Sunday, April 30, 2006

Fire Zone Do Not Block

At the hotel on pesach there were three false (fire) alarms. Fire alarm number 2 went off on the second day of yom tov during lunch. It was right before desert and it took a minute for people to realize that the added noise was the alarm because of all the singing and talking. All of a sudden there was total silence (except for the continuous blaring of the fire alarm). No one knew if it was real or not. So the silence continued. Two minutes later the announcement came over the loudspeaker that it was indeed a false alarm and the firemen had to come to shut it off. ( By the end of yom tov they were NOT happy with us.)

But, here is the funny part of the incident. That morning the kiddish took place outside in between the showers. Because the only real outdoors that existed was the parking lot, the kiddish was set up in the fire zone. Now the hotel could get in big trouble if the firemen saw this when they pulled up. So hotel employees came running from every direction to go clear the fire zone of the tables and remaining food and drinks. By now it was raining. But, employees kept going outside. Some even went out into the rain in their suits (managers). They were probably not to happy with "Jews and their obsession with food."

Other Pesach highlights include playing a pickup game of Taboo with two random guys until 5am. That was the best night. I should do it more often. Personally, I think it is much more fun to play with girl/guy vs girl/guy teams.

Finally, I cannot forget my sports updates.

The Devils swept the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs (their 15 th win in a row). Go Devils.

As for the Yankees, after a 4-1 win today they are now tied with Boston for first place in the East. Stay tuned as the teams begin their first faceoff of the season tomorrow.

Thursday, April 27, 2006

Priceless

sweater...$50
skirt...$100
stilettos...$60
manicure and pedicure...$30
hair...$30

walking down the hall barefoot carrying one stiletto in each hand
........PRICELESS

inspired by my very tired sister while in a hotel for Pesach

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Israel

Israel has always meant something special to me. My first time there was the year I spent in Israel. I had an amazing year. I felt like I was part of something greater. I knew I belonged there, but I don't know if it ever felt like home. A big part of that is the environment I was raised in. I did not go to Tzioni schools that try to imbue a love for the country and the land. At home my parents always referred to it as "Eretz Yisroel" and thought of it as our home that we would return to only when Moshiach comes. They never thought of living there or their kids living there or even wished they could live there. They only went to visit when they had a child who was in Israel for the year.

When I came back from Israel I felt a love for Israel and a connection to the land. But, I never thought I could live there. I, regretfully, was too attached to America. I was too comfortable. So I took the easy way out and decided I just couldn't do it. When I was thinking about where I would want to live there wasn't really any one place that stood out. (except LA which I loved) I love the city, but I also don't know if I would want to live in NY. Many, no not all, NYers are very judgmental and only judge people by their externals whether it is what they wear, what they do, how they look... Many communities are very self-involved. People are just concerned about what others would think and based on that they determine how they should behave etc. I want to be myself and I don't care what others will think or what they think is appropriate for a "good Jewish girl", but for my kids I want something more.

A few months ago I met someone who inspired me. That someone (who already made Aliyah) showed me that if/when an opportunity came along I could do it. It may be hard, but it is certainly worthwhile I spent 2 days rethinking my opinion of living in Israel, and I decided I wanted to do it and I could do it. I knew it was the right thing, always had. I was excited about the possibility and all that could come with it. Many of my closest friends plan to make Aliyah and others have already. If I have a support system like that I can do it in a second. They are like family already. Finally, with the right person at your side anything is possible.


"I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you"
Hoobastank

The Yankees won their home opener in dramatic fashion when they came from behind with a 5 run 8th, which was capped off by a 3-run homer by the captain, Derek Jeter :-).

The Devils won their 8th straight to clinch a playoff spot.

I will be away for Pesach, but I'm sure I'll have some great stories when I get back.

Sunday, April 09, 2006

What A Difference A Day Makes

This morning (12:45) the Yankees had just lost their fourth straight after a great opening night (at least they were all away games). Things were not looking so hot (but 2 games they only lost by one run). The offense was pretty dormant due to a lack of timely hits and no small ball. Sure the hitters ran into bad luck, but that's part of the game. The defense was also making mistakes the team could not afford. New York could not even get the best closer in baseball into a game because they did not have a lead. The only bright spot was the starting pitching. This afternoon, the Yankees offense awoke from the dead. With 8 quick runs in the first three innings they knocked out the starter and cruised. Mussina pitched great and Rivera was brought in to pitch because he needed the work. Final score 10-1 and no errors.

Tonight the Devils, who have a 6 game winning streak going, will face their division leading Rangers. More great sports. And Yankee opening day is 2 days away :-).

Thursday, April 06, 2006

Carpool

Today my brother missed his bus home. Back in the days when teenagers didn't travel for high school it would not be a big deal. But, my brother goes to school in the city and we live about 35 minutes away. I was nominated to go do carpool and pick him and a neighbor up. In the end it wasn't so bad because there was no traffic, and I was able to go 70mph most of the way. That was the only spontaneous part of my day. Back to listening to stripped music and some Yellowcard. My nights are pretty dull when the Yankess have the night off ;-).

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Snow?

Snow in April? No I'm not talking about flurries, but what looks like a fullblown snowstorm going on outside my window. I don't think it will last long enough to do that much damage, but I was surprised to say the least.

