Hettie’s Reflections – Blog Posts

ODS

As I already said multiple times, things have not been working with ODS recently, and I had so many last-minute cancellations that I almost lost hope that something would ever happen. In October, the volunteer coordinator and I made another attempt to schedule things, and I sent to her a list of dates when I could come. Then there were no communications for three weeks, so the day before I was supposed to come I emailed her again asking to confirm that we were still on.

There was no response to my email. I had the cell number of the previous coordinator, but I couldn’t find the new coordinator’s phone. At some point, I had a crazy thought that I should just go there, but having what I have in my life these days, I thought I would be devastated to lose another two hours for nothing, and after some hesitations, I left home.

I was already walking home from the train station when I saw a text on my phone with a contact “maybe <her name>” (which meant that she mentioned her number in one of her emails). The message read: When are you planning to arrive?

We had a rather dramatic exchange of texts, and I frantically checked spam and trash, but there was no email found. We immediately agreed to communicate through texts in the future and agreed for me to come a week later. I felt horrible because I thought that it was all my fault, and if I was really committed to coming to the ODS, I should have either tried to find her cell number or gone to the ODS without confirmation. I felt that I was so sure (subconsciously) that it wouldn’t work again, that I was expecting this arrangement to fail. I am not sure whether I’ve explained it thoroughly, but I tried :).

Nevertheless, we agreed on November 14. I had an event I wanted to attend on that day (the Beat meeting), but I decided I had to break the curse of ODS events not happening. I confirmed on Wednesday evening by text, and then on Thursday there was another text: “There are going to be 2-4 people, how about we switch to dessert or just hanging out?”

I replied that it was OK and that I would pick desserts from Vanille. So, finally, I made it to ODS. The staff was amazing, everybody loved Vanille pastries (and it ended up being way more than four people in!). Usually, I do not like to hang out just for the sake of hanging out, but as it turned out, the youth wanted just to hang out and talk, and we all had a great time.

Now, I am very cautious, and I am not saying that it’s a success, because the last several months were very unpredictable. But one thing for sure – I do not want to give up on the Night Ministry.

Thoughts

I heard a comment the other day that can be rephrased as a standard appeal to Puritan ethics: people do not want their money taken away and redistributed. This means that at least some well-off people believe that anybody who is in a bad financial situation got there because they didn’t work hard enough, tried hard enough, or whatever.

A day before I heard this comment, I talked to my friend, who is a retired special ed teacher. She worked all her life in a most noble profession. Still, she doesn’t have enough retirement income and has to work part-time, not because she wants to do something, but because without this extra income, it would be difficult for her to make ends meet. And that’s where I have a problem with the “it’s all their own fault” statement. There are many professions, many jobs like this. And we need to raise taxes to pay teaches salaries and pensions. And if we reduce public education to a level low enough that people who can afford a private education would opt for it, this will completely eliminate the concept of “equal opportunities” (yes, we already have districts with low education quality, but we should put an effort into resolving these problems, not exacerbating them).

I didn’t even start on another topic: even if somebody “didn’t work hard enough” or “didn’t save enough” is it morally acceptable to leave them without support when they need it?

And a final note, which should have probablybeen the first one. I hear people saying that they chose “the lesser of two evils.” What I do not understand it how these “evils” can be compared in terms “more” or “less.” They are very distinct, I would say, the opposite evils, meaning that you either find Trump’s policies evil or Kamala’s policies evil, that are not comparable in my opinion, which makes me think that people who choose “the lesser evil” do not really look in-depth on what they are choosing.

But I might be wrong as usual.

Cards And Cookies

It’s that time of the year again! If I know you, IRL or virtually, this post is for you!

Do you want a Christmas card from me? Please let me know!

Do you want a box of my cookies? – Let me know!

Do you live in Chicagoland and want to bake and decorate with me? I will have an Open Cookie House on December 6, 7, and 8; please come!

You do not have to send me a card or cookies as a reciprocation unless you want!

I am ready to share the joy of the season:)

The Secret Garden in Theo

On Sunday, I went to see The Secret Garden at Theo Ubique. I love their Sunday scheduling – they start at 6 PM, so it’s not a matinerr which completely breaks your day, but also not too late (for me, all days of the week are the same in term of bedtime, so I always prefer the earlier start).

My friend with whom I went told me earlier that that was the only show she wanted to attend this season. I liked others as well, but I understand why she said so – it’s a lovely music and a beautiful story. And the production is perfect! As usual, I hope that they will post some videos from the show later, and I will be happy to share them!

