We Found Him.

Wishbone is no more. As I write this, I fight back tears, and fail. My brother found him on the side of the highway. He was coming back from a bar-mitzvah with a friend, and when he saw Wish, he called me, absolutley frantic, to get Imma. My step-father took Wish to the Humane Society to be buried. It's so hard to deal with this, to realize he's gone. It's not like I haven't dealt with pets' deaths before, but it's always hard. Like a friend who loved you unconditionally is gone. And, yet, despite my tears, I know that life will go on, That it will, eventually, resume normalcy. U ntil then, I'll hide my tears behind a mask, because I cannot bear the pity, and the sympathy. But until then, I lie in my bed every night, and cry, as I mourn the passing of a faithful friend and companion. I'll miss you Wishie.

The Need for Belief

Anywhere there is a civilization of humans, there is a belief system. Go back through history, and every single culture that has been on this little green and blue planet, you will find a belief system no matter how simplistic or complicated it may be. People have always had a need to believe in something bigger that Someone had (has) Plans for us, that we were put here for a reason. That’s not to say that there aren’t people who believe with all their hearts that we got here by accident, that nature just plopped us here for no good reason. With nothing else in mind but for us to survive until something came and would wipe us out, leaving nothing but ruins for whatever came next to find. But what a depressing view of life that is! There’s nothing to strive for? There’s nothing but to eat or be eaten? Why strive at all if we have no greater purpose? And yet, it’s human nature to strive, to look for the next best thing that we can find, or create. We are curious creatures, we look at the stars and wonder what is out there, what can we find? We believe that there is something to strive for, something beyond our understanding. That we don’t truly end when we die. We are creatures with the ideas of hope, justice, mercy, good and evil. We have systems of government more complex than the hierarchy of any animal group. And so, we believe. For without belief, we are just another kind of beast, with nothing to hope, live and grow for.

My step-father was telling my mother and I about a client of his who he thinks has OCD. One moment the guy is nice and normal, the next he flips out. My mother said, does he go "NOOOOooooooo!" When you pick him up? My step-father looked at her a bit oddly and said," I don't pick him up. " My mother looked at me and said, "Mak knows whatt I'm talking about." I grinned, and we chorused, "NOOOOOooooo!" My step-father looked back and forth between us, and said "You know you're nuts, right?" "NOOOOooooo!"

Note: It has to be heard for the full impact. But we were making a reference to my kitten, she makes that noise when she doens't want to be picked up, but I do so anyways. We're convinced she has OCD, because everytime after we touch her, she bathes that spot. In conclusion, Yes, we are crazy. But you already knew that, didn't you?

Our Dog Ran Away

On Shabbos morning, at about 8 am, Wish got out and ran away. We weren't able to go after him really and so now he's lost. Tomorrow I'm going to go around the neighborhood putting up flyers, and I really hope someone finds him. Or even better, if he finds his way home himself. Only one other time was he away for so long, but he found his way home, and he was back by 10 at night.I really hope he's alright.

Ineffective Arguing

It's hard to convince someone of something, if they don't want to listen in the first place. They'll say, try to convince me, but once you start talking, they metaphorically shut their ears and go 'la. la, la, I can't hear you!' But part of the problem is that they are denying that they are shutting thier ears in the first place, claiming that they are 'open-minded' and are 'un-biased'. Yeah, right. If I know that you do not want to hear what I have to say, and I know that shoving my ideas down your throat are going to push you farther away, why even open my big mouth? Try arguing with someone who feels they are absolutely in the right, and NOTHING you will say will change their mind. Maybe over time, as life passes, they'll realize that it was not as they thought, or they'll continue believing that they are right. Changing people is difficult, and the first step must always be, that the person themself wants to change, and wants to be convinced. Otherwise, you might as well be banging your head against a brick wall for all the good you do. It's incredibly hard to just stand by and watch someone you care about ruin thier life, but if they don't see it, if they keep denying it, there is nothing you can do. And one of the worst feelings in the world is just standing by, knowing you're absolutely helpless.

