Category: everyday life

The Joffrey’s Nutcracker

I made an almost last-minute decision to go see the Nutcracker at Joffrey Ballet this morning (and to take mom with me). That’s because it was still so cold that you could barely walk outside, and I knew mom would have to be Ubered whenever we decided to go.

Most museums closed on Thursday afternoon and didn’t reopen yet, but Joffrey ballet sent an email saying that they keep all performances and that the 25% discount still works. Also, I found incredibly cheap seat very close to the stage, and that was perfect for mom (she can’t hear the orchestra from the balcony). So I purchased tickets for the 11 AM (!!!) performance and pre-ordered Uber both ways.

It was so good, I can’t even describe it! I love this Chicago version much more than the classical version – it is better in al possible ways. Each time I see it, I love it more, and it was something special in today’s performance. I overheard somebody saying that she had tears in her eye throughout the whole first act, and I felt the same. I hope Joffrey will never return to the classical version 🙂

Since if was so cold outside, I expected it to be chilly at the Opera house and was surprised to find it warm enough to check in the coats. A lady at the coat check told me that they started heating at 3 AM to make it comfortable!

The Weather Change

The change was dramatic and sudden. My plans A, B, and C for Thursday afternoon dissolved on the spot. I think that most places closed preemptively, just in case, because, in the end, the snow on Thursday was not terrible. The windchill, though, was probably the worst I had ever experienced during my life in Chicago.

I got on the train earlier than planned. and then I didn’t leave the house for a day and a half, except to take the garbage out and boxes to the storage. On Friday, I thought that everybody’s plans were canceled, and since I know some neighbors very well, they might be up to the impromptu party – and we had it, and we had fun!

It turned out that adults like the idea of chocolate ornaments not less than children, and after I explained how to look for the chocolate ornaments, they asked how many they could take 🙂

Doing Christmas Things With Mom

For the first three weeks of December, my life was so full of different activities that I rarely came home before nine. I told mom that I would take her out to do Christmas things during Christmas week.

Since she no longer takes public transit alone, I could only take her out when I work from home and can pick her up.
It all worked great on Wednesday, and I took her to the Chrstkindle Market and the Chicago Christmas tree. The weather was ideal – it was around 30F, and no wind or snow, and we spent more than two hours outside. I was really glad that mom didn’t complain about “how everything is so expensive” and seemed to accept that the holidays allow spending more on fun things. She liked the food and enjoyed looking at the Christmas ornament without looking at the price. She thanked me for the good time and told me that she felt the Christmas spirit and the holiday atmosphere. Which is more than I could expect, so I am marking it as a success.

(I was hoping for fewer crowds, but by that time, everybody knew that the snowstorm is coming and that Wednesday would be effectively the last day of the market)

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Santa Departed For His Jorney

Annual broadcast from Yle.

Weekend Highlights

It’s already Wednesday evening, and I still didn’t blog about our weekend with Anna’s family. We all had a great time, but somehow I find it difficult to put it in words – what exactly was so good? I had many worries that somebody might get sick, including me, or something else won’t work, but everything worked perfectly. 

Maybe not “perfectly,” because the weather was not cooperating, and Kira didn’t get enough sleep the first night, but still, it’s amazing how many boxes we checked!

Still, the best part was having all these tiny precious moments. Kira said: Baba’s house is so beautiful! – when she saw all the Christmas lights I left on. Nadia loved the kitty purse I bought for her in Helsinki. Both girls marched to the kitchen after they woke up and hung out with me, letting the parents have some sleep. Nadia said to me while we were in Ryan Educational Center at the Art Institute: Baba, please don’t help me; I want to be challenged. 

Here is a list of all the Christmas activities from the past weekend:

  • Merry Merry Chicago concert on Friday night
  • Having people over on Saturday mornings
  • Going to the Steadfast Tint Soldier at the Lookingglass theatre (a beautiful show, but for a little bit older children or adults)
  •  Having late lunch/early dinner with Vlad
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The First Christmas Concert

I got tickets for the “Merry Chicago” concert in the CSO for Nadia and me on December 16. It was a little bit of a stretch because they could not leave until Nadia’s school was over, but it ended up being not a little bit but a lot of a stretch. To be precise, Nadia was dropped off in front of the CSO a minute before the concert. But we were not late, and we had terrific seats in the second row on the aisle.

It’s hard to believe, but Nadia sat through the whole 1 hour 50 min concert completely focused on the music! Even during the intermission, after we walked around for a little while, she insisted on returning to our seats and anticipated the concert’s second part.

And nowadays, the Christmas concert is very different from when my kids were kids – there is no story, no dances, so it is pretty much music all the time – shorter pieces, for sure, but still!

In Solidarity With Ukraine

Christmas Rush, As Usual

The past week was another week of extreme sleep deprivation, packing and mailing cookies, writing postcards, and figuring out and ordering the remaining presents.


In addition, there was a holiday party in the youth shelter on Tuesday, a party at Igor’s office on Wednesday (I went to see his workplace), and a VIP reception at the Chicago Architectural Center on Thursday!

The weekend was “Christmas in Chicago” for Anna and her family. With infections rising in Illinois and worldwide, I worried till the last moment that something might not work out, but nobody got sick, and we had a fantastic weekend! Although we had to skip some of the things we had planned due to the extremely cold weather, most of our plans worked, sometimes better than expected. More to follow.

My talks recordings are live

September conferences recordings

Hettie D.'s avatarThe World of Data

The recordings from Uptime 2022 and PG Conf NY 2022 are live; many thanks to the conference organizers and volunteers!!!

Now, two more versions of my NORM-GEN talk are available:

Uptime here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-h690cqXvo

and PG Conf NYC 2022

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Our Magical City

When I see Chicago decorated with holiday lights, the only thing I can say is, “What a beautiful city we live in!”

Several years ago, at one of the Caroling at the Clod Gate concerts, I heard somebody near me say this. And I remember I felt I could relate: you come to Millennium Park, look around, and see this beauty as if for the first time. And you are breathless!

Each time I come to the Chicago Architectural Center, I fee the same way! I want to repeat it over and over: what

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