How does an evening get better than that? Tomorrow we have So You Think You Can Dance, which is also good. Next week we have America's Next Top Model. Also, a new season of Starting Over begins Monday (I guess I'll have to break my no-TV-during-the-day rule). When oh when will season 2 of Project Runway start?

I am a TV-aholic. You shouldn't complain, because it keeps me distracted, and then I don't bother people as much.

Oh yeah, and today I also went to Hebrew class, did all my Hebrew homework, created a spreadsheet for all our September expenses, learned how to type in Hebrew, found out which of the books on my amazon.com wishlist were available at the Oberlin library, and tidied up a little. So I'm not so worthless after all.

Posted to Mindless Entertainment at 12:27 AM | Comments (3)

September 13, 2005

I, too, don't want to wait until death to seek the Great Perhaps

I know I've been posting a lot right now, but I really need to share. I just finished reading a wonderful book. Wonderful enough that, even though it's in hardcover, I'm going to keep. For me, that says a lot.

The book is called Looking for Alaska, by John Green, and I found it via the livejournal of a literary agent whose journal I'm stalking. She did a Q&A with the author, which prompted me to read the review on Amazon which convinced me that I MUST read this book.

It's one of those books that's terribly quotable. Every paragraph seems full of infinite wisdom, and though I only found one quotation short and self-explanatory enough to make an away message, I wish I could highlight the book to death.

It's also one of those stories where you're not sure whose story it is... I'm a sucker for books and movies where the narrator is not necessarily the main character. The beginning of this book certainly makes it seem that way, but by the end, I think it was the narrator's story after all.

Right now, too, it really spoke to me. My great struggle in the last few months has been about taking risks. I used to be an emotional risk-taker, but something in me stopped and ran for cover. As the book says toward the end, I made myself a box in the corner of the labyrinth and pretended it was home when really I was just as lost as ever. I have been wondering, lately, how to become a risk-taker again. How to become, in fact, a bigger risk-taker than I was before. Wondering why I am so focused on control. The book didn't have answers -- no good book should -- but it certainly supported my questions. That's what I look for in a book.

Most of all, it was the kind of book you can't read sitting up, because you need to be close to your pillows and blankets. Everyone should go read it.

"I wanted to be one of those people who have streaks to maintain, who scorch the ground with their intensity. But for now, at least I knew such people, and they needed me, just like comets need tails." -Looking for Alaska

Posted to Books at 12:01 AM | Comments (2)

September 12, 2005

This appears to be a ranty day.

I live in a land with no books.

Lauren and I spent a decent amount of time at the bookstore this weekend, but unfortunately, that entailed a 40 minute drive to the shopping community mentioned in my previous post. We really, truly, couldn't find another bookstore closer to Oberlin, but at the time, I hoped that was just because we were away from a phone book and I promised myself that I'd look it up when we got home.

A few minutes ago, I did just that. I did a search by distance, and between here and that shopping area, I found 5 Christian bookstores, one comic book store, 3 Waldenbooks inside of malls, and one small bookstore that seems harmlessly generic.

Where are the books, Lorain County? WHERE?

There is a public library in Oberlin. I admit that I haven't been inside yet, but I often do searches of their catalog. I haven't yet found any of the books I've looked for there, but I do plan to wander through one day and, if nothing else, read some Baby-Sitters Club books.

I have to admit, though, that I didn't even know that places existed without bookstores anywhere in a 25 mile radius. When I was a student here, the limited reading-for-pleasure that I did came from books I bought online or while at home... Right now, I have a ton of free time on my hands and not enough money to actually purchase books. I just want to sit in a bookstore, skim some books, smell that book smell, and watch my fellow book-lovers love their books. Is that really so much to ask?

Posted to Books at 09:55 PM | Comments (2)

The only reason I'm posting this is that I've been without human contact all day.

There's a balcony that runs the length of our apartment, but the balcony is not ours. It's for the residents of the building. I spend most of my day at the desk I'm sitting at now because this room has open-able windows and the windows in our living room don't open and I feel sick sitting in the stale air in there. Even when I'm reading, I sit at this desk. Next to this desk is the door to the bathroom, and next to that is the open window that keeps me from getting sick.

The problem is that sometimes students are on the balcony RIGHT NEXT TO ME, and more importantly, RIGHT NEXT TO MY BATHROOM. It's one thing to pee in a public bathroom where everyone else there is also peeing. But right now I really need to pee and there are a bunch of students right outside my window. Way too creepy for me.

I already know I'm uptight. You don't have to tell me.

Posted to Miscellaneous at 06:02 PM | Comments (1)

September 11, 2005

And I thought Ohio was boring!

Today in the car I started thinking about what a nice weekend Lauren and I had had and how it would make such a nice journal entry. A refreshingly positive entry about how nice it is to have my wife around and all the fun stuff we did.

