Thursday (V-Day) was amazing. As shown, I was serenaded by a Barbershop quartet. It was incredibly embarrassing. I love that kind of embarrassing.

That night we saw Chris Botti, who was ah-mazing of course. I got my parents tickets, too. The evening was slightly spoiled by my dad, who decided not to come at the last minute, because I was seeing it with someone not Jewish. Argh.

Friday I had errands all day. I had planned to get up really early and get it all done, and that soooo didn't happen. I got a bunch done, though. I spent about three hours in my yard, raking and bagging leaves. Haven't planted anything yet, and I'll probably wait till it gets warmer.. but I feel much better. Cleaner. Freer.

Saturday, I finally got Bob completely fixed. Took several hours, but we visited Tires Plus and then Saturn, and he's all better. I'm really glad. He looked weird missing a hubcap and having a messed up rim. I had Capital Auto Parts in Thomasville deliver my rim to Tires Plus, so now at Tires Plus they refer to me as "The Girl With The Rim." I'm really glad they didn't talk about the work they had to do on my car or insert the word "job" anywhere in there.

After I left Saturn, I went over to my parents house and did crosswords for awhile with my mom. I'm starting to notice patterns and ideas, and expanding my vocab and knowledge in general. I'm a little addicted now. Once a week or so we'll spend a couple hours doing puzzles together. We each start with one, then we trade, and then we trade back. We'll also randomly ask questions to each other when we think they might know the answer.

Saturday evening, Deborah came over to my house, as did her friend Sarah. We went to bed around 9 pm and woke up at 3 am fooooor YOM DISNEY.

All the girls wanted to drive down together, so they rode in the van with my other driver (one of the fathers), and I drove down in Bob with the other chaperon, Alan. I've known Alan since he was born (he just turned 20). Anyway, he rode with me, and we had some great discussions. He'll probably be my "male chaperon" (required for overnight or out-of-town functions when there are males present) for a few more things. We had one particular discussion about rollercoasters that led to a debate as to where The Hulk was located. You can see the outcome of that here.

I can't say MGM is my favorite park. Not even close. The first thing we saw was Drew Carey's something something and it was Haval al'Hazman. As in, a waste of time. I love the Rockin Rollercoaster, though, and I was happy to go on Tower of Terror. Especially since there was an adorable old couple nearby that we made conversation with. They were HARDCOREDISNEY. 70 year olds riding Tower of Terror four times in a row? I'm impressed. There were a couple more interesting things, but .. wait, no, I lied. There weren't.

The one thing I did like was the Indiana Jones stunt show, but I only got to see half because it was interrupted by Shmira (staff) duty (which ended up being pretty much a joke).

The kids did well, ate only cold dairy, and saw camp friends and got to hang out. A success, methinks.

We had heard warnings of inclement weather but luckily got none at the park or the drive home. I got back and it started to storm. This morning when I woke up it was rainy and gross outside.

I've quoted two different books in this entry. Who knows which ones?

I'm mostly packed. I have a few more things-- toiletries that I can't pack yet, my phone and phone charger, and I need to remember to switch out the laces in my hiking boots... but for the most part, done. I spent about $200 at Target today buying the rest of the things I needed for the trip. Hardly a $35 Goodwill shopping trip, but there are some things I just won't buy used. My iPod is charged and set with new music that Deb loaded on there. My Israel Cell will be waiting for me at the airport. I've packed itineraries and schedules and programmed my phone with all the numbers I'll need, set people to take care of my dogs, and thought of every single last thing I need, and written about a million lists.

So now that that huge hurdle has been jumped through, the worries start. Will my luggage make it with me to New York? Will *I* make it to New York in time? Will they confiscate my toothpaste thinking its a bomb? It's hard having things I can't control.

And what about those things I can control? Will I be too shy and not want to hang out with anyone? Will my cousin Will make friends instantly, leaving me all shy and alone? Will everyone look as JAPpy as they do in their facebook profiles?

And then those other things I wish I could control... Will I come back a changed person? Will I be amazed and stunned? What if I go and I feel nothing? What if I'm just not connected to Israel? I have no family there and no ancestors that I know of. I don't speak the language [very well] and I'm not dreaming of visiting the Western Wall or climbing Masada. What if I'm simply just unconnected? What if I don't cry? :-/

I have a journal that Vivi gave me for my birthday. It's absolutely beautiful and I look forward to writing in it daily. Surely this will be a trip to remember.

If anyone has the wrong impression, I do love Chanukah. My resentment toward the holiday is purely commercial and I definitely enjoy the Chanukah holiday for what it is. My problem is that it's so over-hyped and people view it was a *major* holiday because it's close to Christmas. For what it is (a great story of Jewish strength against oppression) it's still a wonderful and amazing holiday.

Last night before class I went over to my parents house to light candles/open presents with the family+. Now, tonight, family+ not only included newish family friend David Snyder, but family+ tonight included long time friends the Hilfsteins! Not the parents, who both live in NY, but the children-- Delia, who lives in Tallahassee and has a husband and a 2 year old, and David, who is in the process of moving from NYC to Israel (for eight months, but it looks like its going to be for good). It was really great to see them, especially David, who I hadn't seen in about 2 years, and haven't actually talked to much since he left for college. I got a grudge against him off my chest regarding a comment he made about gay men regarding our old math teacher. He sincerely apologized and I harbor no more grudges.

Here we are:

We lit candles and opened presents. I got oven mitts and potholders from my parents. They're a pretty brown with a striped design. <3. I also got a Star of David keychain and dreidel from Delia. Deb opened a giftcard I gave her. My dad opened a shirt he bought himself. We gave out gelt.

Delia left to get Taylor home to sleep, and then we played Apples to Apples. In the game, at the end, people look at the cards they have won and it supposedly describes that person. I won the first game but didn't take a picture of my cards which included both voilent and playful. Hey, wanna play with some knives? These were my cards midway through the second game. I was hiding "normal." Notice the awesome Chanukah tablecloth in the background.

