It's a New Year

We've had a lot going on over the past week. Allow me to catch you up. I got back to LA on the 30th. Took Mike to an urgent care center on the 31st to get him feeling better. A penicillin prescription later for his strep throat (the doc said "eww" when he looked in his throat!) and he is feeling better, but not yet 100%. Night of the 31st we got dressed up and went to a friend's house for a cocktail-attire party to ring in 2011. The 1st we spent in the O.C. with Mike's aunt, uncle and cousins watching football and eating our faces off. Yesterday, the 3rd, was my birthday and Mike's first day back in classes. I was able to get back into the groove of things of being home, do some errands and cleaning and whatnot. Mike got home early, we ran some more errands, and then he took me out to eat. We went to a cute little sushi joint whose main dish is called "Trust Me." Basically, you get a number of pieces of sushi that the chef makes up for you. It is all super fresh fish and it was delicious. Mike and I both really enjoyed it. After dinner was dessert: Coldstone ice cream. Yum. Not a hugely happening birthday, but a really good one, nonetheless. I feel strange straddling the mid-20s and the late-20s classifications. 27 is still mid... right?

Having a birthday right near New Year's is both a blessing and a curse. Growing up, I had few birthday parties, partly because everyone was still out of town for the winter break. Christmas and birthday presents often get mixed into one. And sometimes people just forget with all the hubbub of the holidays. On the other hand it is a nice way to begin the year. New calendar year, new year in the life, and perhaps as a result, resolutions seem to take on additional meaning for me. This year, I have a number of resolutions that I hope to achieve or improve on.

1. Get a Job Not just any job, but one that I really enjoy and find fulfilling. But in the meantime, I'll take a paycheck from most anywhere.
2. Don't stress out about the wedding There have already been some stressful moments. I hope to minimize them as much as I can and keep in sight that this is supposed to be a fun day celebrating me and Mike's new life together.
3. Lose a dress size In the past year I've lost one size. I'd like to lose one more. I feel better about myself already and have more confidence in the way I look. Plus, I'll look hot in my wedding dress with a few more pounds off my hips.
4. Be a better friend I'm not very good at keeping in touch with people. I'm going to try harder to communicate more often and in more meaningful ways with those whom I love and find dear.

Not a long list, but an ambitious and worthy one to work toward, I think.

Random Thoughts About Israel

Even though I tried to update with some frequency about my experience in Israel, I still missed quite a few events. So over the next week or two, I'll try to post some recounts of the cooler moments of my trip. Here we go with the first one.

• Shabbat Dinner and Yeshiva Moonshine: On the Friday night we spent in Israel, we had the chance to experience a real Shabbat dinner with an Israeli family. Because our trip was organized by an orthodox rabbi, we were placed in orthodox home. My family was a young couple who made aliyah (moved to Israel) about five years ago from Montreal. Our three course meal was wonderful and included homemade sushi, hummus, baba ganoush and challah for the first course; chicken wings, beef meatballs, rice and grilled veggies (all homemade) for the second course; and a homemade chocolate cake for dessert. Between the first and second course, Patrick (the husband) broke out the Maker's Mark and we all did whiskey shots. Once the Maker's was gone, he went back into the kitchen and pulled out what can be best described as Yeshiva Moonshine - Vanilla liqueur made by a friend who is studying in a Yeshiva. The whole experience was great - it was nice to see how Shabbat can be celebrated and how it can really just be a time for family and friends even without any religious overtones.
  
• Stand Up Rabbi: The rabbi who organized and led our trip used to be a stand up comedian. Even though that career never led anywhere, he's still a remarkably funny guy. Throughout the trip he would make wisecracks and jokes at both appropriate and inappropriate times (he is a New Yorker after all). As thoses of you who have been to Israel know, you tend to spend a fair amount of time on a bus traveling around. Well, whenever we did, he would always get on the microphone and start riffing about god only knows what. I think the funniest story involved him drinking beer, going home and eating an entire pizza, jumping in a bounce house and then taking a bath in chocolate milk (something gets lost in the retelling).
• Guns and security: As Americans we are used to having liberal laws regarding guns and their ownership. We aren't, however, used to seeing them in public very often (with the exception of seeing them more and more often in airports). Well, guns are everywhere in Israel. In addition to seeing soldiers walking all around town carrying their M-16s, there are many private security guards who are wielding weapons. At one point during the trip we went into a shopping mall in Tel Aviv and after getting our bags checked before entering, the first thing we saw once we entered the mall was a security guard with a big handgun sitting on his hip. Life is just different in Israel and sometimes it takes something so striking as the omnipresence of guns to remind us.

