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!

30 Pound Challenge

On May 4, my mother offered me a challenge, lose thirty lbs. by September, and she would take me to NY for a whole new wardrobe. I accepted. This past week, I met and surpassed the thirty pound weight-loss goal. I'm still losing, but don't worry, I'm not anorexic or anything like that, I figure when I plateau, I'll know I've reached my ideal weight. I'm sure you're wondering, "How'd she do it? Weight loss pills? A special diet? No, I made my own "diet" I just cut down on how much I was consuming, and I do an insane amount of exercie. Two and a half hours at the gym, 1500 crunches a day... it's hard work, but incredibly worth the effort. My mother, as well as other people say I should write a journal on how I did it, but a lot of it was not so much working on the weight as it was working on myself, resolving issues I hadn't even realized I had. I found out stuff about myself that surprised me, but that I worked on and then put behind me. After that, the weight loss was easy. I had been hiding behind my weight, eating for comfort, but now that I had confronted myself, I knew I could do it. It's been a long hard road, but totally worth it. This is for my mother, who pushed me and never gave up, and for my therapist and friend who helped me look inside myself. Thank you, without you, I would not be the person I am today.

Testsand Birthdays

Looking back at the last post, geez, did I really write that? My brain must have been completely fried, but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Yesterday I took my second to last math test, and I think (hope) I did well on it. I have two classes left and then I am done! Yesterday was also my kitten's first birthday, it's hard to believe she's a year old already. It seems like it was only weeks ago that she was a small ball of fluff, trying to climb over her gate, now she's a bit bigger and bouncing all over the house, but she'll always be a kitten to me.

Once Upon A Time AKA Happily Ever After

All stories begin with "Once Upon A Time" but not all end "Happily Ever After." Take Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Little Mermaid', quite a depressing ending, unlike the Disney film. However, 'happily ever after' is a tale that has been fed to us since we were children, and even if as we grow up, we realize, "there is no happily ever after.' we still hope for it subconsciously. We search for ours, not ever even realizing it, searching for "the one" or that perfect moment where it feels like we've found it. And then it's lost, and we lose a little bit of our faith, and our innocence. And yet even though we go through this time and again, we still tell our children, "Once upon a time...and happily ever after." But perhaps we need this, we need our hope, our dream that a chance will come and we will get it, we will have our own little happy ending.

Note: I'm not sure what the point of this post is, I just felt like writing it. I spent the entire day studying math, I'm entitled to a bit of randomness.

Seminary Dreams

I've recently had a few dreams about going back to seminary. In the first one, I had to go back to seminary and retake all of my finals. I remember thinking in the dream, "what's the point? I've been out of seminary for two years!" In my other dream, I went back to seminary, but I forgot to pack anything! I had no clothes to change into, and I recall worrying that I had forgotten my cell-phone and my car keys at home. But I had them, and my car was there, so I went out driving with a few of my friends. Suddenly, I keep on getting cut off, I almost got into several accidents, and then I'm no longer driving my car, I'm playing a lego racing game, and I'm doing very badly, driving through walls, water, other cars... Another dream I had a while ago with seminary in it, I was in Isreal and I went to a pet store, and there were all these cute animals there, and I wanted to play with them. I have no idea why seminary is invading my dreams, but I'd like this to stop!

Vacation!

In a few weeks I'm going up to South Carolina with my mom and brother. We're not going to Hilton Head though, beacause all the hotels there were booked. So we'll be in Myrtle Beach instead, I haven't been there since I was a baby, and my brother never was there. I'm looking forward to it, it'll be a change of scenery, and my Algebra class will be over! However before that I have to last tests to take before my misery will end. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it!

Achmed the Dead Terrorist

Home Sweet Home

It's good to be home again, and life resumes. Right after I got home, my mother asked me to go get her sheitals from local sheitel macher, and drop off her other sheitals to be cleaned. This morning, I was supposed to go to class, but my car battery died on me. So I had to get it replaced, and by the time that was finished, class was already over. So I went and ran some errands instead. Life just keeps going.and going, and going and going...(cue energizer bunny)
A couple of funny things happened to me over vacation. On...Thursday, I think it was, my mother calls me up and squeals, "Angelina had the babies!!" I'm thinking, "Angelina who? I don't know any Angelina...." Then it dawned on me. Of course, my mother was excited over Angelina Jolie giving birth. Why? I have no idea, that's just the way my mother is. So I tell her I have some exciting news of my own. I got into the University I had applied to two weeks prior. I asked her how that compared to Angelina's giving birth. "Close." she said. I laughed. Yet more proof that my family is a nut house.

Going Home

Tomorrow I'm heading home, back to Florida. While I'm kinda sad, since this means I have to go back to classes, and I'm gonna miss my friends. But on the other hand, I'm going to see my famioly and all of my animals again. I've missed them! We bought 7 Toes a new collar and tag, and he liked it so much, he apparently decided that he was now an indoor kitty. So he went into the house with my mother (she didn't notice) but on her way to her bedroom, she saw that all the animals were crowded around something in the living room. It was 7 Toes, and they were all sniffing him. Mittens was apparently grwoling at him, she was not happy about this invader. 7 Toes decided that indoors was not for him and he ran out. He came back later that evening though, but he had lost the collar. Which is a bit frustrating. So we need to get him a heavier collar that doesn't come off so easily. I did a little shopping while I was in Baltimore. Got earrings and a pretty dress...and books. Of course. I had nothing to read on the flight home otherwise, I finished all the books I brought.

Not Going to the Wedding After All

Well, it's what the title says, I'm in Baltimore, but I have no way to get to the wedding, so unfortubately, I'm not going. However, I will be hanging out with SCC in Baltimore. Will post more later.

Blogging Hiatus (I think)

I mentioned a while ago that I'm going up to Baltimore for a friend's wedding in NY. (I know, that's a bit far, but whatever.) So while I'm there, I'm not sure that I'll be updating. I'll be back in a week, so it's not for long, and I may be able to blog at least once. Just giving everybody who reads this thing a head's up.

Bleh.

That about sums up how I feel today. I took my math test, and even though I feel like this time I actually passed, I also felt like I "went down, go boom." I'm sure everyone has those days, and this one's mine. Hopefully I'll come up with something better to post later, in the meantime, enjoy the cuteness of the kitteh!

Huh?

Will someone tell me why there are channukah candles, even though the shirt says shabbos? Shouldn't there be shabbos candles, or challah or something a bit more related? Please explain.

An Invitation

For all those who have an interest in improving thier story writing skills, or just writing skills, I invite you to do Prompts with CJ and I. We do Prompts 5 days a week, a different one each day. All you need to do is a paragraph, but if you feel inspired to write more, you can. I've actually noticed a difference in my style of writing from the beginning. If anyone is interested, feel free to e-mail me, or leave a comment. Thanks!
Note: I notice that I now have over a 1000 views! Thanks people! Now if we could just up the comments...(hint, hint)

