Rittenhouse. Disappointed and sad. And there is no energy in masses to raise the voices strong enough to be heard…
I am thinking and thinking this one thought: if he were Black, would such a verdict be possible?!
Category: everyday life
Partial Moon Eclipse
Tonight was the longest partial moon eclipse in over 500 years; at least, that’s what I read the day before. Chicago Tribune was saying that it would be very easy to observe, and since it was three-and-a-half hours long, I had chances to see some of it.
The eclipse was supposed to end at 4-45 AM, so I made a point to get up at 3-45, and at 4 AM, I was out on the street. First, I thought I would see it from my balcony, but this didn’t work. However, when I came down to the street, I saw it right away!
It was enchanting, and although I could not capture the actual thing on my camera, I am very glad that I woke up an hour earlier than usual. The sight was worth it!
Christmas Reminder
I wanted to write “the final” Christmas reminder but decided against it :). In any case, I am starting everything earlier this year, because the speed with which the mail is moving is unpredictable.
Not a “final”, but just a reminder of what I’ve posted ten days ago.
Please let me know if you want a Christmas card and/or Christmas cookies from me.No need to reciprocate :).
I’ve got my new Christmas cards and stamps:
And the cookie tins are out:
Recent Activities
The last couple of days were all about PostgreSQL, not just work but mostly my community activities. A couple of weeks earlier, I volunteered to participate in selecting the talks for yet another in-person conference, which will be held in San Jose in January. One of my talks for this conference is approved, so I am going there. The organizers asked me which of my talks I would prefer to present for that conference. That was great because I didn’t want to present the same talk at multiple conferences.
Tomorrow, I am hosting a Chicago PostgreSQL User Group meetup, and I am trying to do hybrid again. This time, six people registered to participate in person, seven including me. I think that in reality, there will be three people plus me, and it will progress because last time it was just me plus one more person.
Another thing I realized is that the holiday season is approaching for real, so this weekend, I need to start sending out international cards, and I need to start baking cookies. Also, I need to review my presentation for the New York conference. Although I’ve already presented it at least three times, I still need to review the slides and ensure they are not outdated.
The Joys Of Living In The Condominium
On Friday, several emails were sent back and forth between the property management and the building residents: no hot water. You might not believe it, but I had a feeling of relief. In fact, when I first saw this house, and the agent was taking me through all the parts of the building, I saw these giant water heaters in the basement and thought to myself: does it mean that the hot water is not my problem anymore?
Indeed, it is not! The condominium handled all repairs, and by 1 PM, the hot water was back. And I thought for a minute that if this happened in my old house, I wouldn’t know about it until I came home from work Friday night, and then I wouldn’t be able to shower in the morning, and all my weekend plans would be screwed, because I will be looking for emergency service and would pay something unpredictable for it.
Live Theater
What a night! I can’t even say it was like in the “old days” – it was better than ever! Or maybe I forgot. Or maybe I just haven’t been to a Broadway class show for a while.
My neighbor and I had a night out in the Loop on Thursday. We started from a dinner at the Italian Village where I hadn’t been for more than two years. These days, they have a very strict reservation policy: they allow 1 hour 45 min for dining, and they charge you for canceled reservations (you need to put a valid credit card when you make the reservation). But that worked for us, ensuring that there was no crowd at the entrance, the tables were filled, and everybody had enough time to dine. It was nothing extravagant, but it was a very nice and festive dinner with their homemade pasta, wine, and a seasonal dessert.
Then, we headed to the Nederlander Theater. They have a very strict COVID protocol, and they really watch the patrons following it – and this allows them not to have any capacity restrictions. .
The show was fantastic! It was a pre-Broadway run of “Paradise Square,” and everything about it Twas brilliant: the story, the music, the voices, the choreography! Two and a half hours of celebration of people’s talent and creativity!
The story takes place during the Civil War in New York, at the time when President Lincoln instituted the first Federal Draft, followed by the Draft Riot. More educational resources can be found on the production website (I think that I am not the only one who knew nothing about the Draft Riot, and about the Five Points neighborhood. At first, I didn’t realize that the actors present the real interracial couples of the 19th century; I thought that the cast was race-blind. But as the story unfolded, I realized that it was indeed about Irish/Black couples.
