Hurricane Season

Today is the first day of Hurricane Season. So we're now on the watch for any storms shaping up on the Atlantic ocean, and ready to freak out when one starts heading our way. The only season that lasts half the year, and even when it's over isn't necessarily completely over. Three years ago, they ran out of names for the Hurricanes and started naming them for greek letters. I believe Hurricanes kept forming until sometime in December that year. (I wouldn't know for sure, because I was in Isreal that year.) But now we will get the typical list of things to do before a storm, numbers to call, the radar following a storm..etc. All I can say is I hope we're as lucky as we've been the past couple of years.

Admittedly, it's 3:30 in the morning as I'm typing this which will mean that it's probably not going to be entirely comprehesible, but I shall do my best. Shavuos was nice, I visited with a friend who came down from Baltimore to visit her brother, and I slept and read. Actually tonight I went out with her till 2 a.m. at a restaurant, and then we went back since she has a flight to catch tomorrow. This week is my brother's 18th birthday, I got him a card, and I'm not sure how much he'll like it, but hey, it's the thought that counts right? (I just keep telling myself that...) Tomorrow (or I guess technically today) I'm going with my dad to see Night at the Musuem and am looking forward to that. And then I get to study for my comp test on Monday and my cognitive psychology test I have on Thursday. Anyways, I think I shall stop babbling and actually get some sleep. Hopefully I will have something more postworthy this week.

Memorial Day

"It is, in a way, an odd thing to honor those who died in defense of our country in wars far away. The imagination plays a trick. We see these soldiers in our mind as old and wise. We see them as something like the Founding Fathers, grave and gray-haired. But most of them were boys when they died, they gave up two lives -- the one they were living and the one they would have lived. When they died, they gave up their chance to be husbands and fathers and grandfathers. They gave up their chance to be revered old men. They gave up everything for their county, for us. All we can do is remember."-- Ronald Wilson ReaganRemarks at Veteran's Day ceremony, Arlington National CemeteryArlington, Virginia, November 11, 1985

The Glorious 25th of May and Towel Day

For the fans of Terry Pratchett's "Night Watch" and Douglas Adam's "The Hithchiker's Guide to the Galaxy"

Joke

A Jewish father, Moisha, was paid a visit by his eldestson Yitzak...
"Father, I am going to marry!"
His father begins to dance with joy and sing Hava Nagila...
"Tell me, is she a good Jewish girl?" says the father. "What is her name?"
"O'Brien," replies the son... "She's Catholic..."
"Oy!" says the father.... "But are you happy?"
"I'm very, very happy," says the son.
"OK...as long as you're happy ... my blessings to you both,"replies Moisha.
But the father is still counting on his remaining sons, Schlemiel and Chutzpah.
Schlemiel calls on his father the next evening."Father... I too will be married soon!"
Again, Moisha breaks out in a dance and sings God's praises...
"What is her name?," implores the father.
"Kazalopodopolous," says the son. "She's Greek Orthodox."
"Oy," says Moisha. "But are you happy?"
"I'm happy, Father."
"OK ... then you, too, have my blessing," intones Moisha.
Dejected, Moisha goes to the Temple to pray."Please God... let my remaining son, Chutzpah, marry a nice Jewish girl to raise nice Jewish childrenin your eyes ... PLEASE," he cries out.
The very next week, Chutzpah comes to his father excitedly andexclaims, "Father, I am to wed in the spring!"
"HER NAME? WHAT IS HER NAME?", his father immediately demands."Goldberg!" says Chutzpah! Moisha is beside himself with joy!
"Praise God! Praise theProphets!" Turning to Chutzpah, he asks, "Is she DoctorGoldberg's daughter Shelley, from Los Angeles?"
"No," says Chutzpah.
"Hmmm," says ! Moisha... "Must be Attorney Goldberg's daughterRachel from Beverly Hills?"
"Ah... no, Father," says Chutzpah..."What is her first name, my youngest, truest, most handsome son?"
"Whoopi."