Prompt 6

Prompt 6: A priest is attacked for being a pedophile. He is innocent of the crime but guilty of something much worse.
(Note: Jonas started creeping me out, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to finish this. Though I might, just to see what happens.)
Jonas London had been a priest for twenty years, but nothing like this had ever happened to him before.
“Scum!”
“Pervert!”
“Liar!”
Oh, that one stung the worst. He was not, nor had he ever been a pedophile, and yet somehow… someone in his flock had decided he was, and that he should be punished for his sin. How could they? How could his flock, these people he has loved like sons and daughters, turn against him so thoroughly?
He turned away from his window, from the sight of the growing crowd, which was quickly turning into a mob. But they had no idea who they were truly dealing with. No, he was not a pedophile; he was not that sick and depraved, not yet anyway. But he was quickly heading down that path at a breakneck speed.
Three years ago, Jonas had started questioning his faith. What had caused it? It was little things, nothing earthshaking. But Jonas had started to search elsewhere for answers, no longer looking to the Bible for solutions to his problems. He looked through other religions; however he found that truly answered his questions. Until one night while searching for answers in a dark cemetery, he stumbled upon a Satanist cult. Ah, now here, he found answers. Here, he was welcomed with open arms, embraced like a long-lost brother. Jonas knew that here was everything that went against his faith and religion. Yet despite that, or perhaps because of it, he embraced the cult and everything it stood for whole-heartedly. Slowly, he was incorporated into their rituals, and he loved every moment of it. He loved the rush, the feeling of absolute power, when his victims looked at him and knew they were going to die. The fear in their eyes gave him such a thrill, that he held the power of life and death in his hands, and every time, he chose death. And when they used their victim’s blood for the sacred rituals, he exulted in the knowledge that here was where he belonged.
Jonas smiled evilly, savoring those memories, cherishing them like friends. There was a good possibility, judging by the mood of the mob outside, that he would not make it to the meeting tonight. And if he was brought to trial, his delineations would certainly be brought into the light, to be seen by all and sundry. Yet he felt no need to worry, for here was the chance he had been waiting for. His opportunity had arrived, and he was not going to waste it.
He turned to his cabinet that held all of his religious paraphernalia from his ‘former life’ as he liked to call it, though he was still a priest to the public. But he was not interested in what lied on those shelves. No, what he wanted was behind them. A few months ago he had bought a cabinet with a false back. Behind the shelves lay the tools for his true calling.
Jonas chuckled, recalling the day he had first purchased them, though he had made sure to spread his purchases far and wide, so no one would be any the wiser, and he always paid in cash. No paper trail behind him!
Panting in anticipation, he pulled the first of his purchases from the cabinet. It was a semi-automatic rifle, sure to cause pain and terror wherever he pointed it.

Good for a Laugh....Good Enough for a Post

GCF: From British Newspapers

(I'm not sure how true these are but the humor remains..... )

Commenting on a complaint from a Mr. Arthur Purdey about a large gas bill, a spokesman for North West Gas said, "We agree it was rather high for the time of year. It's possible Mr. Purdey has been charged for the gas used up during the explosion that destroyed his house." (The Daily Telegraph)

Irish police are being handicapped in a search for a stolen van because they cannot issue a description. It's a Special Branch vehicle and they don't want the public to know what it looks like.(The Guardian)

At the height of the gale, the harbor master radioed a coast guard (member) and asked him to estimate the wind speed. He replied he was sorry, but he didn't have a gauge. However, if it was any help, the wind had just blown his Land Rover over the cliff. (Aberdeen Evening Express)

A list of actual announcements that London Tube train drivers have made to their passengers:

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I do apologize for the delay to your service. I know you're all dying to get home, unless, of course, you happen to be married to my ex-wife, in which case you'll want to cross over to the Westbound and go in the opposite direction."

"Your delay this evening is caused by the line controller suffering from E & B syndrome: not knowing his elbow from his backside. I'll let you know any further information as soon as I'm given any."

"Do you want the good news first or the bad news? The good news is that last Friday was my birthday and I hit the town and had a great time. The bad news is that there is a points failure somewhere between Stratford and East Ham, which means we probably won't reach our destination. "

"We are now traveling through Baker Street ... As you can see, Baker Street is closed. It would have been nice if they had actually told me, so I could tell you earlier, but no, they don't think about things like that"

"Beggars are operating on this train. Please do NOT encourage these professional beggars. If you have any spare change, please give it to a registered charity. Failing that, give it to me."

During an extremely hot rush hour on the Central Line, the driver announced in a West Indian drawl: "Step right this way for the sauna, ladies nd gentleman... Unfortunately, towels are not provided."

"Let the passengers off the train FIRST!" (...pause). Oh go on then, stuff yourselves in like sardines, and see if I care - I'm going home...."

"Please allow the doors to close. Try not to confuse this with 'Please hold the doors open.' The two are distinct and separate instructions. "

The Stupidity of Evil Villains

On shabbos CJ came over for lunch, and after lunch we were talking about random things, when for some reason, the talk turned to Harry Potter and evil villains. We came to several conclusions. First of all, I can only recall one time that American witches or wizards are mentioned in any of the books. Voldemort is supposed to be a threat to the wizarding world, correct? So why is it that all the wizards in britain are not worried say, about death eaters in the rest of the world after voldemort has died? Then there is the whole "takeing over the world" concept. In my opinion, anyone who wants to take over the world is *dumb* I mean really, really dumb. First of all, taking over the world requires that you are super smart, super rich...and you have a continents worth of lackeys who are willing to carry out your every wish. Even if you have the first two, the third is not going to happen. Ok, let's say you overcome this with a mind-control something-or-other, right? Ok, you've managed to conquer the world, zip-de-dee-doo-dah...now what? Mind controlled people are not very fun to torture and if you let them out from mind control, it can take just one well thought out plan by one person, and BOOM - you're history. Ok....maybe I'm thinking a little too deep into this, but still, I think any super villain is dumb, I mean how many of them think past their ultimate goal?
....I'm gonna stop babbling now, and I think I used the word 'OK' way too many times in this post.

Happy Independence Day!

Hope everyone has a terrific July 4th!

Prompt 4 Part 1

Prompt: "He's just the cutest little boy. Makes it that much sadder, doesn't it?"
Enjoy!
"He's the cutest little boy. Makes it that much sadder, doesn't it?" Looking down at the picture in the local paper, the Sunset Times, Joanne sighed. Looking up from the picture was a beautiful, blonde haired, blue eyed smiling three year old boy, caught in the midst of waving at the camera. Barry Serlem was a smiley, cheerful, lovable child, who had been kidnapped and held for ransom. The hostage situation had lasted for three hours before the kidnapper, who had been an old family friend that had fallen on hard times, capitulated. However, when the police brought Barry back to his relieved parents, Barry could utter a sound. The trauma had been so terrifying that Barry had lost all power of speech.
It was now six years later, Barry was nine years old, and still could not speak. His parent had tried everything. They were wealthy people (as evidenced by the fact that the incident occurred in the first place.) They took Barry to every kind of doctor and specialist imaginable, but nothing helped. They took him to therapists, but Barry just shrunk away. Now they had come to Joanne as a last resort.
Joanne was not your average therapist. She was not your average anything. She stood at six foot four, with dark skin, her eyes were dark hazel, but seemed to turn different colors in the light. Her face put one in mind of a Hindu Goddess, and she was just as unreadable as any statue. However, she had a reputation for doing the impossible, so she was the Serlem’s last hope for Barry.
Looking back up at the parents, she tried to give them a hopeful smile. She had just sat through an hour’s retelling of all they had done to try to help Barry. “Well, first I think I will need to see him for myself, and then I will make a decision on how to best go about this. Call me tomorrow and we’ll schedule an appointment, all right?” She got up from her chair, signaling that the meeting was now over. Mr. and Mrs. Serlem hastily rose from their chairs as well. Leaning across the table, Mr. Serlem shook Joanne’s hand, and quietly murmured, “Thank you so much. It’s just…these past few years have been so hard for us.” He had tears in eyes, as he tried to bravely smile at her. Joanne took his hands in hers and gently said, “I know, and I will do my best to help you and your son.”
The Serlems left the office, feeling somehow like a burden had been lifted from their shoulders. If anyone could help, it would be Joanne. Meanwhile, Joanne sat back in her chair in her office and said out loud, “Well, what did you think of the Serlem’s predicament Joel?” She spun her chair around to face what had looked minutes before like a solid wall. Now the ‘wall’ was gone, and in it’s place was a small room. More like a closet. Inside the room sat a small bald man on a cushioned seat on the floor. He put one in mind of one of those wise old men that were often portrayed on tops of mountains.
Joel, for that was the man’s name, as misleading as it might be, sighed and ran his hand across his bald dome. “It is a problem, no mistake about that Jo. A very knotty problem indeed.” Joanne snorted, got out of her chair and began to pace the room. “I can see it’s a problem, the question is what are we going to do about it? The boy can’t, or won’t talk, and this has been going on for years! It’s obvious that something happened other than what we were told.” Joanne’s eyes narrowed.
“Now Jo,” Joel admonished, “it’s entirely possible that not the parents or even the police know what truly happened in those three hours! Let’s not go rushing in and jumping to conclusions!” Joanne groaned, but gave a little nod. Joel was right, as usual. “You know, we should just sleep on this, and wait until we actually see the boy before coming to any conclusions.” Joel said, yawning to give emphasis to the ‘sleep’ part. “You’re a hundred thousand percent right, as per usual Joel.” Joanne gave a big yawn herself and went to shut out the light. “I’ll see if I can come up with anything in my dreams. Have a good night Joel.” “G’night.” A sleepy murmur came from behind the wall, which had sprung back up. Joanne locked up, and headed home.

