The Day Before The Long Weekend

It is believed that the day before the long weekend is always quiet and uneventful, because nobody wants to start a new project, and half of the people are taking a day off, and the other half want to leave earlier. It could not be further from the truth for me!

First, I had my month-after post-op for the Lasik. It was scheduled for 10-30, and since it takes me no more than 30 minutes to get to the Rush Medical Center from my office, I agreed to do “something” for our UK team at 12-30. It took them a while to agree with this “something,” so I was happy we could wrap it up before the holidays, and I thought I would be back in time. Unfortunately, I was waiting and waiting, and nothing happened! I started to suspect that I might be late, but as it often happens in the medical building, my hotspot barely worked. I sent a WhatsApp message to my UK co-worker to tell the team what the situation was, and that very moment, I was called to the exam room. They took all the measurements, and then… dilated my eyes! I screamed that I needed to go to work, but they didn’t listen. That also meant it would be a while before the doctor saw me. My coworker asked whether we should postpone the “something” until 1 PM, and I said – yes, but I became doubtful. Finally, the surgeon dashed into the room, started talking to me, but then slapped his forehead: Sorry – I forgot something! One moment! And he disappeared from the room! When he finally appeared, and we discussed my concerns and next steps, I knew I had a very slim chance of being on time. I practically ran out of the building (as fast as I could, having patients in wheelchairs all over the place), and ran to the Polk station, only to see the train leaving! The next train would be in 11 minutes, so I went down and called Uber. It was the most expensive 10-minute ride of my life (which also ended up being 15 minutes because of the insane lunch hour traffic). In the car, I was able to slack the team that I was on my way, and was at my desk three minutes to 1PM, which also allowed me to grab lunch (they stop service on our floor at 1 PM, and I would have no time to go to another floor).

Anyway, everything was great until after “something” was completed, the team stated that they experienced some problems. It took another 2.5 hours to check that it was a false alarm, and I was tired beyond anything imaginable.

Then, I went to LensCrafters. Although I can go without glasses or contacts most of the time now, I still encounter situations where my eyes do not work well together, and I also do not see the stage in the theater with the precision I would like to. We discussed options, and I ordered new glasses. We then tried several combinations with contacts and agreed on the best one. By that time, it was a perfect pre-holiday traffic situation, so I walked to the Red Line, fearing that bus 147 might take forever. When I was at home, it was almost 7 pm. My CSA order had been sitting downstairs for over three hours, but everything except the strawberries had survived! Still, I needed a moment of tranquility, so I pulled on a new (just-delivered!) swimsuit and headed to the beach. It was one of those days when I was especially thankful for living by the beach, just a ten-minute walk away from the sand, and the sounds of the waves, along with a mild, descending sun.

I can’t say that “that was it,” because earlier in the morning, I promised one of our Singapore team members to get online at 9 PM, which I did!

Early Morning Biking

A blessing of living by the lake.

Can You Take Me With You?

That was a funny one. I scheduled my AC check for today, because I was going to work from home anyway. The technician came when I was in the middle of my Zoom meeting with two of my colleagues, and by the time he was done with the inspection, we were wrapping up the meeting, and he heard me saying that I was leaving later that evening. He asked me where I was going, and I said – Finland, and started to explain that it will be cold (how cold? – it should be mid 70s this time of the year, but it is colder now, mid-upper 60 – well, that’s not that bad!). He asked whether I had family there, and I answered vaguely because explaining my family would lengthen this conversation way beyond the small talk. I described the white nights, the sun barely touching down, the lakes, the rocks, and the forest.

He listened with the great interest, and said: I have one last question: can you take me with you?

P.S. Having a goddaughter in Finland is a good way out of “Do you have a family there?” 😀

The First Beach Day Of The Season.

Yesterday, when I realized that it was after 10 PM and I was not packed yet, I scolded myself for going to the beach after work. But as it turned out, that was the right thing to do! Yes, I worked from home today, but it was raining all night, and after a little bit of the sunshine in the late morning, it started to rain again, and then the rain turned into a heavy thunderstorm, so no beach today!

It was my first and only beach day this season so far, and I can’t believe we are already in the second half of June! The lake was cold! No wonder, since the whole spring was very cold, and there was no chance for the water to warm up even a little bit. I plunged, jumped out, and plunged again, just because :), but I don’t know how all these kids could stay in the water for so long!