It got to be close to midnight, and Delia apparently fell asleep. I hgave David a ride home, and we forgot at the time that he had no key. And then we get there and Delia's not awake, and not answering her phone, or the door. The garage door was slightly open, and he got in through that way:

Fun night. We'll be doing candles at 10 pm tonight after I get out of class. Thursday night is a Chabad thing at the mall that I'm *not* going to, Friday night is the latke bar at the synagogue, and then we've got Chanukah parties Saturday night.

I only have a minute, as I'm about to go to Snookers to hang out with Sara et al., including her little brother Ben, who I haven't seen in five years. This should be interesting.

I had to come home so I could feed my Padfoot and break his fast--which to be fair has only been going on since 9 am, but still. I wonder if when he turns 13 I'll make him fast the full 25 hours. Or by then, maybe he'll be elderly and not needing to fast because of health issues. Are there rules on what animals can do on Yom Kippur? "No, Padfoot, no humping!"

I had a fairly easy fast. The Neilah service was quite hard on me though, between constantly standing and not eating for the past day. Eventually we got to eat and all was well. Orange Juice never tasted so good.

My 10 year Bat Mitzvah anniversary is on 28 Cheshvan, also known [this year]as November 9. I think I'll do my maftir and perhaps lead the service. I can't believe it's been ten years!

I had a very weird dream last night. Maybe because of my recent kashrut decision (to not eat fish + milk).

My mom and I were making something, and the recipe called for lobster tail. I said something to the effect of, "hey mom, this isn't kosher" and she said that it was okay because we weren't going to eat the actual lobster (this coming from the woman who in real life won't eat soy bacos). I remember looking at the lobster tail and cooking it in with the food "for the flavor."

I'm toying with the idea of not drinking water on Yom Kippur.

Many of you know that I'm been toying with a particular kashrut law for a couple of years. I never understood why it was okay to eat fish and milk but not chicken and milk. I figured that I should either eat both or neither.

Today I gave up fish and milk.

My job is paying for my classes. As of July 31st I will have been here one year. Hard to believe, huh. If I stay till August 1st, that will be the longest I have worked anywhere (excluding my synagogue, 3 hrs a weekish).

This fall I'm taking health, online oceanography (possibly), and european history.

In the spring, HEBREW! And they're paying for that too. So I can spy on the Israelis that visit. BUAHAHA. They don't offer Hebrew at TCC, and I'm excited about dual enrolling at FSU. Then I can finally switch my facebook from UF (I was too embarrassed to put TCC, oy)

Last night's Klezmer concert was... well, it was nice background music. Not something to get up and dance to (although many did the Hora at one point). I found it more interesting to play Tetris on my phone, honestly. I find that slightly sad, but less so when I realize I was humming along with most of the music, and singing along to Bashana Haba'ah... which I don't think many people recognized.

I also decided that all Israelis sound the same to me. I'm sure all Americans look the same to them, and there's racial profiling all around ("no, he's five feet taller than Raju, bigger than Raju, has a different face than Raju... he's just Indian... not Raju") but I've fallen into it with the Israelis. They all sound like the Chabad rabbi, which is not a good association for me.

On the way there, we had had to turn around a bunch (dad, your sense of direction is phenomenal) and I was feeling really sick fo the first part of the meal/concert. The food was good, though. I had gazpacho, which I thought I would like but didn't, and then stuck to crackers with brie-- always fantastic. Mostly I just lied down on the Snoopy Blanket (yes, the word blanket should capitalized, because it is part of the title of the Snoopy Blanket) with Deborah, played Tetris, and waited for it to be over.

I love the dog park. It's like a big backyard, but with lots of other people's dogs, and jangly junk in your face.

But really. What a great place.

---

And now its off to another park, or rather, Goodwood Plantation. I should find out where that is. I'm going to go listen to some Klezmer music and do some Israeli dancing.

- I cut my AIM buddy list from 220ish to 17. To make the cut you pretty much had to be awesome. Of course, anyone can still IM me without making the cut, and I'll probably be adding a few more names over the next few days. It feels great to have cut it down that much though. I remember that being an extreme ordeal, back in the AIM-addiction days (hello, 2003).

- I swear I have been having more issues lately than anyone, with catching bugs and getting sick. I need to remember to take my vitamins daily. Of course, even the thought of vitamins makes my stomach hurt. Boo.

- I missed work these past couple days. And I don't mean merely that I didn't go. I mean that I missed it. Odd, huh. I guess I had gotten on a routine, and I had gotten used to it.

- Pictures and Pesach stuff coming up.

My legs hurt from yesterday. I feel like I walked five hundred miles. It doesn't help that my foot, previously thought to have been healed from February's sprain, is now puffy and black and blueish in the exact same area. Fun.

In good news, everyone got here okay. Matthew brought me a sewing machine as a late Chanukah present, so I can get started on my Halloween costume (trust me, it will take me this long). Kalina (human niece, 3) and Lola (dog niece, 1) are trying to figure out what to make of eachother.

Today is the last full day of non-Passover. I should eat some bread. Or corn syrup.

This morning was scary. It started out per usual, waking up, taking a shower... However, I guess my shower was just too hot or something, and I was starting to feel sick to my stomach. I gave myself a mental slap on the wrist, and continued to start my day. Soon after getting dressed, I started feeling really hot and broke into a sweat. I turned on my AC, walked into my kitchen and poured myself some ginger ale to settle my stomach, and then suddenly got a wave of dizziness, and needed to sit down for several minutes before being able to get up and get to my car to come to work. It was really all very scary. Does anyone know what this could have been caused by? Too hot of a shower? Or what? I didn't eat very much yesterday but it's not like I was fainting from lack of food.

