You know what? They really wait for people! I first noticed it when Boris and I were walking with Nadia to the Jarvis station. I was sure that we would miss the train, but it was still waiting for us when we got up on the platform. I attributed it to the fact that we had a small child with us, and it was Saturday when the trains run less frequently, but I was wrong.
On multiple occasions, the train waited for me when I was close enough to the station so that the train operator could see me from above.. Each time it surprises me and makes me feel very grateful :). Today, there was a train running in the opposite direction, standing at our stop and blocking the view of the street. Granted, the folks on the train could not see me, and they took off just when I was almost on the platform!
The annual joys of my FlexLease – upgrading to iPhone 13, only this time, with simultaneous switch to T-Mobile (from Sprint). As usual, fun times when none of the phones work. Plus, this time around I am wondering how I will get on CTA tomorrow morning – the Apple Wallet does not work either. On both phones 🙂
On Tuesday, I took a day off, and Boris and I went to Tallinn for a day. Tallinn is a two-hour ferry ride away, and it’s one of the most beautiful places in the world if you ask me. Since the beginning of the pandemic, there were restrictions on travel within the EU to the non-EU nationals, but now I wanted to enjoy a newly acquired freedom: if you are vaccinated, you can go anywhere!
Another decisive factor was the option to get a rapid COVID test on the ferry- I still need it to enter the US, and that was, it was cheaper (39 euros) and fasted (no extra time).
The ferry used to be pretty crowded, even off-season, but it’s not the case anymore. We decided to take a 7-30 AM ferry to Tallinn (9-30 AM arrival) and return on a 4-30 PM ferry.
Of course, it was the only rainy day of all the days I stayed here! We knew about that forecast for a while, but I still needed my COVID test, so we decided not to change our plans. And the trip was amazing, even though it indeed started to drizzle shortly after 11 AM, and the rain became serious later in the day. But you know what – because of that we visited a fantastic maritime museum and spent some time in two of dozen tiny Tallinn cafes!
For those of my friends who do not know yet: Boris lived in Tallinn until he was 15 (and then he moved to Leningrad to attend a specialized mathematical boarding school associated with the University). And the reason his family stayed in Tallinn was that his father was a Navy officer. This time, even more than before, we talked about how he and the adults around him felt back then in Estonia.
That being said, he understands the Estonian language (although he does not actively speak it) and has a lot of cultural insights. Each time we go, I tell him that “that’s his city,” and although he says “not anymore,” I still insist on him deciding where we go and what we do.
I do not know yet how many blog posts I will make out of this one day, but I am going to start 🙂
We left the house at 6 AM, because we wanted to walk to the terminal (the public transport does not run so often in the morning, and there is no direct route to the port). We bought the tickets with breakfast, because it was too early to have breakfast at home anyway, and because there is no other place to sit on the ferry except for the cafes. The breakfast selection was outstanding, and I liked that all the food was of a really small size to I could try many different things Continue reading “Visiting Tallinn: The Ferry And More”→
I tried to post this from the plane, and the WP was telling me “Post published”, but it turned out that it was not! So here it comes – on Thursday on Chicago River
Mom came back yesterday, and her journey back was way less stressful than the one in the opposite direction—less stress for her and me. There were no issues with the wheelchair on the way back, and she was very pleased with the service. Moreover, the plane landed 40 min ahead of schedule, and there was almost no wait! I was late to pick her up because there were no trains on the Blue line for 25 minutes. She said that she was “glad to be back alive,” but I have we didn’t talk much: it was 8 PM, she was tired and I needed to get home to finish my packing . Although my trip was going to be very short, I still needed to pack, and I didn’t have time to do it – none.
I am glad that mom is back safely, and I am immensely thankful for my friends Olga and Irina who helped mom with everything. One bad thing still happened – mom fall down on the street once, and almost fall down one more time. Irina blames herself for “not looking after her,” but honestly, it had happened many times already, and it does not matter whether she is alone or with somebody.
So far she is saying that she “has a lot to tell me” about her trip when I will come back. But knowing who she is these days, I won’t be surprised if she will end up not telling me any more details.