Frustrating

Today was a rather frustrating day. In fact the only part of the day that was not frustrating was my algebra class! Now that is saying something. Driving around trying to find the right building (never even found it, gave up after half an hour) home, but didn't have a chance to grab lunch. Wanted to do exercise, but didn't have time for that...got my nails done, and managed to ruin them...just all in all...frustrating. Gah!
Oh, and I may put up the prompt later, depending on whether I like it when it's done. Or if my inspiration runs out before that, perhaps not. We'll see.

Prompt 3

I had fun doing this one, though I feel it could use a little fixing up. It's a little it long, but I hope you'll enjoy!
Note: The prompt was: a woman gets a gun and when she goes to look for it two days later, she can't find it.
Annette Smith, now there’s a well-known name in this community. A few years ago, anyone that mentioned this name would have been laughed off. Annette Smith? That’s hardly the name one would pair with fame, it sounds like the name of an old woman who lives alone, with just her nine cats for company. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Annette, or as she preferred to be called, ‘Nette, was a lively, vivacious young woman. Was? I should say is, though she’s not that young anymore.
‘Nette grew up in the deep south, where owning a gun was practically tradition. She got her first gun on her tenth birthday, a marvelous nine millimeter. She was so proud of it, and learned how to shoot it extremely well. As she grew up, she began collecting guns. She especially collected rare guns that could only be found through ‘special’ dealers.
One day, while ‘Nette was rummaging through her uncle’s belongings, trying to help him decide what to put in his yard sale, she found a very rare, Parabellum-Pistole, also known as a Luger, in one of her uncle’s hundreds (or so it seemed) of boxes. Though the gun was popular in Germany in WWII, she knew her uncle had never even left his own city, never mind the country. Did he know how rare this was?
Casually, ‘Nette walked over to her uncle, who was routing through another box, chucking things out, one after another and muttering to himself. “Unca Chuck? Can I have this?” She asked, showing off her teeth in a bright grin, as if it didn’t really matter what he answered. “Whar is it?” he muttered distractedly. “Y’know, ye can ‘ave anything in those boxes, tha’ yer lil’ heart desires. Now keep workin’!” Chuck had a lot of junk, boxes and boxes of it. He was a collector of collections, but his house was growing too cluttered for his wife, so she gave him the ultimatum. It was her, or the junk, but one has got to go! So Chuck decided to get rid of the junk and enlist his entire family in helping him.
So she happily tucked the gun away, at went back to workin’ with a will. When she got home later that evening, after hours of going through box after box after box, she threw herself on the couch and groaned. “If I ever see another box again, it’ll be too soon!” She declared to the world in general. As she lay there, she felt something digging into her thigh. Then she remembered her treasure, she jumped up and took it out of her pocket. “Hmmm,” ‘Nette murmured, looking around her living room. “Where’re we gonna put you? Ye sure are special, so we need a special place. No, no regular ol’ drawer fer you!”
She finally decided to place it in her best hiding spot, at least till she could find a display case for it. “Nette carefully pulled out one of the bricks in her fire place, placed the gun in the little hidey-hole, and put the brick back. No one would find it, since only she knew of the hidey hole’s existence. So, ‘Nette went about her business, secure in the knowledge that her prized possession was safe and secure.
A couple of days later, ‘Nette was at a thrift store when she spotted the perfect display case. A large double racked mahogany display case which would look beautiful inside her home. She brought it over to the cashier, not even bothering to look at the price tag. No matter what it cost, she would have it. Having paid for it (only twenty-five dollars!) she took it home, and started setting it up. After putting some of her other “specials” in the case, she pulled out the brick in the fireplace, only to find…her gun wasn’t there! ‘Nette panicked. She was sure she had put it there, and that no one else knew of her perfect hiding spot. She reached her hand inside, nope, completely empty. Panting heavily, she started to break into a sweat. How could it have gone? She repeated to herself over and over. She called up her father, and told him the whole tale. Her father said that he would come over and help her look. Maybe she hadn’t placed it there; maybe it was actually somewhere else.
A couple of hours later, her entire house was turned upside-down, but there was still no sign of the gun. Her entire family was there at that point, trying to console her. Her sister, Marie, suggested that they check the fireplace once more. (Now of course, everyone knew about the “secret” hidey-hole.) So they took out the brick, shined a flashlight down to the back and – oh ho! What was this? There was a click as ‘Nette’s hand brushed the back of the wall. Slowly, the wall creaked open, on unused metal gears. A hidden room appeared. The family stood in awe, completely stunned at this turn of events. Suddenly, ‘Nettes youngest cousin shouted, “There!” and pointed. There, in the doorway of the hidden room, lay ‘Nettes gun. The room itself was covered in dust and old spiders, but under all that, was a desk, several chairs, and sheafs of papers.
‘Nette’s family called in the newspapers and anyone else they could think of to see this once hidden room. It turned out that this room had been used by spies for the union, who were pretending to work for the confederates. The papers held information that had not been known until now. So ‘Nette became a local hero, and her house was sold to the historical society. She still has her gun collection, though none led to any more quite as exciting discoveries.

Funny

I saw this on Bangitout.com, just had to share.

Irritating

One of the most annoying things in the world, and i think most people would agree with me on this, is the alarm clock. It doesn't matter if it rings, beeps, or just starts talking, it is just plain irritating. Press the snooze button, it goes off again anywhere from three minutes to ten minutes later, though no matter how long the interval, it always feels like you just fell back asleep. Some mornings, when you only what to sleep at 5 and your alarm clock is ringing at seven, you feel like taking a hammer and smashing it, like in cartoons. Nothing is quite as garaunteed to ruin your day as the sound of the alarm clock.

Prompt #1

CJ and I started a new project exercising our writer's muscles. Every day we will do a prompt. There are 1001 prompts to go through. Depending on how much i like what i've written, I may or may not put it up. THis is our first prompt. The first sentence was the prompt.