A few sips of ginger ale and probably less than 3 minutes later I was perfectly well and fine.

---

Only three days left until I get to see my grown-up three-year old niece, Kalina!
Oh yeah, and also Matthew, Naomi, Vivi, and Alan (though I'm not quite sure which days Alan is coming)

I got my desired way and we will of course NOT be spending Passover with family friends that my older siblings don't even know. I can't believe my mother was going to give up all our crazy Pesach traditions just because we were invited somewhere else. uh, NO THANKS. I can't believe VIVI was going to go along with it. I was upset at the idea of this and I'd be really upset if we went over there for a Passover seder, so we compromised and we'll be going over to their house next Friday during Pesach. Which I don't mind at all.

We never ended up making a Passover Haggadah supplemental to the best Haggadah ever, Maxwell House. We always talk about making a parody or over emphasizing our favorite parts (who knoweth fourteen? dip the gerbil in the salt water! I am, like, *valley girl laugh* a man of seventy years of age! mountains like rams, hills like lambs!)

Pesach will be good for the "low carb" thing. Heh.

I have come to discover in my lifetime that my synagogue, Shomrei Torah, isn't like other synagogues. For one, I find it much homier. Maybe because it's "my" synagogue, or maybe it's just the closeness or size of the congregation.

I mentioned to Adam that on Tuesday night, I was going over to weekend Bat-Mitzvah girl Amber's house to make little candy bags to throw at her after her Haftorah.

Google lets me know I'm not crazy, but I am curious to see who else has this custom.

Poll #940233
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Throwing candy after the Haftorah of the Bar or Bat Mitzvah is...

Kalina is making latkes

After a seemingly harmless joke about a murderer hanging out in my trunk, I'm now very cautious in getting into my car when it's dark outside. Luckily with my keyless entry, I can unlock the car and turn on the lights inside before I actually open the door. I blame my paranoia entirely on Sean. We were leaving The Wharf and while driving, we noticed that my trunk was slightly open-- and I hadn't opened it. So he made up some story about a murderer. By the time we got back to my apartment, I was fairly freaked out by it and made him look in my trunk to make sure there was no one in there. Of course, there wasn't, but now that he put the idea in my head, I fully expect to find someone.

The weather is fantastic. Fan.Tas.Tic.

Yesterday
Deborah and I went shopping. And I mean *shopping*

I bought... five dressy shirts for work, two camisoles, a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, a pair of nice gray slacks, two rings, and a "Voldemort Returns" bag that I gave to Sara-- but kept the HP ipod case and dark mark flashlight. Tons of sales. I felt very frugal and fabulous. New clothes were much needed, rationalized by the fact that my old ones were falling off of me.

I noticed that I never really go in my living room, so in an effort to make it more homey, I rearranged some stuff. I brought out my TV, and with it my nintendos. I moved the wooden bench outside. I still need to put sealant on it, but it was just sitting in my living room, so I moved it. I moved the papasan chair to where the wooden bench was, so it wouldn't feel closed off. I also (with Deb's help) moved the sofa down a little bit. I also switched the side of the living room where I keep my instruments (guitar, banjo, flute, piccolo).

With the TV gone from my bedroom, I put my favorite mirror above my dresser, and put up the other two pictures (man holding a torah and a print of Dali's melting clocks). It's really starting to feel like home. :)

Yesterday evening there was a "dinner and a movie" thing at the synagogue. Deb and I went late, as we had been playing Jeopardy and lost track of time, and then we ate salad (we had had chinese food a few hours earlier at the mall, and the pizza they had looked gross anyway), and then... well, then the Synagogue Pervert (can we call him that? can that be official?) came up and tickled/squeezed/felt up Deborah... so we left. The movie looked stupid and we had been contemplating leaving anyway, but at this point, we were out of there.

Sara had called, so I called her back and she came over to a) steal some grilled cheese, and b) play Jeopardy. This time we played the N64 version instead of the 8-bit version, and it made me feel very stupid. Even with the question setting on "easy" we weren't doing very well at all. Oh, well. We drove Deb to Publix so my mom and dad could pick her up on their way home from the synagogue, and then Sara and I went back and finished our game. I didn't even get to play Final Jeopardy (since I was at -$400), but I knew the answer for Sara, and she finished with a whole.. $3000? wooo!

This is the longest amount of time I haven't seen Sean since we started dating. It's been about 48 hours now. There hasn't been any specific reason, we were just both really busy.

Oh! and Friday night TOVAH ASHER came to the synagogue. Must facebook David and Lessa about it!

foods not to eat:

E. Coli	(fresh) spinach
E. Coli	ground beef
E. Coli	lettuce
botulism	carrot juice

My mom's flying to south Florida today for a conference. She's going to serve on some Family Literacy Board thing. She's really excited about it and hopefully she'll come back with lots of new ideas. She'll be back Tuesday evening.

I'm picking up Deb from school on Tuesday and probably making her go with me to get my hair cut (just trimmed, stop worrying)

My father won't be able to pick her up because.... he'll be in Norway. Yup, THAT Norway. He's never been out of the country before, so this is really exciting. He's presenting at some Important Journalism Conference. He's leaving for a little over a week, and won't be back in time for Yom Kippur. In fact, he's probably flying during much of Yom Kippur. At least it will be easy to fast if all you're given is airplane food. Yuck.

Kol Nidre dinner. Me, mom, Deborah, Sean (HPP), and David (30ish, new synagogue member). That seems meager. What, we can't get a Hilfstein or two? or a Spitzer or Lerner? Not even a Kleinman-Robinson?(Ooh. Reminder: Ask mom if she'll invite Tanya, (see "Storyline 2") because THAT would be HILARIOUS.)

HAPPY AUTUMN

Yesterday and today have been just beautiful. This is my favorite time of year, by far. Not only do we get fantastic weather, but we get a billion holidays. Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, Halloween, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, my birthday. And that's just in the next two months and two days.

