I'm sorry!!

Eek! I'm sorry! I know I haven't been posting (as my mother pointed out to me today!) and that is mostly because a) I don't really have a steady computer of my own right now, which is weird, b) I'm not at school and therefore not constantly infront of said computer and c) I'm on winter break and have been spending the majority of my time on a couch with my dogs, a book, and a pot of tea. That, by the way, has been absolutely lovely and restorative and refreshing all at the same time. I thought I would go crazy with cabin fever and with not being around people all the time like I am at school, but it turns out I am actually more than happy to sit at home all day and read. It is incredibly relaxing and just soooo differnt from the way I have to be at school, so it's a very welcome change. I don't think I could do it forever, but for a little while, it's quite nice. So, there is the explaination and the apology, I hope you forgive me and I'll try to write more in the coming New Year!
Good lord, it's already December 31st. Wow. This year has been absolutely crazy, but then, what year isnt? I feel like I could say that about any year. I was actually thiiiiiiiiiiis close just now to trying to do a re-cap of 2008, but it just didn't seem right for some reason. I guess this whole blog can just be my re-cap, hu? Not that I expect you to re-read all of it, but my 80 year-old self will be very pleased, I think, to look back over everything I wrote here some day. :-)
That's all for now, I'm off to watch an episode of The West Wing and hopefully get some sleep! Love to you all.

Studying for finals

I feel like I have a metric ton of work to get done before the end of Friday and I am not excited about it. I wish I could take my exam that is scheduled for tonight at 7 RIGHT NOW just so I could get it out of the way and move on to the next thing. I don't like that it is looming. Also, people have already started leaving for winter break and that makes me super-sad because I won’t see them all for a month! Jeez—why does our break have to be so damn long? Really, I’m just going to get immensely bored by the end of it, and will miss everyone too damn much. Bleh. I don’t approve. Meh, enough of my complaining, and back to the trenches with me. Wish me luck!

It's Raining!

It is raining! And though I somehow missed that fact for the majority of last night (damn you, closed window shades!) I am now enjoying it to its full extent. I'm going to go walk up to the Motley, sit there for a couple hours and finish reading The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao so I can write my paper on it. Also on today's schedule, which I will HOPEFULLY be able to stick to: Write at least 3/4 of my study guide for Gender and Women's Studies, watch a movie for The Holy Fool and write a one page paper on said movie. Until then--Mexican hot chocolate, here I come!

Cool Concept

I don't care much for the music, but the concept is pretty cool. A music video made in 45,000 hires photographs.

Computer

And yes, I do have a working computer right now. I drove into downtown LA to pick up a loaner laptop from my dad's office, so the internet is back up and running in my life. This is both very very good and potentially very bad for me fininshing my research paper...
One research paper, one final paper, one movie review and two final tests to go...

John Stewart

John Stewart speaks to Mike Huckabee about gay marriage.

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Mike Huckabee Pt. 2

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

Does it make me emo...

...if I really like this song?

Eh, oh well.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .

Say Yes

I'm in love with the world,
Through the eyes of a girl,
Who's still around the morning after.

We broke up a month ago,
When I grew up, I didn't know
It'd be around the morning after.

It's always been wait and see,
A happy day didn't pay
Feel like shit the morning after.

But now I feel changed around,
And instead falling down,
I'm standing up the morning after.

Situations get fucked up
Turned around sooner or later

I could be another fool,
Or an exception to the rule
You tell me the morning after.

Crooked spin cant come to rest
I'm damaged bad at best
She'll decide what she wants
I'll probably be the last to know
No one says until it shows
See how it is they want you or they don't

I'm in love with the world,
Through the eyes of a girl,
Who's still around the morning after.

Ah ha!

A brief moment of internet clarity! I must seize it! My computer has been slowly dying for a while now and has recently decided to speed things up...the Ethernet connection is totally useless and my wireless is spotty at best. Not to mention it doesn't work off of battery power and likes shutting down randomly....I can't blame it, really. It is four years old. But doesn't it know that finals are two weeks away and there are essays to write and research to do?? Poor computer...stick with me for just a while longer!!

Marquez

Don’t let yourself die without knowing the wonder of fucking with love.
--Gabriel García Márquez

Yummy

I just put my comforter on my bed, after weeks of saying that I should. Mmmm. I am so happy with this choice. And my bed looks so much better, now.

The List

Katie had the brilliant idea of us making huge lists summing up everything we have to do in the next three weeks. And by brilliant I mean it really was super-smart, it is just also incredibly daunting to see it all laid out like that. That being said, I knocked two things off the list yesterday, did two more so far today, and will do one or hopefully two more by the end of the night. And that is only the beginning....These next three weeks until the end of the semester will be all kinds of crazy but hopefully all kinds of good too. I can't believe this school year is almost halfway over...wow.

Googlewhacking

Katie, my dad and I have been Googlewhacking.

vitrification ecofeminism has 91--well, now 92--hits
problemitization vitriol gets 3
vitriol cephalopode gets 117
ecofeminist cephalopode gets ONE! Click on the screenshot for proof.

Want

I want nothing more right now than to curl up in a blanket on my couch at home with a good book, lentil soup, hot mulled cider, and two snoring pugs at my feet. Mmmmmmmmmm. I can't wait until Thanksgiving....

I miss you

The entirety of Ernest Hemingway's shortest short story:

"For sale: baby shoes, never worn"

WHHHAAATTT???

How can something be SOOOOOO CUUUUUTTTEEE???

