Monday, September 29, 2008
L'Shana Tova Everyone!
Rosh Hashanah is tonight, and I want to wish everyone a happy, healthy, wonderful new year. Amazingly my brother is going to be spending Rosh Hashanah away from home by one of his rebbeim. Do you have any idea how big a thing that is? He hasn't been away from home for Rosh Hashanah since...well, never!! It's going to be weird, but good for him, since this means he'll actually go to shul. Anyways, I need to go get ready, I'll try to update after rosh hashanah.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Yesterday was the First Day of Fall
Who noticed it getting cooler? Not me, I can tell you that. It's probably not going to get cool here for another few months. There's a reason September is the height of hurricane season. LWt me give you an idea of the weather, it's about 84 degrees out, it feels like it's 90..and that's the way it's going to feel for quite a while longer. Forget fall, I can't wait for winter!
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
That was Cool!
So on Friday I got to hold a wild bird. It flew into one of our windows (omething of an unusual occurrence, though not that unusual) and it fell onto the patio, stunned. It was just sitting there, out in the open, without cover with its beak open. Now, Boots saw this poor helpless thing on the patio and crouched by the sliding glass doors. So my mother sent me out to pick it up and put it somewhere safe. I put it on a bush, ran inside to get my camera, and took some pictures of it on the bush. But those weren't so good, so I picked it up again and took a couple of pictures of it on my finger. Then I tried to put it back on the bush again, and that was when it came ojut of shock and zipped away. But it was pretty cool. Pics of the bird are below.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Prompt 13: "I had the weirdest dream about you."
“I had the weirdest dream about you last night.” Alan said with out preamble, as he walked into the kitchen. I didn’t even look up from the newspaper in front of me, as I spooned cereal into my mouth as fast as humanly possible. His comment was not unusual, perhaps one morning a week he made that statement. I swallowed my last bite of cereal, and before taking a swig of coffee, asked offhandedly, “Oh, and what was it about this time? What makes it any weirder than any of the others?”
Alan had shuffled around to the coffeemaker and poured himself a cup. His cup had a happy little leprechaun on it, jigging around with a bubble coming out of its mouth saying “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” Alan was your stereotypical Irishman, a towering bear of a man, with unruly red hair, and forest green eyes, that lightened or darkened with his mood. This morning, they were light with cheer, a good thing as far as I was concerned. He sat down at the table, his immense size dwarfing the chair he sat on, as well as making the table feel a whole lot smaller. The chair creaked, I winced. I’m positive that one day that chair will one day give up the battle and deposit Alan’s bum right on the floor.
“Well, you were in the forest, like every other dream,” he began, and paused while he took a gulp from his mug. “But this time was different, this time you had a companion. It was a wolf, but not one of those little wolves around here, a real wild huge wolf, like what used to roam Ireland before people. You were dressed like a regular warrior, and you seemed to be talking to the wolf. Well, arguing more like it which is not that unlike you in real life.” He shot a quick grin at me, I smiled tightly back. “We Irish might be known for our tempers but you, Sean, you take the cake!” I nodded at him, and gestured with my spoon for him to go on with the dream. It was always considered wise to hear other’s dreams about you. He took another gulp of his coffee, and went on. “Well, finally the wolf gave in, and he led you to a cliff that overlooked a port town. Nothing like what’s around nowadays, a real old-fashioned place this was, y’know dirty and smelly and all that. Anyways, you went down, but when you got into the town, the people looked…different. They all looked like animals! Fur, tails, the whole nine yards, but they all walked about on their hind legs, and went about human business like it was perfectly normal. Suddenly, I see that you too look like that, still dressed the same, but now you look like a wolf, the same wolf that was your companion earlier. After that, ypu charted a boat, and seemed to prepare for a long voyage. At that point, I woke up.” He leaned back, a speculative look in his eye, “I wonder what that dream meant…”
Alan had shuffled around to the coffeemaker and poured himself a cup. His cup had a happy little leprechaun on it, jigging around with a bubble coming out of its mouth saying “Kiss me, I’m Irish!” Alan was your stereotypical Irishman, a towering bear of a man, with unruly red hair, and forest green eyes, that lightened or darkened with his mood. This morning, they were light with cheer, a good thing as far as I was concerned. He sat down at the table, his immense size dwarfing the chair he sat on, as well as making the table feel a whole lot smaller. The chair creaked, I winced. I’m positive that one day that chair will one day give up the battle and deposit Alan’s bum right on the floor.
