Tag: chicago

Super-interesting Article About Biking In Chicago in the 1890s

Read how Chicago became the manufacturing hub of the nation’s bicycle industry — a city that produced a quarter of all U.S. bikes and claimed more than 200,000 riders at the height of the boom. It was also a place where women defied social expectations on two wheels, and where cycling clubs organized one of the country’s first powerful transportation lobbies.

Full article here.

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!” →

Other Weekend Activities

As I’ve mentioned many times, I love it when Lena visits me because we like the same things, and I can have a perfect weekend with her, engaging in all my favorite activities.

I always try to make her feel a little bit “on holiday” when she visits me, and she does the same when I visit her. That said, I cooked her favorite dishes, made tiramisu, and showed her some hidden treasures in Rogers Park. She also went on early morning walks and explored the neighborhood (as seen in the pictures below)

At the Chicago border

We talked for hours. We didn’t solve all world’s problems, but we definitely registered consensus over them:). Also, with Lena’s blessings, I aquired one more orchid:

I Will Never Stop Admiring…

Three Morning Commutes

Since public transportation ridership is rapidly returning to pre-pandemic levels (I know many doubt this, but I experience it every day :)), I had to switch to the earliest commuting wave. When I started my current job, I used to take the 7:15 or 7:30 train, and occasionally the 7:00 AM train. However, these days, there is no chance to find an open seat on eitgher of them, so I switched to 6:30 AM, which was luckily added about a year and a half ago, When it was just added, there were barely five people waiting for it on the platform, but now there is a small crowd, and I have to rush in to find an open seat. And if, for whatever reason, I am not making this train, I am taking the L.

On Monday, I took a day off because I needed to do several conference-related and mom-related things, and I left the house at an uncharacteristic 7:45 AM. A CTA attendant at Jarvis station was visibly surprised to see me at the wrong time :). It was very interesting to observe the crowd on later trains, especially closer to the Loop. Early morning is for service workers, people working shifts and some occasional crazy IT like me, or contractors all all kinds, trying to start their billable hours as early as possible. Later, it’s a time for traders and the rest of the IT, especially working parents, who have no choice of commute time. And an hour later felt like students and freelancers commute. I was surprised to see that L-trains were even more crowded that an hour earlier, and I think it’s the Metra/CTA difference. Metra is officially out of the rush hour by 8:30, but the CTA rush hour continues. That’s the loudest and the friendlies crowd of all, with the least smarphone usage during commute, if you can believe it. They actually talk!

“The Disappointed Tourist” Exhibit At CAC

As I mentioned last week, my attepmt to see two new exhibits at the Chicago Architectural Center was unsuccessful, since they switched to reduced hours after the holidays. Yesterday, I was planning to attend the show at the Siskel Center, which started at 4:30PM, and I figured I can visit the CAC right before that.

The first exhibit is called “Framed Views”, and it shows the photos taken during the Open House Chicago. If was really nice, and I liked many of the photographs on display, but nothing unexpected.

The second one, however, was one big Awww!

This exhibit is called “The Disappointed Tourist”, and it’s descrition reads:

Is there some place that you would like to visit or revisit that no longer exists?” This is the question posed by The Disappointed Tourist, an ongoing project by artist Ellen Harvey presented in nearly 300 paintings at the CAC.

Based on this description, I thought it will be mostly about demolished buildings and such, but it was much more than that! It also covered real places which were gone long time ago, as well as some mythical ones.

Each picture includes the time when the building or placce was gone, and for me, the most horrifying were the pictures of ancient monuments gone during the most recent wars.

I startled when I saw Atlantis on this wall, because I first thought that this exhibit only concerned the recently demolished buildings, but it turned out, it was much more than that. Then, I followed down and saw the Hanging Gardens of Babilon
Continue reading ““The Disappointed Tourist” Exhibit At CAC” →

Chicago Christmas Tree 2025

The Nutcracker

Last year, I took Nadia to her first Nutcracker, and she was mesmerized with the performance, and was looking forward to this year’s one. This time, we also took Kira; I had somedoubts, especially because the way we got the seats, the girls were in the first row, and I was in the second row right behind them, ready to jump and put Kira on my laps. It was not necessary; although both girls fidgeted in their seats, theyloved the show. A very special Chicago Nutcracker was brilliant as always; I hope they will never change it 😊.

The introductory images with the pictures of the old newspaper articles about immigrant workers were as relevant as they could be!

Th usual pile of presents in the foyer

The official 2025 trailer:

The girls fidgeted the most during the Snowflake dance and during the final dance of the Sculptress, and indeed, if there are any “classic” parts in the Joffrey Nutcracker, these ones are. However, when I later asked them which parts they liked most, both of them mentioned these two. Kira said she wants to be one of these little Snowflakes :).

I especially liked this year’s Sculptress, her final dance was out of this world!

More of Joffrey Ballet Instagram (and you know I can talk about them for hours, so i ‘d rather stop now!)

Ten years of the Joffrey Nutcracker post:

Santa Train With The Girls

It’s not easy to get on a Santa Train, because these days, there is only one train instead of two, and it runs on different CTA lines at different times. Igor and I were discussing how we can get the girls on the train, and the only option seems to be to try to get on it after the Nutcracker, which was a little bit tight, even taking into account the usual holiday train delays. But then Igor realized that we could catch it in the opposite direction, when it departs from Howard, and take it to the Nutcracker instead.

The girls were impatient, so we left well in advance, and it turned out to be perfect, because there were picture-taking opportunities and tons of candy canes.

A line for pictures with Santa

Finally, the train doors were open, and we got inside (Igor joined us by then). It was super crowded, so even though we got the seats, it was difficult to see the rest of the car.

The ride took significantly longer than it would be on a regular train, but we still managed to get to the Nutcracker on time!

Can We Put Them To Work?

WBEZ reported earlier this week that the hazardous situation with snow removal in Chicago is not only due to the record early snow, but also because 60% of the landscapers are not leaving their houses, afraid of being deported.

When I shared this news with Boris, he said: Let ICE agents do this! I said: It would be great, but on what grounds? Boris replied: Well, ICE is detaining people whom they call illegal because they believe they are taking jobs from Americans. Since apparently, nobody wants these jobs, ICE agents should be summoned to snow removal!

While this is unlikely to happen, I still think it’s funny enough to share:)