Lust

Samia had these amazing shoes on when we went to go see James Bond on Friday...Rob bought them for her, of course. I am now completely lusting after them. They are, by the way, vegan. :-)

Lunchbox Quotes

My mom started putting quotes in my lunchbox in, I think, 5th grade, maybe 6th. I distinctly remember having a note for every hour of the day on my first day of 5th grade, as it was the first year I was not in the same class as my best friend Jordan, and needed all the help my 11-year-old self could get to get through it. Whether or not these notes were directly related to the "Lunchbox Quotes," I can't remember....Either way, since 'round about that time I have been graced with adorable, funny, touching, beautiful, poignant, and wise sayings (almost!) every single day. I am so thankful for this, really, as the Lunchbox Quotes have been a constant, enduring presence in my life for so long. They've got me researching their authors, had me laugh out loud, influenced my love of literature and my sense of humor, caused me to record my favorite ones and put them up on my dorm walls, and made me smile with the knowledge that my mother was thinking of me, even in college when the quotes no longer come in lunchbox, but e-mail, form. So thanks, Mom, for the Lunchbox Quotes and everything they've done. :-) Here's today's:

Pied Beauty, by Gerard Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things --
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches' wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced -- fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled, (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

Song of Songs

I'm reading the Song of Songs/the Song of Solomon for Bible as literature. This is one of my favorite parts:

Place me like a seal over your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.

Many waters cannot quench love;
rivers cannot wash it away.
If one were to give
all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Smiles

Most glorious day wandering around West Hollywood/Melrose/Santa Monica/Venice with RS and G. Met up for dinner with good friends from back home who I have missed dearly...such a lovely, unexpected surprise. And, the weather was absolutely gorgeous....*happy sigh*

Laundry

I'm waiting for my laundry to finish up so I can move it to the dryers and not be one of those guys who leave their stuff in the washing machines....grrrrrrrrrrrr.
Last night was lots of fun. First, we went to this great big ol' acapella show of a couple different schools around California. I, dorky as it may be, freaking love acapella and so was extremely pleased with the whole situation. If only Fleet Street had been there, my night would have been made. (They came last year, but I missed it...darn). After that I went salsa dancing for a while, which I should really do more often, and felt an up-the-coast camaraderie with my sister who was swing dancing at the same time. :-) Then I hung out in SD's room for a long while, chatting with some of her friends and helping her polish off a box of goldfish crackers. mmmm.
Today, unfortunately, has to be some semblance of a homework day for me because I'm going to be out and about Los Angeles on Sunday, just to get off campus and have a little fun. Yay, can't wait!

So much to do

Sorry I haven't written in a while, there has been SOOOOO much going on. A short list of the recent goings-on:
Obama--YAY!!!
Prop 8--damn it, California...I had higher hopes for you.
School--lots of work, lots of craziness, not enough sleep.

...ant that pretty much sums up the past couple of days, hahaha. More to come later when I am more coherent/less swamped.

voteVOTEvoteVOTEvoteVOTEvote

Sunday Morning

I have three songs in my iTunes titled "Sunday Morning" (Ani Difranco, Maroon 5, No Doubt). Two of them (Ani and Maroon 5) were stuck in my head today, as I had multiple conversations about what Sundays meant to different people.

Some of the cons of Sundays, I have found:
Universal homework day. You realize how much more work you have to do.
Last day of the weekend--school is coming up again, and fast.
Cleaning up/sorting out stupid things you may have done the previous two nights.

Pros of Sundays:
Football. Or so I've been told.
PostSecret goes up for the new week.
Big, fat crossword puzzles you need your friends' help to solve.
Sunday nights can be some of the most relaxing, if you can get your stuff done.

------------------------------

"Sunday morning, slow beats seething, through the screens in the open windows
Eggs frying, legs shaking, after we stayed lying so long in bed
Sunday morning, both of us reading, and looking up occasionally
Looking up occasionally

Sunday morning, you're doing your thing and I am doing mine
Speaking words, more a formality, cuz we can feel we are of one mind
Sunday morning, sheets still warm, kitties swarming around our feet
Life comes easy, your sweet company, making it so complete

Of all the Monday through Fridays we joined the crusade
Of all the Saturday nights in which we were made
Of all the exorcisms I've done with your ghosts
Still it's Sunday morning--I miss you the most"
--Sunday Morning, Ani Difranco

We hold these truths to be self evident...

...that all men are created equal.

Oh, man...

This is freaky: "A new study has found that one in four children thought it was illegal for women and minorities to hold the office of President"

Never

This is so important to me:

"We never touch people so lightly that we do not leave a trace."

--Peggy Tabor Millin

What a Difference a Day Makes

This morning I was at school, now I am at camp.

It's so weird being here without so many people I love. (Jordan, Matan, Alana, Gilad, Lili, Emily, Evan, etc to name a few). I don't like that part of it at all. I started crying during services today, just overwhelmed with the emotions and stress of this past week, with the emotions of being back up at camp, and with the heavy, heavy weight of the absence of the people I love from this place.

I felt weird coming back to camp for Fall Camp last year, too. I remember, I felt alienated and uncomfortable and just generally like a homesick camper. I wanted to go home, and just counted my way through the hours until I was able to go back to school. (I miss the person who got me through the weirdness of that weekend, I really, really do. But I don't know how to get back to him, or even if I should. Either way, things have changed. It wouldn't, couldn't, the the same).

