I am back in the office, and it feels absolutely right. Last night, I was running around the house remembering all the things needed to go to the office – I thought I would never need them again, and I am so glad that the need had come!
Probably the most interesting part is that because the new office is located right next to the Ogilvie Train Station, it makes perfect sense to me to take Metra. During the morning rush hour, the trains run every 15 minutes, so it’s not much different from taking CTA, and the walk to the Rogers Park Metra station is so much nicer than it was in Palatine!
I took out my Samsonite backpack, which I bought for myself during the Black Friday sale, and I thought I would never need it again:). And here I am, and I even brought all of my little things to the new office.
This completely forgotten feeling that you can and should have things in the office. And that all the office supplies are there and available. And there are snacks and coffee, a hot breakfast and hot lunch every day, and salads and sandwiches whenever. And even the frozen yogurt! But the most important thing is that there are people, live people in the office, people who need my skills.
Last year, I saw people biking on Lake Shore Drive when I was doing my usual Sunday biking – I didn’t know anything about Bike the Drive! Since I learned about it, I did not miss my chance to participate.
As it was my first time, I didn’t know how things worked, and I thought I could bike as far as I felt comfortable and get off the Drive any moment. Only when I received the “day of the event” package in the email I realize that there were just a couple of opportunities to get on and off the course.
Judging by my usual long rides, I decided to turn back at Oakwood, which was one of the designated turning points, but when I reached it I didn’t see any opportunity to turn around. Most likely, I would be able to go to the most Southern point of the Drive – the Museum of Science and Industry, but then it would take longer than I planned to spend on this event. So I looked to my left, and when I saw a gap in the median, I moved to the left and merged into the stream of bikers going north.
When I reached Millennium Park, I stopped for activities and a pancake breakfast and then continued to the northern end of Lakeshore Drive. I covered a total distance of 32 miles, and I didn’t feel tired at all – and that’s what I am most happy about.
When we were approaching the end of the Drive, one gentleman on my right said – you are always catching up with me, no matter how much I try to get ahead! I told him, sorry, that was not intentional (to be honest, I didn’t even register his presence). I said – I am just consistent. It didn’t feel like I stretched myself; I could do more (and I was not sore the next day).
Another thing that I need to think more about is that I didn’t eat anything before the ride and didn’t drink anything. Initially, I planned to each some fruits before going, but I didn’t feel like I wanted any, and I left the house at 6 AM without food or drink. I thought that I might feel too hungry in the middle of the ride, but I felt great. At 8 AM, when I stopped at Millennium Park, I went to find breakfast. I’d already covered 21 miles by that time and thought I would be very hungry. However, I ate just two pancakes and two breakfast sausages and didn’t want more. I had a great feeling in my body, not needing to process any food and focusing on the ride. There should be at least two of my photos from the ride, but I found just one on the event website. I will try to find more later 🙂
I didn’t miss the train and spent a day with my girls in Milwaukee. We went to the forest where Nadia had her Forest Camp and spent more than two hours walking around while Nadia showed us all the places where they’ve been. I was very happy to be in the forest – I do not have anything like this close to me anymore, and also it was a joy to listen to Nadia talking about her summer experience and to observe how she interacts with Kira.
As I already said, Friday went completely wrong. Skipping all that was wrong in the morning, I will start at 3 PM. When I had the exterminator on August 21, he said that he would check the situation with the trap on September 2 (initially, he said – in two weeks, but I told him that I would be unavailable then, so we agreed on September 2). On August 31, I decided to call and check whether my inspection is scheduled, and it turned out that it was not and that there were no more openings. By then, I knew a mouse was in the trap, and it started to disintegrate. Finally, after checking all the possible options and redirecting me three times, they told me they could schedule an inspector to come between 3 and 5. I told them that I would need to leave at four at the latest, so could they please make sure that the inspector would come before that? When nobody showed up by 3-40, I called the company, and they said that the inspector was stuck in pre-holiday traffic and won’t be there till five! I was desperate – there was no way I could find somebody to wait for an inspector, and I had no time left before the train. Frantically, I called Igor, and he agreed to come to my house after five, although I had already tasked him with three things that had to be accomplished on the same day. Then I called Uber and was shocked to find out that the usual 30-35 min trip to Union Station is projected to be an hour long, and the wait was about 10-12 min. When the app finally responded that the driver would be there in 4 minutes, I rushed downstairs with such a speed that my Apple watch asked – did you fall? The train departure time was 5-08, and all along the ride, the projected arrival time was something like 5-04 to 5-06. I called Anna saying I am missing the train; there was one more train three hours later, and Anna suggested I exchange the ticket until it was not too late, but I decided I would give it a chance. The driver was awesome; he used each opportunity to advance in the traffic, at the same time not doing anything risky. We arrived at an unbelievable 5-02, which allowed me not only to make the train but also not to be the last person who jumped in!
