I don’t know what to say. There are so many people affected by this new executive order, especially all those who have just graduated. I talked to several people this morning, trying to tell them to stay calm and wait. Because I hope that this decision will be either reverted or a million exceptions will be added. Otherwise, it could be an economic collapse.
Category: everyday life
The Only True Emergency
For the past year or two, I have always written my schedule for mom on the whiteboard in her kitchen, listing when I will visit her, when I call her, and when I just email her because I would return home too late to call. Since she does not understand that “life happens,” and sometimes things can be delayed, I always add some extra time, and most times, I schedule emails instead of sending them when I am actually on my way home.
On Thursday, I was at Joffrey Ballet, and was immensely enjoying every moment of the performance when I saw a call from my mom coming up on my watch. Everything was on silent, of course, so I just clicked the hang-up button, but a minute later the call repeated. I pressed the red button again, and five minutes later, I saw a text message coming from my mom’s caregiver. You might imagine how I felt; however, I waited for the second intermission, and then got out into the foyer and looked at the text message. Since the message was simply I need to talk to you,” I dialed back, and it turned out that it was nothing related to my mom (and she didn’t know I was at the show). I answered her questions, and scheduled the email to my mom for the time I will be out of the theater: “Hi, all good, I am on my way home. I saw that you called. Perhaps you forgot I am watching a ballet tonight, but I hope you figured it out by now. Talk to you tomorrow!”
When I was already on the Red line. (and my scheduled email went out), I saw my mom calling me! She never calls me after nine, and it was 10:40, so to say I was surprised would be an understatement. I picked up the call and heard her shouting: I already took my dentures out, and my hearing aid out, but I saw your message and I wanted to let you know that my internet is down!”
Yes, that’s the only thing she considers an emergency, and that’s the only time she calls me …well, any time!
I emailed her a reminder about how to turn her modem off and back on. On Friday morning, she called me at work to report that this didn’t help, and she wouldn’t listen to my explanation that I really can’t talk at work. In the evening, since things were still not working, I asked Igor to stop by her, and it turned out that she accidentally put her computer into flight mode! I would never guess!
Nature In The City
I went for a bird-watching session for the first time in my life! The only reason I could do it was that I was leaving for Finland today and therefore didn’t have my usual gigantic list of Saturday activities. And also, it was just a five-minute walk from my house.
I actually learned something! I was able to spot a bird at least four times! Obviously, it would take me forever to memorize the local birds, and I will never be able to identify dozens of species at first glance as our guide Scott can, but still – I got it! I actually got a feeling of how to follow a bird and to direct your binoculars right there!
The birds I was able to spot (all pictures are from the internet, of course!)
I am sure I won’t be able to identify them by myself, except possibly the yellow warbler and the starling – it was able to spot them several times, but as I said, it was a new experience, and I enjoyed it!
Carmen At Joffrey
I do not think there was any week when I wouldn’t say “the week was crazy,” but the past two weeks were something! Not the worst days at work, but combined with an avalanche of conference-related issues I had to address, it was a perfect storm. At the same time, so many positive things happened that I can’t complain.
I was thinking about this paradox when I was walking towards the Lyric Opera building today: the ICE raids and everything that ICE is doing and Trump is saying are constant reasons to worry. Users at work are “creative” beyond imagination. Big and small things awaiting my intervention are piling up. I feel tired like I am ready to drop down and fall asleep on the spot.
And still – how full my life is! How thankful I am for a myriad of things!
Today, I did something I do not do very often: I worked from home for the only reason: to be able to take a break at the beach (because I am traveling next week, and any beach day can be the last for that season). And BTW, I am not packed for my trip. And what a gift! The air was 75F, the water was 72F, the sun was kissing, not burning, and there was no wind. And the same as on Sunday, I almost forgot to go back to work on time 🙂
But the best thing was in the evening – the Joffrey Ballet opening night! Carmen! A very long show, but good to the last drop! To the last note! It was great from the beginning, and was getting better and better every minute!
They took Bizet music, and told the whole unabridged story with all details, using the language of choreography, with humor, and tender, and passion, as only Joffrey ballet can do. My favorite ballet company ever :).
I hope they will post some videos later, but no promotional trailer would be able to show all the small details that made it so perfect, all facial expressions which I could clearly see from my row E 🙂
It’s Beach Time!
The warm weather finally returned, but two stretches of cold days definitely brought the water temperature down, although it was still warmer than in June. Still, I was surprised when my Kenyan friend M. expressed enthusiasm for going to the beach; I thought she would find the Michigan water unacceptably cold. Still, she put the beach high in her list of priorities, and I didn’t mind at all! In fact, even if she won’t be visiting, I would take Friday afternoon off, because it was perfect beach weather!