This, again, is my first time back after the summer, but this time is different. It is compounded by the loss of the people who made this past summer one of the best I have ever had at camp, and also by this overwhelming notion that I am in a very, very different place from where I was this time a year ago. A lot of things have changed, yes, but some good things have also stayed the same. I still appriciate this place and everything it has done for me. (I told RS last night that this place had shaped me and made me who I was more than any school ever had. He was impressed, maybe surprised, but I meant it.) I still thank the people who have made this place what it is for me, who have given me so much out of it.

But I wonder sometimes, whether all these weird feelings are there to tell me that it is time to move on. Maybe this was my last summer, maybe this is my last Fall Camp, but then again, maybe it's not. I know that no summer would be truly complete without camp, and that is has been a huge part of my life for so long, so I am in no way ready to make the choice about whether things are coming to an end or not, but I do know that I can safely say that they are changing. And that, though incredibly scary, might just be a good thing.

Sleep!

I just realized that there is no point in me going to bed late tonight! (The past nights bedtime has been ranging between 2-4 am. Blech!). I'm getting enough sleep, because my classes are pretty late, but why not get more?? :-) SO, tonight I am going to take a shower, answer a question for one of my midterms, watch an episode of The West Wing and be in bed by 1. Yay!

Waterfall

Thanks to Well That's Strange, again, for this crazy, awesome video.

Whoooaaaaah!

You have to check this out. Craziest video ever. Props to my dad for the link.

Interesting...veeerrrrry interesting....

I just read this incredibly interesting article about Jews and their DNA that my dad sent me. If you have a second/any interest in genetic history, Jewish studies, or Biology, you should really check this out.

Hmm

There are a surprising number of lights on in the dorms at four o'clock in the morning.

Quotes

Some of my favorite quotes from my mommy's exhaustive quote collection:

"Anything will give up its secrets if you love it enough"
--George Washington Carver

"This universe, that created the stars, galaxies, Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, and the duck-billed platypus, is quite capable of finding someone for you that has the capacity to love you no matter what your situation."

--Jim Carrey, on the Oprah show

"There are some things you learn best in calm, and some in storm"
--Willa Cather

"Pugs are living proof that God has a sense of humor."

--Margo Kaufman, American writer

"A Proper Tea is very much nicer than a Very Nearly Tea, which is one you forget about afterwards."

--Winnie the Pooh, speaking for A.A. Milne

"'I can't say no grace like I use' ta say. I'm glad of the holiness of breakfast. I'm glad there's love here. That's all.'"

--Casy the preacher, in "The Grapes of Wrath," by John Steinbeck

"He who would travel happily, must travel light."

--Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"Choose a job you love, and you'll never work a day in your life."

--Confucius

"Remember, the loudest person in the room is the weakest."

--Denzel Washington's character in "American Gangster"

"You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think"
--Chirstopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh

This Bouquet

Today, I started asking people for their forgiveness in preparation for Yom Kippur. I have never really done this before, but decided to do it this year because I feel like I am finally mature enough to truly take responsibility for myself, my decisions, and my mistakes. So, in preparation for that I've been doing some reading on Yom Kippur, Kol Nidre, and the whole process in general. Here is an article I really like about it.

A moved up to Seattle today. Good luck, love! You're going to do great things.

I really like this song, This Bouquet by Ani Difranco, and have for pretty much forever. It's been stuck in my head for a while.

got a garden of songs where i grow all my thoughts
wish i could harvest one or two for some small talk
seems like i'm starving for words whenever you're around
nothing on my tongue so much in my ground
nothing on my tongue so much in my ground

half the time i got my gaze trained on your motel door
fourth door from the end
rest of the time my gaze lays like a stain on the carpeted floor
if it weren't for my brain i'd go over and make friends
too bad about my brain 'cause i'd like to make friends

see the little song bird unable to make a sound
even though she follows her words from town to town
we both got gardens of songs; maybe it's okay
that i am speechless because i picked you this bouquet
yep, sure am speechless, but i picked you this bouquet

Nemo

I am getting a fish for my biology class next week. So excited. And, I need to wash my dishes, becaue I have a whole lot of dirty cups lying around...

Schedule

I just realized that by the end of this, my first semester of Sophomore year, I will have completed 8 out of the 15 courses for my joint major requirements. Whoah.

Oops

...I just took a nap. Kind of accidentally. At 8:00 pm. Oy vey!

Today

Shanah Tova, everyone! Happy new year! Services were good today, B was the Hagba and I was G'lilah, which was nice and reminiscent of camp. :-) I had to miss class though, and I'll be missing class for Yom Kippur next week, so that kind of sucks. After services I hung around in the dorm for a while, went to CVS, mailed two PostSecrets, and went to dance class. Woot. Productive day.

Scary

"At this point, one has the suspicion that a McCain administration would have us longing for Bush-era competence."
--Paul Krugman, in this Op Ed in the New York Times

On Repeat

New Tattoo by Nikki Williams. I've been listening to it nonstop. :-)

Wow

I finished all of my homework at 5:00 today. I have no idea what to do with my free time.

More Birthdays!

Yesterday was SD's birthday (21!! Whoohoo!) and a 3 days ago was my sister's birthday (22! Woohoo!) Happy birthday and well wishes to all. I love you, ladies.

Well, That's Strange

24 of the most peculiar creatures known to man, via my good friend at Well That's Strange.

To Do

I really want to learn and master a whole bunch of random trades/activities/skills. This is the first (and very short because I am very tired!) incarnation of a list of the stuff I want to do.