“Well, you were in the forest, like every other dream,” he began, and paused while he took a gulp from his mug. “But this time was different, this time you had a companion. It was a wolf, but not one of those little wolves around here, a real wild huge wolf, like what used to roam Ireland before people. You were dressed like a regular warrior, and you seemed to be talking to the wolf. Well, arguing more like it which is not that unlike you in real life.” He shot a quick grin at me, I smiled tightly back. “We Irish might be known for our tempers but you, Sean, you take the cake!” I nodded at him, and gestured with my spoon for him to go on with the dream. It was always considered wise to hear other’s dreams about you. He took another gulp of his coffee, and went on. “Well, finally the wolf gave in, and he led you to a cliff that overlooked a port town. Nothing like what’s around nowadays, a real old-fashioned place this was, y’know dirty and smelly and all that. Anyways, you went down, but when you got into the town, the people looked…different. They all looked like animals! Fur, tails, the whole nine yards, but they all walked about on their hind legs, and went about human business like it was perfectly normal. Suddenly, I see that you too look like that, still dressed the same, but now you look like a wolf, the same wolf that was your companion earlier. After that, ypu charted a boat, and seemed to prepare for a long voyage. At that point, I woke up.” He leaned back, a speculative look in his eye, “I wonder what that dream meant…”
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Flying in Dreams
Last night I dreamt that I flew to my friends house. I love flying dreams...except for the factr that in this one I had to flap my arms to get into the air and fly. I'm sorry, but that just is not cool. It looks incredibly dumb, as a matter of fact. But, hey, at least I flew, and barely managed to avoid crashing into several trees and a building. My flying skills need work apparently.
Monday, September 15, 2008
The Night Sky
What do you think of when you look up at the night sky and see the stars? Ok, not an easy thing to see in or near a city, but I assume everyone has seen the Milky Way at least once, yes? What is the first thought that crosses your mind when looking up at those stars that are so far away? Science says we are looking at history, light that started out from the stars years and years ago, and only reach the earth now. Tradition in some cultures says we look at the souls of those who have gone before. We are looking out into the darkness, the vaccum of space...and it never fails to make us feel small and insignificant. (Well, me at least, as well as some others I know...) The stars play out mythology of ancient long gone cultures that we still recall today. As many as the stars....
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Narrative Traveling Essay
While going through my files, I found this. An essay that I had written for one of my composition classes, and it makes good post fodder. Enjoy!
What is every traveler’s worst nightmare? I will tell you, it is arriving at their destination and finding out that their luggage has been sent somewhere else. That is what happened to me two summers ago, as I embarked on a year long journey to study half way around the world. I was very excited. It was only my second time flying by myself, but this time I was headed for Jerusalem, Israel. This was something I had been planning for as long as I could remember. My parents had agreed that upon graduating high school, I could spend a year in a post-high school program in Israel, where I could pursue my religious studies and gain some independence at the same time. Little did I know at the time how quickly I would learn about the challenges that accompany independence. I was en-route from Florida to New York, and once in New York I would have to get my luggage and get ready to connect my next flight. The first flight went very smoothly, not much trouble to speak of, and then we landed in Kennedy Airport in New York. I got off the plane and made my way down to the luggage carousel to get my three, fifty-pounds, giant bags of luggage. After all, I was going to be in Israel for almost a year. When I first arrived at baggage claim one of my bags appeared pretty early. I had arranged for a porter to pick up my luggage and help me bring it to the next terminal where the International flights departed. I stood at the carousel and we waited, and waited, and waited some more. After what seemed like an eternity, the carousel stopped. It took me about 15 minutes to realize nothing else was going to come off.