The Yankees suffered their first loss of the season 4-3. Losses are part of the game, but are never fun, especially when you stay up for a game played on the west coast. The loss bothered me because there were so many missed opportunities that they didn't capitalize on. It worried me beause I want to see them play small ball more often and move runners. Oh well, today is another day. That's another great thing about baseball. You play every day (excluding days off).

That's pretty much it for now. Oh and snow has calmed down. But it is below freezing. argh. Bring back spring. I feel for anyone going out to see the Mets play in Shea Stadium today.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Opening Night

After the long winter months of waiting, Yankee baseball is finally back. The Yankees hit the ground running, literally, and beat up Oakland 15-2. Maybe that energy was in part due to the T-shirts given out before the season. There were navy and grey, home and away, versions for each player that had the number 27 over the NY logo and read "One Team. One mission." Gotta love that. Since most of you reading this are not baseball fans I will save most of my game comments for the sports blogs. Maybe I will start a separate blog for my sports spew.

Just a side note on the Devils who have rebounded by winning 4 in a row and are in a great position to make the playoffs. Go Devils.

Back to the pregame for Game 2.

Towers Are Not Forever

Still listening to the Yankee opener in Oakland. More on that tomorrow.

Someone told me of a man who pledged his love to his fiance on the top of the Twin Towers. He told her, "I will love you as long as these buildings are standing." Like most people, he thought the towers would be around forever. But, as we know they are not. Lesson to be learned: never rely on inanimate objects to last forever. The couple is still married, but I think the man was highly embarrassed.

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Stuck on the GWB

Construction is the curse of late night driving. Last night , or rather this morning, when I was driving home from NYC I was making great time until I hit the George Washington Bridge. Usually when I hit the road I make sure to listen to the traffic reports to try and avoid the major problems but at 1:30am, who thinks about traffic reports. There are barely enough cars on the road to keep you company. So I continued onto the upper level when I came to a complete standstill as I merged. So I stopped, turned on the music, and chatted with my sister as I waited to start moving. Five minutes later I realized the problem was construction in the left lane. Ok, so I figured once the cars merged into the remaining three lanes I would be on my way. But, we sat some more. Twenty minutes more (after merge 1). As the minutes ticked by I started getting tired and frustrated. I had no caffine with me. I rolled down the window instead trying to enjoy the beautiful 60-degree breeze. I had waitied a long time for this weather so why not enjoy it. (And for those of you that don't know, when you are at a standstill on a suspension bridge filled with cars you can feel the bridge shaking, not fun for a long period of time with no where to go). Then I began flipping through stations, but at that time of night there wasn't much on. So next I took out my phone and began flipping through names trying to figure out who would be up at 1/2am. I called my friend and spoke to her for about 5 minutes then miraculously the cars in front of me began to creep foward. Quickly, I said my goodbyes and hung up. I moved to about midpoint on the bridge then stopped again. Now what, I thought. If it's only construction , then after the merge we should move again. But, the I saw that another two lanes were closed right ahead of me. In total three lanes closed and only one open. that would seem to explain the backup so far, but this merge should put me past the traffic. Well it didn't work out that way. Slowly the traffic merged into two lanes. Ok, I though the worst was over. I could see the end of the bridge ahead. But, once again traffic stopped. This time I shut off my engine instead of burning more gas. By then I was thoroughly bored. There were no interesting people in cars to watch or talk to, no one up to call, no good music, my book in the trunk, no drinks, and no caffine. But, I did have most of my bag of chocolate and caramel popcorn from (Popcorn Indiana) left. So even though I was not in the mood, I munched for lack of anything better to do. I was in the front of the second lane right before the merge, but there was no whwre to go as the right lane was not budging. There must ahve been something else going on, but I'll never know what. My camera was also in the trunk so I could not document it for memory. More than twenty minutes later I turned on the car again as the traffic merged into one lane. After 50 minutes my imprisonment was over. But, then with less than 500 feet left to go traffic stopped yet again. Oh no, I thought, I would be here all night. At 1/2:25 (depending on whether you count by regular time or daylight savings which was already in effect) I finally got off the bridge after an hour of waiting and frustration. Crossing the bridge normally takes less than two minutes without traffic and usually no more than 15 even during horrendous rush hour. My ordeal lasted and hour. If only I had the foresight to take the lower level. My sister was already conked out in the front seat and I still had a ways to go. So I turned on the CD again with the volume loud enough so I could hear it and low enough so it would not wake my sister. I could not speed during the last leg of my journey because of the cops I had seen hiding by the trees with their lights off. After my long night I did not want to risk a ticket. But, because of the bag of sugar and chocolate coated popcorn I had consumed I felt extremely nauseous. I made it home at 2/3am without further incedent and an exausting two-hour trip. Construction is a curse to the unsuspectiong night driver. (The other side of the bridge had the same problem , but all the cars had to merge before they got on to the bridge making for a nasty backup, but no imprisonment on the bridge.)

Just some food for thought. During daylight savings time I bet most of us don't give much thought to changing the time on our watches or clocks. Sure it's something we must rememeber to do, and an hour less of sleep is no minor detail. But, what about stores that carry hundreds and thousands of watches? All their time pieces on display must have the accurate time. So all the employees get together and spend the day setting the time to an hour later. Sounds like fun, no?!

The Yankees opening day is tomorrow :-) :-).........