On Sunday, I went for the first long bike ride of this season: to Buckingham Fountain and back!
Long Bike Ride
Tag: lake michigan
Not Enough Of The Lake
Morning Biking
The Lake, And Again – The Lake
I know that I won’t stop posting pictures of the lake now that I can bike early in the morning, and I know that all of them look the same. But every morning is a new morning, and sometimes, the lake is stormy, and sometimes – calm, and each time – beautiful.
Hello Lake!
It is in the upper 70s, even taking into account “cooler by the lake.” And I worked from home, but the day was insanely busy with work, my conference, and taking mom to physical therapy. I didn’t even have time to go to a bike ride, and I didn’t leave the house before it was time to walk to mom’s house.
However, at 5 PM, will all things not done yet, I put a blanket and my iPad into a light backpack and marched out of the house towards the beach.
Yes, it’s April 12, I remember :). Yes, the water is cold (although I dipped my toes into it!) But there is nothing in the world that could bring me calm and peace of mind as the lake does!
I laid my blanket on the sand, and I laid down on my back. And although I brought my iPad with me, I had no desire to read even a paragraph. I was lying down on my back, looking up at the sky and taking the lake in.
There were lots of parents with children who came to the beach. The kids played in the sand, and I heard a boy playing with his friend exclaiming: that’s a gift store! Everything is free! And I thought: that’s what it is all about! The best thing ever is less than a ten-minute walk from my house, and that best thing ever is free, free for all of us, rich and poor, white and black, old and young… my lake… our lake.
From WBEZ: Ice Watching
Such a beautiful piece! And it so resonates with me and with my relationships with the Lake! Here
Work-Work Balance
Once again, I am trying to maintain a “work-work balance” as professional activities of different kinds continue to multiply.
The things which are on my radar in addition to work are
- getting ready for all of September conferences: only half is done
- one completely new presentation for October – not even started
- another presentation for October together with my co-worker: it was started only because both of us pushed each other, but there is still a lot to do (about 25% done)
- interviews for each of the conferences (only one left, but it’s a huge one)
- a user reported a bug in pg_bitemporal
- we just merged a new iteration of NORM, but Boris wants to rework several things, and I agree
- all things related to PG Day Chicago
- to build an example for my not-yet-started presentation in October, I need to create tons of new things in postgres_air
- educational video, which got stalled back in May
You know what I want to say? If not for The Lake, I won’t survive! The daily beach breaks for the past two weeks (along with very beach weather) helped me to relax and recharge, and some days I felt like I was on summer break (although other days, I would be so tired that I would drop dead at 9:30 PM).
As I did before, I am taking some days off to do some work 🙂
Still, More Lake :)
The last sunrises I can capture, the waves, the sun, and the sand…
Jumping in the waves is the best thing you can do by the lake! And there were lots of waves these days. Overall, the weather was very beach-like, and I would go to the beach during my lunch break pretty much every day. And every day, I say: thank you, Universe, for the lake!
Yesterday’s Sunrise
Approaching The End Of Summer
The days are busy but in a good way. I liked a lot how productively we spent time with Boris, especially the last three days when he was here when we went kayaking, to a concert, and to the Art Institute, and found a new gelato place, and did the bike shopping, and went for a long bike ride just before it started raining.
And now, when he left, I am still doing something interesting every day, and my work days are full. Even though I know that I am missing a lot of summer events, I do not feel like I am “missing out.” I feel like I am living this summer to the fullest.
Today I managed to go on an hour-long bike ride in the morning, even though the sun was rising later these days, and then worked with my current customer with no unproductive interruptions and went to the beach for my lunch break. And after work, I had a friend over – we didn’t see each other in person since before the pandemic.
I have something planned for almost every day until the end of the month, and it feels very good 🙂
Hettie's Reflections 