That was when things started to get interesting. I went to the luggage claims office and I told them my luggage had not arrived. “We’ve been waiting for you to come in.” One of the women said. “Hold on while I look for your -” She asked me for all my flight information, which I gave her, and she started putting the information into the keyboard of the computer. When she finally found it, she told me that an error had been made. Instead of sending my other tow pieces to Kennedy Airport, it had been sent to LaGuardia Airport. It was the in the same city, but given how ineffective the baggage claims works and how bad the New York traffic is, it might as well have been in California. The woman politely informed me that it would take them at least three hours to get the luggage over to Kennedy airport/ I didn’t have that kind of time. I had to be by the other airline leaving for Israel by then!
I called my mother to let her know what was happening. My mother was livid. She had intended to fly with me to New York, but at the last minute my little brother got sick and she opted to let me handle flying by myself. She insisted on speaking to the lady in luggage claims. I’m not exactly sure what she said, but the woman was thoroughly chastened. In one brief phone call the situation changed from me getting my baggage in three hours, to getting it in one hour. “Your mother is pretty scary, you know that?” she asked me. I smiled, I knew.
I sat there for an hour waiting literally on the edge of my seat for my luggage to arrive. When it finally did, I was very relieved. I jumped up out of the chair and thanked the woman. She smiled somewhat nervously, I think she was glad to see me leave, andnot have to deal with my mother anymore. Fortunately for me, the porter was still waiting to take my luggage, so I handed it to him and we went to the terminal for the International flights. Then I gave him a very generous tip and thanked him.
After that, things went pretty smoothly. I had to wait another six hours to board my flight, and I met some of the girls who would be my class mates for the next year. When we finally got to Israel, I waited anxiously for my bags to arrive, praying that the same thing would not happen again. Happily, it did not. I got all of my luggage, right on time. Some of the other girls weren’t so lucky though. A few had to wait three days, and in some cases, even a week to get the rest of their luggage.
I have traveled a lot since that time and thankfully have never had to go through that again. I’ve learned to always have a carryon with all the essentials I might need to get me through a few days without my luggage. And, most importantly, I never take for granted that my luggage will arrive in a timely fashion. I am always very grateful when everything I checked in mysteriously re-emerges out of the black hole in the wall in the carousel.
What is every traveler’s worst nightmare? I will tell you, it is arriving at their destination and finding out that their luggage has been sent somewhere else. That is what happened to me two summers ago, as I embarked on a year long journey to study half way around the world. I was very excited. It was only my second time flying by myself, but this time I was headed for Jerusalem, Israel. This was something I had been planning for as long as I could remember. My parents had agreed that upon graduating high school, I could spend a year in a post-high school program in Israel, where I could pursue my religious studies and gain some independence at the same time. Little did I know at the time how quickly I would learn about the challenges that accompany independence. I was en-route from Florida to New York, and once in New York I would have to get my luggage and get ready to connect my next flight. The first flight went very smoothly, not much trouble to speak of, and then we landed in Kennedy Airport in New York. I got off the plane and made my way down to the luggage carousel to get my three, fifty-pounds, giant bags of luggage. After all, I was going to be in Israel for almost a year. When I first arrived at baggage claim one of my bags appeared pretty early. I had arranged for a porter to pick up my luggage and help me bring it to the next terminal where the International flights departed. I stood at the carousel and we waited, and waited, and waited some more. After what seemed like an eternity, the carousel stopped. It took me about 15 minutes to realize nothing else was going to come off.