• Be first aid/CPR/lifeguard certified
  
• Become a Wilderness First Responder
  
• Become an EMT
• Read Tarot cards
• Throw knives
• Knit
• Know self-defense
  
• Practice Capoeira
• Learn how to identify and use edible/medicinal plants
• Make rope
• Drive cross-country
• Get good at archery again

Hahahahahaha!

Funny video by Sarah Silverman. Check it out.

Birthdays!

Today is both R and K's birthday! Yay for two of my fabulous friends and them being a whole two decades old! :-) I love you guys!
We fountained R last night at midnight, and she was prepared for it, bathing suit and all. Earlier this evening we went out to dinner for her and then I spent a little while baking K some mini-cupcakes for her evening shindig. (Super-easy since she gave me all the supplies!) Then it was off to two hours of dance (ow! sore feet!) and then to K's birthday bash. Lots of cupcakes and milk and good people and music. Oh, happy days.

Blogger Rampage...

...I'm on one.

You should read this. A fresh, funny, accessable and informative take on current politics. Easiest to get if you've watched the West Wing, which I have recently started to do.

Twittering

I just added a new aspect to my blog: Twitter. Basically, they will be short mobile updates that will appear on the side of my blog whenever I text them to this page throughout the day. Fun fun super fun!

Love

SD picked up my laundry from downstairs and folded my clothes. I freaking love her and how amazing little things like that really cheer up my day.

Ups

Just went to Starbucks and had a fantastic bitch session with R and K. Feel so much better about the world now.

Crazy

Crazy-emotional day today.
10 hours of self-defense class. Simulated rapes and muggings.
Another death affecting the campus (that makes three in the past week).
Fighting amongst friends.
Still ignoring life.
So drained.
I'll write more about it later.

Another Thursday...

...another night at Lindy Groove.
Went dancing last night with a whole bunch of Ballroom people and my sister met me there which was FABULOUS! She's moving up to Seattle in a couple of weeks and I'm not going to see her until Thanksgiving so it was so much fun to get to hang out. She's such a fabulous social dancer and we had a great time.
There is something so incredibly happy about a night out social dancing. Hanging out with friends, meeting new people, being in a fun environment, being surrounded by people who love what they're there to do....its just great. And, icing on the cake, BILL NYE (as in the Science Guy) was there. Childhood icon, my friends! That was awesome.... He goes dancing pretty often, apparently, and he's a quite good dancer. So yeah, that rocked.
All in all, a great night and now onto a great weekend!

Halloween

Yes, I know that it is only September 16th, but in my book it is never to early to start thinking about Halloween costumes!
This year, I really want to be someone from Alice in Wonderland, but I want to make/piece together my own costume, not buy one of those tacky mail-order super-slutty numbers.
Alice herself would be nice.

I'd need a blue circle dress, white apron, white petticoat, white tights (but it will be super-hot in the party...it was an inferno last year, so maybe white knee socks instead), and a black ribbon for my hair.
Or, maybe the white rabbit.

That one, of course, wouldn't be quite as litteral. Rabbit ears, some sort of black and red card-themed ensemble, an oversized pocket watch, etc.
Then, there's the Queen of Hearts.

That could be quite cool. A red, white, black and yellow ensemble with an emphasis on heart-suit cards. And, I have a cool red corset-type shirt thing that would be quite awesome.
And then there's the rouge costume entry, Sally from the Nightmare Before Christmas.

I've wanted to be Sally for Halloween for a loooong time, but the costume has always seemed very daunting and time-intensive. Basically, I'd have to buy some sort of shift-dress from a Goodwill or something and a whole bunch of fabric scraps and just start sewing. She's so cool, though...
All I know is I don't want to end up looking like one of these girls, which is what you find when you look around online. Oy vey.



So yeah, any thoughts anyone? Any ideas? I'd love the input!!

Zzzzzz

....sleepy....

Musica (Bevakasha)

I've just spent the past two hours on this awesome website that A showed me. It's called Amie Street and it is so cool. The website is like an indie Itunes that allows you to download indie, folk, underground, acoustic, etc., music starting for free. The more popular a song/band/album gets, the more it costs, but only up to 98 cents. Pretty sweet. So I've just downloaded a TON of music (currently listening to Nikki Williams's New Tattoo, which is just one of the many) and now am officially out of my Boring Old Music Rut. Woohoo!

One of my favorite quotes ever

"Listen, are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?...
For how long will you continue to listen to those dark shouters, caution and prudence?
Fall in! Fall in!
--Mary Oliver, poet

Reading

Sitting in my room, reading for Gender and Women's Studies. It's hot, so my fan is trained directly on my face. My room is a bit messy and I need to sort my laundry. Oh, Sunday afternoons....

This Just Happened

The Hall Olympics.
First event: belly-longboard racing.

Observe:

Photos!

I went to Snapfish a couple of days ago and signed up for an account for the sole purpose of getting 20 free prints from their website. The prints came in the mail today and they are actually quite good quality. I have them up on my wall in my room now. :-) Here are a couple of the ones I ordered:

Alufim staff, first session


Sunset at camp


Messing around with the boys on the Alu overnight, second session


Last night of camp, with the people I just spent the last two months with every single day...I love you guys.


Staff Banquet



Also, I had my first Gold Latin dance class today and it was fabulous. I will be so sore tomorrow, but it was so much fun.

This Blog Isn't Dead...

It's just sleeping.