New Hebrew teacher!
(taken straight from an e-mail I just wrote)
The new teacher is going to work out really well. She's probably about twenty-five. She's Israeli and moved to the U.S. with her boyfriend, who is a grad student. Her name is Anat. She was really good with the kids. The kids were surprisingly behaving well also. For the beginning part of class at least. They'll love her because she'll be able to teach them conversational Hebrew. I've been asked how to say "Clay, you are so annoying" many times. Not that she should teach them that, but it's always fun to learn Hebrew phrases. I'm excited for them. Anat and I got to talk for awhile before class, and Anat is just generally awesome. One class-taking issue: she's here without a working VISA. Not illegally, but just illegal for her to work. They are going to try to find some other way of getting around that. Meanwhile, she's going to take over my class starting next Wednesday (obviously we don't have class on Sunday). Yay for free Wednesday nights! And most Sundays! USY meetings are Sunday afternoons about once a month, and I'm sure I'll be asked to sub on both days, but my schedule seems much freer.

I blabbed about something that I didn't really want to. Whoops. It's not a secret, I just didn't want to say anything. Except I did, so I said it. And got a Mazel Tov.

I could gripe about stuff, but I don't feel like complaining. Sorry! muahahahah!

I'm not really one for scripture. I'm not really one for responsive readings in prayer books. I don't heed the words, and I think a lot of it is corny and silly. Besides, generally people say the words in a dull, monotonous tone that implies that they aren't even listening to what they are saying, merely repeating the same thing week after week.

However, I really enjoy this particular paragraph at the end of the Amidah. Generally I read through the entire Amidah, but if everyone else seems to be finishing, I skip ahead to the end to read this paragraph, and don't sit down until I'm done. If anyone happens to know a Hebrew song for this, let me know. Here's the English translation:

"My God, keep my tongue from evil, my lips from lies. Help me ignore those who slander me. Let me be humble before all. Open my heart to Your Torah, so that I may pursue Your mitzvot. Frustrate the designs of those who plot evil against me. Make nothing of their schemes. Do so because of Your compassion, Your power, Your holiness and Your Torah. Answer my prayer for the deliverance of Your people. May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, my Rock and my Redeemer. He who brings peace to His universe will bring peace to us and to all the people Israel. Amen."

Oh, and because this post is religious in nature, I can add this (and please please realize I am not trying to start a debate here):
"For Christians, scripture is the end of the discussion. For Jews, it is the beginning"

I'm officially the STUSY advisor.

That is, Shomrei Torah United Synagogue Youth. You know, USY.

For those unfamiliar, this is a youth group for high-school age students in the Conservative Movement. I was big into USY as a high schooler, and I'm happy to serve as advisor now.

I may or may not be teaching Hebrew Gimel. They may need a teacher, and I've taught this class before and I'd be fine, but the teacher from last year hasn't gotten back to them soooo yeah. Possible.

I'll have enough to do with my new USY advisorship. I'm excited. The old Kadima (middle-school age youth group) Advisor is giving me the registration stuff I need, and I've got a long list of kids interested. We should have a fabulous kick-off to the year!

I've been asked to be USY advisor at Shomrei Torah.

Today:

• National Pot-smoking day
  
• Hitler's birthday
  
• Ms. Magdziak's birthday (high school chemistry teacher)
  

Today:

• Padfoot is 2 and five days. Happy late birthday to him.
  
• I cleaned. I didn't have a vacuum so I lint-rolled my floor.
  
• Pesach ended. I made spaghetti and garlic bread to celebrate.
  
• My mother had her cataract removed. She can't lift or bend over for two weeks. Seriously.
  
• I did not swim. Boo. I worked instead.
  
• I partially planned my trip to Atlanta (hopefully May 19)
  
• I partially planned my Mary Kay party (date is not finalized, but if any Talleans want to come let me know)
  
• I had quality conversations with someone who I haven't spoken to much recently.
  

This is going to be very poorly written and organized. I'm tired, so you can get over it. Perhaps I shouldn't be trying to edit right now?

Work work work. Meetings at Adult Ed, to figure out schedule. A huge room I get to organize. Learner writings to edit. PALC to edit. Deliverables to learn about (gosh my grant writing skills are going crazy).

Depositing $8.08 into checking and $0.26 into savings, as I hung out searching for change at the drive thru. Stalling mostly ;)
Bringing Ron popsicles because the AC is down at his job, and he was burning up. Lemon-lime.

Work work work.

Bathing Padfoot. And trimming him where his hair was a little matted. He's beautifully clean now.

Mario Party + American Idol (with Sab, Ken, and Jay). I won. Mario Party, not American Idol. Glad Elliott didn't go home! Bye bye hottie.

Over to Ron's
Kosher l'Pesach icecream
Watching him eat kosher l'Pesach salad dressing when the fabulous french vinaigrette was nearby.
Interesting eggplant recipe. Not in a hurry to make it again. Not terrible, though.

One more day until I can eat normal food again. I'm craving.. get this.. vegetable soup, which I couldn't have before because of corn, peas, and string beans. But alas, tomorrow I plan to make spaghetti. And garlic bread! Passover rocks the casbah, really, but the lack of complex carbohydrates is enough to totally flip me out.

I'm swimming tomorrow morning.

I'm looking for Passover recipes online, because my family is sick of turkey, chicken, and gefilte fish leftovers from the seders.

I found one for New York Strip Steaks. It says to use butter. I'm thinking that anyone who is looking to keep kosher for Pesach PROBABLY doesn't eat meat with butter. Just a thought.

Anyone have any good Pesach recipes they want to share? That aren't matzah lasagna?

