Spring Arrives For The Second Time
Category: everyday life
The Lake, And Again – The Lake
I know that I won’t stop posting pictures of the lake now that I can bike early in the morning, and I know that all of them look the same. But every morning is a new morning, and sometimes, the lake is stormy, and sometimes – calm, and each time – beautiful.
A Weekend Of Cultural Activities
I had my girls over this weekend, and that was the most cultural activities we ever had in one and a half days!
We went to the CSO for Kids concert, which was the first time for Kira. Straight from there, we went to the Art Institute and saw the Dali exhibit (Nadia actually liked it, and even Kira showed some interest). Fortunately, the Art Institute recently reopened its cafe, so we had lunch there and then headed to the Ryan educational center, where Nadia made a collage on the Salvador Dali theme. As always, we spent a really long time there and started to head out only when they were about to close.
We then walked to the Bean and then to the Chicago Cultural Center and stopped there to see a Tiffany Dome.
On Sunday, Nadia and I went to Joffrey Ballet to see “The Little Mermaid,” a ballet composed by Lera Auerbach. Everything about this piece is amazing: the music, the choreography, the instruments, the costumes, and most importantly, how the fairy tale is interpreted.
I read the synopsis to Nadia while we were waiting for the train, and while I was reading, I thought: well, this does not look like a ballet for kids. When I finished reading and said: so that’s a very sad story, Nadia asked: why is it sad? And then I thought that probably she is right because at the end, both the Poet and the Little Mermaid found new meaning in their lives.
I found a very interesting link where Lera Auerbach talks about the score and how she chose the instrument for the Mermaid’s voice.
Here are a couple of pictures I found. I do not think they convey how amazing this ballet is, but it is at least something!
This promotional video gives at least some impression of how it feels – imagine 2.5 hours of such intensity!
And imagine Nadia sitting through it, watching!
Getting Back To Normal
It’s ten days after the conference is over, and I finally started to get used to the situation when I do not need to run around and worry about twenty things. I think I still didn’t explain why it was “many.” First, I was a part of the Program Committee, with many responsibilities, including organizing the pre-party and managing volunteers. Second, I talked my company into Platinum sponsorship and was anxiously waiting for all legal details to be settled, nudging people who were not fast enough. Third, I was a community sponsor as a local organizer of the Chicago PostgreSQL User Group and had to design and order stickers and flyers. And most importantly, I was advertising the event, especially among local users, women, and students. There were some last-minute vouchers from the sponsors, and I tried to place them.
After all of the above was over, it took me a while to calm down, but finally, it was there. Although I have a lot of other things going on (it’s never just my work, always ten other activities), I am in a happy and worry-free state of mind.
Here is what I have lined up for May and June/
Work: Four projects which were “coming” for a while, and now I need to work on all four of them at the same time. I love them all, and I want to do them all, but I am hitting the limits of how one can stretch the time.
Health I finally started to meet with a therapist about how I should efficiently communicate with mom and, most importantly, what communication style would help her. Boris told me that I am getting visibly upset and frustrated when she says something that indicates that she does not remember things. I talked about this with my physician, and she recommended doing therapy for myself to help mom. Works for me 🙂
Mom. Finally started physical therapy for her. It was quite a project with lots of hours on the phone, but finally, she finally sees the same PT specialist as me. Although this office is close to both our homes, she still can’t go there by herself, so every week, it’s two hours of my life during work hours. Second, I went through the quest of setting up her online SSN portal, and next week, we will have a phone interview to apply for SSI for her. And yes, it’s again a lot of hours on the phone during work hours, and she has to be present, so I need to go to her place, which results in even more hours. And finally, her citizenship interview is on May 23. I sent a request on her behalf to make adjustments for her hearing loss, and we got a response that she could have somebody with her, and they would let her use a sound amplifier and many other accommodations. She is scared about each official paper that comes to her mailbox, and calls me…
My other professional activities. I signed a contract for the second edition of our optimization book, and the schedule is very aggressive. I agreed to run 8-hour optimization class for one of the local companies migrating from Oracle. Several smaller consulting requests. I plan to submit several proposals for PG Conf NYC and PG Conf EU. At list three blog posts and one article are overdue.
Volunteering I already described the situation in the youth shelter. I am often unable to do escorting, and I feel horrible about that. It might sound crazy, but I am thinking about returning to OMD.
Fun stuff. Vlad’s wedding is less than four weeks away! I am organizing a friends and family lunch the day before. And Anna’s family trip to Finland is coming in June!
More fun stuff – spring in Chicago!
The Complete History Of PG Day Chicago
I felt compelled to write a blog explaining why I am so excited for PG Day Chicago finally being a reality, not just my dream. Many people heard at least some parts of this story, but it’s the first time I am presenting the whole timeline.
