The Lake Is Our Backyard!
Hettie’s Reflections – Blog Posts
One More Crayziness
A couple of weeks ago, my mom told me that her Russian phone was sending her messages that there were not enough funds on the card which was used for phone payments. It was indeed not enough because five years ago, I added her Visa, which was issued by a Russian bank but was in US dollars. She used this card to pay for all he necessities, and I periodically transferred her pension to this Debit Visa, converting from rubles to dollars. After the war began and my mom couldn’t use this card anymore, it sort of became useless, but I forgot to switch her phone payment method to her ruble card.
Now, these dollars were finally gone. I tried to login to her phone account page multiple times, but the page was hanging and never came back. Then, as much as I hated it, I tried to login to her bank and transfer some money to this visa. Although I’ve done it many times before, this time transaction was declined, and the automated message said that somebody would call her (mom) from the bank within the next hour or so. Good luck with that.
When I tied to login a day later, the bank page said that her online account it locked, and in order to unlock it, she needed either to come in person or call the number listed (in Moscow). I knew that she had to call from her cell phone; otherwise, they won’t believe that she was she. But her phone… you got the picture.
Boris told me that he would try to transfer money from his Russian bank to my mom’s phone, and then we will figure out what to do next. I still thought there is no emergency because all her payments for her Russian apartment were scheduled as auto-pays. However, today they sent her a message that her automated payments are stopped because her card is blocked! So now it’s not just her online access but everything. What she still has to pay are the property taxes and utility fees (so that the heating and electricity won’t be shut down completely). So now that’s one more thing I need to resolve.
The War And The Media
Over the weekend, I had a conversation with a person who is not only very intelligent and hold very progressive views but is also not ignorant of what’s happening in Europe—someone who knows that there is the rest of the world outside of the US.
Still, my account of how the war is unfolding and what is really going on at the front appeared to be a revelation. She asked me whether I think the American media does a good job reporting about the war, and I said – no, gave multiple particular examples, and spoke about the trend in general. The war disappeared from the front pages, and even during the latest mutiny, the interest was directed toward Russia, not Ukraine. And I cited my friend, who said that no photographs and no reports could capture the horrors of destruction.
She listened to me with great attention and said: we live in a bubble that the media created. And we do not even know we live in a bubble.
I blogged about it so many times that I lost count. People do not understand the gravity of the situation; they push away the fact that the war didn’t stop, that people keep dying – every day.
And they keep explaining to me why NATO will never get directly involved, and I, in turn, keep explaining the consequences of that and the inevitability of confrontation with Russia, if not now, then in the future. And all of this feels hopeless.
Weekend Baking
Fort Sheridan Forest Preserved
After I blogged about the Lion’s Den and mentioned that there is nothing like that in Illinois, my friend promptly replied that in fact, there is something like that, namely, the forest preserve with the lake!
When I looked at the map, I realized that it is perfectly reachable by public transportation, namely by Metra UP-North. The next thing I realized – the only option to go there before the end of September was the upcoming Sunday (July 16). I promptly made up a plan and executed 🙂
I have just one word to say – a paradise!
Monarchs In The City
Corporate Apparel
I forgot that I had a lot of points to order some corporate-branded merchandise, and when I received a reminder about the points, it took me by surprise. I ordered several items for different weather, and I was pleasantly shocked when I received the items – I never had corporate apparel with such a perfect fit (I probably do not show well in the picture, but trust me!) Even a hoody fits like a designer jacket!
Waste Reduction
This was a small thing, but I am very proud of it.
Sometimes, things break, or you lose a part, and then it appears to be very difficult to find this one small part that you need to replace, and it is very tempting to replace the whole thing.
Recently, I accidentally threw a percolator tube into the garbage. And I didn’t realize I did it until it was too late, and the garbage was already in the dumpster. I started to look for a part on Amazon, and I couldn’t find it. A couple of years ago, I had to buy a new percolator for Milwaukee when the lid of the coffee basket went missing, and I could not find a replacement for such a simple thing and ended up ordering a new percolator.
