Happy 100th post

Last week has been a very busy one for me. I didn't have to work my part time job last week but there was plenty going on to keep me busy.

Feb. 18 night - went to a party on the upper west side with friends followed by hanging out at Brandy's

Feb. 19 - went to the Jewish Museum for the afternoon, followed by spending time with friends, learning at Aish, then saw "Borat" that night

Feb. 20 - went to work, more packing for our move; saw the first 30 minutes of American Idol and realized that it's a big fat bore and I am better off not watching until they get to the final 12 contestants, saw "Breach" later that night

Feb. 21 - more packing at work, went to a womens' class at my synagogue, bumped into my roommate from Shearim who recently moved to New York from Florida

Feb. 22 - moving day at work, all moved in by the afternoon; dinner with my chavrusa (learning partner) at Estihana

Feb. 23 - unpacking at work, went to a Shabbat dinner with a friend

Feb. 24 - hung out with friends, went to the Ravayah Sat. night

Feb. 25- brunch at Le Marais, hip hop dance class in the afternoon followed by wine tasting at the JCC, I found a new wine that I absolutely love, Golan Muscato

Rules of Karaoke

This post is dedicated to a woman who was at the karaoke party I attended last weekend. She told me that this was her 2nd time doing karaoke, and I have to say she did a very fine job.

1. Make sure you at least know the chorus of the song you are about to sing. The first time to learn a song is not when you're singing a song in front of strangers.

2. Know your alcohol limit. I understand that singing in front of a large group of people is intimidating, a little alcohol can loosen you up a bit and that's a good thing. However, drinking to the point of slurring your words is not recommended.

3. Last but not least, have fun! This is your chance to let your personality shine. Some of us can't carry a tune and when it comes to karaoke, it doesn't matter. Dance around a little bit, make funny faces, improv a bit, it's all good. If you're not having fun up there, then we won't have fun watching you.

A Snowy Night of Learning

Earlier this week, I went to the Aish center for a night of learning in the merit of my friend, E., who I blogged about last month. Here's a little refresher: We learned at Aish several years back, he moved to Israel almost 3 years ago, recently got married, and was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma.

The first mini-lecture was on teshuva (repentance), the most interesting part of the lecture for me was hearing how the need for teshuva goes all the way back to Adam and Eve. When G-d asked Adam if he ate from the tree of good and evil, he basically said it was Eve's fault. When Eve was asked why she ate from the tree, she blamed the snake. The urge to shift responsibility to someone or something else when we make a mistake seems to be ingrained. We have to fight very hard to go against that nature and to own our errors and better yet, to take a different, better course of action when we are confronted with the urge to make that same mistake again.

The next lecture was on chesed (kindness). Most of the points made were obvious but important to hear. It seems the things we take for granted are the ones we easily forget about. Showing kindness to all Jews is paramount but very easy to forget. It is easy to focus on the external trappings of Judaism but harder to focus on getting to know the person's neshama (soul). When we treat each other badly, we suffer the consequences.

The last lecture focused on the mitzvah of bikur cholim (visiting the sick). The most important point I took from this lecture was the bikur cholim is about the person who is ill, it is not about you! Visit when it is convenient for the person who is ill, not for you. If they want to talk, let them. If they don't want to talk, that's okay too. Ask what needs to be done (cleaning, buying magazines, getting food).

I had the chance to see some people who I haven't seen in years. I wish we had a better reason to meet but I hope the next time we all get together like this is for a happy occasion. If anyone wants to say a prayer on behalf of my friend, E., please ask me in the Comments section and I'll be happy to give you his Hebrew name.

Weekend Review

Another good weekend is coming and going. I spent Shabbat with my family in good ole' New Jersey; everytime I come home, I am amazed at the new stores that pop up on the highway. There always seems to be more traffic too : (

Whenever I stay with my family over Shabbat, I go to a small Orthodox synagogue within walking distance. I am by far the youngest person whenever I go this synagogue, with the exception of families with young kids. Most of the congregants are senior citizens; there is a senior citizens' development within walking distance.

We had a guest rabbi come in from Monsey. He is the founder of www.theshmuz.com. I was honored to eat lunch with him and his family. I had the greatest time playing games with a few of his daughters at the table, not only are his daughters kind but they are so fun-loving and spirited.

Last night, I went to a karaoke party at a place in midtown. I got to learn the lyrics of "My Humps", suffice it to say that I didn't sing the whole song as much as I laughed thru the song. I was told that I was entertaining so I guess that's a good thing. I always have such a fun time when I do karaoke and I guess that came thru.

Plans for today are to just chill out and take it easy : )

Notes on a Scandal

After some last minute deliberation, we decided to save 'Dreamgirls' for another time and to check out 'NOAS'. I did not know very much about this movie coming into it and that was probably for the better. If I did know what the movie was really about, I would have chosen not to see it and that would have been a shame because NOAS is a very well-made movie about very uncomfortable subject matter. There were some amazing performances from Cate Blanchett and Dame Judi Dench. I want to highlight Judi Dench's performance, I normally think of her as this very dignified, proper lady and she really went opposite that to play this creepy, delusional woman. Some of her scenes were unintentionally funny, if you were to judge by the audience's reaction.

I have alot of movie watching to do between now and February 25 (Academy Awards), I want to watch as many of the nominated performances as I can. We'll see if that happens....

