Seven Daily Reasons

Remember me?

2011-06-12T13:41:00.005-04:00

It's feeling like a list day. Astonishingly, the first of 2011. That gives me significant leeway on what to post. So:

1. Shoutout from a student. Emily Jones (sometimes Rosen, sometimes Ruth, sometimes Senator, always awesome), a woman who is about to take the world by storm. And once in awhile, she uses the SDR formula to showcase it. Thanks, Em!

2. This was waiting at my desk when I started my job (which, admittedly, was in 2010):

Appropriate today, since I'm in MAJOR camp withdrawal.

3. Most joyful wedding ever:

4. In the happiest place on Earth...(Kibbutz Sa'ad)

5. Adventures that could only happen in New York (like this indoor re-creation of Central Park):

6. Taking up photography again:

7. Aaaaand it's Sunday. Amen.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like...

2010-11-07T18:43:00.006-05:00

...Secular winter wonderland. And I love it. So:

1. Ubiquitous Christmas decorations. The moment it gets cold, I'm ready for twinkling lights and boughs of holly. The Upper West Side has not let me down.

2. The color of the nighttime sky when it snows (like tonight!). One of my favorite precipitation-related phenomena...second only to the smell before a summer rain.

3. I have a big kids' job. Details to follow.

4. The butterflies that come from a new beginning (I officially start at the office tomorrow). I'm feel like I'm going to throw up...but in a good way.

5. Cap-Sac: the fannypack for your head. (It only sounds inappropriate...)

6. Comic Sans? Really, 243 W. 98 St.? You slay me, every time I walk by.

(This picture does not do justice to the hilarity. Way to let me down, googlemaps.)

7. Going to bed before midnight. Which I'm about to do right now.

Oh Look, It's Fall

2010-11-01T11:31:00.005-04:00

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

Hike to see the foliage? Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, I'd say.

Country Grammar

2010-10-12T12:33:00.007-04:00

Spent a beautiful weekend in St. Louis - visiting Greta, seeing a little slice of her life, and hanging out with camp people at Wash U (Go Bears).

1. On Friday, we went to Beer School at Anheuser-Busch.'

That diploma was exceedingly easy to earn - all I learned was that Bud Light Lime and Wild Blue should never have been invented. Also, I still like Shock Top.

2. Lovely Shabbat dinner with Jessica Oynick, Jen Spielman, and Sarah Rubin. I still can't believe you're all grown up.

3. Sunday brunch and campus tour (how come no one ever told me Wash U looks like Epcot?) with Jess.

How gorgeous is this garden?

4. Greta told me about these last year. They continue to be awesome.

Good work on the environmental guilt trip, Wash U (The leftmost bin reads,"Landfill." The other two say "Recycling.")

5. Forest Park - giving Central Park a run for its community-building money since 1876.

6. Big Sam Deerson. One of my favorite members of the family.

7. Thanks for hosting me, GBD. I had a wonderful time.

...And Seven Reasons Why 5771 Will Be Even Better

2010-10-12T03:12:00.007-04:00

As much as I loved my time in G-ville, I'm really looking forward to remembering what day-to-day life is like in the big city. Seven reasons why:

1. Living within walking distance of some of my closest friends. Because skype and gchat just aren't the same as hanging out in the same room.

2. Living near my family, for similar reasons. Bonus: Seffi at Columbia. I love being your neighbor, kid.

3. Weekend city adventures (the High Line and Sukkah City, so far)

4. Also, weekends in general. I forgot about those when I was a professional Jew.

5. Interviewing. While I would like to be gainfully employed (soon, please!), I'm actually enjoying being a full time office-visiter and shmoozer.

6. Having four seasons. Hello, fall. How are you?

7. It's New York, people. A wealth of cultural experiences like none other, in a city that actually doesn't sleep. Though the Starbucks in Library West was open later than the one on 93rd St...I guess Gainesville was more metropolitan than I realized. :)

Seven Reasons Why 5770 Was a Great Year

2010-10-12T01:01:00.020-04:00

Yes, I disappeared for awhile. A long while. It was a combination of factors - I had gotten to be so entrenched in my unhappiness in Gainesville that the very act of finding seven positives each day seemed nearly impossible. More importantly, I think, I just got overwhelmed by the pressure of having to post every. single. day.

But I've been missing the blog. Missing the positive focus it enabled me to maintain. Missing the interactions it facilitated with friends - and even with some strangers.

So I'm back. I won't be here daily, but I'm going to try to be here a lot. And to start, let's have a bit of a (Jewish) year in review...

Seven Reasons Why 5770 Was a Great Year:

1. The climate in Gainesville. I mean, flowers grow there in February. That's a remarkable thing.

2. Wednesday Farmers' Market, I miss you.

3. Staffing Birthright - an experience I'll never forget (and hopefully, they won't either).

4. Gator Pride. Insane, but so fun to watch in action.

5. Alternative Spring Break - beautiful city, committed students, memorable week.

6. So many smachot...

(This video of my cousin Abby's husband Isaac serenading her will probably make your day.)

Mazel tov everyone!

7. My amazing students at UF. I learned more from you all than you could possibly imagine. I hope I taught you a little something as well. Miss you!

Throwback...to Several Weeks Ago

2010-03-24T22:32:00.002-04:00

What up, kids? We begin the recap of recent events with the Saturday before Spring Break, both because it was a lovely day, and because I anticipate that this Saturday will be quite similar - lazy, gorgeous day, followed by super-anxious packing all night, with intermittent hysterical internet breaks.

Saturday:
1. I forgot to turn my phone off before Shabbat. This was a good thing, primarily because the buzzing woke me up when the management called - leaving me with exactly 37 seconds from the time of the missed to jump into clothes, before they showed up to tour the apartment.

2. And then I spent the bulk of the day reading in bed.

3. It was completely gorgeous outside...and incredibly quiet, since everyone was already gone.

4. "As a proud member of the NBC familia, we continue to broadcast this...nonsense."

5. Ok Go does it again (and, I think, significantly better) - behold a music video that is engaging without being distracting (for those unfamiliar with the original "treadmill video," click here):

6. Finally made it to Satchel's, a Gainesville institution. YUM.

7. Surprisingly humorous:

I Just Might be the Shabbos Ema

2010-03-07T04:42:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. Today was an abnormally short work day. Or rather, an abnormally short at-work day - being at home to cook for students and do laundry for ASB counts as work, right? Right?

2. I got to host a Shabbat meal for the first time in ages! (Hillel work usually precludes me from doing so, but Spring Break = no Hillel).

3. Not only did I get to cook up a storm - the whole thing was dairy and primarily gluten-free. Can you tell I'm proud?

4. Before dinner, we went to a gymnastics tri-meet (against UNC - go Heels!, even when times are tough in other athletic areas - and Ball State)! It was about as awesome as you'd expect.
Number 4 Florida won, but UNC held their own. Ball State...well, they have room for improvement.

As a bonus, I discovered that many other people watch Make It or Break It. I no longer feel I have to hide my love for its entertaining mix of melodrama and feats of strength.

5. Dinner was lovely. Apparently, my students find me so entertaining, they've created a sitcom about me, complete with theme song. I don't know whether to be flattered or worried.

6. One of the guests went on USY on Wheels with Seffi...and recounted a lovely little story about how he told her that her chose of name-spelling (for her own name) was unacceptable. Oh Sefster...thank goodness you've grown up. Mostly.

7. The students stuck around until 2 a.m. It was so refreshing to have a "civilian" Shabbat...if only I could have them more often.

Today was a sentence!

2010-03-07T03:53:00.003-05:00

...March Fourth. Get it? Wa wa waaaaa.

Thursday:
1. See above.

2. I woke up to...a wild Seffi chase. It's like a wild goose chase, but sillier and more complicated. Basically, it's what happens when your brother forgets to bring his charger places, allows his phone to die while in another country and talking to your mother, and said mother then makes you call lots of your brother's friends that you're not really in touch with, in order to ascertain whether or not he is still alive. Nice talking to you, Raffi, Haley, and LeeAnn!

3. I don't always love Nicholas Kristof. But he certainly does get that if you educate and empower women, your whole country will be smarter, safer, and stronger. Now why can't world leaders grasp that?

4. Urban Meyer was at Hillel today! And is surprisingly tall. And I didn't get a picture because...

5. Java with Navah was back with a vengeance. The highlight was my discovery of the existence of the Slap Chop (TM), and soon afterward, my introduction to the Slap Chop Remix:

Bonus: Vince Offer was born in Israel. His real name is Offer Shlomi. Now the whole huckster act is beginning to make sense...

6. Way to go, Purim PR team: Today when I walked by Turlington, I found Purim fliers in all of the newspaper machines.

Which kind of makes me wonder...are all those publications now defunct?

6. Watch this Tiny Desk concert. I promise, it will make your day better.

Thanks to Avigail for sharing the link!

Gotta Get, Get

2010-03-07T03:41:00.002-05:00

Zero comments on the big comeback post? I've got to work on that.

Wednesday:
1. Somewhere near Gainesville, there was a Model T convention. I know this because on my way home from work, there was an absurd traffic jam of Model Ts cramming University Avenue. Surreal, but awesome.

2. Had an unexpectedly intense and uplifting conversation with a student who's been struggling with depression. It feels good to know that once in awhile I can make a difference.

3. I remembered to pay my rent. Not that I've ever forgotten, but this time I cut it pretty close.

4. I have now eaten asparagus 4 days in a row. In-season vegetables make my heart sing (and potentially, my pee smell. But I live alone, so who cares?).

5. Just...wow.

6. Finally received and signed the long awaited bus contract - I guess we're going to New Orleans after all.

7. Tucker Haas is awesome - and thank goodness, healthy (read the description of the video here):

She's Baaaack

2010-02-17T23:33:00.015-05:00

Fine, I went AWOL for awhile. I couldn't help it - life's been nuts. And simultaneously boring. Which I think isn't all that uncommon, so I'm back to embrace it (though I leave to run an Alternative Spring Break trip Sunday morning, so I get sporadic again for a bit there). Also Seffi called the blog "defunct," which was a swift kick in the pants.

Rather than bore you with the details of my time away, I'm going Letterman, and providing you with a Top 20 list - 1 tidbit for every day of my absence (I have been keeping a full transcript of my days, and would be happy to send it to anyone who's interested - along with a helpful collection of more reliable procrastination options.).

Ready for the longest blog post in the history of online diarists? In no particular order...

1. It's party pop. It's ASL. It's unabashed enthusiasm for something slightly nerdy. What could be bad?

2. Spent many hours looking for pictures of my students at the Kotel (for some development materials). Turns out, they did have a meaningful experience. Point for Navah.

3. Tanni (my 10-year-old brother) has a gmail account. It's a long story...he felt left out. Recently he was actually online for a bit, and his status was, "I'm doing fine." If only the rest of us took it so literally...

4. Julie, my roommate from Nativ (gap-year Israel program) is an extraordinarily talented photographer. Recently, she was privileged to captured her friends' engagement. It was difficult to choose, but I think these two are my favorites:

Isn't she awesome?

5. For a very brief period a few weeks ago, the lights in the breezeway (outdoor hallway - who knew?) were out. Normally, they stream directly through the window above my bed. The nights when it was dark were glorious.

6. Of course Stephen Colbert was reading Cat Fancy at the Olympics. This does not surprise me in the slightest.

7. There's another Navah in Gainesville! Well, it's Nava, not Navah. And she's in her 60s. Still, it was an exciting discovery. How did I come across said Nava[h]? When I saw this:
Apparently, she owns a vintage clothing and costume store...and sells some of her own creations on the side.

8. Sometimes, crime does pay - this act of vandalism around the corner from my apartment is hysterical. And no, in the 2 weeks since I took this picture, the "ENT" has not been replaced.

9. Some very belated Valentine's love and pride for Jake Goodman (former drama educator extraordinaire at Ramah Darom), who was arrested on the Friday before Valentine's Day during a protest for gay marriage. Couldn't be prouder to know you, Jake.

10. In other cute love-related news, this was in the parking lot of the Baptist Stud Center the other day:

11. Skyping with Seffi and the Tanster. Even when I'm not with them, it's good to see some of us together.

12. Seffi and I have a not-so-secret obsession with all competitive food shows - Iron Chef, Chopped, and of course, Throwdown. So I was more than willing to live the dream, by judging the annual Koach vs. Kesher Hamentaschen Bake-off. As you can see, it was awesome:
P.S. Koach won.

13. Choice Zoe quote from my blog hiatus [picture a 3-year-old, cookie in hand] :
"Ema said I could have one cookie [raises body slightly off couch]...don't tell Ema I'm sitting on another cookie!

[I told Ema.]

14. I have no idea what this store sells...but I might buy it, on the basis of awesomely unique aesthetic alone.

15. Phenomenally restorative long weekend with Grandma and the Cuban cousins in Miami:

16. One of the best parts was actually dusting off my rusty high school Spanish - I even managed to translate 90% of the sermon at Temple Menorah for my grandmother (she's fluent, she just couldn't hear it). That, and eating biscochos. And people-watching on Lincoln Road. And visiting with some cousins I last saw in 1991. And the weather. I love Miami.

17. John Legend came to UF!

...and is apparently not only a talented singer, but a remarkably articulate advocate for public education reform. Oh, and he gave Jeffrey Sachs a sustainability shoutout. Triple threat.

18. PURIM! A recap:
a. Awesome flier - which for some reason won't upload.
b. Awesome costumes -

[10 points to anyone who can guess what I was dressed up as]
c. We hit capacity at the club we rented out - 526 people!
d. And...

19. Someone called in a noise violation at 1:30 am (since when do downtown clubs have residential neighbors?), and the owners had to clear the club. So instead of still cleaning up at 3:30, I was in pajamas at 2. Lovely.

20. Purim morning = more megillah and kids in adorable costumes. Meet the princess and the elephant:

The Second-Favorite Daughter

2010-02-11T23:23:00.003-05:00

Monday:
1. Cold morning. I LOVE cold mornings - almost makes me feel like I live in a place that believes in winter.

2. Didn't run in the morning because of the cold....so instead I left work, ran smack in the middle of the day, and stayed at the office late to compensate. I love my job.

3. Lovely catch-up talk with Alyssa.

4. And another with Aviva. My friends lead such interesting lives!

5. Funny how I'm the only girl in the family, but still not my mother's favorite daughter. To wit:

5 minutes

4:48 PM Sarit: wow

hysterical

dear linda, i love you. love, sarita

4:49 PM me: hahaha

i'll pass along the message

Sarit: ok

6 minutes

4:56 PM me: lindaripps: tell her I love her back

y'all should just be gchat friends

and get it over with

Sarit: does she love me because i can make kippot?

me: haha...i hate you

Sarit: i know :)

5 minutes

5:01 PM me: lindaripps: no - I love her because she is Sarit!

6. The above conversation was in reference to the fact that I discovered I have a distant cousin named Herbert Haselden Hickmott the 3rd. There's also a 4th and a 5th.

7. Karma cream. Delicious ice cream place and vegan bakery. Until now I have managed to avoid their delicious-looking baked goods. Tonight I caved and bought this:

Yes, it was that good.