"Well if you could accuse anybody of being downright evil, it would be him." Her friend laughed and commented, “I think anyone who has ever had a boss has said that about them at one time or another.” Anna shook her head, “No, seriously, the man is like an evil genius or something, but without the genius. I swear that he just sits in that office and thinks up new ways to torture us. Have you heard of his latest idea?”
Melanie rolled her eyes, every week it was like this. Anna’s boss would come up with a new “brilliant” idea, that would usually flop, but before flopping would make all of his employees miserable. “All right, let’s hear it, what’s his plan this week?” Anna leaned across the table and lowered her voice. “He wants to try to sell real-estate on the moon.” Melanie raised her eyebrows. “Hasn’t that been tried? Last I checked the moon was not claimed by any country, never mind any one person. How on earth does he manage to stay in business when all he’s doing is coming up with these ridiculous ideas? I ask you again, why are you not looking for another job? You are always complaining about this one, you could surely find something better!”
Anna twirled her blonde hair pensively. Pursing her lips, she seemed to be thinking about what her friend said very seriously. “You know, I might just do that. I wasn’t going to say anything, but lately he has been coming on a bit strong, and I’m getting a bit uncomfortable.” “Anna! Why didn’t you say something! Isn’t there a restraining order on him?” Melanie’s usually cheerful eyes widened with shock and horror.

A Real Newspaper Ad

Newspaper Ad

The following is an ad from a real-life newspaper which appeared four days in a row - the last three hopelessly trying to correct the first day's mistake.

MONDAY: For sale: R.D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Phone 948-0707 after 7 PM and ask for Mrs. Kelly who lives with him cheap.

TUESDAY Notice: We regret having erred In R.D. Jones' ad yesterday. It should have read "One sewing machine for sale cheap. Phone 948-0707and ask for Mrs. Kelly, who lives with him after 7 PM."

WEDNESDAY Notice: R.D. Jones has informed us that he has received several annoying telephone calls because of the error we made in the classified ad yesterday. The ad stands correct as follows: "For sale-- R.D. Jones has one sewing machine for sale. Cheap. Phone 948-0707after 7 PM and ask for Mrs. Kelly who loves with him."

THURSDAY Notice: I, R.D. Jones, have no sewing machine for sale. I smashed it. Don't call 948-0707 as I have had the phone disconnected. I have not been carrying on with Mrs. Kelly. Until yesterday she was my housekeeper but she quit!

Edit: I actually posted this almost a year ago, but since I was coming up blank, and I figure some of readers don't actually go through the archives, maybe I can get away with it, hmmm?

Obsessions

Pirates, spies, vampires, unicorns, phoenixes, dragons, knights...these are a few of the things I've gotten obsessed with over the years. When I say obsessed, I mean I found out everything about them that I could. Which also means that now, I have very random knowledge about the habits of vampires, how pirates went to the bathroom and bathed, that spying is not quite as dram tic as it seems in the movies, and other sorts of random stuff. I know all about different kind of cats (large and small) for example, the cheetah is the only cat that does not have retractable claws. And whenever I discover something new to obsess over, I go to the library and check-out almost every book they have on the subject.
So what kind of things do you think are interesting and worth finding out everything you can about them?

Missing the Obvious

People are funny, sometimes it takes them a while to realize something that was obvious and in front of their nose all along. Take me for example, I'm pretty tall, 5'10" which is somewhat tall for a woman, and yet for a lot of people I'll have known them for a while an all of sudden I'll hear, "You're really tall, y'know that?" Yes, I do, but I don't "act" tall, I am very good at not acting tall, so good at it, that at times I can make myself practically invisible. But, back to the topic, it's amazing how often they don't see what would be obvious to one person, is compltely hidden to another. Partly it depends on what they consider to be "important." Whether it is or not, is up for debate. Whether it's seeing the big picture, or all the minute details, it's unbelievable how often the "obvious" remains unseen.

Cat in Heat? No More!

So I had Mittens spayed, she stayed over-night at the vet and I brought her home today. However, since whem I had brought her over she peed in her carrier and got it all over herself, I figured that on the way back, she coud wander around the car and hopefully she wouldn't be so miserable. I did that, though it didn't work quite as I hoped. First of all, she seemed to have a need to stay right near me, so she was either under my seat or by my feet (and the gas and brake pedal) and a couple of times she climbed up my skirt and onto my lap, so I had her claws digging into me as I was driving. So...yeah, that made for a very interesting drive, but I managed to get home with no mishaps and everything was good.

A Happy Camper

That would be me, right now. I'm going to a friend's wedding in Brooklyn in three weeks, and I'll be staying by a friend in Baltimore. For a week. YAY! I really wanted an excuse to go to Baltimore to see my friends and now I have one! I feel like dancing! Though at last night's wedding I didn't feel like doing so, I felt sick and nauseous, and I think I spent about half the time outside away from all the noise. Despite my not feeling well however, it was a very nice wedding and I'm glad I was able to go.

The 'Why' of Religion

Why do people need religion? Why do people feel the need to have a Higher Being to turn to? Sure, there are those who don't, atheists, but generally when push comes to shove, "there is no athiest in a fox-hole," and a person is staring down the barrel of a gun, one feels the need to say, "Help! I need Someone or Something to intervene, because there is no way I can get out of this myself." Since the beginning, there has been some form of religion, whether it be worship of the sun, the moon and the stars, or of idols, or of a g-d that cannot be seen, there has always been belief that there is something, or things, that are "out there" that are greater than us, that move forces beyond our comprehension, that effects our lives, and our history. Pick out a culture, any culture on the planet, and you will find some sort of belief system. In almost every culture, there is a concept of a heaven and hell, punishment and reward, whether it be in this life, or the next. So what is it about human beings that gives us the drive and desire to believe that there are greater forces at work?
This a huge topic, covering a lot more than I can in a single, or even multiple posts. There are tons of books on the subject, and yet I feel that it's something that each person needs to think of for themselves first. So, what do you think?

Wedding Tonight

A classmate, or rather former classmate of mine is getting married tonight, and I'm going to the wedding. To be honest, I'm quite happy because I like going to weddings and the last one I went to was in March. So I feel like it's a bit overdue for me to go to another wedding. Perhaps tomorrow I'll post about it.

The Meaning of Colors

We've all seen it, right? See certain colors, come to certain conclusions.

Red = Anger or agressiveness. Example: His faced turned red. Someone driving a red car (especially a sports car, is more likely to drive agressively.)
Blue/Green = calm. While I have no real examples of this, what I've heard is that people in a blue or green room are less likely to get agressive than in red room.
Yellow = happy, bright, sunny. Looking at yellow generally puts people in better mood, while blue is nice if you want to calm someone, if you want to cheer them up, yellow is better.
Black = despair, or sadness. Often times in literature, when someone is depressed, the narrative mentions them sinking into blackness, or darkness.
White = Neutral or blank....self explanatory, I think.

Well, those are the basic colors, if anyone can think of particular feelings associated with any of the other colors, it would be much appreciated.

Pool(s) or Swimming

We have a pool. In case I haven't mentioned it yet, a very BIG pool. It's dimensions are 20x40. Meaning it's big enough to hold about 20 people comfortably, possibly more. Why do we have such ridiculously large pool? Most pools in the area are about half that size, except for the public pool, which is quite a bit larger. Apparently the architect who designed most of the houses in this area made this his own home, so of course, he gave himself a huge pool. Which is nice, because now we get to use it. Oh, and did I mention it's 12 ft. deep at the deepest point? You could even use a diving board in this pool. Actually, there used to be a thing for exactly that purpose. Our pool also used to be screened in. That is, until Hurricane Wilma blew the screening, metal frame an all, into the pool. Bye bye, screening. So, like I said, the perfect pool for pool parties, though we almost never have any...but our most recent one was today, and the boys seemed to have a blast. Oh, and miracle of miracles, they all cleaned up after themselves! I didn't have to do anything! Yay!