That was when things started to get interesting. I went to the luggage claims office and I told them my luggage had not arrived. “We’ve been waiting for you to come in.” One of the women said. “Hold on while I look for your -” She asked me for all my flight information, which I gave her, and she started putting the information into the keyboard of the computer. When she finally found it, she told me that an error had been made. Instead of sending my other tow pieces to Kennedy Airport, it had been sent to LaGuardia Airport. It was the in the same city, but given how ineffective the baggage claims works and how bad the New York traffic is, it might as well have been in California. The woman politely informed me that it would take them at least three hours to get the luggage over to Kennedy airport/ I didn’t have that kind of time. I had to be by the other airline leaving for Israel by then!
I called my mother to let her know what was happening. My mother was livid. She had intended to fly with me to New York, but at the last minute my little brother got sick and she opted to let me handle flying by myself. She insisted on speaking to the lady in luggage claims. I’m not exactly sure what she said, but the woman was thoroughly chastened. In one brief phone call the situation changed from me getting my baggage in three hours, to getting it in one hour. “Your mother is pretty scary, you know that?” she asked me. I smiled, I knew.
I sat there for an hour waiting literally on the edge of my seat for my luggage to arrive. When it finally did, I was very relieved. I jumped up out of the chair and thanked the woman. She smiled somewhat nervously, I think she was glad to see me leave, andnot have to deal with my mother anymore. Fortunately for me, the porter was still waiting to take my luggage, so I handed it to him and we went to the terminal for the International flights. Then I gave him a very generous tip and thanked him.
After that, things went pretty smoothly. I had to wait another six hours to board my flight, and I met some of the girls who would be my class mates for the next year. When we finally got to Israel, I waited anxiously for my bags to arrive, praying that the same thing would not happen again. Happily, it did not. I got all of my luggage, right on time. Some of the other girls weren’t so lucky though. A few had to wait three days, and in some cases, even a week to get the rest of their luggage.
I have traveled a lot since that time and thankfully have never had to go through that again. I’ve learned to always have a carryon with all the essentials I might need to get me through a few days without my luggage. And, most importantly, I never take for granted that my luggage will arrive in a timely fashion. I am always very grateful when everything I checked in mysteriously re-emerges out of the black hole in the wall in the carousel.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Compy Fixed!
My computers working now, though apparently it had a lot of infections that had o be wiped off. And I also aooarently have a lot of junk on my computer that I really should be getting rid of. I just need to make time for it this week. Anyways, I'm so glad to have my computer back! I missed not being able to blog and actually I composed a few posts in my head, and guess what? The moment i got on the computer I forgot what they were. *sigh* Well, maybe I'll remember them.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Computer Broke
My computer broke today, and tomorrow I'll be bringing it in to be fixed. At the moment I'm using my mother's computer. Hopefully my computer will be up and running by tomorrow night. If not, I'll be on hiatus, or updating sporadically for a bit. Just bear with me. Thanks y'all.
Monday, September 08, 2008
Sunday, September 07, 2008
College This Semester
Keeping true to my last several semesters here, I met someone is Jewish, but not religious, though the rest of thier family is. In this case, it's one of my teachers. *Sigh* It's getting kind of depressing.
All my professors this semester are good, but I've decided I really dislike online classes, there is absolutely nothing that will get me motivated for those classes. I've made some friends, (kind of, people that I talk to at least.) I start one more class tomorrow, and I wonder how that will go. This semester I'll be missing more classes than before, due to the holidays, but what can you do? At least all of my professors are understanding about it (even if they've never heard of some of these holidays, like Sukkos) So far my favorite classes are Psych (no surprise there) and history, the teacher is very good at getting you interested in the subject. I have my first test this week. and am not looking forward to it, mainly cause for me, first tests are always the ones I do the worst at. I don't have a very good idea of how the teacher tests, and so I mess up. Oh well, I just have to hope I don't do TOO badly.
