Category: events

A Very Long Sunday

I intend to use every summer-y day that is left to the fullest. On Sunday, I went for a long bike ride, then I had breakfast on my balcony, went to the Glenwood Market to buy flowers, and then went to the beach. It was so lovely there that I lost track of time, and forgot for a moment that I had several things which I had to do (and as a result, I have a long list of what I was supposed to do but I didn’t).

And then, there was something new and special. I went to the concert at the new venue – they just opened on Saturday!

The venue is called The Checkout (so, if you forgot the website name, it’s close to impossible to Google it!) It is located in the old 7-Eleven building which was rehubed by Access Contemporary Music (and you can read all about their initiatives on their website).

The venue is naturally very small, and no wonder the event was sold out:

I didn’t know anything about Arvo Part, but Boris told me that he was super-avantguard, and the Soviet Estonia officials left him alone, because nobody could understand his music. I confess that I was very close to that “non-sophisticated listener,” and although the musiciants explained quite a bit about his music, I think I should do what they suggested: go to his website and see the graphical representation of his works :).

The future programming is very diverse in all senses of this work, and they do not publish a lot of details about what to expect, but I am definitely open to experiments! I like that this venue is close to my home (less than 40 minutes door-to-door, with all waits). I like that they have no amplifiers at all, and the audience is exposed to the live sound of the instruments and vocal.

On the way back, I saw one of the vocalists on the Red Line platform, and I thanked him for the music (he was the best!) and we talked about life and music all the way until I got off.

One More Museum Day

This summer, I had more museum days than ever, and I loved it! We had very limited time when I could take M. around, and I was glad that the conference folks did half of my job and organized several groups to do activities which I considered a must in Chicago.

A half-day at the beach was non-negotiable, but we also had a half-day on Saturday, and it was hard to choose. When M. learned that there is an Aquarium in Chicago , she immediately prioritized and, and I was happy to oblige, because I love Aquarium, and not everyone would prioritize it. There were some adventures in tha morning (a heavy thunderstorm, plus I mixed up her hotel, waisted even more time, and we ended up taking Uber, even though I taught her to ride CTA a day before and she was very enthusiastic to utilize her newly aquired skill).

At the end, everything worked out, and we were in the first group of people entering Aquarium. I am unsure who enjoyed it more: M. exploring the exhibits or me, watching hee excitement.

We saw the most interesting exhibits, and since I left all the options open, and she decided to relocate to the Field Museum, where we ate lunch, and I left her with the 3D movie ticket and the member ticket to all exhibits.

When already have a long list of places to visit and things to see when M. will be in Chicago next time!

DjangoCon US

I think it was the first time in my life that I attended a non-academic, professional, and non-Postgres conference, and it was surprisingly interesting.

I am posting about this conference here rather than on my professional blog, because it’s more about the atmosphere than what exactly the talks were about.

First note: this community did not succumb to whatever the current “official” position is, and fosters diversity for real. Just one nice touch: when you register, they give you your name tag, and then you can add as many ribbons as you like:

I loved the idea of speakers’ ribbons! I will do it for PG DATA
Keanya Phelps made opening remarks. Later, I had a very in-depth conversation with her about how we can work together.
We share the goals and values, and that’s amazing.
The talk about community governance – I talked with the presenters later.

Django’s 20th birthday and DEFNA’s 10th birthday!

Although I am not a “programmer” or an application developer, many talks were really interesting to me because they were about building communities, supporting Open Source, fostering diversity, and working towards the common good.

And we spent a lot of time together with my friend M.

Another thing I loved about this community was how the conference participants organized to experience the best of Chicago, including multiple tours, museums, bike rides, and even an early morning lake plunge. Somehow, when I attend Postgres conferences, most of the attendees are only interested in places to have dinner. It was really refreshing :). I felt being among “my tribe.”

Over The Weekend

My friend Lena and I had a great time in the city, and although I was nervously looking at my phone all the time, nothing happened. In fact, Trump said that “he was not going to war with Chicago” (yea!), and even went so far as calling it “fake news.” I still listened to the sounds of helicopters more than I usually would (they are up there all the time), but once again, nothing happened.

