in-between heavy stuff.

so i know i promised more decadent divulgings, like visiting Eyal's family and the insanity of Jerusalem and Israeli politics, but i just posted a juicy post so this is an inbetweeny light and fluffy cupcake, with apple sauce instead of oil.

the landlord won't do anything about the mold in the apartment, nor do we have any solutions for making it less damp in here. i've come to systematically hanging random piles of clothing outside on our line (can you do something systematically to something random?), just so that each piece of clothing can dry out every so often. it's kinda like doing the dishes even though you know you'll be eating off them again soon. plus my mom told me that sun kills mold so hopefully it'll help beyond just keeping things dry. ugh. how gross is mold? ugh.

i'm looking for a job, which in englishified hebrew is this: ani mechapesset avoda. as soon as my resume template lets me have more than 2 previous jobs (we've had a fight about it, he hasn't budged yet but i'll wear him down), i'll have a resume ready to submit to two interesting places, and some other places too. the interesting places are: BCVS, a residential treatment centre for Orthodox women 16-20 with an eating disorder, and this other place that i can't think of the name right now, but it's a centre for kids with special needs. day programs, respite, cool rec facilities and such. or maybe a vegetarian soup place.

as you can see from my brilliant hebrew above, ulpan is going well. i can say a variety of things, some of which are useful; i can use a variety of verbs in a mix of tenses, some of which only if i'm talking to male-identified person. i can say, for some reason, "No way!" and "There's no point" and "You and me, we will change the world." i've found myself sitting between Barrie, a guy in his early 50's i guess who is smiley and jokey and supportive of the Hebrew struggle and non-obnoxious like many other people in the class, and Jeremiah, a guy about my age with no neck and a mediumly-fierce Zionist attitude but he knows i'm against that so he keeps quiet about it. we hung out the park the other day and gossiped about the annoying people in our class, mainly this one British guy in his 30's named Pesach who is constantly seeking attention in a slightly passive way and who's English name is- no joke- Paul Simon. he says he's looking for a wife. i say GOOD LUCK BUDDY.

in vague emotional news, today i'm having a very hard time being here when i know one of my best friend's in the universe is going through a really tough time. it's painful. really really painful.

Randoms:

• I'm obsessed with this collection of blogs. Don't even go. Your friends will never see you again.
• My favourite line from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tom Stoppard): "Hamlet, in love with the old man's daughter, the old man thinks."
• I just started reading Bernice Chu's blog and i really like it!
• I made an awesome walnut "cream" sauce for pasta the other night. *gurgle* yum.
• This is awesome: http://www.orthodykes.org/
• For some reason I decided to use capital letters where appropriate in this section.
• Keep an eye out for my soon-to-come picasa album. :)
  

today i miss: dad, the Shanly house and all its inhabitants.
***Just in case this little section isn't clear, you are ALL in my heart at ALL times... but of course, sometimes people stick out one day, for one reason or another. these are those people.***

my toast is ready. gotta go.
xo

Israel's Hallowe'en

so i've been avoiding posting this entry only because i want to include links to pictures, but i haven't been able to figure out to get photos off my cell phone yet. i still haven't figured it out, but it's just time to post this already.

so as promised, the Purim extravaganza.

it's actually nothing like hallowe'en. people do dress up, but not to scare away evil demons. although, even satan's henchmen would have at least paused on their journey of ill-will to cock an eyebrow at the group of religious guys dressed as a marching band, full out gold lamé pants and hats and jackets, and knee socks and shiny shoes and leather chin straps with buttons I KID YOU NOT. it was amazing. and i saw these guys in one of the most religious neighbourhoods in jerusalem. me'ah she'arim ("one hundred gates"), it's right around the corner from where i live. it's a ghetto there... so grey, so dirty, very poor, built very exclusively upon generations of a few families, they don't really integrate with the rest of israel... there are signs instructing people to dress modestly and every shabbat there are protests against cars, with police and everything. it's quite the place. anyway, this is where i saw the marching band. so people let loose on Purim. (oh Purim, is a 3-day holiday celebrating the deliverance of the Jews from planned mass extermination by Haman, a high-ranking political minister of the Persian Empire, a really long time ago. like 6th century BCE.) it's mitzvot (a mitvah is like a good deed - 1 mitzvah, 2 or more mitzvot) to leave food out for people who live on the street, save money to give to less fortunate people, and prepare treat parcels for your friends. also, it's advised that you drink hard liquor, and public drunkenness is actually celebrated and seen as a display of joy during the holiday season. be boisterous, all! it's really awesome.

we stayed home and watched Weeds.

we're really obsessed. it's bad.