My Brother's in NY

Well, not now, but he was yesterday. He went up for a friend's chasunah yesterday, and he came back this morning. Apparently he had an interesting time. He spoke to an older Jewish couple in the airport, and the husband had asked if he was going to a chasunah. (Since he was dressed up in a suit with a tie and cufflinks, I guess it was kind of obvious) The wife pointed to the book my brother was reading and said that she had read it a few years ago and it was a very good book. (Note: the book was Lions on Lucerene, by Brad Thor, not exactly the kind of book you would picture her reading, he said)At the chasunah, a woman approached him (she was the chosson's aunt) and said "Hi, I'm friendly. Want to play Jewish Geography?" My brother found out that he stinks at Jewish Geography. He was one of the last to leave, and the chosson's parents drove him to the airport. He stayed awake all night, till he got on his flight at 5:40 this morning. Then he slept. He knew he couldn't fall asleep in the airport, because once he falls asleep. nothing short of an earthquake will wake him up. Anyways, he had fun, and it was his first wedding. All is good now.

Going Stir-Crazy

Earlier, I was sitting at my computer, staring at the computer screen, thinking "What the heck am I going to write?" After several abortive attempts, getting up and walking aound the house, sitting down to stare at the computer again, I decided for the moment, to just forget it and get out of thed house. I was going a little bonkers and if I didn't get out of the house I'd go nuts. So I did go out for a few hours, run a few errands, and now I don't feel like tearing anyone's head off. It used to be I could just stay inside for a couple of days before I needed a change of scenery. Now however, I can only stand a few hours. It's a good thing I have a car, for the sake of my sanity and those around me.

Discworld

I have mentioned that Discworld is one of my favorite series. Anyone who can guess three of the reasons I like it get a cookie. (Hint: they're all in my bio) I've read almost all the books (except for ones not readily available at bookstores or our library) and I brought about half my Discworld collection to sem with me. I introduced several people at sem to the series, and shared my books. Now, I'm just waiting, like every other Pratchett fan for the next books, or the next movie, to come out. I know that there are other Discworld fans that read my blog, so a couple of quick questions: Favorite book? Favorite Sub-series (Watch, Witches, Death, Rincewind) ?Favorite characters (even though, yes, it is so very hard to pick)? Oh, and finally, which book would you like to see be made into a movie next?

Seminary Memories

Just to have them up here, little drabbles of memories.
Staying up till 2 a.m., the lights were supposed to shut off at twelve but someone fiddled with them the first night....Our plumbing no longer working and so the shower overflowed and all thw water came into the center of our dira...Clean up on Sundays, the powow with the garbage acting asz the "fire" and DBH dancing around it, singing at the top of her lungs, my roommates dressed up as Russian cleaning ladies...at the end of the year, working on the yearbook going several nights with no sleep, at around 5 am desperately wishing for bed....Staying up all night wandering around the old city Yerushalayim on succos with one of my roomates, I made friends with a kitten by the kosel...tiyulim, we were all so sore after our first one and having to go up four flights of stairs was sheer torture....my dira's "wall of happiness", basically just a bunch of cute quotes, and we had a hieght chart as well...walking all over Har Nof with SCC, and walkinmg to geulah and tachanah merchazit....

A Realization

I finally realized something. I am absolutely obsessed with my kitten, Mittens. All of my readers are probably thinking "Mak, we've known that for ages, why did it take you so long to realize it?" Well, I took a look at all the pictures I have on my camera...more than half are of Mittens! So I'd say I'm just a bit obsessed. Here are some pics, showing how she's grown.

The Funniest Thing

I saw this when Iwas in Myrtle Beach, and my brother went to the shooting range. Part of the range was also a civil war museum. I saw this and started laughing, my mother came over and started laughing as well. What do you think of it?

Fun In NY

Shopping, staying by my aunt's, setting her alarm off, the cops coming, going to airport, whole mixup with planes staying overnight...or actually only 7 hours at a nearby hotel, realizing just how big JFK airport really is, going back and forth on the little monorail at JFK while trying to figure out the whole mess up with the flights

Tropical Storm Fay

Thanks to Tropical Storm Fay, I didn't have class today, and I don't have class tomorrow either. So the good news is no class, the bad news is that it's due to a tropical storm, but at least it's not a hurricane. Our area (all of South Florida) is only expected to really get the out bands of the storm, it's expected to make landfall farther to the north and on the west coast of Florida. I'm just hoping that my flight out won't get canceled. I'm going to be in NY for two days, shopping. I mentioned a while ago about the challenge my mother set me? So since I passed it we're going to get me new clothes because my closet is two thirds empty. I'm looking forward to it. Again, assuming my flight doesn't get cancelled.

