installation pictures

my family came to help make sure the installation was super duper special. i love them and am lucky that they are mine!

gratitude and speaking to soon

mi madre sent an email to me this week letting me know that she received the results of her genetic test and she does not have the brca1 or brca2 better known as the genetic markers for breast cancer. this is amazing news for two obvious reasons. (1) mi madre does not have to have her ovaries removed. ovarian cancer is also linked to this gene and this preventative measure would be most prudent at her present age. (2) the DIVA and i do now have a 50% less chance of having this gene in our dna. my papa has not been tested and the geneticist did not recommend it. this does not mean that i will never get breast cancer. please god, may DIVA and i never get breast cancer. it means that we are not likely to get one of the genetic breast cancers.

genetic tests are an amazing thing when you get results like this.

i never should have written anything about getting a new car until i actually had signed the papers and parked the car in my garage. the fact of the matter is that the whole car process has made me want to either cry continuously for awhile, or never drive again. since neither are a very productive option i hope to have some positive car news soon.

new car

i have a new car. i still can't drive the good old mazda3. i "upgraded" to a mazda6. i would have liked to have gone hybrid but the taxes and such in canada just don't make it feasible at this time.

today was such a nice day. i actually got some sleep and i had lunch with rabbi k.t. i did some errands and a massive quantity of laundry and somehow, the day is now over. oh sweet, precious day off, why must i wait another six days for you?

mazda horror story

once upon a time there was a car. this silver mazda 3 served its owner well. she commuted to and from school and synagogue, sometimes even making the trip over the hill into the wilds of the san fernando valley or down the coast to san diego. this car has seen the united states. a road trip from los angeles to warwick, ny with several stops in between and back again.

then this car made its journey to the country to the north. it took 74 days for the car to arrive from los angeles to toronto, on. the owner did everything humanly possible to register this california vehicle in the province of ontario including spending $500 on daytime running lights. alas, the forms from the DMV did not meet the province's ridiculous requirements. there is a balance in ontario of securing car insurance and registering one's vehicle and it seems that there is an expiration date on how long an insurance policy can remain valid without a subsequent registration in the province. therefore, this little silver mazda lost its insurance. this means that it now sits in a garage while its owner spends ridiculous amounts of money on a rental car. who wants to drive without insurance? no smart person. no ethical person.

and this is the story of the car that cannot be driven.

recognition when it's due!

http://www.forward.com/forward-50-2008/

i will cut the relevant part for ease of my readership (who are you by the way? who even reads this?)

"Denise Eger
When anti-gay marriage activists put forth Proposition 8, the California ballot initiative seeking to ban gay marriage, Rabbi Denise Eger wasted no time in organizing Jewish opposition to the measure. While the ballot initiative ultimately prevailed on November 4, Eger nevertheless demonstrated her ability to raise the profile of gay rights issues within the Jewish community and spur people to action. The founding rabbi of Congregation Kol Ami, West Hollywood’s gay and lesbian Reform synagogue, Eger shepherded efforts to pass a resolution by the Board of Rabbis of Southern California opposing Proposition 8. In a huge turnout by the board’s 290 members, 93% voted in favor of the resolution. Eger, 48, also helped organize the L.A.-based group Jews for Marriage Equality and was a founding president of L.A.’s Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual Clergy Association. A vice president of the Board of Rabbis for the past six years, Eger is next in line to assume its presidency. If she, indeed, becomes president — which could happen as early as next May — Eger would be not only the first woman to lead the Southern California board, but also the first gay or lesbian."

rabbi eger is my mentor. for two years she taught me all that she could so that i might be a better rabbi. at my ordination, she spoke to the congregation about me. in a few weeks she will travel to toronto to help in my installation at TS.

i hope that this recognition will be just a taste of the honor that rabbi eger receives for being who she is and leading the jewish people and the world in the struggle for equality for all. amen.

it was supposed to be happier

i am ecstatic that barack hussein obama will be the president of this country come january 20. i do not even know how to put into words my sadness, rage, frustration, disappointment that proposition 8 in california has not been called but 'YES' votes seem to be in the lead.

this is what prop 8 said...

Proposition 8:

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME-SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

Changes California Constitution to eliminate right of same-sex couples to marry. Provides that only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Fiscal Impact: Over the next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments. In the long run, likely little fiscal impact to state and local governments.

i am angry that i was not able to do more than donate money and remind people to vote. i am frustrated that it feels like my vote didn't count, though i know it did. i am angry. i am sad. i am confused. i am praying that more ballots are counted today and that this proposition does not pass. please god!

si se puede!

tomorrow is it. the big day. the day when i am either hopeful for the future of the united states or lose most of my faith in humanity. based upon facebook friends, it would seem that there is no question that barack obama will be the next president. on the radio today i heard that sarah palin might blame any defeat on tina fey and saturday night live and the parodies of her. this is ridiculous. it is interesting to start placing blame before the polls even open.

my biggest fear is that people in california might forget to vote NO on prop 8. it makes me nauseous to think that someone might attempt to define marriage between a man and a woman when, clearly, this is a human rights violation. california, don't let me down!

gobama!