutely stunning, but so were the visitors! I regret I didn’t have the courage to ask at least some of them for a photo! Below are the pictures from the exhibition, and I don’t know about you, but I definitely didn’t see anything like that before!
Loved it – loved it- loved it!!! Especially because the previous show was a sort of disappointment, this one was soooo good! The story, the music, and each ensemble member!
One more “first time” this week – I went to a concert at the Guarneri Hall. It’s a shame I didn’t know about its existence until I heard the story on WBEZ. Since then, I have tried to find a concert that I would love to attend, that I could attend, and one that is not sold out! Finally, all stars aligned, and I was there on Thursday!
It is a former recording studio in the heart of the city, with only forty people’s capacity, that delivers an unmatched experience for any music lover. I can’t even describe the difference in the quality of the sound it makes. I sat with my mouth open for the duration of the concert!
It turned out that they have a reception after each concert; I didn’t stay because I didn’t feel right staying for just fifteen minutes and leaving, but I will definitely plan to stay next time.
Thursday was the day when they announced the next season and opened the sales, and I already got two tickets, and now I’m torn between wanting to purchase each and every concert and not wanting to risk wasting money if I won’t be able to attend. I will do one more swap :).
The past several days, starting with my return from PGConf.dev, were densely filled with various community activities.
On Sunday, I went to the Chicago Code and Coffee meetup (I planned to do this for a couple of months, but ran into a conflict each time).
It was as loud and loosely organized as it could possibly be with over three hundred nerds in one not-so-large space. The Capital Cafe decided to sponsor the meetup with free drinks, and everyone took advantage of this opportunity. I thought I would not survive in this noise level, but the organizer allowed me to speak immediately after the volunteers, so I was able to advertise my events and myself :). As a result, I have several people joined our new user group, and several RSVPs to Tuesday event.
On Tuesday, I hosted a second meetup of Prairie PUG. Inspired by what I saw at DevOpsDay Chicago, I announced the Developers’ Summit and invited application developers who use Postgres to discuss their pain points and possible solutions. I planned this event for a while, but had to postpone it several times. Finally, i was able to make it a reality.
It went really well (I neglected to take pictures of the group discussions, and only took some during the final presentations, but it was a definite success). The conversations continued after we were done with the “official” part and went back to the cafe for remaining pizza.
Then on Wednesday, I went to yet another meetup! it was the 10th anniversary of AWS meetup. I was planning to start attending this meetup, but for one reason or the other, it never worked. It almost didn’t work this time as well, because there was one more event on the same evening, but I decided I can come for just an hour, and it will be better than nothing!
I came, and talked to the organizers, and also found out that several of the Postgres meetup members attended the AWS meetup as well. I talked with several people, and told them about Prairie Postgres, and distributed my flyers. I saw that two more people joined my meetup next day, so it was not completely useless!
Another event I wanted to attend on the same day was a local CAPS beat meeting. I consider these meetings of police with local residents very important; it was unfortunate that I had so many conflicts this year and could barely attend any of them. This time, I was a little bit late, but was still able to sit through most of the meeting. Out Beat representatives talked about the crime statistics, asked about the incidents we observed on our blocks, explained which apps to use to report crimes, potentially dangerous situations and problems which do not require police involvement. I picked up several flyers for future reference.
I think it was my mistake that I ignored all “other” meetups in the past, and I am glad I started to change it. Overall, I feel like slowly starting to get back to my “normal self.”
Hettie's Reflections 