toys are us

i went to toys are us  in times square today. it was a lot of fun looking at all of the toys and riding the ferris wheel. i like toys are us almost as much as i like dylan's candy bar. i do like dylan's the best because candy always trumps toys.
for today's adventure i was joined by a friend and her daughter,  but i have visited toys are us child-free, just not today.
for those who may not have visited toys are us in times square, its a huge store. it kind of reminds me of a mall. when i was a kid in the midwest i would always hang out at the mall. the mall was kind of like a mini city unto its self. fun was everywhere. i miss the suburban malls of my youth. i have to go to toys are us in times square more often.

ows

recently i read in metro ny or am ny  that occupy wall street has people giving out free food to the "protesters" in zuccoti park , however they aren't so happy that the homeless have gotten word of this. the protesters are now going to scale back on the quality of their free food because the homeless have been consuming so much of their free food. something about this does not sit right with me. i'm not quite sure why....

sleep

i normally do not have nightmares. last night was a harrowing exception. though i haven't been obsessing about 9/11 lately i managed to have a terrorism nightmare. the scene of the nightmare was union square. several planes landed in union square while elsewhere in manhattan there were beheadings. this nightmare seemed too real. i woke up from the nightmare to find myself silently screaming. it was so-ooo--ooo unsettling. i turned the light on in my room for a little bit and after waking .
it was definitely one of those dreams you would not wish to come true.

goodbyes

apartment buildings have small apartments  that one rents but does not own thus they are conducive to people living there for short time periods and then moving out. one of my neighbors who has lived in my apartment building six months less than the amount of time i have lived here is moving out. eight years is a long time to be neighbors. it will be sad to see them go. they do have four kids now so it is about time that they should be moving to a house. no matter . they will be missed. not only are they moving to a house, they are moving to baltimore. now i will have people to visit in baltimore. its bittersweet. i am happy for them, but i am sad as well. i am sad for me. when people move things change. if they had just moved to a house in brooklyn it would have been a big change, but i would have still seen them periodically. moving to a different state is different. im not friendly enough with them to call them and chat from time to time so unless i happen to have reason to go to baltimore i probably won't be in touch. this is life. this is the way it is supposed to be. its so important to appreciate friends and neighbors  when they live  nearby.  this is just a goodbye for now  not a goodbye forever even though it kind of seems more like a goodbye forever.

acts of g-d

when the earthquake hit japan last year a friend of mine immediately said that she thought it was 'min hashamayim' which of course it was, but tell me what grievous sin did japan do to deserve this? some imbeciles tried to cook up reasons like it was because of the yeshiva bachurim who were caught with drugs, but really why an earthquake?  why not an earthquake in germany or perhaps egypt or iraq? more evil has been meted out against innocents elsewhere, so tell me why is this justice? i'm still not sure why the tsunami occurred in thailand or hurricane katrina in new orleans. dont' tell me any lame excuses these faux nevi'im or our times have cooked up.
i think now would be a good time for a an earthquake in gaza. then people would finally understand why the israeli government made the jewish settlers leave their homes there. a tsunami where the recently freed terrorists are celebrating their release in exchange for gilad shalit would be nice right about now. if that would happen i would gladly accept the hokey reasons "why" hurricane katrina, the earthquake in japan and the tsunami in thailand happened. until then i do not want to hear  such stupidity. if an earthquake hit where abbas sat and swallowed him and his henchman up i would call that clear divine justice. if as soon as the terrorists were released the earth below them swallowed them up like korach i would say justice has been served.
i am waiting for an act of g-d to make things right in israel, because that is the only way there will be peace.  so bring it on. we are ready.

gilad shalit

today gilad shalit was returned to israel in exchange for way too many terrorists. to me this shows that one jewish soul is worth so much to another jew that they would be willing to go to such lengths to save another jew. i agree that politically this may or may  not have been the best way to release him from captivity, but that's for someone else's post. i for one think its amazing that he is still alive . i was not so sure that he was. the fact that the israelis would free so many terrorists in exchange did make me think that the israelis believed he was still alive. no matter what, i  believe that his return to israel is a cause for great celebration especially since this has happened during sukkos.