I'm too tired/disorganized right now to write a fully fleshed-out narrative of what is going on in my life at this current moment, but I am fully in capable of the following outline:

People are breaking rocks on the floor above me. I think it is for Geology. wtf?
Classes are good. Biology, Gender and Society; Intro to Gender and Women's Studies; The Holy Fool; The Bible as Literature; Beginning Latin Dance; Advanced Latin Dance; Beginning Standard Dance.
I went to the gym today for the grand total of my third time ever. R took me, which is nice, since she goes on a regular basis and is sort of like a kick-your-butt alarm clock for me. I was blechy about going in the first place but felt so good once I was there/afterwards. That being said, my gym experiences remind me of a How I Met Your Mother episode in which one caracter, Robin, says she loves working out because everyone is gross and sweaty and not trying to impress anyone. She then shows up to the gym in what her friends describe as "lesbian prison gaurd" attire to find a room full of cute-yet-sportily-skimpy-outfitted girls. Yeah, I kind of felt like that. Not to mention, I was almost out of the dorm before R pointed out I was wearing flip-flops.... I mean, my entire working out experience thus far has been barefoot or in dance shoes wearing sweatpants or a leotard and tights....forgive me, I'm new to this. :-)
Things with S are tentative and difficult, but we are continually working towards our mutal goal: a happy, stable friendship.
My sponsees (and the other kids on my hall) are fabulous, adorable, engaging, and awesome. I couldn't be happier with them.
That being said, I am worried about growing apart from all of the amazing friends I made last year...just because they're not physically close (ie, in the room just down the hall) doesn't mean I shouldn't suck it up and put in the extra effort to go see them. They're worth it. Now I just need to get my butt in gear.
I had a minor freak-out about Study Abroad today (wtf?? It is way to early to be worring about this, my rational brain says. Shut up, my irrational side retorts...worring is something you do best!). I have my first choice, Israel on a non-school program in the Fall, followed by my second choices, either Scotland or Greece on a school program in the Fall. Either way, I want it to be in the Fall and I want to have fun. I think I can do it.
I also am rethinking my major/wondering what career options I have in front of me. This is all far to overwhelming for me to be thinking about right now, but I think its a pretty standard pattern with me that when I'm freaking out about one thing, I freak out about everything. At least I'm aware of it, and mostly able to deal. :-)
I have some intense 17th century reading to do, so I should probably get on that. Until next time!

A much-needed update

Wow. It has been so long since I’ve blogged. Are any of you still with me?

I’ve been working at a sleep-away camp in Malibu for a little over a month now, and though it has been completely time consuming and exhausting, it has also been incredibly rewarding. We’re nearing the end of the second of three sessions, which is a really weird feeling, knowing that summer is so close to over—less than a month away. Not that I’m not looking forward to the school year, of course. I can’t wait to be a sponsor, to start my new classes, see all my friends again, and return to a place I love so much. Since I was in 2nd grade, I have always considered this camp my second home, and now I guess I have a third home at school. That’s kind of a nice feeling. 
Anyway, I’ve been working with seventh graders both last session and this one, but my two cabins could not be more different. Last session was a very small cabin, only 8 girls, and they all got along incredibly well. Also, I was working as a life guard during the day which meant I didn’t spend tons of time with the girls/in the cabin, etc, so dealing with day-to-day discipline and petty fights wasn’t really my thing. This session I am a full-time counselor for a group of 10 girls (those extra two really do make a difference!) who are your stereotypical 12-year-old girls. Some of them act a little to old for their age, flirt with boys, wear make-up, and care about how they look, while others are still in that awkward, pre-teen, slightly dorky phase. The combination of those two groups in one cabin can sometimes lead to conflict. There is a bit of “girl bullying” if you will, (talking behind someone’s back, sabotaging their “relationship” with their “crush,” etc). At times it’s a lot to deal with, but all in all it is incredibly rewarding when I realize what a great time these girls are having at the end of the day. They all love it here just as much as I did when I was a kid, and that love for camp and the fun they have here definitely overpowers any petty fights they have throughout the day.
Today is the Color War and my good friend Matan and I are team captains for the yellow team. The theme is Candyland, so that makes us King Kandy, accompanied by the green Princess Lollypop, the blue Queen Frostine, and the red Mr. and Mrs. Mint. My voice is practically gone from yelling and cheering all day, but the kids are having a great time, so I’m happy. I’m definitely going to collapse tonight. Whew. Its 2:30 and I already can’t wait for bed time. Before that, though, is one of my FAVORITE nights in all of camp, and that is Derby Night. Derby Night is an amazing program that essentially pits counselors against each other in ridiculously messy and hilarious competitions while the kids bet on who they think will win. Last time, most of us ended up covered in whipped cream, ketchup, mayonnaise, chocolate syrup, green “slime,” peanut butter, and god only knows what else at the end of the night. Shower parties ensued. This time I think it might be a little bit cleaner, but hopefully still just as fun. I can’t wait to kick some butt.  That’s all for now, and hopefully I’ll be able to blog again soon....I don’t like this month-long hiatus thing. Love you all!
-Lauren

My puppies

My mom took Won Ton to a specialty vet down in orange county today. He had to get some deep bone scan on his wonky leg so we could figure out what was wrong. Turns out its just arthritis, which is good because it doesn't require surgery and it isn't life-threatening, but which kind of sucks because its chronic and hurts him. But it's good to know he's going to be ok! So, to celebrate, gratuitous pug pictures!