Warning: Extremely Cranky Woman Approaching

Yes, I am in a very cranky mood today. Thankfully, these moods come few and far between but when they do, you better watch out. It's best to just give me some space. The worst part is it's only Tuesday!

There is something that might get me out of this cranky mood. I'm going to the movies with friends tonight, specifically I'm going to one of my favorite movie theatres in the city, the Angelika Film Center. I will tell you about the movie tomorrow, let's just say that there are some Oscar nominated performances in this film : )

Superbowl Sunday

I will be one of the few people who will go out of their way to not watch the Superbowl. Yes, I will try to catch the halftime show but I am not a football fan. I do not watch any football during the regular season so why would I watch now? I don't care about any of the teams involved, why should I pretend to?

I had a wonderful Shabbas with people in my synagogue; I was invited to a lunch last minute and ended up spending the afternoon with old and new friends. In an interesting game of Jewish geography, one of the guests at the Shabbos table is best friends with one of my roommates from my time at She'arim (a womens seminary in Jerusalem) this past summer.

By the time I got back, I had to rush to get ready for a Tu B'Shevat seder on the west side. The seder had a very hippie/new age feel to it. It is illuminating to see how Jews connect to Judaism, you can really learn something from everyone. After that, I went to a synagogue in the neighborhood to see a concert, the music was beautiful and surroundings. The venue was absolutely breathtaking, what made it even better was the company : )

Today, I spent some time with my family then went shopping at Ann Taylor Loft and Banana Republic, very nice stuff but I'm not paying nearly $70 for a skirt. I'm very picky like that.

So what will I be doing instead of watching the Superbowl? Well, due to my part time job, I don't get to see Heroes and Ugly Betty when they air and I haven't seen the newest episodes yet. I love the fact that I can see re-runs online without all the commercials, maybe I should just suck it up and get DVR/Tivo. Let it be spring.....

Song of the Day

I am very happy it's Friday and I have lots of things to look forward to over the next couple of days. While blog surfing, I found out that Shoshana of Sweet Rose and Sweet Rose Ramblings highlighted my post on Beyond BT on Wednesday.
Go to http://sweetroseramblings.blogspot.com and look under the posts for Wed. Jan 31. Thanks Shoshana.

While looking at her blog, I noticed that she puts up song lyrics that she really likes. I have done so too but not on such a consistent basis. So this is my song of the day:

Everybody Got Their Something by Nikka Costa

My face to the sky
Dreaming about just how high
I could go and I'll know
When I finally get there

Taking of my glasses
Sun pokes through my lashes
And somehow I know
There's a time for every star to shine

Everybody got their something
Everybody got their something
Make you smile like an itty bitty child

People keeping score
Say better hurry up and get yours
Cause somebody else get your spot
Before you even dropped

Seek and you shall find
Everything in my own sweet time
I'll take my chances
With what I believe is only mine

Busy holding on

So the roof don't fly
Keep you from moving on
So get it right
Turn the tide over
Like a love song
Like a butterfly
Believe if you hand it over
You'll come out all right

Everybody got their something
Everybody got their something
Make you smile like an itty bitty child

Illuminate the silly things
Shed some light on all that's wrong
Everybody need it sometime
Sometimes the only thing you got
Is what makes you feel like
You're something else altogether
You have everything don't need
Another reason to be something
I've been on a ride
And caught up in the landslide
But I'm gonna spread my wings and fly...

Everybody got their something
Everybody got their something
Make you smile like an itty bitty child

There's a time for every star
There's a time for every star...

Parsha Beshalach aka Shabbat Shira

We have an action filled parsha this week. Perhaps the most well known event in Jewish history happens here, the parting of the sea. Every morning, Jews sing "The Song of The Sea" as a way of remembering the Exodus. This song is in the parsha, hence Shabbat Shira, the Shabbat of song.

The part of the parsha that speaks to me the most is when the Jews are trapped between the sea and the Egyptians "Pharaoh drew near, and the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold! the Egyptians were advancing after them. They were very frightened, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord" (Shemot 14:10). A few verses later, we read "The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the children of Israel and let them travel. And you raise your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, and the children of Israel shall come in the midst of the sea on dry land." (Shemot 14:15-16). We learn that in addition to prayer, we also need to take action. It is not enough to just pray to G-d for help or to just take action, we need to do both. I also want to delve deeper into "The Song of the Sea" but that is for another post.

Thoughts on Tu B'Shevat

The next 'holiday' on the Jewish calendar is Tu B'Shevat, aka as the New Year for Trees, which is coming up this weekend. Around this time of year, the trees begin to bloom in Israel. You know that spring is coming, the days are getting longer, and the temperatures should be getting a little warmer (unless you live in the New York area, better yet most of the US). We eat alot of fruit, specifically fruit grown in the land of Israel.

For those of us who don't live in Israel, this holiday is one more way to connect to Israel. Even though I have family in Israel, I sometimes feel such a disconnect. Sometimes I get so caught up in my own life in the US that I don't pay as much attention as I should to what is happening in Israel. Celebrating Tu B'Shevat is one way that I can show that Israel is on my mind. I was invited to a special seder for the holiday on Saturday night. I have not been to a special seder for Tu B'Shevat in 4 years, and am eagerly looking forward to going to this seder.