Full of Interesting

Currently, our house is filled with teenage boys. They are seriously soaking the living-room floor and are making lots of noise and mess. That's boys, right? My brother invited about 15 boys to go swimming and have a barbecue, and one of his rebbeim is here as well, with his two young kids. All in all, it seems to be going pretty good, though my brother also seems to be a little stressed. I, on the other hand, am hanging out in my room, trying to pretend I'm not here so I won't get drafted for clean-up duty. Actually, I think I may just leave the house, just to make sure of that. I may post later, after all the boys leave.

What' Up?

My dreams are being invaded by cuteness! For the last three nights running, my dreams have been filled with cute puppies and kittens. What is up with that? I wish I knew. Another thing lately is that my dreams seem to be turning into action movies...with a bad guy, lots of running, fighting and that sort of thing. Two nights ago I was being held hostage in an underground bunker. I escaped from it. Last night, I and my best friend were secret agents....I think my sub-consciou is trying to tell me something.

More Fun With Exercise!

Remember this? Well, just about fifteen minutes ago, my dog ran away. AGAIN. I had opened the front door to investigate a sound when Wish, being rather small, ran through the doorway and out into the night. With a rather lot of cussing on my part, I followed, (after slipping on some shoes) I chased him for about ten minutes, and then some people passing by in a car had pity on me, and helped me round 'im up. Wasn't easy, trying to see a black dog in the dark, running through parts of the neighborhood that were not so safe. And yelling "Wish! Wishbone!" for the entire neighborhood to hear. At least it was only about twenty minutes. When he was younger, they were hour long chases. And now I am hot and exhausted. Bleh.

Aren't kids cute?

I remember when I was 7, we were moving down to florida, and the first time my father told my brother and I. My father said, "We're moving to Miami! Isn't that exciting?" I, thinking my 3-yr. old brother hadn't heard, said to him, "We're moving to Miami!"
"Nuh-Uh!" he said, folding his arms. My father and I were surprised. "What nuh-uh?"
"Not your-ami, daddy's-ami!"
Just got to love little kids. And memories!

I Hate Trucks

Warning: Rant Ahead


As anyone who has been in a car with me knows, I hate, loathe, despise, and can not stand trucks. I don't like driving behind them, they go to slow. I don't like driving beside them, what if they can't see me. I don't like driving in front of them, what the heck is that guy doing right on my tail? I don't like driving between two of them, I feel like I'm about to be squished like a bug. In general, I wish that trucks had a road of thier own.

/End Rant/

Yay for Randomness!

Especially when you can't think of anything to blog about. I have a test coming up on Thursday, but that's not really of interest. So while I was going through some papers, I found the beginning of a story, just one of many on the papers, but thought I might as well post it for your enjoyment.

"If could count the
ways I love you, one
would find they are as
many as the stars."
"Still getting love poems and letters from him?"her friend asked, her eyebrow arched. "Yes," she sighed. "He just doesn't give up! And he apparently does not understand the meaning of the word 'no'." Jane shook her head sadly. George was persistent in his declaration of love, and in his desire to wed her, but it wasn't meant to be. He and she were too dissimiliar, and from very different worlds.

That's all I wrote. I never do romance, but those first lines were just bouncing around my head till I got them down on paper. Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed, and I really hope I'll have something else next time.

I LOVE This Song

You Are Loved

Josh Groban

Where do dreams come from?

I've heard several theories, but the one that makes the most sense to me, and explains a great deal of my dreams (though not all of them) is that dreams are your thoughts throughout the day, put into some sort of order. Considering the types of books I read (mainly fantasy and some scifi) that explains a great deal about some dreams. Others...I'm not sure what i was thinking that day. I also have different categories for my dreams, the magic ones (where it either works or doesn't), my "videogame" dreams, in which the entire feel of the dream is like I'm in a video game. In one of those types, president Bush was there. As a mermaid. In a helicopter. That would be one of those "what the...? was I thinking" moments. Historical dreams...I try to collect a bounty on Stalin...that kind of thing. I rarely have nice quiet, there's nothing happening dreams. Mine are usually action packed. No wonder I'm so tired when I wake up. There are a few others, though I can't think of them at the moment. Ah well.
Hopefully I'll think of something else to post later. In the meantime, Mike, does that answer your question?

My Favorite Dreams

I've posted my father's favorite dream, so I might as well post my own favorites. Actually there are two of them, and they both involve beating up, or annoying the heck out of, the bad guys. In both dreams I have magic, and it actually WORKS! Which is very nice, but also somewhat unusual since a lot of times it will work at first and then stop working, and leaving me feeling like a complete idiot. I recall that one time I was reduced to saying to the people I was trying to do it for, "Just pretend that happened, k?" Felt like a total moron. I think I was trying to turn a vulture into a rabbit or something. Anyways, back to my favorite dreams. In dream #1: I'm flying/ swimming through a museum with all these guys in black chasing me. I would go into the exhibits and taunt the guys, saying that they couldn't catch me. That was ALOT of fun. Dream #2: For some reason, the storm troopers from Star Wars were the minion of the evil guy in my dream. There was an evil emperor that I killed with a spell of wind and rain. Not sure how, but that felt pretty satisfying as well. As you've seen, I have some unresolved kick-a$$ issues apparently. Freud would have a field day with me.

A Good Day...and Another Weird Dream

I went to the gun show today with my brother. Those who know me are probably going: "You did WHAT?!"No, I haven't completely lost my marbles (not yet, at any rate) and I actually had a pretty good time. I discovered that I do NOT like the feel of sub-compacts, and there are couple of types that I do like. Can't recall what they were, but I could ask my brother. Afterwards we went for lunch, and came home. This evening I'm going over to CJ's for swimming and movies. So all in all, a good Sunday.
So I had yet another weird dream, however I have no idea where the ideas in it came from. What I recall is that..a terrorist, but not terrorist, because I was a part of it, kind of, or at least I knew of the plot, blew up a building. We (me and someone else, no idea who) were actually right next to the building when the bomb went off. I ran, knowing as I did that there was no way I would be out of range when the building came down. So instead I ran into another building, where there were a bunch of bad guys, and I, along with some other people, kicked their butts, before they tried to kill us. End of dream. Actually, now that I think about it, I have a sneaking suspicion I know where at least part of it came from...

It's Been Decided

Hey, remember this? My cat went into heat again, as cats do, pretty often especially in the summer months..anyways, apparently she sprayed on my stepfather's bed. Not a good thing. So, first thing Monday morning, I'm making an appt. to bring her in and get her spayed. I just have to hope and pray that she doesn't get fat like my other kitties, and remains active.
What else....Father's day is tomorrow, but we're not doing anything. My father is out of town, visiting his wife's family, so I have a couple of weeks to get him something. And that's really about all I feel like posting currently. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting tomorrow.

Random Rambling on My Mind

Lightning lit up the gray overcast sky, rumbling thunder followed soon after. That was pretty much the weather this afternoon. I sat in the house, nice and cozy, content in the knowledge that I was not going outside anytime in the near future. If I did I would be - not cold - but wet and miserable. And probably eaten alive by mosquitoes or be crawling with gnats. This is the one thing I don't like about summer down here. It can be brutal. I spend as little time outside as possible (except while swimming) I go from air conditioned house to air conditioned car to air conditioned store. And yet, I'm asked, "How are you so tan?" No, I don't sunbathe. Ijust point at the sun, and tell them that even through the windows of my car I get tanned....I'm rambling again, aren't I? Well, it does say; "The ramblings of a frum girl in south florida." And yet people still read it... Not that I'm complaining, mind you, I love that people read my wandering thoughts, though in reality, my thoughts wander alot more than what I actually put down. It's just I'll sit in front of the computer, look at this blank space, and go: "What the heck am I going to write about? I can't think of anything!" Yes, I know, most people go through that, but it certainly does not lessen the frustration that occurs when it happens.
And....I just ran out of things to ramble about. So, sadly to say, sayanora, until the next time.