A Night At The Museum

For Nadia’s seventh birthday, I gave her a Dozing with Dinos—a sleepover in the Field Museum. As anyone can imagine, I was equally excited to spend a night at the Field and wonder around all the exhibits as long as I wanted to.

It turned out that there was not that much time for free-roaming because the whole night was full of activities: we met with the scientists, saw the animals skinning in the lab, identified different smells and sounds, saw a 3-D movie about the T-Rex and did a scary storytime.

Our sleeping area was in the Great Dinosaur Hall, and I think it was the best place, although Nadia said that sleeping by the Sue T-Rex would be better (when I was ordering this package, there were no places by Sue available, but maybe next time!)

We packed our things in the morning, left them in the locker, and went for breakfast. The only thing that could have been done better was the food provided as a part of the package or rather some inaccurate information about it.
They said there would be a late-night snack, but they had different bags of chips, tea, and hot chocolate. They also said there would be a continental breakfast, but it was just an apple, a banana, and one mini muffin (plus juice/milk/tea/coffee). Thankfully, the museum bistro was open at 7-30 AM, so we didn’t go hungry!
By 9 AM, Anna and Kira came to the museum. I thought we would stick around for an hour or two at a maximum, but we stayed there for more than four more hours! It’s the longest time I ever spent in any museum!

In the evening, when we all set for dinner, Nadia said that the best thing about that day was the whole day, and the worst thing was that it came to the end 🙂

Oh, and one fun fact: according to my Health app, I climbed 25 flights of started on Friday, and 25 on Saturday!

Smile!

The line for the passport control in ORD was the worst I ever stand in – I am not even going to estimate how long it was, but I was walking and walking, and still couldn’t find it’s end! To give the authorities a credit – they quickly put additional officerss to work, so it took me about 1 hour 15 min to reach the passport control (otherwise, it would be at least twice longer).

The office took my passport and asked: how are you doing? I replied as optimistically as I could: fine, I made it! It was clear, however, that nobody in felt happy after more than an hour wait. He lifted up the camera: let me take your picture! I looked into the camera, trying not to look super exhausted as I usually do on these entry photos. He said: smile! And since I kept staring into the camera, he repeated: smile! On the third time, I realized, that he actually wanted me to smile, and I smiled, first just a little bit, and then broadly, and heard ihis reaction: “Here we go! Good girl!”

Funny Story

I had a rather dramatic check-in for my October flight to Helsinki. As it sometimes happens when the first flight is not operated by Finnair, the trip locator changes for the partnering airlines, and you cannot find it until they send you an email that it’s time to register. And by that time, you can’t make any changes, like select your seats or order a special meal.

That being said, I could not order my low-calorie meal for my onward flight, but since I already had a trip locator, I could order it for my returning flight.

When I entered the aircraft on my way back, a flight attendant stopped by me, checked my name, and asked me whether I had a special meal, and I confirmed. But then, when the service started, another flight attendant asked me the standard “chicken or pasta” question. I said: special meal. She asked another attendant, and she was: did I talk to you on the ground? I said: yes, you did! Then both of them said that they are sorry and “one moment,” and then they returned with a very interesting tray:

A whole bunch of plates from the business class could all be considered “low-calorie.” They apologized again and then asked whether I also wanted a chicken 😀.

***

I am not going to vent about Tuesday. First, venting does not help, and second, as sad as it is, I can’t say it was unexpected. The mood in the office yesterday was gloomy, and the Finnish chocolate I brought came in handy. Yesterday was the day of our women’s circle meeting, and all of us came in like “meh,” but we decided to talk about positive things, and at the end, we all agreed that we would keep doing good and survive another four years.

As much as I always blame myself for all the bad things happening in the world, I do not blame myself that much for not doing canvassing. If there was anything I could do better, it was voicing my opinions, participating in meaningful discussions, and sharing information in all other possible ways. I am not even angry, not like in 2016, just focused on what I can do and what my priorities should be.

I think that the way Kamala Harris accepted her defeat and pledged to a peaceful transfer of power was the best thing she could do strengthen democracy and give an example of civilized behavior. Her speach was great, and I am so glad that she is not going to disappear from political stage.

Back to work. Back to life.

Sunday – Hello Michigan, I Missed You!

The boats are gone until next season

“Some Like It Hot”

This musical was on stage for only two weeks, and it was a primary reason I returned to Chicago one day earlier: it was part of our subscription and the only chance to see it!

The musical significantly differs from the 1959 movie, and the most important difference is the image of Daphne. The ending of the movie (“Nobody is perfect”) leaves the question of “what happened next” open-ended. In the 2022 musical, everything is more logical and there is no room for doubt, which makes the ending really perfect!