I slept all evening, which leads to my wonderful being-up-at-2-am-ness now. It's probably the first time in weeks (months?) that I've been awake, and actually out of bed at this hour. I'm not sure which is lamer, being in bed early because of a work schedule, or the fact that it's someone ELSE's work schedule. Either way, I hardly miss staying up forever (2 used to be early for me) but it's nice every once and awhile.

I watched Bewitched. Well, tried to, I fell asleep each time I tried to watch it. Either the movie is horrendously terrible or I watch it when I'm tired. And I SHOULD be tired. It's been a long weekend.

Let's see, it started on

Wednesday
I took off Wednesday and Thursday from work. Some would say that Wednesday was hardly a holiday, and would take off Thursday and Friday, the first two technical days of Pesach. But, Wednesday is a Seder day, and I needed to help my mom prepare. And prepare we did! In less than eight hours, we cleaned out the refrigerator and freezer to the max, scrubbing every last bit of chometz (un-kosher for Passover food) out of that thing. Then we refilled it with the Pesach stuff, of course. Our refrigerator looked so bare (of course, not for long). Then we cooked. And cooked and cooked and cooked. My mom and I made turkey, I made chicken soup, I prepared the cold gefilte fish, I chopped all the ingredients for Charoset, my mom made tzimmus, I started the hot gefilte fish... Then, I went to go pick up family friends Terry and Amber (14 and 12, their mom was going to come too but got sick) and when I came back, not ONLY was the hot gefilte fish finished, but it was finished by none other than those who hath arriveth! Matthew, Naomi, Kalina, Alan, and Vivi drove down. M, N, and K flew from Baltimore to Atlanta, and then the five of them drove down together. Janis and Phil Spitzer brought salad (they either like to bring it or we always ask them to.. but their salad is always fantastic). We also had broccoli. I felt bad to leave that out. And hard-boiled eggs, of course.

Twas seriously fantastic. My dad was being his odd self and passed out sunglasses to wear at the beginning of the seder, and then when we actually started we took them off-- except for when Phil came in (he had to come late) we put them all back on. We're cool like that. I miss the craziness of the "THIS IS THE BREAD OF AFFLICTION" from my younger years, but it was completely and totally made up for with a heinous and totally awesome version of the Birkhat Hamazon (grace after meals). Speaking of the meal, everything was great-- EXCEPT for my chicken soup. Which is odd, because... well.. I rock at chicken soup. I'm blaming this one on the chicken though. For awhile I was really afraid I had lost my mojo. Four cups of wine were had by all, though I did notice a few well-timed glances by mother telling me I shouldn't drink as much wine. I was only doing what the Haggadah said, mom! (The Haggadah is the Passover book/manual/story that we read every seder night. It tells the story of Pesach with lots of fun commentary. We use the Maxwell House Haggadah because we got them for free probably more than 30 years ago, and I love it :)

The "festive" meal cannot end without the afikomen, a piece of matzah, broken from the middle piece of the three symbolic pieces of matzah on the table. Generally, the leader of the seder (in this case, my dad) hides it, and the children try to steal it, and sell it back to the leader at the end of the meal, because the meal cannot be finished without it. I remember being happy getting a bouncy ball. This year Deborah stole it. What she didn't know, is that when she presented it.. I had one too! Which was the real afikoem? No one knew. Except for me. And her. And Vivi. And probably everyone else at the table. but the Passover meal cannot be finished without it, and to be sure, we used mine too. Negotiations should have happened later that night, but did not. Kalina joined in on the song-singing with some very nice nonsense speak. She speaks in real words very nicely as well, but you can't really expect her to know the words to Adir-Hu.

After the seder, everyone stayed around for awhile to talk. Then Janis and Phil took Terry and Amber (I wasn't exactly in a position to drive, ahem, and it was on their way, so none of our family had to leave). A few of us stayed up late working on a puzzle (we always seem to do puzzles when Vivi is home) and had lots of good laughter between siblings. I finally came back to my apartment around.. 2?

Thursday

I went over around 11 or so, ate matzah brei with the fam, worked on the puzzle more, and made more food. We needed replenishment of charoset, using much the night before, and I wanted to make new chicken soup, since the old stuff was.. not good. I think this was the day that Kalina and I bonded. I held her for while, and Kalina was very nice and shared her stickers with me, so my shirt was pretty much covered with them by the time I got to put her down.

There's a reading at the end of the Haggadah that's special to my family: Echad Mi Yodea, translated to be "Who Knoweth One?" It's a little tricky to explain, but the phrases get longer and lnger (kind of like Partridge in a Pear Tree) and we always try to do it in one breath. The night before, I had been able to go through all thirteen TWICE, my record so far. That afternoon, Vivi and I busted out a Chumash (Torah book) and books on Kabbalah and Numerology, and wrote MORE, up to FORTY! Then Vivi and I went to go pick up Alice, an elderly friend of the family. Other guests that night included Leon Hilfstein, Delia (Hilfstein) Thorne, and Delia's 6-month old girl, Taylor. Who, btw, has gotten MUCH prettier since I last saw her.

My chicken soup was incredible, and my mojo was restored, and even made up for the night before. The seder wasn't particularly interesting. Nothing out of the ordinary, except being the one in front of the sliding glass door, I got to be particularly cold throughout the whole thing. After the seder, We did Echad Mi Yodea again, and I successfully got up to somewhere in the twenties. I think I tried for 26? I don't remember. I'm just happy to always win. I suppose that's my prize for not smoking, playing flute and piccolo, and lifeguarding. I got some awesome lung capacity. No jokes on THAT, please.