After tonight, I have a whole new entry to write. And it takes precedence.

Tonight Lauren and I decided to end our wonderful weekend by having dinner at this restaurant in a ridiculously opportunistic shopping area in a nearby Cleveland suburb. We chose the restaurant because of its sidewalk patio dining and then waited nearly an hour to get an outdoor table.

The night's events started innocently enough. Out of nowhere, a very drunk girl wearing a Browns jersey, a denim miniskirt, and cowboy boots ran across the street (if you could call a very fast stumble a run) clutching the arm of some guy and sobbing. Loudly. Before I even had a chance to ask Lauren if she was really crying and nearly falling down, she was gone.

However, about ten minutes later, she reappeared with three new guys and another girl in a denim miniskirt. All of them were clearly drunk beyond any level that would be considered "safe", but it wasn't until they started playing in the streets that they attracted a lot of attention. Then a big SUV nearly hit the non-cowboy-boots girl and her response started the entertainment for the evening.

She held her hand up to the SUV driver to stop, turned around, and pulled her skirt up to her stomach. And everyone in the vicinity got to see brightly colored thong and/or bare ass.

This led to a good fifteen-minute display of both girls' bare asses. The cowboy-boots one did a cartwheel and fell over. They both started stumbling in circles and holding their skirts up to their chests. I know that to some people, this would be funny, but to me, it was just plain disturbing. Worse still was this other table of people sitting nearby who were cracking up. We had been annoyed with them for quite some time, but to see three high school girls and one of their parents laughing at drunk, bare-butted girls was more than I could take. I was very, very happy when security showed up to haul them away.

At that point, we figured the evening's entertainment was over. We ate our dinners. We got a discount because of Lauren's mis-cooked food. The really cute manager came to our table to apologize for both the food and the naked ladies. All done. Good to go.

And then the table of annoying people left. And the mom, who had been drinking and smoking through her entire dinner -- as well as beforehand, while they were waiting -- stumbled out of the restaurant even more drunkenly than the cowboy boots girl, and it became visible to me, her husband, her daughter+friends, the other diners, and the huge crowd gathered on the corner that not only couldn't she walk, but she had also peed in her pants.

Actually, to be more precise, she had peed in her overalls.

I just don't know what to think. Who behaves that way? Who goes out in public and drinks until they've lost control of their behavior and their bodily functions? At a nice restaurant. Or on the sidewalk in a ridiculously trendy/expensive shopping area? Who does that kind of thing?

Anyway, we moved on with our night, and our weekend was still great, but I have to admit, I'm kind of in shock about this. It's ridiculous. I've seen college students with three-inch-thick judicial folders make better choices. Call me a wet blanket, but I'm so not impressed.

Posted to Miscellaneous at 10:57 PM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2005

please help me be normal, and not me

Does anyone know of a cure for being THE MOST UPTIGHT PERSON ALIVE?

Posted to Mental Health at 07:12 PM | Comments (2)

Purim + Christopher Guest = massive amounts of love

Lauren just alerted me to this, to be released on January 20th.

In the words of Michelle Elizabeth Tanner, "Happy birthday to ME!"

Posted to Mindless Entertainment at 10:38 AM | Comments (1)

September 06, 2005

Oh, yeah, that one vowel is called a patach...

I just got back from my very first Hebrew class since 7th grade (if you could call Talmud Torah Hebrew classes), and to my surprise, I'm ahead of the game. It should stay that way for the next two weeks as we learn the Alef-Bet, the one part of the Hebrew language that I've already mastered. After that, all bets are off and I'll probably drop to the bottom of the class, but that's alright. Today's class (we learned alef, mem, nun, hey, and taf in both block and script, plus four vowels) was a nice confidence booster.

There's other good news about this class, as well. It's free (I'm not getting any credit for it, but I really don't need credit), and the book only costs $25. The book should also last me through both semesters. This is the best financial investment I've ever made. That alone is reason to take this class, especially after spending an amount of money I don't care to sum up on my Oberlin education and subsequent masters degree.

It's funny how differently my pursuance of entrance to RRC is going from other endeavors I undertake. Normally I speed through everything, making decisions before I can second guess myself and change my mind. It's now already been nearly 6 months since I first decided I wanted to apply, and things are going slowly and steadily. I'm on the mailing list for interested students. I've attended two online open houses. I applied to the Institute for Prospective Students (including writing an essay and getting a letter of recommendation) and have been accepted. I'm taking Hebrew classes. On Thursday, Lauren and I will register for a trip on birthright. I've started thinking about what I'll say in the essay that will accompany my application for admission. I won't even be submitting it until February at the earliest, but I'm building up to it. So unlike me. So frightening.

Ugh. I hope this doesn't mean I'm becoming a grown-up.

