Spring Calendar

School has started up once again! Already I'm feeling the crunch, and I haven't even really begun yet. My schedule is pretty full, which I hope will keep me in line and away from the tv and not making the most of my time. I'm working at One Voice on Mondays and Tuesdays, and on Tuesday I also have Multicultural Approaches for Teaching Young Children. Wednesdays there is Theories of Educational Development and Thursdays I have a course in Peace Education.

This doesn't include the Conflict Resolution course I'll be taking for two weekends, 9-5 Friday-Sunday and another course which begins in March on Wednesdays and Fridays in Emergency Ed. I'm tired just thinking about it, but then I'm always tired. I know, it looks like a lot of free time, but factor in readings (which will be put off to the last minute), social activities, and academic activities, and I hope I'll be pretty busy.

The great thing about everything starting up is that a whole new group of people have arrived at I-House and I'm really enjoying the new friends I'm making. I'm trying to eat more at the cafeteria and do more social activities so that I really get a chance to hang out with everyone. I think I might be voted most social person in the North building (made up mostly of couples and loners). There are a few people I've run into that I'd rather not meet again, but what can you do?

Culture: East meets Mid-West

The past week or so I feel my vacation slipping away and I'm getting a little tense for classes to start up. I've cleaned out my binders, considered returning my library books, and even done my laundry in anticipation. I've also participated in a few cultural activities:

OSU Football
Shira and Mike hosted a little party for the big OSU-Florida game. I got in the spirit by wearing an OSU shirt and developing a craving for Buckeyes. I also brought Michael for his first American football game. It was sort of an ethnography project: Americans cheer strangely and yell loudly at the television. Shira made lots of good food and she had a very nice friend there as well. She was also able to give Michael advice on PhDs and historical research, and who doesn't love that?

NYC Ballet

Debra invited me out for Sleeping Beauty at the New York City Ballet. I haven't done something formal and fun like that since London, so I really enjoyed it. The dancing wasn't exactly my thing, and once or twice it looked like Arora was going to fall, but it was very nice.

I would like to take this opportunity to give you all a little culture and introduce you to an extremely talented woman who was on my Israel program. Go to Raema Quam's myspace page to listen to her incredible songwriting and voice. Spread the word!

Single and Sane

I am sooooo over JDate. When you find yourself on a date with a man who more than vaguely resembles your sister's father-in-law (FIL), it is time to call it quits. It's not just him, I've had numerous (numerous!) bad dates. There's been Not-so-Secretly-Gay Date, Crazy Cop date in which he was obsessed with getting me into his car, Tiny Hands-Big Ring date (THBR), and Perfect-but-Orthodox (PO) date. And so many others, but NO MORE. From now on I'm going to meet boys the good old fashioned way, trolling outside of Columbia's business and law schools. If that doesn't work I'm going down to the med school and purposely breaking my ankle so that some sweet man has to save me. At this time, I would like to share a few excerpts from my more notable dates:

THBR: (after 30 minutes of insurance talk)... and that's why selling insurance is really all about building relationships. If when you call the client you can say, "Hi, how's your wife and kids, how's your pet Fido" then they know you care.
Me: Hmmmm, so true
THBR: And so you do Peace Ed, where would you teach that?
Me: You know, it's interesting, because I'm finding through my program that you can teach it anywhere. I'm interested in Israel, but I have classmates who are looking at inner city violence-
THBR: Actually, I don't know much about this, so I really can't comment. So we probably shouldn't discuss it.
Me: (silence, conversation absolutely dead)

PO: Both of my older siblings are married and have kids
Me: That's so sweet, how many kids do they have?
PO: one has 5, the other has 4
Me: Wow, how old is the oldest?
PO: 6
Me: (shocked silence, calculating how many children I'll have to have with him if I go on a second date)

Me: So you spent three years in Africa doing Peace Corps
FIL: Yes
Me: How did you get interested in that?
FIL: Well, I wanted to put it on my resume
Me: Uhuh (silence, as he falls off my radar)
I don't think Kennedy would be impressed

There's nothing wrong with these guys. They're perfect.... for someone else, someone far different than me. I've learned a lot from these experiences. I'm, and pardon me for saying so, am a good date. I've also learned that silence = kinneret-no-happy. And now, I've got nothing to say.

OSU: catching up with good, old friends

This Saturday I had the great pleasure of grabbing coffee and walking around with Doug! He and I were good friends freshman year of university, but we didn't see each other much over the next two years. So, after not seeing each other for at least two years, we got back in contact (bless you facebook!). He's doing great, working the business-end of Macy's and living with his sweet Ohio boyfriend down by the soup kitchens. I took him on a mini-tour of the Upper West Side and he was pretty impressed with Columbia, Tom's Restaurant, and the owl of good old Alma. Though I didn't take any pictures, I've got one from when Doug was my date back in freshman year to a dance. Excuse the drunken antics, this was taken post-party.

I also finally got it together and called my great friend Emily from OSU(not to be mistaken with Emily currently living in DC and my friend from Israel) . Emily was the very first person I met at the OSU orientation and somehow, in that vast crowd of 60,000 crazy, small-minded people we found each other. We took our ID card photos together and were greatest friends ever since. I miss her lots. She has a bunny, Charlotte, who is possessed by the devil and I brought back a exorcism kit from Israel for her. Emily is currently living, with her husband and another good friend of mine Jason, in Atlanta acting as the greatest profussionist known to man in a hospital there. She's so adult, so put together and grounded. I think she's my life-mentor.