I started working with PostgreSQL in July 2011, and shortly after, I attended the first Postgres conference, PG Open, which was back then happening in Chicago and was a three-day event with huge attendance! Before that, I only attended academic conferences, and that one looked very different. Needless to say, in addition to it’s novelty, I felt completely stupid because I barely understood what it was all about. I had enough courage to ask somebody (maybe even Magnus) whether they plan to have subtransactions inside functions :)).
I attended the next PG Open, and I also went to Ottwaw for PG Conf, and gradually…
View original post 1,006 more words
More Gifts :)
One of the speakers brought gifts for organizers and speakers!
They blend really well with my other dishes 🙂
An Opera Close To Home
How come I didn’t know about the Theo Ubique Cabaret until I saw a review in Tribune a couple of weeks ago?! I purchased tickets for Saturday night because I wanted to go somewhere with Boris after the conference, and I didn’t want to return late from the Loop.
I was so tired by Friday evening, and even more by Saturday afternoon, that I thought that I would let these tickets go, the would be no fun when I am so tired. And you’ve already guessed – I am happy we went.
Here is a review of the show I found online, and the last paragraph says:
With all its conflicts and contradictions–including the fact that this anti-capitalist broadside is being presented by a non-union company–this is still the single best Brecht production I’ve ever seen on a Chicago stage. Veteran director Anzevino and company know what works in cabaret, and the concept–dark, broad and boldly theatrical–is right on target. This “Threepenny Opera” is not pretty, but it is indeed art. And if the theater gods are just, it will be a hit.
And I agree!
Books
Despite not having time for anything (or maybe because I still need something to switch my attention to), I recently listened to more audiobooks than usual. However, I am often left in a state of dissatisfaction. I do not know whether something is wrong with me or if I am following the wrong recommendations, but I do not know how to rate most books I have read recently. In many cases, the books didn’t meet my expectations, as with The Other Wes Moore, The Feminist City, and Gentrification is Inevitable. Each time I just started to get into the complexity of an issue, the book would end with no conclusion. Most likely, it’s me expecting the answer where there is none.
The situation is a little bit different with two books I just finished. One of them was Anxious People, which I picked up after an attempt of cashless bank robbery close to our office, and started to read on the long flight without an internet connection. The other one was There is no such thing as an easy job which was suggested for our book club discussion but didn’t make a cut. With both of these books, I feel the same way: I should like them; they are very insightful, with lots of unexpected twists, others like them, and I should like them too, but somehow, they are not “my” books.
I am going to leave it this way for now 🙂
Panicing
Four days before the conference. I am in full panic because I feel that I still do not have enough volunteers, not enough room hosts, some sponsors didn’t use their vouchers, and there are other people who could use them, but I am failing to connect people and vouchers. Speakers asked me why I didn’t advertise the conference in NYC, and others asked for a microbrewery tour in Chicago. My co-worker from our Austin office is coming for the whole week, so I need to allocate ask much time as possible to work with him while he is in Chicago in person. I promised to show the best of Chicago to my international guests, which created an apparent conflict of interest.
CTA and Metra decided that today was the best day for all sorts of delays and road closers, and Uber takes forever because everybody is on the road, so I spent two hours unproductively while I was already not keeping up with my to-do list. The person I am trying to hire for several small repairs in my house could not find my building for forty minutes, which I spent staying by the window and texting: I still do not see you. Mom completely does not understand the deepness of my crisis.
One bright spot in today’s day (which was, BTW, splendid – sunny and warm!). When I came home an hour later than my adjusted plan was, I thought that I did not want to spend time making coffee. Remembering how jealous I was of the people who had breakfast at Charmer’s Cafe across, and recalling that they are open until 6 PM and they have coffee and ice cream, I broke my promise not to have a cappuccino after 11 AM! I asked them for cappuccino and coffee ice cream and mango sorbet and said that the world was against me. Five minutes later, a barista brought my cappuccino and two bowls of ice cream, saying that she gave me more “because I had such a tough day!. I thanked her but thought I would never be able to eat that much ice cream… and I ate it all!
Hello Lake!
It is in the upper 70s, even taking into account “cooler by the lake.” And I worked from home, but the day was insanely busy with work, my conference, and taking mom to physical therapy. I didn’t even have time to go to a bike ride, and I didn’t leave the house before it was time to walk to mom’s house.
However, at 5 PM, will all things not done yet, I put a blanket and my iPad into a light backpack and marched out of the house towards the beach.
Yes, it’s April 12, I remember :). Yes, the water is cold (although I dipped my toes into it!) But there is nothing in the world that could bring me calm and peace of mind as the lake does!
I laid my blanket on the sand, and I laid down on my back. And although I brought my iPad with me, I had no desire to read even a paragraph. I was lying down on my back, looking up at the sky and taking the lake in.
There were lots of parents with children who came to the beach. The kids played in the sand, and I heard a boy playing with his friend exclaiming: that’s a gift store! Everything is free! And I thought: that’s what it is all about! The best thing ever is less than a ten-minute walk from my house, and that best thing ever is free, free for all of us, rich and poor, white and black, old and young… my lake… our lake.
Hettie's Reflections 