Hettie’s Reflections – Blog Posts

ACM Meetup, and What’s Next

Today was one of the rare occasions that I was able to attend an ACM meetup in person. Most of the time, they are scheduled at the last minute, and I almost certainly have conflicts (no matter how many times I ask to schedule in advance).

Today’s meetup was very interesting; the speaker talked about data visualization and appealed to the broadest possible audience. I believe we have his presentation slides available, and if so, I will share. For now, just two pictures as examples:

Tomorrow, I am going to Pasadena to SCaLE. Usually, I go there for three and a half days, but this time it will be just for two, and the number of people who want to meet with me definitely will not fit into these two days.

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I do not want to repeat the same thing again, namely that the workload is unimaginable, but it is still the case. I had a very difficult problem at work, and I couldn’t figure it out all day yesterday. The problem was urgent, but even if it wasn’t, I won’t be able to stop thinking about it or trying to resolve it. I finally figured it out today, along with two other problems (but these ones were way easier).

When I was able to figure it out, there was nobody around who could share my joy, and no one wanted to listen to the details. I ended up calling Boris, although it was rather late for him, but at least he understood the level of my happiness – he knew how much I was annoyed by this problem.

There is no pleasure in the world that could be compared with a techinical puzzle being solved, I am convinced! At least, that’s true for me :). The most potent drug 🙂

The Day Iceland Stood Still

There was a free screening for the Gene Siskel Center members of this incredible movie, The Day Iceland Stood Still. I was in yet another work emergency, and would opt to skip if I didn’t have prior plans to go with a friend.

This documentary is so timely in many ways! It is yet another proof that everyone has to fight for their right, and that a good fight pays off :). Looking at Iceland nowadays, youwould never imagine that it was lagging in women’s rights until fairly recently! And what beautiful people all these women are! It was such a delight to listen to them share the memories of this day fifty years ago!

A documentary about women, made by women, and a message to all of us!

About “Change Anything” Book

I read this book right after I read the “Stolen Focus. ” I would never pick it up on my own because I believe I am capable of making any changes in my life I want, but it was highly recommended by one of my peers, and after reading other people praising this book on his blog, I thought that it might be useful to read as something I could recommend to others. In fact, I know that my abilities of “change anything” is completely non-transferable, and I was hoping to find some working strategies.

On the surface, this book should work, though I didn’t start recommending it. The book starts with describing the “willpower trap.” Citing the famous marshmallow study, the authors say:

Unfortunately, to this day most people draw the wrong conclusion from this study. They fall into what might best be called “the willpower trap.” They assume that the only reason (among many possible reasons) certain kids were better at delaying gratification than others was that nature had endowed them with more willpower.

Patterson, Kerry; Grenny, Joseph; Maxfield, David; McMillan, Ron; Switzler, Al. Change Anything: The New Science of Personal Success (p. 15). (Function). Kindle Edition.

However, their research lab proved that, in reality, these kids had skills, and when they taught other kids these skills, the level of success was significantly higher. Changing your personal behavior and learning specific skills are important, but only a small part. Equally, if not more important, are the changes to your social circle (hanging out with a different crowd) and changes to your physical environment.

I think I will soon have a chance to speak with a person who succeeded using these strategies, and I am very interested in hearing a real-life story.

The authors then detail six sources of influence which are standing on the way of people trying to make changes in their lives, such as breaking away from bad habits. These sources of influence are:

  • personal motivation
  • personal ability.
  • social motivation
  • social ability
  • structural motivation
  • structural ability

Each of them can work against you or with you, helping you achieve your goals. In the rest of the book, the authors detail the changes a person can make in each of these six directions and the specific skills that can be developed. Not only do they describe some success stories, but they also lay out the paths each person had to take and the specific changes people adopted in each case to reach their goals.

Vlad In Chicago

Vlad made a surprise visit to Chicago, and immediately, Illinois and all neighboring states knew! My weekend ended up being completely upside down, but it also presented an opportunity to take a picture with all my children, which hadn’t happened for more than two years.

Vlad was doing a pop up in the Lilac Tiger bar:

I asked Vlad to make minis for me, so that I could try more than one 🙂

Also, I asked him to visit my mom, which he did on Saturday. I went there with him because, at this point, my mom needed an interpreter. We had not more than twenty minutes one-on-one, but overall, visiting my mom with Vlad, and coming to his event today, significantly altered my plans, and I have no idea how and when I will catch up with the rest of my life. And no, I am not complaining 🙂

Joffrey: American Icons

Yesterday, my neighobor and I attended yet another amazing Joffrey ballet performance. The “American Icons” showcases the works by several choreographers who contributed to Joffrey ballet through the seventy years of it’s existance.

Here is what Sun-Times wrote about this program:

The Joffrey Ballet’s early years have been enshrined in American legend, as the small troupe toured the country in a station wagon full of entrepreneurial postwar spirit and youthful enthusiasm.

Founded in 1956 by Robert Joffrey, son of a Pashtun father and an Italian mother, and second-generation Italian immigrant Gerald Arpino, the 70-year-old company continues to draw exceptional dancers from around the world to Chicago.

The Joffrey is, quintessentially, a company of immigrants in an American city powered by immigration.

The Joffrey’s “American Icons” program, running through March 1 at the Lyric, is, appropriately, a melting pot, too. Showcasing work by Joffrey and Arpino, plus dances by founding company dancer Glen Tetley and iconic modern choreographer Martha Graham, the evening’s collection evokes Old Vienna, Ancient Greece, Belle Époque Paris and the Catholic Church.

