shanah tovah

may you and your family be blessed with a year of happiness, good health, unexpected adventure, visits to canadia, laughter, close friends, loving family and peace.

you need to be rich to be an active reform jew it seems

the cost for nfty convention this year is $985 without transportation costs to washington, d.c.

the youth workers conference is $1100 for a double occupancy room, again without transportation.

the us economy is uncertain. who will be able to attend? discuss.

another classic "compliment"

today i read sammy the spider's first rosh hashanah to a room of three year-old students at the request of their teacher. everything went well. i got up to leave. this is the dialogue.

"do you have children of your own?" asked the teacher.

"no." I said.

"what a waste." said the teacher.

charming.

zoe

two people i know have had babies in the last two weeks. both selected the name zoe as part of their daughters' name. i am sort of waiting for another zoe to arrive just like three babies named noa were born last year.

i need to be writing a sermon now.

remembering

seven years is a long, short time. seven years ago i lived in brooklyn with eight other people who worked for social justice (and still continue to do so) when the world turned upside down, civil rights were violated, and priorities shifted. today i remember the innocent and the innocence of what it was like before. when september 11 was just another date on the calendar.

SIS ISH and i were always close. SIS ISH and i were together that day. the strong bond between us was fortified. no one messes with my sis. few other hugs can make me feel that there is still hope. SIS ISH, i love you.

not my best day

in an effort to remain positive, i will share that the end of my day was really good. i did a shiva call for a family that is renowned in the community. i attended the funeral for the deceased at which there were approximately 1,000 people. i knew that the deceased and his wife were basically agnostic but this did not dissuade them from serious involvement in the jewish community. i got to the home and introduced myself to the mourners. i was fortunate that the wife of the deceased felt like sharing a few stories with me. when the family was sitting down for dinner i made my exit. as i shook hands with the wife she said, "if i was looking for someone to talk to, and i'm not looking right now, i could talk to you. i can see that about you."

this comment made the rest of my crappy day tolerable.

i met with the transition team and that was fine. i got prepared for my confirmation opening night meeting. i went to the ministry of licensing and transportation office for the fourth time to register my car in ontario. every time i go to this office i wait for about an hour and then see someone and am told that i don't have the proper paperwork. last week this happened. my dad had a form notarized and signed in MN and overnighted to me. this was the only form left to fill out according to the person. i could go on into the minutiae but it isn't that interesting. the end result was my car is not registered in ontario. if i were to be pulled over (which i don't plan on doing) my car would probably be impounded. i spent money on safety inspections and because i now have to wait for yet another california document, i will probably have to spend more money on the same document. i hate ministries that force me to spend unnecessary money, stand in long lines, and tolerate employees who tell citizens what they want to hear and not the official policy. the worst of it was when i called the managers of this ministry and the gentleman on the phone told me that he agreed with me as to my frustration but did not have any solutions to my problem.

this sent me into a fit of tears. so much for wearing makeup to work.

when i got back to TS the water was turned off in the whole building because of a water main break. therefore all classes, meetings, and appointments needed to be cancelled. so much for all of that preparation for confirmation. oh and before noon today the receptionist walked out and is no longer employed at TS.

i was feeling very depleted. then i went to the shiva and was reminded why i do this work.

inspiration

i am having a very difficult time finding some and the days are quickly passing towards the 1 tishrei, rosh hashanah. i thought i had solid ideas but every time i try to write something, i find another project that seems more pressing. there have been times that i work better under pressure but this is getting a little bit ridiculous.

today was the first day of sunday school. it is nice to not have a formal role and just be a positive presence. i look forward to more time in the building with lots of noise, people, and opportunities to connect names and faces.

i went to a really great restaurant, fressen for a birthday celebration. lovely vegan food, tapas style, good organic wine, nice atmosphere. who wants to come to toronto so i can take them there?