That's all for now, I'll try to update with some more thoughts later.

Why Christmas is Awesome

It is Christmas Eve. As one of the children that will shortly be dreaming of sugarplums, no doubt, I'd like to take a few moments to reflect on my most favorite holiday. I've determined over the last few weeks that it is the family traditions that mean the most to me at this time of year. Some traditions have morphed over time as my sister and I age. There are many that I could speak of, but let me provide you with my Top 5 Christmas Traditions.

5. Oh Tannenbaum: The day after Thanksgiving used to be a sacred holiday in our household. My dad, mom, sis and I would bundle up, pack the mini van with several hours of Christmas CDs, and drive north into the Georgia/North Carolina mountains. We were on a mission to find the perfect Christmas tree. The trek almost always included an argument regarding either what was the best Christmas Tree Farm or how to find it, because we never wrote down directions year to year. And it always ended with my dad sawing down a tree that was too short for his liking and too tall for my mom's, but nearly always the perfect shape without any holes. When my sister and I were in college, we lobbied for the discontinuation of the cutting of the Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving; we both had to drive several hours to and from school that weekend, and the thought of spending most of the day in a car during one of our precious vacation days was too much to bear. Home Depot now supplies our trees, but I will always remember our family outings to the farms.
4. "Silent Night, Holy Night": On Christmas Eve we attend the candle lighting service at our church. The sanctuary is full for the service. When I was younger it was a chance to exchange presents with some of my best friends; now it is the one night of the year where those with whom I grew up are reunited. The last part of the service is always my favorite. Everyone receives a candle and the congregation passes the flames to each in attendance while singing all the verses of Silent Night. The lights are turned off and the room is filled with flittering lights and the sounds of earthly angels singing. I'm not sure I have ever been able to sing all the words as I'm inevitably choked up by the beauty and the peace of the moment.
3. "And Then... And Then...": Mongolian Beef ... and then... House Special Fried Rice... and then... Crab Rangoons... and then...  If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please watch this clip from Dude, Where's My Car. As we leave church Christmas Eve night, we call our favorite Chinese Food take out joint and place our order for our feast. We kill 15 minutes driving around neighborhoods looking at Christmas lights before we pick up dinner. It is the same Chinese Food we get on any other night, but it always seems to taste extra good on Christmas Eve.
2. Christmas Carols: When malls, radios, and TV commercials start playing Christmas music November 1st, I am that person you despise, because I completely and utterly love it. I am that sap that tunes to Delilah's Christmas call-in radio show and cries when they play "I'll be Home for Christmas". I look forward to the Hershey's Kiss commercial where they play "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" on bells and the Coca-Cola bears' newest cheesy moment. I do not tire of "Feliz Navidad," "Jingle Bell Rock" or the one about the hippopotamus, which by anyone's measure may be the 3 most annoying songs ever written. Stores want to start playing Christmas music the day after Labor Day? Bring it. A million years ago I took piano lessons, and the songs I still know how to play best are carols. Dad is a kindred spirit, though probably not to the same extent. He has been known to play Christmas music during our Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Santa: I think I was well into high school when I asked my parents if Santa was still coming to our house. My mom told me that as long as I believed, he would still come. I'm 26 years old, and Santa still visits. My sister and I each have a pile of stuff waiting when we get up Christmas Day. When we were younger we gave explicit instructions to my mother as to whose pile of toys goes where and she passed these instructions dutifully to Santa. We no longer do that as we can immediately recognize whose pile is whom's by the clothes or other assorted items we have already picked out for ourselves. When my sister and I were very young and went to my grandparent's house for Christmas, Santa visited us there, too. I've seen pictures of me at what must be about 2 years old and my mini kitchen - I had wanted "cookin'" for Christmas. Who knew then that plastic food and ovens would lead to something I now love! I've kept and treasured the dollhouse that my papa made. We also have a detailed account of every Santa visit. I'm confident that there is video record of every Christmas morning. I'm sure if you bribed my parents (or maybe just ask nicely) you can have tomorrow's tape of a 26 and 23 year old coming down the stairs, rummaging through their Santa pile while in pajamas (I'm wearing particularly offensive ones tonight. Someone in my family said I look like I'm wearing a TV test pattern) while off-screen voices ask "Ooo, what's that?"and "What did Santa bring this year?" as if they don't already know. I'm fully aware that there is not a jolly fat man in a red suit shimmying down my chimney. I also know that there is no chance that my parents would wrap all the presents that they spoil my sister and me with each year either. And so, I still believe in the spirit of Santa. And till the pitter-patter of feet smaller than mine are in our house Christmas Day, he will continue to leave me a pile of goodies. And that is just fine with me.

