The Day When I Was Scared

My mom is not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid since she only came to the US two years ago (actually, today marks two years of her arrival!). To qualify for any federal programs, you have to stay in the country as a permanent resident for five years. Fortunately, some charities help people like her, and other people who are unable to obtain insurance.

I found out about one such program when I was getting ready for MOm’s arrival. It works great for her, but we need to renew her membership annually.

A letter with renewal forms arrived about two weeks ago. I knew I had time, and in the queue of things that had to be done, I placed filling these forms into medium urgency. Who could have known that everything will change so drastically!

On Monday, I came to Mom and asked her to sign everywhere where she had to sign herself, copied all her documents I needed to copy, and filled in the rest of the forms. The only thing left was a letter from me saying that I provide her housing and other essentials. And I needed my signature to be notaries.

What can be easier than notarizing your signature?! You go to the nearest branch of your bank and walk out with the notary in five minutes. And since it was repeatedly announced that all the banks would remain open, I didn’t think much about it.

On Wednesday, I had my four-week follow up with the left eye (Yes, it’s only four weeks after my first surgery, and only two weeks after my second one – and it seems years away!) My neighbor took me to the doctor, and I told her I would need a notary. She asked whether I will be OK to go to the bank, and I said – sure! The bank is so close that I can walk!

I walked. And I saw a note on the doors: drive-through only. The nearest branch with the lobby service is in Barrington. Not super far. I worked in Barrington for the first four years in the US. But I didn’t go in that direction for at least seven years, and it was not exactly where my old office used to be. And my vision is still suboptimal – the eye doctor said she does not want to prescribe new glasses to me until both eyes will be stable.

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Working Out at Home – How Much You Can Do?

My local Anytime Fitness closed Wednesday night. Since March 13, every morning, I was walking there and thinking: please let it be opened!

I have a mini-gym at home, which I gradually assembled for the days when the weather is so awful that I do not want to step outside, or when I am in a real hurry. And usually, I work out at home one or two days a week.

But all these days preceding the closing, I was going to ATF in the morning because I was afraid that each time could be the last time.

On Thursday, when I was unable to open the door with my key card, it finally happened. The lights were on, and it felt so sad that I could not get in. For the record, since March 13, there were very few people in the gym. The instructions on the walls requested each piece of equipment to be wiped from top to bottom after each use. And at the time when I go (5 AM) there were from zero to three people in addition to myself.Ironically,

.Thursday was the day when at work, we were going to share with coworkers our in-home exercise routines. I thought I would need to fake it, but I was legitly exercising at home. Here are the pictures I made for our office slack channel

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The Disappearance of Volunteering

This week was a week of thing falling apart. Ok, maybe not falling apart, but shutting down, with speed I could not imagine. It’s true that two weeks ago we lived in a different country and a different world.

We were ordered to work from home last Thursday night. The four of us still showed up in the office on Friday, for a variety of reasons, including one co-worker who was off on Thursday and didn’t check corporate emails:).

I wrote about the rapid museums and cultural venues closers, which followed. I was able to catch “the last of” most of them. And no matter how much my mind can understand the necessity of closers, my soul weeps.

As I’ve already mentioned, I went to escort last Saturday. It didn’t go great, and I promised to return when it is warmer. A woman with two boys stopped her car by the clinic and came out with a huge box of Girl Scout cookies – that’s for you guys! Each of us picked one:).

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The State of the United States

I don’t understand how officials of all ranks issue their orders without even thinking about the consequences—both for the economy in general and for each person.

I can’t imagine the impact on the entertainment/catering/restaurant business. All so sudden and so abrupt. I talked to Vlad yesterday; he said he would be fine, but he worries about other employees in the bar, people who are paid hourly wages, and who now will get no paid time off, and no tips. That is such a significant portion of the country’s population! They have no safety net, no savings. When I was talking to Vlad, just twenty hours ago, he was saying that the closing will only apply to bars and restaurants, that the fast-food cafes will stay open – not anymore!

I do not understand how people are expected to manage: schools are closed, daycare facilities closed, and you should not ask grandparents to babysit, and you are still supposed to work. And some are not even allowed to work from home.

Last week I was saying that the world is canceled. But I was optimistic – this week, it is even more so now. I could not even imagine how many things could be canceled. Most of my volunteering is canceled, including the youth shelter; they do not reply to my emails, although they sent a generic email about preventive measures. I do not want to think that I was the only person who answered that I could come. The Forest preserve volunteering was canceled last weekend, which made me mad – ten people outside – really? The weather was bad anyway, but I was still upset with the fact itself. The only volunteering which is keeping the schedule is Clinic escorts. I went to escort on Saturday. It was a bad idea because it was cold, and I do not tolerate the cold when I need to stand in one place. But I felt I needed to do at least something good.

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El Greco Exhibit in the Art Institute

On Friday, I was planning to see El Greco exhibit in the Art Institute, since now the museum has after-hours three days a week, including Friday. I was anxiously monitoring their website, which was saying that the museum is opened. Finally, since there was not that many people in the office, I decided to go there during the lunch break. We were told to work from home on Thursday evening, but since I left on Thursday before that announcement, I had to come on Friday to pick up some stuff.

I was approaching the museum and wondering whether it was still opened. I was; there were not that many people inside, but there were some, and I was so happy I had that chance to enjoy the exhibit. Actually, the closing was announced two hours after I left the building :), so I was lucky indeed.

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The Orchid Show at Chicago Botanic Garden

It looks like last week, I was fortunate to see three shows which will be now closed. I already wrote about the Field Museum event, and now I am going to writ about the Orchid Show.

My friend Lena (Lena- One, the one who used to live in Palatine and now lives in Ann Arbor) loves orchids, and she visits the Orchid show annually.

This year, she planned to come the first weekend it was opened (good for her and me!) I was glad, she visited (not even mentioning, it was right after my surgery number two when I needed help). I joined her and her other friend from Palatine for the first time, and we also took my Mom along.

The show was amazing! My Mom could not believe all of those were indeed orchids 🙂

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Very Brief Status Update

On top of all the thins which affect everybody in the world, my laptop battery decided to stop charging. And as you can imagine, our company tech support was busy with making sure everybody can work remotely, and they didn’t have time to figure out my computer (they were already working 24 hours a day!)

Fortunately, there was one new computer coming, so today a got it (thanks for our senior devops, who brought it to my house in the evening!) However, now I have to set up all the apps and then carefully transfer stuff from my time machine. Which will take, as I estimate, the big portion of Sunday.

I have at least five blog post in my queue:), but not sure when they will materialize 🙂

Apsáalooke Women and Warriors at the Field Museum

On Tuesday, I attended an event in the Field Museum. That was one of many occasions, when I was not sure whether this is a right idea, having all other stuff going on (nope, not what you might think – I am just genuinely busy as usual) and I am so glad I went!

The museum just opened a new exhibit Apsáalooke Women and Warriors. On that day, museum members could view the exhibition during after-hours, till 8-30PM. Also, the museum hosted a panel with some Apsaalooke Nation people, including the curator of the exhibit. It was very interesting to learn about their philosophical concepts and beliefs, and about their art and fashions – I didn’t know about the elk teeth on women’s dresses – I thought it’s just an ornament, and didn’t know about men giving them to women, and how long it takes to make a traditional dress, and all other things.

Also, it was very interesting to observe during the after-panel Q&A, how the “historical-political” questions are still relevant.

Here are some photos from the exhibit: