Sex Grease

Last night, I went to a friend's bridal shower and got a little lost in the neighborhood because someone didn't tell me that I should take the elevator when I exit the subway station instead of walking through the tunnel out of the station. I arrived at the shower just in time for "Bridal Shower Mad Libs", my friend made up a story about the bride-to-be (BTB) and she gave us 2-3 cards each and we had to fill in a noun, adjective, or verb. Afterwards, the BTB opened her gifts and she got some really nice things, however the only thing I can remember is a few "naughty' gifts that she got, "Sex Grease" being one of them. What is "Sex Grease"? Use your imagination : )

Stockholm Here I Come!!

Look at this tidbit: http://music.yahoo.com/read/news/37584074

It's about time!

Party Till the Break of Dawn

I'm already back in the office and I admit it was a little hard to get out of bed today, especially after a relaxing, fun long weekend. Thankfully, the unseasonably warm weather helped motivate me to get up today. I walk to work everyday and I enjoy the walk, especially on days like this.

So after a couple of relaxing days at home in NJ, I took the bus back to NYC and went out to celebrate a friend's birthday. I have not seen this wonderful friend in a long time, we're talking 2 years. She went to the Midwest to pursue a masters degree and she just finished this semester. Her birthday was on Saturday and we went out dancing since that is one of her favorite things to do.

The best way to describe the night would be like this:

Cover charge to get into a club: $20 (doesn't apply to me since our group got in for free)
Cab ride to the first club from my place: $13
One mixed vodka drink: $12
Cab ride from the first club to the second club: $6.60
Cab ride from the 2nd club to my place: $18
Cover charge at 2nd club: $10
Dancing with your friends all night long : priceless

If you want to know more about the clubs we went to, look at www.duvetny.com. (can't figure out a shortcut on how to link to other websites) and www.theannexnyc.com. A big indicator of whether a bar or club is worthwhile is whether you would want to go back there another night and I would love to go back to The Annex on another Saturday night. I'm not sure I'd want to go back to Duvet, maybe if I didn't have to pay to go there. I didn't go to sleep until 4 AM, can't believe that I used to go out to clubs almost every weekend, it's a very exhausting way to live.

I slept in yesterday, got a gift for a friend's bridal shower this week, saw a friend for coffee and went to Barnes and Noble and got a birthday gift for one of my brothers. One gift down, a whole lot more to go.

Happy Turkey Day, oops Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers, enjoy the long weekend : ) Plans are to spend time with my family and friends who I haven't seen in awhile. We'll see how that works.....

One of my favorite things about Thanksgiving: sleeping in, normally I wake up at 7:30 but today I slept in until 9:00. I've been watching a little TV, currently I'm watching an episode of MTV's True Life: I'm A Competitive Eater. I may have many talents but eating alot of food in a limited amount of time is not one of them. If there was a "Slowest Eater" contest, then I'd be a contender.

American Music Awards aka a waste of time

For the first time in awhile, I had a whole night to myself; no part time job to go to, no classes to attend. I decided to do something that I have not done in a long time, and that is to watch an awards show. The American Music Awards show aired last night on ABC and I decided to check it out. Despite the title of the post, there were some things that I liked about the show but before I get to those, I will talk about the things I didn't like. I always like to end things on a positive note : )

Things I Did Not Like

1. Carrie Underwood's outfit: It looked like she couldn't decide what to wear; "I'd like to wear hot shorts but maybe I should wear a gown over it....Hmm what will I do? I'll wear the back of my gown over shorts. Why didn't I think of it before?"

2. The Kevin Federline skit: It's pretty obvious that he is what we call unpopular. This had all the subtlety of an anvil, and then Britney Spears coincidentally presents an award right after...

3. Nelly Furtado's performance: the song didn't do it for me, it's no "Promiscuous". Also, I think her outfit is see-thru under certain lighting.

4. Pussycat Dolls: the less said about them, the better.

5. everytime Paris Hilton was shown onscreen

6. Gwen Stefani: Her new song "Wind It Up" stinks! I do not like 'The Sound of Music', so any song that samples anything from a movie I don't like does not go well with me. It also sounds alot like her other song "Hollaback Girl". I loved "Love Angel Music Baby" but if her new album is all like that new song, then I don't think I will spend the $10 on ITunes to listen to it.

7. Flava Flav's appearance: I thought he looked like a fool, didn't find it funny at all.

Things I Liked

1. Beyonce's performance: A great way to start off the show, and she looked HOT!!!

2. Carrie Underwood's performance: It's funny how I can go from disliking her when she was on American Idol to sort of liking her now.

3. Mary J. Blige's performance: It is simply a joy to hear her sing.

4. Lionel Richie: There are certain men in this world who get better looking with age and Lionel Richie is one of these men. His new song was okay but I loved it when he sang "All Night Long".

5. Jimmy Kimmel: I thought he was a decent host, enjoyed his jokes, didn't bore me to tears.

Okay, so maybe the AMA was not a total waste of t.ime

Every Today is Another Chance to Get Things Right

I saw this slogan on a bus yesterday while walking to work. Often, you don't find interesting slogans like this on a bus. Where did the quote come from? You might be surprised if I tell you it's from a TV show. The TV show is called 'Daybreak', it stars Taye Diggs and premiered on ABC last week. The premise of the show is that the main character is framed for a murder and his family is in danger. Every morning he wakes up, the same day repeats and he has to find out who framed him for murder and keep his family safe. Until he solves the mystery, the day will keep repeating itself.

Upon further reflection, this quote is a great way to live your life. Let's say you had a bad day at work, or you had an argument with a family member or a close friend. Every day is another chance to start fresh, you have a clean slate. Every morning, Jews say a prayer upon waking up. We thank G-d for letting us wake up to see another day. We get another chance to fulfill our potential for the day, to use our time productively. We can find inspiration from the most unlikely place, even from a sign on a city bus.

What is Your Superpower?

In honor of the awesome TV show known as Heroes, I want to talk about superpowers. Seeing all these characters discover their superpowers and finding out how it relates to their lives, I think about what superpowers I would like to have. A website dedicated to recapping and posting about TV shows has a popular forum dedicated to Heroes, you can post about what superpower you would like to have.

I would really like to have 2 superpowers: the ability to turn back time and mind control. I can't tell you how many times I've said something I shouldn't have said and wished that I could take it back. I think we've all been there. As for mind control, I think it would certainly enhance certain aspects of my personality. I've been told that I can be charming and persuasive, why not use the power of mind control for good? I could mend rifts between friends, between family, not to mention the effect that would have on a global level.

It's too bad procrastination is not a superpower. Unfortunately, that ability seems to have stuck with me.

Prayer Seminar - Isralight Style

Sunday is a day of relaxation for most people, a day to sleep in late. This was not the case for me and about 50-60 other people who went to a seminar on tefilla (prayer). Rabbi David Aaron, dean of Isralight led the seminar. Isralight is one of many organizations that reach out to unaffiliated Jews, I find their classes to be of a high quality and you can really take what you learn in their classes and apply it to your life.

The first part of the seminar focused on what prayer really is, Rabbi Aaron argued that Jews do not pray. That was quite a way to wake up the audience! He talked about his upbringing and some of the misconceptions he had about prayer, one such misconception is that you're supposed to read from the siddur as quickly as possible. I suppose that is why I like to go to intermediate services, instead of regular services. At a regular service, I find myself playing catch-up most of the time and it really detracts from my time with Hashem (G-d). Another point Rabbi Aaron made is that we read from a siddur, not a prayerbook. Through reading the siddur, we are supposed to transform ourselves. The Hebrew term used in this case is 'lehit pallel'. Whether that happens all the time is anyone's guess.