Atop Masada

That 2am wake up call was worth it.

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Harry Pot-ter and Happy Birthday, Mike

Over Thanksgiving my sis brought home the first four books in the Harry Pot-ter (you have to say it with a British accent to get the full effect) series. I had never read them - I was a little too old when they started coming out - but had always heard that they were good. So I figured I would give them a try. I read the first at home, and the next three over three days once back in California. My sis brought the last three in the series when she got home on Saturday, and I began reading on Sunday. I finished the last this evening. That is approximately 2280 pages in three days. What a great series. I just couldn't put it down! And I'm so glad it is over so I can get my life back.

In between chapters, I've also been able to finish my Christmas shopping, wrap all my presents, and spend some quality time with my parents and sister. I am, however, missing a big part of my soon-to-be family. Check out Mike's exploits across the world in some of his recent posts, if you haven't already. And please wish him a Happy Birthday, too! For me, this is the best time of year; for the next 13 days, I get to call him an Old Man.

Northern Israel

We spent Wednesday in Northern Israel visiting Migdal Ha'Emek, Tzfat, the Golan Heights and finally Tiberias. After leaving Jerusalem in the morning we went to Migdal Ohr which can be best described as a boarding school for underprivileged children or kids from broken homes. We arrived during recess so we had the chance to play a little soccer with them. It was fun except for the fact that the 10 year olds were a lot better than us. I played goalie which was for the best since I am really out of shape. We lost 1 to 0 but I had already subbed out by the time the kids scored. After recess ended we went inside to learn more about the school and the Rabbi who founded it. Unfortunately we had to go shortly thereafter and didn't really get a chance to do a whole lot with the kids.

We then moved onto Tzfat (or Sefat) which is one of the four holy cities in Judaism. Tzfat is suppose to be a very spiritual city and as such is filled with lots of artists. We met with one Avraham Lowenthal an American who moved to Israel to study the Kabbalah a few years back and now does Kabbalah themed paintings. Avraham reminded me of the hippies who show up at Whole Earth Festival in Davis every year. We had some free time for lunch so I finally got to taste some real falafel. Tucked inside some pita bread with hummus, cucumbers, cabbage and fries, the sandwich was great.

We left Tzfat and headed out to the hills in the Golan Heights. There we ditched the bus and picked up jeeps and drove around the hills with three locals. My driver was very entertaining, pointing out different plants and wildlife, proclaiming Israeli mangos to be the best in the world and giving us the history of the Golan. He also made tea from some natural leaves; it wasn't bad considering his limited resources.

Next we moved on to Tiberias where we stayed for the night. The only interesting thing there was Decks, a family style restaurant know for serving lots of meat. I'm guessing the place caters to tourists as we saw a big group from Birthright and another American group celebrating "William's" bar mitzvah.

Its now 4am and we're on the bus driving to Masada to see the sun rise. I've done it before but it should be fun.

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Day 2 in Israel

As we ride the bus North to visit Tzfat, I thought I'd recount yesterday. We started the day at the Western Wall, but instead of doing much at the Wall, we did a tour of the tunnels underneath the Old City. Apparently Jerusalem was rebuilt on top of itself many times and at one point the Muslim rulers decided to raise the city so that it was closer to the Temple Mount. After Israel captured East Jerusalem they increased the amount of digging and uncovered a big chunk of the western retaining wall of the second temple underground. We spent about an hour wondering around the tunnels with a great guide from Washington DC who moved to Israel in the 80's.

After the tunnels we had two lectures: the first with a former MIT physicist who has written extensively about reconciling biblical and scientific differences; and the second was another American now living in Israel who talked about what Judaism has to say about judging others. Both were engaging speakers which made up for the fact that the topics were a little too preechy for me.

We spent the first part of the afternoon ATV-ing in the Judean Desert. The ATVs were really just golf carts that were supped up with stronger engines, big tires and a good suspension system. Even though we didn't go as fast as I would have liked, it was still a fun experience. The desert is beautiful and there were enough big rocks and hills and valleys to get the off road experience.

After another short lecture we headed back to Jerusalem for dinner and a night out. We all went to Ben Yehuda Street (which is kinda like the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica) and had schwarma at from a street vendor. The food was good but not great but it was a fun place to sit and eat together.

After dinner we all went to a bar to celebrate my birthday and the birthday of another girl on the trip. A few shots and a couple of beers later we moved locations to a dance club and danced the night away.

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