There were so many people on the beach! So many kids who should have been loud, but I was surprised by what a quiet scene it was! As if everyone were quietly taking in this first warm evening.

A Day Before Vacation

My flight is on schedule (hurray!), but I just finished packing (sort of, because two things are still in the dryer, and for those who know me, that’s something unthinkable – my luggage is usually ready on a weekend before my trip). I am working from home tomorrow, but I am actually working until the very end of the workday – I have the last meeting scheduled from 3:30 to 4 PM. I have the air conditioning inspection in the morning, and I need to see my mom before departure, and we have a conference kick-off meeting for PG DATA.

And yes, I still need to finish packing! I am so tired that I think I will sleep for ten hours straight when I get to Helsinki.

To finish on a brighter (literally) note: I found time for Pride Nails! I mean, I had to do my nails before the trip, but also, I actually remembered that I wanted to do pride nails for the past three years!

Trying To Wrap Up Before Vacation

I am hopefully flying to Helsinki in two days. “Hopefully,” because Finnair is on strike, but in some weird intermittent way, so I am still unsure whether my flight is affected. However, I should know by tomorrow morning, so fingers crossed! Unfortunately, I had something planned before and after my trip, so I could not move it. If my flight is cancelled, I must cut my vacation by two days.

Other than that, I am extremely tired. Work is absolutely crazy. Also, I am trying to use the longer days for longer bike rides. The trains are more and more crowded, and I rarely get a chance to sit down on the 7 AM train. And if I want to take 6:30 AM, bike for 1 hour and ten minutes (that’s what it takes to the Montrose Harbor and back), take a quick shower and change, and get out of the house at 6:10… You got the idea.

There are many conference-related activities, and although these are all good, there are still many of them. We had a meeting with potential website developers today, and I received a response to my email about budget lodging options, and I had to reply. I sent the first catering quote request. And I need to figure out who I can ask to do our social media, because I can’t do it all…

And with this, I am going to stop complaining right now and go to bed 🙂

Random Pieces

Under the impression of the recently finished book The Notebook, I decided to record some thoughts and encounters, even when they are “too small” for a blog post. Otherwise, they disappear, and I won’t remember them.

***

My coworker told me that her son thinks I am a very cool grandma, and told her that when he is a grandpa, he wants to be as cool a grandparent as Hettie:). I thought it was both funny and touching that he didn’t say “I wish I had a grandma like Hettie,” but “I want to be such a grandparent.”

***

I was in a L-train car when four police officers in full gear entered and stood close to the doors. I was sitting behind them and listening to their conversation. A couple of young women passed them with the clear intention to move to the next car through the door, and one of the officers stopped them: You can’t go there! – We can’t? – You can’t. You can exit at the next stop and move to another car. The reason they were trying to get away from that one was a nasty exchange at the front of that car. The guys standing there were still shouting something in their direction, and the women looked at the policemen expectantly.

One of the officers replied sympathetically: “It’s not illegal to be rude, sadly!” And then he stopped one of the women who started to shout back: “Do not respond. You already won! Just get into another car, the train is stopping, get out and move to another car!”

It’s not illegal to be rude, sadly! Something to remember.

***

How long does it take for a priority envelope to get from 540 W. Madison to 115 S. LaSalle? Yes, I know it’s a different zip code! But three days!!!

***

Last week, a co-worker asked me whether I would like to go for a drink with him. I stared at him, not finding the proper words… I do not have days when I am not doing something after work! I felt very bad, and tried to find time when I could go for a drink with himl and fortunately found about a week and a half later 🙂

***

Standing room only in the 7 AM train. Remind me, who is not in the office?

This Week’s Events

Pizza-making at the Youth Shelter on Tuesday:

Kimberly Akimbo in the CIBC Theater on Wednesday

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.

Oh, and we had Pride cookies at work!

Chicago Is Ready To Resist

Chicago Sun-Times:

Mayor Brandon Johnson urged Chicagoans to “rise up in this moment” against President Donald Trump’s mass deportation effort, even as he acknowledged Wednesday that the deployment of the military to help carry out immigration raids in Los Angeles could happen here.