Perhaps a String Around My Finger?

2010-02-11T23:06:00.003-05:00

Sunday:
1. Slept in.

2. A student started a new initiative at Hillel - art from recycled objects. I like creativity, in all forms.

3. I walked to Walgreens. It's more of a production than you'd think.

4. On the way back, I stopped at a sporting goods store to buy a fleece headband - you know, the kind that would be excellent to cover your ears with while running? At first, the guy behind the register looked at me quizzically. Then he asked me to repeat my request. Then he was fascinated by the concept, but had never heard of such a product. Oh, silly Florida.

5. Thing of the Day: I invented a new recipe for carrot spice muffins.
...I'm going to keep trying.

6. I also invented a new roasted eggplant dish. That was much more successful.

7. For #7, I have in my notes only the word "picture." As Sunday was 5 days ago, I have no idea what this means. However, I think my continual persistence in leaving myself shorthand notes which I will never understand and therefore can only laugh at, is certainly a reason why life is good.

What's With Today, Today?

2010-02-11T22:34:00.002-05:00

Saturday:
1. We had a minyan at 10:30 (we also start services at 10:30 - we're very laid back). I don't think that's ever happened before.

2. Crazy scholar gave a lovely little speech about life and growth and trees. Obviously recycled from his gig the week before, but nice nonetheless.

3. And then we celebrated Ice Cream for Breakfast Day! We chose to interpret it as Ice Cream for Kiddush. Also, my Thing of the Day was the delicious ice cream sundae I concocted. Yum.

4. I literally napped all havdalah. Ahhhh.

5. ...and then busted a move to the crazy scholar's kumsitz, where he made a belated havdalah with the candle I lent him...which he left burning for 25 minutes as he spoke, sang, and generally "yaninai"-ed.

This can be viewed as positive primarily for the moment of hilarity that ensued when he suddenly realized the candle was a stub (at this point my head was firmly buried in my hands), couldn't finish the brachot in time, and momentarily set the table on fire. Awesome.

6. In other news, my students have incredible hidden talents as musicians. Well, I guess now they're no longer hidden. Whatever.

7. Post-kumsitz, I saw Empire Records with a bunch of students. Yet another film on my list of "Top 5 High School Movies of the '90s." Actually, this one may well be #1.

The [Medium-Sized] Comfy Couch

2010-02-11T22:21:00.002-05:00

Friday:
1. My immersion blender came! I'll keep you posted as culinary adventures commence.

2. Worked from home. Love it.

3. Sometime mid-afternoon, I decided to get off my butt and run some errands. Cue the torrential downpour. I guess it was a sign. And who am I to fight heavenly orders against productivity?

4. Anonymous Carlebachian crazy scholar is visiting Hillel for Shabbat. Davening was...interesting.

5. A group of freshman had a totally spontaneous youth group Shabbat song battle after dinner. I was asked to give a cameo for the USYers. I'm getting old.

6. I think the conversion students are settling on Elisheva Shoshana and Rena Maayan (though of course, they reserve the right to change their minds). I'm pretty proud of my naming skillz.

7. Fake couch is growing on me. Turns out, it's really comfy.

Walking Late

2010-02-11T21:45:00.003-05:00

Thursday: (LAST Thursday. Punctual, I'm not.)

1. Java with Navah. Great success x2. Almost too many students showed up.

2. One of my students is tutoring an exchange student from Yemen. She sent him a text message reading, "Sorry, I'm running late. Be there soon!" His response? "It's okay, you can walk."

...whoever thought of "running late" as an idiom?

3. Forgot to post pictures of the fake furniture in the second bedroom:

4. Two students in the conversion class asked me to help them pick out Hebrew names!
Okay, well I found it exciting. I guess that's why I'm a Jewish educator.

5. ...and then they asked me to come to the mikvah with them when they convert!
Come on, throw me a bone. That one's really a compliment.

6. My Thing of the Day was...the challah I baked with my students at Challah for Hunger. This is quickly becoming "Edible Thing-of-the-Day" Month.

7. To be fair, I saw this awhile ago. But it came up in conversation at C4H, and even dated, it's funny:

My Apartment is a Hotel Room

2010-02-05T16:49:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. SO TRUE. Lost fans, why are you so ridiculous?

Final Season Of 'Lost' Promises To Make Fans More Annoying Than Ever

2. Confession: I kind of like the Black Eyed Peas. Regardless, this is still amazing.

3. My Thing of the Day is....this fish!

We had to color them in for a national Hillel thing. It's a long story.

4. Blast from the voicemail past:Sefster: ill miss you too! if you call me anytime just leave a message and ill call you back (sorry, navah isnt here right now, but leave a message, and shell call you back. thank you!)

6 minutes

12:56 AM me: hahah

12:57 AM it's "hi...sawwy, navah's not here righ now. but leave a messssage, and she'll caw you baaack. thank you!"

and i have it saved in my itunes

Sefster: i mean, i remember it exactly, i was just shortening it fow bwevity

12:58 AM he had a cold, poor kid

me: no, i think he was just 3

i'm listening to it right now

1:00 AM Sefster: he for sure had a cold...i remember that distinctly...but yeah, its so cute

1:01 AM me: surprise!

1:02 AM Sefster: ok, i gotta go give my computer to yossi...i love you a lot and ill talk to you soon...thanks for the surprise!

As soon as I can figure out how to upload it, you'll all be able to listen to the surprise too. I can't believe this child is 10 years old.

5. Went to Michaels for Thing-a-Day project supplies. I forgot that the people who frequent crafts stores are some of the best to people-watch. Oh, man.

6. Israeli movie night is back! I'm not sure that the students knew how to hand "Turn Left at the End of the World," but I enjoyed.

7. Last but CERTAINLY not least....the managers of my complex have added furniture to my apartment, the better to give tours in. I understand filling the empty bedroom, but the rest was a bit much. We had a knockdown, drag-out fight about a collection of ceramic knick knacks (obviously, I won). Thoughts?

What is a Raspberry?

2010-02-05T16:38:00.002-05:00

Tuesday:
1. I forgot to mention that February is Thing A Day Month (no, I did not make that up). I'm going to try to make new thing a day for the entire month of February. Yesterday's was the picture collage (I'm cheating a bit, I know).

2. Today's was some excellent vegetable soup:

3. Kudos to Seffi for sending me this hysterical article. How could I have been so callous as to stifle the political views of our nation's symbol? I feel terrible.
furniture

4. Big scary meeting with an important campus administrator went SO well.

5. Oh, Alex Trebek. So timelessly crazy:

6. I love Hip Hop Tuesdays.

7. Happy Groundhog Day, everyone!

Road Trip! ...In The Air

2010-02-05T16:27:00.003-05:00

Monday:
1. Against all possible odds, I made it into work on Monday.

2. My work computer is finally fixed.

3. Better still, we managed to save my Outlook calendar. I guess we are going to have programs this semester...

4. Yukon Gold potatoes were on sale last week at Mother Nature. I guess I never realized that the only place I ever ate them as a child was when I went to my grandparents for dinner. One bite and I had a crazy culinary flashback.

5. It appears I have developed a bunch of new followers, most of whom I don't know. Welcome! And if you have any questions, feel free to email me - things can get very Jewy around here.

6. My mom (FINALLY) bought a new car. So long, Mortimer the Malibu. Welcome to the family, Milton!

7. Everyone took the whole "exciting travel plans" thing a bit out of proportion. But the flight is booked - I'm going to Miami in 2 weeks to see my grandmother and all of her cousins. Hooray for weekend with the Cubans!

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Programming

2010-02-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

Yucky week of extreme sickness. Adventures begin...whenever my cold and the rain leave the 'ville.

Sunday:
1. Long day of Hillel programs + insane headache = bad news. Lucky for me, Advil was close at hand.

2. And Sudafed.

3. And Extra-Strength Tylenol.

4. The students ran a Tu B'Shvat seder (celebration of the Jewish New Year for the trees). It went way better than I expected.

5. Naptime.

6. Passport to Israel was not what I expected, but still very successful. Once in awhile, I know how to go with the flow.

7. My apartment is freezing. On the upside, I intend to break the record for lowest heating bill EVER.

Pajamas and Bananas (But No Stairs)

2010-02-01T22:46:00.004-05:00

Saturday:
1. Good thing we didn't hold services on Saturday - it was pouring for hours.

2. As a result, I had quite the lazy morning.

3. ...until 5 families showed up with the complex manager for a tour. When I was still in my pajamas. With dishes in the sink. Oops! She forgot to tell me they've begun Saturday hours. The parents took it well, though, and complimented me on my gracious [impromptu] hospitality.

4. The afternoon was a banana bonanza - I hosted a bunch of students at my apartment for "Banana Bread and Bananagrams" (we played Apples to Apples too). It was fairly successful, and I think I might hold it again.

5. Oh, and Shlomo showed up. How fun are people who are up for any social situation?

6. Finally put something up on the walls:

I promise, it looks more impressive in context. And it took a LONG time.

7. I'm not ashamed to admit that I spent the evening watching the one show Tanni watches that I can stomach: Wizards of Waverly Place. Don't judge - it's really quite adorable.

Party on the Plaza

2010-02-01T22:04:00.005-05:00

Friday started out stressful, but wound up being a wonderful day. I think I'm learning that the key to enjoying myself is to spend as much time as possible on campus.

Friday:
1. My students had permits to sell challah on not one but two locations on campus for the first time...and they sold out!

2. Hung out on the Plaza with two great students, to celebrate one of them being accepted into the top-ranked graduate program in her field.

3. We got to watch some crazy kids play around on a slackwire. Don't know what a slackwire is? Neither did I. It looks a little something like this:

Cool, huh?

4. Went upstairs in the campus library for the first time. It's no Butler, but it was certainly impressive.

5. My favorite part? The supercool spacesaver shelves. They're lined up side by side, and you press a combination of buttons to slide over the desired number of stacks, until a space opens up between the ones you need to access. Perhaps this is standard for a university library - but it certainly didn't exist on Morningside Heights.

6. I was on my own at work for Shabbat. Usually, I hate being the sole staff person, but on Friday night it was really fun. Lots of new faces, lots of quality time working the room and getting to know some new students.

7. Shlomo. Oh, Shlomo.
While sitting in the Plaza, watching the slackwire escapades, my Tzedek (Social Justice) chair showed up and asked if any of them would like to buy the last challah. One called out, "Sure, I'll take a challah." My chair good-naturedly asked if he knew what challah was...to which he responded by reciting HaMotzi (the blessing before consuming bread). We asked him his name, and he replied, "Shlomo!" (which turned out to be his Hebrew name). After some convincing (read: extolling the virtues of the in-house matzah ball soup), he agreed to stop by Hillel for dinner...and actually showed up. I love chance encounters.

Do They Win an Actual Gator?

2010-02-01T21:15:00.002-05:00

Thursday:
Crazy long day of errands and meetings, culminating in the first of four regional Hillel Gator Prize dinners. Whew.

1. I thought I didn't have anything appropriate for the evening's event in my Gainesville closet (spoiler alert: I ended up wearing something I already owned), so I hopped on the bus and went to the Oaks Mall. I recognize that - for better or for worse - every town in America has a mall, but somehow I figured that Gainesville wouldn't. Being in that climate-controlled box of recycled air and commercialism was actually very reassuring.

2. I almost didn't make it to the mall, because the bus was running so late. This came in handy on the way back, however, and enabled me to make a bus I would otherwise have missed. Note to self: all RTS buses run at least 10 minutes late.

3. Started a new weekly event: Java With Navah! Lots of students, lots of coffee, lots of fun.

4. Took two students - one of whom has a newfound allergy to gluten - to Mother Earth, the natural foods store. Insane gluten-free shopping spree ensued.

5. The giveaway t-shirts for Purim are still on the DL, but trust me, they will blow your mind.

6. Inadvertently matched (like, exactly) with a student leader at the Gator Prize dinner. So sad it was funny.

7. So if we're a Jewish organization giving out something called the "Gator Prize," what will the plaques actually say? Ah yes, that's right - פרס התנינים (pras hataninim). I couldn't stifle my laughter when the executive director read that one aloud. Awesome.

Back in the Swing of Things

2010-02-01T20:35:00.009-05:00

Sorry for the long break, life intervened for awhile. But I'm back, and I want to dial back to last Wednesday when - prior to having the busiest 5 days ever - I had a serious moment of realization about writing here, which has of late felt like a chore. I saw reason #1 (Jonathan Berliner in full civilian police training regalia), and suddenly awoke to the fact that when I began this blog, the point was not only to note seven random occurrences from my day, but to seek out new and positive experiences which would make my time here in Gainesville more interesting, more exciting, and ultimately more fun. Jon's been doing that way up in rural Washington, and I...well...haven't. And from now on I'm going to try. Please hold me to it. Let me know if I'm slipping.

...but first I must recount the past 5 days of minutiae.

Wednesday:
1. Oh, JB. (For more information, see above.)

2. Went back to yoga, after a long hiatus. Good decision.

3. Saw this chalked on one of the columns outside the main library on campus:

Thanks for the reminder, anonymous graffiti artist.

4. Here's a question most residents of the 'ville probably can't answer:
But I can, and spotting these in the frozen foods aisle made my day. (No, I did not buy one. But I did deliberate for about 2.3 seconds.)

5. Great lunch with a student. The best student meetings are when neither one of us has any agenda, and I can simply get to know them a little bit better.

6. Last Wednesday was when this article about Sara Hurwitz came out. My conflicted feelings about religious feminism notwithstanding, my main thought is this: come on, Rabbi Weiss - if you want to call her Rabbi, just go for it. Rabbah is no more catchy than Maharat.

7. I bought something on Woot! I totally didn't have the patience to follow last week's wootoff, but luckily for me, Daniel did. I had offhandedly mentioned to him that I was in the market for an immersion blender (let's face it, I've offhandedly mentioned that to everyone I've met in the last 3 months)...and when this puppy came up on Woot, he remembered to let me know!

As you can see, it's actually a "combi mixer," and it has approximately 12 gajillion functions. I'll let you know if it actually works.

Slow Tuesday

2010-01-28T01:09:00.006-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Office wireless is back! That means that even with my busted (work) computer, I still I have a reason to come in to the building!

2. So it's not just me: "Srugim" is a cultural phenomenon. (I don't love the article, but any press is good press...Right?)

3. Huge interest in ASB (Alternative Spring Break). Anyone want to meet me in New Orleans?

4. It was freezing went I went running this morning. Like, gloves cold. Made me feel right at home.

5. The "Passport to Israel" committee would like to make masks of organic kitty litter, instead of Dead Sea mud. Umm, what?

6. They have a point:

7. Exciting travel plans are in the works. I'll keep you posted...

Shall I Put it in the Landfill?

2010-01-28T00:41:00.004-05:00

Monday:
1. Well, this is cool. I don't believe in iPhones, but this nearly changed my mind.

2. Cool fact about Washington University in St. Louis: Greta told me today that all waste receptacles are marked either "Recycling" or "Landfill." Way to rock the guilt trip, Wash U.

3. Chevruta (partnered learning) with a student. It was great.

4. For the record, Seffi is in Madonna di Campiglio. Which looks like this. Jealous? Me too.

5. Being the last one at the office makes any day feel more productive.

6. Made pad thai for dinner. I love tofu.

7. Wait. The Krembo is an international confection? I think my head just exploded.

Pancakes on the Bar

2010-01-28T00:13:00.005-05:00

Sunday:
1. I was supposed to have brunch with students, but one had a conflict and had to cancel. I, however, still wanted a pancake from the amazing place we were supposed to go (Yes, one pancake. They are HUGE.). So I went, and since I was alone, they seated me at the bar. Pancakes on the bar at 2 in the afternoon? Okay, I'll go with it.

2. Sunday was absurdly productive...

3. ...until I accidentally took a 3 hour nap.

4. Somehow I forgot to include a victory from Friday on that day's list: I made a pull-apart challah! Not that it was complicated, it was just different and fun. It looked like this:

5. Also for Shabbat: the return of Friday flowers!

6. I roasted a squash for the first time, and made soup from it. Great culinary success.

7. This is why I must always carry my camera: The Oscar Mayer Weinermobile was wandering around Gainesville today. Why? Unclear. I don't ask questions.

Belated Weekend

2010-01-27T23:30:00.004-05:00

Saturday:
1. We began davening (reciting the morning prayers) outside on the patio. It was a gorgeous day.

2. Fun Torah reading - I love it when they leave Egypt!

3. Some Ramah alums came out for services. So good to see them.

4. After lunch, some students came back to my apartment to play Bananagrams. That game is genius. Seriously.

5. Went hunting for a particular Birthright monologue to show a student, and instead found this:

Sap Central, but I kind of like the end.

6. I also found this gem, from our current Associate Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement. Way to go, Kumar.

7. After Shabbat, I received a frantic call from Sarit, who wondered if I could remember her ringtone from our year on Nativ (Which, for the record, was 5 years ago. So no, I couldn't remember it.)

Not to worry: the crisis was averted when Sarit called back an hour later, singing, "do do dodo checheche..." repeatedly. Thank goodness.

Shabbat Sha-party?

2010-01-24T12:50:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. Had a lovely coffee date with one of my Birthright students.

2. We've turned Challah for Hunger into Challah for Haiti for the foreseeable future, and I got to visit the Challah sellers for the first time. They did a great job, and it was so interesting to watch the responses from people on campus.

3. One of my Birthright students organized a reunion Shabbat dinner party. It was very well-attended, and a lot of fun.

4. ...Plus, there were bagels (she said she had to - "they're Jew food!").

5. I was concerned about how to get to and from the downtown location of the party - until a group students offered to walk me!

6. At one point, there was a giant platter of cookies. Until a, umm... compromised student tried to take one. Then there was a giant platter...and a cascade of cookies to the floor. Hysterical to watch.

7. And then a student proclaimed his undying love for me. All in all, I'd say it was a good night.

Not in Kansas Anymore

2010-01-24T02:04:00.003-05:00

Thursday:
1. Old news by now, but still so funny:

2. Even funnier? That this guy saw it coming (if you've been to Ramah or in USY, you have definitely seen this bit performed live):

3. There's a sale on flights to Orlando! Quick, everyone make plans to come visit me.

Don't all jump at once...

4. I'm not sure who I feel worse for: the state of Massachusetts, or Scott Brown's daughters:

5. Tornado watch in the 'ville. Just call me Dorothy.

6. Wandering through websites about Venice while talking weekend plans with Seffi, I stumbled upon this fine establishment. Oh, the memories.

7. My experiment to make our family favorite applesauce chocolate chip cupcakes healthier was not a total failure. It was not a total success, either. I will persevere.

Endless Workweek

2010-01-24T00:53:00.002-05:00

Wednesday:
1. I fully support the dubious logic seen here.

2. Got a Gchat update from Sefster in Italia. Good to know you're alive, kid (and eating lots of pizza).

3. Shout out to the artist formerly known as Bondo, who not only correctly noted that I mispelled אבעבועת, but also provided a thorough explanation of said word in this comment. Thanks, Eric!

4. Matzah ball soup. Sometimes, it's good to work in the same building as the only Kosher establishment in town.

5. A little bit of glad-handing with a community bigwig: definitely not my forte, so it was nice to learn from the best.

6. Enthusiasm for ASB (alternative spring break). Now I just have to get them to actually apply.

7. Somehow, I have completely ceased to watch "Gossip Girl." I am not at all interested in sitting through the episodes, I just want to know the storylines. Luckily, tonight I discovered that a (male, rather hippieish) student is obsessed, and convinced him to give me the 5 minute summary. Now it's just like I saw the entire 3rd season.

A Wedding and Some Editing

2010-01-22T01:49:00.007-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Way to go, Meryl. Nice shoutout for Partners in Health (the only moment of the Golden Globes I saw, and have now seen approximately 8,000 times - apparently lots of people I know like Partners in Health too).

2. My cousin Ilana got married! In London, so I could not attend. But I can look at pictures, and enjoy seeing just how gorgeous and happy she and Simon looked. For example:
Okay, it's not one of the smiley-est ones. But I like it.

3. Passport to Israel planning meeting. The Birthright alums are planning it entirely themselves!

4. The bookstore down the block from me is having a sale. Well really, it's going out of business, but that doesn't sound as positive. Anyway, I stopped in and bought some excellent birthday cards (among other things).

5. Thank goodness for Israelis (I'm sure everyone has seen this by now. However, I saw it on Tuesday, hence it belongs on Tuesday's list):

6. The least coordinated woman I have ever seen stood in front of me in hip hop today. More power to her for sticking with it, in spite of her total inability to follow the instructions.

7. Got to look over not one but TWO friends' essays tonight. I know, I'm a glutton for punishment. I can't help it.

Autotune Can Be Useful

2010-01-22T01:21:00.002-05:00

Monday:
1. No work. I knew I had strongly positive feelings about civil rights.

2. Sleeping in.

3. Had a nice run.

4. Constant Contact - the bane of my professional existence - was rather painless.

5. Chevruta with one of my students. So nice.

6. "Praying With Lior" is now on Netflix. And not only that, but it can be watched instantly on the computer. So unexpected, but it made my (spiritual) day.

7.

Long Weekend

2010-01-21T14:14:00.004-05:00

Really? No comments on the peace plant? I thought that was a pretty impressive comeback.

Sunday:
1. Brunch with some Birthrighters.

2. Avigail came to the 'ville! (...and brought Kevin...which directly led to my blitzkrieg attempt to become Kevin's favorite of Avigail's friends.) As a result, I spent a wonderful afternoon and evening with one of my favorite families here.

3. I think my favorite thing about Kevin is that he understands that palm trees belong solely in vacation locales. Most people around here think that palm trees are normal vegetation. They are wrong.

4. At Casa Oren, I was mistaken for Avigail's sister. Why does everyone think that all redheads look alike? I promise, we don't.

5. ...and then we saw "Up in the Air." Unsatisfying, but in a good way.

6. ...and THEN Kevin learned how to use chopsticks. Hilarious video to follow.

7. If there is such a thing as Purim presents, will someone please get me one of these?

Dream a Little (Absurdist) Dream

2010-01-17T00:41:00.003-05:00

This is a boring one. I apologize in advance.

Saturday:
1. Florida is crazy. When I left the apartment this morning, it smelled like summer rain.

2. Good turnout this morning.

3. I learned a new Hebrew word from the Torah reading. And by learned, I mean read but have not yet bothered to look up. אבבועות, anyone?

4. Played with Zoe and Shai.

5. Took a loooong nap.

6. Had a CRAZY dream, in which a former camper and I (and possibly some old USY staff?) were cast members on Gossip Girl (alongside the actual cast members)...which was being filmed in Jerusalem. Anyone care to interpret?

7. I would like to move here. Tomorrow, if possible.

Snap, Crackle, Pop...Fluff?

2010-01-17T00:28:00.002-05:00

Friday:
1. Cold snap officially over. It's January, but it feels like spring. Confusing.

2. Made it home with ample time before Shabbat (ample in comparison to last semester. I'm working on it.).

3. Even had enough time to make Rice Krispies Treats for the first time (I had the oddest craving all week long. I finally caved.).

4. Spoke to my youngest brother on the phone. Suddenly realized that 10 years old is pretty grown up.

5. Did the Shabbat Intro at work. It went ok (which is to say, 3 zillion times better than anticipated).

6. Birthright kids came to Shabbat!

7. Sat with 1 1/2 of my favorite couples at dinner. Great company, great conversation.

Free Will Moving Toward or Away From a Purpose

2010-01-17T00:19:00.003-05:00

Thursday:
1. Quick, before the cold snap ends - I have been LOVING this week's weather.

2. When I was home for the weekend between Israel and Gville, my mom offered to send me off with a freezer pack and some kosher cheese. I thought she was nuts. Now I'm just reveling in the expanded dairy section of my fridge. Thanks, Em.

3. Dear Chai Tea,
I love you (especially when it's cold enough in Gville to drink you).
Love,
Navah

4. Purim planning meeting!

5. Made lunch the night before. I don't know why this has only occurred to me now. Saved so much time in the morning.

6. Watched "The Answer Man" on Netflix (membership to which has taught me that lots and lots of movies get made - with well-known actors - that most of the public never, ever sees). Really good, I highly recommend it. (Today's post title comes from one of its pivotal scenes.)

7. Best quote of the movie (and my day):
"I love kids. They're short, highly emotional people who don't know anything. They rely on their creativity and imagination to get by in the world. A world, I might add, filled with giants. Amazing feat."

100 Days of Minutiae

2010-01-16T20:39:00.004-05:00

Wednesday:
1. Still not my idea of a zionist hero, but at least she's better than Bar Rafaeli (who faked a marriage to get out of the army...).

2. Scroll alllll the way to the bottom. Read. Consider. I think it's bunk. You?

3. Coffee with a student. Always makes the day better.

4. Forgot to post this when I first found it. Luckily, I just found it again. SO adorable:

5. Had to read through many (many many) grad student bios today for work (looking for contacts in various departments). Kind of made me want to go back to school...eventually...

6. Kind of silly, but if it keeps the Kosher products coming, I'm all in.

7. And last but not least, today, (Wednesday) was my hundredth post! My, how time flies.
(Thanks to Avishai for pointing it out.)

Na Na Na Na Everyday

2010-01-14T00:34:00.005-05:00

Tuesday:
1. The resilience of my peace lily (a housewarming present from my maternal grandmother). When I left for break, I resigned myself to its certain demise. I got back to my apartment Sunday night to find this:

Sad times for the lily. But a mere 36 hours later (after some enthusiastic watering and many mumbled prayers), it looked like this:

Way to go, peace plant!

2. Nice work, Google. Score one for freedom of speech (and thought...movement...lots of basic human rights that the Chinese currently lack, really.).

3. New season of Srugim!! (Thanks for the link, Shoshie Sprague.) If you aren't yet watching this addictive soap opera, start now (This site has the first season, with Hebrew subtitles. If you don't speak Hebrew, we can work out a tutoring situation.).

4. On my list of responsibilities for the new semester: more time on campus. Yay!

5. Work PC is still busted. On the up side, I now know more about Java than I ever thought possible. Computers are fascinating.

6. Lunch with a student.

7. Fairly uneventful (read: negative) day...and then I went to hip hop class for the first time. Instant stress relief, plus I learned that I have not been paying close enough attention to the radio over the past 6 months - there are some solid candidates for new guilty pleasure song out there.

Back to Work

2010-01-13T22:02:00.004-05:00

Monday:
1. Hey look! Ariel Irwin is famous! (...and one of the most fun people to live with, ever. But that part I already knew.)

2. My work computer is completely, totally busted. The reasons are unclear, but to be honest having a forced less-than-productive day definitely cushioned my re-entry.

3. Good to see our nation's pop stars still use their lyrical abilities for the good of our youth:

4. Cooking for myself again.

5. ...from a fully stocked kitchen. Thanks, Publix.

6. If IgniteLearning had been around when I was in elementary school, I would probably be much better at math:

(Thanks for the link, Alli Rose.)

7. Getting enough sleep again. I could get used to this.

"No Man is an Island..."

2010-01-11T22:28:00.003-05:00

Sunday:
1. Arrived at the airport with time to spare. I don't do that. It was kind of nice.

2. Flight was an hour late...but I still made the shuttle!

3. It appears John Donne is not an owner of Runways Transportation:

4. Behold, the benefits of living in the model unit - upgrades!

I came home to new countertops (gorgeous, right?), new microwave, new dishwasher (so...theoretically...if I knew how to use one...I could use my dishwasher), and new bathroom sinks!

5. There was NOTHING in my kitchen. I made soup from an old yam and an onion. I win.

6. Movie from Netflix in my mailbox. I'm beginning to contemplate the merits of membership...anyone have good movie suggestions to make me reconsider?

7. Asleep way before midnight. That's two victories in one day.

Is There a Hebrew Word for Jetlag?

2010-01-10T21:20:00.003-05:00

Shab was uneventful, and devoted primarily to changing my internal time zone. Still...

Saturday:
1. Lots of sleep.

2. Lots of New York Times.

3. Naptime on the blue couch.

4. Congrats to Rabbi Daniel Mayer Horwitz (Sarit's dad), on his appointment to the top 50 players in the International Correspondence Chess Federation. If, like me, you have no idea what correspondence chess is, click here.

5. New phone!

6. CSI with Ema. Odd how such a mild-mannered woman can stand the sight of so much gore. I always close my eyes.

7. Packed before bed - at a reasonable hour.

Bless Those Swiss...

2010-01-10T03:48:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. Woke up to see these mountains out the airplane window:
Dan tells me they aren't the Alps...regardless, they were beautiful.

2. Deplaned directly to a shuttle bus on the tarmac. Now I can say I've been outside in Switzerland.

3. Against all odds, I made the second flight...thanks to the boisterous and inebriated Birthright group making the same connection.

4. Somehow, the plane wasn't full, and I had a row all to myself. Ahhh...

5. Swissair was showing Mulan! It's always the right time to hear that terrific soundtrack (Fun fact: Mulan is the only Disney movie which I was never afraid of as a child.)

6. And then they served us ice cream. Oh, how I love the Swiss.

7. Shab in the Jerz. Oh hey there, family.

Peace Out, Holy City

2010-01-09T23:20:00.008-05:00

Thursday:
1. Touring the Old City with Yael (and her entire class from Bar Ilan)

2. Let's talk for a minute about Hashgacha Pratit (The Jewish concept of Individual Providence). Today, I went to pick up rugelach from Marizpan in the shuk, only to realize (back at Seffi's room) that I had left them somewhere in the middle of my errands...but tracing my steps to the stand where I bought lunch brought me close enough to downtown to warrant a trip to the camping store for a cheap duffel...where I realized my credit card was missing from my wallet...and jogged my memory enough to head straight to Japanika...where the card had been waiting patiently for me in the locked cash register since I left it there on Monday night. Thank goodness I forgot the Marzipan!

3. Got back from Japanika to see...Greta. She caught an early ride up the Jerusalem. Thanks for the surprise, GB!

4. Together, we went AdAm (and Chana's) wedding. Mazel tov! ...and since I'm taller than 92.3% of Jewish females, I could even see the simcha as it unfolded.

5. Post-chuppah, I met Seffi to walk over to our family friends, Alexis and Charlie. Aren't their sons adorable?

6. ...and then it was off to the 3rd and final stop on our restaurant tour, a (laaaate) dinner at Olive. Yum.

7. Back to Beit Nativ, for a photo shoot and some West Wing with Shosh and Arielle, until my sherut to the airport arrived (at 2 a.m. - thanks for staying up, guys!).

See you in the States!

Happy Birthday, Tan-Lan

2010-01-09T19:49:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. The New York Times has officially sanctioned it: go out and have fun TODAY!

2. I've walked by the section of Aza where it meets HaRav Herzog a million times over the last few years. How is it possible that I've never before noticed this:

What is it made of? Why is it there? Lots of questions, no answers, and one really fantastic piece of art.

3. Tanni hit double digits! Happy birthday, kiddo!

4. Sefster and I found the BEST present for him ever.

5. ...and for Ema, who didn't have a birthday, but IS a wonderful mother. (Not that exact one, but similar.)

6. Seffi and I continued our tour of J-town restaurants at Caffit, and brought along some special guest stars: Alex, Raffi, and Gabe Cohen.

I took an MLK picture which came out terribly...and I still sort of love it:

7. My post-dinner evening: Krembos and Shoshmosh and skyping with Steve (Mr. Brownstein, Shosh's dad).

Perpetual Nomad

2010-01-07T01:37:00.002-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Woke up at the crack of dawn to pack up my things and move....to Zehava's!

2. In Israel, one must always be grateful for rain. Today I was grateful both for precipitation, and for being indoors during the downpour.

3. Don't worry. All alarms raised were false. My Israeli bank account does not, in fact, have a negative balance. Score.

4. Kubbeh adventure with Shosh. I have never been so full in my entire life.

5. Just wandering. It's enough.

6. Dinner at Zehava's apartment with friends. Yum.

7. Note to self: never let future offspring create similar footage when they arrive at Jewish milestones:

The March on Jerusalem

2010-01-05T03:05:00.005-05:00

Monday:
1. Editing Seffi's paper. It's perverse how much I love to edit.

2. Learning with Rachie at Harova. I hope you weren't too bored!

3. Sitting with both Shteiner Shsisters at Shiur Klali.

4. I had some trouble with the class, but at the end there was quite the memorable quote: "Unity is not uniformity. Unity cannot be tested unless there is diversity."

5. Sushi with Seffi! Part 1 of our whirlwind Israeli restaurant tour.

6. After dinner, Seffi and I met up with Raffi and Alex, as well as some other friends of Seffi's from high school.

(Get it? MLK Jr.! ...Seffi is "Jr.")

7. ...and then Elan (one of Seffi's friends from high school) asked the harpist in the middle of Ben Yehuda if he could play. And he did.

Freedom is a Sta-ate of Mind

2010-01-05T01:53:00.002-05:00

Sunday:
1. Getting enough sleep for the first time in 12 days.

2. Going for a two hour walk around Jerusalem.

3.Stopping in at the shuk to spend 10 shekel on a week's worth of breakfast fruit.

4. I went to the NBA finals! ...Nativ Basketball Association, that is.

5. Maoz for dinner. Yum.

6. Srugim date with Shosh. Sorry to have made your head hurt, but isn't it a fun show?

7. Sleepover at Shosh's!

The Sibling Shabbaton

2010-01-03T11:57:00.002-05:00

Saturday:
1. For shul this morning, Seffi and I held an alternative meditative service. In other words, we had an impassioned argument near the Dan Panorama about where to daven, and then went back to Beit Nativ to hang out. Lovely.

2. Lunch at Sylvie's!

3. Followed by hanging out with Bentzi...sorry we were was late.

4. Ripps/Kogen sibling havdalah. Read: we ran around looking for maariv for 20 minutes, gave up, sang both "Shavua Tov" and "No Smoking," and called it a new week.

5. Erev Nativ 24 with Shosh, Sarit, Avi, and Akiva.

6. Yael and David!

7. Hanging out with Seffi's friends. It's great to get a taste of his life here.

Welcome to the Pirates' Cove

2010-01-03T11:47:00.002-05:00

Friday:
1. I have the best brother EVER. Case in point: He walked over a mile at 2 am on New Years' to pick me up once my students left for the airport. I love you, kid.

2. I met the Josh the roommatey! ...and their room is as messy in real life as it appears to be in photographs.

3. Shuk time. Even with Taglit insanity on top of Friday craziness, it was still fun.

4. Kabbalat Shabbat at Shira Chadasha.

5. Rachel Immerman, it was absolutely lovely to see you.

6. You too, Shteins.

7. Dinner at Michael and Adina's. Great friends, good food, passionate conversation. Thanks for having me (and brother and roommatey)!

Johnnie Walker Reads Tehillim

2010-01-03T11:18:00.002-05:00

Thursday:
1. The Tayelet, and the googly-eyed faces my students made as they looked out over the entire city for the first time.

2. Taking the students to Yemin Moshe, and sharing a bit of my personal family history.

3. Free lunch. I'm going to miss that Birthright staff badge.

4. All of the "Aha" moments shared in our closure session. Particularly the student who said, "My aha moment was when I bought a chai today. Before this trip, I never would have worn something like that around campus. But now, it's like...I'm proud to be Jewish."

5. Karaoke at our closing banquet! For the record, I am not a good understudy for LeAnn Rimes.

6. Presents from my students. They got me a beautiful siddur and book of tehillim...and my co-staff a bottle of whiskey. Go figure.

7. Happy New Year!

Yom Yerushalayim

2010-01-03T05:28:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. Har Herzl. Definitely an "aha" moment for more than one of my students.

2. Israeli Hygiene.
For 1/3 of the program run by the soldiers in our group, the students had to pass around a bar of chocolate, sharing increasingly smaller bites. There is absolutely no way they would have agreed to play that game pre-trip. I love Israel.

3. For another 1/3 of the program, we learned a game called "HaTzayad" (The Hunter). Much hilarity ensued:

4. Dinner with Sarit and Shosh!

5. Running into Ilan and Daniel Marans, Joe Lustig, and Greg Berkowitz. Winter break in Israel is a site to behold.

6. Classic stereotypical Birthright quote: "I've been to the Western Wall, I've done my Israeli shopping...all I have left to do is get drunk and hook up with you!"

Sometimes, I fear for the Jewish future.

7. The bus ride home from our Jerusalem night out. Think karaoke and much Gator cheering - cohesive groups are a joy to staff.

The Ice Block Cometh

2010-01-03T05:14:00.005-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Kikar Rabin and Hechal Ha'atzmaut - two places I had actually never been before. Can you tell I'm not a Tel Aviv person?

2. There is a man currently encased in a block of ice in the middle of Kikar Rabin. He's trying to spend 65 hours there, in order to break a world record. We live in quite a world.

3. There are people who we meet for just a moment, but who still leave a strong impression. Today my students volunteered at the Jaffa Institute, and I met a boy named Amir. I won't soon forget him.

4. Watching my students experience pop rocks chocolate for the first time. I wish I had taken pictures of the, "Yum, chocolate...wait! What's happening??" face.

5. Arriving in Jerusalem. Finally, I'm home.

6. Seffi!

7. ...and as a bonus, MLK (Raffi Mark, Alex Lass, Seffi Kogen)!

(Sorry, Raf. I forgot to take out the camera when you showed up.)

After a Brief Hiatus...

2009-12-30T09:54:00.004-05:00

Wow. Definitely the most behind I've ever been on posting. But Beit Nativ = consistent internet (thanks, Seffi!), so I'll hopefully be caught up soon.

Monday:
1. Sunrise at Masada. Turns out it really is a worthwhile experience.

2. Nachal David:

3. Muddy students:

4. Umm, amazing. Guess those bathers are just out of luck.

5. SHOWER. Between the lack of hot water at Mashabei Sade and Sunday night's bedouin tent, it was much needed.

6. Seeing Merav in Tel-Aviv!

7. Silly (inebriated) students.

Making the Desert Bloom

2009-12-30T09:53:00.000-05:00

Sunday:
1. Ein Ovdat. That view from the top gets me every time.

2. A lookout over the Machtesh HaGadol (see above).

5. Watching my students on the camel ride at the bedouin tent. Why they found it so exciting is beyond me, but they were over the moon.

3. Drove through Yerucham. Thoroughly enjoyed picturing Sefster's experience there next semester.

4. Beginning the mifgash with 8 soldiers. All of them have been wonderful about engaging the students. And most of them thought I was a native.

6. The Bedouin musicologist who gave a presentation on traditional music.

7. A heated tent. What an unexpected luxury.

Shabbat Menucha

2009-12-30T09:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday:
1. No wakeup call for the kids - or me.

2. Running into the Davidson Israel trip at Mashabei Sade. Thanks for the bencher loan.

3. Rooming with Dana.

4. Kumkum (electric tea kettle) in the room.

5. ..and timtams to have with my tea.

6. The informal hangout that formed during free time. Cohesive groups are a joy to staff.

7. Said hangout led to a conversation with several students on the spectrum of religious observance in Israel. NIce.

A Moment of Gratefulness

2009-12-28T18:54:00.003-05:00

Friday:
Many things happened today, but for the first time I'm going to focus entirely on one of them.

I'm feeling grateful.

Why?

Today was a busy, crazed day of traveling, coupled with a slowly breaking bus. 20 minutes before Shabbat, it finally gave out by the side of the road. Two hours later, we finally arrived at the kibbutz where we were meant to spend the weekend. After 3 hours of telling people that my religious proclivities should not be a priority in figuring out how to get us safely settled in, I shut the door to my room, sat down on my bed, and realized that I have been making a habit of fudging observances in order to make people feel more comfortable, and less like they need to accommodate me.

Obviously, I wasn't going to spend the night alone in the desert, but I still felt like the situation gave me a new perspective.

And so, 1-7:
Thank God that in my daily life I don't have to make those compromises. Thank God.

Storming the North

2009-12-28T18:46:00.003-05:00

Thursday:
1. Blackout shades. Ahhhhh....

2. Tsfat. What a unique city.

3. Answering one of my student's questions about "those black straps on that guy's arm" - and realizing he had never seen tefillin, much less become a bar mitzvah. This trip may form the foundation of his entire Jewish identity.

4. Not losing anyone in Katzrin. Trust me, we came close.

5. Har Bental. I hadn't been there since Chalutzim in 2003.

6. This found-object sculpture on the way up to Bental. Shoutout to Lewis Aaron Ershow Levenberg.

7. No evening tie-in program meant a much-needed quiet night for Navah.

Totally Sababa

2009-12-28T18:39:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. A room of my own. Unexpected, but SO nice.

2. Israeli cornflakes. Yum.

3. My students' general shock at the normalcy of Israeli life - the presence of pudding, for instance.

4. The Bahai gardens in Haifa. Shockingly, it was my first time there.

5. Druze pita. Yum again.

6. GREAT evening program on the literal meanings of Israeli slang. What would YOU do with the phrase, "Leave it, in your mother." ?

7. Coincidence of the day: Ran into Itzik Yannai at Kibbutz Gonen (he was guiding another Birthright trip). Such a great surprise.

Welcome to Israel

2009-12-22T15:42:00.002-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Isn't the iPod a magical invention? I often forget, and long flights are the best reminders.

2. Trilingual aviators. Swissair pilots are required to give all announcements in German, French, and English (I wonder why not Italian?). Wow.

3. Seeing the Alps (through a window. But still.)

4. We were held on the ground at JFK for nearly 2 hours. My heart almost stopped when they told me we would miss our connection. And then, they held the Zurich flight for us. Phew.

5. Arriving in Israel! A year ago, who would have thought that I would ever again write that sentence with an exclamation of happiness?

6. Hebrew, I missed you.

7. Being in the same country as Seffi (my middle brother). Gosh, kid, I've missed you.

On the Road Again...

2009-12-22T15:40:00.000-05:00

Monday:
1. A full night's sleep. You'd think that would be a given - particularly when I'm not in the 'ville. But my hatred of packing often leads to intense procrastination, culminating in an all-nighter. Sunday night was not one of those nights.

2. Cuddling With Tanni. He always wakes me up to say goodbye before he goes to school. I love that.

3. The cobbler. How often do you take your shoes to a shoemaker to be fixed? I picked mine up on Monday, and it was like a trip backwards in time.

4. New York City in the snow. I know that people think it's gross and grey almost immediately, but I like that uniquely urban second-day-snow look.

5. Car ride with Abba. Too many hours in standstill traffic, and we didn't kill each other.

6. Aside from two students whose flights were canceled altogether, one almost missed the check in cut-off due to lost luggage. You should have heard my sigh of relief when he rounded that corner in the nick of time.

7. Aisle seat!

Snowed In

2009-12-22T15:34:00.003-05:00

Sunday:
1. Because I love Chanukkah...
2. ...and it's difficult for me to let go:

(This is not a Chanukkah picture. I like it anyway.)

3. Shoveling...
4. ...followed by the snowblower.
5. A bit of good news in the world.
6. Netflix while packing.
7. Family movie night while avoiding packing.

Snow Day!

2009-12-20T13:00:00.002-05:00

Saturday:
1. A good parody is hard to find.

2. Took its time getting to New Jersey, but the snowpocalypse (good term, Alli) finally arrived. Hooray!

3. Getting to watch UNC on tv, rather than gametracker. Of course, the game itself was painful, but seeing it in real time was great.

4. New computer for Greta. Enjoy!

5. Watching the Penn State women's volleyball team come back from 0-2 to beat Texas in 5 sets and win the national championship...especially on a day when I was feeling less-than-charitable towards Texas athletics.

6. Chanel has a beautiful new post about being satisfied with current situations - very SDRlike material. Also, this paragraph in particular is the definition of my life right now:

"My students are in finals, and I absorb their unhealthy habits. I drink too much coffee, I create projects that demand my attention until outrageous hours. Most of the time, I still think I’m 21, and that comes from hanging out on campus. College students, apparently, are the fountain of youth."

7. Gilah's boys (that'd be the Rutgers football team) beat UCF in the St. Pete Bowl! Can you tell that I spent an alarming portion of yesterday watching televised sports?

8. Mail goggles. I added them to my gmail when they first came out, because I thought they were hysterical. Trouble is, I always forget I have them - until I try to send an email on the weekend. My basic math skills are not where they should be.

Dear Sheep: Thanks for the Fleece

2009-12-20T09:35:00.003-05:00

Friday:
1. The Schechter Zimriyah. Despite Matan attempting to tell me that this is a tradition that's been around "forever," I am ancient enough to know that to be false. Regardless, it's a really cute Chanukkah tradition, and it was so much fun to hear Tanni.

2. Morah Ziona. No matter what else happens in life, for the past 18 years I have been able to walk into my old kindergarten teacher's classroom for a hug, laughter, and a quick catch-up chat. I hope she never retires (or at least, holds off until Tanni graduates Schechter).

3. I caved. I bought a North Face. Don't call me a JAP - I'm warm.

4. Indian food. Yum.

5. This is a fairly accurate representation of my brain lacking sleeping. It's comforting to know that other brains function in much the same way.

6. Fleece blankets. Today I'm loving the fleece.

7. Yoga mat for Chanukkah. Thanks!

8.Falling asleep on the couch - a homey luxury I had nearly forgotten about.

Stephen Colbert Saves the Olympics

2009-12-19T18:17:00.003-05:00

Thursday:
1. Oh, Stephen Colbert. Of course you would get your nation to sponsor U.S. Speedskating.

2. Having to wear a winter coat. I love the northeast.

3. Haircut. Thanks, Felita.

4. In the mall en route to said haircut, I saw one kiosk selling Murano glass, and another selling prosecco. Flashback to Italy '05?

5. Dinner with Sarah and Tali at Noi Due. Yum (also, excellent company).

6. Before heading into the city for dinner, I convinced my mom I didn't need to bring a winter hat. After dinner...I bought a hat. Moral of the story: always listen when someone tells you to bring a hat.

7. Coffee with Mindels (and the sketchy Russian man, who we only realized had been eavesdropping the entire time when he started speaking fluent Hebrew into his cellphone).

8. Mir! I still can't believe we actually managed to synchronize our schedules, even for an hour.

My Life with David Ben-Gurion

2009-12-18T02:08:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. Jersey!

2. Dear Tootsie Roll,
Thank you for this Chanukkah miracle.
Love,
Navah

3. Dodi's getting married on Sunday! You can read his aufruf speech (as well as his father's and sisters') here. Go ahead, take the five minutes - they're beautiful. (P.S. Hi, Mindels.)

4. Visiting Savta (my paternal grandmother) in Riverdale.

5. Discovering Savta's chocolate mousse contains 10 eggs. After consumption.

6. Hand-me-down jewelry. Thanks, Grandma!

7. Reason #317 why my brother is rad: Dinner with Ralph Goldman
(...this is simultaneously reason #215 why my uncle is the best.)

4:11 PM me: what up gangsta

4:12 PM Sefster: just got home from dinner with gma, uncle danny, and ben gurion's best friend

me: hahahaha

so fun

4:13 PM Sefster: yeah, it was great

me: i want to meet him

Sefster: cool anecdote from dinner:

he wears a watch on either arm and carries a pocket watch

4:14 PM on his right arm is a $5,000 watch that he bought a LONG time ago for $65

but it doesn't work

he says he needs to remember to get it to barak to look at it because fixing watches is a hobby of his

he means ehud barak

4:15 PM on his left hand is a watch that used to belong to his son who was the ambassador to argentina and died in the attack on the embassy

the pocket watch was teddy kollek's

me: do any of them work?

Sefster: his family gave it to him when he died because they were such good friends

his son's and teddy's work

4:16 PM me: that. is. insane.

Sefster: right?

4:17 PM me: yeah

and awesome

Sefster: yeah

8. Reading Tanni to sleep. Primarily because of the awesome books 10-year-olds are into these days.

It's great...to pretend...to be a Florida Gator

2009-12-17T12:07:00.006-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Not only did my mom pass her professional development class with honors, her instructor asked to put her final project on the organization's website. Yay, Ema!

2. Finally bought my first piece of Florida apparel. Go Gators.

3. At the bookstore I discovered that UF uses green books for final exams, rather than blue books. Weird.

4. I think my favorite thing about The Sing-Off is that even the intro and outros (Outros is a word. Go with it.) are a capella. Okay, it might not be my favorite thing. Let's go with one of many.

5. Please buy me these mugs for Chanukkah.

Thank you.

7. Sweet potato fries were a half success. I'll call them a work-in-progress.

8. Unexpected present! Thanks, Auntie and Dan.

9. The paintball scene in "10 Things I Hate About You." Possibly the happiest 1 minute, 38 seconds in 90s cinema.

Season's Greetings from the White House!

2009-12-16T22:45:00.003-05:00

Monday:
1. Gave Amy and Jonah a tour of Hillel and campus before they headed out. I'm kind of proud of how much of campus I've mastered over the semester.

2. Package from home! More impressively, I managed to keep myself from opening it until I lit candles.

3. This is hysterical, particularly when you scroll down and watch the covers change. They're literally identical.

4. Jon Berliner is a fan of Tasti-D-Lite. Facebook told me.

5. This is a bit dated, because this post is somewhat old. In case you've been living under a rock, you must watch The Sing-Off. Now.

6. Students coming by to pick up chanukkiot. We had a med student come in who's been on campus for 8 years (undergrad, too), but had never previously been to Hillel. Made my day.
...(Not the never-having-been-to-Hillel part. The part where this year he decided he wanted to.)

7. Read/watched way too much Mark Bittman this evening, and heard this quote from Jamie Oliver:
"If you're going to eat 3 times a day, everyday, until the day you die...why not be good at it? It'll save you money, it'll more than likely make you healthier...it'll make you happier..."

8. We got a Holiday Greeting from our good friends Barack and Michelle at work today:

Welcome to the World, Macc!

2009-12-14T22:35:00.006-05:00

Sunday:
1. I need one of these. I will place it on my counter next to the fall leaves, in my growing shrine to places that have four seasons. Under a giant magnifying glass.

2. For the shot of beauty in your day: the 20 most beautiful libraries in the world. Excuse me while I curl up under a table with a huge pile of books.

3. Went to see Avi (one of the Shabbat/Chag chairs) in a fencing tournament. We got there just after he was eliminated (don't worry - he's competing again at the end of January), but stuck around to hear him explain all about the sport. I learned so much.

4. I too would like to start my own principality (princessipality?) based on fuzzy historical logic. Thoughts?

5. Amy (Rebecca Krischer) and Jonah (Shai Newman) came to visit!

(Bananagrams obviously played a role in the visit. Note also the Christmasy flowers. Love it.)

6. Amy, Jonah, and I met Sam Rosenbaum and Sarah Atterman for dinner at The Top, a great restaurant downtown with lots of vegetarian food.

7. The Top's sweet potato fries. They are a thing of beauty. Check back here on Tuesday, when I try to make my own with my brand new mandoline!

8. At the end of a lovely evening, we came back to my apartment to light candles...and Amy and Jonah surprised me with the most adorable present: a toy dog who walks, barks, and wags his tail when you press buttons on his leash.

Trying to set him free...

Taking him on his first walk...

Playing with the pup. We named him Maccabee! (And then Seffi gave him a middle name: Tzurishadai.)

Chanukkah, Oh Chanukkah...

2009-12-13T10:36:00.002-05:00

In a nod to the holiday season, each Chanukkah post will feature eight reasons, rather than seven. Because I'm corny like that.

Saturday:
1. I woke up early to meet a student who teaches at Chavaya, the Conservative synagogue's supplementary school. Together we walked the 3 1/2 miles (in the rain) to the Chavaya Shabbaton. It was clammy and cold, but definitely worth it, especially when we took a shortcut through a gorgeous nature path.

2. Oh, Mishlachat. The best eidah in camp.

3. Had some students over for Seudah Shlishit, the third meal of Shabbat.

4. Bananagrams were a highlight of said meal.

5. So was lighting candles with the students.

6. Went to Tim and Terry's (a small bar and music venue about 100 yards from my backyard) to hear Mystery Machine, a funk band one of my students is in. They were great. And they closed with the Ghostbusters theme song, which was obviously awesome.

7. Came home to this conversation with Jonathan Moshe Berliner (whose interview on NPR somehow got lost in the shuffle, but DEFINITELY deserved a spot here last week):

8:22 PM Jonathan: apparently the chinese food this year has caused widespread food poisoning in yavneh

8:23 PM me: no way

oh dear

they should've ordered from kosher express

8:25 PM Jonathan: Deena: epidemic 09

Jordan: jon
we poisoned yavneh

(...Yavneh being the subset of Hillel I was most involved in during college. I suddenly feel very pleased with myself that I managed to not poison anyone during my tenure.)

8. New comforter = heaven.

Baked, Not Fried

2009-12-13T00:20:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. Today, I became a local celebrity. With Yoni out of town, I was the official Jew at Hillel. As such, I was recruited by both UF's WUFT and TV20 local news (after waking up and thinking, "Casual Friday? I'm not going to see anyone." Obviously.) It went ok - clips will be up as soon as they're online.

2. Cute kids. After hearing from WUFT that Chabad had cute kids available to be interviewed, I took advantage of the adorable family picking up a free chanukiyah and candles. I asked the dad if we could film his kids lighting the menorah, instead of little ol' me. They were so excited! (Though a woman at shul today told me that for some unknown reason, they aired not only the kids lighting the menorah, but me - off-camera - blowing the candles out. Oops.)

3. Kosher wine. I had all but given up hope on being able to make kiddush at home - and then I found a lone bottle of Bartenura at the liquor store. Huzzah.

4. The jelly donut debacle. A student who works in the Hillel kitchen announced to the Friday night minyan that they were getting "real" sufganiyot, rather than "fake" jelly donuts...and then I walked in with trays of Dunkin' Donuts. There was a bit of a revolt - two particular students took up the charge, especially when they realized I had purchased several varieties of filled donuts, and not just strawberry jam - but I eventually prevailed.

5. Volleyball! UF hosted the Division I NCAA Women's Regional Championship. I made it for the second match - UF vs. #1 Penn State. Penn State took the Gators down, but it was a great game (they also beat Berkeley today, to advance to the Final Four). I had forgotten how much I love volleyball - made me want to rush the court and play.

6. One of the coolest parts of the game was thanks to Emily, the student who joined me. She's from Orlando, and actually played with two of the students currently on the UF team while in high school. One of those students was Callie Rivers, whose father, Doc, is head coach of the Boston Celtics. It was a lot of fun to help Emily cheer on her old teammates.

7. Going to bed at 8:30 pm. Don't judge me. It was heavenly.

The Universe is in a Constant State of Change

2009-12-12T20:50:00.004-05:00

Thursday:
1. JSU Chanukkah Party. I went for a short visit - it would probably be more correct to say that I made an appearance. Not my cup of tea, but I always like it when Jews get together.

2. Played "Contact" with the student board. If you've never played Contact, your life is not yet complete.

3. Amy and Jonah are coming to visit!

4. I can hear the phone ring in other people's apartments. I choose to view this as something positive - I live in a climate warm enough not to warrant insulation. Or, apparently, noise-proofing.

5. V8. Sometimes when I'm too lazy to make a salad, I just drink a glass of V8. That's the same, right?

6. Went to the show for all freshman art majors to see one of my students' work (Hi, Sarah. See you at the airport!). Completely amazed by what these kids can accomplish. If their work looks like this now, what's it going to look like in 5 years? Here are two of Sarah's projects:
(Eco-friendly mobile family tent, with attendant advertising. I love that it's winking at us.)

(Six icons with verses that connect them in a cycle. I love how this came out.)

(Not Sarah's. I still like it. For more non-Sarah artwork - photographed by Sarah - click here.)

7. There's a Kiawah marathon! I'm so in.

SDR Writes Oddly Specific Blog Post

2009-12-11T02:12:00.004-05:00

Classes ended Wednesday here in Gville. Much public drunkenness, yelling of expletives, and breaking of beer bottles ensued. Anyway...

Wednesday:
1. Alli got a job! Alli got a job!
...and it's at the awesome charter school she mentioned in her guest post. Way to go, Alli!

2. Well, this is odd:

Eight Days of Hanukkah from Tablet Magazine on Vimeo.

For the backstory, click here.

3. With this photograph, cake decorating has reclaimed its rightful place on the list of skills I need to have:

4. Went to Farah's (a local pseudo-Mediterranean restaurant and hookah bar) for an end-of-semester freshmen event. The turnout small but quality, and I am so proud of the student who arranged it.

5. I'm going to share something really personal right now. I have a guilty pleasure, and it's embarrassing.

I LOVE The Biggest Loser.

There, I said it. And the finale was great (though I wish the contestants weren't quite so emaciated...).

6. Long story short: Dana has a friend-of-a-friend who's a graphic design student. For a final project, he took a cassette tape of himself at age 3 making up stories to tell his father, and set it to a stop-motion animated video made entirely of household materials. Even if you can't understand the Hebrew, watch a minute or two of the video - amazing.

7. The Florida Independent Alligator really disappointed me in their last issue of the semester. The front page had the best headline EVER - "Librarians Plan Oddly Specific Party." But then, the article totally didn't live up to its potential. I'm not even linking it. I'm just going to bask in the glory of the headline.

Count the Rebbes

2009-12-09T00:00:00.004-05:00

Tuesday:
1. I almost lost my teaspoon measure to the garbage disposal. Then I didn't. (...MLIA?)

2. This was Miriam's gchat status today: "Marty, my guru for today: but there's a point at which being open is different from being overwhelmed. Listen to yourself." Glorious.
For your edification, according to Miriam Marty is, "my housemate from last year/Martha Bruce/VT/Quaker/violin performance grad student/amazing chef and baker/great friend." Sounds good to me.
3. Today, Dana was sitting next to me, checking her email, when she said, "Who's Rabbi Aaron? Why am I invited to his daughter's bat mitzvah?" I thought to myself, Rabbi Aaron? That name rings a bell. Sure enough, I looked over to see that the invitation came from rabbiaaron@chabadofcary.com. While we still have no idea why she was invited (I think she should totally go!), I did spend the weekend in Rabbi Aaron's house for my cousin David's bar mitzvah - my littlest brother played "Count the Rebbes" on Shabbat afternoon.

4. Urban Thread. (Males, you might want to skip to number 6. You're about to get bored.) I've told lots of people about a magical mystery store in Gainesville, the one that sells catalog and online returns from Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, J. Crew, and more at a highly discounted rate. I finally hiked the 2 miles to get there. It was worth the trip.

5. Today I went to the opening of a unique presentation at the Student Union. Each year, the Journalism School offers a course called Florida FlyIns. Students who are accepted to the course are given a particular country, spend the semester researching possible stories about that country, and then FLY there for a week to do interviews and take pictures. One of my student leaders was in the course this semester - she and her cohort went to Brazil. An excerpt from her article was posted at the exhibit:

You can find the full text of her article (and possibly some pictures) here.

6. Tonight the UF Student Senate passed a Resolution Affirming Support for the State of Israel. Why? Unclear, they're a student senate. But as long as it was on the table, I'm glad it passed. Also, there were free t-shirts "designed" (in approximately 12 seconds) by myself and a student, and sponsored by The David Project (thanks, Aviva!).

7. My first Chanukkah present came in the mail! Thanks, Grandma!

Coffee, Ice Cream, and Drunken Sufganiyot

2009-12-08T00:14:00.003-05:00

Monday:
1. I bought a comforter (and finally used my housewarming giftcard from the Ripps relatives - thank you so much!). Now Kaiser-Blueth guests won't have to freeze so that I can be warm and cozy - we had an incident over Thanksgiving.

2. The era of caffeinated détente was short-lived. Coffeemaker wigged out again, and spat grounds into the pot. I chose to place it back in time-out, and had tea instead.

3. Took Dana out to lunch for her (very belated) birthday.

4. Steiner stole my format. Again. I'm flattered, Shteinsy - you know how much I admire your writing - but could I at least grab a referential link? K, great, thanks.

5. There are no words:

Who is this actor/TV personality? Does this in some way reference a running joke of which I'm unaware?
(Thanks to Alyssa for sending this my way.)

6. Celebrated finished the day's work (at 11 pm) with a trip to Karma Cream. Yum.

7. Speaking of unique sweets...when are these going to make their way to the States? Will someone in the Holyland please save me one for when I arrive?

Sunday Funday

2009-12-07T23:49:00.003-05:00

Sunday:
1. I couldn't find a student with a car, so I walked to Walgreens. It was very, very far. On the upside, I'm feeling remarkably independent.

2. Seffi blogged! I love it when that happens.

3. Back in August, my coffeemaker freaked out, backed up, and burned my hand by spewing water out of the top. I calmly placed it in time-out under the sink, and have since made my stop at Dunkin Donuts and/or Starbucks a near daily ritual. This morning I decided that I had had enough of paying for my caffeine. I welcomed the coffeemaker back into the kitchen, and it worked perfectly. Hooray!

4. Birthright orientation went shockingly well. I'm getting really excited to guide these students through Israel for the first time. Is that insanely nerdy? Never mind, I don't care.

5. I made butternut squash soup. Yum.

6. I went to one of my students' recitals. I had forgotten how much I love watching dance performances. It was lovely, and I was so proud of her.

7. Today the Food Network taught me that saffron is actually the stamen and stigmas of the crocus sativus. Huh. Fascinating.

The Happy Recluse

2009-12-06T02:21:00.006-05:00

I left my apartment for a total of 1 hour today, and still managed to find seven reasons. It's always possible, people. I promise.

Saturday:
1. On my way to yoga, I saw a sign posted on a lamppost. It read, "Things will be okay" and had a picture of a panda, with smaller "Things will be okay" tags to rip off and take home. I couldn't take one (or take a picture) because it was Shab, but it still put a smile on my face, to think of someone posting that for no reason other than helping students get through finals.

2. Finally did a shoulder stand. Due to my aforementioned lack of balance, this was actually a big deal.

3. On the one hand, sad times for the gators (they were crushed by Alabama today in the SEC championship, 32-13). I wish I could have been here for a Tebow championship season. On the other hand, I called this loss so long ago - with sound statistical backing. I'm pretty proud of myself. Roll Tide.

4. Oh my. Sesame Street gets frisky with Tyra Banks.

5. While spending too many hours catching up on posts, I had some good ol' Food Network playing in the background. I wasn't really paying attention, but I did hear the Barefoot Contessa tell her viewers to never wash mushrooms, and to instead scrub them with a dry sponge. Mindels, you were right!

6. Aunt Vanessa. She writes to one of her 5 nieces and nephews every Sunday, and last week was my week! I was a very delinquent niece, but not only did I finally write back, I know that she reads the blog only on Sundays, so she'll see her shout-out tomorrow. Hi, Auntie!

7. Microwaves. Growing up we didn't have a microwave in the house, which became a fierce point of pride. Throughout childhood, Israel, and college, I sort of looked down on people who couldn't prepare a meal without using one. And yet...through the miracle of the microwave, I managed to arrange all this dinner in only 5 minutes:
I'm sold. Thanks, radiation!

Free Israel, Free Music, and Brownie Dilemmas

2009-12-06T00:32:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. It was the most stressful experience in recent memory, but my extension after staffing Birthright is settled! Hooray!

2. During said insane-o experience, Greta, Sarit, and Mindy all had a hand in keeping me semi-calm. Thanks, ladies.

3. Got a chanukiah and candles from work. Sweet.

4. Continued from Thursday: at the State Radio show, I got free cd - the "Tour Edition" of their newest album, "Let It Go." It appears that the Tour Edition is the same as the regular edition, without the paying part. Also, on the back of the cd it says, "Unauthorized reproduction, copying and rental of this recording is prohibited by law. But do whatever you want." Thanks, guys.

5. Remember hidden tracks on cds (or tapes...or records...)? They were always so exciting to discover. And then iTunes came along, and hidden tracks weren't so hidden anymore. But today I was listening to "Let It Go" while cooking, and was completely shocked when after several minutes of silence, I heard what turned out to be the second-best song of the album. The hidden track lives!

6. Due to the inclement weather, I got to run Shab. It was small, and surprisingly painless. I love my students.

7. I had always thought that receiving the All Edges brownie pan would make my life complete. But now, Woot has presented me with a difficult decision:

All Edges, or Perfect Brownie? For more on the dilemma, click here.

State Radio!

2009-12-05T23:16:00.005-05:00

Thursday:
1. We begin tonight with a true American tragedy:

Is it bad if this makes me laugh? A lot?

2. Today I had my last webinar/conference call for Birthright training. Hurray!

3. Watching the "Pink Gloves" video over and over (and over...and over...) has suddenly reminded me of a different video, one that I spent much of the spring of 2008 watching with Tali Berkowitz and Sarah Beth Lopatin on the floor of my bedroom. You guessed it, ladies. It's...

It's a relig parody of the seriously misogynistic "Rotzeh Banot" ("I Want Girls"), called "Rotzeh Mitzvot" ("I Want Commandments"), by dati comedian Yair Orbach. Bonus: he lived on Kibbutz Sa'ad (where I spent half of my year in Israel before college) while he was in school.

Here's my super-rough translation of the lyrics (let me preface this by saying, the humor doesn't really translate. I tried.):
I want commandments,
I want to say 100 blessings in a day,
The blessing over miscellanous food, the blessing after using the restroom, and the blessing over grains,
And I don't mind praying 3 times a day,
Because all I want to do is fulfill commandments.

At Roladin,
Sitting on a blind date, playing it sensitive,
I keep the Sabbath, Kosher, and the laws prohibiting contact between genders,
Lucky for me, she looks like trouble,
Because I get to say the blessing over unique creatures.

Suddenly I notice a nice pair of guys,
Maybe we can say the blessing after meals together?
They even have skullcaps - it's perfect!
..they're religious, but Muslim.

(Ready for takeoff...Are you ready?)

Take a look at me, I'm a religious guy who's pressed for time,
No love story is going to come out of this date,
This day is over in a few minutes,
I'm stressed because I've only said 80 blessings.

"Listen, sweetie, I'm just not that into this,
And I'm running outside to find a quorum to pray with"
We're missing one, there's only nine guys...
...How lucky that God also created secular guys.

I want commandments,
I want to say 100 blessings in a day,
The blessing over miscellanous food, the blessing after using the restroom, and the blessing over grains,
And I don't mind praying 3 times a day,
Because all I want to do is fulfill commandments.

I want commandments,
I want to say 100 blessings in a day,
The blessing over miscellanous food, the blessing after using the restroom, and the blessing over grains,
And it doesn't bother me if sometimes I miss,
Because I've already set up 3 engaged couples.

4. My students told me they bought a deep fryer for the pre-Chanukkah extravaganza. They kind of lied (it's an electric skillet with a LOT of room for oil), but it still looked pretty cool.

5. My evening activity (which I'm saving for last), led me to two other reasons. First, it allowed me to tell two of my best stories: the time I went backstage at a Bob Weir/Ratdog concert (thanks, Nina Zoe), and the time I was pulled over in Habersham County, Georgia, by a pair of fake state troopers (I told you it was a good one).

6. Second bonus reason: one of the opening acts. I wish I could share a picture, but the truth is I'm not sure which of the two opening bands it was (we were only there for one). The remarkable thing was not their talent, but their appearance: each of the four members looked radically different, to the point where it seemed as though they belonged in different bands. I even assigned them characters in my head - Joey Fatone, Joe Jonas, Donald Fagen (of Steely Dan), and the eco-terrorist. It was bizarre.

7. State Radio! For the uninitated, State Radio is a band comprised of Chad Stokes Urmston, Chuck Fay, and Mike Najarian. Many people (myself included) know them because Chad Stokes was previously a member of Dispatch. Long story short, it was a GREAT show, and the first night in Gainesville where I've felt like I have a life, independent of my work and students (Okay, so I went with two students, but before they were my students they were my campers, and then they were on my staff this summer. It totally doesn't count.).

I wish the pictures had come out better, but it is what it is. The show looked a bit like this:

Bonus: If you go to State Radio's website, you can get a free download of "Knights of Bostonia," which, while not reminiscent of much of their other music, is my current happy song.

Trying to See Generations - But They're So Far Away!

2009-12-04T02:21:00.002-05:00

Somehow the second half of the week always gets away from me. Ah, well.

Wednesday:
1. I have a new reader - and new reassurance that talking about other people online doesn't necessarily freak them out (Phew.). Take a look at what Avraham Nahum Yosef Binder commented on the very first post:
"I like watching Amiad Binder video's too, though the one who loves them more then anything is Amiad himself. He actually requests sometimes to watch specific ones."

...how cute is that?

2. Focus on the Family has helpfully created Stand for Christmas, a guide to how "Christmas friendly" popular gift-purchasing establishments are. Except that by "Christmas friendly," they actually appear to mean "anti-all other stuff." So even more helpfully, Jewschool has picked out choice comments from the site - I think the general rule is, the more Focus on the Family dislikes it, the more I will now spend there.

3. Congregation Agudath Israel in Caldwell, New Jersey (aka my Grandma Julie's shul) is throwing quite the party this March: they're celebrating Nat Taubenfeld's 54th anniversary as shul gabbai. To spread the word, they've created a Facebook group, appropriately titled "We Love Nat."

4. Behold: reason #312 why my brother is the coolest:

Sefster: yo, alick isaacs gchatted me today

me: alick issacs gchatted you??

what did he say?

i'm so jealous

3:51 PM Sefster: ive only been to savtas new apartment twice

3:53 PM me: wait, this is so much less important.

me: the important thing is, what did alick isaacs say??

3:54 PM Sefster: he asked if i was feeling better

me: aww

because you missed his class?

3:55 PM

Sefster: yeah

...and his current facebook status is, "I just gchat with you; it's a special Alick-Seffi thing. Never say I don't love you."
(Ed. note: Alick Isaacs is a professor at Hebrew U, and one of the founders of Shira Chadasha. Many people I know harbor secret obsessions with him.)

5. This video (and the accompanying article) are simply incredible. It's amazing what the human body can accomplish.

6. Had a GREAT evaluative meeting with the student board.

7. ...Which put me in the mood to appreciate this quote, Nahum's other comment:
הרואה לשנה - נוטע חיטה, הרואה לשנים - נוטע עצים, הרואה לדורות - מחנך אנשים
(roughly, "Someone who sees a year ahead - plants wheat, someone who sees several years ahead - plants trees, someone who sees future generations - educates people.")

New Lights, New Blogs, and New Definitions of Dinner

2009-12-03T00:53:00.005-05:00

Tuesday:
1. Remind me to be treated at this hospital, should God forbid the need ever arise:

My favorite is the elderly janitor, hands down. (there are many close seconds).

2. Allison Elizabeth Rose (who was not only a guest blogger last week, but also has 3 first names), has started her very own blog! You can check it out here, as well as on the blogroll to your right. Happy reading!

3. In other friends-who-blog news, you can check out Avigail Oren's musings on twentysomething life here (and on the blogroll, of course). How did I wind up with such witty (and technologically savvy) friends?

4. It's my favorite time of year: The lights are up on College Walk. And I, in all likelihood, will not get to see them.

Whatever. I have something better: Christian frats! Even the supposedly non-sectarian ones really, really like Jesus, and they all have lights. Here's one of my favorites, Delta Tau Delta:
Okay, the truth is that my favorite is Delta Psi's tree, but it's inside their house (I can see it from the street), so I really saw no way to share it with you without being a major creeper and/or risking arrest.

5. Smithsonian has put together a list of 28 must-see places in the world. I've only been to two so far. Who wants to go traveling?? (I'm serious. Really. Anyone who has spoken to me in the past several months know this to be true. I want travel buddy offers in the comments. Multiple, so that I can be picky.)

6. I had for dinner. Grandma and Papa taught me well, though I don't think either one ever intended that I enjoy cereal at a meal other than breakfast. Oh well.

7. Free stuff! I went to Customer Service at Publix to ask for the locations of both the muffin liners and the matches. The woman told me where to find the former, began to describe the latter, and then said, "Well, we offer complimentary matches. Do you still want me to tell you where to find the other ones?" Umm, thanks, but I think I'll still with the complimentary ones. If I learned anything in college, it was never say no to free.

Behind the Eight Ball

2009-12-02T01:57:00.008-05:00

Monday:
1. Dara Leah Wilensky has achieved the ultimate in trivial prowess: completing the "Countries of the World" quiz on sporcle.

(Jeffrey Michael Hast, I know you're jealous. Just admit it.). Dara, I want to be you.

2. Okay, so this didn't happen on Monday, but I gave Friday over to Bous' witty banter, so I'm entitled to cheat. On Friday I had not one but two lovely visits with old friends. In the morning I baked delicious banana-oatmeal-chocolate-chip cookies with Avigail Oren, and in the afternoon I crashed Avi and Dena Chaya (Katz) Block's pre-Shab cooking and home improvement party. Miss you both a ton.

3. Hilary Rachel Brown, thanks for showing me this gorgeous look at what our national relationship with food is, and what it should be.

4. At the very beginning of Monday, Matani woke up in the middle of the night. Being there to help him settle back to sleep was worth more to me than anything else in the visit.
Update: it appears Tanni has chicken pox. Even having been vaccinated. Refuah shleimah, kiddo.

5. Arriving back in Gville was such a culture shock. College towns are like no place else on earth. Everything was open and hopping in the middle of the night. Also, shorts in December just don't register in my brain.

6. My apartment was freezing - Thank God. Bundling up almost made me feel like I was back in the Jerz.

5. Turned on my computer to find Thanksgiving pictures from Greta Lynn (who is not Greta Beth - it's complicated). Thanks!

(cousins Billy and Alicia, visiting from Uruguay)

(Uncle Danny, Aunt Vanessa, and Abba loading up on yummy)

(The ganza mishpacha. Ready?
Top row, L to R: Abba, Dan, Aunt Vanessa, Uncle Bruce
Second row: Greta Lynn, Ema, Tanni, Lucie, Aunt Amy
Third row: David, Billy, Alicia, Grandma
Bottom row: Me, Charly, Greta Beth, Uncle Danny
MIA: Yosef Saadya Ripps Kogen)

A Week of Thanksgiving, Day 4: My Fair (Lawn) Lady

2009-12-01T22:41:00.007-05:00

Back to Friday, which belongs to Ayelet Rachel Boussi. Credits for post title belong to Steiner, who, like Ayelet, lives in apartment 6H as in Hashem.

The Bousser and I share a whopping 44 pictures on Facebook, giving me ample photographic fodder to follow our friendship (But alas, no pictures with Yosef, who I have still met only on Purim, when we both may or may not have been inebriated. That's what I get for moving to Gville.).

(Kiawah 2007, with Mindels and Deens)

(More Kiawah 2007, with Shteins)

(Still more Kiawah '07. We really like photshoots.)