And the exterminator came to my apartment at about 5-20, just when Igor arrived. Because I didn’t instruct Igor properly, he didn’t ask about the hole, so the question of what hole to patch remains open.
I took a day off today to do several things in Palatine. The only thing I was not able to schedule was a meeting with my old neighbor – out schedules didn’t match. All the rest went great. As previously, I took UP-N Metra to Clyborn, and switched to NP-NW to go to Palatine. One of my Palatine friends picked me up, and we went for a walk at Deer Grove. Everything looks like the-end-of-summer, but I was really happy to walk the same path I used to walk and to see the prairie. Then we sat and chatted in her house, and she took me to my last implant check (finally done with that!). From there, I walked to my hair stylist appointment, and from there, my other friend picked me up and we had a long late lunch and talked about a million things.
It was so good to be together with the people I love and miss, and it was great to reunite with the prairie, if even for a short time!
OMG, what an awesome movie! Igor and I went to Siskel Center yesterday to see it, and it totally exceeded expectations! Yes, the director is awesome, and reviews where good, but recently, we had so many situations when reviews were great, but the movie would turn up being mediocre. that I couldn’t count on good reviews.
But this movie is just brilliant! With each next twist of a plot it becomes better and better. Usually, this is not my favorite genre. I saw comments on YouTube that this trailer represents the movie correctly. I disagree: there are less special effects per minute than in that trailer 🙂
This book (Democracy rebirth by Dick Simpson) covers in depth the parts of the political history of the United States and Chicago in particular, which are not addressed often. Let’s put it bluntly: we used to hear about the “Democratic machine” from our opponents when they want to say that nothing good ever comes from Democratic officials. We rarely think about what IS the “Democratic machine.” Maybe it’s my ignorance, but it was the first time in my life that I understood that this is not an insult but an actual mechanism of ensuring that the Democratic party stays in power. And it’s the first time I heard it from a person, who is a Democrat, served as an elected official, and is very serious about returning a true democracy to US politics. Some quotes I find important:
The cure for the dichotomy between the imperatives of capitalism and democracy lies in government regulation of the economy, a fairer system of taxation, and more generous government programs in education, health, and welfare. What is needed is the Goldilocks effect—neither too much nor too little government. We need government regulations and programs that allow capitalism to succeed without destroying either competition or democracy. We need policies that tax wealthy individuals and corporations more fairly and that provide a basic income to the poor to raise them and their children out of poverty.
* The standard work week that is today forty hours will need to decrease while minimum wage and income will need to increase to a livable wage. In the future, humans will be directing the work of machines using computer software and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, professionals are ever more tied to electronic communication so that there are in many ways more tied to their jobs for longer hours. The nature of work will need to change in ways that are more humane for everyone.
*
The last chapter summarizes political actions which should be taken to achieve a Democracy’s rebirth, including an automated voter registration system, control over campaign contributions, and elimination of machine politics.
P.S. I learned about this book when I attended this event in the Chicago Public Library.
This annual event took place yesterday, and I went there for the first time. The festival was great, the chalk art itself, and the music, and the food (we didn’t try any, because we chose completely wrong time for it, but it looked fabulous, especially Senegal food.
However, I felt sad seen an excessive number of police and security staff, and knowing that on regular days, this area is experiencing not the best of its days. I want to find a way how I can contribute to making it a little bit better.
Hettie's Reflections 