The Nose Knows

This country has an obsession with bubble gum. Its scent is used for bathroom cleaner, hand soap, play dough and of all things, bubble gum! The fact that those items range from poisonous to edible is what throws me.
Ah, whatever. Just keep your tongue out of the W.C.

What's Ur Name?

Well, we have come full circle, haven't we? Not a reference to the holidays rather to email accounts. So many of us are jumping on the Gmail bandwagon and lo and behold we are using our own names in our addresses. First we were just numbers on Compuserve. Then, we came up with multiple creative screen names that revealed our secret selves to faceless internet buddies and hid our really secret selves behind other email identities. Some of us personalized our domains and put our real names on the internet map. And now we are being true...using our first and last names, and even middle initials on our own account. (PI)
So three cheers for you being you!
Unless of course you stole someone else's identity making it virtually impossible to forgive yourself, cuz who are you, really?

Berries and Summer Showers

As the case often is, when someone moves to a new place, they are asked what they miss from the old place. Well, I miss fresh berries (that are less expensive than 25 cents each), autumn leaves, and late summer thunderstorms. It is too early for foliage in NJ but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. My cleansing journey has been productive. So far I have sold some old costume jewelry for $30, rid my collection of hardly played CDs, and recycled 5 boxes (!) of old papers. I found 1 out of 4 yearbooks, my sticker collection from the early years, and 2 blue knit sweaters that will become part of my winter wardrobe. I have had some heart-to-hearts with family members and good friends. Next week I hope to continue the quest for some belongings. But no matter what gets sold, recycled, or packed in the suitcase - when I board the plane I will take the Bacon Bros. advice and I won't look back.

People I See

There are these people that you see all the time. For me it is 2 specific older women. I do not think they know each other or realize that I notice them all of the time - on the bus, walking on the main street, sitting on a park bench. One of the women has curly gray hair, the other a potentially chic cut of salt and pepper. Both are abit eccentric on the outside and since I feel a bit eccentric on the inside at times...the reflection makes perfect sense.

Smokin'

Robin William's character in Dead Again, said. "You are either a smoker or not. Find out which one you are and be that."
Today I saw a "smoker" and she so wasn't. I had a sense I should tell her. I didn't. I mean how would that pan out.
"Excuse me, you are not a smoker."
"&$@! off!"
I am not a smoker. But I can tell if someone is. I think this "gift" started after I saw the movie. Whatever.

Da Moon

Sometimes the moon really does look like it is smiling. I could be projecting but today I think it looks shocked. Its mouth is open and its eyes are astonished. The moon is not yet full; two and a half days until that monthly event. But what will the full moon bring? What will come to fruition by the shining moment of 3 stars on Saturday night? I hope it will be peace. Not of the worldly variety and more expansive than the inner kind, but peace nonetheless.

Torn

I used to work as a bartendress. At a certain point during that venture, I encountered a wedding guest who had brought his own G&T mug to the event. After maybe the 5th drink I realized I was in the wrong business. Why was I, a Pisces, employed in a job that supported addictions? We all have our vices. Mine are mostly food-related but I think they are under control. Either way I now find myself in a similar predicament.
I have a creative writing gig in which I must boost the ratings of internet sites that promote another popular addiction for some, a mere pastime for others.

Both last night’s repeat episode of CSI and a brief advertisement on Fashion TV (AKA the boob channel) are making me rethink my role in this field. On the other hand, creativity is what is driving me and maybe these stories will inspire me to write children’s books.

A class I took over 5 years ago, spoke of animal symbolism. When you see a certain animal/insect/bird/dare I say person, you should think about their qualities and why the universe allowed this interaction at this time. The spider has often made itself present at specific times in my life where my creativity was not being fully realized. The beautiful creature from yesterday met an unfortunate end; squashed inadvertently in the bathroom. She was not quite as large as Aragog but very much as dead. Do I read into this course of events as a sign that this brand of creativity should also be squashed? Or am I merely in the desert where spiders abound and TV has temporarily overrun my mind?

And why is a man narrating a tampon commercial?

The desert

Here we are at Mashabei-Sadeh enjoying the desert heat. I of course find myself inside the air-conditioned guest room (not quite like the hotel room of the US) watching TV on 50 channels in oh so many languages, creatively writing my short works (ask me offline and I will send you my best story yet) and calling Turkey of all places to interview someone for the August Livnot program. VH1 has by far been the most entertaining with 80's hits all the time. Why the TV obsession you ask? Because at home, we don't have a TV. In this country, there is something known as the TV tax. To a North American it is a completely ridiculous concept; paying the government for television in addition to cable fees??? That tax was just one of the reasons.
So now I have it on until the sun sets when yes, it's true, I will begin to read the infamous Book #6. A favorite joke of ours is of course a pun of sorts so I will close with it here in a slightly modified form...Why has it taken me so long to begin reading the book? Well, it is about patience. I wasn't rushing to read it, I'm Lithuanian.

nOWS yOUR cHANCE

oK. nOWS yOUR cHANCE. Please comment here on any or all of the blog posts. I know someone is reading them...

Thank you.

Grammar

Jew is not a verb. I resolve to take "gyp" out of my lexicon because it too is not a verb.
May we all emerge as non-judgmental butterflies...