Unfortunately, I could not find any pictures, even from rehearsals, but I hope they will add some images to the production website at some point.
The only bad part was that I was at home after 11 PM and went to bed about midnight. And then, on Friday, Igor and I went to see the “Bug” in the Steppenwolf theater. That show started at 8 PM, and once again, we had to wait for the train, and I was home after midnight, and two nights in a row with about 4.5 hours of sleep was not a good idea.
The “Bug” is a play written by Tracy Letts, and it’s a very difficult thing to watch. Unlike most people, I didn’t see the movie and judging by the description on the website I didn’t realize how depressing it was going to be. It’s not that I am avoiding depressing plays, but with that one, I can’t even see what anybody in the world could do to prevent that tragic end…
House Updates
Boris made several home improvements while he was here. I already showed the lights in the dining room. Another thing was that we finally stained the unfinished IKEA cabinets. Almost in spite of our efforts, they look presentable!
Mom
On Sunday, when mom and I were on the CTA on the way to the concert, a mentally unstable person walked into a car. He sat down and started to yell something ineligible. I was more concerned that he was not wearing a mask than anything else.
Mom didn’t say anything until later (on the way back, there were two young women with the music turned very loud, and we walked to another car). At that time, she asked why this man “was yelling so loudly.” I told her that he was mentally unstable, but as it often happens now, she didn’t listen and didn’t try to understand what I was saying. Instead, she continued: a white man would never do that! What are they trying to demonstrate? Are they trying to prove that they can do anything they want now, that they are not slaves anymore?
When I was walking home, I thought about how I could talk to her and explain how racist her conversation was, and I did some prep in my head. But the next time I was over at her place, she was in one of these moods when she started from one statement and literally did not hear when I tried to stop her and make a contra argument. And then it was one of these circles when she jumps from one repetitive passage to another, and I know all of them and all possible sequences, and I have no choice other than to sit and listen.
That racist stuff really bothers me, even as I understand, that she can’t make new mental constructions anymore. Even if I would try to reason with her to the effect of whether she thinks about herself as “white” as her most important characteristic, it does not feel like she can make new connections. Even if we talk about issues other than race, no matter how many times I explain to her that things she considers impolite are perfectly polite in the modern world, Russia and America alike. She just replies: but that’s how I feel! I have a right to feel a certain way, the way I was raised!
That was just to document the current state of things. I do not know how fast things will be developing from here. No conclusion.
Christmas Cards And Christmas Cookies!
This year, I am starting my Christmas campaign earlier, because the shipping speed is going to be unpredictable.
Like every year, like every Christmas – let me know if you want a Christmas card from me and/or Christmas cookies! If you are in Chicago – please come and help me to bake, and most importantly – decorate! Everything will start soon!!!
Stories Of The Great Chicago Fire
On Wednesday, I attended the first live event organized by Chicago Architectural Foundation since before the pandemic. They told us that the last event happened on March 10, 2020). I purchased the tickets the first day I saw this announcement, which was when the infections numbers were still high, and it was hard to tell in which direction things would be evolving.
The event was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, and it was called “The Tales of the Night Chicago Burned.” The storyteller Scott Whitehair spent months researching the topic. In the Chicago History Museum archive, he searched for diaries, letters, and articles, which captured the lives of the ordinary people who lived in Chicago 150 years ago and witnessed that dramatic event.
The presentation was 75 minutes long. Whitehair chose the stories of five people and followed them through two days that two nights while the city was burning, and morning when the fire started to cease.
It was such a powerful and emotional presentation! Also, the author connected the Great Chicago Fire with the pandemic, and he talked about how the city will be rebuilt: not from the ashes as it was one-hundred-fifty years ago, but how it can come to life, and how we all can help.
The venue: Spertus Museum building
I am so glad that things are coming back :). Can’t have enough!
Hettie's Reflections 