Ipods

Anyone out there know how long an iPod is supposed to last? Mine is...not really working, and I'm wondering whether it's worth it to try to get it fixed. It's a year old. and my experience with my previous iPod, a second generation shuffle, was that it too died after a year. Is this normal? Is it worth it to fix it, or should I get a new one? Help me out here!
Apparently I should be more clear. It's not working as in, it doesn't respond to any of the buttons being pushed (no, it's not on hold, I made sure of that) and currently all the screen is showing me is "Do not disconnect" when it wasn't connected to anything in the first place! Well, actually it was connected to the iHome, but it hasn't done anything like that before. I've tried hooking it up to my computer, but the computer won't connect, it doesn't seem like there's anything connected. (I'm not sure if that last line made sense, but hopefully you get what I mean.) All cleared up now? Please help!

Update: I just picked up my ipod and clicked the buttons, just to see what would happen. Apparently, it's working again. Though I'm not sure for how long. Maybe I should take it to the apple store to get looked at. Though I also saw a few websites that will diagnose it....I don't know. Sooooo, I'm back at square one. Phbttthhhhhh.

Snippets

The minion chatted away while fixing up his evil master's lab for the hero to be tortured. Finally his master sighed, grabbed his ear, very painfully, and said, "You know vhat I vant? I vant you to SHUT UP!!"

"So after following the path we reached a wide river. Before I could say anything, he went and drank from the water, and this is the result." He pointed behind him to a slack-jawed and drooling Matt. "He'll do anything you tell him to, no matter what it is. Very useful." I stared, and then slowly began to smile. Maybe it wouldn't be as hard to take over the world as I thought.

"You did WHAT?!" she yelled. "How could you have been so dumb? Now he knows everything!" She threw up her arms in disgust and turned away. "Look, I'm sorry, I tried to fight it, I really did, but have YOU ever been under a truth spell by the arch-mage?" His voice rising as he tried to fight panic and anger, and failing at both.

These are just a few snippets that flew through my brain today. I haven't read these anywhere, my mind just will randomly come up with a sentence, or even a paragraph. It's like I have a minin L-space in my head.

A Wedding Shower

I went to a friend's wedding shower last night. It was really nice to see all my former classmates again. Well, ok, not all, but quite a few. Unfortunatlely, I won't be able to make it to this girls wedding, since it's in Lakewood. Too many logisitcs which I would not be able to deal with. It was all good though. We talked, played a game (Mad Lib, it was really funny) and watched the girl open her gifts. Nothing really unusual, just stuff, mainly for the kitchen. Baking pans, salad spinner, plates, glasses...And I have another wedding shower coming up, for another classmate that I wasn't even aware that she was engaged. Or if I did know, I forgot. Whatever, it was fun, and I look forward to the next one.

Seven Toes (aka Sandals)

So, apparently another cat has adopted us, but it's very clear he's not a stray. He has a a green bandana/collar on him, but no tag. He is incredibly friendly, rubbing up against legs, demanding to be pet. He also has seven toes on his front feet. So since he obviously belongs (or belonged) to someone, I'll be putting up Found posters around the neighborhood. Perhaps someone will claim him. He's clearly an indoor kitty, but we can't take him in since he's not neutered. And as all readers who read this know, the kitten is not spayed, and I would rather not spay her. So...anyone want a very friendly kitty?

Feel like a Laugh?

I had my test today. It was...meh. I think I may have failed, or if I pass, it will be by the skin of my teeth. Ok, so now I know that I just gotta study a heck of alot more. Fun. So here is a cute little pick-me-up joke, which I know I desperately need, and hopefully it'll give my readers a laugh.
GCF: Laws of Cat Physics
LAW OF CAT INERTIA - A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force, such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.
LAW OF CAT MOTION - A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.
LAW OF CAT THERMODYNAMICS - Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, all heat flows to the cat.
FIRST LAW OF CAT ENERGY CONSERVATION - Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.
LAW OF BAG/BOX OCCUPANCY - All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.
LAW OF FURNITURE REPLACEMENT - A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.
LAW OF PILL REJECTION - Any pill given to a cat has potential energy to reach escape velocity.
LAW OF CAT COMPOSITION - A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-matter + It Doesn't Matter.
LAW OF SPACE-TIME CONTINUUM - Given enough time, a cat will land in just about any space.
LAW OF CAT OBEDIENCE - As yet undiscovered.

Happy B-Day to My Brother!

Today is his 17th b-day, which feels kind of weird, since it wasn't that long ago that I was seventeen. But life goes on, and people do age. Now I think I understand why everyone is obessesed with the fountain of youth...anywho, I got him a couple of presents. I got him Tim McGraws Greatest hits, that's one of his favorite singers, and I got him a t-shirt that says: "Rule 37: There is no such thing as 'overkill' there is only 'open fire' and 'time to re-load'."
And it shows this big guy with all of these guns and in body armor pointing it all at a little bug that's reading a newspaper. My brother liked it, as I figured he would. What else....oh, he's getting a mountain bike from my mother. I'm sure some of you are thinking, "Why does he need a mountain bike? Florida is FLAT!" Answer: He goes to the state parks that have mountain bike paths. Other than that, there really isn't much use for it in my opinion, but it is his birthday...
I don't think we're doing anything party-like, for the most part my family isn't into parties, and that reminds me, one year, we all, including him, forgot it was his birthday. The only reason we remembered before the day was out was that my father called to wish him a happy one. That was funny. And now I do believe I am babbling again. Oh well, I shall take my leave before I make a fool of myself. But before I do, everyone wish me luck on my algebra test tomorrow, I'm gonna need it!

Hurricane Season

No, I'm not talking about the Miami University team, today is the first day of hurricane season, meaning those ferocious storms of wind and rain that tear through, leaving a whole lotta mess behind 'em. Hurricane Season is from June 1st to November 30th, about 6 months of the year.
OK, well, I was going to do a checklist for y'all, but I just took a look at the one given for south florida, and I am not writing all that down. So if you're curious about what is needed to survive a hurricane, or what to have when evacuating, just check this out. We're probably going to do most of that, only if we know for sure a hurricane is coming. The last couple of years we've been very lucky, no hurricanes hit us at all! But three years ago, that was a killer. There was Hurricane Wilma, which did an insane amount of damage, there were still people that hadn't had thier roofs fixed or gotten their insurance two years later. A lot of little insurance comanies went under becuase too many people were trying to collect. The Hurricanes also continued after the season was officially over, and the hurricane center was using greek letters as names, they had run ot of the names of the alphabet! Fortunately for me, I wasn't here, I was comfortably in Isreal. The really big thing we suffered from was that the screening that had been over our pool, now fell in the pool. My mother was actually happy about that, she had been wanting to get rid of it for ages. Now she could, and it wouldn't cost her a dime! Hopefully though, this season won't be as bad as that one. Let's all pray for that!