I left fairly soon after the seder, I was pretty much exhausted. I figured Ron would be out with his friend Nick, but apparently he had fallen asleep at something lame like 9 pm, so I didn't get to talk to him that night :(

Friday
I had to work. Sucky, but atleast I finally had The Big Talk with my boss, and everything is thankfully okay. I build things up in my mind to be so terrible, but really? I'm a good talker, I hadn't REALLY done anything wrong, and I am actually good at what I do. SO everything was fine. I got off at 12 or so, but had to be back around 3 to pick up my check from LVLC (my $60 gas check, not my actual paycheck), at which time I also gave Sabrina a ride to the capitol so Ken could give her a ride from there so that... she could officially become a Mary Kay consultant! CONGRATULATIONS, SABRINA :)

Deborah wanted to go shopping, and Naomi wanted to get a few things for Kalina, so at that point we went to the mall. Ugh, the mall. Luckily we didn't actually go in, but went to Ross and Shoe Carnival, the latter of which where I bought some INCREDIBLY AWESOME FANTASTICALLY COOL RED HEELS that hurt my feet like mad. On the way out, I checked, and... Clinique was having Bonus Time! I really wanted the gift, but I wasn't about to buy $21.50 worth of lipgloss or something just to get the gift, and they had nothing else I wanted. We went home, ate a wonderful dinner of leftovers, and then went to services. ALL of us. We took up two rows :) I wore a fantastic skirt i bought about a year ago that I hadn't seen since (remind me not to let Deborah borrow my clothes) and of course my fantastic new shoes. Not wanting to go by my apartment, I borrowed a shirt from my mom. Don't think she's getting it back, either ;) Everyone was all excited to see Kalina, and some of Matthew's old classmates were there (home for Passover), so that was neat.

Afterwards, six of us went to go see Ron. Deborah had already met him, and obviously I had as well, but I wanted my other siblings and in-law, and possible-future-in-law to meet him as well. So Matthew, Naomi, Vivi, Alan, Deborah and I went over there. We had packed our bathing suits previously, although I hadn't warned Ron of our intent to swim. Muahaha. I'm PRETTY sure everyone liked him, and he's officially Naomi's hand twin (or atleast had the same exact size hands). We went out to the pool, and some of us went in , but the wimpy ones stayed out of the water... until Ron mentioned he also had an indoor hot-tub (which I hadn't even known!). We went to the hot tub, only going over capacity by like three, and played "lets tell fun factoids about ourselves." Oh! I remembered the other "theme" I had thought of, which was "Say something about the person to your right." We talked briefly about everyone's exes, told random facts about ourselves, and of course, everyone fired questions at Ron-- Not to be mean or intimidating, but because they were generally interested in him, which made me happy. He fits well :) There was also brief talk about being part of the Abrams family as a whole, and how Alan and Naomi have perceived us over the years (Matthew and Naomi and Vivi and Alan have each been together for six years). I think Ron was a little scared from talk about my dad, and then afterwards when we went to shower in the bathrooms there, we were afraid that Ron had left us (and me) forever.. but it turns out he had just gone to a different bathroom. We went back to his apartment, changed, marveled at a laundry rack, and were soon back at my parents house.

I came back to my apartment, and slept wonderfully (except I woke up at 5 am for whatever reason ;)

Saturday

Woke up, made matzah brei (quite possibly for the first time ever), and then met my family at the Junior Museum. Some of you may know it as the Tallahassee Museum of Science and Natural History or something like that, but I do not. Vivi and I both went to pre-school there, and my mom worked there, so we're pretty familiar with the place, or atleast how it was 18-24 years ago. Passing by the gift shop I saw the candy sticks we always used to get, and longed for one, but told myself I could have it AFTER we went to the museum.W e saw all the animals (they didn't have a visiting animal though, booooo). The otter totally showed off for us. The alligator was lame, the bears were cool, we missed the deer, confirmed that a bobcat is in fact no bigger than our friend's old "fat cat," saw a panther, and discussed 'trees with knees' I'm probably leaving something out. We ate lunch (matzah and salami), we saw the mules, the pig, the sheep, the geese, the cow, the turkeys (Deborah said, "what is that?" for both the cow and the turkey). We checked out the old farmhouse, went to our old classrooms, made sure that Kalina got to play in the Caboose, visited the old buildings, went to the sinkhole, and then went back to the Visitor Center/gift shop.. where .. duh, Melissa, it's Passover, no candy sticks. Oh well. I don't think I really wanted one, I just wanted the nostalgia. It was the first time during Passover that I missed something because of the dietary laws of the holiday.

After the museum, we drove home. Made dinner (guess what? more leftovers!) and ate with everyone, and then Matthew, Naomi, Kalina, Alan, and Vivi left to go back to Atlanta (M, N, and K have an early Sunday-morning flight). I was about to go home too, when I saw Deborah with money, and remembered I needed to negotiate my afikomen winnings. It was definitely more than a bouncy ball, and definitely will be able to be put to good use with bill-paying. I'm putting off several bills till my next paycheck (this Thursday). I'm not paying anything LATE, it's just that I like to be able to pay bills and be done with them as soon as I get them... which I have not been able to do recently (I blame it on the Orlando trips to IoA and State Latin Forum).

Anyway, I came home, started to clean, but realized I was very very very tired, so I lied in bed with Padfoot and watched Bewitched. I mean, fell asleep during Bewitched. Aaaand then I woke up around 2, and spent about forty-five minutes writing this entry.

The End!

Passovery goodness

More about it later, but wonderful seder last night. Now back to the parents house for Matzo Brei

Someone recently berated me on checking "white" on an online profile. I'm sorry, what? Are Jews not white? Ashkenazi Jews? My great-grandparents are from Russia. Back and back and back, everyone is Jewish. Now... What was I supposed to check? I'm not being a supremecist here, I'm just white. Really farking pale white, too.

This is what it looked like:
Poll #708324
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All

Ethnicities?

I'm loving the navigation bar feature. There's a bunch of other new LJ stuff out, too. I think it's in news if you're interested.