(Midnight Breakfast @ 5F, with the Deenster)

(Kiawah 2008. This picture is kind of irrelevant, but I love it, so it stays.)

This would be the part of the post in which I explain how Bous and I came to know one another, but she does an excellent (and very succinct!) job of doing that herself. I give you, ayeletrb:

I am obviously giving in my assigned post 5 days late..... (looked at the blog today and realized I was that missing Friday post) my sincerest apologies to Navah's fan base and the entire internet community! This is why I do not have a blog.

Now my Navs connection: Fair Lawn, Ramah Nyack, 5F, Yavneh Board 07, Barnard 09, the Maurice M. Pine Free Public Library, Robyn Kotek, long cardigans, Leora Shudofsky, and love of chocolate chip muffins made with applesauce.

Now my seven:

1) Jon Berliner's Sarah Palin love album...and this little gem that one of his friends posted (don't worry, it took me a second to get it too).

2) A patient of mine called me "majestic" yesterday in gratitude for letting him keep a pen. What more positive feedback can I ask for.

3) I saw 2 really good things with Yosef last week:
a-- Oleanna-- a David Mamet play on broadway about a female college student's accusations of sexual harassment by a male professor. Really fresh, interesting, and quite powerful. I highly recommend. It hits you hard and kind of turns things as we might think of them upside down.
b-- A Serious Man-- HILARIOUS Coen Brothers movie. If you have ever met, loved, or been an awkward Jew this is the movie for you. It's also kind of dark and depressing, which makes the hilarious awkwardness all the better.
(Does that count as 2 things?)

4) Viva (aka my cafeteria) makes soup, and it is delicious.

5) Israel has oil, and they finally found it! Booyah. A nice silver lining during a rough time...

6) It's December, which I love. Birthday, Christmas lights, Chanukah, Chanukah cookies, Chanukah gelt, excuse to wear uggs, excuse to eat tons of Viva soup, chance of snow showers, etc. Those might also count as multiple things.

7) Of course the final reason life is sweet.... seeing all the chips last week for book club slash Kiawah Girls Choir reunion! There is nothing like it. And we sound fabulous even outside of South Carolina.

(There's an a bad news moment around 1:40...just ignore it and we'll all be okay)

Yay Navah's blog!

Kol Sasson V'Kol Simcha

2009-12-01T17:21:00.005-05:00

Sunday:
1. Consumer Reports, 1984. My father's yellowed and much-loved copy contains the absolute best recipe for pancakes ever invented. I made them for the fam on Sunday morning. Delicious.

2. Raking leaves. I didn't actually partake in this activity, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching Tanni and my dad (almost as much as I enjoyed being in my natural habitat, a climate in which we have all four seasons, and therefore a reason to rake leaves).

3. Leora and Yoni's wedding! This lovely simcha, which was truly an honor to be a part of, was also included in the very first list of Seven Daily Reasons some 8 weeks ago. (All pics stolen from facebook. Many thanks to all the original photographers!)

4. I spent the bulk of said wedding having a big Mishpachat Havivi party, though I only have pictures with two of the siblings:

(The hair was significantly less of an awkward comb-over pre-dancing. I promise. Noa Havivi is an absurdly beautiful 14 year old. Daniel, you look like an axe murderer. I miss Nachshonim 2009. Phew. That was a lot of information.)

5. The wedding was also an intense shot of catching-up time with a ton of (mainly JTS) people. It was really nice.

6. One old friend in particular gave me the most soul-warming hug imaginable. It was the best feeling of homecoming.

7. Improbably, SDR became dinnertime conversation at my table, where I discovered some additional secret readers (shoutout to Emily Cook - it was SO nice to see you), and continued to get over my mental aversion to saying the words, "Yes, I have a blog."

"Shabbos you really should know, we hate to see you go..."

2009-12-01T00:34:00.002-05:00

We're temporarily skipping Friday, as it belongs to a guest post which has yet to come in. So...

Saturday:
1. The Saturday paper at my fingertips. Flipping through the pages of the New York Times Magazine is an entirely differently experience than clicking through screens on a laptop.

2. Going to shul, and not having to lead a thing (in fact, not being able to...home sweet non-egalitarian home).

3. 12,000 elderly congregants wanting to catch up at kiddush = ideal situation for perfecting my elevator speech.

4. Napping on the family room couch. Seffi, you were missed (though the ability to stretch out was very much appreciated).

5. Ema's challah. I know we use the same recipe, but the original is really something special.

6. Miniature chippim hangout. Always a gossip-filled pleasure.

7. Singing Tanni to sleep.

Aren't You Glad You're Not a Turkey? [On This Thanksgiving Day]

2009-11-29T00:21:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the brief hiatus - daily posting becomes more difficult when balanced with a social life. But I'm back in the 'ville, so let's caught up.

Thursday:
1. The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I wasn't such a fan of the pre-taped performances, but I did enjoy Tanni's running narration - "Ooh, ooh! It's Buzz Lightyear! NaVAH, I said it's Buzz Lightyear. Come see!" - as I attempted to make the Thanksgiving meatballs (Ripps family tradition of unknown origin).

2. Ugly boots.
For two years, I have scoured the shelves and websites for the perfect brown boot to stick my jeans into in the wintertime. Admittedly, I have been very picky: too short, too tall, too round, too pointy - I was like Goldilocks. And then, on Wednesday, I gave up. I got the Ema, "I-can't-believe-you-spend-your-money-on-this-stuff-but-okay-fine-I-like-them" seal of approval, and bought the first pair of boots that I tried on (I wore them on Thursday. It totally counts.). They're ugly. I love them.

3. Rice and gravy. Say what you will about turkey, stuffing, and all the rest; this super unhealthy but absurdly delicious combo is my Thanksgiving treat. Yum.

4. In our family, everyone has their Thanksgiving responsibility. Mine is to make the meatballs. Yosef Saadya Ripps Kogen's is to make the apple pie. Alas, the Sefster is far away in Eretz Moladeteinu, and as such, could not be counted on for pie production. My grandmother decreed that no one else could make the pie, and we were left lacking a dessert. I decided to enact a small social experiment - I made squash kugel in a pie crust, and called it squash pie. It was a hit.

...I always knew cran crunch et al. had no business being called "side dishes."

5. Lupper: n., a meal occurring in between or in place of lunch and supper. See Brunch.
The Deerson arm of the mishpucha splits Thanksgiving between the two sides of the family. On off years, we see them for Shabbat dinner instead. However, this year Aunt Ethel served their (real) Thanksgiving meal at 2 pm - giving them ample to eat and shmooze, while still arriving at our meal "to visit" approximately 15 minutes after we all sat down to eat. Gotta love the lupper.

6. Slides. The old slide projector unfortunately didn't make an appearance, but we did discuss - half-heartedly - the possibility of digitizing. Long live the old-school slide show.

7. Seffi stole my gimmick. His Thanksgiving post has a list of, ahem, seven things he missed about Thanksgiving in Jersey. He also solicited thankfulness lists from potential commenters. No big, Sef - imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

As a bonus, check out my Thanksgiving messages to the Sefster (shoutout to Shoshana "Shoshmosh" Brownstein for organizing all of the messages Nativers received from their families. You rock, Shosh.).

A Week of Thanksgiving...Day 3: My Most Fashionable Friend

2009-11-26T12:31:00.008-05:00

For today's guest, I called upon Nina Zoe Cohen, of All Tumble Down fame:

Nina actually gave me a shout-out yesterday in her little corner of the internet universe, and explained how we know each other thusly:

"We cemented our friendship over a mutual love of ice cream, sarcasm and entirely theoretical religious discussions during our first year at Barnard, where we lived at either ends of the dorm hall."

All true (especially the ice cream part - 1 am frozen yogurt runs to Pinnacle figure prominently into my memories of freshman year). However, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that we actually met in a choir in high school, and only recognized each other at our first hall meeting when we each turned down a bowl of M&Ms being passed around 30 minutes after our fleishig dinner (as did Nina's roommate - hi, Shar!). Nins is brilliant, very funny, and always sticks to her guns.

My Barnard friends and I are prone to spontaneous bursts of picture-taking, so there is no shortage additional pictures. Such as :

(Kiawah, end of sophomore year)

(At Nina's wedding...)

(...to hubby Er, also known in college as Bondo.)

(This picture is somewhat irrelevant, but I love it, so I don't care. Hi, chips!)

And so, without further photographic ado, Wednesday:

Seven Daily Reasons why life in Nina-ville is good:

1. Getting together with your best friends reminds you that life is
better when shared with others. Last night's book club meeting was the
first time I have been with the whole group from college since my
father passed away 2 months ago, and made me realize how much love
there is still in the world. Thanks, guys.

2. On a far more mundane note - tonight I had my first lambburger. Why
why have I never had one before? The tang, the juiciness, the 30
seconds it took me to devour it -- unreal.

3. After feeding someone cookies I promised had no nuts in them, since
I had baked them myself, I realized they had been stored in a bag with
pecan cookies. I haven't heard about his death, though, and have been
reassured by many, including my med school husband, that anaphylaxis
is a very speedy reaction, and he'd have noticed instead of having
another cookie. And Navah told me that I "may have saved a life in the
process - for the first time ever [she] remembered to buy the right
kind of breadcrumbs for the Thanksgiving meatballs - i.e., the ones that aren't potentially lethal to [her] cousin Charly." Woohoo for life!

4. My coworker had her baby shower on Sunday. We sent out an
invitation to the whole staff and volunteer corps, letting them know
at the bottom that she is registered at giggle.com. We received an
email from a very upset octogenarian volunteer who told us how
inappropriate the registry information was. We were so puzzled until
(in a flash of genius, you could say) I realized that she hadn't
followed the link, and had instead accidentally typed giggleS.com into
her browser. Go ahead, visit it - you'll get the same shock Gisa did
when she saw porn pop up on her screen.

5. My blog has been getting readers from all over the country and the
globe. I don't know anyone from Nepean, Ontario, Murrieta, California,
Cataluna, Spain, or Petrus, Greece, but I feel happy to be writing
something others can enjoy. What began as a total experiment has
quickly become a daily break from the weighty research/writing/meeting aspects of my job; something light and yes, a bit frivolous that keeps life from getting too heavy.

6. We finally hung art on the walls. Living in an apartment that
actually feels like home is a wonderful thing.

7.I helped a supremely nice guy propose to his girlfriend at the
museum where I work a few weeks ago, and yesterday received a HUGE
bouquet of flowers along with a card thanking me profusely for my
assistance. It was unnecessary, unexpected, and totally made my day.

A Week of Thanksgiving...Day 2: The Phone Tag Champion

2009-11-25T19:42:00.007-05:00

I hope you all enjoyed GBD's inaugural substitute seven. Today's guest is the adorable Allison Elizabeth Rose:

Alli and I met in the summer of 2005, which we spent together at Camp Ramah Darom. We didn't quite become friends until the very end of that summer, but from the moment we did, Alli has been a wonderfully creative, funny, eternally calm presence in my life. I am especially grateful for all our coffee dates around Jerusalem last year, where Alli helped me articulate some pretty major life decisions.

I think this is the only existing photograph of myself and Alli (and Greta and Alyssa - what's up, guys?). Another photo shoot appears to be on the way.

Nowadays, Alli and I most often speak to each other's voicemails, but someday soon, we hope to beat the system.

Tuesday:
We will call this … seven daily reasons why being unemployed doesn’t totally suck.

1. Alarm clock, you are not my master! Of course, I set an alarm clock every evening before I go to bed to create the illusion for myself that I am, in fact, a productive member of society. But the truth is that on most days, I hit the snooze button several times. When I finally decide it’s time to get up, I flick on my lamp and stretch out across the width of our queen-sized bed … which I can do because Max has already left for work and I won’t wake him up (this is in comparison to my 5:30 am wake ups during my first 6-week stint as a teacher.)

2. How I Met Your Mother. I have taken to calling it my “unemployment show.” That is, during the first few weeks of my being laid-off (this is to clarify, more for my feelings of self-worth and less for you, the reader, that I was not fired) I devoured episodes. I watched two or three episodes during the day (which is, for the record, only about an hour of television) and developed a Friends-like obsession with the show. Unfortunately, I am now caught up with the rest of the employed-world and have to wait a week for a new episode like everyone else. But today I was able to watch last week’s episode entitled “The Playbook” and poke around the internet to find out if anyone had posted “Slapsgiving 2: Revenge of the Slap.” (They have not yet.)

3. Cleaning and packing. Things I have time to do now that I definitely didn’t when I was spending 20 hours a day teaching and lesson-planning: laundry, sweeping, dishes, cleaning the stovetop, sweeping (yes, I know that I said this already but I really like the sweep and I swear the leaves that blow in from the front door are reproducing), filing, folding, and packing in a leisurely way that makes me feel confident that I have not forgotten anything.

4. Tea. If you are surprised that tea gets its own spot on the list then you clearly don’t know me well enough. I love tea. But when I was teaching and wanted to savor every minute of sleep, my morning routine was something like this: fumble around in the dark to silence the alarm, stumble out of bed, hop in the shower, throw on clothes, find my keys, stress about running late, brush my teeth, and fly out the door. Notice that tea (and breakfast, for that matter) is missing from the list. But now, I can have tea all day long. A delicious cup of Earl Grey or French Vanilla tea with a little milk and honey in the morning. A mug of Green tea in the afternoon. And something of the decaffeinated or herbal variety at night. Mmm mmm mmm.

5. More time with Max. Enough said.

6. Time to do my homework. As an Inspired Teaching Fellow, I am a teacher (or supposed to be one) as well as a student. I take one night class a week and one full Saturday class a month as I work toward my full teaching certification and my Masters. Naturally, there is homework. I hope it doesn't come as a shock to anyone that when I was teaching, reading Chapter 5 in “Teaching Math Developmentally,” for example, just wasn’t high on my priority list. But now that I have much more free time, I’m the most prepared student in class. Another plus: the books that my teachers have selected are actually very interesting, thought-provoking, and helpful. I am now full of ideas of how to teach math “developmentally.”

7. The potential of something better. When I was first laid off, I was heart-broken. I’d worked tirelessly for my 22 second-graders, and then with no goodbye or closure or explanation I had to leave them. But the truth is that I was miserable at that school. I had little support from the administration. My colleagues hardly ever talked to me. I felt isolated and overwhelmed and exhausted all the time. And the school, in general, felt more like a prison than a place where children come to grow and learn and play. So while applying to job after job and going on interview after interview can be very discouraging, there is still the possibility that something great is just around the corner. Yesterday, I had an interview at a really unique charter school in DC, and today they asked me to come in and do a demonstration lesson in the 5th grade class. And it was awesome! I taught a really engaging geometry lesson (transformations and tessellations), and the assistant principal and teachers observing me had nothing but wonderful things to say. I am sure that the school is interviewing a lot of qualified and experienced educators, so the chance of my being hired there is actually very small. But it’s possible. (Keep your fingers crossed please.)