Igor attended the “No Trump No Troops” rally, reporting way above average concentration of Palestinian protesters, which obviously bothered me as well, but I think it only means there should be more of “us” there.

I honestly think that Chicago showed enough resistance and readiness to fight to scare some crazy people away.

Reifenstahl – And I Can’t Make It

It’s just so not fair: Reifenstahl member-only preview is exactly at the time when I host my Postgres meetup! And the regular run is exactly when I will be out of the country!

I hope they will add more screenings later!

Code And Coffee

Sunday was packed with activities: in addition to Bike the Drive, it was the day of the monthly Chicago Code and Coffee meetup. I’ve been there before, and I knew that this event is loud and hectic, but I also knew that advertising there is surprisingly efficient. And since I needed to advertise both my September meetup and the conference, I had to attend.

It was the last full day for Boris being here in Chicago, but he agreed that I should go to the meetup, and even volunteered to accompany me, and stoically stayed there for more than two hours of the total havoc. I distributed my flyers and stickers and talked to a large number of people, so I hope to see some new faces in September!

More On Bike The Drive

I saw our pictures taken at three official locations, but I found only one on the website (well, two almost identical ones, at the same location), even though I had noted the picture-taking time precisely. I am happy to have that one, because I never had a picture on an actual ride.

This one was taken closer to the end, and something funny happened shortly after. We heard the sirens and the sounds of a helicopter; even though the Drive was closed, we could imagine that there could be some emergency that called for an exception. Everyone started to turn their heads around and moving to the right side, but there were no blue flashes coming. Only after the helicopter appeared right above us did we realize that the siren sound was coming from above! And the blue lights were flashing at the helicopter’s bottom!

I wonder who was supposed to move and let them fly 😂.

Today’s Labor Day Demonstration

Workers Over Billionaires in Chicago

Bike the Drive 2025

I did Bike the Drive for the fourth time, and for the first time, Boris and I did it together. The total distance we covered was slightly shorter than our Friday ride (36 miles), but it felt much easier!

This year, we had helmet tags in addition to the loops on the handlebars
Two minutes before start
At the Museum of Science and Industry rest stop
Only after somebody complimented my “jersey” did I realize that Boris and I standing together represent the Ukrainian flag, in addition to the flags I attached to both of my tops. When I realized that, I asked one of the participants to take a picture of both of us.
We didn’t pick up our t-shirts at the start of the ride because they were not unpacked yet, and I decided we would be fine at the main entrance. There was a huge line, but it moved relatively fast, and while Boris stayed in the t-shirt line, I picked both our 30 -mile challenge medals.
The view from the bridge
Belive it or not, but this t-shirt is size youth medium! Now I know which size to choose 🙂
The third 30-mile challenge!

And one more thing! The apples that we had for snacks at the rest stops were provided by Michigan Apples, and I could tell the difference! I didn’t know until I saw their booth and stopped by, but I knew the apples were different this year!

Ukraine Independence Day Mega March

I didn’t post the photos and videos from the Ukraine Independence Day march because I was very upset about how it was handled this year. Also, everything was happening amid the talks, and what’s not. There was obviously no hope for any positive outcome, but there was still an uncertainty in the air.

I am finally sharing these photos today, on the day of yet another deadly Russian attack.

My overall impression of the August 24 march was that the event was muted in public opinion, even with the “peace” talks being in the news headlines. When I walked to the Jarvis CTA and looked at the people sitting at the cafes, I knew that exactly zero people cared about what day it was and what it meant.

Also, I was unpleasantly surprised to see that the march took place on the State Street rather than Michigan Avenue, and on a sidewalk rather than the street itself (which might be not such a bad idea giving multiple road closures this year, but still).

The crowd was massive, but I believe the overwhelming majority of it were Ukraininas and people of Ukrainian decent. The new chant of this year’s march was “Ukraine is not for sale!”

My overall feelings about the war at the moment are at the rock bottom with pretty much no hope for any acceptable outcome.