I cant even describe how much we both enjoyed this outing!
And my old swimsuit found a new home. 😀
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:
We share the goals and values, and that’s amazing.
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.
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.”
And More Chicago!
While Lena stayed with me over the weekend, I was constantly checking my phone for two reasons: to check what Trump was up to and to follow the moves of my friend from Kenya, who was arriving in Chicago to attend the same conference I was going to attend the next week.
I wanted to be the first person to show her the city, so after Lena left, I immediately headed to the conference venue where my friend was volunteering with the conference setup.
She didn’t even had a chance to check-in to the hotel yet, so we had only two hours, but the Wolf Point Plaza was a great starting point!
And she brought me a dress from Kenya – an amazing dress with gigantic pockets!
We did a lot of things together in Chicago this week – more to follow!
COVID Vaccines Update
For those who are in Illinois and want to follow my example, please hurry up- things might change! See the Sun Times article below.
As doctors anticipate word from the federal government, many expect Illinois will promote vaccination for those left out under new restrictions, Elvia Malagón and Kaitlin Washburn report for the Chicago Sun-Times.
That could mean authorizing pharmacists to administer vaccines off-label, as they do in other states. Doctors already are authorized to give vaccines off-label.
The Food and Drug Administration approved the latest version of the vaccine but only for those 65 and older or people with a high-risk medical condition. The agency did not specify which medical conditions were eligible, but pharmacies offering the vaccine are relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s definition of high-risk groups. That includes people who have asthma, are neurodivergent, live with disabilities or certain mental health conditions, smoke or are physically inactive.
It’s unclear, however, whether insurers will cover the costs over the long run for people who fall outside the FDA’s guidelines. For now, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, one of the state’s largest private insurance companies, hasn’t changed its coverage policy.
The Illinois Department of Public Health plans to issue its own guidance by the end of the month after reviewing recommendations from medical societies, experts and its own immunization advisory committee, according to Dr. Sameer Vohra, the agency’s director. [Chicago Sun-Times]
Weekend With Lena
Lena finally made it to Chicago – in September instead of July, and it turned sharply cold, and we could not go to the beach. Still, our interests are so much aligned that we made it an absolutely perfect weekend.
Lena arrived on Friday evening and met with her Chicago-based coworkers. We chatted for a bit before and drafted the plan of activities.
Saturday was chilly, and since Lena uses each of her Chicago visits as an occasion to dress nicely, and I am happy to join her, we ended up being dressed not precisely to the weather, and were moderately cold most of the time :).
We started the day in the Field Museum, and I was able to properly see all the exhibits (and the recent updates to the “Evolving Planet,” which Lena didn’t see yet).
New Field Museum Exhibit, And How I Took My Mom There
Last week, a new exhibit, “After the Age of Dinosaurs,” opened in the Field Museum. There was a members-only access event on Tuesday evening, and after a long break, I decided to give it a try and take my mom there. I was encouraged by the suggestion of her caregiver that she could travel with her to the museum, and I can come there after work and meet them right there. That way, her caregiver would also have a chance to see the exhibit.
We planned everything seemingly perfectly, but since my mom walks slowly, and they had to switch from the Red line train to the bus, this trip took them a very long time. And my mom felt it even longer.
Then she had to eat something (I planned on that, because I knew that would be the time for her to eat), and it also took a very long time, and she could not choose what to eat, and then she asked how much did it cost, and complained that everything is expensive (even though she didn’t have to pay anything).
When we entered the exhibit, she started to ask how “they” (who put up the exhibit) knew what things looked like 66 million years ago, and then said that they just made things up since there was no way to know. I tried to remind her that she learned about different geological periods of the history of the Earth at school, citing the archeological discoveries and radiocarbon dating, but it didn’t look like she remembered.
The same went for the fossilized plants. The exhibit showcased some prehistoric plants that were distant predecessors of the plants we use widely today, such as chocolate trees or apple trees. She asked skeptically, “How did the scientists know these were the prehistoric apples?” and ultimately concluded that “they made it all up.”
Possibly, this is something trending on the Russian internet these days; I know that the theories of “everything is made up” emerge from time to time.
After that exhibit, we briefly saw the Reptiles exhibit, and I just walked her directly to the actual live reptiles, bypassing all the displays with scientific information.
I got Uber home, and on the way back, she was saying that “she does not understand why there were so many people there, why they were interested, why there were so many children, and why parents explained something to them and they seemed to listen.”
I don’t know what to make of this experience, except that it should be Uber both ways. I am afraid that if I were to stop taking her anywhere, she will mentally decline even more rapidly than now. However, if she is unable to process any new information, I am unsure what good it would do. So still figuring this out.