True to self, I'm being stupid and postponing the Big Talk. She said either Friday or Monday, and although getting it over with would probably be best, I have an important weekend, and if it IS bad, I don't wat to talk about it. Yet. Of course, I have a workshop Saturday, so work isn't entirely avoidable. I wish I wasn't avoiding it in the first place, but unfortunately that's the un-disciplined person I am. Yikes.

So in lieu of having the talk, I actually DO have some work to do in the PR area for this workshop Saturday, so we should be all good and well.

Matthew and Vivi (and Naomi, Kalina, and Alan) will be here Wednesday-- for Pesach. Sneaks up so quickly, huh. I brought some bread and other chometz over to Ron's house. Just stuff that will go bad over the week that I can't eat it-- although, I'm not koshering my kitchen at all. I plan to eat every meal at my parents house-- or atleast every dinner. Matzah and salami for lunch, anyone?

I think it's time to go back to sleep for some sort of nap thing.

I haven't updated LJ much at all recently. Miss me?

I spent twenty minutes this morning looking for my phone. Turns out it was in my back pocket. I'm such a doof.

Today I took the Introduction to Disasters* Red Cross class. Despite the freezing cold room, it was actually fairly interesting and fun. I'm now certified in it for life (which is nice, because my CPR, First Aid, and Lifeguarding certifications run out often). It was held at TCC, and I'm almost POSITIVE I saw xmellyx's sister there. I didn't say hi because she was busy talking to someone and besides has no idea who I am, but it was neat to see her in person. I'm pretty sure. Melissa, can you ask her if she was at the TCC food court area in the Student Union around 3:30?

My mommy is sick. I'm over at the house right now making her chicken soup for dinner. I hate being sick, so I know others must really hate it as well :(. It's a whole chicken that I'm using, and I cannot seem to pull the little baggy with the liver in it out of the chicken pupic. It's making me mad.

I got called by DCF for my phone interview today. I have to send in a letter with proof of income and a copy of my Driver's license, and then I'll be cleared.

Took Padfoot to the dog park yesterday. I think he likes the peole more than the humans. Anything that'll give him attention. this tiny minature pinscher started humping him at one point. padfoot looked ginormous next to him. Twas hilarious.

It's getting hot outside. I hate heat. yesterday I bought: a sundress, because man, I wanted one, and shorts. first shorts I've bought since maybe 2000 that aren't Soffe's. These are actually really long sorts though, they go to my knees. They only make three kinds of shorts: skanky really short shorts, mommy, baggy, ugly shorts, and awesome tomboy-currently-in-style-long-bermuda shorts. Or something. Anyway, yay jean shorts! I also bought a shirt, but it's more of a work shirt than a "hang out outside in the hot hot sun" shirt.

Tonight is Purim. Megillah reading at.. I forgot what time, but I'm going with my fam. I'm debating costume vs. no costume. Im wearing a red shirt. I may find a headband cut out some cherries, and go as cherry filling. Don't knock it, it's an awesome costume. I've previously gone as chocolate chip, blueberry, and mohn (poppy seed) fillings, so it could continute with the trend.

My throat is starting to hurt. Good thing I'm making chicken soup. Here's hoping I don't get sick (again)!

I'm going to go wrestle with the liver baggy some more. Great fun!

*I just wrote that "distasters" for the second time, the first time being on my board at home.

~For all the Jewish Ninjas out there

~Lindsey and Shelby Grossman became B'not Mitzvot yesterday (each of them became a Bat Mitzvah). I went to the Saturday morning service, and was very impressed with everything they've learned, and how hard they've worked. I used to be such a big part of their Jewish education...being their camp counselor and teaching them in Hebrew School, and I felt a little left out when I realized that after not spending time with them for 3.5 years, I wasn't such a big part anymore... but of course, I was very proud of them anyway :)

~Yesterday, with three of my best friends sick, I played 'Cook' and made everyone chicken soup, and we sat around and watched movies, and talked for many hours. I've now seen parts of Flight of the Navigator and Coneheads, re-seen the second half of Back to the Future, and purposely tried to avoid watching Castaway (but watched the second half anyway, and it was good). It was also the first day in a long time that I ate three whole meals! Bagel & cream cheese and various kiddush luncheon foods around noon, chicken soup around 3, and then we ended up getting a pizza around 10 or so. Did I mention that I like mushrooms now?

~Does anyone else think that George McFly's voice reminds them of Tucker (Norman) from There's Something About Mary?

I went to take my trash out last night, and right near the Dumpster*, on the ground, I found ( this )
*I always capitalize Dumpster, since it doubles as my little sister's name.

Partially moved in. Electricity will be on tomorrow (or hopefully tonight). Somehow, I have a bathroom light. I left it on. Somehow, someone else is paying for it ;). It was nice having atleast a little bit of light though. Will take pictures when everything is all set up. I'm so excited about having my OWN PLACE. Aaah! Going to be fabulous.

( financial crap )

Last night the Hilfsteins and Alice came over. OLD SCHOOL! It was fun. Not Cranium-fun, but fun nonetheless. I'm not going to be a last minute sinner and start my diet on New Years, but I definitely need to stop eating cookies.

Chanukah booty catch-up:
third night - cash from Vivi, Publix gift card from my parents, gum from my parents
fourth night - check from Matthew, extra kitchen supplies from Sab, chanukah wishes from Aaron

still to open:
~Something that looks like another gift card, and more gum from 'rents.
~something that is almost undeniably an LED light for my keychain (everyone else who drives has gotten one, and my package looks the same)
~something that is almost undeniably a can opener, especially because I can see it where the wrapping is a little torn
~something that is definitely plaid pants that my mom bought for me
~friends presents (I only know of two, but hey, there could be more)


Oh, and today I got a fabulous Chanukah card from katiethewriter! Thanks so much, Katie :)

Sorry to cause such a big uproar. This is really important to me, and whether or not you see it as stupid or immature is your problem. [Ablative Absolute] I really appreciate all the discussion on the matter. Thanks to those who fought for one side or the other, it helped me realize many things, so thanks. For those of you who want to see more discussion on the topic and the fact that I was being too anal about the whole thing, check out this thread in weirdjews


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I am really sticky. I have white stuff all over my shirt, arms, and face.