Frum in Myrtle Beach

We were able to actually eat out and order chalahs while we were in Myrtle Beach thanks to the local Chabad. My brother met the Rabbi of the Chabad at Walmart, and he gave my mother his card. So thanks to him we were able to get Challahs for shabbos. (Our alternate plan was to have them fedexed up to us) Then, when we went to a tourist gift shop (I think it was called pacific or some such thing) the owner was a religious bearded Jew. Not what I expected. Anyways, he gave us directions to a kosher restaurant, and we were able to eat out, which is a real novelty on a beach vacation. It's so nice that Chabad is everywhere!

What I did on Vacation

Monday - Awakened at 5:30 am by the fire alarm, we had to go down 16 flights of stairs, and then wait 15 minutes to finally get on the elevator back up was given (5 minutes after we got down) fire alarm went off again at 8:30 and again twenty minutes later. My mother and I did not g downstairs those times, because by then it was pretty clear that some kid was playing a prank. My brother went down however. He mentioned that the first time, 4 fire rescue trucks, the second time 3 showed up and the third time only one showed up. And all the fire alarms came from the 14th floor. (Really the 13th but they don't have that as a floor) We went on Dolphin Watch, we saw a pod of dolphins and I lost my long cherished CIA hat.
Tues. - We rented a boat for 4 hours, my brother drove it, we stopped on a deserted beach and I collected shells. We also saw two small crabs, watching them walk was odd.
Weds. - We went to the IMAX and saw two films, The Grand Canyon, and Monsters of the Deep, both were pretty good. It rained all day.
Thurs. - Went miniature golfing, and went to Barefoot landing, a tourist shopping place. Also went to the shooting range where my brother rented a gun for half hour. He did pretty good on the target. There was also a civil war museum in the shooting range, I took quite a few pictures there.
Fri. - My brother and I went Jet skiing for the first time, I had loads of fun, but my bum and back are rather sore today.We drove down to Rita's for ice cream, and then we went to see TIGERS!!! There was the cutest little baby tiger, it couldn't have been more than four weeks old, and it was falling asleep while people were taking pictures with it. There were four really big tigers, they were gorgeous, and quite a few cubs. I wasn't able to take pictures however because I forgot my camera at the apartment. Go figure. I have decided that I would love to volunteer t wok with tigers this semester. I think that would be an incredible thing to do! I start classes on Monday, and I'm taking five this term...we shall see if I get anything interesting to post about from college (it's almost guaranteed at least once...)

Fabricati Diem, Pvnc (Apology to Pratchett fans)

I get quite a few hits from Pratchett fans who type "Fabricati Diem, Pvnc" into whatever search engine, and my blog comes up among the first of the list, with that as a title of my post. Of course, the post itself has absolutley nada to do with Pratchett or the Disceworld series. So, since this will probably show up as well on the search engines, to all Pratchett fans, sorry that it's misleading, maybe I will do a whole Ddiscworld post, just so I don't get lynched by a mob.

Vacation

On Friday, we left at 6 in the morning and drove to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It took about 12 hours to finally get here, but we arrived with an hour and a half to spare before shabbos. I spent most of Tish B'Av sleeping, and trying to stave off the gigantic headache that was inevitable. Broke my fast on bagel and cream cheese and feel so much better. However, since I slept so much, I'm still wide awake now, at 2 am. We'll be here for a week, and hopefully I'll be able to update, and put up some pics of Myrtle beach, and all the things we'll be doing here.

An Apology (of sorts)

So yesterday, my brother drove me up the wall, bonkers. Today however, he hepled me out a lot. He helped me bring my car to get fixed, then went on errands with me afterwards. He helped me do some other stuff and all was good. And then, this evening, while I'm at CJ's house, he calls me and tells me that Abba drove by and saw someone braking into my car. I freaked, though right there, that should have been my first clue, if Abba had seen it, he either would have done something about it or called me himself. But, I wasn't paying attention, so I ran out to my car, but there was no one around. I was still on the phone with my brother, and I said, "There's no one there, there's just a sticker on my window." It was a sticker of a baseball going halfway through the window. If done well, those things can look pretty realistic, this thing...didn't. My brother pulls around the corner in his van laughing his head off. I got really, really pissed. You do NOT call someone and say something like that. Especially not as a prank! So, he might have "apologized" for yesterday's misbehyavior, but he's going to have to do something serious for this.

Rant: Florida Drivers

I know I have ranted about this before, but I feel there are a couple of things that cannot be stressed enough. 1) Turn signals: they are on the car for a reason! Use them! And when you don't use them, don't be surprised that people aren't letting you in the lane, and are in your blind spot! Which leads me to: 2) Watch where you are going!!!! There are other cars on the road, and other people are in these cars, we are not mind readers, we can't tell what your intentions are! So please, use your turn signals, be aware of what's around you, and there will be far fewer close calls and far less accidents!