But i did participate a little bit! the week before, I made hamentaschen for treat baskets with Amanda at her place. I seriously hadn't eaten or even looked at those since I ate a strawberry one in preschool at Temple Har Zion with my cousin Ilana. How I remember that is completely unknown. They turned out awesome - I was very impressed with myself, especially since the fate of the dough was a bit unclear when it was first made. Amanda and I made a filling of apples, dates and some kind of nut... i forget which. maybe brazil? anyway, it was delicious. Eyal said it didn't taste anything like hamentaschen he'd ever had before, but he'd never had a homemade one, so i'll take it as a compliment that it doesn't taste store-bought. plus, i stacked them in a jew-friendly shape. [photo to come.] another proud moment for me. 'cause i like puzzles.

oh and also, we went to Beit Zayit again for brunch, Purim-themed (so Eyal and i just dressed up in whatever, some silly stuff), then went chasing floods in the desert but didn't really find any. but we took a bunch of pics... the first ones are Eran's ceiling caving in (you see all his drums under his homemade porch a little later in the set), then there's general craziness (including rocking out on air guitar to Queen - you will probably spot these), and visiting some awesome spots looking out into the abyss. Present are: Eran (short hair, big smile, usually wearing my poncho), Eli (longer hair, on Eyal's shoulders a lot), Eyal (looking geeky in the neon checked shirt), Leon (furry, tail, cute) and me (the girl of the bunch).

so that's it for that.

today i miss: Sally, Broo, mom, Lon

xo

p.s i made an awesome walnut "cream" sauce a few days ago. with garlic and fresh cherry tomatoes... *gurgle* it was "ta'im"! (which means tasty.)

rant

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhgggghhh i procraaaaaastinated and now there's toooo muuuuuch.

oy, i just let the cursor flash for like a minute before putting it work again. can't make brain work. but it wakes up quickly. so here i go.

i've been wanting to rant briefly about a variety of things, so lemme just release some babble on you and the i'll write some real posts later.

• my apartment is damp and i don't like it. clothes feel like i took them out of the dryer just five minutes too soon, my bed and slippers are cold and damp to get into, and bathroom towels won't dry without assistance from the clothesline outside. i found mould/mold (which one is British, which one American?) on some jeans i haven't worn in a while. i can do lots of gross things but mould/mold is NOT one of them. i don't know how to reconnect with my jeans yet.
• i got sick again and i think it's because my home is soggy. at least i didn't get the eye infections Eyal had. yuck.
• health food here is generally more expensive than at home, but the vegetables and fruits here are divine, way cheaper (even if organic!), and mostly local. WHO KNOWS HOW HAPPY I AM THAT I CAN GET LOCAL BANANAS AND AVOCADOS, RAISE YOUR HAND!
• i complain about my ulpan (hebrew school) teachers because they are training to speak monkey hebrew and not teaching us much vocabulary, but i'm complaining less lately. they're teaching us mostly structure, and using some boring verbs and very little other vocab, but Eyal is making me label everything in the house so i'm learning at home too. i think we might start a group here for people who want a social space in which to learn vocab, instead of the alternative, which is becoming very intimate with a hebrew-engish dictionary. i want to do units like we did learning french or spanish - a school unit, a shopping unit, an "all about me" unit - with relevant vocabulary, like 'to dance,' sister, 'i don't need a plastic bag', protractor, and fly-fishing. learning how to count above five might also be helpful. but recently (like this past week), i've actually begun to be excited about ulpan, and i find i know more thank i think i do. still hesitant to use it with eyal's friends, cause i kinda feel like i'm acting, but they always respond really positively when i use it so i should get over myself. :)

Coming soon: our trip to tel aviv/living in this insane city, the first weekend hanging out with Eyal's family up north, & Purim (it will a doozy).

Today, I especially miss, for various reasons: Lindsay Rothmar, the Montreal house, and Alex Duffy.

xoxox