This picture was taken a couple of weeks ago, I just wanted to show how odd florida weather is. Where I'm sitting in my car, it's nice and sunny, but dead ahead, it looks like some serious rain.
Those Floridians that read my blog know what I'm talking about. You can literally drive/walk into a literal wall of water. Raining on one side of the street, clear on the other. On shabbos it was pouring so hard we could not see across the street. Though we have desperately needed the rain, what with the water restrictions and all. In my opinion, we need a new resevoir that will supply south florida, not just Lake Okechobee. (Which according to my family doesn't exist, becuase we went looking for it a few years ago and we never found it. So we came to the conclusion that it doesn't exist) And yes, I know, I'm babbling, but I could not for the life of me think of anything else to post about. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm for bed, before I make an even bigger fool of myself.

Are You British?

I've gotten asked that question a few times recently. The answer is no, I'm not. Never even been to England. But I have a tendency to speak a bit fast, and my vocabulary is sprinkled with british terms. Like "bum" instead of "a$$" or "bloody hell" or "bugger" and probably some others I'm not even aware of. I blame that on the fact that alot of the books I read are by british authors. Like Terry Pratchett, JK Rowling, Diana Wynne Jones....but I'd have to say it's Pratchett that had the biggest effect. It's really amazing how reading can expandyour vocabulary.

Having a Blast

Yesterday was a ton of fun. I went over to CJ's and another friend of mine who came down from NY for the week was there, as well as a good fiend of CJ's and CJ's sister. We swam for about four hours, took a lot of pictures, had a barbecue, and rented a movie. We also got the pictures developed, though I still have to get a copy of the CD from CJ. I had such a great time, CJ and I agreed we should do this once a week during the summer. We'll see how often we can get together and do that. WHeeeeee!

Happy Memorial Day!

Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the good ol' US of A, to remember the soldiers, in every war, from the revolutionary war to the Iraq War, who sacrificed thier lives, so we could live in Freedom. Thank you.

Cats In Heat: Things I've Learned

So, my cat, correction: one of my cats has gone into heat. That would be Mittens, the only one who isn't spayed. I'm somewhat reluctant to have her spayed because with my previous two cats, I had the spayed=they got fat. There seems to be a corellation here, and I would really rather not have three fat cats, thank you very much. So, I went on google and typed in "cat in heat." One of the first websites that I got, that I thought at first would be helpful, was this. (WARNING: Click at your own risk!) I absolutley refuse to do that to my cat. Sorry, not happening. So, apparently I only have two other options: to spay her, or I can take her to the vet to have her get a shot that would delay the going into heat. From what I gather, it's like "the pill" for cats. So I'm going to have to find out the cost of that, and then I guess I'll make my decision. But hey, at least I didn't have the same situation as this guy.
Oh, and according to every cat owner on the planet, including me, a cat in heat is one of the most annoying things ever.

Today is a holiday!

No, not talking about Memorial day weekend, it's National Towel Day! On this holiday, started by fans of Douglas Adam's The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy, fans of Douglas Adams carry around towels to commerate this author, (died May 11, 2001). It is also a holiday for Pratchett fans as well, though not by commemorating anything with towels. I believe the tradition for fans of Pratchett's Discworld series get stinking drunk, and wear lilacs....though for the reason, one would have to read Night Watch all the way through. However, if someone can explain it short and simple for non-pratchett fans, I would be most grateful. Anyways, I wish everyone a happy Towel Day, May 25, and anything else that I don't know of.

Superheroes Part 2

I guess with the first post, I don't feel like I really finished the thought. True, people are looking for superheroes, someone who will come to the rescue in the nick of time, and make everything all right in the world. We know that to change the world, we must change ourselves, make everyday just a little bit better in any way we can, a smile at a stranger, a random kindness. People can be their own superheroes, they just haven't realized it yet. True, there's no cool suits, or fantastic powers, and they might not even believe they are making a difference. Perhaps saving a life just by being a friend and there for someone. So while there are no superheroes flying through the sky, saving the day, the average Joe Schmoe, is out there being a hero, making a difference, and doesn't even realize it.

My Desk

A peron's desk, and all the clutter on it, can tell one alot about the person who sits at that desk. Whether it gets much use, or not, the places they've been, what they are interested in, perhaps even a few secrets revelealed. I look at my desk...it's a mess, as per usual, and I need to straghten it up again. But what do I see? I see dirt from Israel, in two little bottles, truly bottled memories, as they came from when my seminary went on a tiyul. I see a little box, closed right now, but it has a beautiful blue cover, done in asian flowers. The box contains two ivory balls, with pictures of mice upon them. A gift from my grandmother, when she still traveled the world. Beside these, I see a statue of a tiger, that I got for myself at Jungle Island not that long ago. I don't have that much in my room that shows my love of tigers...if you disregard the stuffed, plastic and glass versions of tigers that I own...*ahem* Besdide these I have a keychain with a dragon that I got while in Epcot, attached to a Jumpdrive of 2 GB, which I use to transfer things from one of our computers to the other, when the e-mail wasn't working. Beside this, I have a glass egg, with violet flowers painted on it, it opens to reveal several of my earrings, it was a gift from my father for one of my birthdays, though I don't recall which one.
I think I will continue this one another time...too many things!

Superheroes

Why is it that the last few years there has been at least one superhero movie out every year? What triggered everyone's sudden need for a superhero? Perhaps it's really a wish, a desire, that because the world has turned upside down, the average person feels powerless, unable to do anything that they feel would make a huge difference. So Hollywood gives the people something to wish for: a super hero, someone who saves the world who has the power to change the world, to change it for the better. Often the superhero begins as your average John Doe, and then something causes him to change, whether it's an event that effected his body, or his mind. So it re-creates him, and he goes out and does something to better the world, to save it from evil villains, no matter who they may be. Our society, our world, perhaps feels the need for superheroes more than ever, in these uncertain times. Do you?

A Good Thing

A while back, I posted a story about a girl who commited suicide, because a boy she had met on My Space, who had been pretending to be her friend told her "the world would be better off without her." She hung her self an hour later. It turned out she was not talking to a boy at all. A neighbor, the mother of one of her classmates, and one of her coworkers had made up the whole thing to find out what Morgan had been saying about her daughter. Today, I saw on the news that the woman has been indicted. See here for about the indictment, and here for the original story.
In my own opinion, I think it's a very good thing she's been indicted, and think it's an absolutley sickening thing to do to a child. Particularly since the poor girl had low self-esteem in the first place, and then to play with her emotions like that?! It's absolutley revolting.

Jury Duty

Whirrrrrr, whirrrrrr, whirrrrr...that was the sound I awoke to this morning as my step-father drilled around our bathroom's doorhandle. The bathroom was opened at 7 o'clock which meant that, unfortunately, I still had time to get to Jury Duty. I got there about a half hour late, due to traffic, difficulty with the GPS, and getting gas before hand. But it wasn't too terribly late, people were still coming in. I spent most of the time bored out of my mind, but I got to go home early because no one in my group was picked (we were a group of 40) and some cases had cancelled. So I got to leave two hours early, and now I am home and I am exhausted. But like I said, most of the time I was bored...and cold, they keep it freezing in the courtrooms.

The Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Well, tomorrow I was supposed to go to jury duty. Um...not happening. I managed to lock the bathroom door, locking everyone out, and my contacts and my glasses in. Sooooo, no jury duty for me tomorrow. Instead I get to stay home and wait for the locksmith. Fun.