Pictured: a bit fuzzy, but it's Emily and Jason

Earlier this week I called Erin, also a friend from OSU. She was a member of my London trio back in freshman year (including Kristina), and we bonded tightly and continued on as friends for all these years since. In fact, she and I rocked out statistics back in the day, the only math class I ever got an A in. She's also one of the very few people with her own nickname for me. She's currently in Toledo, working a job as well as helping to set up a church with friends. She's a bubbly, spunky kid and it is always a pleasure to talk with her and hear how her life is progressing. She has managed to create relationships with people that I really appreciate and hope to someday replicate in my own life.

Who will I meet up with next????

Tired and Wired

So. tired. all. the. time.

Seriously, is this mono? Or is my addiction to late-night Scrubs and random VH1 marathons stealing my soul as well as my sleep?

Today was my first day at One Voice and I really enjoyed it. I'm working with a very sweet and super professional woman and she goes out of her way to make me feel like I'm something special and going to contribute something to the projects I work on. She asked me for my expertise and I just about fainted. Still, for such a big, funky and young office, my coworkers weren't super-friendly. Perhaps I should bring in chocolates to share? Truly though, I got a lot done today, I completed more work than the three months I worked in Israel. I liked it so much I'm going back tomorrow.

But first I'll need some coffee.

Dirty Secrets...

We all have them, and hide them. I'm going to put some of my guilty pleasures out there, I guess somewhat embracing my faults rather than "resolution"ing them away.

Robin Thicke's music video for Brand New Jones (just click on Windows Media to play). I first saw this video back in Israel when I was in Kiryat-Gat during the summer of 2003. There wasn't much to do there, and one of the few channels we got was a very ghetto-MTV that only had 5 songs on a 15 minute cycle. There was Beyonce's Crazy in Love, and this song by (oh yes) Alan Thicke's son. Every 15 minutes the tv was on so I could witness his little dance in the last .5 seconds again!

I love the film 28 Days Later. A bizarre zombie-British-thriller, I truly love it. Something about the London scenes and Cillian's eyes, and Brendan's beard, and the laundry baskets used as pointless water containers really gets me. I first saw it at college with a friend, she fell asleep and I watched it two more times in the next 24 hours.

When in doubt, on any topic, I turn to ynr.blogthins.com/quizzes. Do I drink too much? Am I ready to date again? How blond am I? Am I pregnant? (no, it's right!) It's almost always right, always! Try it yourself (you can keep the results a secret if want).

Only one person, Yohoshua, knows this. Sometimes, and this very rarely, I get a craving for tuna-noodle-salad. It's gross, truly, but every about 3 times a year, I must have it. Poor sweet Yohoshiyahu had to eat it too when he lived with me this summer, but since he's British and has no taste buds, it wasn't a problem.

No one really posts on here with their responses, but it would be cool if you did this time. Just a little secret of your own, you can keep it anonymous... think about it...

Happy New Year 2007

I started off the last day of 2006 by calling Yohoshua and wishing him a happy birthday (and then yelling at him for preferring Sam and Russell to me (but who can blame him, they're cute and can cook)). I then headed over to Shira and Mike's to join them and Leigh to go to the Natural History Museum. The girls straightened my hair, and then we all headed to lunch, and it was clear that there would be no museum going. We did some window shopping and then went back to their home. We played the 20th Anniversary Edition of Trivial Pursuit, and Mike beat us all pretty badly. Shira had bought a ton of different stinky cheeses, one better than the other, and we noshed and drank wine while watching Ace of Cakes before turning to the Times Square ball-drop.

Just after midnight I ran out to join Brittany and some friends over at the bar Mona. There was a $40 cover, that somehow I skipped paying (it's a mystery). We hung out dancing to the dance beats which turned to reggae when the islander DJ got his way. There was a 95 year old woman bouncing around with 20 year olds. There were a lot of random people coming together to make out. Rather wild times.

I took a nice walk home, and thanks to my phone connected with a few people. Thank goodness I don't have any really long distance numbers on my cell, or I would have called them all. A nice surprise was that after I left a message for Yella, she called back. I had thought she was still in Mexico but she was happy at home. I had connected with a good friend from OSU, Erin Martell, earlier in the day, and I need to reach my great friends Emily and Jason. I tell you, the nicest and greatest people you'll ever meet are in Ohio. Who knew?

Last night I had another nice dinner with Michael and Manu and then we went to the Magic Johnson Theater in Harlem to see Night at the Museum. I tell ya, I hate going to movie theaters. People today just don't understand how to be considerate. This time wasn't so bad, except the man next to me answered his phone 3 times and had conversations. Grrrrrr. People, PLEASE!

Emily is off to Israel! What shall I do without my twin for two weeks??? She's going to have so much fun, I can't wait for the pictures!

WARNING: adult concepts and words below
A friend from EIE (high school in Israel), Liat, sent me an email to promote her new business. So, being the good friend I am, I am happy to promote it to you.

www.theCUNTshop.com

Liat of the pillow-case dress in Israel is now making vagina pillows, it all comes full circle. I'm excited that Liat has found her passion and has combined her craftiness with her love of women's rights. So, if inspired, please shop with Liat and let her know I sent her the business!