A Week of Thanksgiving...Day 1: My Favorite Cat Lady

2009-11-25T10:36:00.014-05:00

Hi Guys,
In honor of Thanksgiving (and being home in the Northeast, where I have copious amounts of things to be thankful for!), I've decided to have a week of guest bloggers share what they're thankful for throughout the week. First up: Greta Beth Deerson (she's the gorgeous blonde).

Greta is one of my two first cousins on my mom's side. She's about 18 months older than me, and since neither one of us have sisters (and our side of the fam is absurdly tight-knit regardless), we're pretty close. She also happens to be the most hysterical person I know.

(P.S. Gretch - this is the only picture I could find of us online...I sense a photo shoot at Grandma's tomorrow. Prepare yourself.).

Anyway...I'm fighting the very strong urge to comment on each section of Greta's list, and presenting them to you as sent. Enjoy, and keep thinking of your Seven Daily Reasons - you never know when I may call on you to show them to the world!

Monday:
1. One day until I see my mom.

2. St. Louis has a program called Kulanu for students with special needs, and I am a tutor for the program... "Kulanu provides Hebrew and some Judaic education for children, who, for a variety of reasons, have difficulty in a classroom situation. The program focuses on the particular needs and strengths of each child with special needs through individualized Hebrew and Judaic instruction." Today my "tutee" learned her last letters (fey, fey sofeet, chaf and chaf sofeet)!! She can now read any word - rockin'! (Still has some work to do on the names of letters...but it will come...and then script....)

3. Dinner at Pi. It's delish. Just ask Obama (Obama loved the pizza so much that he called Sommers to thank him personally. And after his November win, the Pi menu featured a commemorative pizza — the Broccoli O'Bama — to celebrate...check it out on Obama Foodorama). The sauce comes on top of the cheese at Pi which makes it very convenient for me to avoid eating the HUGE chunks of tomato (although probably less convenient for whoever has to wash my plate...gross).

4. I have a cat sitter. Something to be thankful for....for real. I dropped off my keys and then went home to write her a four or so page e-mail about all the specifics of the apartment (turn the knob to the left not the right to get in, Sam prefers to drink from human cups so they're all over the place filled with water, feel free to watch any of the teeny bopper movies on the dvr, do you like caramel? we have a container in the fridge, if you want it take it, we'll never use it). She hasn't written back - if she still wants to be my friend now that she knows what a neurotic kitty mom I am, that will be something else to be thankful for.

5. "What's Jewish About Social Work?" A local Rabbi led a shiur today at the Social Work School. My take home message - it's great to be a social worker, and it's great to be Jewish. Yay for me. They got kosher food since the Rabbi was coming but he didn't eat any....(neither did I...it was cold cuts, barf).

6. Andrea can drive me to the airport tomorrow. No metro, no cabs. Sweet life.

7. I observed an AA meeting today for a paper I need to write. It was amazing. Seriously. I was thanked for being there 3 times during the meeting, because the people at the meeting think it's important for people who are going into helping professions (they said who are going to be counselors, but i am not going to be a counselor so...) to come to AA and learn about alcoholism, and the support in that room was very powerful. I want to join AA and I don't even really drink socially.

All the Raindrops WERE Lemondrops and Gumdrops. So There.

2009-11-23T00:29:00.003-05:00

Sunday:
1. Rain day! The downpour completely destroyed my planned schedule - but it also negated my need to go to Hillel.

2. Google wave. I don't know what to do with it, but I do have it. Thanks, Daniel.

3. It's A New Day by will.i.am came on at the very end of Total Body. Best motivational/mood-shifting song EVER. (Sorry for the lack of embedding. Universal Music Group REALLY didn't want me to).

4. ...searching for It's a New Day post-class led to a 30 minute dance party alone in my room. Don't judge.

5. During said partay, I came across these lyrics ("Forever to Reach", Pictures and Sound):

"Close your eyes right now and count to ten
You're a different person than you were just then
We'll never get this chance again"

Sappy, but I kind of love it.

6. Got an email from Continental upgrading me to first class for my flight home. I didn't ask questions - I just giggled internally and said a silent "thank you" to the reservation gods.

7. I was completely packed before I went to bed. Trust me, that's noteworthy (I won't tell you what time I went to bed - why am I nocturnal?).

See you in Jersey!

Bookworm

2009-11-22T23:41:00.005-05:00

Saturday:
1. Sleeping in. It never gets old.

2. Olive Kitteredge. I read the entire book in one shot, from the moment I woke up until I went to Hillel for Maariv. So good.

3. Jason Segel's sense of humor (parents slightly cautioned):

4. Totally stumbled across this post by accident... and then stopped to take a second look because the name sounded familiar. I definitely went to elementary school with these now-indie-famous siblings.

5. If only I could eat the stuff on this flowchart...my arteries would look like stuffed shells, but mealtime decisions would certainly be simpler.

6. Oh Jon Stewart. How my TV-less life has missed your witty investigative journalism:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Sean Hannity Uses Glenn Beck's Protest Footage

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

(Thanks to Adi Segal for the link)

7. One month till Birthright! (And it was Toldot. Wa wa waaaa.)

Tricycles for Grown-Ups and Schadenfreude

2009-11-22T22:38:00.004-05:00

Friday:
1. I am the printer whisperer. Our ridiculous machine kept me in the office for an extra hour and a half (!), but in the end it caved to my jam-solving prowess.

2. Following said printing fiasco, I arrived home with 14 minutes until Shabbos...and still managed to shower and get dressed in time to light candles.

3. The flowers Yaffa gave me have only blossomed and gotten better with time, and were perfect as Shabbat began. Thanks, Yaffa!

4. A moment of schadenfreude: on my way to Hillel, I saw five kids bending over a gutter, fishing for a cellphone. I felt bad, but it was hysterical.

5. I also saw an adult on a red tricycle. I didn't know those existed outside of Kiawah!

6. I didn't have to lead Kiddush!

7. I sat with two hysterical student couples whom I LOVE. One partner of each pair is converting, and they're so open about what the process is meaning for them. It was a great night.

Adventures of Sleepyhead in the Land of No-Winter

2009-11-19T22:39:00.005-05:00

Thursday:
1. After 3 consecutive fails, I woke up early enough to work out. Huzzah.

2. This is the closest I'm going to get to fall leaves:

I'll take it.

3. Rabbi Lesack (Assistant Director of Darom) passed through Gville today, and brought me delicious cookies from a kosher bakery in the ATL. Thanks, Marshall!

4. חג לה שמח וזר לה פורח, היום יום הולדת לדנה!

5. FINALLY bought the book for Chippim Book Club. No worries, Chips - I have a loooong Hillel-less Shabbos day to help me finish it on time.

6. November Flowers in Gville: 4 in a Series...

P.S. Can we review? It's November 19th. I took this picture today. That is officially absurd.

7. Heading to bed before midnight, possibly for the first time in this century. Great success.

Chodesh Tov!

2009-11-19T22:04:00.003-05:00

Wednesday:
1. Oh, Mark Bittman. How I love your simple, witty collections of 101 recipes. This one is an overgrown pre-Thanksgiving brainstorm. Bonus: more than half of them are kosh.
(Watch his videos on nytimes.com. He's a gem.)

2. Daily heartwarming tale of Israeli humanitarianism? Look no further.

3. It's Kislev! Yay!

4. This article is a cute take on the Charleston Jewish community - and Kiawah has a shoutout! Interestingly, they skipped over Pita King. Chaval. The world needs to know about that Southern bastion of Yiddishkeit and arsim.

5. Dave-o Deerson has Gmail! Prepare for much chatting, Maryland Buddy.

6. November Flowers in Gville: 3 in a Series...

7. My second rumination has been published! Please "gourmet" me here. (Don't worry, Ema. I still take my vitamin. I just don't believe it DOES anything.)

The Church of the Gator

2009-11-19T21:23:00.008-05:00

Tuesday:
1. My hepcat mother allayed my fears that someone's taken out a hit on me...and shot in the foot my dreams of having gazillions of rando readers. Take a gander:

me: people in kfar chabad

either love me

or are plotting my assassination

they visit basically on the hour

11:09 AM lindaripps: not necessarily. I learned when I was working on the book sharing project that IP addresses are very sneaky things. If I remember correctly, there is a huge IT station somewhere near B'nai Brak - I think IDT runs it - it's a place where haradi woman can work.

11:10 AM me: oh. huh. so this reader might not actually be in kfar chabad??

11:16 AM lindaripps: exactly - they might not even be in Israel.

me: whoa

but more likely, it's seffi or shosh

2. Second-best print ad I've seen in a long time:

3. ...And the best:

4. Winter must be on its way: my neighbors have transitioned from Halloween to Christmas!

5. I passed by this church today with Dana and said, "Ooh, it looks like a Stegasaurus." She replied, "Umm...it's probably a Gator."

What's your verdict: Intentional architecture, or just a coincidence?

6. The New Oxford American Dictionary word of the year is "unfriend." And the decline of Western civilization continues.

7. This kid is absurdly precocious - even his father seems amused - but I do admire his plucky resolve:

For My Ladies, Shorties, Thugs - and Chabadnikim, Apparently

2009-11-16T22:49:00.008-05:00

First, a note: yes, I am aware that the video from yesterday is, in fact, abysmal. I was kidding. If, however, you are doubting the existence of the aforementioned skillz (Always with a Z. Always.), I'll have you know that in fact I DO know all the words to "All the Above," and would be happy to perform them - anytime, anywhere.

Now then, Monday:
1. One week till Jersey! Yay!

2. On my way to work today, I noticed something about the statue of Albert and Alberta (the alligator mascots) that I walk past everyday: Albert's not wearing any pants...but Alberta wears a skirt. What's that about?

3. Hamshushalaim (which I always think should be spelled "Chamshushalayim") is back! I'll just barely miss it - friends in Jlem, please enjoy for me.

4. A holdover from yesterday:

5. Wait. Lady Gaga isn't British? And her real name is Stefani Germanotta? And she's my age? I do not know what to do with this overload of new information.

6. Lainie and Sarah: I don't know you, but I think I like you. Oh, Seffilicious:

7. Just out of curiosity, I clicked through today to see from where recent readers are logging on. I was SHOCKED at the results. What follows is the list of unexpected and/or currently inexplicable locations:

Cedar Park, Texas
Fresh Meadows, New York
Aurora, Colorado
Nepean, Ontario, Canada
Tayibe, Israel
Julian, North Carolina
London, England
Newark, New Jersey
Centereach, New York
Ajax, Ontario, Canada
Hoboken, New Jersey
Jamaica, New York
Lindale, Texas
Hillsborough, New Jersey
Moncure, North Carolina
Kfar Chabad, Israel

Who are you people? How did you find this blog? Comment to let me know, or click "follow" on the righthand side of the blog - or both!* Whoever you are, thanks for the love - keep it up, tell your friends, and post your own seven as often as you like!
*(If you're uncomfortable with commenting, just email me.)

P.S. A special note for my reader(s) in Kfar Chabad - please don't be mad about yesterday's post. Mendel is adorable, and I would never, ever cause him harm. Let's rock the pluralism. Yalla.

Peace out, cub scouts. See you all tomorrow.

A Very Unique Shlichus

2009-11-15T23:01:00.006-05:00

Sunday:
1. Today was Gainesville's Downtown Art Festival. I wandered around for four hours, and totally got heatstroke - but it was worth it. See below for details.

2. 16 month old + paint = adorable:

3. There was an Israeli artist at the fair! Check out his work:

4. The only things I purchased were a Chanukah present for my mom (you're welcome, Sefsta and Tan) and a vase for myself. The present remains a surprise, but here's the vase:

5. I happened upon a link to the live feed of the Chabad "Kinus HaShluchim" banquet tonight. Literally the minute I clicked on, I saw Mendel Goldman - the UF Chabad rabbi's elementary school-aged son - sharing this quotable quote as part of the kids' presentation:

"We have a very unique shlichus...the University of Florida has the largest Jewish population in the country...over 7,000 yiddishe neshamos."

Well, Mendel. That may be true, but I'm on a very unique shlichut of my own, and I'll fight you for those neshamot. Put up your dukes, kid.

6. Gap has a new holiday commercial...but I'm not sure how I feel the phrase "Do-whatever-you-wanna-kah." What are your thoughts? (Thanks to Yaffa for letting me know about the commercial's existence!)

Check out the Cheer Factory for lots more where that came from.

7. I wish I could embed this, but you'll just have to click through to see my mad hip hop skillz (taken from a great scavenger hunt peulat erev this summer that Noa Havivi uploaded tonight).

Sunny Day, Sweepin' the Clouds Away

2009-11-15T22:44:00.005-05:00

Saturday:
1. Get a load of this guide to the Muppets of Sesame Street. Happy Birthday!
http://www.nationalpost.com/muppets/index.html

2. I watched a student have her first aliyah. Conflicted yet positive emotions ensued.

3. Zozo asked me to sit with her at lunch. My best friend in Gainesville is a 3-year-old. What up.

4. I left my house on a Saturday night. Enough said.

5. ...to go to Jason's apartment and play Rock Band for the first time, with Jason, Marissa, and Yaffa. It appears I am a natural on the drums.

6. Thanks for helping me find this, Alexander Mark Lass (and Yosef Saadya, a bit). Can we all agree not to let Tyler embarrass himself by speaking on camera?

See more funny videos and Sports Videos at Today's Big Thing.

7. And, indirectly, this one:

See more funny videos and Sports Videos at Today's Big Thing.

Friday the 13th

2009-11-14T19:36:00.003-05:00

Friday:
1. I saw the Gainesville airport. Apparently, it does exist.

2. Told my aliyah/yeridah story in a succinct and non-tearful manner twice in the span of 24 hours.

3. Received lovely flowers as a gift from our scholar-in-residence (Yaffa Epstein, Director of Recruitment for Pardes), who's staying with me for Shabbat.

4. ASB phone call with Jewish Funds for Justice. We're going to New Orleans!

5. I HATE our printer/copier. It jams so much, I want to take it out into a field and Office Space the crap out of it. Today I found out that we're getting a new one. Sweet.

6. Gorgeous day in the 60s. Hello, fall clothes.

7. Another Shab with people in the house. I love it!

A Watched Pot...

2009-11-14T19:18:00.003-05:00

Thursday:
1. When I did laundry this morning, my washing machine sounded like a rocket ship taking off - but didn't explode. Score (and time to call the management).

2. I stopped for coffee on the way to work, and got FOUR punches on my "buy 6, get 1 free" card from the coffee man. So much for "boys don't make passes at girls who wear glasses."

3. It felt crisp in the morning. I never thought I'd be able to use the word "crisp" to describe Gainesville weather. Hallelujah.

4. Look at the blankets my wonderful students made for kids in foster care!

5. I burned soup, which has never happened to me before, and God willing will never happen to me again (last time I trust someone else to note when a pot is boiling...). This was positive primarily because while my smoke alarm went off, the complex alarm didn't.

6. GREAT turnout at the Hillel/JSU Israel week kickoff event - 80 kids came out to see a comedian. Way to go, Dana.

7. Look at the gorgeous hot chocolate I had with a student several days ago at the Christian Study Center (I forgot about it until I uploaded the blanket picture):