Reality

Humans create something that we call "reality." A whole world that exists and if we can't see it, touch it, feel it, or understand it, it's not "real." That is where religion comes in. Religion sets up a whole new reality based on things we can't feel with any of our senses and which is based on that intangible thing called "faith." Yet even our "reality" is not quite as we seem to think. Look at a chair. You see something solid, you feel something solid. All of your senses tell you that that chair is there and that it is "real." But if you went down to the tiny atoms that make up that chair, the protons and neutrons and electrons, and all that empty, empty space, with nothing there, you'd go, it's not solid, it's not real, it's not possible. And yet there it is, we can feel it with every sense. We have senses that we are not even aware of that tell us that g-d is there, even if we can't feel it with our everyday senses. People will go into denial and say there is no such thing, but when push comes to shove, when you think you are abut to die. ALL of your senses are at thier height, and you say there IS a g-d.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I'm so excited, I am now 21 and am fully legal! Whoot!
My family had a birthday party for me yesterday, and that was lots of fun, good cake, ice cream, etc. Today I'm making a birthday present for myself, I want to go to Color Me Mine and paint something. That's one of my favorite things to do, it's very relaxing.

Happy Mother's Day!

Why I No Longer Open the Door for Tzedakh Collectors

Or to be more specific: why I don't walk out when they come. This happened about a year ago, maybe a little more. I opened the door for this young guy, he looked to be in his early twenties, and since he was collecting I went and got my step-father to deal with him. I had to leave while he was still there, I had an errand to run. When I walked out, I saw him trying to get Boots to come to him. (She was still an outdoor cat at the time, and very wary of strangers.) I smiled at him, a little, a friendly smile, got in my car, and left. When I came bakc, he was gone. But I found out from my step-father that he had asked for my hand in marriage. Okay, do not need any more random marriage proposals, thank you very much. I no longer go out, when they come to collect.

Class

I had my first class today, and I think that this term will be....interesting. A lot of work, but interesting. My teacher is funny, though I also think she's a little bit crazy. Not in a bad way, but she calls some of thhave e problems that we have to do, "cute" and "adorable". I have never heard of math being referred to as cute or adorable and I have never thought of math in those terms. But like I said, it will certainly be interesting.

College (Again)

Tomorrow is the start of a new semester just days after I finished the last one. Fortunately however, I am only taking one class this term and will hopefully not go crazy. Unfortunately, the one class which I am taking is College Algebra. Meaning math. I really don't like math. But, it is the last math class I have to take for a while, so that's good. And I don't have to get up so early to get to class, which is also good. So all in all, I think the good outweighs the bad in this situation. We'll see how class goes tomorrow, then I'll decide whether I should be dreading this summer, or loving it.

Nada

Y'know what would be nice? If I would get a couple more comments once in a while! I've put up 10 posts and gotten no feedback. Yes, I know I'm complaining, and it's not a very good complaint at that, but I have nothing else really post-worthy. Er....yeah, nothing else comes to mind, had a very boring day, and got nada to report. Maybe tomorrow. "May you live in interesting times!"

More Bizarre Dreams!

Last night I had two dreams though I'm actually not sure it one was a continuation of the other or was a seperate dream entirely. First dream, I, along with a bunch of other girls am summoned to the palace to find a bride for the prince. Just one problem, the girl that the king and queen chose has issues with the fact that the prince is quite a bit older than her. I am for some reason sleeping in the window,when the prince turns around and seems dejected. End of that dream. Next dream. People come from outer space but are drressed as firemen. One of the girls throws a fit because they should be wearing spacesuits, not fireman outfits. Then the introduce us to some talking flowers that also kill disease. The end.

Family

Perhaps I haven't been as clear as I should have. I love my brother, and I know that I have a much closer relationship with him than some girls do with thier brothers. I do tend to whinge and complain about his OCD and how it makes life difficult for me, but life is a whole bunch of tests and this is one that I have to go through. However, because I never complain about it out loud, except to my therapist, I need a place to let it out. As to him finding this blog....in all honesty, I really REALLY doubt it. He goes on fishing forums and gun forums. He does not look at other blogs, unless I showed it to him...which I would most likely never do. When I started this blog, my idea was to be able to use it as a journal for my feelings. I don't usually showcase my feelings here, but last night...actually that was as a remnder to me to talk to my therapist about it. She'll say what's been going on with your mother and stepfather. I'll go: I don't remember. I'm afraid I'm shutting it out on purpose, because it's unpleasant. My mother knows I have this blog, and she encourages me to write on it, so does my therapist. One of the reasons I want to go into therapy is help people like my brother. My brother is a good person, even if he goes through some rough times. But the only thing is, what you see on my blog is the rough stuff. He learns with a kid younger than him, he's taken several kids under his wing. I know of at least one boy who would very likely go off the derech if not for my brother. My brother has his own terrific mentors, who I admire and respect for helping him, even when he's going through his hardest time. So perhaps I shouldn't have posted what I did yesterday. I've taken it down, and thank you anonymous, I think I needed to post this.

More Odd Dreams

A lot of my dreams lately have me ending up in a forest or jungle trying to either find something or escape from something (Or in one case, destroy something) . What on earth is up with that? I am not that outdoorsy, and I have not been in any forest or jungle lately. I'm also either falling down cliffs or climbing them...and I have not been anywhere near a cliff lately. Florida is FLAT....no cliffs, not even any real hills.
Lessee...dreams that I can recall: (not in order)
1) Trying to destroy an ancient evil artifact, but the guy whose spells we0're using are really not effective. Takes place in a jungle near a resort on a cliff (which i climb up). The evil artifact is in fact a shiny red button. Don't ask...I know a bit where the evil artifact comes from, I was reading a book with one in it before I fell asleep.

2)No jungle in this dream. I am in a floating city/a city built in the treetops, and I have my own dragon (note: my first dragon dream EVER!!!!) I want to race my dragon, but my mother won't let me, so I go to watch other dragons racing, and then my mother freaks out about my doing that. She's very overprotective. Everyone knows that, and is trying to convince her to let me race. Not working. For some reason everyone bursts into song and dance while trying to convince her. Whatever.

3)Jungle dream. I am running away from...something. No idea what, but it wants me and my friends. I go down a water fall (cliff) and end up in even more jungle. Don't remeber much of that dream.

4)The drean I posted before with the two sisters. Has mountain and forest.

5)Had a Disney dream last night. Everything was cartoonish. there was a guy with a horse's head, and the vilain was trying to take his head off, because he was convinced it was a costume.

That's all I can remember right now. Maybe I'll add more later if I can recall.

A Dream

Two sisters have lost thier mother, and are on a quest. For what, neither knows...but they each have a piece of the shawl thier mother left. One piece is yellowand purple the other is red and blue. They also each have a "familiar" onne in the shape of a cat, the other a raven. They need both to find what it is they are looking for, but do not want to work together. One sister calls for the shall and familiar to come to her. It won't come, for the other sister won't let it. "Do not call what is not yours, or there will be grave consequences." Much later: In front of a muntain watching the sun set, the sister that called is watching the "Maiden's Hair" - aline of light that lasts for one second more after the sun sets and is seen just before the sun rises. Suddenly she looks up and in one of the trees is the other part of her mother's shawl fluttering in the breeze as well as the other familiar. She gasps, and climbs the tree to get it. "If it is here, that means my sister is dead. I never meant for that!"

That was my dream last night. Really, really odd. Anyone here interpret dreams?

Today

Let's see...what's new? I have a cold...again. For the second time in as many months which is unusual for me. I went to my grandmother's for a couple of days, though didn't do much because I was sick. But last night I got some bad news from my mother. Apparently, Baby bird managed to get out of his cage...and the kitten killed him. My brother was devastated and understandably, he has not forgiven the kitten. I'm sad, but the bird was getting braver and was sticking his head out of thecage more and more. Can't blame the kitten because she was just acting according to her nature.Our first cat-like cat.