To Have and To Hold: Faith Leaders for the Freedom to Marry

The junior rabbi at my synagogue is getting married at the end of the summer. This may not seem like a big deal at first, until you realize that my rabbi is a woman, and so is her fiance. The amazing fact that these two women are going to be recognized as spouses in my synagogue, and indeed, in all of the Conservative Jewish movement, makes me so grateful for everyone who has worked so hard to get us to this point and so proud of the path Conservative Judaism has taken. I know we have so much further to go--and that I will be at the polls come November voting to extend this right to all people--but let me just say that I am happy for how far we have come.
Read a Washington Post article on the decision to allow gay marriage in conservative Judaism here.

Pictures

Here are some pictures from my recent trip to San Diego.

Sam and me (and a lion!) at the Wild Animal Park


Lion cubs playing


Momma lion


This was the most beautiful cat ever, called a Caracal. He was just hanging out on the lawn a couple yards away from us, playing with his chew toy.


This cat can jump 12 feet into the air! Check out the back flip action...


Pretty giraffe (and mini giraffe in the corner!)


Cheetahs


I'm covered in Lorikeets! It was so much fun!


Meerkats!


Sam and me, and a gorilla in the background.


Big gorilla man.


Me comparing my hand to that of a gorilla.


And, of course, the beautiful San Diego beach

I promise!

I will get back to blogging regularly, I promise! Eep!
I was in San Diego this past week visiting Sam and it was lovely! Now, I know San Diego is not th The Middle of Nowhere and I did have computer access, but I just wanted to enjoy the vacation and not worry about much else. And, I did! We lounged around on the beach, went to the Wild Animal Park (pictures to follow), played Wii Sports, went to the beach some more, and generally had a great time. It was so beautiful down there, and really nice to spend time with him and his family.
The Wild Animal Park was awesome! The park is structured in essentially two parts, a zoo-like section when you first walk in and the 1600 acre reserve section where the animals literally just roam freely about...its amazing. Sam and I payed a couple of extra bucks to take a tram ride around the reserve section of the park and boy was it worth it! Besides separating the predators from the herbivores, the Park pretty much lets the animals just run free. Though they have their own territories that they have defined, they essentially all overlap with each other, free of fences or barriers or anything. They get to truly behave like they're in the wild, which helps not only their mental health, i'd imagine, but with the transition back into the wild if such a transition is planned. The park gets between 300 and 500 animal births a year--pretty much at least a birth a day!--and we got to see a gazelle that was only just a couple of hours old. I'll upload my pictures tomorrow...I got some really good ones!
So, since coming back from San Diego on Friday I've pretty much done nothing, which is both lovely and a bit boring. I did some more shopping with my mom--always lovely--and helped her get ready for a fancy dinner she and my dad went to tonight. I'm also in the middle of reading a couple of books and have been watching my share of crap TV. I tried to read some of the Animorphs series that I loved so much as a kid today, but I couldn't find the box where we stored them all...I'll probably try again tomorrow.
Time to try to sleep now. Take care!

At least someone in this room is sleeping...

.

This is like my fourth "can't sleep" post in the past two weeks. What a lovely trend. What is different about this night, however, is that I have a lovely little snore-er on the floor next to me. Or, that is, he was on the floor a moment ago. Now he's chosen to snooze on my bed. Well, at least he's stopped snoring. This is Dash, and I'm dog-sitting him for the weekend.


In other news, here's my favorite photo from LindyGroove. Thats me and Ian, one of my favorite dance partners and an all around awesome guy. Photo curtsey of Duncan.


Ok, I'm going to go listen to some more NPR and try to fall asleep. Dash is snoring again. :-)

Sleepy

I'm too tired for a real post, but I feel like I've been neglecting my blog lately. So, hello all. I'm still here. Just sleepy....verrrrry sleepy....

Can't Sleep

I've been watching Eddie Izzard videos on YouTube because I can't sleep. Enjoy!

Home Again, Home Again

So, school is over, finals are done, my room is packed and I'm back home. I spent the day lounging around with my pugs and my mom, watching So You Think You Can Dance and catching up with each other. It's good to be back, but it's also really weird to think that a quarter of my college career is finished. Dang.
I went dancing the last two nights. On Thursday we (many Ballroom people, Duncan and I) went to LindyGroove and last night I went to Friday night Salsa on campus. So much dancing, so much fun. Social dance is just so energetic and friendly and incredibly fun to do...I love it.
Leaving school was weird. Packing up, saying goodbye....I'm never really great at that stuff. The worst was saying goodbye to Sam. I know I'll see him in a couple of weeks, maybe next week even, but it's just so different than seeing him every single day like I do at school.
But, be that as it may, I'm home and I'm happy to be here.

Happiness

SUMMER BREAK!!!

Hahahaha. :-)

For my dad:

Can't Sleep

Its 2:30 in the morning and I can't sleep....arggggg! Guess I'll proofread my paper...

Danceidy Dance Dance

My modern dance show was this past weekend, and it went swimmingly. The second and third nights were notably better than the first, for me at least, but all in all I was happy with the outcome. Though I'd choreographed a lot before, this was my first piece of choreography done at college. That being said, I feel like modern dance and I might be taking a little break in the future. Not permanently, or even exclusively, but we might just have a bit of a separation for a while. I've been dancing modern and ballet since I was in 6th grade, and I have loved (almost!) every minute of it. However, that is a damn long time, and I'm ready to try other things as well. Like Ballroom! I'm really enjoying ballroom dance right now....it's so much fun, and so much more social than modern. I'm on the school team and its been a great way to meet people this semester. So yeah, I'm definitely continuing with that. :-)

Finals and Family Trees

So, I have my last official class tomorrow, and while that completely rocks, it's also a little bit disconcerting because it means my final and final paper are right around the corner. Literally. Tuesday and Monday of next week, respectively. Oy vey. The final is identifying quotations from poems and essays we have studied throughout the year (for my Literature of the Romantic Period class), and the final paper is an 8-10 page essay on the bible, theory, and Blade Runner.