Berries of blue

Fresh blueberries are here in Jerusalem! This is the first summer I have seen them for sale. For each berry, only 50 agurot (12 cents) What a deal! :(

Ribbons- Symbolic Representation

I have often considered myself apolitical at best, and some have called me ignorant (to my face) at worst. I do not participate in protests or parades that may have an explicit agenda (note: unless you think Memorial Day in the U.S. has an agenda.) However, this does not mean that I do not possess opinions. I merely (and merrily) choose not to choose sides. I will admit that I prefer to avoid conflict, but not at ALL costs.
The news is old by the time I read it and by that time, there is nothing I can do about it. I choose to focus on the comedy rather than the tragedy, on the wonderment rather than the dread, and life rather than death.
But here is a most interesting connection.
Ribbons are used to represent causes, both for and against (though not at the same time) :)
Living in a world where RISKTM is not just a game but a lifestyle, I find the original ribbon presentation http://www.generousgems.com/lg_whtribbon.jpg to be most appropriate for the cause.
Why? Because this runic symbol http://www.runemaker.com/futhark/othila.shtml means “Odal” or “Land”.
And the ribbon I wear proudly is :





I support chocolate.

Oh, the humidity!

Thursday afternoon, with assorted pitzuchim of the nutty variety, we drove up to Park Achziv for my cousin's wedding. I power-rolled my window down and said the title, in just that tone. There was a gusty wind though which made it all bearable.
The site as you can see was stunning. The cove as I will now describe it was surreal. The wedding as you could not possibly know otherwise was traif. We did not partake. And the whole experience impacted me in such a way that I dreamt I was eating fruits de la mer in Brazil nutshells and then fed them to my lover. Together in dreamland, we realized a most fitting verb for my actions - "eve-ing".

Quiet Girl

I was into gaming and now I am into quizzes...not really though. So what if this one is true.


Quiet Girl


What kind of little girl were YOU?
brought to you by Quizilla

א.ד.מ

I woke up this morning at 4 AM because I told myself I would.

The vamps at the lab wanted a piece of me. (Now makes sense... wait, …no it doesn't.)

For the first time in a long time, the vein was painlessly pierced, by a Transylvanian no less (though I can't prove it.)
Whilst wearing festive red in honor of the occasion, I carried on with the color scheme buying duvdvanim (only 10 NIS/kilo) at the open air market even though I had intended to buy tapuchim adumim. The crimson circle was almost complete when an uninvited pest-ette attempted to slurp vermillion energy out of my arm.

Red, the life force rooted in earth and humanity. ?

Beliefs

I believe in science. I believe in faith. I believe that humans have gifts, independent of time and space, in which the Divine is communicated. I believe there are true healers and that the energy is universally accessible through the proper channels. But one man's decree of the fate of someone's future is too extreme for my way of thinking. To rely on one person's prayer, one healer's touch or one shaman's craft is too limiting. And when that one person passes on to the next world, whatever that may be, all is not lost. Opportunities are everywhere. And a bit of faith & a bit of science oughta make it happen.

As an aside, my African violet is in bloom again!

"The Lion, the Wilco and the Wrapping Paper"

Where were we on April 4th? This entry will tell you about a assembloge [sic].

While surfing the web one day...and I am NOT a sports fan...Bad opening too contrived.

I really enjoy online games, particularly flash point-and click ones. I was "poking" around online and came across some flash experiments, as they are called by their creator. After testing out the experiments, I was led to his blog. On one of the posts (and he keeps a very detailed account of his day-to-day life, which is never boring), there was a poem. I wrote an email, "I noticed you had a poem by Yehuda Amichai in your blog." Then the disclaimer, " (I never do this kind of thing but I do have that spontaneity spark) Is there anything you want from Israel? We live in Jerusalem. My husband and I will be in the States next month and actually visiting Chicago."
Shout out to J. Botnick for driving us to movie theater and back.
And you can read Felix's side of the story here:

http://www.avoision.com/portnoy/2005/april/04.php

This one has a photo of He'Brew beer which was started by a past participant of Livnot U'Lehibanot:
http://www.avoision.com/portnoy/2005/march/30.php

Feeling 100 Shekels Lighter

I have made many notes on things I have wanted to write about but they remain...just notes. Today I bring you a tale of woe. I was swindled by a cab driver.
Maybe the details matter, maybe they don't. Maybe you have experienced deception, self -doubt, and the aftermath of trusting the wrong person. Maybe you haven't. Just remember this: Wear sunscreen.

Pleaches

Its the Road Trip themed vacation. Rent a car and visit 7 states and a district in 2 weeks.

Why is the plane scheduled to leave an hour earlier than originally planned? SO that it can sit at the gate for an hour and a half due to technical difficulties which I am sure were directly related to the limited movie selections.

How can anyone not bring provisions on a flight? Our passenger buddy (hardly) slept for most of the day flight and then looked at her manicured nails for 3 hours while waiting for a diet coke. Do those flight attendant call buttons actually work on El Al? Yes they do, but only when you have fallen back asleep. I then told the kind stewardess (can I write that without offending anyone) that she wanted a water. When Princessa awoke she drank it up. Hydration dear girl, and not teeth-eating acid juice is the way of the traveller.

Breakfast choices. "Eggs or Pleaches?" Ma? Of course I have had the peaches breakfast before but I had to clarify. What is it in Hebrew? "Blinches." Ah yes, blintzes. That word should definitely be taught at Berlitz.

On the road again tomorrow...

Wonder Woman

Okay, I can't find the article about Rabbis forbidding the wearing of the promiscuous color red. But that pretty much sums up their claim.

And now a heroine who wore red and some personal validation...

With the help of (way-in-syndicate TV shows) file sharing, we watched Wonder Woman. She is always saving the day. It was pointed out to me that some of her special powers are merely sound effects, but nevertheless I think anyone who can keep her bosom in a strapless super-leotard is a superhero. So this episode was THE episode. Hitler (yemach shmo) was cloned by a Dr. who specialized in regeneration. Anyway, the point is I had tried to explain to my Hebrew school class that this episode existed and they all laughed at me. (Did they think I nightmared that one up?) And behold here it was on our "TV".

For the record, we do not have a TV, nor a tuner, so the TV tax people should send their mailings to someone else.