Johnson refused to say precisely what he would do if mass demonstrations in Chicago — perhaps as soon as Saturday’s “No Kings Day of Defiance” protests — provoke an L.A.-style federal response.

The mayor would only say that he is concerned enough to have spoken directly with Gov. JB Pritzker and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle about the possibility that Trump might activate the Illinois National Guard to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests.

“This is a necessary fight for all of us to be able to push back. Whether we use the courts or whether we continue to protest and raise our voices, dissent matters in this moment,” the mayor said at his weekly City Hall news conference.

“It’s a war on our culture. It’s a war on our democracy. It’s a war on our humanity. I am counting on all of Chicago to resist in this moment because, whatever particular vulnerable group is being targeted today, another group will be next. … None of us are immune from this disease.”

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, shown here at a public appearance June 4, used some of his strongest rhetoric yet Wednesday against President Donald Trump and the White House’s deportation-raid efforts. Pat Nabong/Sun-Times
Saturday’s protests have the potential to be even larger than Tuesday’s demonstrations in the Loop.

Johnson said the Chicago Police Department will preserve the right of demonstrators to peacefully assemble and protest, just as it did during the Democratic National Convention, but lawbreaking will not be tolerated.

“Our first responsibility is to ensure that we keep everyone safe. That is my No. 1 responsibility. It’s what I think about every day, all day. Our approach won’t be that much different on Saturday,” Johnson said. “The right to assemble peacefully is a constitutional right. We have to protect that. There are some actors that, unfortunately, act outside of their constitutional protection. If that were to take place, those individuals will be held responsible and accountable.”

Apparently referring to the violence and vandalism that occurred in parts of Los Angeles during anti-ICE demonstrations there, Johnson said when a “small number of protesters set things on fire, it plays into the hand of authoritarians like Donald Trump, who take advantage to ultimately suppress all protesters.

“What we have seen in Los Angeles is really not about immigration. This is not about policy. It’s about power. We have a tyrant in the White House who has a complete disregard for our Constitution and the dismissing of our democracy,” the mayor said. “This is a terrible moment in our nation’s history. … He continues to show how low he will stoop. … It is sick and demented. I didn’t know you could look worse than George Wallace.”

Johnson’s chief of staff, Cristina Pacione-Zayas, warned that the escalatory tactics the Trump administration has used in Los Angeles could happen in Chicago.

“Yesterday, the notice was given … to federal agents that they have 48 hours to stand by and be ready to deploy — that there will be five cities that are targeted. Democratic-led cities,” Pacione-Zayas said. “Chicago being one of them for sure, and that they were going to be targeting workplaces in terms of the raids.”

Pacione-Zayas added: “There will be tactical teams. There will be mini-tanks. There will be other tools that they use in which they plan to do raids, as we saw in Los Angeles. That information is actually pretty public. It has been out there and, in fact, on official channels.”

Johnson’s deputy mayor for community safety, Garien Gatewood, was among those out on the street monitoring demonstrations in the Loop on Tuesday against Trump’s immigration raids. During the protests, a motorist drove toward a group of protesters and struck one of the demonstrators.

“Nobody, obviously, expects someone to do what they did yesterday. So we’ll make improvements on that,” Gatewood said. “We already had a meeting this morning with some of our team on additional resources we’ll need in place. We’ve been in contact directly with the governor’s office about some of the support they can provide, as well.”

Johnson said he is grateful that “in the midst of this effort by the Trump administration to create chaos, that we were able to get through yesterday without mass arrests or life-altering harm” to police or demonstrators.

The mayor’s remarks signaled some of his strongest rhetoric yet denouncing the president’s stepped-up immigration raids. Johnson added that he considers it “grotesque” that Trump is using the armed forces to celebrate his 79th birthday by holding a military parade Saturday, which also is the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Today, there were way more people on the streets than it was anticipated; I had a commitment close to home and could not join them, but I already changed my escorting shift on Saturday so that I could join the rally on the Daley Plaza.

Nature And Gardening

I went to a nature restoration workday for a second time, which probably indicates that this activity has returned to my life and will stay there for a while. Last Saturday, we removed teasels, an invasive I am intimately familiar with since my Deer Grove days.