occupy a sukkah

im getting sick of hearing about this occupy wall street stuff. it seems everyone in the crowd has an ipod, iphone , ipad and various other electronics that i do not possess. which also begs the following question. are they giving them out? where can i sign up? is un-employment that generous these days? i actually have a job, but it looks like instead of  'let them eat cake' , let them beam technology is the rant of the day.
anyhow, they would  all do better occupying a sukkah , preferably away from wall street, maybe somewhere in the desert for forty years and collect mun. .... oh wait, there isn't wifi in the desert.

chol hamoed

i haven't been at work since before yom tov. its always fun coming back to work on chol hamoed and getting surprised with all of the new changes at work.sometimes in the space of a few days people can quit or get fired and new employees hired. sometimes new policies are put in effect that i eventually find out about because everyone forgets i wasn't told about them because i was out when they were put in effect.
the best part about going back to work after yom tov is going to work  feeling well rested and not being able to remember what transpired the last day i had been at work.

sukkot greetings

have an incredible sukkot . the east coast forecasters  have been forecasting rain, but i wouldn't take them too seriously . for about three weeks after hurricane irene the forecast was rain and it did not rain EVERY day for those three weeks. so-o-o-o we shall see.
sukkot always is at the time of year when you could be wearing sandals or down jackets. it is so unpredictable. im just glad im going to be home for the holiday so i don't have to pack two wardrobes for yom tov.
i usually go away for rosh hashannah and yom kippur, so when sukkot rolls around, i like to stay at home and chill.


p.s - the pictures posted on this post were taken last year in union square during the sukkah city competition.

for better or worse

do some people live charmed lives while others have bad luck? is life a challenge for everyone that no one escapes? i  think that some people have it easier than others . its not that everyone does not have their own difficulties, but some people have bigger tests than others do.
people always try to tell me that people who have managed to get married and have kids have it bad too whenever i feel bad about my lot in life. now come on, im not an idiot. happily  married life has its challenges as well as parenthood, but i wouldn't say that not having either is having a better life or an equally bad life.
what about people  who have horrible diseases? i don't think that's an easier life  than someone who is healthy and  single or healthy and married with children.
perhaps small challenges seem large to the weak, but a small misfortune is not equal to a large misfortune even if one might be able to handle it.
i reconcile the fact that some have easier lives than others to the fact that life is not fair and that we don't understand why some have easier lives than others. hashem has a reason why this happens, but we don't  know why.

yonah

one only has to read the story of yonah to realize that we jews today are the same people as we were in biblical times. who but a jewish prophet would try to hide from hashem when the master of the universe  wants him to get the non-jewish city to repent all because he didn't want to make the jewish people look bad? who else would  have the chutzpah to do this all in the name of ahavas yisroel? only a jewish person would do this. then again, a lot of jews would be looking out for the people of ninveh it would be modern times and they would denigrate their own people for not being able to do t'shuvah. then again perhaps this was the point of the story of yonah. it shows us that there was a time when jews stood up for fellow jews and were protective of our brethren even when we aren't perfect .  then again it also shows that hashem loves all people(for example ninveh) so modern jews who look out for the good of the world and social justice are not wrong either. hashem needed yonah to tell the city of ninveh to repent so they would not be destroyed independent of how it might make the jewish people appear.

jew , not a jew

    i saw this clip posted    on frum satire and i just had to write my own post about it. as a frum  person i have always known that though ben stiller is billed as a jewish actor he is not. in this monologue i have heard the best rendition of what a child from a mixed marriage is. stiller says that his dad is jewish and his mother is irish catholic. the torah says he is not jewish but the mirror says he is. another person who could say the same monologue is sarah jessica parker. the mirror says she is jewish but her mother isnt. adam hebrew hammer goldberg and kevin kline are also have jewish fathers. that must be the most difficult. you look jewish, and have a  jewish last name. everyone thinks you are jewish but you really arent. i guess you either pretend you are jewish or i don't know what.
there of course is always the opposite- those who are jewish but no one thinks is. kyra sedgwick's mother is jewish but her dad isn't. rain pryor's mom is jewish but her dad , richard pryor was not. lisa cosby show bonet is jewish because her mom is . rashida jones is jewish  because her mom peggy lipton is, but then again she actually looks jewish.
all i need is adam sandler to turn this post into a song.