In other news, I went home last night because I was in the city for a doctor's appointment, and ended up spending a good amount of time with my family trying to construct what percentage of what nationalities I am. My mom, my dad, and I sat with tons of genealogy binders, books, scraps of paper, old letters and photos, etc, and tried to piece it all together. It was really fun, actually. My mom and I are (hopefully) going to make it a summer project of ours to computerize a lot of this stuff, make online family trees, organize binders better, etc. Should be fun! So, the final breakdown of my national heritage is (to the best of our knowledge):
1/4 Romanian/Russian (the story goes that the town we were from was on the border between the two, and so wasn't really sure which country it was a part of...)
9/32 English
3/16 German
3/32 Scottish
1/16 Irish
1/16 Hungarian
1/32 French
1/32 Dutch
DANG.

My, oh my!

I turn my back and suddenly my block has become Wisteria Lane 2.0! Word on the street (literally) is that the previous occupants of house behind mine were using the building for the filming of amateur pornos. Yep, true story. My seemingly-innocuous East Valley neighborhood has been infiltrated by the skeezy, scantily-clad, and poorly-dialogged. And, in case porn wasn't enough, it seems the place was a bondage parlor as well. According to the new residents, one room in their house has even come equipped with what my mother has referred to as "shall we say...some very unusual built-in furniture." Like I said, my, oh my.

Classes

I almost forgot! I got (almost) all the classes that I want for next semester. Here's what I'll be taking

• Biology, Gender, and Society (This class fulfills my science requirement! Yay!)
• Introduction to Women's Studies
• The Holy Fool: Comic/Ugly/Madness
• The Bible as Literature
• International Beginning Latin Dance

Dancing and Napping

Sorry I haven't posted a lot recently, I have been dancing like nobody's business this week, and that has pretty much eaten up all my time. My ballroom dance concert is this weekend, (see photo) and that means rehearsals out the wazzoo. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday featured lovely 7:00 am rehearsals (ack!!), and now we've got late-night dress rehearsals, and then the show! So yeah, lots of dancing. Dancing and napping. But not enough napping, as I'm still super-tired.

Aack!

I'm waking up at 6:40 in the morning for the next three days. Aack!! Dance hell week has begun....

So Close

Another day spent in the library.....The end of the year is beginning to creep up on me! Eep!

I have never been to a gym.

That is, I had not until today. I am (almost) 19 years old, I've lived my whole life in one of the fitness capitals of the world, and I'm a proud vegetarian, but I had never participated in an honest-to-goodness "work out" until today. That is not because I'm lazy, uninterested in fitness, or even abnormally adverse to sweaty people...quite the opposite, actually, I've been an extremely active person since I was little. The only difference between me and the gym rats, then, is the fact that they use weights, treadmills, and ellipticals whereas I have spent my lifetime of fitness using only a sprung floor and a wooden ballet bar. Dancing has served me extremely well; I'm healthy, happy, and pretty strong for a small girl, but thats not the only reason I've stayed in the studio.
Truth be told, I have been scared to death of the gym.
I can't tell a rep from a set or a BMI from an RPM, not to mention all those machines and contraptions.... One for your inner thighs, one for your outer thighs, one for your biceps, one for your triceps, one for your upper back and one for your lower back, one for your lats, abs, delts, pecs, quads, calves, this muscle, that muscle....ho.ly.crap.! Yeah, it freaked me out. Not only did I have no idea which machine to choose or how to use it, but I was scared to death that the jocks and regulars would immediately make me for a "newb."
So, when I hurt my back a bit in dance practice the other day and the trainer recommended a regimen of light weight training and cardio, I realized I had to suck it up and hit the gym. Lucky for me, Ratna, one of my friends in the hall, goes to the gym pretty much every day and offered to show me the ropes (Proof of how much I needed the help, I was literally about to leave my room wearing flip-flops with my dance shoes in hand). She set me up on a stationary bike and later with some machines in the weight room. And, truth be told, I actually had a good time! I guess those endorphins are there for a reason, because I'm going back tomorrow!

Pandas Make You Smile

OMG. PANDAS.

The Monk

I'm reading this for my English class. This book is crazy. It's like the original "horror-porn," complete with incest, rape, murder, and a litany of other things that would freak you right out of your 18th century pants. I mean, look at this cover...If that doesn't say "Romantic-era Divinci Code" I don't know what does....

Home Sweet Home

I got my housing for next year and I'm soooo excited. I'm living in the same hall I am in now, but a couple doors down in a single. Also really great is the fact that my boyfriend is living just downstairs! I'm part of a program next year called the sponsor program. Basically, its like this: Freshmen are divided into groups of 10-20 guys and girls who live next to each other throughout the year, this is the "sponsor group." Leading each sponsor group are the two sponsors, one male and one female Sophomore who guide their sponsees through their first year in college. It's kind of like being an big brother or sister to (in my case) 10 Freshmen. We live in the hall with our sponsor group, do activities with them, help them with their classes, etc. My co-sponsor is an Australian guy named Cosi and he seems really cool. I didn't really know him before the process of being assinged to your "co-spo" started, but I'm sure we're going to get along great. We had to write own four facts about ourselves to share with our "co-spo" upon meeting them. Just for fun, here are mine:

1. I am obsessed with my two pugs, Won Ton and Mu Shu.
2. I work at a sleepaway camp, and this summer with be my 13th year going there.
3. I took 6th place in my college's crossword puzzle competition...which means I am better at crosswords than 9 other people...
4. I am surprisingly competitive at silly board games.