Posted to Jew-mania & Oberlin at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)

September 04, 2005

That's really what a normal Sunday was like two months ago.

This morning when Lauren and I woke up, we planned out a wonderful day for ourselves. We decided we'd start with our favorite brunch at Redstone, the place where I discovered cream cheese scrambled eggs and the best french toast ever made and mimosas. After that, we thought a drive around the lakes might be nice, with a stop at Caribou to visit Carly. Then we'd stop home, grab a book or two, and lie out in the park near our house on 50th and read and watch the little kiddies play. Then, we decided, we'd go to my parents' house and visit for a little while and play with our doggie. We'd finish our day with dinner at Tucci Benucch (mmm, gorgonzola crusted filet medallions...) and finally, dessert at the Crema Cafe, where I'd have either cabernet chip or olive oil and fleur de sel ice cream. The TV would never get turned on, we'd drive with the windows open, we'd see all our favoritest people, and we'd love the city that is home for us.

And then we remembered that we're in Ohio.

And that even though the high today is only 77 and it's like the FIRST SUNNY DAY since we got here over a month ago, Lauren has to sit at home all day and be available just in case an upperclass returning student who moves in today has any questions. And that the window in our living room doesn't even OPEN if we were so crazy as to want to breath the air in Ohio (that smells like cabbage, skunks, manure, or sulfur at all times).

I miss home so much. I didn't think it would be this hard, but it is.

Posted to Minnesota at 11:54 AM | Comments (2)

September 03, 2005

See? I don't ONLY like brunettes.

It's official. I have a big giant crush on Maggie from Big Brother. I want to have her babies. I want to be her best friend. Maggie, will you marry me?

Posted to Mindless Entertainment at 08:28 PM | Comments (0)

I think I dreamt about royal flushes last night

Oh my god, I'm a poker addict.

I started watching Celebrity Poker Showdown with my dad about a year ago. Actually, I think the first time may have been the night before my wedding. Whatever the date, I was escaping a family celebration in the community room of my parents' condo by spending a little time in their home, and that's what my dad was watching. I like my daddy-daughter bonding time, and I admit that I get a little thrill out of feeling like one of the guys sometimes. I was one of the guys in high school, but since then, I've somehow become a GIRL again.

So anyway, it all started out innocently enough. I watched with my dad, asking the appropriate questions about what the HELL was going on. It was my first exposure to Texas Hold 'Em, and, to be honest, the first time in years that I didn't cry when I heard the word poker. As a kid, I learned how to play 5 Card Stud, but panicked whenever I was forced to make a decision about betting. That was way too much pressure. This was much simpler; all I had to do was WATCH famous people play poker. And the entire concept of community cards sits very well with my obsession with fairness.

Fast forward to maybe February... By then, I was pausing for up to ten minutes on Bravo whenever I was channel surfing, but I was still plagued with the sense that I'd never ever understand how to play. The show was amusing enough, though, that my interest remained.

Skip ahead to April. By that time, I was actually watching entire episodes by myself and fully understanding what the hell was going on. I knew enough to understand when someone had a good hand, but I was still muddy on some of the finer points. I started making Lauren watch the show, and she didn't try to murder me in my sleep because of that, which only reinforced my interest.

And for the last month, I've been here in Oberlin with very little to do. Celebrity Poker Showdown (still the only poker show I can watch -- the pros are BORING) is on every day, and any time it's an episode that I haven't seen, I watch it. I started visiting some websites that explained which hands were good to call before the flop and which were garbage. I started feeling comfortable using the word "flop" ("turn" and "river" still give me the shakes; I hate lingo) and actually found myself watching episodes of the show and yelling at the TV like I do when I watch baseball or soccer.

A few days ago, I decided I was ready. I started simply, on Yahoo games. Free, no downloading involved, and clearly for beginners. After playing there for two days, I was annoyed. People never stay for more than one hand and no one knew what they were doing. I decided to take a chance. I DOWNLOADED some poker software, the one recommended by my new god, Phil Gordon. I even have a page bookmarked in my main favorites folder (an honor held only by pages accessed daily, like the weather and my bank's website) on strategies for winning.

And so the last several days have found me sitting endlessly at the computer playing Texas Hold 'Em on the Full Tilt Poker software. I'm not bad! I got myself up from the starting $1000 to $5000 in two days playing with low limits, and that's even WITH my completely inability to fold a hand before the flop and my tendency to play two pair till the end every time.

And I can't stop. Thank goodness I'm smart enough to never EVER play with real money (we can only afford free pastimes, remember?). Because I'm ridicuous. I love this stupid game. Maybe more than I love hot women. Less than I love babies, but more than hot women.

And that's a lot.

Posted to Mindless Entertainment at 01:48 PM | Comments (3)