College

I'm taking 2 courses this summer, one is a basic computer class, the other is cognitive psychology. Now, technology, especially computers, is a wonderful thing. When it works. When it doesn't, I'm very tempted to go "Office Space" on them, with a good dose of some heavy artillary. I have a test in cog psych tomorrow, and I just hope that I don't completely mess it up. It's an interesting field, but a little bit much when packed into only 5 weeks of class.
I also went to a Bake Sale for Shavuos tonight, and we bought a very choclatey choclate cake ( I know, techically cheese cake is the food of the yom tov, but my brother and I get sick of it VERY easily). We listened to a fantastic speaker, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, and watched a couple of BY girls put on a very amusing skit. All in all, a very enjoyable evening.
Now if only I could get out of this test, tomorrow evening would be nice too....

Computer class

Those two smiley's just about sum up my feelings about this computer class.

Summer in South Florida Through the Senses

Starting with Smell:

Air before a afternoon thundersorm, the air after a thunderstorm, the overpowering sweetness of mangoes ripening and rotting, the strong chemical odor of chlorine, greasy barbecue, and salty ocean.

Sight:

People wearing a bit less than usual, seeing the rain coming pour down, a sheet of water on one side of the street, while being bright and sunny on the other, seeing the wind blow the trees before a thundersotrm, and the waves crash on the shore, the sand between toes, the grass turning greener as it finally gets watered after a long dry winter.

Sound:

The roll and crash of thunder, the rain pouring down, the splash of water in the pool, the sizzle of a barbecue, people laughing and playing, AC blasting, and the bugs coming out in the twilight, the muted roar of the waves, quietly hissing as it laps on the sandy beach, birds chirping throughout the day and night.

Touch:

The humidity of the air on skin, coolness of AC, wind preceding a storm, refreshing rain, hot metal on the car, hot seats in the car, and hot seatbelt (ouch)

Taste:

Barbecued hamburgers, hotdogs etc., sweet delicious mangoes, salty seawater (or chlorinated poolwater), juice and soda, cold water (and before you debate that, yes it does have a taste) and corn on the cob.

These are the things I associate with summer, different people most likely would pick different things.

"Quotes"

"Life is a stage, and all the men and women merely actors upon it. They have thier entrances and they have thier exits. And one man in his lifetime plays many parts." - King Henry VIII, William Shakespeare

The only reason I know this quote by heart (though it may be slightly off) is because I had it quoted at me throughout high school by CJ, since she made it her goal to memorize at least one part of almost every Shakespeare play. This was the only one that really stuck in my head however. Perhaps because unlike the others, there was a message behind it. And so it has stuck in my head ever since, for the past 6 years. Funny what things manage to stick with you in your memory forever.

Key West

Key West was fun, we checked out the college, which was really nice, and the director of the program gave us a tour, which was cool. After that we went to what was probably the only Kosher restaurant in Key West. It wasn't even a restaurant exactly, it was a little shack with a kitchen inside, and two tables and a counter in front of it. But the food there was VERY good. After we had lunch, we walked down Duval Street, which is just a lot of shops, we went in to a few and aI got a new skirt, nice and light, perfect for the summer. And a shirt that says "Margaritaville". After that we went to Earnest Hemingway's house and took the tour there. Though it's very cool to see a famous author's house (and a VERY nice house it was, even though there was no central AC and everyone was very hot, but they had fans in all the rooms) I really just went for the cats. There are 45 cats living there, just wandering all over the place. After that we left Key West and went to one of the State parks in the Keys. My mother and brother waded out into the water, while I sat in the car and finished a book. I was too tired to get out of the car and go wading. We got home by 8:30 at night, and Mariner was thrilled to see us. Then this morning I was supposed to have my first class, but the teacher didn't show, so apparently my first class will actually be tomorrow. I'm already counting down the days until the semester is over.