All my professors this semester are good, but I've decided I really dislike online classes, there is absolutely nothing that will get me motivated for those classes. I've made some friends, (kind of, people that I talk to at least.) I start one more class tomorrow, and I wonder how that will go. This semester I'll be missing more classes than before, due to the holidays, but what can you do? At least all of my professors are understanding about it (even if they've never heard of some of these holidays, like Sukkos) So far my favorite classes are Psych (no surprise there) and history, the teacher is very good at getting you interested in the subject. I have my first test this week. and am not looking forward to it, mainly cause for me, first tests are always the ones I do the worst at. I don't have a very good idea of how the teacher tests, and so I mess up. Oh well, I just have to hope I don't do TOO badly.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Sigh of Relief
It no longer looks like Hurricane Ike will hit us, however, it's going to hit Cuba, perhaps go into the gulf much reduced. Unfortunately there are a couple of other storms we have to keep an eye on. The latest prediction for Ike looks like this.
Friday, September 05, 2008
Hurricane Ike
I hate hurricanes. Currently, there's Hurricane Ike, it's a cat. 4 (really bad) and if it stays it's current course, it'll hit us, still at cat. 4 strength (even worse) I just really really hope it either decreases in strength, or turns some other way. We still have four days, so it's just wait and see.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
I Miss...I Treasure
I miss....coming home to a happy face, and wagging tail.
I miss....old friends.
I miss....seeing the old city of yerushalayim.
I miss....praying at the kotel.
I miss....when the world was simple.
I miss....staying up late to laugh with my friends.
I miss....when my imagination was unlimited, and I could do or be anything I wanted.
I miss....the joy that a simple touch could bring.
But Life goes on.
I treasure.....the memory of that happy face and wagging tail.
I treasure.....memories of old friends, and the new ones I've made.
I treasure.....the rembrarnce of seeing the old city at dawn
I treasure.....the hope that I'll be there again some day.
I treasure.....my memories of a simple world.
I treasure.....the chances I got to be with my friends.
I treasure.....my ability to dream, and be unlimited once more.
I treasure.....the joy that comes from holding tight to a friend.
And Life goes on.
I miss....old friends.
I miss....seeing the old city of yerushalayim.
I miss....praying at the kotel.
I miss....when the world was simple.
I miss....staying up late to laugh with my friends.
I miss....when my imagination was unlimited, and I could do or be anything I wanted.
I miss....the joy that a simple touch could bring.
But Life goes on.
I treasure.....the memory of that happy face and wagging tail.
I treasure.....memories of old friends, and the new ones I've made.
I treasure.....the rembrarnce of seeing the old city at dawn
I treasure.....the hope that I'll be there again some day.
I treasure.....my memories of a simple world.
I treasure.....the chances I got to be with my friends.
I treasure.....my ability to dream, and be unlimited once more.
I treasure.....the joy that comes from holding tight to a friend.
And Life goes on.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
It seemed like a good idea at the time
That is one of my favorite excuses for someone doing something dumb. "Why did you set your shirt on fire?" "It seemed like a good idea at the time." "Why did you light the street on fire?" "It seemed like a good idea at the time." "Why did you decide to do jumping jacks at 4 in the morning?" "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Actually, between 3 and 5 in the morning, almost anything seems like a good idea at the time. But that's just my experience. And the look you get after giving that excuse is priceless.
By the way, EOW, this post is dedicated to you.
By the way, EOW, this post is dedicated to you.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Seeing is Believing
Perhaps this should have gone under the "Ineffective Arguing" post, but I feel it deserves it's own post. (THat, and I don't feel like going back and revising it) People are creatures of the senses. For a lot of people they feel that, if I can't feel it with one of my senses, it doesn't exist. People are also incredible at deluding themselves that one thing looks onw way, when in reality, it's completely different. Take, for example, a woman who believes her son can do no wrong: "He's a good boy, he's a good boy, he's a good boy....WHAT?! What do you MEAN he was just arrested for selling cocaine?!" There is a terrific example of someone who bleinds themselves to what's right in front of them. Perhaps the saying should be, "Believing is seeing." It always amazes me the extant to which people can fool themselves.
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