The second part of the seminar focused on the Shemonei Esrei or Amidah, the major prayer in the siddur. The Amidah originaly featured 18 blessings but an extra one was added. We focused on the introductory line (My Lord, open your lips that my mouth may declare your praise) and the first blessing (Patriarchs). Basically, the first blessing really sets the tone for the rest of the prayer; it establishes that there is an active, long-standing relationship with Hashem going back to the times of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob (our three forefathers). If we don't get that aspect, then the rest of the prayer is basically said in vain.

For something that we are supposed to do 3 times a day (men for sure, there are differing opinions on how often women should pray) prayer is something that gets pushed aside at time and that shouldn't be the case. I feel that this seminar gave me concrete ideas to focus on in my prayers that will enhance my relationship with Hashem.

Manic Monday*

I really dislike Mondays. You're probably thinking "you and everyone else on this planet...so what?" Well, I think I have a legitimate reason for disliking Mondays. I work a part-time job 2 nights a week, Monday is one of those nights. Between those 2 jobs, I work 11 hours a day. Until a few months ago, I did have a little time in between my two jobs to go home and chill out. Since my part-time job is in a different neighborhood than where I live, I decided to sign up for 1-on-1 learning in a Jewish outreach program in that neighborhood. So that fills up the gap of time I have in between my 2 jobs.

On one hand, I love the learning and I have become good friends with my tutor. We started off learning the laws of Shabbat and have moved on to learning about the laws of cooking on Shabbat, with forays into the weekly Torah portion and the laws regarding blessings. On the other hand, this schedule leaves me exhausted by the end of the day and it's not something I look forward to after a long weekend. What can I do? I can either a. move my learning to a different night of the week or b. change my hours of my part-time job by either switching nights or reducing my hours to 1 night a week instead of 2.

ETA: Manic Monday is a perfect little pop song, one of the songs that comes to your head when you think of 80s music.

A Night At The Opera

Last night, I got to see "Madama Butterfly". This is a new production done by Anthony Minghella, the same man who directed "The English Patient" and 'The Talented Mr. Ripley", both films that I loved. I am not a fan of opera, I think I've seen only one opera in my life before last night. A friend got tickets as a birthday gift for himself and he decided to treat me to some opera.

First of all, I wore one of my LBD's (little black dress), so nice to get all dolled up : ) It was such a shock to see how casually people dress to go to the opera. I never thought I'd see people dressed in blue jeans to see an opera.

Getting back to the show, the story of "Madama Butterfly" is fascinating; it is one of the most tragic stories around. The costumes were beautiful, and the singing was astounding. I can't imagine how much training one must undergo in order to become an opera singer. There were 3 acts, Act I and Act II Part i and Act II Part ii. Before Act II part i, there was a technical glitch and before Act II part ii, the lead singer fell ill and couldn't finish the part so the understudy finished up the show. It was very dis-jarring to see a different person play Madama Butterfly. Even with the unexpected mishaps, I enjoyed seeing this opera. This is high praise coming from someone who dislikes opera. If you want to take someone who has never seen an opera before, I would suggest taking him/her to Madama Butterfly.

After The Rain*

Last night, there were wicked thunderstorms where I live. At some times, it sounded like golf balls were pouring down instead of rain. But now, it's beautiful outside, blue skies with no clouds and the temperature is a little cool but nevertheless very nice.

One of my favorite things about Shabbat is the reading of the Torah. Every week, we read one, sometimes, two, sections (parsha) of the Torah. It seems that no matter what is going on in your life, the parsha for that week somehow can be related to certain circumstances in your life and this week is no exception for me. This week's portion is Chayei Sarah, it starts off with Abraham burying Sarah. Then we move on to Abraham realizing that Issac needs a wife to continue the existence of the Jewish people so since Abraham is old and can't travel to help Issac find a wife, he enlists Eliezer, his servant, to help Issac find a wife.