A Trip to Key West

Tomorrow is my birthday and we're going down to Key West for the day. Tomorrow is also Lag B'Omer, and this is the first time I can recall it being on the same day as my english birthday. So on the way down to Key West, I'll be able to listen to my ipod! As to what we're actually going to do down there I have no idea. We're going to be looking at a scuba diving college for my brother (Yes, unusual, but then again so is he, and currently he's not even sure he wants to go to college, though I'm trying to convince him that he should, especially since he wants to open up his own business.)

My Philosophies on Life

If you've read my posts for a while, you probably can guess at at least one of my basic philosophies on life. Whether or not you agree with it, is another matter. In any case, up until now I had two basic philosophies:

1. "People are people." - no matter what race, religion, culture, etc. people will always be people. This ties directly in to
2. "People are idiots." - this is self-explanatory.

My third philosophy has nothing to do with people.

3. "Life = Irony" - This should be self explanatory as well, but if anyone feels it needs clarification I would be happy to provide example after example after example.

Ears

Mariner seems to have a thing for other animal's ears, he likes to chew on them. The other dogs at teh dog park don't usually mind this, not even the smaller ones. The only problem with this is he especially loves to eat Boots' ears, and when he tries to do this since she has tiny ears, it looks like he's eating her entire head. Mariner seems to be under the impression that the cats are just like small dogs and like to be played with in the same way. Needless to say, the cats are not very happy about that. He bowls Boots over and begins to bat her around with his paws that are ar almost half her size, she goes bolting for the door, he chases her thinking what a great game this is, once they are at the door, he bowls her over again and then either me or my mom take pity on the kitty and let her outside. Mittens in the meantime is usually smugly sitting curled up in her cat tree, high above all the abuse taking place or watching with detached interest from a chair. She knows that all she has to do is stay high up off the ground. But since Boots is under the impression that she lost her ability to jump after she got sick, she just runs and mews pitifully. It's funny and yet at the same time kind of painful to watch. There's a reason there;s a saying " they get along like cats and dogs"

Happy Mother's Day!

K is for Klutz

I have finally realized after almost 22 years, I am a complete klutz. I constantly discover new bruises that I have no memory of getting. I once got a black eye, from what I have not the faintest idea. I walk into walls and doors, and have shut doors on myself more times than I can count. I've tripped over my own feet, and banged into anything in my way.
And yet, I have yet to do anything quite serious to myslef, B'H"

Mangos, Shopping, and Books

YAY!!! I got to eat a mango from our tree, yesterday I got one that was ripe off the tree. I LOVE mangoes, best fruit on the planet in my opinion.
I stayed overnight at my grandmother's, even though I'll be seeing on her on Sunday for Mother's Day. I got another one of Robert Asprin's books, and I went shirt shopping since I didn't have any light shirts to wear this summer. And now I am sick of shopping, I don't have that much patience with it to begin with. The most time I can spend in a store/mall is an hour, then I get very antsy and want to leave. I know, that's not what most people think of as typical for a woman, however, put me ina bookstore and I can stay there all day long....that's where my impulse buys usually are. So while I'm not likely to spend $30 on a rock, excuse me, a meteorite like Child Ish, I will spend $30 on a book by an author I like because I can't wait to read it. So unless I actually have money on me, I try to stay away from the bookstore, it's much too tempting.
Addendum: Today is the 13 Iyar, which means it's my hebrew birthday! And my English one is in 5 days. YAY!!!

STUFF

Today I went shooting with my father and brother (though I was the one who did most of the shooting.) I didn't do too bad, at least I never missed the target, and I even got one shot near the bulls eye! My brother brought one of his school books that he hated, and used up a clip on that. Some guys in the shooting lane next to us saw that, laughed and said that was a great idea.
I bought a book at Border's and one of the managers rung me up. WHen he saw the title of the book, he exclaimed "I love this series!" I replied that I did too, and so for the next 10 minutes we discussed the series (Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures). After I left the store, I passed by another store, and saw graffitti written on the wall that sobered me right up. "The Party is Over, America" was written on the wall. Definite downer.
And currently I'm staring longingly at the mangos on our tree which I want very much...only problem is they're about 40 feet up in the air...so until they come down...or we can get someone to take them down, no mangos for me. *sigh*