That's all for now. Take care.

More Passover

I had a wonderful first night Seder. I took a bunch of my friends from school to my house for the night where we joined my mom, dad, brother, grandpa, aunt, cousins, my dad's co-worker and her boyfriend for what turned out to be a fabulous Seder meal. It was so much fun sharing that part of my culture with my friends, seeing my dogs again, getting to hang out with my family, and just generally having a completely happy evening.

That being said, the other 7 days of Passover were bound to follow. I'm already getting a bit sick of looking longingly at the pasta and cookies in the dining hall and siting next to people whose plates are pilled high with what can only be called carb-o-rama while I munch away on my salad. But, its ok. I believe in the tradition, so I will gladly go through a bit of annoyance for it any day.

Until next time!

Duncan's Doodles

Duncan likes to doodle. He occasionally puts them up on my door, to make me smile. This one greeted me today:


Oh, happy day.

Check out this and more at duncansdoodles.blogspot.com

Passover Shopping

I loaded up on Passover food at Trader Joe's today.

Things I am very happy I can have on Passover:

• Trader Joe's brand white cheddar cheese popcorn. If you've never had this stuff, you are missing out. I could eat the whole bag in one sitting...not that I have...i mean...umm...yeah.
• Trail mix. This round features super-tart dried cherries.
• Rice. Thank god for Sephardim.
• Instant-Thai tuna stuff, also from Trader Joe's. That's at least two Passover meals right there.
• Fruit. Lots and lots and lots of fruit.

Bad things about Passover:

• The fact that Trader Joe's had not bothered to order Matzah. Lame. Are there no Jews in Claremont?
• The fact that the other 357 days of the year I am known by some (my parents) as the carbohydrate queen. Passover is quite a change.

I am, however, super-excited about going home for the first night of Passover to spend the Seder with my family. I'm bringing about 10 Pomona kids with me, too, some of whom have never been to a Seder, so that should be tons of fun.

Until then, its bread for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. :-)

I don't know if you guys look at cuteoverload.com, but this ridiculous adorableness was on their homepage today. Ho-ly- shit, these guys are cute.

In other news, I'm super busy, but feeling good about at least one of my final papers. Lots of dance rehearsal tonight, and still a bit of homework to get done. Back to the trenches!

What I'm Reading

I just started reading The Politics of Lust by John Ince. Parts of it are on the required reading for the Pomona Human Sexuality course that I'm auditing, but I'm pretty much just reading it for fun. I haven't done pure reading for pleasure in a helluva long time, so I'm pretty excited. So far, it looks incredibly fascinating. Can't wait to learn more.

Professional Jive

This is the kind of dance I'm doing in my Latin class these days. *pant*pant* It is so tiring! Super fun, though.

My Father’s Humor

In reading my most recent homework assignment for my Modern Jewish Experience class (Michael Wex’s Discouraging Words: Yiddish and the Forces of Darkness), I couldn’t help but see my father and my grandfather around every turn. My grandfather, whose parents came straight from “the old country” of Germany, Russia, and Romania, and my father, his son, have both long participated in what we in my family have deemed “dad humor.” Dad humor, I have so naively thought for so many years, was a particular brand of humor unique to the Kinrich family male. (My brother, I fear, is being groomed to continue the tradition) I now realize, however, that Dad humor is undeniably born out of the irony, “doublethink,” and sarcasm that characterizes Yiddish speak. Dad humor is an ironic, dry form of comedy that consists of ridiculous puns, plays on words, and an uncanny ability to make present company groan with simultaneous admiration and disapproval. Such in-the-moment jokes make the present company (usually my mother, sister, or myself, who, suffering from that pesky extra X chromosome, are incapable of understanding the “true wit” of such jokes) roll their eyes and mutter “there you go again!” all the while acknowledging, but never letting my dad know!, that the joke was, truly, funny.

Until I read Wex’s chapter on this subject, I had not known that the irony, “doublethink” and sarcasm that so characterize the Yiddish language were born out of a fear of the evil eye or evil spirits that “lies at the root of…a niggardliness with compliments and pleasant remarks” (Wex, 111). Before being so enlightened, I would have chalked up a response to “How are you?” such as “How am I? How should I be?” to the crotchetiness and sarcasm often associated with old Jewish men. Now, however, I am aware that such a response is meant, at its historical core, to guard the answerer from being targeted by the evil eye, that ever-opportunistic spirit that preys upon the admittedly healthy and happy. Dare I say this knowledge has given me a new respect for my father’s brand of groan-worthy humor? Yes, I think it has, but that won’t stop me from continuing to roll my eyes each night at the dinner table.

My first post

So, I've decided to start my blog. Why? Well, I've been feeling pretty out-of-touch with a lot of people lately, and I'd like to keep my friends and family better updated in regards to what's going on in my life. So, here it is! This will mostly be random essays, pictures, the occasional video, and links to sites I like and things I think are cool. Count on numerous "omg, thats so cute!!! posts" and just general updates on my goings-on. I really hope you keep reading and I hope it keeps us all in better touch!