This time, I was almost ready to do the same, but when I checked the percolator’s price on Amazon, I saw that it had gone up almost twice since I purchased it last time. Most likely, that won’t stop me because I wanted the problem to be solved ASAP, but then I thought about the conservation efforts and what a waste it would be to throw away the whole percolator with only this tube missing!
I made an effort :). I found the company website and ordered the replacement perk tubes. Two of them :). Because it’s not the last time I need one. And it was not as fast as Amazon delivery. And two tubes plus shipping cost only a little bit less than a new percolator. But I was so happy I did the right thing 🙂
Reflecting on my Professional Career.
Today, I joined a group of DRW volunteers to participate in the Lunch and Learn event for theGreenwood ProjectThat was an incredible experience! I can’t remember the last time I talked to such an intelligent and motivated group of young people with clear professional goals and the thrust for knowledge. Also, I can hardly remember any other event, including big professional conferences, that would result in that many LinkedIn connection requests. Good job, Scholars!
I was really impressed with the students’ questions! Even after the event, I kept thinking about some of them. One student asked me what helped me to keep moving up in my professional career. I replied, as I usually do, that my biggest motivation was that I loved what I was doing.
Several months ago, I wrotean essay about itin my personal blog. Today, after I answered this question, I wondered whether…
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In The Courthouse
More about the oath ceremony. It turned out I completely forgot what my oath ceremony looked like. I found my notes from 2008, and I realized that to the smallest detail, including the super-long wait, it was exactly like it was with my mom. Also, back then, I had mixed feelings about this second citizenship.
It’s funny how the human brain works. I remember that after the initial shock from coming to live in a completely new country which was nothing like other places I had visited before had passed, I liked it being here. When I figured out how to perform the daily tasks, and it stopped being a “coming home with a newborn” struggle, I instantly felt at home. However, at the same time, I also felt uneasy about “denouncing previous allegiances” and referred to my new status as “a marriage of convenience.”
My “growing into” American citizenship was a long process, and now when I read my notes from that time, it surprises me how selective our brains are.
Back to yesterday’s ceremony. In the notice that was sent to my mom, the ceremony start time was indicated as 12-30 PM, and I planned to be there with mom by 12-15. Anna took an earlier train to be there for sure, not the last minute, and we met my mom at Lake Red Line CTA and walked to the Federal Court.
There was already a long line on the 25th floor, and when we reached the beginning of the line, a lady told us that Anna and I should leave and come back at 1 PM. It was all very confusing because it sounded like we couldn’t be present during the ceremony, but as we found out when we came back, the actual ceremony was going to be at 1:30 PM. That meant that Anna had to sprint to the Union Station immediately after the oath.
All the rest went well. The judge who was conducting the ceremony said that ninety-six people from thirty-six countries were becoming US citizens on that day. He said that each person brings their own culture and experience and that that’s the nature of the country, and that fact that his ancestors came to America in the 17th century does not make his citizenship any “better” than other people’s citizenships. I think I was giving more thought to this ceremony yesterday than I did during my oath ceremony.
As I already mentioned, fifteen years ago, I didn’t like the idea of exclusiveness, of demands to denounce all my previous allegiances. To be honest, I do not know how I would feel about it now if the country where I was born wouldn’t expose the worst of herself. I do not know how Ukrainians who took the oath on the same day felt (I know there were some), especially because, as far as I know, Ukraine does not allow dual citizenship.
Mom received her certificate. Anna had to run to get back home (and hit all possible public transportation disasters on the way). Igor could not come because, somehow, he managed to get COVID over the weekend. So it was just my mom and me, and while we were inside, another spell of pouring rain started. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, and when it slowed down, we walked to Amarino and had coffee and ice cream there. The rain started again, a stopped again, and again we had just enough time to walk to the nearest Red Line station.
Mom was very happy, and she thanked me multiple times for making this happen.
…. only when we got on the train I realized that I had left my jacket at the Courthouse (I thought that it might be too air-conditioned, and took a black jacket with me, but it was not cold, and…) I decided that it’s a good opportunity to shop for a new one 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 