Collectively, the works communicate a modern American perspective on the Old World, and they represent an essential Americanness even while expressing the statelessness of dance.

I throughtly enjoyed avery moment of this performance, and at some point in the middle of it I realized that I have been smiling all the time. Each movement was impecable. The pictures can convey only that much of the beauty…

And the only photo taken by me:

CSO Backstage Tour

Since last year, I purchased two tickets for a Millennium Park concert, which was considered a fundraiser, I officially became a “CSO donor” (I think, my subscription is not expensive enough to qualify). With that, I started to receive some exclusive invitations. I know that invitations to the open rehearsals are issued to all subscribers, but I believe that for a backstage tour invitation, you need a higher level. Or maybe they just started to offer them. Whatever the case, this season was the first time I started receiving these invites, and I was sad I couldn’t choose any tour time that worked for me. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I spotted one time that could work and still had openings (it was a last-minute addition). The time loosely corresponded to my lunch break :). I immediately grabbed two tickets and told my neighbor about this opportunity.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay for the whole tour, because it ended up being longer than one hour (as it was advertised). But funny enough, the last and the best part of the tour – the backstage – was less important for me because I saw it as a part of the CSO for Kids Ambassador tour with Nadia, so it was OK; I just felt bad that I had to ask an usher to escort me out.

The curator who led the tour was exceptionally knowledgeable, and she told us all about the history of the building and the orchestra. I knew some pieces of it: how Theodor Tomas agreed to move to Chicago in 1890 for the promise to have a permanent orchestra (“I will move to hell for that!”). How the orchestra first performed in the Auditorium, and how Daniel Burnham volunteered to design the new orchestra’s home.

I didn’t know that Theodor Thomas specifically wanted to have a ballroom in the building for more intimate gatherings, and that it’s because of him we have Grainger Ballroom.

The Rotunda was a later addition, similar to the Arcade, and was built to house the CSO offices, the libarary and the archive
Another thing we learnde on the tour: the first female member joined the orchestra in 1940, and out of all instruments you would imagine, she played a French horn!
I didn’t know that the ceiling can be moved up and down to create a different effect, depending on who is on stage (the full orchestra, the Chamber orchestra, or a soloist)

Backstage:

The harpsichord (I remember seeing Melody Lord playing it)

As I said, I didn’t take a lot of pictures backstage because I took them on a previous tour. My friend messaged me later that it was a very special experience, and she loved it. She was able to sty till the end, and I had to run back to work!

I Knew It!

Honestly, when I saw this piece. in WBEZ newsletter, that’s what I wanted to scream: I knew it! I knew that Makela would love our Art Institute! And I love the concept of “music pairing.”

The story.

Continue reading “I Knew It!” →

ODS

ODS dinner on Wednesday – first time after two and a half months of absence. My emails remained unanswered, or the dates were confirmed when it was already too late, or something else. I thought for a hundredth time that I need to put my ODS volunteering on pause, but two weeks ago, when I was coming home on the Red Line, somebody called me from the seat facing me, and I saw J., one of the residents. It took me a couple of seconds to connect her face to a different environment, but both she and I were equally happy to see each other! There was a whole group of ODS residents, and I knew two others – at least their faces were familiar; and J. happily explained about the other two that “they were new.” And then she started to explain to them that I come and cook. I told her that I am finally scheduled to come on February 25, and I knew that I had to stick with this date no matter what.

When I checked in the day before, I was informed that they only have ground beef, rice, and frozen vegetables, and it’s up to me what to make. I took a celiac and some dark pink farmers’ carrots from home, and stopped at Target on theway to ODS to pick up frozen peas and brussels sprouts. I hoped they had potatoes (they always had!), but it was the end of the month, and I was told there would be no potatoes until Tuesday.

I sighed and started making my signature vegetable soup, using ground beef instead of turkey and rice instead of potatoes. I brought a jar of Vegeta with me, which helped! By some miracle (mostly me promptly removing the grease from the soup’s surface), it ended up being surprisingly good. Another miracle was that not only J. hung out in the dining area with me, but also several “new” boys and even girls were ready to socialize. They asked lots of questions about me and my cooking, came for seconds, and thanked me for the soup multiple times. And they didn’t get back to their rooms for a while, so we chatted for another hour.

N. (my favorite staff) was very sympathetic and told me to text her if I have scheduling problems again 🙂

MCA

I almost never make it to the Museum of Contemporary Art, and it’s hard to tell why – there are other museums which are not close to my office, and harder to get to. If anything, the MCA is between my work and my home, and not far from the Chicago Red Line stop. And, because I tend to consume too much information about what’s going on in the city, I learned that they have free admission on Tuesday evenings for all Illinois residents, so I decided to check it out (sort of “getting out of a familiar routine”). I went there on Tuesday when I had a midday doctor appointment, and worked from home, which is also not my typical way of going to the museums.

“The Trophy” by Marlene Dumos

From Firelei Báez exhibition:

City in a Garden: Queer Art and Activism in Chicago Exhibit:

And I didn’t know these facts about the Montrose Harbor:

I was slightly disappointed that the permanent collection is not on view, and overall, there are fewer things on view than I expected. I am going to hold off getting one more membership: now that I know it’s not so difficult to get there (and it a purely physological thing that I flelt this museum was not on my way), I am happy to see all new exhibits during these free Tuesday evenings.