What struck me the most was the Eliezer was looking for a girl with the quality of kindness (chesed). He stood by the well to see which woman would offer to give him water first, the first woman he sees not only gives him water but also gives his camels water. As you can imagine, that is a physically challenging task but it didn't occur to her that it would be difficult, she automatically assumed that the camels must be thirsty so she gave them water. Who is this lovely woman? That woman was Rebecca, one of our matriarchs.

In my opinion, even though alot of people I know say they want to get married and start a family, there seems to be a disconnect between what people say and what people do. There are a million and one reasons why you might not want to go out with someone, they're not the same level as you religiously, they're too short, too tall, not enough hair, too much hair, too old, too young, the list can go on. What people forget, and I am not excluding myself here, is that character is really what counts in the long run. We will show signs of aging, our figures will not be the same in 10, 20, 30 years as they are now, character is the one thing that will stay with us forever. In the first few dates, we are all on our best behavior. If you want to see someone as they really are, see how they treat waiters, cab drivers; how they talk about their families, how they deal with the unexpected(a rainstorm, show tickets are sold out, etc.) By all means, make sure you are attracted to the person physically and vice versa, make sure that if you're not in the same place religiously, that you are going in the same direction. I've learned from experience that if you have issues with the character/personality of the person you're dating that most likely, what you see is what you get so you better a. learn to live with it. or b. end that relationship and find someone who is better for you.

Rebecca's kindness and compassion shone through and that was why she became the wife of Issac and one of our matriarchs. That is one thing I want to work on in my dating. Whatever dates I go on (it will be decided whether or not I will blog about them) I will keep kindness and character in the front of my mind. If I hear someone say that the Torah does not apply to them, then I will be happy to talk about the lessons of Chayei Sarah.

* Cheesy 80s song by Nelson; Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, twins with long pretty blond hair that was way prettier than normal for mens hair, they are part of the famous Nelson family. Recently, Gunnar Nelson appeared on Celebrity Fit Club, the VH1 show where has-been celebrities go to lose weight and get on the B-list or C-list of fame.

P.S. If I got any details of Chayei Sarah wrong, I apologize.

Where Has Modesty Gone?

Last night, I went to the 4th class of a 7 class series of womens' classes. The topic of the class was on tznius, loosely translated as modesty. First, the instructor showed us various pictures of models (men and women) in various states of undress; it was shocking how much some of these pictures looked like pornography; the sad thing is that we have become us immune to this. This is what happens when you see pictures like that all the time.

We also discussed how tznius applies to both men and women; even though women get the short end of the stick when it comes to guidelines for dress (knees, elbows, and collarbones have to be covered), men also have it rough as well in their own way. When a man becomes observant, he can forget about watching the next Britney Spears video!

The last part of class was about hair covering, a good percentage of the women who take this class are engaged or married. When a Jewish woman gets married, she is supposed to cover her hair. The point of view behind this is that hair is a very alluring part of a woman's body, and when you're married, you don't want to be showing that off to anyone else but your husband. Some women buy hats or scarves and others get a sheitel (wig) to cover their hair. Even though I am not currently in a relationship, it was interesting to hear other womens points of view on this topic, it is an intense decision for a women to cover her hair.

Most TV shows and music videos are low on modesty. One TV show that is currently gaining popularity is called "Pants Off Dance Off", it airs on the Fuse Network and it is a pretty self-explanatory concept. Various people of all ages and sizes dance to music videos and take their clothes off for $. I have caught glimpses of this show and I have found myself watching more than a few minutes of the show; I compare it to driving on the highway and seeing a multi-car pileup, even though you know you shouldn't watch it you are compelled to watch. I seriously want to know what is the mindset for people who dance on this show; do they want their 5 minutes of notoriety, is it some weird way of letting go of body insecurity, who knows?
Do they not understand that there are people who watch this show? What if you are on a job interview and you happened to dance on the show awhile back and let's say the person who interviewed you happens to flip channels and catches you on the show? How embarrassing would that be?

Seriously, it is a sad comment on society that a show like "Pants Off Dance Off" is popular, and I will do my small part by simply not watching the show, even for a glimpse.