holidays and families

holidays always make me think about family and that i actually have a mother and siblings who love me. when you live far away from your family you forget that there actually people out there that really care about you. i have friends and yes they are like family, but they are the family a person earns. parents and siblings are the family you have because you were born into them and they care for you anyway. they are the people who have known you most of your life and their lives. its hard to be away from them because there really isn't anyone who can replace them.  its important to love and appreciate them and remember that  they are rooting for you even when they aren't physically near.

post yom kippur thoughts

i  don't enjoy fasting, but other than that i don't really mind yom kippur. i always use an english-hebrew machzor and read the translation every so often. the prayers are really quite beautiful. i actually enjoy it more than rosh hashanah.
musaf today ended ant 3:10 and we had an almost two hour break. it was great. we even ended neilah five minutes early.
this was the first time in years that i was able to stand for all of neilah. i think this was due to the lovely fall weather .
this yom kippur as usual there has to be  a spoiler to an  idyllic holiday. the shul i attended today has benches. during minchah, a woman wanted to sit in the bench i was sitting at. i moved over so she could squeeze by, but instead she decided to sit in the two inch space between me and the end of the bench and half on me. i wanted to scream at her for being so obnoxious,  but  it was yom kippur, so i did not.  i moved instead.  i didnt want to let her ruin my yom kippur.
anyway, im glad to have made in through yom kippur and am looking forward to a peaceful sukkot and simchat torah.

my most favorite dessert

i know that i'm doing weight watchers right now and i don't want to be a bad influence on anyone who is trying to stay fit, but i must hawk this product. trader joe's had THE most delicious seasonal ice cream in its freezer today, namely pumpkin ice cream. it tastes like pumpkin pie without the crust. it is the kind of indulgence that is worth every calorie. oh, and a 1/2 cup serving is only 6 point plus.

on answering back

there is nothing like a new year to push one to rejoining frumster as a paying member , that and a reduced monthly membership rate. so i renew my membership, after all i had 4 messages waiting for me. two out of four were ok so i responded to the two good ones. to  the two ng (no good) ones i sent the prepared rejection letter. one of them was the one in diapers from a few weeks ago so i after i sent him the rejection letter i immediately blocked him. the other ng guy sent me a note back . already that was a bad sign. only losers try to continue dialogue after the rejection letter. against my better judgement and  general mental health, i read the note instead of just deleting it. sour grapes said that after reading my rejection letter he realized he sent the contact letter to me by accident because now he realizes we have nothing in common and he must have meant to contact someone else when he sent me a message. what a prince. i promptly blocked him. too bad i sent him the prepared rejection notice . i should have left well enough alone . now i remember why i had cancelled my frumster membership a few months ago.

new years resolutions....

i'd like to start this new year on the right foot by going to sleep at eleven o'clock. it will indeed be a challenge. i am going to wind down for the next hour so i will be able to reach  my goal. wish me luck. layla tov!

tashlich

i have always loved tashlich. i have always liked the idea of throwing my averos into the water . i especially  like being in nature and near the water . when i was growing up there was a lake near my  shul where we would do tashlich. as a kid it was especially fun because there were a lot of ducks  near that lake.
in brooklyn they tend to get a bit too creative for my taste when it comes to tashlich. they will fill  a water fountain and add fish and say you can say tashlich there. fortunately this year i was able to have a real tashlich . i walked to prospect park and said tashlich at a lake there. there were ducks and swans there. a lot of people trying to have a more meaningful tashlich were there as well.