I spent some "quality time" with my brother today for three hours, I had to take him down for a doctor's appt. For 2 hours and 10 minutes of those three hours, he drove me absoulutely bonkers. The rest of the time? He was asleep, or in the doctor's office. So, as a result of this "quality time" my temper is a little frayed, hence; the rant. On the other hand, today I had my final and I am now done with Algebra! Whoot!

Prompt 10:

Prompt 10: A dentist is stabbed while he waits in line at the movies.
Mike Router stood in line at the movie ticket kiosk, and tapped his foot impatiently. This was taking forever! All he wanted was to sit in the nice, quiet, cool theater, watch a movie and just zone out and forget about life for awhile. Especially forget about work. Being a dentist was not an easy job, and he would be happy not to look at any more teeth for the rest of the day, more like for the rest of the month, but that wasn’t going to happen. He would settle for just a few hours of peace and mindlessness.
“Hey buddy! Could you spare a few?” Mike turned around and was immediately overwhelmed by a repulsive odor, rolling off the man that stood in front of him. The man had an unlovely smile on his worn face, and held out his hand in supplement. He wore tattered clothes that had obviously seen better days, and his skin was dirty and oily. His eyes were small and beady, as well as shifty, and all in all, he rather reminded Mike of one of the rats that wandered the sewers of the city.
“Well, I guess a few wouldn’t hurt.” Mike reached into his pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills. “Here ya go, five dollars. You could get a foot-long sub at Subway for that.” He grinned and turned back around to face the line. As he turned he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side. He looked down and saw a knife sticking out of his abdomen, blood dripping down his shirt. “Sorry bud,” he heard, before he blacked out, “but I really need the money.”

Prompt 11: "I'm never doing this again."

“I’m never doing that again,” I moaned, gripping my stomach and trying not to hurl. “Remind me again why I thought that was a good idea.” My buddy Sean, who was in the same position as I was, made a gagging sound, his only response. Most likely, he was afraid if he opened his mouth he would throw up, which would probably cause his father, who was driving us, to pull over and kill us for ruining his leather upholstery. “I told you boys that you would regret it,” he called over his shoulder. “But you didn’t listen, and now you’re paying.”
I told you so…why do you never listen? I’d heard that many times over the course of many years, usually aimed at myself and Sean. We had a habit of getting into trouble, and this latest mistake was probably one of our worst. I had come with a brilliant idea, or so I thought at the time, to go try out for Fear Factor’s latest challenge, but we had barely made it past the first steps. My stomach roiled at the memory of putting live cockroaches into my mouth. I had done it and immediately regretted it, that was the end of that brilliant plan.
“Dad, pull over! I’m gonna blow!” Sean groaned, and his father immediately went over to the curb. Sean threw open the door, just in time. Blurgh, splat! All of what Sean had for lunch, and probably some of his breakfast as well, landed on the street. I took advantage of the stop as well, and made my own contribution to the mess.

Amusing

- I was walking over to my friend CJ's house this afternoon, and I passed a guy on his way to shul. He was whistling the theme song to Woody Woodpecker.
- Friday morning I was woken up, at 7:17, about an hour earlier than usual, by my cell phone ringing. "I need you out of the house in 30 seconds! We're on the highway, by Exit 19." My mother tells me over the phone. "30 seconds! I'm not awake yet! There's no way I can get out of te house in 30 seconds!"She told me to just throw some clothes on and get out. While it did take me a bit more than 30 seconds, I was out of the house in 5 minutes, thinking all the while, "get out of the house in 30 seconds, what is she, nuts? That's just asking for an accident!" Fortunately, I did not get into an accident and I got over to her in no problem. It turned out her tire had blown on the highway, and my brother was going to miss his fishing boat. I got to the dock with 2 min. to spare, then went back home and slept for another hour. The day proceeded as usual after that. Reason for doing all that to get my brother on the boat? It makes it muc easier to live with him.
- I got my father a birthday present. A t-shirt that says "I still want my flying car!" He occasionally complains that it's already 2008 and that his generation was promised that by the year 2000 we would all have flying cars! It's a cute shirt and I hope he likes it. But I have no idea what to get for my mother. My parent's birthday is on the same day, they were born only an hour apart, and for me it means, I only have to remember one day, not two! But getting my mother a gift is a little bit harder, I have no ideas!