We Can Be Heroes

This is an ode to "Heroes", the best new TV show this year. Initially, I thought it would be one of those shows that would attract a small but loyal crowd, destined to go to the "Critically Acclaimed but Canceled" bin. To my surprise, this show has proven to be very popular. For a show with so many characters, the writers have managed to make them multi-dimensional and I am invested in their stories. I am sad when every episode ends and eagerly look forward to the next episode. I am not one to get DVD sets of TV shows but I would love to get the DVD set for this show when it comes out. This show will get an Emmy nomination for Best Drama, mark my words.

This Dallas Cowboy Can Dance

Because I was at my womens' class last night, I missed the finale of Dancing With The Stars. I was thrilled to read that Emmitt Smith won over Mario Lopez. What a suitable end to an otherwise weird, messed-up season. I remember feeling bummed out when talented dancers such as Willa Ford and Vivica Fox were voted out over other dancers who were not so talented (they shall remain nameless). I'm not even getting into the whole Sara Evans divorce saga, suffice it to say that is a very sad situation, especially for her kids.

There were other dancers I enjoyed watching like Joey Lawrence and Monique Coleman. I will remember Jerry Springer's waltz, Joey's quickstep, Monique's jive, Harry Hamlin's pathetic attempt at dancing the cha-cha, and the downright puzzling musical choices of this season (dancing to Kris Kross for the mambo, Bon Jovi for Paso Doble). I was happy with the final 3 and even happier with the winner. As talented of a dancer as Mario is, I can't help but think that his personal life may have contributed to his loss of the title. When I learned he was competing on the show, the first thing I thought of besides his 'acting' on Saved By The Bell was his short-lived marriage to Ali Landry and the alleged reason why it ended. I'm not sure whether it's true or not but it did stay in my mind and that happened at least a couple of years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if Mario, Joey, Willa, Monique, and even Vivica get cast on Broadway shows in the next year. As for the DWTS tour, I'm not sure I would pay big bucks to see that. Maybe if I can get discounted tickets of Craigslist.....

Filling in the Blanks

Since I've come back from Israel, I've been busy dealing with other pursuits besides finding a husband ; )

1. Career: I have gotten applications for MSW (Masters in Social Work) programs and am in the process of filling out applications. Thank G-d I don't have to take the GREs again, I hated taking them the first time around. My full-time job is good, the company I work for will be moving sometime in 2007. There is nothing like an impending move to motivate you to clean your office and throw out some old papers. I am still working my part-time job, 2 nights a week.

2. Religion/Spirituality: I have learning one-on-one for almost 4 months. There are some Jewish organizations that will set you up with someone to learn any subject in Judaism you want. I consider my tutor a really good friend, and I think we've learned so much from each other over the past few months. I've been keeping Shabbat on a consistent basis since I've come back from Israel, and as for keeping kosher, I'm working on that. Some weeks are better than others. Whenever I go to the cafeteria where I work, my choices are extremely limited, basically I can get a salad, fresh fruit, or packaged kosher goods. I've also kept busy taking other class in the neighborhood and I would like to start visiting other communities or go to a different synagogue 1x a month.

3. Family: Thank G-d my family is doing just fine. I see my adorable nephew 1-2x a week, he will be a year and a half real soon. It is so wonderful to have your family nearby, I don't understand how people can cope with their families being far away, like on the other side of the country or even in another county altogether.

I've also been spending time with old friends, went to a couple of birthday parties at bars/clubs and will probably go to another one later this month. The last movie I saw was Superman Returns (no joke!), haven't been to a museum since March of this year. I have been watching some new TV shows, favorites are Heroes, Ugly Betty, Help Me Help You, and The Nine. A couple weekends ago, I went to a Volunteer Day and spent the day cleaning up a synagogue in another neighborhood. Yea, that pretty much sums it up.

Who's That Girl?

Your eyes are not deceiving you. I am back after a nearly 4 month blogging hiatus. I can't wait to tell you what I've been up to these days.