When we went out for dinner with Igor on the day after his birthday, I told him that I want to stop trying to explain anything to mom, and I should stop trying to explain things to her. It just makes her unhappy and she is not listening or rather she is not trying to understand what I am saying to her. I am going to try really hard just to listen – period.
The Siskel Film Center had a special event today, and Igor and I thought it would be a great way to celebrate Igor’s birthday.
This special event was a screening of the lost and recently rediscovered silent film “The First Degree.” It turned out that today was National Silent Movie Day, so it all came together perfectly.
I didn’t know that the majority of the silent movies are lost forever and that often, the studios themselves would destroy the negatives. And it’s very interesting what they say about “rural melodrama” and the fact that this film is geared towards the male audience.
Unseen for 97 years, it’s a real gem. And the live score!!! How can you beat that?!
It was the only screening of this movie, but I hope the Siskel Center will add more later!
I spent most of the last weekend with Anna & family in Milwaukee. There was no special occasion, not big plans – we just wanted to get together.
Also, after a long wait and anticipation, I was finally able to take Amtrak to Milwaukee. It’s tons better than it used to be taking the Van Galder bus to Madison! The ride is about 1.5 hours and very comfortable, with WiFi and electric plugs by every seat 🙂
The thing I enjoyed most was the water quality monitoring. Anna is involved with the Milwaukee Riverkeeper project, and she asked me whether I would like to go with her and Nadia to do the measurements.
It was so interesting! She has a whole case of scientific instruments and chemical reagents and the instruction book from the program. The monitoring includes measuring the water temperature, transparency, oxygen level, and more.
I enjoyed this experience on many levels: 1) it is super cool that volunteers can participate in a real scientific project, 2) it is so important for the environment 3) I enjoyed doing something important together with Anna and Nadia 4) I was in a forest preserve, which I really miss!
I need to figure out how to get out to nature even when I am in the city!
On Saturday, my friend with whom we didn’t meet for a very long time visited me, and I am so happy we reunited:). Many objective circumstances brought us apart, including her move pretty far away from Palatine, but also, we were not really trying to get together.
Sometimes, when you do not see a person for a long time, you meet, and you feel so grown apart from each other that you can’t even imagine that you were ever close. That was not the case. Somehow I felt that we were evolving in the same direction, and we share the same values, possibly even more than before.
She brought me a wonderful gift. She is growing wildflowers by her home, and she brought me a piece of prairie, the only thing I possibly miss after moving to Rogers Park.
It was huge, and at first I could not find a proper vase for it, so it sat in a watering canI had to cut the stems to fit it into the biggest vase I have
I hope that we won’t loose touch anymore, and will find the ways to see each other more often!
Mom has four more days left in Saint Petersburg. In the past week, most things were sorted out. My friends Olga and Irina help her every day with pretty much everything: calling the cab, calling the plumber to fix the leaking pipes, taking her to her COVID test, and to the cemeteries to visit her relatives’ graves, making sure her test results are loaded to the government website and accompanying her to the bank, and I can’t even enumerate all the ways they helped! Nothing will be possible without them!
The last thing which was fixed was the heating in mom’s apartment, so now it’s not 45 degrees inside, but closer to 70.
It does not look like she will meet with any of her friends, although originally, she said that it was her goal. That’s why she didn’t want to go in July – she said everybody would be at dachas. Instead, she goes over her stuff, which is not a bad thing. Irina takes to the dumpster bags and bags of things that nobody needs. It is possible that when mom is back, she will be telling me that she could not meet with her friends because I didn’t allow her to use public transportation. I will do my best not to argue with her about that :). Most importantly, she got her new credit card, and she filed all the paperwork so that she wouldn’t need to come back when there would be time for a new credit card.
There were several days when the overnight temperature fell below 60F, and finally, my apartment was cold enough for a heater to kick in. It happened during the night, and in the morning, I smelled a hint of burning oil, just a little bit. It felt like the house was surprised to receive a command from the Ecobee to turn the heat on:)
I really-really-REALLY love my condo! It feels so good to come back home. I love every little thing about it; yes, there are still a couple of minor things with light fixtures, which still have to be resolved, and the parts don’t come due to the worldwide production crisis. But they are so minor that I can live with them :).
Hettie's Reflections 