I don't like to avoid innuendo, but really, it's just peppermint pieces. Deb, my mom and I just finished our pretzel/chocolate/peppermint goodness to hand out to neighbors, friends, etc. Crushing peppermints is exhausting and tiring, especially the ones we had. Mega-durable.

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Presents = done. I need to finish a few things, but if they aren't done, it's no huge deal. I'm just glad that I got so many great presents without spending too much money. It's no secret that most of my presents came from the Free Book Bin at work, and many of the others came from the crap that came out otf the storage closet (it was to be donated to Goodwill, I was told that if I wanted it, it was mine, so HA. Embezzlement my butt). I did buy a few presents. There were certain things I wanted to get for people that you don't find dusty in a closet or sitting in a free book bin. But, I spent fairly little money and did well.

I also have one more (late! sorry!) Christmas present for reamens which he's known about for months, and I just forgot to give him. I guess it can wait till he comes back, though.

I also have presents on the piano (where we keep all the presents) for Sara, Indira, and a coupe other people that I didn't get a chance to give yet. Those presents will also be late, and I'm sorry :(

But enough about presents. Tuesday we're having a *latke* party with old-school Abrams friends. The ones we used to hang with 15 years ago. We're making all kinds of latkes including sweet potato, spinach & cheese, and sveeral other interesting flavors. It's a shame that all latkes are disgusting.

I won't be eating any at Chabad's Chanukah party either, but I will be attending tomorrow. I wouldn't go if it was at the Chabad House, but they're doing it at Lake Ella. Plus, we can score some free gelt to give out Tuesday (heehee). I'm wearing my hair straight tomorrow so when my dad introduces me to all the 50 year old Jews he wants me to date, they'll want me (I think the straight hair is hotter than the curly). They still won't be able to have me, of course, but it's nice that they will see that.


I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm not moving in till Wednesday. Le Sigh, and oh well. Atleast I'm moving :)

This post of mine needed some clearing up.

Wish me a Happy Chanukah. Don't do it because I wished you a Merry Christmas.

Wish me a Happy Purim.
Wish me a Happy Pesach.
Wish me a Peaceful and Restful Shabbat.
Wish me a Happy Rosh Hashanah.
Wish me a meaningful Yom Kippur.
Wish me a solemn Yom Hashoa.
Wish me a happy Yom HaAtzmaut.
Wish me a spooky Tisha B'Av.

In fact, wish me all of them in Hebrew. I wish you your holidays in your language of prayer, wish me mine in my language of prayer. I need to be hearing "CHAG SAMEACH!" "L'SHANAH TOVAH TIKATEVU!"

Don't pretend to be all special and all knowledgeable when I wish you Merry Christmas by saying "Happy Chanukah" back. Chances are, Chanukah was two weeks before and you never even noticed.

Chanukah is a VERY MINOR HOLIDAY. It's no more important than any other holiday. I'd put it slightly over Yom Haatzmaut, and that's only because it lasts longer. Chanukah has the exact same theme as most of our holidays, "They tried to kill us. We survived. Let's eat!" It is not special, it is not "the Christmas" for Jews.

THIS is the WORST, STUPIDEST conversation ever.

"Merry Christmas!"
"I don't celebrate Christmas, I'm Jewish"
"Well, then, Happy Chanukah"

This is why I also say "Merry Christmas" back to any known Christian who says it to me. I repeat "Happy Holidays" back to anyone who chooses that form of saying "Merry Christmas" (and lets face it, in this society, "Happy Holidays," "Season's Greetings," and many other seemingly-neutral terms are all saying "MERRY CHRISTMAS pssst I'm trying to be politically correct"

I cannot wait for the next year that 25 Kislev (the date of Chanukah) falls in November or early December (the Hebrew calendar is lunar, and we have a leap month every seven years, which changes the dates around on the English [Roman] calendar). No one will say Happy Chanukah until after it's passed. The same people who tried so hard to be politically correct this year by wishing me a Happy Chanukah will let it fly by without a glance. The malls won't have added that cute little menorah until they put the Christmas decorations up. Wrapping paper won't even be sold by non-Jewish stores until it's too late. All the commercialized bull for Chanukah is only because it's convenient for people to make money. And they only do it around Christmastime.


~~~

That said, I love Christmas time. I don't mind when people who don't know my heritage wish me a Merry Christmas. I love the smell of Frazer firs, the warming scent of Christmas cookies, Christmas carols, etc. Christmas is an absolutely beautiful holiday, and GO ON! CELEBRATE IT! I'M NOT STOPPING YOU.

So here's a Chanukah guide

This is humor only. The views expressed are not the views of the journaler.

And to lighten things up a bit, ( the differences between Christmas and Chanukah )

I'm a little upset with the Conservative movement.

Trying to counteract the loss of membership and vitality in one of Judaism's principal groups, the Conservative movement yesterday launched what its leaders said will be an aggressive effort to convert to Judaism the gentile spouses and children of Jews who have married outside the faith.

Full article here

someone from WJ said, and I agree,
"I read with great interest the previous article posted about the Conservative movement. In the end, I agree with Meyers at the end of the article - conversion alone won't save Conservative Judaism, nor is it the central issue with which they're truly grappling. But obviously others may disagree - is it worth breaking with centuries of tradition to proselytize, and risk pushing away interfaith couples entirely?"

What do you think of this statement, particularly in the context of the disengagement?

If the Arabs put down their weapons today, there would be no more violence. If the Jews put down their weapons today, there would be no more Israel.

EDIT: I'm not saying this is what I think. I'm just wondering what other people think about this statement.